Anna Held: Mother of the American Chorus Line
Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. (1867-1932) may have been a legendary impresario known for his lavish girl-studded Broadway productions of the 1930's, but the original idea for rows and rows of beautiful dancing women on American stages wasn't his genius but that of his first wife and star Anna Held (1873-1918.) Ziegfeld recruited young Anna from a Paris theatre in 1896 to perform in a play revival he was planning in New York. He bribed his way into her dressing room, paid off the balance of her Paris contract, arranged her travel to the states, and signed her for an unprecedented weekly salary of $1500 a week. Never once did he plan on a variety show where layers and layers of feathers and gorgeous women literally filled the stage. His goal was to showcase a spectacular European talent in American plays and musicals. What resulted was a love affair and the opportunity to emblazon his name in the annals of musical theatre history.
Anna Held never performed in any of Ziegfeld's follies. She performed mostly in her own vehicles written strictly for her talents. Her knack for pleasing audiences coupled with Ziegfeld's ability to promote just about anything resulted in an historic and long running tradition of the all girl chorus line. Anna had performed with the Folies-Bergere in Paris on more than one occasion, and upon arriving in the United States noticed that the stages were considerably bare of what was well known in Europe as the chorus ensemble or "girl troupes." Anna is said to have suggested to Ziegfeld that he back her musical numbers with a row of pretty girls after the style of the revues already famous in Paris and London.
Anna brought the idea from Europe and put it into action with the establishment of the first all girl chorus line in America "The Anna Held Girls." Also known as chorines (female chorus members,) the girls performed simple steps in unison and sang background support for Anna. The chorus couldn't perform anything spectacular. That would show up the star in front. Not until Anna and Ziegfeld's personal relationship began to sour did the chorus girl take center stage in what is now known as the "Ziegfeld Follies."
Held lived a sparse life in Poland, London, and Paris as her family found itself continually running from religious persecution rampant against Jews in the late 1800's and early 1900's. She came to a point where she denied ever being a Jew and supposedly converted to Catholicism when her daughter from a former marriage was born in 1895.
Anna made a meager existence for herself as a street singer but through luck and good graces was accepted into Joseph Adler's theatre company when she was twelve years old. In the basement of the theatre, she learned to sing, dance, and act. But it was her natural impishness and gay personality that soon won over audiences. Her career catapulted her into all the theatres of Europe as she learned the ways of winning over audiences with charm and sexual innuendo. She also learned what it took to put on a good show and that included lines of precision dancing girls.
The concept of the chorus line has remained pretty constant throughout American dance history ever since Anna's suggestion that they be added to her numbers. It is still the home of the "back-up dancer/singer" whose job it is to frame the star performer in complimentary ways. Many girls asked for dance lessons after seeing the unison performances of the Follies on stage and in the movies. Today's youngsters can witness many a dance line in high school gyms, theatres, and football fields all over the country. From the Follies to the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, the all girl chorus line is a staple in the world of the career dancer. The idea did a twist in the 1960's when girls and boys danced backup for many television performers. The girl/boy chorus became a career goal for those who wanted to dance on TV.
With costuming, make-up, and choreography intentionally designed to take the individuality out of the dancer, it wasn't easy for all dancers to dance in the chorus. The soloist attitude of many a dancer has caused them to be unsuitable for the chorus because they exhibit too much personal style. This is one of the themes of the hit musical "A Chorus Line" which depicts the life of the gypsy dancer who travels from chorus job to chorus job. Of course, that show remains groundbreaking in many ways but in an historical sense, its main message has been to tell the individual stories of the typically faceless, nameless members of the chorus.
Held's idea for a chorus line to back up her musical numbers caught the attention of my daughter, Aurora Held, when she was fourteen years-old and searching for a topic for a history research paper. Her study turned into a one-woman show that she wrote and performed for family and friends as part of the project. Along the way she learned a lot about the history of turn-of-the-century America, early musical theatre, and society's puritanical attitude toward the performing arts. She never pursued the question of actually being a descendant of Anna's, but with theatre in her blood the way it is, we don't need a paper trail to prove it!
Many actresses and dancers get their start in the chorus. From Lucille Ball to Donna McKechnie, stars are trained in the chorus line to be consistent and persistent if they want to make it to the top. Sad but true, the dancer in the chorus is over worked and over looked until one of them needs replaced. Those who survive the run and pay the sometimes years worth of dues in the chorus line always come away with a unique sense of fraternity that doesn't exist in any other venue of the dance world. To be a chorus dancer is to be a part of a long standing history in American dance and to represent all that is the beauty and perfection of dancing. Good idea, Anna.