death_date death_place birth_place imagesize parents birth_date spouse article_title name
31 march 1822 philadelphia , pennsylvania , usa lancaster , pennsylvania , usa 200px jacob durang catherine durang 6 january 1768 mary mcewen -lrb- d. 1812 -rrb- john durang
 john durang
john durang

john durang -lrb- 1768 -- 1822 -rrb- was the first u.s.-born professional dancer of note , best known for his hornpipe dance .
john durang , the son of jacob and catherine durang , was born on january 6 , 1768 , in lancaster , pennsylvania , but grew up mostly in york , pennsylvania , where he was educated at the christ lutheran church school .
in 1784 , he made his debut as a performer in lewis hallam 's `` lecture '' and patriotic extravaganza .
plays and dances were then legally banned , and the term `` lecture '' was used for such events .
he went on to spend much of the rest of his life as a dancer , acrobat , actor , mime , rope dancer , and blackface comic .
he was a part of a group called ricketts 's circus , which traveled throughout the northeastern united states and into canada .
he was reputedly george washington 's favorite entertainer .
the popular tune `` durang 's hornpipe '' , composed in 1785 by the german dwarf hoffmaster , was named for him .
durang married mary mcewen -lrb- d. 1812 -rrb- , also a dancer , with whom he had six children , including the actors ferdinand , charles , and augustus durang , and the dancers charlotte and juliet durang .
durang died march 31 , 1822 in philadelphia and was buried at st. mary 's church .
