{"id":8663,"date":"2021-01-08T16:59:33","date_gmt":"2021-01-08T16:59:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/?p=8663"},"modified":"2025-04-21T07:16:26","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T07:16:26","slug":"graham-johnson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/2021\/01\/08\/graham-johnson\/","title":{"rendered":"Graham Johnson"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Graham Johnson<\/strong><\/h2>\n

First Negro Classic Ballet<\/strong>
\nNew York Negro Ballet<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\"\"
Johnson with Bernice Harrison. Photo courtesy of the Huntington Library, Joseph Rickard Papers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Graham Johnson was a member of the First Negro Classic Ballet, in addition to being one of the company’s seven directors. Johnson\u2019s repertoire with the company included Cinderella<\/em> (1948), Harlot\u2019s House<\/em>, Little China Figure<\/em> (1947), Symphonic Etudes<\/em> (1948), and Tales from the Vienna Woods<\/em>. He frequently performed with fellow star Bernice Harrison<\/a>. He appeared with fellow company members in the November 1953 issue of Ebony Magazine<\/em>.<\/div>\n
After the company\u2019s debut performance, ballet critic Ronald D. Scofield praised Johnson for his \u201cvirile strength, agility, and imagination.\u201d<\/div>\n
He choreographed Raisin\u2019 Cane<\/em>, which was \u201ca story about Southern sugar-cane farmers that integrated the romance of classical music with jazz elements and a style that incorporated African-American themes\u201d and featured music by Claudius Wilson.<\/div>\n
When the company disbanded, Johnson joined New York Negro Ballet. He appeared in the film version of An American in Paris<\/em>.<\/div>\n
Johnson moved to France and then Spain and according to rumor<\/a>, eventually became a monk.<\/div>\n
\"\"
Graham Johnson and Bernice Harrison<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joseph Rickard papers, Online Archive of California<\/a>
\nDance Moves: An African American Ballet Company in Postwar Los Angeles by Kenneth H. Marcus<\/a>Ballet in Black: Louis Johnson and African american Vernacular Humour in Ballet, Thomas F. Defrantz<\/a>
\nVaulted Ambitions: Stories From Where We Were to How We Got Here, Stage Raw<\/a>
\nSan Bernardino Sun, Volume 58, Number 307, 19 August 1952<\/a><\/p>\n

See also:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ward Flemying founds Ballet Americana\/New York Negro Ballet, MoBBallet<\/a>
\nThe First Negro Classic Ballet is Founded, MoBBallet<\/a>
\nFirst Negro Classic Ballet Company debuts, MoBBallet<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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