Ned Wayburn
Encyclopedia
Ned Wayburn, born Edward Claudius Weyburn, (March 30 1874 - September 2 1942) was a choreographer
. He was born in Pennsylvania
but spent much of his childhood in Chicago
where he was introduced to theater and studied classical piano. At the age of 21, he abandoned his family’s tradition of manufacturing and began teaching at the Hart Conway School of Acting in Chicago. There he worked with three faculty members who influenced his growing interest in dance and movement: C.H. Jacobsen, Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery
, and Ida Simpson-Serven, whose teachings were based on Delsarte
’s concepts about the meaning of gestures and their ability to communicate the emotion.
After leaving the school, Wayburn spent many years in theater staging shows for producers. He worked with such teams as William Hammerstein and Oscar Hammerstein
, and Marc Klaw and A.L. Erlanger
. In 1906, he began his own management group called the Headline Vaudeville Production Company. Through his own firm he staged many feature acts, while collaborating with other producers such as Lew Fields
, William Ziegfeld and the Shuberts. In 1915, he began working with Florenz Ziegfeld
and created the Ziegfeld Follies
.
Wayburn’s choreography was based on five techniques: musical comedy, tapping
and stepping
, acrobatic work, toe specialties, and exhibition ballroom. As a child, he was captivated by Minstrel shows and recreated them in many of his works. Formation symmetry was common in minstrel shows, as well as parade. Wayburn used Minstrel style costumes and makeup in his show Minstrel Misses (1903).
His choreography was influenced by social dances of the time. His dancers moved in units of two or four, following popular trends. He took dances such as tangos
, the Turkey Trot, the Grizzly Bear
, the Black Bottom
and the Charleston
and recreated them for stage performances by using strong exaggerations of movement.
Some of his well known shows were Phantastic Phantoms (1907), The Daisy Dancers (1906), Havana
(1909), The Passing Show (1913), and all of the Ziegfeld Follies
. He created steps such as the “Ziegfeld Walk” and the “Gilda Glide”, and worked with well-known performers such as Fred Astaire
, Gilda Gray
, Marilyn Miller
, Ann Pennington, Barbara Stanwyck
, Clifton Webb
, Mae West
, Evelyn Law and Fanny Brice
.
Ned Wayburn was married for a time to one of the original "Florodora
" sextets; in that production and others on Broadway, she was billed as Agnes Wayburn.
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
. He was born in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
but spent much of his childhood in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
where he was introduced to theater and studied classical piano. At the age of 21, he abandoned his family’s tradition of manufacturing and began teaching at the Hart Conway School of Acting in Chicago. There he worked with three faculty members who influenced his growing interest in dance and movement: C.H. Jacobsen, Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery
Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery
Thomas Hoyer Monstery was a Danish-American fencing and boxing instructor, duelist and mercenary who fought in a number of Central and South American conflicts during the mid-19th century....
, and Ida Simpson-Serven, whose teachings were based on Delsarte
François Delsarte
François Alexandre Nicolas Chéri Delsarte was a French musician and teacher.Delsarte was born in Solesmes, Nord. He was a pupil of the Paris Conservatory, was for a time tenor singer in the Opéra Comique, and composed a few songs. However, he is chiefly known as a teacher in singing and...
’s concepts about the meaning of gestures and their ability to communicate the emotion.
After leaving the school, Wayburn spent many years in theater staging shows for producers. He worked with such teams as William Hammerstein and Oscar Hammerstein
Oscar Hammerstein I
Oscar Hammerstein I was a businessman, theater impresario and composer in New York City. His passion for opera led him to open several opera houses, and he rekindled opera's popularity in America...
, and Marc Klaw and A.L. Erlanger
A.L. Erlanger
Abraham Lincoln Erlanger was an American theatrical producer, director, designer, theatre owner, and a leading figure of the Theatrical Syndicate....
. In 1906, he began his own management group called the Headline Vaudeville Production Company. Through his own firm he staged many feature acts, while collaborating with other producers such as Lew Fields
Lew Fields
Lew Fields , born as Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
, William Ziegfeld and the Shuberts. In 1915, he began working with Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld
Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. , , was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the Ziegfeld Follies , inspired by the Folies Bergère of Paris. He also produced the musical Show Boat...
and created the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
.
Wayburn’s choreography was based on five techniques: musical comedy, tapping
Tapping
Tapping is a guitar playing technique, where a string is fretted and set into vibration as part of a single motion of being pushed onto the fretboard, as opposed to the standard technique being fretted with one hand and picked with the other...
and stepping
Stepping
Stepping may refer to:* Walking, one of the main gaits of locomotion among legged animals* Stepping, Sønderjylland- Computing :* Stepping level, an aspect of microprocessor version designation* Stepping , a method of debugging- Dance :...
, acrobatic work, toe specialties, and exhibition ballroom. As a child, he was captivated by Minstrel shows and recreated them in many of his works. Formation symmetry was common in minstrel shows, as well as parade. Wayburn used Minstrel style costumes and makeup in his show Minstrel Misses (1903).
His choreography was influenced by social dances of the time. His dancers moved in units of two or four, following popular trends. He took dances such as tangos
Tangos
Tangos is a flamenco palo closely related in form and feeling to the Rumba. It is often performed as a finale to a Tientos. Its compas and llamada are the same as that of the Farruca and share the Farruca's lively nature. However, Tangos is normally performed in the A Phrygian mode.Tangos is...
, the Turkey Trot, the Grizzly Bear
Grizzly Bear (dance)
The Grizzly Bear is an early 20th century dance style. It started in San Francisco, along with the Bunny Hug and Texas Tommy and was also done on the Staten Island ferry boats in the 1900's. It has been said that dancers John Jarrott and Louise Gruenning introduced this dance as well as the Turkey...
, the Black Bottom
Black Bottom (dance)
Black Bottom refers to a dance. which became popular in the 1920s, during the period known as the Flapper era.The dance originated in New Orleans in the 1900s. The theatrical show Dinah brought the Black Bottom dance to New York in 1924, and the George White's Scandals featured it at the Apollo...
and the Charleston
Charleston (dance)
The Charleston is a dance named for the harbor city of Charleston, South Carolina. The rhythm was popularized in mainstream dance music in the United States by a 1923 tune called "The Charleston" by composer/pianist James P. Johnson which originated in the Broadway show Runnin' Wild and became one...
and recreated them for stage performances by using strong exaggerations of movement.
Some of his well known shows were Phantastic Phantoms (1907), The Daisy Dancers (1906), Havana
Havana (Edwardian musical)
Havana is an Edwardian musical comedy in three acts, with a book by George Grossmith, Jr. and Graham Hill, music by Leslie Stuart, lyrics by Adrian Ross and additional lyrics by George Arthurs. It premiered on 25 April 1908 at the Gaiety Theatre, London, starring Evie Greene as Consuelo, W. H....
(1909), The Passing Show (1913), and all of the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
. He created steps such as the “Ziegfeld Walk” and the “Gilda Glide”, and worked with well-known performers such as Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire
Fred Astaire was an American film and Broadway stage dancer, choreographer, singer and actor. His stage and subsequent film career spanned a total of 76 years, during which he made 31 musical films. He was named the fifth Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute...
, Gilda Gray
Gilda Gray
Gilda Gray was a Polish born American actress and dancer who became famous in the US for popularizing a dance called the "shimmy" which became fashionable in 1920s films and theater productions....
, Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller
Marilyn Miller was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, but it was the combination of these talents that endeared her to audiences. On stage she usually played rags-to-riches Cinderella characters who...
, Ann Pennington, Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck
Barbara Stanwyck was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra...
, Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb
Clifton Webb was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for his Oscar-nominated roles in such films as Laura, The Razor's Edge, and Sitting Pretty...
, Mae West
Mae West
Mae West was an American actress, playwright, screenwriter and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned seven decades....
, Evelyn Law and Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice
Fanny Brice was a popular and influential American illustrated song "model," comedienne, singer, theatre and film actress, who made many stage, radio and film appearances and is known as the creator and star of the top-rated radio comedy series, The Baby Snooks Show...
.
Ned Wayburn was married for a time to one of the original "Florodora
Florodora
Florodora is an Edwardian musical comedy and became one of the first successful Broadway musicals of the 20th century. The book was written by Jimmy Davis under the pseudonym Owen Hall, the music was by Leslie Stuart with additional songs by Paul Rubens, and the lyrics were by Edward Boyd-Jones...
" sextets; in that production and others on Broadway, she was billed as Agnes Wayburn.
External links
- Wayburn, Ned.