Nelson Neal
Nelson Neal (Educ ’85)
Nelson D. Neal (Educ ’85) published a biography about Hemsley Winfield, the first African American modern dancer. Winfield was a contemporary of the pioneers of modern dance, he founded, directed, choreographed, and danced with his company The New Negro Art Theatre Dance Group from 1931 through 1933. He was the first African American to be contracted by the Metropolitan Opera when he danced the role of the Congo Witch Doctor in The Emperor Jones in 1933. The book describes Winfield’s life and career as an actor, director, dancer, choreographer, and teacher until his untimely death at the age of 26 in 1934. Dr. Neal is the authority on Hemsley Winfield and this is book is the culmination of his 28 years of research. His previous publication, in 2018, was an annotated bibliography about Hemsley Winfield with 511 annotated sources.
Nelson Neal (Educ ’85)
Nelson Neal (Educ ’85) gave presentations on Hemsley Winfield, the first African American modern dancer, to the students and faculty in the dance departments at Hofstra University, SUNY Purchase, and Marymount Manhattan College in November 2019. Neal is the author of Hemsley Winfield: The Forgotten Pioneer of Modern Dance, An Annotated Bibliography and the authority on the career of Hemsley Winfield. Neal lives in San Diego, California, and is an assistant coach for track and field at La Jolla Country Day School.
Nelson Neal (Educ ’85)
Nelson D. Neal (Educ ’85) has just published an annotated bibliography on Hemsley Winfield: The Forgotten Modern Dance Pioneer. He started his research on Winfield in 1991 when he was one of 25 faculty members nationwide chosen to participate in the National Endowment for the Humanities “Black Tradition in American Modern Dance” project which was held at Duke University during the American Dance Festival. Having researched Winfield’s career for 25 years later, the book will be available for purchase in February 2017. The book has 126 pages with 423 annotations and 15 images, is softcover, glossy, and 6×9. Nelson started his dance training at SUNY Cortland under Bess Koval. At the University of Wisconsin, he studied under Mary Fee and earned his M.S. in dance. At Virginia, he earned his degree in Motor Learning and Control.
Nelson Neal (Educ ’85)
Nelson Neal (Educ ’85) is associate professor of physical education and health at Marywood University in Scranton, Pa. He has been awarded a grant by Marywood University for the 2011-12 academic year to study whether a program of physical activity will improve academic test scores and reduce obesity in young adults. He has been teaching for more than 30 years and continues to give presentations at national conferences and have his work published in refereed journals.