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The Cake Walk Photo Girl and Other Footnotes in African American Musical Theatre
Theatre Survey Pub Date : 2018-12-21 , DOI: 10.1017/s0040557418000509
Jeanne Klein

On 22 August 1897, theAmerican Woman's Home Journalpublished seven photographs of “The Cake Walk as It Is Done by Genuine Negroes” in which “Williams and Walker Show How the Real Thing Is Done before the Journal Camera.” In this series, the African American stars Bert Williams, George Walker, Belle Davis, and Stella Wiley perform their popular cake walk act with situational humor in medias res before an unknown photographer in a nondescript space. Among the seven selected poses, one intriguing photograph in the lower right-hand corner depicts the encircled dancers gazing down upon an empty space in the center. The subject of their gaze becomes apparent when comparing the magazine images with the seven “Post Cards” Franz Huld published as part of his “Cake Walk/Negro Dance” series around 1901. Although the performers’ poses are the same, the postcard includes extra space between Wiley and Walker to feature a young girl of mixed racial heritage bending forward while hiking the back of her dress with her smiling face proudly held high (Fig. 1). If standing upright, she appears to be less than four feet tall and perhaps five to nine years of age. Given the obscure date and location of her photo shoot, her birth year could range anywhere from the mid-1880s to the early 1890s. Like Thomas F. DeFrantz, an African American dance theorist who gazes upon two 1920s photographs of other dancing girls, my gaze leads me to wonder about her identity, how she met and socialized with these four dancers, and whether she pursued a theatrical career.

中文翻译:

非裔美国音乐剧中的蛋糕漫步照片女孩和其他脚注

1897 年 8 月 22 日,美国妇女家庭杂志发表了七张“真正的黑人做的蛋糕走”的照片,其中“威廉斯和沃克展示了真实的事情是如何在杂志相机前完成的”。在这个系列中,非裔美国明星伯特·威廉姆斯、乔治·沃克、贝尔·戴维斯和斯特拉·威利在一个不起眼的空间中,在一位不知名的摄影师面前,在媒体资源中以情景幽默的方式表演了他们广受欢迎的蛋糕散步表演。在七个选定的姿势中,右下角的一张有趣的照片描绘了被包围的舞者凝视着中心的空地。将杂志图片与弗朗茨·赫尔德在 1901 年左右出版的“蛋糕步行/黑人舞蹈”系列中的七张“明信片”进行比较时,他们凝视的主题变得明显。尽管表演者的姿势相同,明信片在 Wiley 和 Walker 之间留出了额外的空间,展示了一个混血的年轻女孩向前弯腰,同时带着她的笑脸自豪地高举着她的裙子后背(图 1)。如果站直,她看起来不到四英尺高,可能有五到九岁。鉴于她拍摄照片的日期和地点不详,她的出生年份可能从 1880 年代中期到 1890 年代初期不等。就像托马斯·F·德弗朗茨(Thomas F. DeFrantz)一样,一位非裔美国舞蹈理论家凝视着两张 1920 年代其他舞女的照片,我的目光让我想知道她的身份,她是如何认识这四位舞者并与之交往的,以及她是否从事戏剧事业。如果站直,她看起来不到四英尺高,可能有五到九岁。鉴于她拍摄照片的日期和地点不详,她的出生年份可能从 1880 年代中期到 1890 年代初期不等。就像托马斯·F·德弗朗茨(Thomas F. DeFrantz)一样,一位非裔美国舞蹈理论家凝视着两张 1920 年代其他舞女的照片,我的目光让我想知道她的身份,她是如何认识这四位舞者并与之交往的,以及她是否从事戏剧事业。如果站直,她看起来不到四英尺高,可能有五到九岁。鉴于她拍摄照片的日期和地点不详,她的出生年份可能从 1880 年代中期到 1890 年代初期不等。就像托马斯·F·德弗朗茨(Thomas F. DeFrantz)一样,一位非裔美国舞蹈理论家凝视着两张 1920 年代其他舞女的照片,我的目光让我想知道她的身份,她是如何认识这四位舞者并与之交往的,以及她是否从事戏剧事业。
更新日期:2018-12-21
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