Since the an infant she received dancing knowledge out of a Mrs. Thorp for the midtown Manhattan. Doing 1897, after graduating off Thorp’s dance university, she toured temporarily that have Black Patti’s Troubadours. Good girlfriend allowed their unique to help you design to possess an advertising that have Bert Williams and you will George Walker, that has simply scored a hit within their vaudeville first at Koster and you may Bial’s Sounds Hall. She agreed to design towards the post and after that registered the latest men in order to dance about cakewalk finale. Immediately following joining John W. Isham’s Octoroon, an excellent critic into Indianapolis Freeman announced, “I’d just observed the very best girl dancer.” That have Elegance Halliday she molded brand new sister dance act from Overton and you can Halliday. They did due to the fact collection of Honolulu Belles regarding the Williams and you may Walkers’ The policy Players (1899), and following that, Overton started initially to create since an effective soloist with additional good positions. Regarding the musical comedy The brand new Sons of Ham (1900) she sang and you may danced “Skip Hannah off Savannah” and you will “Top Lady”; plus their 2nd edition, “Society” and you may “Gleaming Ruby” and therefore introduced their own jubilant recognition. James Weldon Johnson wrote one she “had a low-pitched voice which have an organic sob to help you they, hence she realized ways to use that have telling impression when you look at the putting more than a track” (Johnson 1933). Tom Fletcher recalled her while the a singer who did ragtime songs and you will ballads as well; and also as a dancer “who you are going to carry out almost anything, without matter whether or not it try buck-and-wing, cakewalk, otherwise some form of grotesque moving . . . she borrowed this new overall performance a nice gracefulness of motion unsurpassed by anyone” (Fletcher 1954).
Inside 1910, she joined the fresh Wise Lay, a black colored theatrical team, and you will starred in Their Award the fresh new Hairdresser (1911)
With the Summer 22, 1899, after the closing away from A fortunate Coon, the newest ragtime musical revealed by Ann Charters because the “a hodge-podge of all things throughout the ‘coon’ line out-of dollars-dancing and you may ragtime melodies so you’re able to selections on the grand opera,” Overton hitched George Walker; its commitment perform changes and you may escalate the newest cakewalk of a core African-Western everyone dancing on a black colored modernist expression, a high artwork really worth getting performed ahead of royalty, on the light professional, as well as on the new show stage.
One to nights when you are onstage, George Walker, to tackle the brand new role from Bud Jenkins, turned into unwell
Williams and you can Walker’s Dahomey (1903) was among the first black colored musicals to discover the fresh new cakewalk’s transformation. With it, Aida (she altered the new spelling off their particular identity away from Ada to Aida, the name of the Haitian lwa regarding virility) starred Rosetta Lightfoot which have a featured unicamente, “I would like to Become a bona fide Woman,” plus the “Cakewalk Finale,” partnered by the her spouse. “New range, the fresh elegance, the newest assured euphoria of those performers, whom curved over backward up to the thoughts almost moved a floor, a task demanding an unbelievable number of energy, its enthusiastic prancing, nearly from inside the slow motion, have not started equaled in this revel, not to mention surpassed,” composed Carl Van Vechten (Van Vechten 1974). Dahomey is brought to London area, where it absolutely was displayed in the a demand performance prior to King Edward VII during the Buckingham Castle. United kingdom high society used this new Royal Loved ones that have a good pouring love for cakewalking. The business returned to Nyc with a brand new variety of the latest songs entitled From inside the Dahomey, and that launched from the Grand Opera (1904).
Inside the Williams and Walker’s second tell you, Abyssinia (1906), Overton Walker is actually one another a performer therefore the show’s choreographer. She is actually second searched in the and you may staged the brand new songs number to have Bandanna Home (1908). His symptoms have been afterwards identified because syphilis. During the 1909 the guy remaining new show, with his part are rewritten having Overton Walker, whom donned his showy dresses and you can carried out their numbers, plus his major song, “Bon-bon Buddie.” Along with her husband’s status more sluggish extracting, and you may confronted with in which her future place, she chose not to ever renew her deal with Williams and you may Walker and you will rather joined ArnavutГ§a kadД±n personel the newest throw out-of Bob Cole and J. Rosamonde Johnson’s Brand new Purple Moon (1909) where she was checked in two songs amounts: “Pheobe Brownish” and you can “Pickaninny Days,” dancing dollars-and-wing to your chorus. She second established on New York’s Western Theatre which have an effective vaudeville act presenting a new moving, the latest “Kara Kara,” or moving l’Afrique.
