Aurora Greely Explained

Aurora Borealis Greely (1905 – 1983)[1] was an African American dancer and choreographer from the 1920s through the 1940s.[2]

Biography

Greely was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1905.[3] In 1922 she was a student at Wadleigh High School for Girls and was performing in Irvin C. Miller's play "Liza" which was on Broadway.[4] She started in the chorus, and then moved into leading roles.[5] In 1929 she opened a dancing school in Los Angeles,[6] and in 1932, she took a break from dancing because she suffered from "rheumatic leg".[7] Greely returned to dancing an in 1935 she was described as a "popular dance team" when she danced with Leroy Broomfield.[8] In 1933, she and Broomfield danced before King Gustaf V of Sweden while in Shanghai.[9]

At the Cotton Club in Culver City, California, Greely selected the dancers from her dancing school for the shows,[10] and was herself dancing in shows.[11] [12]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/collection/search?edan_q=*:*&edan_fq[=p.edanmdm.indexedstructured.name:%22Greeley,+Aurora%22&op=Search Aurora Greeley]. National Museum of African American History & Culture. 2021-12-02.
  2. Book: Bracks. Lean'tin L.. Smith. Jessie Carney. Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era. 2014. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-0-8108-8542-4. 92.
  3. Web site: Goodwin . Ruby Berkley . November 7, 1931 . Aurora Greely, Dancer . 2022-04-19 . The Afro-American . en.
  4. Book: Howard Dodson . The Black New Yorkers . 2000 . John Wiley . Internet Archive . 978-0-471-29714-7 . 179.
  5. News: 1928-05-25 . The Commentator . 10 . California Eagle . 2022-04-19.
  6. News: 1929-11-30 . Dancing school opens . 4 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2022-04-19.
  7. News: 1932-07-30 . Clipped From The Pittsburgh Courier . 16 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2022-04-19.
  8. Web site: December 7, 1935 . Ace dance team heads east . 2022-04-19 . newspaperarchive.com . en.
  9. News: 1933-08-12 . Twinkling toes! . 4 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2022-04-19.
  10. Book: Brothers, Thomas David . Louis Armstrong, master of modernism . 2014 . New York : W. W. Norton . Internet Archive . 978-0-393-06582-4 . 379.
  11. News: 1929-08-10 . Scoring at Cotton Club . 15 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2022-04-19.
  12. News: 1943-05-08 . Lincoln adds dance team . 21 . The Pittsburgh Courier . 2022-04-19.

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