Barton Mumaw (August 20, 1912 – June 18, 2001) was an American dancer and choreographer who performed in modern dance concerts and musical theater productions.
Born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, and reared in Eustis, Florida, Mumaw began his dance training with a local ballet teacher when he was a boy of fifteen.
[5] Since same-sex couples were not socially acceptable at the time, the two took great pains to conceal the true nature of their relationship so that no one could accuse dance of being morally questionable.
Following America's entry into World War II, in December 1941, Mumaw joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and, after basic training as a mechanic, had the good fortune to be assigned to Special Services, a unit created to produce shows to entertain the troops.
In 1947, Helen Tamiris invited him to take the dancing role of Wild Horse in the national company of Annie Get Your Gun, starring Mary Martin.
Returning to New York, he found work on Broadway in the dancing ensemble of Out of This World (1950–1951), staged by de Mille and choreographed by Hanya Holm.