Pearl Primus: Cross-Cultural Pioneer of American Dance
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Pearl Primus: Cross-cultural pioneer of American dance
Glover, Jean Ruth, M.A.
The American University, 1989
Copyright ©1989 by Glover, Jean Ruth. All rights reserved.
U-M-I 300 N. Zecb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ------ReproducedReproduced with with permission permission of the of copyright the copyright owner. owner.Further reproduction Further reproduction prohibited without prohibited permission_ without permission. PEARL PRIMUS:
CROSS-CULTURAL PIONEER OF AMERICAN DANCE
by
JEAN RUTH GLOVER
submitted to the
Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences
of The American University
in Partial Fulfillment of
The Requirements for the Degree
of
Master of Arts
in
Dance
Approved: C ? ' ) A _ . 1 < Chai rman: / / & — >./ ^
. Vta, 72^0— ^ Dean oS Arts and Sciences
73 May 1989 Date
1989 The American University t C\iA\ Washington, D.C. 20016 \p\ iW
THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. @ COPYRIGHT
BY
JEAN RUTH GLOVER
1989
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DEDICATED
to
My parents,
Jean and Edmund Glover,
and to
My sister,
Lisa Lang Glover,
for your love.
You keep me moving forward and send me soaring beyond the
places I believe initially possible. Your love, and all the
fabulous support accompanying it, have preserved my spirit.
Thank you.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PEARL PRIMUS: CROSS-CULTURAL PIONEER
OF AMERICAN DANCE
BY
Jean Ruth Glover
7\ rj inmr> r. s*rr. n b o i n n v a
Since 1943, Dr. Pearl E. Primus has been a leading
advocate of the arts as an educational resource towards
increasing appreciation and understanding of America's
multicultural diversity. This work provides a biographical
description of how Dr. Primus has used the art of dance to
disseminate anthropological-based information about Africa,
its culture and the heritage of black Americans.
The first black dancer to study with modern dance
seminal artists Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles
Weidman and Hanya Holm, Pearl Primus was the first artist to
successfully combine modern dance with dance material from
Africa. Based on research conducted in Africa, the West
Indies and the United States, her work expresses the social,
political and racial experiences of black Americans, the
traditions and values of black culture and above all, the
inherent beauty of the human spirit.
In 1943 when Pearl Primus began her career, black
ii
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Americans were ignorant c\nd ashamed about their African
roots and other groups did not understand its importance in
the development of American culture. Today, the pioneer
work of Dr. Pearl Primus can be seen as an important
influence in developing a new understanding of the role of
black culture and African heritage in American society.
iii
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The following people have wisely and expertly
directed ray research. Their advice, sensitivity and
important questions, accompanied with that which is perhaps
most important of all, their confidence, have propelled me
through this thesis with energy, insight and a desire to go
beyond the work presented in the following pages. These
people share in my "passion” to help others discover the
multi-cultural, educational and creative values of the art
of dance.
My sincerest thanks and gratitude to:
Dr. Naima Prevots - for understanding how to unite my
"passions" into one all-encompassing thesis topic.
She nurtures, encourages and re-tracks stuck thought
processes with rays and beams of invigorating positive
energy. She sends these gifts into your soul as much as
she does into your ideas.
Professor Anne McDonald - for her enthusiastic support of my
many layered ideas. The freedom to pursue these ideas
through choreography and written expression have
contributed to my growth as artist and scholar.
iv
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Professor Charles Crowder - for persistently demanding me to
question, analyze and be sentiently aware of aesthetic
values and written expression in relation to the dynamic
forms of art.
Mr. Joseph Nash - for his expertise on the contributions of
black dancers to American dance; in particular the work
of Pearl Primus. He transmits the spirit and empowering
beauty of dance with love, passion, energy and a
sparkling, twinkle in his eyes.
Myrna Renaud - for introducing me to the spiritual essence
of African dance and its heritage as transcribed in the
dance of Puerto Rico, Cuba and South America. Her
artistry as educator empowers students with confidence
in their own integrity and unique abilities.
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival - for their trust and loan of
a 1987 video recording with a pre-concert lecture by Dr.
Pearl Primus. In particular, archivist Norton Owen, for
his assistance in locating audio-visual materials and
program copies of work Pearl Primus presented at Jacob's
Piilow.
Charles Reinhart - Director, The American Dance Festival,
for permission to view a 1988 video recording with
three works by Dr. Pearl Primus as presented at The
American Dance Festival, 1988.
v
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Jean and Edmund Glover - for the technological means to work
at a maximum level of efficiency and productivity.
Lisa Glover - for the steady supply of printer ribbons.
Luci Dabney - for sending research materials from Houston.
Grace Chow - for a warm, comfortable place to rest when
conducting research in New York.
Esther Gelabert - for being my Chinese sage.
Aaron Prevots - for sharing his musical treasures with me.
Listening to the great legends of the jazz age provided
invaluable inspiration during the final stages of work.
Jonathan Lipow - for caring and saying "just work on it two
hours every day."
Roberta Washington - for her faith in my work. To have
someone so beautifully and sensitively accompany my
spirit throughout the process has been an honor.
And...
To All of My Students - for it is they who continually make
me seek the best in myself.
vi
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CONTENTS
ABSTRACT...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...... iv
CHAPTER
I. FIRST IMPRESSIONS...... 1
II. TAKING A LEAP: SOCIAL DANCE TO MODERN DANCE...... 6
III. THE NEW DANCE GROUP...... 13
IV. DESTINY'S HOLD ON WELL LAID PLANS...... 33
V. PUTTING THE DANCE LAUREL AWARD IN PERSPECTIVE ...... 39
VI. EMERGENCE OF A CONCERT ARTIST: 1943 - 1943...... 57
VII. AN ARTIST FIGHTS PREJUDICE...... 79
VIII. 'LITTLE FAST FEET’ IN AFRICA...... 102
IX. OMOWALE TO AMERICA AND AFRICA...... 110
vii
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. X. ART AND ACADEMICS...... 129
XI. PEARL PRIMUS: A WOMAN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY...... 151
APPENDIX A: CHRONOLOGY FOR PEARL PRIMUS...... 157
BIBLIOGRAPHY...... 171
viii
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER I
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Childhood forms the essence of an adult. It is a
time when feelings are as fragile as soap bubbles,
experiences as vivid as new paint sets and sentiments as
strong as the trees standing in the yard. The significance
of those feelings, experiences and sentiments, often comes
as a surprise when we analyze our adulthood.
The childhood remembrances of Pearl Primus are vivid
splashes of that which became her career. When making the
decision to dance, rather than practice medicine, perhaps
Pearl Primus realized the full impact of her childhood
impressions.
Pearl Primus was a small child when a Carnival
figure playfully approached her home in Port-of-Spain,
Trinidad. She was playing outside and, a "huge mask leaped
the fence of her yard, danced before her and chased her into
the house."1 The episode was quite frightening to her at
the time.
The image of the mask stayed with her for many
1 Pearl Primus, "An Anthropological Study of Masks As Teaching Aids In The Enculturation of Mano Children" (Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1978), 2.
1
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. years, even after the family left Trinidad. The leap, the
mask, the movement and the spectacle of Carnival had a
powerful impact on the young girl. Pursuit of their
cultural meaning and purpose during adulthood changed and
shaped the career of Pearl Primus.
Edward and Emily Jackson Primus, moved their family
to New York City, when Pearl Primus was about two or three
years old (sources differ). Raised "in a narrow circle that
embraced church, school, library and home,'^ Pearl Primus
was protected from the intense racial prejudice prevalent in
the United States during the 1920s. In Trinidad,
discrimination was based on social and economic class, not
racial. Pearl Primus states:
In the Indies there is no color system, but a class system. A black person with money and prestige is in the top brackets. A white peddler remains a white peddler. When my parents came to this country, they made the adjustment by isolating themselves.
Pearl Primus1 parents did not abandon the family's
Trinidadian and African traditions in their American home.
Pearl Primus' maternal grandfather, Mr. "Lassido" Jackson,
was a "voodoo doctor and head drummer of the island
[Trinidad] who traced his heritage back to an Ashanti King
of Ghana. [He]... lived the life of a traditional person.
Ezra Goodman, "Hard Time Blues," Dance Magazine. April 1946, 31.
^ Ibid.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. My home was an African home," states Pearl Primus/
As head drummer of Trinidad, Pearl Primus'
grandfather was responsible for communicating the messages
of the ancestor's through his drum. Unconsciously, Pearl
Primus' muscles were saturated with the traditional rhythms
of 'her people' from infancy. No one knew the young girl
was absorbing information important to her future career.
Her grandfather's Ashanti lineage was not the only
reason the land of the ancestors was a natural topic of
discussion in the Primus household. Pearl Primus' father
and uncles had traveled in Africa, either as merchant seamen
or soldiers. They had first hand experiences and stories to
share with the family/
In third grade, during a lesson on slavery, the
young Pearl Primus asked why Africans were taken from their
homeland. The teacher explained to the class that Africans
had little to do, but run around in the jungle wearing
banana leaves.6 This answer bewildered Pearl Primus. It
was not the image of Africa she had attained from her family
* Beverly Ann Hi Usman Barber, "t'eari Primus, In Search of Her Roots: 1943 - 1970" (Ph.D. diss., The Florida State University, 1984), 13.
6 Stanley Levine, ed., "African Carnival," 1961 souvenir program, Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY.
6 Barber, 115.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. •I and friends.
On Saturdays, Pearl Primus eagerly accompanied her
mother to a neighborhood ballroom. Pearl Primus states her
father stayed away from the ballroom because he "was very o much a non-dancer." Though too young to participate, Pearl
Primus remembers watching her mother dance for hours. Emily
Jackson Primus graced the ballroom floor with such beauty
that she was crown*^ "“Stress' of $astian;" meaning one who q is an excellent waltzer.
An avid reader and enthusiastic student, Pearl
Primus did well in school. She attended Hunter High School
in Manhattan, a school for exceptionally talented and
intellectually gifted students. Pull of motivated, success-
oriented young people, the school was relatively prejudice
free.
In addition to excelling at academics, she was a
star athlete. "At Hunter she set records for the broad
jump, high jump and was also a crack sprinter."*8
Participation in track and field activities developed her
' In 1926 Josephine Baker appeared at the Folies Bergeres wearing only a girdle of banana leaves. Lynne Fauley Emery, Black Dance In theUnited States From 1619 - 1970. (Palo Alto: National Press Books, 1972) 230. Perhaps, the third grade teacher naively translated Ms. Baker's exploitative demonstration into her perception of Africans.
8 Ibid., 115.
9 Ibid., 113.
*8 "Pearl Primus," Ebonv. January 1951, 58.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. prowess for power, speed and height. This innate athletic
ability would later distinguish her as one of the finest
dancers of the time.
Pearl Primus was raised in a loving and supportive
environment. Her home life, grounded in the traditions of
Africa, provided a firm set of values and attitudes. This
atmosphere produced a young woman with high aspirations,
goals and individuality.
Pearl Primus decided she wanted to relieve the
suffering of others. Her plan was to attend college, apply
to medical school and become a physician. Few black
Americans, and even fewer women, had goals of such high
stature and excellence in the 1940s.
After having gone from childhood, through
adolescence and into early adulthood believing in her own
innate capabilities, it was startling to discover her plan
was inconceivable to society. Pearl Primus had to face the
realities of what it meant to be black, and a woman, in
American society during the 1940s.
Faced with the injustice of discrimination, she
turned to her roots for affirmation of her race, her culture
and her existence. Twenty years after the masked Carnival
figure chased her into the house, Pearl Primus sought to
understand the lingering impression of her childhood.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER II
TAKING A LEAP: SOCIAL DANCE TO MODERN DANCE
1940 - 1942
When you are twenty one years old childhood
impressions have little meaning. With a college degree,
ambition and an action plan, the future awaits. It is a
time to shape your own destiny... or, if you are Fearl
Primus, slowly realize destiny has other plans.
Pearl Primus’ ambition was to become a physician.
In 1940 she graduated with a B.A. degree in biology and
premedicine from New York's Hunter College and began
searching for a job as a laboratory technician. The career
oriented young woman was planning ahead. She knew medical
schools would look favorably upon practical experience in
the field and such a job would provide her with enough
income to begin a savings account for medical school
expenses.
Pearl Primus wanted to attend Howard University in
Washington, D.C. Congress established Howard University in
1867 to educate black Americans and the school was renowned
for its educational excellence and training programs.
Already seeking excellence, Pearl Primus felt this would be
the best place to study medicine and absorb the concerns and
6
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. compassion of other black Americans.
Pearl Primus applied for one laboratory position
after another. Her educational background qualified her for
the jobs, but soon realized the jobs were not available to
her. Home, family and friends could no longer protect her
from racial discrimination. Pearl Primus searched elsewhere
for a job.
Dance critic Margaret Lloyd stated that "she tried
and tried for jobs, any job, going constantly down the
scale, till at last she landed one as a vegetable picker."**
This statement demonstrates the difficulty black Americans
had during the 1940's in obtaining jobs traditionally held
by middle or upper class whites. Though unable to obtain
the job she desired, Pearl Primus stayed adamant in pursuing
her education.
She enrolled in health education classes at New York
University. By May of 1941, Pearl Primus had transferred
into the graduate psychology program at Hunter College. She
was a master's degree candidate and determined.
To pay for the classes she juggled a variety of
jobs. In 1941 the United States had entered World War II and
factories employed women to provide the necessary goods and
services needed by the military for supplies. Pearl Primus
worked during the day as a cherry picker, welder, burner,
** Margaret Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1949), 268.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. riveter or switchboard operator, to name a few of her part-
time jobs, and studied for her classes in the evening.
One of the part-time jobs Pearl Primus held while at
Hunter College in 1941 was with the National Youth
Administration (NYA). The NYA, a federal project to help
teenagers gain employment during the war, trained youths in
technical skills. In larger cities performing arts
opportunities were offered as a part of the NYA programs.
Pearl Primus was a part-time employee in the
wardrobe department at New York city's NYA branch during
1941. The New York NYA performing group, specialized in
American social dances ranging from the minuet to the lindy
hop and in 1941 they were invited to participate in a
program titled "American Dances."
"American Dances" was sponsored by the New Dance
Group, a professional school and company, interested in
dedicating modern dance to the working class of America.
The New Dance Group presented many concerts with folk,
political and social themes throughout the forties. The
"American Dances" production was designed to demonstrate the
influences of folk and jazz dance on the development of
modern dance.
The New Dance Group invited Margaret Mayo and her
American Square Dance Group, the Friendship Club directed by
P.osetta O'Neill, several modern dancers and the NYA
performing group to participate in their program. The names
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. of the modern dancers are not known, but it is implied that
they were from the New Dance Group.
While preparing for their part in the "American
Dances" program, the directors of the NYA decided they
needed another dancer. Scanning offices and departments at
the NYA, they spotted youthful, energetic Pearl Primus and
persuaded her to join the dance group.
The only prior dance experience Pearl Primus had was
a folk dance class at Hunter High School and a required
soft-shoe dance course taken in undergraduate school at 15 Hunter College. She was not confident in her dancing
ability. In a 1944 interview she stated, "I was very
stiff." 13
She obviously learned the dance material well. "In
the middle of the performance she suddenly awoke to the
delight of physical movement, cut loose and stole the show,
to nobody's greater surprise than her own."'*
Thereafter, Pearl Primus was a regular member of the
National Youth Administration's performing group. The group
toured schools, community centers and performed at the
33 Mary Braggiotti, "Fight for Democracy in Jungle Rhythm," New York Post. Daily Magazine and Comic Section, 22 September 1944. Other sources state that the course at Hunter College was a modern dance course.
13 Ibid.
3* John Martin, John Martin's Book of The Dance. (New York: Tudor Publishing Company, 1963), 183.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 10
World's Fair. The experience familiarized Pearl Primus with
the stage, but it did not provide her with any formal dance
training. Dances ranging from the colonial minuet to the
rambunctious lindy hop required little technical skill. Joe
Nash, a member of the performing group and frequent partner
to Pearl Primus, said with twinkling eyes "we were just kids
and had the greatest fun!"18
At this point, Pearl Primus must have been thinking
that medicine and Howard University were still
possibilities. The $22.50 per month she earned dancing18
was considerably better than the $6.95 provided earlier by
the wardrobe department.17
It was a short lived feeling. The performing group
of the NYA dissolved in the later part of 1941 or early
10 1942. 0 Pearl Primus realized the combined physical and
emotional release she experienced while dancing was
valuable to her inner well-being and searched for another
way to continue dancing.
18 Mr.Joe Nash, The Schombury Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY, 11 February 1989, interview.
16 Braggiotti.
17 Barber, 15.
18 The reason or the exact date for the group's dissolvement is not known. Administrative records for the NYA are in The National Archives, Washington, D.C. , but no information about a performing group has been found to date. Sources state Pearl Primus immediately auditioned for the New Dance Group, but differ as to the year the audition occurred.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 11
The New Dance Group ottered work scholarships to
students wanting to study dance and in need of financial
assistance. Scholarships were awarded to applicants based
upon performance at an audition and if selected, free dance
classes were provided in exchange for weekly cleaning
chores. Pearl Primus there was nothing to loose by
attending the audition.
There were thirty-seven dancers at the audition.
Margaret Lloyd recounts, "She had no idea what to do at the A, audition, so, doing what came naturally, took a flying
leap."*9 Pearl Primus was one of four selected. Her
athletic skills, which had broken records in track and field
events during high school, paid off. She passed the
audition on the merits of possessing great speed,
spontaneity, and power.2® New Dance Group's only black
student began her first encounter with modern dance.
Naive and eager, Pearl Primus arrived early for her
first dance class. As other dancers were stretching, Pearl
Primus stood and watched. Told to begin warming up, she
replied, "What do you mean warm up? I'm warm already. It's
hot in here."2*
Formal dance training began and Pearl Primus soon
19 Lloyd, 269.
20 Ibid.
2* Michael Robertson, "Pearl Primus, Ph.D., Returns," New York Times. 18 March 1979, IV, 28.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 12
knew the definition of the dance term "warm-up." Her
enthusiasm for dance stayed high, despite some uncomfortable
moments. According to Maudelle Weston, a veil known dance
soloist in the 1930's, other students would intentionally
bump into Pearl Primus during classes and make cruel
comments about her clothes. "'However, says Maudelle,
Primus had such an excitement for dance that she allowed
little to deter her efforts.1"22
Pearl Primus was introduced to dance through the
vernacular d»nees of America. At the New Dance Group, she
discovered dance as a creative expression. The modern dance
classes at New Dance Group required Pearl Primus to combine
her mental acuity with her physical prowess. This fact was
not only exciting, but empowering to Pearl Primus.
Modern dance began to provide more self-discovery
and realization of humanity's needs than any previous
experiences Pearl Primus had received through biology,
anatomy, physiology or health education courses. The masked
Carnival figure, burrowed in a far-off corner of childhood
memories, was ready to leap forward and join hands with its
partner, Pearl Primus' destiny.
22 Barber, 26.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER III
THE NEW DANCE GROUP
What Pearl Primus Encountered at The New Dance Group
The New Dance Group is an important institution in
the development of modern dance. The school and its
affiliated performing companies were a voice protesting the
social, political and economic tensions in America during
the 1930s and 12103. Through modern dance, they were
actively seeking to better existing conditions in American
society.
In 1941 when Pearl Primus joined the New Dance
Group, the faculty was in the process of shifting from an
attitude that their efforts would cause change to that of
creating thought provoking expressions which would
facilitate change. The founding ideology and development of
a more sensitive approach by the newer New Dance Group
faculty dynamically shaped Pearl Primus' philosophy about
dance.
Founded in 1931 the original school was called the
Workers Dance League and had as its slogan "The Dance is a
13
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 14
Weapon in the Class Struggle."2^ Margaret Lloyd writes that
the founders of the New Dance Group had the following as
their goal:
...to make dance a vehicle, not for themselves as artists, but for themselves and as many others as possible, as members and communicators of the proletariat.
Joe Nash aptly states "... they were the group of
dancers with the raised fists. "2^ The depression had
increased the level of poverty in the United States and
there were confusing, foreboding signals of drifting from
Hitler's Germany. The young performing artists found much
to raise their fists at in protest. Often, they performed
dances about the experiences of the working class for trade
unions and cultural organizations sponsored by businesses.2*
The Workers Dance League changed it's name to the
New Dance Group but still continued its social minded
awareness. Judith Delman wrote in 1944, "a large portion of
the proceeds of every studio function [is donated] to some
form of war relief or other vital agency."27 She summarizes
the purpose of the New Dance Group as follows:
...we not only enrich people's lives through making the
Judith Delman, "The New Dance Group," Dance Observer. January 1944, 8.
U Lloyd, 174.
2* Mr. Joe Nash, 11 February 1989, interview.
2* Delman, 8.
27 Ibid., 11.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 15
dance available, but through an awareness of the unity of the needs and aspirations of mankind, and because of the validity of our contribution toward a better world.28
Besides a broad, social-minded view of the world,
students at the New Dance Group received extensive training
in all forms of dance. It was unusual for a dance studio to
offer such a variety of styles and techniques under one
roof, but this diversity was a tradition carried over from
the Workers Dance ueague.
Judith Delman describes classes at the Workers Dance
League in the 1930s (which cost ten cents!) and classes of
the New Dance Group in the 1940s:
Classes [at Workers Dance League] in the beginning consisted of three hour sessions: an hour of technique (Wigman), an hour of creative work and an hour meeting in which technical and political problems and plans for future activities were discussed. ...the New Dance Group maintains ths only school where the leading modern techniques (Graham, Humphrey-Weidman and Holm) are taught impartially under one roof along with ballet.80
Students at the New Dance Group were also taught tap, folk
dance, ballroom, dance history, philosophy and composition
in addition to the techniques mentioned above.
The composition classes took movement material from
a variety of cultural and social themes: Spanish, Mexican,
28 Ibid.
29 The pioneers of modern dance were creating their movement vocabularies during this time period and preferred students unaffected by other styles or forms of expression.
80 Delman, 8.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 16
East Indian, slavery, eviction, hunger and war.31 Judith
Delman states that the New Dance group was "the first to
introduce the use of props and the first to achieve the
successful use of poetry" with dance.33
Such was the environment Pearl Primus landed into
from her first 'flying leap' at the New Dance Group
audition. The New Dance Group did indeed train her body for
the technical demands of dance, but more importantly, it
taught her that dance could be a leader, a defender and
lover of the human spirit and needs of society. This fierce
love for the communicative power of dance is the foundation
upon which Pearl Primus dances, creates, educates and lives.
Who Pearl Primus Encountered at The New Dance Group
The New Dance Group faculty realized that their
first black student was no ordinary dancer. Her rhythmic
understanding, ability to project emotion and energy level
far surpassed the average dance student. As rare as the
young dance student was, so too were her teachers. Pearl
Primus studied with the seminal artists responsible for
developing the art form known today as American modern
dance.
"The teachers at New Dance Group sent their
31 Barber, 19.
33 Delman, 8.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 17
obviously talented student tc study with the masters of
modern dance: Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey and
Charles Weidman."33 An article found in the Dance
Collection's Vertical Piles at The Performing Arts Research
Center at Lincoln Center in New York, (no date, author, or
source listed), states that auditions with Martha Graham and
Charles Weidman were arranged for her by the New Dance Group
and that Pearl Primus was offered scholarships to study with
both artists.3*
Pearl Primus recalls:
Martha Graham called me a panther. She liked the fact that I expressed myself in the movement. "I can't stand shadow people," she would say. Even though sometimes, I can assure you I didn't look right in class. And Charles called me his little primitive. Today, someone might take offense at that, but he meant I had a burst of joy I had to get out of me. Sometimes he would give me time before class just to dance out all my energy.35
Margaret Lloyd wrote that Doris Humphrey's influence
on Pearl Primus was significant. It was in Humphrey's
classes that she learned about craft, structure and methods
of integrating traditional movement with contemporary
expression.
33 Robertson, 34.
3* "Pearl Primus and Company Give Two Y Recitals Sunday," refers to performances given February 23 and 24, 1945, no author, no date, no source, article accompanied with a picture from The Nearo Speaks of Rivers. Vertical File, Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York, NY.
35 Robertson, 28.
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She...learned how to explore a phrase and extract every possible variant of it before letting it go. Doris counselled her not to be too held by tradition, but to make a freer translation of the primitive into the modern, in her own way.-56
Pearl Primus is the first black dancer to have
received technical training and compositional skills from
the first generation of modern dance artists. From them,
Pearl Primus learned the underlying principals of movement,
composition, staging and mastery of communicating the inner
expression.
Of Graham, she says, 'Her work gave me the inner statement to understand, especially when I reached Africa.1 Of Weidman, 'His work aided me in the use of speed and distance on the stage.1 Holm she credits with the development of the 'fineness of the inner point,1 and with the improvement of her balance and use of the feet.'
But there were other important dance artists during
this stage of growth and development in Pearl Primus1 life.
Dance history texts do not list these black artists in
chronologies of the development of modern dance.
Three of the most significant black dancers to begin
shaping the dance of their heritage into expressive dance
forms for the stage were Belle Rosette, Asadata Dafora and
Maudelle. They are major influences in the process of black
Americans gaining acceptance as modern dance artists and
each had contact with a young dancer named Pearl Primus.
36 Lloyd, 276.
37 Barber, 158.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. West Indian dancer Beryl McBurnie hze know::
professionally as Belle Rosette. Belle Rosette meant
Beautiful Little Rose and she was a native of Trinidad.
Between 1938 and 1945 she traveled between New York and
Trinidad studying, teaching and performing. Belle Rosette
was the first to stage Caribbean dances for American
theatres and audiences. During her career, Belle Rosette
taught young students Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, Boscoe
90 Holder, Geoffrey Holder and Percivai botue/'3
In New York, Belle Rosette emersed herself in art
forms which would enhance her work. She enrolled in courses
at Teachers College of Columbia University where she "was
influenced by Martha Graham at Columbia University and
Charles Weidman at the Academy of Allied Arts."^ She
studied Eurhythmies with Elsa Findlay, who had been a
student of its founder, Emile Jacques Dalcroze; and she took
drama, painting and music classes.4(1
Belle Rosette was an instructor in Caribbean music
and dance at the New Dance Group. She found Pearl Primus
extremely talented in the national dances of her country and
90 Barber, 51. There is no evidence that the students mentioned above, each important in the development of black dancers gaining acceptance in concert dance, ever studied with Belle Rosette at the same time or place.
90 Molly Ahye, Cradle of Caribbean Dance (Trini dad an d Tobago: Heritage Cultures, LTD., 1S83), 3.
40 Ibid., 15.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. asked Pearl Primus to join her New York based dance company.
Belle Rosette's Dance Group presented a series of
performances throughout the 1940s called the Coffee Concerts
and were an effort to enhance Americans understanding of
West Indian culture.
While in the United States she more fully acquainted
Pearl Primus with her Trinidadian heritage. In 1945 Belle
Rosette returned to Trinidad. Before she left, Pearl Primus
received permission to reconstruct Belle Rosette's dances
Shouters of Sobo and Cuban Marriage Ceremony for her own
concert programs.** Pear! Primus often danced Shouters of
Sobo during the 1940s.
In 1953 Belle Rosette and Pearl Primus had an
opportunity to once again share experiences, information and
ideas. Pearl Primus visited Trinidad for more extensive
study of the dance and cultural traditions of her first
home. Belle Rosette was her guide, guardian and source of
inspiration during the visit.
Another first generation black dance pioneer to
provide leadership for Pearl Primus was Asadata Dafora
(Horton).** Originally of West Africa, Hr. Dafora studied
opera in Europe before coming to the United States. He
** Barber, 55.
** Asadata Dafora occasionally used Horton as his last name. Horton was the family name of a Nova Scotia land owner who had taken his great-grandfather as a slave. Emery, 249.
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lectured and performed throughout the United States and
Europe on African dance and culture. He is acknowledged as
being the first to portray black dancers as serious concert
performers through the creation of dance-dramas, or dance-
operas, as Mr. Dafora preferred to call them.
In December 1943, Pearl Primus performed with i^ Asadata Dafora at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Dafora was fifty-
four years old at the time. It is inconceivable that the
legendary African dancer, choreographer and singer did not
greatly impact the impressionable young artist who was
beginning to deeply explore the African culture.
American born Maudelle Weston, known simply as
'Maudelle,' also contributed to Pearl Primus' knowledge
about the dance heritage of black Americans. Maudelle
danced with Asadata Dafora (Horton) who had encouraged her
to study dance in Africa. However, Maudelle ended up in
Mexico.
Maudelle met Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He
invited her to his mansion in Mexico where she posed for
several paintings. One of the works, "Maudelle the Dancer"
hangs in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
For awhile Maudelle ran a school in Mexico City.
Later, she married and moved to the Caribbean island of
Antigua where she taught dances with themes from the
^ "Pearl Primus Dancer Par Excellence Interpretor of a People's Struggle," The People's Voice. 4 December 1943.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Caribbean, Mexican, and black American culture in addition
to African history.
Maudelle was in New York when Pearl Primus was at
the New Dance Group. She attended a concert featuring Pearl
Primus and recalls that "her ability to elevate the body and
sustain it in space was phenomenal."44
Maudelle states that she and Pearl Primus spent
hours discussing dance in the early 1940s.45 At this time,
Maudelle had been working as a solo concert dancer for ten
years and the discussions between the two artists provided
Pearl Primus with insights into the dance profession and
gave her encouragement to carry on with her work.
Another incident in Pearl Primus' early beginnings
in dance was the sensitivity of Judith Delman, Executive
Secretary at the New Dance Group. Noting Pearl Primus’
intense interest in African culture, she invited Pearl
Primus to her house after dance classes one day. She picked
up a piece of African sculpture, handed it to Pearl Primus
and asked:
...if in the strong and jutting form there was not something which reminded her of herself...Because of that experience, Primus speaks of thereafter identifying emotionally and physically with the African sculpture she viewed. She began looking at it in relation to body
44 Barber, 61.
45 Ibid., 61.
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posturing. directionality ar.d potential for projecting movement.
Through Belle Rosette's Dance Group, Pearl Primus
met Alphonse Cimber and Norman Coker (spelt Koker and Coker
throughout programs found in Vertical Files at The
Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center). These
two men greatly assisted Pearl Primus with the subtleties of
African movement and its rhythms. Both gentlemen were
drummers for Pearl Primus throughout her career.
Norman Coker (Koker), a doctor and dancer, came to
America with Asadata Dafora from West Africa. He was a
primary resource for Pearl Primus when she began to research
African dance.
Alphonse Cimber, born in Haiti, won awards for his
talented musicianship from the Haitian government. In the
United States he was considered the dean of traditional
African-based musicians from the 1940s until his passing in
1981. Mr. Cimber accompanied Belle Rosette, Jean Leon
Destine, Beryl McBurnie, Lavinia Williams, Percival Borde
and Pearl Primus. He was also a resident musician at the
New Dance Group.^
Pearl Primus credits Alphonse Cimber with helping
her understand the fine details of West Indian movement.
46 Ibid., 117.
4^ "Alphonse Cimber, Drummer, Is Dead," The New York Times. 19 March 1981, II, 14.
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Mr. Cimber worked closely with Pearl Primus to help her
master the articulation of the foot's contact with the earth
and the quality used to roll the shoulders and he taught her
when to open or close the fingers at a particular moment in
the dances.*8 Mr. Cimber was a match to Pearl Primus' own
perfectionist nature. He would stop drumming if her
"footwork or hand gestures" were incorrect.*9
Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, the
faculty members at the New Dance Group, Maudelle, Belle
Rosette, Asadata Dafora, Judith Delman, Norman Coker (Koker)
and Alphonse Cimber were teachers and inspiration to Pearl
Primus. These artists gifted Pearl Primus with insights
into her own potential and talents. Pearl Primus, studying
diligently at the New Dance Group at the age of 24, was one
of the honored recipients to be left with their legacy of
dance.
Others Who Believed in Pearl Primus
The dance world intersects the lives of its
participants in tangled, intricate, amazing ways. New Dance
Group placed many significant people into Pearl Primus’ life
at an early point in her development as an artist. The
artists she met during this time were not only professional
48 Lloyd, 270.
45 Barber, 117.
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colleagues, but formed a close network of interpersonal
relationships still in existence today.
One gentleman in this network is Mr. Joseph Nash.
Mr. Nash had danced at the National Youth Administration
(NYA) and had partnered Pearl Primus for many of the social
dances they performed with the group. Today he is the
leading authority on the contributions of black Americans to
the field of dance.
He was in the military, overseas in France, when a
letter arrived from home containing newspaper clippings.
Unfolding them, his eyes opened in "utter surprise" at the
sight of Pearl Primus suspended in the air above an "article
declaring her the number one debutante of the New York dance
season. Why it was unbelievable!" he exclaims. "She had
never expressed an interest in dancing professionally..=we
all knew she was intent on becoming a doctor.’’^
When his military service was over, Mr. Nash
returned to the United States and was the leading dancer in
Pearl Primus' company and later danced extensively with
Donald McKayle. His first reunion with Pearl Primus as a
performer was in 1945 at the Park Palace Ballroom.^ He
50 Mr. Joe Nash, 11 February 1989, interview.
51 Ibid.
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believed in her work. "Her repertoire spoke of humanity and
what it means to be human in our society today.
These feelings about the work of Pearl Primus and
other black dancers expressing themselves and their times in
the modern dance tradition prompted Mr. Nash to collect
programs, playbills, photographs, articles, dissertations
and other memorabilia related to black Americans involvement
in the field of dance. The Joe Nash Dance Collection is the
largest collection of primary resource material available
for the study of black Americans in dance. Mr. Nash has
given the collection to the Schombury Center for Research in
Black Culture in New York city.
Such devotion to the world of dance won him to Pearl
Primus' heart. Their relationship has only strengthened and
deepened in admiration through the years. Today, the two
artists/scholars are involved in a project called The Pearl
Primus Dance Language Institute dedicated to the
preservation and dissemination of the Pearl Primus legacy.
Between 1941 and 1943 Pearl Primus met a large group
of artist/political leaders in the black American community.
Already accomplished spokespersons in their fields, these
people were responsible for reaffirming Pearl Primus' own
feelings about human rights and freedom of artistic
expression.
52 Ibid.
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Langston Hughes, Owen Dodson, Paul Robeson and
Joshua White were professional artists who made Pearl Primus
think about the conditions and needs of black Americans.
These artists were making statements to and for the Negro
race throughout their lifetimes. They were also friends,
colleagues and motivational forces in Pearl Primus' life.
Their supportive assistance increased her realization that
Pearl Primus' message for better understanding between
cultures was important and needed. *
In June 1943, a Negro Freedom Rally was held at
Madison Square Garden. For 24 year old Pearl Primus, this
event was a strong reinforcer that artists represent the
people and that art can have a positive effect on community
and society.
Owen Dodson wrote and directed a dramatic pageant
for the Rally. Some of the participants included Langston
Hughes, Joshua White, Gordon Heath and Pearl Primus. The
Negro Freedom Rally promoted a future of equality for all
people. The cover of the playbill pictures two men in
military dress cutting through a barbed wire fence. The
words 'Hitlerism,' 'Jim Crow' and 'Anti-Semitism' are
scrawled across the fence.53
53 "Negro Freedom Rally," playbill, 26 June 1944, Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY.
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The artistic leaders involved in the rally felt an
urgency to express the times in which they lived. They were
giving their art to the 'cause.1 The cause was a better
America, a better world, freedom and peace for all.
To paraphrase Pearl Primus, the problem was not a
black or a white problem, it was, and is, an issue of
democracy; and that's everyone's problem.Owen Dodson
composed a song for the rally entitled "New World A-Coming"
and called for blacks and whites to join together to fight
fascist power. Pearl Primus felt the potential of the "new
world” at the Negro Freedom Rally and rallied her own work
around "the cause."
Pearl Primus' Creative Expression at the New Dance Group
The New Dance Group submerged Pearl Primus into the
world of dance. However, her plans to practice medicine had
not changed in 1943. Pearl Primus continued to work a
variety of part-time jobs and attend night classes towards
acquiring a master's degree and furthering her chances in
the world of medicine.
The jobs provided no intellectual stimulation for
the well educated young woman. They were a constant
reminder of the unjust conditions black Americans were
forced to endure and increased her compassion for ail who
^ Braggiotti.
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suffered unjustly. The jobs focused her commitment to
assist in the process of obtaining the elixir needed by 'her
people1 - freedom.
The pain of racial persecution had to have an
emotional outlet. Pearl Primus used class assignments at
the New Dance Group to explore her cultural heritage as a
"balm for the wound's inflected by racial discrimination."55
Pearl Primus began to research the traditional dance forms
of her ancestors.
The New Dance Group faculty, firmly believed in-
developing the creative and intellectual potential of its
student-artists. They encouraged and gave Pearl Primus the
freedom to investigate her African roots. Though open to
her ideas and needs, there were no experts at the center to
assist her in her pursuit African movement material. Pearl
Primus used her academic skills and went deep into books for
the knowledge she was seeking.
It took six months of research to create African
Ceremonial. the first dance Pearl Primus choreographed with
authentic African dance movements. The dance recreated the
legendary annual appearance of a priest performing a Belgian
Congo fertility ritual.
Research was not easy. She pieced bits of sentences
together from various books, journals, and diaries; studied
55 Lloyd, 269.
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photographs, paintings and drawings in museums; picked the
memories of relatives, friends and colleagues; and checked
the rhythms of the dance with Alphonse Cimber and Norman
Coker (Koker).Margaret Lloyd states that the research:
...gave her confidence and courage to learn of African culture; it gave her a sense of background, of belonging to an aristocracy of the spirit; for the Africans were a proud and honorable people, a rich and happy people, before the white men went in and exploited them.
Strange Fruit was another early work created from
dance assignments in choreography classes at New Dance
Group. The dance was about the horror of lynchings and Lewis
Allen's poem "Strange Fruit" accompanied the dance.
Pearl Primus danced the emotions of a white woman's
reaction to a lynching after the crowd had drifted away from
the scene. Pearl Primus' words best describe the character,
"Then, the act accomplished and the satisfied mob departed,
this one, drained of the poison, stays behind, realizing
with yriei and terror of what has been done.57
In December 1942, six months after joining the New
Dance Group, Pearl Primus performed Strange Fruit in one of
the school's programs.58 Michael Carter wrote an article in
stating:
When she first did the series of dances that developed into "Strange Fruit," the school apologized for her.
56 Ibid.
57 Ibid., 271.
58 Barber, 17.
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She had not been a student long and was used as a "filler" in a program. She captivated the house.
Pearl Primus became a choreographer as rapidly as
she became an excellent performer. Her choreography dealt
with unfamiliar and sensitive subject areas for the 1940's.
Through it all, Pearl Primus was learning to heal the wounds
within herself. Wounds caused by America's ignorance,
innocence and misunderstandings about Africans, African
culture and racial prejudice.
The Role of New Dance Group In Pearl Primus' Growth
In the early forties when Pearl Primus auditioned
for a work scholarship at the New Dance Group, she was a
novice to dance. Athletically inclined from high school,
her body readily accepted the physical demands of strength,
flexibility and endurance. The knowledge of the physical
body acquired from undergraduate courses in pre-medicine
allowed her to anatomically understand movement within the
body.
Pearl Primus studied the dance technique^ of Graham,
Humphrey, Weidman, and Holm when they were in vital stages
of growth. These artists provided Pearl Primus with
instruction of formidable quality. Within two years of
^ Michael Carter, "Dancing On America's Conscience," Negro Digest (reprinted from Baltimore Afro-American). 19 September 1944, 70.
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beginning modern dance classes, dance critics were praising
the virtuoso performance ability of Pearl Primus.
The New Dance Groups' socio-political awareness and
involvement were important in developing Pearl Primus' own
philosophy about the place of dance in society. Pearl
Primus discovered modern dance, dance material from her
cultural roots and choreography were capable of being
creative tools for expressing the common needs and feelings
of humanity.
Intellectual avenues of expression were difficult
for blacks and women during the 1940s. Pearl Primus
discovered a therapeutic value in the power and spirit of
dance and in the cultural heritage of 'her people.' The New
Dance Group accepted Pearl Primus' thoughts, ideas, cultural
background and racial heritage. She was free to release her
frustrations and express her concerns for a better America.
Pearl Primus began to see dance as not only a salve for her
personal well-being, but as a healing ingredient for 'her
people’ and society.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER IV
DESTINY'S HOLD ON WELL LAID PLANS
In 1941 Pearl Primus, felt emotionally drained from
the graduate psychiatry program at Hunter College. She
stated, "I found myself too involved with the cases, too
sympathetic. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep." To be
able to function more productively she transferred to the
graduate division of anthropology at Columbia University.
The transition from psychiatry to anthropology was
natural. The research she was conducting at the New Dance
taught her that a people's behavior, or psychological make
up, were a product of their culture. Pearl Primus states:
What I have been trying to express in my dancing is the culture of the Negro people. This has taken me into the field of anthropology • I ilO. ve to know the political, economic and social life of people in order to explain them to others. Anthropology explains different peoples to one another by laying bare their cultural backgrounds.
In 1943, Pearl Primus, an anthropology graduate
student, a dancer and a choreographer was still working a
variety of jobs. While at work one day, a fellow
^ Joseph Wershba, "The Gift of Healing Is Not Always a Medical Matter," New York Post. 9 August 1960.
^ Goodman, 30.
33
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switchboard operator told her about a dance audition
sponsored by the Young Men's Hebrew Association (Y.M.H.A.).
Joe Nash relates the following about the Y.M.H.A.;
The artist did not go anywhere unless he or she appeared at the YMHA. The " Y !l had a small performance area which allowed the artist to make contact with the audience. Audiences were small and intimate. They represented the true dance enthusiast. They were not thrill nor novelty seekers, but persons who were really interested in thedance and in the fledgling artists. Because of the smallness of the facility and the closeness of the performers, the audiences could see the moves and gestures and could respond to them. Artists who had successful engagements could reschedule concerts to accommodate the audiences. ..The value of the YMHA to the dance artist is undeniable. 2
The 1943 Y.M.H.A. audition was an opportunity for
new choreographers to present their work to a knowledgeable
dance audience. Pearl Primus auditioned with African
Ceremonial and Hear de Lans a-Cryj.n1. of the choreographers
auditioning, only five were selected to present their dances
in a formal concert produced by Y.M.H.A. on February 14,
1943. They were Nona Schurman, Iris Mabry, Julia Levien,
Gertrude Prokosch and Pearl Primus.
Entitled "Five Dancers," the concert was reviewed by
dance critic John Martin in The New York Times on February
21, 1943. Mr. Martin's review singled Pearl Primus out as
the most exciting new talent on the program:
If Miss Primus walked away with the lion's share of the honors, it was partly because her material was more theatrically effective, but also partly because she is a remarkably gifted artist. It would be hard to think of a Negro dancer in the field who can match her for
62 Barber, 27.
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technical capacity, compositional skill and something to say in terms that are altogether true to herself both racially and as an individual artist. Besides all these things she has a personal vitality and charm which entitle her to appear on a stage and command attention, accomplishments (or gifts, if you will) which so many young dancers do not posses. Miss Primus has been seen previously from time to time with the New Dance Group and with Belle Rosette, but if ever a young dancer was entitled to a company of her own and the freedom to do what she chooses with it, she is it. Last week's audience literally yelled for more of her, and more there will assuredly be. 6
This is an extraordinary review for a dancer who had
only been dancing for two years. John Martin accepted and
acknowledged Pearl Primus as a gifted modern dance artist.
Being praised in The New York Times, did not help
Pearl Primus pay the bills. In April or May of 1943
(sources differ), Pearl Primus walked into Cafe' Society
Downtown and requested to audition for an entertainment
position. Dancers had recently performed at the Cafe'
Society Uptown and were popular with the audiences. The
Cafe' Society clubs were one of the few New York public
businesses that not only hired black entertainers, but also
seated them in the club as audience members.6*
Pearl Primus recounts:
I got off work to go audition and I remember I wore a pleated skirt and a white blouse and red shoes with white socks. I guess I didn't look too impressive because Barney Josephson, who ran the
John Martin, "The Dance: Five Artists," New York Times. 21 February 1943, II, 5:3.
6* Barbara Naomi Cohen-Stratyner, Biographical Dictionary of Dance (New York: Schirmer Books, 1982), 727.
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club, was about to send me away. But I showed him my tiny bunch of clippings, and he said, 'Oh, are you the kid they wrote about in The Times? Okay, we'll try you out for ten days.'”
Opening night was a nightmare for Pearl Primus.
Pearl Primus entered the performing space to begin her first
number for the evening. The record player broke down. She
left the performing space, entered again, positioned herself
to begin, and again the record player failed.
Badly shaken, nervous, and upset, Pearl Primus was
about to lose her composure when actor/singer Paul Robeson
stepped into the light. Ke took her hands into his and
began to dance the Lindy Hop with her. As they danced Mr.
Robeson explained to the audience that the young woman
before them had been one of the knock-out Lindy Hop dancers
with the National Youth Administration. While a member of
the NYA, she had taught his son to dance the Lindy Hop.
With warmth and humor Mr. Robeson recounted how his son’s
enthusiasm for the dance had wrecked the family's living
room for weeks afterwards.^
Pearl Primus regained her composure and passed the
ten day trial period granted by owner Barney Josephson at
the audition. Ten months later she was still entertaining
audiences at Cafe1 Society Downtown.
^ Robertson, 28.
^ Sally Hammond, "Spreading the Heritage," New York Post. 27 May 1969.
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Pearl Primus' performances there were not typical of
the dances found in nightclub acts. The compositions she
had created at New Dance Group were her dance repertoire for
the nightclub and the audiences and critics loved her.
Critic Edwin Denby said her "simplicity, sense of
drama and climax made her numbers easy for any audience to
follow" as well as providing some of the best dancing
available in New York at the time.67 Another critic wrote,
"watching the handsome and gorgeously clad Miss Primus, one
senses that he is in the presence of a princess-
priestess. . ."68
Pearl Primus changed her academic schedule.
Graduate classes were taken during the day and evenings were
now reserved for profitable employment at the Cafe' Society
Downtown. The job gave her more time to study and the pay
was better than other jobs she could acquire.
On August 1, 1943 in The New York Times dance
column, John Martin announced that Pearl Primus was the
recipient of the "dance laurel award." In the past,
Broadway dancers had received the award. Mr. Martin states
that choosing an outstanding dance artist for the 1943
67 Edwin Denby, Dance Writings (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986), 139.
68 "Primus at Cafe' society," The New York Times. 5 October 1951.
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season was "a choice as easy as rolling off a log. The
decision goes hands down to Pearl Primus."^
Incredulous, Pearl Primus wrote to Mr. Martin asking
if his statements about her abilities as a dancer and
choreographer were sincere. She told him her ambition was
to study medicine. Pearl Primus quotes Mr. Martin's reply:
History alone would determine whether art or science would prove of greater curative benefit to mankind. You say you want to be a doctor to heal stricken humanity. Did it ever occur to you that dancing could also be a wonderful healing medium.
Faced with such an eloquent response, Pearl Primus
made her decision. Dance would serve as her healing medium.
She knew that the dances she created, and their message, was
for all people. Dance could translate the beauty and
dignity of African and black American cultures to people
throughout the world. Her research, experiences and the
response from audiences, critics and peers told her that her
dances were powerfully conveying the beauty and truth of the
black culture.
Childhood experiences that were once frightening,
now had meaning and a purpose. She stood her ground before
the dancing masked Carnival figure this time and did not run
into the house.
^ John Martin, "The Dance: Allies in the Arts," The New York Times, 13 June 1943, II, 2.
^ "Pearl Primus," Ebony. January 1951, 58.
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PUTTING THE DANCE LAUREL AWARD IN PERSPECTIVE71
Role of the Black Performer Prior to 1940
The dance laurel award John Martin bestowed on Pearl
Primus in 1943 was more significant than merely changing a
young woman's career goal from medicine to dance. It was
the first formal recognition of a black dancer succeeding as
a modern dance concert artist.
Blacks had been "type-cast" as entertainment
novelties since their involuntary arrival into the United
States. The sts.ge was open to blacks only for parts in
minstrel shows, vaudeville acts, Broadway musicals and
nightclub revues. Whether forced to dance (to maintain a
healthy physic for the slave market), or forbidden to dance
(by laws which denied the use of drums and dance as a part
of religious and recreational expression), or shown how to
dance (minstrelsy was the most twisted irony of all, black
dancers were imitated by white performers or blacks imitated
themselves as portrayed by the white performer), or featured
as the star in a musical (the jazz age exulted the Negro
entertainer but not the Negro as an individual); the black 7] This chapter is dedicated to Mr. Joe Nash, dance historian, and a cultural ambassador for all people; in thanks for his artistry in the sharing process of passing on the past.
39
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intellectual artist was suppressed.
Dance historian and critic, William Moore captures
the perception many Americans had about African dance:
Although native African dancers first appeared in this country in 1893 at the Chicago Exposition, African dancing was largely guessed at by African Americans (and this under the growing popular sentiment in this country that Africa and its culture were mumbo-jumbo-sambo).
By the 1920s, a successful black performer could
achieve enough status to be billed as a "star," but were
rarely treated as one. Florence Mills, Josephine Baker and
Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson illuminated the theatre and the
marquee, yet were denied front door entrance to
establishments managed and patronized by the upper/white
class.
During the 1920s musical theatre was the popular
form of entertainment; and it was the music and dancing
which sold the tickets. Jazz music and dancing was a part
of the celebration spirit each American was experiencing
after the first World War. Jazz music and dancing was a
direct outgrowth of African cultural elements which had
survived in the United States despite the laws to wipe out
its existence.
Dances for the vaudiville or musical theatre shows
were often put together by a white performer who merely
^ William Moore, "The Development of Black Modern Dance in America," The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance (American Dance Festival, 1988), 13.
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created a variation on a dance popular in the black culture.
Black performers were expected to smilingly perform these
"acceptable" variations. "Though once banned and referred
to as heathen, barbaric, primitive and sinful, dances based
on African-derived cultures were regarded as 'exotic'"
during this era.75
Black performers were so popular in the 1920s that
according to Joe Nash, "whites were heard to say, 'It's
getting dark on Broadway.'"74 However, theatre districts
were very color conscious. Blacks who could pass as Creole
or Anglo-American had a better chance of being hired, so the
Broadway stage was more 'bright' than dark.75
The era of the Harlem Renaissance was from 1917 to
1929. Led by prominent black writers, such as Alain Locke,
W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, James Weldon Johnson and
Arna Bontemps, blacks were asserting their right to freedom
of expression and cultural pride. James Weldon Johnson -
lawyer, song writer, author, civil rights leader and
university professor - believed "acceptance of blacks by
■75 Mr. Joe Nash, The African American Heritage Festival, Eubie Blake Cultural Center, Baltimore, M i> , 26 February 1989, lecture.
75 'Bright' is a pop cultural expression used to describe a person of mixed racial heritage.
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whites would grow directly out of the black man's acceptance
of himself."76
The strides gained by these leaders of the Harlem
Renaissance towards promoting the cultural heritage of black
Americans collapsed in the following decade, largely due to
the stock market crash of 1929. Though the nation was
unable to concentrate on the social issues addressed by
these leaders, the black artists of the 1930s explored ways
to express the ideas presented by the Harlem Renaissance
leaders.
"It was the first tine in American history that
blacks evaluated their role in art and society," states Joe
77 Nash. For the next generation of black performers, the
Harlem Renaissance provided the self-esteem to go forward.
Black performers in the 1930s took a new initiative, they
became artists, rather than performance entertainers.
Hemsley Winfield, Edna Guy, Charles Williams,
Charlotte Kennedy, Bernice Brown, Lavinia Williams, Asadata
Dafora, Belle Rosette and Maudelle Weston were some of the
artists of this period. These choreographers used material
from their heritage with a pride not exhibited before. They
1C 1 Eugene Levy, James Weldon Johnson: Black Leader Black Voice. (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973), 307.
77 Mr. Joe Nash, The African American Heritage Festival, Eubie Blake Cultural Center, Baltimore, MD., 26 February 1989, lecture.
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were the first generation of blacks to work in the medium of
modern dance.
These artists of the 1930s were the initial pioneers
to blend traditions of the black culture with modern dance.
Like the other modern dance choreographers of the 1930's,
black concert artists were creating personal artistic
statements about the culture, society and times in which
they lived. Modern dancers were exploring ritual as a means
78 to enhancing the expression of dance. Joe Nash eloquently
states that the Negro used "the art form that delights the
gods to image their aspiration, ideals and understanding of
the grim struggle of the black soul."78
Having found their own source material for
expressing the concerns of the Negro race, as well as that
of humanity, black dancers were interested in studying dance
as an artistic form to better present their work. However,
they were often denied the training accessible to white
dancers. White Americans perpetuated a false image of the
capability of black dancers through the following list of
influences as described by Joe Nash:
...attitudes [about blacks were] formed by inauthentic images in minstrelsy, drama, literature and films. Prevalent thinking declared that "the Negro dancer is a natural-born entertainer," that "training would diminish 7 8 Dr. Naima Prevots, The American University, Washington, D.C., 1 March 1989, dance history lecture.
78 Joe Nash, "Pioneers in Negro Concert Dance: 1931 to 1937." The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. (American Dance Festival, 198C), 11.
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their natural gifts and effectiveness on the stage," and that "they must guard against copying the white man's art of dancp.80
In 1938 Catherine Dunham commented, "The big problem is
still this stereotyped idea of what the Negro should do."8*
Another example of this shallow attitude about
Africa is the reaction to Asadata Dafora's dance-drama
Kykunkor. Presented in 1934, the crowds rushed backstage to
congratulate the West African dancer/choreographer. They
expressed "amazement at the thought that Africa may not be
so barbaric and [Dafora would] answer them by saying
"'Barbarism?...but there are lynchings in this country.'"82
William Moore describes the myths black Americans
had to disspell to gain acceptance as concert artists. The
"minstrel myth" categorized the black American as an
entertaining physical specimen with no capacity for
intellectual contribution. The "Tarzan myth" perpetuated
an idea believed by white and black Americans, that Africa
had no culture. In fact the words "culture" and
"civilization were thought of as contradictory terms for
describing the wild, wilderness of heathen Africa.83
80 Ibid.
8* Zita Allen, "What is Black Dance?," The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. (American Dance Festival, 1988), 22.
82 Emery, 250.
83 William Moore, 15.
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Additionally, people believed the dances of Africa
had no artistic form. Many thought the dances were only
sexual in content. The 'puritan ethic' could only focus
with fear on the bare limbs or the pulsing hips and
vibrating shoulders and see satan.
Black American artists from the early ISOOs were
working steadily to demonstrate the wretched illusions
perpetuated by these myths. Pearl Primus stated in an
article she wrote for Dance Magazine in 1946:
As a rule the African wears more clothing while dancing than in every day life, whereas the modern sex dancer is as near nude as the police department will allow... Another common belief is that African dance is wild and lacks control. I can say from experience, that to dance to the deep voices of tom-toms requires a mental and physical control great indeed.
There were signs in the 1930s that white American
artists were noting society’s oppressive malice towards the
black American. White Americans were discovering black
American components in their cultural orientation they had
not previously realized as vital contributors to the
American spirit.
Helen Tamiris choreographed "Negro Spirituals" in
1927. It was danced to a medley of well-known spirituals
such as "Get On Board Lil' Children," "Swing Low, Sweet
Chariot" and "Crucifixtion." Though the thematic material
^ Pearl Primus, "Tom-Toms, Jungle Rhythms and the Advanced Art of s. "Primitive" People," Dance Magazine, April 1946, 15.
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was interpreted by a white American, the dance symbolized
how one element of the black culture had become integrated
into American society.
In 1933 the Workers Dance League (which later became
the New Dance Group) invited Hemsley Winfield to discuss
"What Shall the Negro Dance About?” for its "first forum
nr recital."03 An extension of the Harlem Renaissance's
exploration of the role of the black artist in society, the
forum discussed the social significance of dance.
Hemsley Winfield was founder, director, dancer and
choreographer for the New Negro Theatre Dance Group in
Harlem from 1928 to 1934. Mr. Winfield was inspired by the
philosophy of the Harlem Renaissance leaders and from the
many modern dance concerts he attended. He sought to dance
the "new Negro."*6 Lynne Fauley Emery provides an example
of the social atmosphere in which Mr. Winfield worked:
In his review, John Martin wrote that this was the "outstanding novelty of the dance season." That Martin would term this beginning effort of the Negro in concert dance a "novelty" is indicative of the prevailing feeling of white people toward attempts by the Negro to achieve seriousness, depth, and dignity.
Edna Guy, who had studied at Denishawn, performed
and choreographed with Hemsley Winfield. These two artists
are the ancestors of black American dancers and
88 Joe Nash, "Pioneers in Negro Concert Dance," 12.
86 Ibid.
87 Emery, 243.
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choreographers. Hemsley Winfield died from pneumonia at the
age of 27 just months after the Workers Dance League forum.
"His final words: 'We're building a foundation that will
Qfl make people take black dance seriously." There is no
evidence, at this time, of related events at the Workers
Dance League.
Asadata Dafora (Horton) is often acknowledged as the
first to portray the beauty of the African dance, song and
visual traditions. He was forty-five when his lavish
production entitled Kvkunkor changed the cultural
consciousness of some Americans. "Based upon traditional
folk expressions (Mende, Sierre Leone), it proved that
themes from folklore could be successful on the American
concert stage."89 Subsequent works by Mr. Dafora (Horton)
never received the degree of powerful reactions and success
as Kvkunkor. But he passed on his movement material and
ideas to students at the New Dance Group.
Historical accounts describing the development of
modern dance rarely mention the body of work created by
chasa arti sts. Dance reviews, publications and books
separate dance produced by black artists from that produced
by white artists. White Americans treated blacks "apart
88 Joe Nash, "Pioneers in Negro Concert Dance," 12.
89 Ibid.
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from,” rather than "a part of" society.35 It has taken just
under a century for the work and contributions of the early
black artists to receive any form of recognition. The
concert dance created by the early black choreographers
remains to be fully documented.
Black American artists in the 1940s were empowered
with a new inner strength. Intellectually stimulated during
the 1920s Harlem Renaissance and their imaginative powers
exercised during the decade of the 1930s, these artists
could create more freely. Though preconceived myths about
the blacks an d their ability to dance "seriously" still
persisted, some dance studios did open their doors to black
students, some businesses did admit blacks and some critics
did notice the work by blacks as being artistic rather than
merely novelty entertainment.
Two choreographers emerged at this time with enough
self-esteem, artistic integrity and talent to assure future
generations that the myths associated with black culture
would someday be disspelled. Each presented the black
culture as beautiful, strong, full of human values and
dignity.
Katherine Dunham. Pearl Primus. Each is not only a
sentence unto itself, but an entire lifetime of humanitarian
achievements. They are the two most influential artists to
35 One of Pearl Primus' philosophies is that art should be "a part of" the culture, not "apart from" the culture.
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affect today's generation of black dancers and
choreographers. Both women approach their work from a
scholarly perspective. Each became an anthropologist to
increase her understanding of the African-American culture.
Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus are committed to
disseminating the meaning and the integrity of being black
to the world. Both dancers had a performance charisma that
spell-bound audiences into seeing, hearing and believing in
their message.
Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus believed that the
traditional dances from the black culture deserved the same
respect as the European traditional forms. Each conducted
academic research on the dance, music, art and rituals of
black culture. They toured around the world with companies
presenting the beauty, dignity, strength and positive values
of black culture.
The two women, though parallel in many respects,
part ways at the stage door. Katherine Dunham primarily
created choreography based on Caribbean culture and captured
the imagination of popular entertainment audiences. Pearl
Primus was devoted to the authentic portrayal of African
culture. She sought to learn and perpetuate the traditional
art forms of the African people. Primarily interested in
educating Americans as an artist; Pearl Primus did not
venture as much into the entertainment world.
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Katherine Dunham's emphasis was on the varied
religious and cultural aspects of the Caribbean culture.
She possessed an intense sensitivity for that which would
appeal to theatrically minded audiences. She filled the
stage with lavish sets, riveting costumes and spectacles
that endeared her to the producers and audiences of Broadway
and Hollywood.
The depth of commitment to authenticity prevented
Pearl Primus from entering the world of commercial
entertainment. This is one factor why Pearl Primus is not
as well known as Katherine Dunham. And too, Pearl Primus'
dance training from the New Dance Group emphasized her
belief that she should work as a modern dance concert
artist.
Margaret Lloyd describes the difference between
Pearl Primus as a performer versus Katherine Dunham:
[Pearl Primus] presents the African, Caribbean, and American Negro rhythms with excellent stagecraft, but with less showmanship than Katherine Dunham, though she is a more powerful dancer. She does not glamourize her material, does not over stress the native pelvic movement, instinctively avoids personal contact with her audience. She does not over-refine her art as some Negro artists, inhibited by the stigma of racial inferiority, are wont to do. With dignity and pride (and perhaps some idealization) she sets forth the ancestral customs, the hopes, aims, and struggles, the inherent grandeur of her people.
^ Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 266.
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Another author confirms the point of view described by
Margaret Lloyd. Printed in Ebony magazine in 1951 was the
following statement:
...Pearl Primus is easily the more authentic of the two...makes fewer concessions to commercialism in her use of the original dances of African and West Indian natives. Where Dunham stresses highly exotic costumes and sexy movement, Miss Primus approaches her primitive material with near reverence. 2
Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus were the first
black dancers with professional training to take an academic
approach to studying dance and its relationship to their
ancestry. They were the first to establish dance schools to
train other black artists; the first black artists to tour
successfully in the United States and abroad; and the first
to create original modern dance works about experiences of
the black American. Today, there are many organized efforts
to assure that their work, technique, choreography and
ideology are preset, ved for archival and artistic purposes.
The Black and White Perspective
Black and white artists sought movement material
from diverse sources as a means to understand the synthesis
of traditions that had become the American identity.
Because experiences as an American were so different for the
two racial groups, there was an imbalance in the spectrum of
cultures with which each identified.
^2 "Pearl Primus," Ebony. January 1951, 56.
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White modern dance pioneers drew from the huge
landscape of Europe, the American frontier and often
ventured into movement styles of cultures regarded as "in"
or "exotic" during the 1920s through 1940s era. Black
American artists, in the midst of self-rejuvenaticn after
centuries of oppression, chose material from their ancestry
to educate themselves and others about their "new" culture.
For some, the Caribbean cultural traditions were strongest;
for others, cultures from the expansive African continent
held a stronger appeal.
Black American audiences, however, had difficulty
accepting and feeling comfortable with performances
containing African material . Efforts to gain acceptance in-
white American society had created ignorance within black
Americans about their cultural roots. Generations of black
individuals had become proficient in customs valued by
western civilization and in the process, a gradual rejection
of their own cultural heritage had occurred.
Pearl Primus felt this dysphoria in the 1940s during
concerts containing black and African content presented to
black audiences. Faced with the same cultural heritage they
"had been taught to be ashamed of" and to regard as
"primitive", black audiences resisted identifying with their
past and their present.
^ Anna Kisselgoff, "Pearl Primus Rejoices in the Black Tradition," The New York Times. 19 June 1989, VIII, 18.
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What evolved was a modern dance form accepted by
"white" America, which formed the basis for evaluating all
other forms. Separate words and phr.ses evolved which
maintained distance between the art forms of black and white
Americans.
John Martin, one of America's first professional
dance critics, is credited with coining the term "black
dance.The label signified dance embracing cultural
themes and concerns of the African American. The term
'black dance’ has never been defined. It is more a
reflection of long ingrained social attitudes resulting from
a particular point of view, than a derogatory
categorization.
Another term popularly used to describe dances of
African origin is 'primitive dance. 1 For years, primitive
to an anthropologist or archaeologists denoted that which
came first or that which is the earliest of its kind. It
was used to identify something at a particular time in man's
development. But gradually the word primitive became
associated with meaning that which is second best,
undeveloped and crude.
In a 1944 Dance Magazine article describing
differences between black and white modern dancers, Ruth
Franck and Linda Locke state that the "frenzy and free"
^ Mr. Joe Nash, 11 February 1989, interview.
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primitive dance is "unhampered individual expression."^
Pearl Primus expresses her feelings about the use of
'primitive' as a descriptive label for African dance:
Primitive dancing is a misnomer. There is nothing primitive about it. This art which has been the chief manifestation of the culture of the African Negro and other so-called primitive peoples, requires tremendous technique, imagination, agility and speed. It embodies the very pulse of life of such civilizations. Compared with it dance Pl,ays a meager and feeble role in our modern society.
African Americans have expressed resentment of the
terms 'black dance’ and 'primitive dance' as it separates
their art from the art created by white choreographers.
Walter Terry explained his use of 'primitive' in a review he
wrote covering one of Pearl Primus' concerts in 1946.
To those who have visited or lived in Africa, it is apparent that African dance cannot be passed off with the word "primitive." It is primal in the sense that it often comes first in the lives of its people and in that it is inextricably woven into the patterns of history, of custom, or religion. Miss Primus indicates these truths in her programs by permitting us to compare dances rich in elegant gesture and lyric movement with dances vibratory with emotion, to savor differences generated by variety in thematic material or geographical placements.
Pioneering artists of modern dance, whether black or
white, were seeking unique movement languages to express the
55 Ruth Franck and Linda Locke, "Observations On Negro and White Dance," Dance Magazine. 80.
^ Pearl Primus, "Tom-toms, Jungle Rhythms," 15.
31 Walter Terry, "Primus, Fonaroff and Others in Non- Balletic Dance Events," New York Herald Tribune. 17 November 1946.
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"modern" times. Those whose names are familiar: such as
Mary Wigman, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Doris Humphrey and
Martha Graham and those whose names are not as familiar:
such as Hemsley Winfield, Charles Williams, Bernice Brown,
Asadata Dafora, Katherine Dunham and, Pearl Primus, were on
journeys of personal self-expression, cultural identity and
embodiment of the American spirit through the art of dance.
Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus entered the dance
world when "black dance" and "primitive" were the labels for
describing their work, when America was illiterate about
African culture and when racial prejudice was part of the
country's social structure. Though sometimes "type-cast,"
these two women steadfastly worked under the premise that
dance is a cultural and artistic expression for all people.
They crossed the barriers that in earlier years had
prevented black dancers from receiving respect and
recognition.
Of Pearl Primus- Michael Carter stated in an article
written for the Nearo Digest, "she dances ... on the very
stage where the Negro race has been abused by performers for QO years. " 0 By the end of 1343, just two years after
performing social dances with the NYA and beginning modern
dance training at the New Dance Group, Pearl Primus had
Carter, 69.
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established a reputation as one of the leading modern dance
performers and choreographers of the time.
When John Martin announced in the New York Times in
August 1943 that the Dance Laurel Award went "hands down" to
Pearl Primus, Pearl Primus had just earned a new place for
black dancers in dance history. The award acknowledged,
recognized and labelled Pearl Primus as a modern dance
concert artist. Pearl Primus, John Martin and the Dance
Laurel Award removed the umbilical cord connecting the black
performer to commercial entertainment.
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EMERGENCE OF A CONCERT ARTIST:
1943 - 1948
Choreographic Material: From an Inner and Cultural Source
When you are a child, your world revolves around
family and friends. It is astonishing to learn that there
are people in the world who look, act and speak d ifferently
from your immediate family members. That "your” world is
not "the" world shared by others is a bewildering and
exciting revelation.
Pearl Frimus, born in Trinidad, raised in America,
came to know a world full of varied perspectives based on
different ways of life. Traditions and racial heritage
celebrations native to Trinidad and the United States, each
distinct, shaped her impressions of a multi-cultural
universe. In her doctoratal dissertation, Pearl Primus
acknowledges the significance of her childhood in shaping
her personal and professional goals. Following, written in
third person, are Pearl Primus' words describing the
importance of her childhood environment:
...she, herself, is a product of multi-cultures. Her mother was the daughter of one of the greatest African priests and musicians of the Ancestral Cult, Peoples of the Orishas in Trinidad, West Indies. The investigator
57
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was raised by this proud African mother in a strictly West Indian home within an American community. Cultural differences were very obvious between life outside and inside the home.
The differences "between outside and inside the
home" were not merely intellectually understood, they
comprised the cultural and racial identity of Pearl Primus.
Pearl Primus understood that they were also the essential
elements comprising the identity of American society. This
realization was obvious to Pearl Primus in the 1940s and
became the motivating factor for her choreography,
performance presentations and educational programs.
Pearl Primus had only been dancing for three years
in 1944, but had already created an extensive repertory of
work. Her choreography incorporated the use of modern dance
with material from her African and West Indian roots as she
presented dances on a variety of themes. The choreographic
themes Pearl Primus chose in the early 1940s spanned decades
of social, political, educational and artistic concerns for
black people in a predominantly white society. At that
time, few people recognized as Pearl Primus did, the
significance and value of America's multiculturalism.
^ Pearl Primus. "Anthropological Study of Mano Masks," 26.
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A "Dance of Protest': Strange Fruit (1943)
Strange Fruit, written by white poet, Lewis Allen,
was reverently adopted by many black folk and blues artists
during the 1930s and 40s. Billie Holiday called it "her
song" and sang it frequently during the late 1930s' in one
of New York's first interracial nightclub, the Cafe' Society
Uptown.*®®
To Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit was a torch song,
meaning a song about uneasy relationships between people.*®*
To Pearl Primus, Strange Fruit was a "dance of protest."
Dances and songs of social protest were a tradition during
the 1930s and 40s with black performing artists. To awaken
people's minds to the social injustice in America, many
artists during the 1940s gently and diligently shaped their
message into artistic expressions. Pearl Primus stated in
1944 that "this dance is truly a social weapon. Its results
are not immediate, for education is a slow process, but it
contributes something."*®2
100 WXPN, "A Tribute to Billie Holiday," 17 April 1985.
101 Ibid.
102 Carter, 70.
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STRANGE FRUIT
by Lewis Allen
Southern trees bear a strange fruit Blood on the leaves and blood at the root Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze Strange fruit hangin' from the poplar trees Pastoral scene of the gallant south The bulging eyes and the twisted mouth Set a magnolia, sweet and fresh Then the sudden smell of burning flesh Here is a fruit for the crow to pluck For the rain to gather For the wind to suck For the sun to rot For the tree to drop Here is a strange and bitter crop. 03
In 1543, when Pearl Primus choreographed the dance,
lynchings were still a reality for black Americans in the
South. Pearl Primus was struck by the vivid images in Lewis
Allen's poem. These images provided the emotional impulse
for her to interpret the feelings inherent in the poem.
Pearl Primus created the dance as a solo and
interpreted the poem, psychologically, from two
perspectives. First, she extracted the emotional reactions
of one individual following the lynching. Next, she
interpreted those emotional reactions through the feelings
of a woman; a white woman. She states:
It dawned on me that if I could isolate a person from a lynch mob, I would have a different character from the brute who participated in the crime. People don't
103 WXPN, 17 April 1985.
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commit, horrible crimes like this when they are alone and sober.wi
Fearl Primus describes her female character as "not
a beloved of the victim but someone in the crowd who had
been screaming and shouting in animal fury with the rest."105
"The dance begins as the last person begins to leave the
lynching ground and the horror of what she has seen grips
her. . ."106
The author viewed two performances of Strange Fruit.
Pearl Primus performed the solo in the Ted Shawn Theatre at
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Lee, Massachusetts. The
silent film, located in The Performing Arts Research Center
at Lincoln Center, is not dated, nor are titles of the
dances listed. The author, after viewing a 1988
reconstruction of Strange Fruit. realized the dance recorded
at Jacob's Pillow was the same work.
Possibly the Jacob's Pillow film was made in 1950.
The film, labeled Destine and Roman, Primus, Shivaram, shows
Pearl Primus performing two dances on the Tea Garden porch
at Jacob's Pillow and then one work in the Ted Shawn
Theatre. Norton Owen, archivist for the Jacob's Pillow
—104 • uartei, I . rj70. a
105 Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 271.
105 Anna Kisselgoff, "Pearl Primus Rejoices," 18.
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Dance Festival, feels the film was made while Pearl Primus
was performing and teaching at the Pillow in 1950.^
The author has a copy of the Jacob's Pillow program
for works presented by Pearl Primus in 1950 at the Ted Shawn
Theatre. The 1950 program included Petri , Lillian
Moore, Betty Jones, Lucas Hovinc, and Jose Limon and
Company. The program lists Pearl Primus as performing six
works of African thematic content and three spirituals.
Strange Fruit is not listed on this program, but with the
extensive presenting offered by resident artists at Jacob's
Pillow each summer, it is possible these pieces were
cecorded during Pearl Primus' residency in 1950.
The stage is bare, except for a woman who stands in
the upstage right-hand corner, looking intensely towards the
downstage left-hand corner. Like a flash, she collapses
into a saddened heavai in the very spot she had momentarily
stood.Pearl Primus immediately rivets herself into the
soul of each audience member.
The crumpled lump of human flesh pushes two arms
into the earth to lift the heavy torso into an upright
position and reaches a long arm in the direction of her
107 Telephone conversation with Norton Owen, November 1988.
Strange Fruit. The American Dance Festival, Page Auditorium, Duke University, June 23 - 25, 1988, video recording.
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intense, ghastly stare. Slowly, the hollowed, concaved body
returns to standing. Weakened she sways a little from the
effort and then, instantly, falls again into wretched
disarray on the floor.
One of the strongest moments in the dance is a
series of knee falls done in circular patterns. When Pearl
Primus dances this section, the falls are done at a hurling
velocity. It overpowers the viewers thought-processes
completely and causes one to succumb to the experience of
guilt-ridden grieving. States Pearl Primus, "...she has to
do a smooth, fast roll away from that burning flesh...hurt
and anger ...hurled me to the ground in that solo..." ^
Kim Y. Bears was the dancer in the reconstructed
version of Strange Fruit performed at the 1988 American
Dance Festival. She is no match for Pearl Primus'
interpretation. Her knee falls are slower in tempo and
executed with steady control. Joe Nash states, "It is
difficult for young dancers today to feel and understand the
movement. They are too far removed from the situation to
capture the emotional energy we were actually experiencing
at the time."^
Anna Kisselgoft, "Pearl Primus Rejoices," 18.
Mr. Joe Nash, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York City, NY, 11 February 1989, interview.
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The dance, whether performed by Pearl Primus or
someone else, demonstrates the craftsmanship of her
choreography. Strange Fruit possesses clearly defined
movement themes which are repeated and varied. The powerful
visual images make full use of levels and space. The
dancer's focus is crucial to supplying the source, and the
reason, for the grief. Critic Edwin Denny stated that "the
pacing was brilliantly contrasted.Michael Carter wrote,
"Audiences generally sit silent for a few seconds after it
is concluded, then applaud quite noisily."^2
Originally, Pearl Primus used the poem itself as
the accompaniment for the dance. The reader was positioned
offstage and the words hauntingly drifted out onto the
audience. Because the poem was, in itself, a work of art
and a separate extension of the choreography, Pearl Primus
was particular about the voice and intonation of the reader.
During an East Coast tour, she was unable to find anyone
able to read the poem to her satisfaction. Pearl Primus
decided to perform the dance to silence rather than the
poem. 113
Edwin Denby. "Peat I Primus and Valerie Bettis," Dance Writings. 197.
112 Carter, 70.
^ Margaret Lloyd states in her book, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance, that Pearl Primus first performed Strange Fruit without musical accompaniment in Boston. Margaret Lloyd saw Pearl Primus perform the dance in Boston in 1947. The review
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In a review from the performance of Strange Fruit at
West Virginia State College in 1946, the critic wrote, "Miss
Primus appeared without benefit of music or sound, and so
completely gripped her audience that even the most
unimaginative would agree she is a great artist in her
field. Margaret Lloyd, dance critic for The Christian
Science Monitor stated:
done without music other than the variegated sounds of her bare feet in action...the silent dancing, the stocky body, the poignancy of subject and earth-closeness of movement, recalled the great German dancer, Mary Wigman, whom Miss Primus must have been too young to see when she last visited us in 1933. 15
For the 1988 reconstruction of Strange Fruit at the
American Dance Festival "The Black Tradition in Modern
American Dance" program,1^ the poem was read from offstage
by Onwin Primus-Borde, Pearl Primus' son. Her choice to re-
instigate the poem as accompaniment was made because she
felt the social circumstances of the times warrented re-
from the Charleston Daily Mail is dated 18 November 1946, which would mean the decision to dance Strange Fruit without the accompanying poem was made prior to 1947.
^ A.G., "Dance Recital Well-Received at State College," Charleston Daily Mail, 18 November 1946.
Margaret Lloyd, "Dancer Gives First Boston Performance." The Christian Science Monitor, 20 January 1947.
M "The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance," program, The American Dance Festival, June 23-25, 1988.
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creating the atmosphere in which she originially performed
the work.
The performance of Strange Fruit by Pearl Primus at
Jacob's Pillow is clearly imprinted in the memory of the
author. There is such simplicity of form and gesture that
one marvels at the expressionistic possibilities of modern
dance. The performance ability of Pearl Primus so finely
pinpoints the emotive essence of a fall and a reach that the
viewer watches not merely with awe, but with understanding.
Pearl Primus causes one to not think about the
impact of lynchings on the feelings of one woman, but rather
its impact on American society. Pearl Primus took the
social content of Strange Fruit and mapped out, on a stage,
its most basic ethical responses. She states:
I do these dances to help white people to understand us and also to help us understand ourselves - to help us drive out the feeling of inferiority that is nursed into us from the time we are born.
Strange Fruit was but one of many "dances of social
protest" Pearl Primus choreographed. Hard Time Blues
(1943), The Negro Soeaks_ of_ Rivers (1943), Slave Market
(1944) and Motherless Child (1944) are a few other works in
her repertoire about the hardships of those oppressed and
internally injured. Margaret Lloyd wrote that Pearl Primus'
protest dances " have form, originality, communicable
177 Braggiotti.
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content. They are quick with pliants against oppression, as
well they may be. They reveal the aspirations of the
advanced. They present her race in favorable aspects. " ^ 8
Though many of these dances used black American thematic
material, Pearl Primus states that the dances were about the
racial and cultural injustice of all ethnic groups.
The first responsibility of everyone is to be human. That is the underlying trait of all peoples, and I hope of my dancing. If you put up a fence in your mind with 'Negro' on it, you are guilty of intellectual segregation. I want my dancing to apply to Jews, Turks, Russians and Indians as well as to Negroes. There is no individual problem. It is a world problem, a wide and far-reaching thing. 1
There was a spiritual intent behind each movement
in Pearl Primus' dances which projected her meaning into the
hearts of audience. With a well-trained, athletically
inclined body, she could articulate any expression. An
article in The People's Voice noted:
Whether her story be one of humor or tragedy she is always understandable in the telling of that story. This ability to get over to non-dancers the essence of her subject, is no doubt Pearl's strongest asset, for it shows her own complete understanding of what she is trying to say. 28
The poems of Pearl Primus' friend, Langston Hughes,
were also influential in stimulating her tc create dances of
Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 267.
Goodman, 31.
120 "peari Primus Dancer Par Excellence."
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protest. His poems speak of the sorrows and joys of being
black American.
Poems by Langston Hughes which inspired Pearl Primus
to create modern dances of social protest were "The Negro
Speaks of Rivers" with dance of the same title, "Our Spring
Will Come" with dance of the same title and "Freedom Train"
in which the dance is entitled Jim Crow Train.
The Necro Speaks of Rivers was choreographed in
1943 to a score written by Sarah Malamet. The dance was
reconstructed in 1988 for "The Black Traditi cn in Amsncstn
I'tVUC A. A A WCIUVV U^4UIII J^I.Wi9«UbVU J W U U nillCL J.VQ 1. w a U V V
Festival.
To Langston Hughes the poem:
...portrayed the Negro as a fighter. The rivers represented rivers of love, of death, of the sweat that came from being on the chain gang, of working in the cotton fields. They were rivers that caused Negroes to cry. 21
In 1949, author and critic Margaret Lloyd wrote of
the dance:
It is beautiful with undulating rhythms over deep- flowing currents of movement that wind into whirlpool spins. She pivots on one knee or circles the stationary bent leg with the free leg, leaning her body in a long slant away from the traveling foot. The pale soles flash, the brown toes clutch and grasp, the dark fingers spread wide, the whole body sings...m
121 Barber, 98.
m Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 273,
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Pearl Primus proudly stepped onto the stage to
present her message. Sinking into a deep second position
plie, with arms parting, one high, one low, she moved with
ceremonious exactness. The parting arms become a movement
theme throughout the dance. Whether reappearing out of a
brief yanvaloo, a battement a la seconde or a series of
walks that evolve into skips, the arms and sinking plie tie
the dance into a tight compositional form.
Pearl Primus has stated that when she choreographed
the dance she used images of the Mississippi River to stir
her inner muscular awareness to speak. Upon returning from
her first trip to Africa in 1948, Pearl Primus commented to
Doris Hering the impact of the experience into the dance's
meaning:
...when she saw the Niger and Congo Rivers, she understood her own dance for the first time. As she watched the Congo turn brown, silver, and gold; as she saw how it rushed or meandered; as she heard it roar, she understood how it represented civilization. .And she felt the role that rivers play in human destiny. 23
Hard Time Blues (1943) was a "dance of protest"
against sharecropping. It was one of the most popular
dances with audiences in the 1940s and one of those selected
for reconstruction in 1988.
223 Doris Hering, "Little Past Feet," Dance Magazine. July 1950, 23.
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The dance was set to the song "Hard Time Blues," a
folk song popularized by "Josh" White. Joshua White,
nationally acclaimed folk singer, regularly accompanied
Pearl Primus in the popular modern dance solo Hard Tims
Blues created during 1943. Mr. White had been a struggling
street performer in the 1920s and 30s. By the early 1940s,
he was singing and playing the guitar for President Franklin
D. Roosevelt at White House Concerts and recording on the
Library of Congress label.22* For Pearl Primus, Josh White
left in the middle of a show at one theatre, ran to the
Belasco Theatre to accompany the dancer on stage and then
ran back to the other theatre to finish the show.22®
One reason Hard Time Blues was so popular with
audiences were the leaps Pearl Primus had incorporated into
the choreography. These leaps became a Pearl Primus
trademark. Audiences were stunned by the power and the
beauty of Pearl Primus the performer. Critics repeatedly
mention the spontaneous, audible reactions of the standing-
room-only theatre audiences. "...Maudelle says that when
Primus took a leap in the air, one just waited for her to
eventually come down."22® Author Earl Conrad wrote:
22* Sheldon Harris, ed., Blues Who's Who (New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1979), 1024.
22® Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 271.
126 Barber, 61.
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she casually jumped up...the leap seemed tremendous to all who watched it, yet she had done it with the blitheness of one who, piking in the street, simply touches a fire hydrant.**'
When John Martin recalled Pearl Primus'
participation in The First Negro Freedom Rally held at
Madison Square Garden in 1943, he immediately thought of her
elevation. "She filled that huge place with vital movement,
much of it way up in the air."^
Pearl Primus did not use her gift to suspend into
the higher domains of space for theatrical sensation. The
jumps were a physical response to an internal emotional
feeling. Pearl Primus states, "Yes, they liked my jumps.
But I didn't leap just for leaping's sake. I had something
to say in movement at all times.
Margaret Lloyd describes the choreography and Pearl
Primus' feelings about the motivation behind her power-
evoking jumps,
Hard Time Blues...is phenomenal for its excursions into space and stopovers on top of it. Pearl takes a running jump, lands in an upper corner and sits there, unconcernedly paddling the air with her legs. She does it repeatedly, from one side of the stage, then the other, apparently unaware of the involuntary gasps from the audience...For me it was exultant with mastery over
^ Earl Conrad, "Pearl Primus Tells Her Faith In Common People," Chicago Defender. 6 January 1945.
John Martin, "The Dance - Laurels Award No. 2," The New _Y_ork_Times, 1 August 1943, 2.
110 Robertson, 34.
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the law of gravitation...'Going up in the air does not always express joy,’ she explained. 'It can mean sorrow, anger, anything; it all depends on the shape the body takes in the air.
So intensely did Pearl Primus need to explore the
sufferings of 'her people1 to better understand their
cultural chemistry that during the summer of 1944 she went
to live and work with sharecroppers in the South.
Journey to the Southern United States. 1944
I had done dances about sharecroppers and lynching without having been close to such things. I went to live in Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. 30
She was 25 years old. Perfectionism and a quest for
authentic material sent the choreographer into the deep
South during the summer of 1944. Pearl Primus had to see,
hear, feel and absorb first hand the pain and suffering of
her people. In an effort to seek accurate and authentic
information in which to form the content for such dances she
went to the Southern United States.
Friends and family, could not persuade her to remain
in New York for the summer. Pearl Primus states she had to
go "in order to know my own people where they are suffering
most."*3*
130 Lloyd, The Borizoi Book of Modern Dance. 271.
*3!1 Goodman, p. 55.
*3* "Pearl Primus," Ebony. January 1951, 56.
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Paul Robeson sternly advised her to buy a round trip
ticket. "Later, I understood what he meant. There were
times when I wished a helicopter would drop down from the
sky and take me home fast," stated Pearl Primus.133
While in the South, Pearl Primus participated in
over seventy church services. She studied the influence of
traditional African ceremonies on the religious services
practiced by black Americans. Her "studying" was by active
participation. To have taken notes would have meant to be
viewed suspiciously by her fellow workers and "kinsmen.
Pearl Primus appreciated the "spiritual intensity"
of the Southern Negro and felt that "Africans also have this
wonderful spiritual intensity. In fact, this is the
greatest quality African and American Negroes have in
common."134 She describes the black preacher as the slender
thread of salvation holding the Southern black American
together.
I feel that the revival minister is one of the most dramatic figures in history. He's the link that held the people in hopes of something different in the days of slavery. Without him, there would have been mass suicide. 5
132 Richard Dier, "Interview with La Primus," Afro- American. 21 October 1944.
133 Emery, 262.
134 "Pearl Primus," Ebonv. January 1951, 56.
135 Braggiotti.
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Disguised as a migrant worker, Pearl Primus traveled
from one job site to another. She picked cotton during the
weekdays and waited for Sundays to absorb all she could
about the Southern blacks' religious and recreational
traditions.
Traveling on Jim Crow trains between work sites was
long and grueling. Through the dust and the pounding
rumbling of the train, Pearl Primus had plenty of time to
reflect upon the condition of the southern black.
The poverty in the South is unbelievable, and the shacks in which both the colored and whites live are equally bad. The colored hate and fear the whites with intensity and vice versa.”
She used the time on buses and trains to write
notes. It was the one chance available to be alone and
analyze parallels between the socio-religious practices of
the Southerner with traditions practiced by the African.
I discovered in the Baptist churches the voice of the drum - not in any instrument but in the throat of the preacher. I found the dynamic sweep of movement through space (so characteristic of Africa) in the motions of the minister and congregation alike. I felt in the sermons the crashing thunder-dances of Africa and I was hypnotized by the pounding rhythm of the song. Did the dance which the slave brought to America and which disappeared under pressure from his master re-emerge in the freedom of his church?13’
^ Primus, "Tom-toms, Jungle Rhythms," 15.
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Opportunities to dance out the rage and range of
feelings unutterable in verbal form were impossible on the
train. To release the intense feelings churning within her,
Pearl Primus wrote them down in creative form. She labelled
the following as a thought,' rather than a poem.
This is a Jim Crow train. I have twelve hours, twelve days, twelve years, twelve centuries to remember that. This is a Jim Crow train. 38
Evening meals in the South consisted of fatback and
corn pone. By the end of the summer she had a vitamin
deficiency and "an absolute hollowness" inside that lasted
for months.*38 Despite the hardships encountered, Pearl
Primus1 compassionate nature held fast. She "could not come
back [to the North] bitter.'1**8
I discovered material in the South for dances. I found certain rhythms, patterns, incantations, songs, all allied to African culture. I found a well of culture, and hope and belief.***
She corresponded with friends she had made during
her research trip to the South. They kept her informed on
conditions there and Pearl Primus told them of the progress
and the set-backs happening in the North. In 1946 Pearl
138 Braggiotti.
*38 Goodman, 55.
**° Ibid.
*** Ibid., 56.
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Primus returned to the South to perform in churches and
schools.
There was no doubt in her mind that education was
the key to overcoming the rancid diseases of hate and fear
penetrating the minds of ftmerican citizens. In a 1944
interview for » . £ magazine, Pearl Primus stated
she felt that Northern artists needed to accept
responsibility for providing the Southern people with
"education, culture, and strength to fight for democracy."442
It's important for our artists to make personal appearances in the South and make themselves known to the people, thereby giving them renewed courage, fortitude and pride in their race. Do you know that they hardly know of Lena Horne or Hazel Scott down there? Even Paul Robeson is not well known.
Slave Market and Steal Away to Freedom were two
dances created from the Southern state experiences. S?ave
Market, a group work, premiered at the Belasco Theatre in
October of 1944. The dance used the spirituals which had
been secret codes used in the underground to take slaves to
freedom. Steal Away to Freedom, first mentioned in critics'
review columns in 1945, used two muscular men to represent
the entire slave population. Voices from offstage
interjected the dominant role and sad perceptions of slave
owners. In the beginning the voice calls, "I bought you
142 Dier.
143 Ibid.
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today," and later the voice ponders, "I wonder if they
think."144
Neither of these dances reappear in programs or
reviews after 1945. It is not known whether Pearl Primus
took them from the repertoire because choreuyiraphically she
was dissatisfied with the work or whether they were too
painful and displeasing to audiences during the time period
in which they were being performed.
In December of 1344, Pearl Primus received an honor
highly valued amongst artists. Another artist created a
work in tribute to her. Owen Vincent Dodson, the
playwright, novelist, poet and drama professor, created the
poem on the following page that was published in Theatre
Arts December 1944.
144 Vickie Thompson, "Pearl Primus Dancers® Feet Infected, Declares Tour's 'Grossly Mishandled®," Amsterdam News. 10 February 1945.
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PEARL PRIMUS
by Owen Dodson
Who dances? Is it the earth, the dark world underneath Moving up, the goddess and her daughter Dancing again, weaving their dance Through the lines of corn, dancing Through the vines with the grapes of wrath? Oh the sun is like a shawl on their backs The memory of stars halfway in their eyes.
Who dances? Is it the memory of a lonely black boy lonely from a tree, The black hope blaring ripeness under the tree Trumpeting up a lost and lonely Spring?
Who dances? Is it Proserpine up again and longing Or rivers of sweat forming men and growing? This strangeness is an ease to me, A refuge in the popeyed noon.
Who dances? Is it Cassandra as she saw the dark wolf And caught him fast and dug her prophetic fingernails To below the hair into the flesh Feeling a dark blood world of hate?
Who dances? Surely it is the black girl who has seen the vision, Who waits, pistoning her feet in the air, For the new world and fruit of it?
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AN ARTIST FIGHTS PREJUDICE
That America, the pot containing a cross
representation of the world's cultures, should have cultural
and racial conflicts was senseless to Pearl Primus. To her
beauty and a magical specialness were within every culture
and racial yioup, - Her- intellectual and ante ticsial maturity
told aer one was not better than the other, only different,
and the differences should be viewed with respect and pride.
Attitudes about black Americans during this time are
reflected by the cab driver who listened to Pearl Primus
being interviewed one afternoon in 1945. Earl Conrad,
author of Harriet Tubman, was writing a story for the
Chicago Defender newspaper in 1945. On the way to the
theatre for a final rehearsal, Pearl Primus left Earl Conrad
in the cab momentarily to run an errand. The cab driver
looked at Mr. Conrad and declared, "Of ccurse, she's
educated. She's different. But you can't trust 'em. You
can't trust any of 'em, I say."1*5
As Pearl Primus encountered racial prejudice and
cultural misunderstandings between adult Americans, she
realized artists were one of the best conductors to lead
^ Earl Conrad, "Pearl Primus Tells Her Faith In Common People," Chicago Defender. 6 January 1945.
79
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people towards greater understanding. She worked with a
clear focus and direction; that dance demonstrates the
beauty of a people and in so doing, others can understand
that beauty comes in many different shades, textures,
rhythms and patterns.
Pearl Primus wanted facts and living examples with
which to represent the beauty and dignity inherent in the
black culture. People, such as her third grade teacher and
the cab driver , who.visualized Af rica, as _a wild, untamed
group of madmen, needed substantial proof to alter and re
shape their uneducated perceptions.
The need to visually demonstrate the elegance,
artistry, depth, and strength of Africa led Pearl Primus to
gather concrete information about the lands and people she
sought to represent. Pearl Primus writes:
this interest in African culture began...at a very early age...[when I] sought explanations for the negative attitudes of people towards those of differing races, colors, creeds and nationalities.
African Ceremonial was an important dance to Pearl
Primus. In it she discovered the pride of having a blac?
cultural heritage. Through the dance, she introduced white
and black Americans to a more accurate picture of Africa
than their previous perceptions had imagined. When the
dance was finished, Pearl Primus recognized the longing in
her soul to freely speak and share the cultures of her
Primus, "Anthropological Study of Masks," 25 - 26.
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heritage on an equal level with all people. She also began
to realize that she wanted to study Africa first hand; a
dream that was to be realized four years later.
African Ceremonial wss the first dance in her
repertoire utilizing authentic African movement and based on
a traditional ritual from African culture. Choreographed in
1944, while studying and teaching at the New Dance Group,147
Pearl Primus conducted extensive research to create African
Ceremonial. The experience carried her far beyond the
intuitive and surface level comprehension of African
culture. She learned concrete, tangible information with
which to demonstrate the Africa she had perceived from her
childhood. Margaret Lloyd states that the research:
...gave her confidence and courage to learn of African culture; it gave her a sense of background, of belonging to an aristocracy of the spirit; for the Africans were a proud and honorable people, a rich and happy people, before the white man went in and exploited them. 48
After six months of research, the Belgian Congo
fertility ritual upon which African Ceremonial was based,
gradually unfolded into a theatrical presentation. Research
was not easy. Pearl Primus pieced bits of sentences
By 1944 Pearl Primus had transcended technically and artistically to move from student status to that of faculty member at New Dance Group. The administrators recognized her expertise in African and African derived cultural expressions began and a course entitled 'Ethnic Dance Studies,’ which was taught by Pearl Primus. Judith Delman, "The New Dance Group," Dance Observer. January 1944, 8 .
1 tn 1,0 Margaret Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 269.
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together from books, journals, and diaries; visited museums
to study photographs, paintings, drawings and sculpture;
picked the memories of relatives, friends and colleagues;
and checked the rhythms with Alphonse Citnber and Norman
Coker (Koker).
One critic stated, "'African Ceremonial1 has the
quiet, timeless power of a real primitive."1** The research
had clearly developed a possessiveness for a land and a
people not yet experienced first hand. To author Earl
Conrad, in a 1845 interview, she stated:
When I speak of Africa, when 1 dance of Africa, I try to get across what it means to me, which is something that it does not mean to others... I see Africa as the continent of strength; it is a place with ancient and powerful civilizations, civilizations wrecked and destroyed by slave-seekers. I know an Africa that gave the world the iron on which now it moves, an Africa of nations, dynasties, cultures, languages, great migrations, powerful movements, slavery, competition, communism - all that makes life itself. This strength, this past, I try to get into my dances!150
A long ramp, used for a processional of male
dancers, and an alter of breathtaking height provided a
visually dramatic and theatrically stunning affect for the
fertility ritual. Once a year, according to the legend, a
priest materialises on a gigantic, sacred rock to perform
the fertility ritual. When the power of the ritual
*** R.S., "Pearl Primus Begins Dance Series," no source, vertical file at Performing Arts Library of Lincoln Center, New York, 1944.
150 Conrad.
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movements takes over his being, he falls from the rock and
is cared for by a select group of attendants. Later, he
* 9 * vanishes until the next year.151
John Martin's description of the Roxy Theatre allows
us to see some of the power and beauty Pearl Primus
transcribed into African Ceremonial.
...though it undoubtedly departs from ethnological meticulousness, as any stage dance is entitled to do, it preserves the spirit of the ritual and contains much material that is altogether authentic. ...The opening passage for the ensemble is so striking and vital that it looks as if it might be a bit difficult for Miss Primus to top it as soloist, but when the time comes she does so without the slightest effort. Appearing as a kind of priestess on an altar high up on the great stage, she holds not only the spectator's attention but also the intensity of the composition. ... and when at the climax of her dance the priestess falls into a trance and rolls down from her position of elevation, it is definitely and legitimately exciting. 5
African Ceremonial was often used to open a concert
and the program notes described the dance as "the priestess
blesses the land and prays for continued peace."^ A review
of concert programs reveals that the dance was performed
well into the 1950s.
The research for African Ceremonial taught Pearl
Primus about the background, symbolism, rituals and values
151 Lloyd, The_Borgoi Book of Modern Dance. 270.
John Martin, "The Dance: Current Events," The New York Times. 3 December 1944, II, 22:3.
Programs found in Vertical Piles, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York, NY.
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of the African culture. Through this first effort of
presenting the African dance authentically, she began
formulating ways to pass on greater understanding about the
black culture. She also began to explore her own movement
expressions for the communicating the world she knew. Pearl
Primus states:
What I try to express in my dancing is the culture of the Negro people...I am not preaching a 'back to Africa* movement. I am simply trying to show the Negro his African heritage and make him see that his culture had a dignity and strength and cleanliness...! don't know yet what I have to say about my own life or place in my own land. But, some day I hope to be able to say, 'This is my expression, this is what I have to say.'1”
Pearl Primus' knowledge about the history of the
United States, the Caribbean and Africa provided a global
perspective to the clashes and strife between races and
cultures. Her sensitivity towards the feelings of others,
perhaps accentuated by experiences of insensitivity in the
United States, created an intense level of respect for all
races and cultures. Pearl Primus used her intellect, her
emotional integrity and her intuitive expression to shape a
career dedicated to human responsibility.
Though the issues she addressed were all-
encompassing, she was not naive to the fact that many
hurdles were left to cross before the problems could be
resolved. Her vision of her role as educator, choreographer
154 "Little Primitive," Time. 25 August 1947, 42.
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and academician were held in focus by the inner spiritual
power she received from dance. Realistically she stated:
I know you can't solve the race problem by dancing, but each of us must try, in his own way, to contribute to interracial understanding. Only when this is achieved can America enjoy a real democracy to the benefit of all its people. 55
The front cover of Dance Observer magazine in
February, 1944 showed Pearl Primus in one of her magnificent
leaps. With sturdy torso suspended above a sprayed skirt
contouring a mass of beautifully powerful thighs, Pearl
Primus was catapulted into the public's eye.
Despite the honor of being recognized as an
outstanding performer, Pearl Primus worried about the crowds
who widely applauded when she flew to the ceiling from a
standing jump or repeatedly fell in heart wrenching sweeps
to the floor. In 1944 she questioned:
Do people really get the message, and do they transfer it to the poor, socially upset, frustrated man in the street? Do they simply accept me as a different type of colored person and let it go at that? I want my dance to be a part of the conscience of America.
Maybe Pearl Primus was bewildered that modern dance
leapt forward to command her destiny, but her inner
convictions were too bold and true to be ignored or
disputed. In a short period of time, the inner corridors of
Pearl Primus' soul rumbled with such force and strength that
155 Carter, 69.
156 Carter, 70.
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choreographing messages of the most meaningful issues to her
race and heritage became her career.
The. Completed Product
Pearl Primus' intense personality grabbed the
attention of audiences. John Martin stated:
...she has a personal vitality and charm which entitle her to appear on a stage and command attention, accomplishments (or gifts, if you will) which so many young dancers do not possess.
t r Pear i PrimuS had- o'oi ? had asset.. t eshpj ca.l
ability, she would have been a 1943 sensation that faded
into memory as soon as the nest sensation made an entrance
on stage. But, her dances had form, intellectual and
emotional content and an extensive modern dance movement
vocabulary. The choreography was based on serious themes:
lynching, women left motherless from the war, rituals of
initiation and fertility, and equality of the races.
Pearl Primus' perfectionist nature persistently
drove her to learn each skill of the dance field to the
maximum of her capacity. Her intellectual acuity allowed
her to quickly assess the most efficient and meaningful
formulas to convey the inner intent of her soul.
Pearl Primus grouped dances of similar content or
style together for programs. Each dance was preceded by an
introductory explanation, either by Fe&tl Primus or a
^ John Martin, "The Dance: Five Artists," 5:3.
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narrator. Grouping of the dances by category allowed
audiences to see the development and influence of one dance
style on another. According to Joe Nash, this was Ted
Shawn’s format for presenting dances.158 Pearl Primus
divided her dances under the headings of Traditional, Social
Protest and Modern.
To Pearl Primus accepting dance as a career also
meant accepting the role of educator/leader. In each
concert, she guided the audience onto the path of cultural
understanding and personal growth through stories or
background information “about the- dance. She was cultural
educator and spiritual soother as well as one the most
dynamic performers theatre audiences had ever seen.
A Pearl Primus dance concert was a production of the
highest caliber. Every element of production was designed
to accentuate the choreography and handled with utmost
professionalism. The critics not only raved about her
artistry as a performer and as a choreographer and they
especially noted the fine musical accompaniment.
Pearl Primus preferred to work with live musicians
rather than recorded music. Whether traditional, folk,
blues, swing, stride or contemporary in style; whether
traditional, arranged or commissioned, the compositions and
the musicians were of the highest caliber also. The
158 Mr. Joe Nash, 11 February 1989, interview.
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musicians Pearl Primus collaborated with during her career
is a small list of 'who's who* in the history of music.
John Cage, the experimental, minimalist composer,
worked with Pearl Primus xn 1944 * He composed and performed
the score for "Our Spring Will Come." The 'First Lady of
Jazz,' Mary Lou Williams, was a versatile, virtuoso piano
player, arranger and composer. Ms. Williams accompanied a
1944 dance entitled "Study in Nothing." Rock Daniel was
created to a Lucky MiHinder composition. Teddy Wilson,
keyboard soloist, and Frankie Newton, trumpeter, and their
respective ensembles accompanied Pearl Primus for Rock
Daniel in productions at the Belasco and Roxy Theatres in
the 1940s. Louis Horst composed the music for "Fantasy" in
1950.159
Add the masterful drumming of the finest traditional
African, Haitian and Caribbean artists working in the United
States and one can imagine the impact a Pearl Primus concert
had on audiences. Alphonse Cimber, Norman Koker (Coker),
Harold Azvedo, Moses Mians and James Bey (Chief Bey) were
some of the outstanding drummers to accompany Pearl Primus.
This network of renowned, accomplished musicians is in
itself a small list of some America's greatest musical
talents.
153 **jjew primus Group," The New York Times. 17 December 1950.
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In 1944 Pearl Primus returned to New York from her
trip to the Southern United States with a deeper
understanding of racial persecution. Her resolutions to
stand up and fight for true democracy were immediately
tested. She was asked to perform for United States military
servicemen. This meant performing in Jim Crow camps.
Pearl Primus did not support the idea of racially
separated armed service units and wanted to turn the offer
down. However, she knew how badly black servicemen needed
recognition for the honor and servitude they were giving to
the "land of the free."
By September 1944, Pearl Primus had received a
Certificate of Merit from the USO and a USO pin for over
1 0 0 0 hour® of service to army camps, hospitals and ports of
embarkation.^ Her service to enlisted men went beyond
performing. She corresponded with soldiers, black and
white, throughout the war. She kept over 100 men informed
about their homeland, the ways their countrymen were working
to help them and the ways people at home were battling the
fight of racism.
Pearl Primus received many offers to perform on
stage? through the country as producers, booking agents and
audiences heard about the sensational newcomer to the dance
Thompson.
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field. For Max J. Jelin she was seen as a profitable
venture where as to the Y.M.H.A. she was seen as an artist
audiences could be challenged by and learn from.
On October 1, 1944 The New York Times ran an
advertisement for "The First Broadway Appearance of Pearl
Primus - one of America's Foremost Modern Dancers." The
performances, under the management of Max J. Jelin, were
held at the Belasco Theatre from October 4 through the 14th.
Tickets were advertised for $1.20 to $3.60. During the ten
day engagement at the Belasco, Pearl Primus and her company
of five male dancers performed fourteen shows for audiences.
Pearl Primus took an extensive repertoire, a group of
extremely fine musicians and as much power, punch and
passion to the Belasco Theatre as Broadway could hold.
Repertoire for the program consisted of African
Ceremonial, Yanvaloo. The Negro.. Speaks of Rivers, $trange
££Mi£, Study in Nothing. Rock Daniel. Hard Time.Blues,
Mischievous Interlude. Our Soring Will Come. Slave Market.161
AfT0.-Hai.tlan Play Dance. Drum .Conversation. and ASMS -162
Owen Dodson is listed as the commentator in the
program for the Belasco Theatre performance.*^ The
John Martin, "The Dance: Formal Bow," The New York Times. 1 October 1944, 19.
Virginia Kelly, "Current Dancing and Skating Review," Dance Magazine. November 1944, 14.
163 1 9 4 4 Belasco Theatre program, Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York, NY.
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commentator explained the research Pearl Primus had done to
create some of the dances. Mr. Martin felt the choreography
itself reflected the research and that the narrator was
unnecessary.
?oi til* bclt.dco Theatre pertonrianees Pearl Primus
was surrounded by her friends and colleagues. The poetry of
Langston Hughes accompanied The Heoro Speaks of Rivers and
Our Spring Will Come. Sarah Malumet composed and performed
the piano score for The Nearo Sneaks of Rivers. Mary Lou
Williams had composed the music for Study in Nothing. John
Cage, a young percussionist, performed an original
composition for Our Spring Will Come. Trumpeter, Frankie
Newton and his jazz band performed Lucky Millinder's music
to accompany Rock Daniel. Josh White was there to play for
Hard Time Blues. Alphonse Cimber and Norman Coker (Koker)
were the drummers for the dances based on traditional
African rituals.
Of the festive and extensive list of musicians and
literary artists used for the show, critic Robert A. Hague
wrote, "All of these assist her in one way or another in
putting on a show. But it remains a one-woman show, which
is as it should John Martin's headline for The New
York Times' review read, "Brilliant Dancing by Pearl
Primus."
^ Robert A. Hague, "Pearl Primus In B'way Bow," £&, 6 October 1944,
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From the Belasco Theatre Pearl Primus went to the
Roxy Theatre, one of the ornate movie palaces of New York.
It was her first time to perform in a movie house and John
Martin wrote in his review, "It is perhaps a commentary on
the upside-down world that one turns cns's back on the
chaste temples of art and seeks out the gilded movie palace
to find vitality and integrity."165
The Roxy Theatre program was an extended version of
African Ceremonial. Originally a solo, Pearl Primus took
fourteen dancers and six drummers, "whipped her new group
into excellent shape" 166 and preserved the meaning and
authenticity of the ritual.
Pearl Primus made her first cross country tour in
1945 under the management of Austin Wilder. It began in
Boston, proceeded to the West Coast and into Mexico City.
In addition to the 1945 tour, Pearl Primus appeared in other
programs. She and Charles Weidman performed for a benefit
performance in support of the American ORT Federation.
Oother performances were given at the Y.M.K.A., Park Palace
(Joe Nash joined the company at this time) and New Dance
Group. During this time, she was also sought after by
museums, dance studios and cultural groups to present
lecture-demonstrations.
165 John Martin, "The Dance: Current Trends," The New York Times. 3 December 1944, II, 4:3.
166 Ibid.
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In 1946 Pearl Primus burst into headlines of
newspapers again. She ignited the Ziegfeld stage on
Broadway with her role as Sal in the revival of the 1927
musical, Show Boat. The production was choreographed by
Helen Tafiiiris.
Pearl Primus felt the show "evaded and handled in
shallow terms''^ the role of the Negro. She disagreed with
Ms. Tamiris1 staging of the musical. The stage was
segregated, whites on one side and blacks on the other.
When Pearl Primus questioned Ms. Tamiris about this, Ms.
Tamiris feelings' were that the staging was appropriate for
the time period in which the musical was set. According to
Margaret Lloyd, Pearl Primus restaged the Dahomey tribal
dance in Helen Tamiris' absence for the touring company's
production of Show Boat.*^
While in Show Boat. Pearl Primus formed a trio
ensemble with dancers Joe Nash, who was also dancing in Show
Boat and Jacqueline Hairston. Pearl Primus quit Show Boat
just before the production went on tour in order to go on
tour with the trio she had formed. The tour covered an
extensive amount of territory throughout the Northern and
Southeastern United States.
^ Goodman, 56.
^ Lloyd, The Borxoi Book of Modern Dance. 273.
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Prom standing ovations, to full houses, the trio won
the hearts of audiences from city to city. a critic for The
.Charleston Gazette in West Virginia clearly understood the
message Pearl Primus was seeking to convey in her dances.
The talent of Miss Primus in her dual capacity [dancer and choreographer] is probably best revealed in the dances of the primitives, in which in the category that have a serious nature, there is always present the impression that the dancer is endeavoring mentally to grasp some vision that will lead to a better understanding of life.
However, even when the critics stated audiences
received the dancers with enthusiasm, their reviews
demonstrated an illiteracy about the culture Pearl Primus
brought before them. The following example speaks for
itself.
Miss Primus has taken primal dance expressions of the dark-skinned natives of the far-flung regions of the earth and uses them as a basis lor her individual interpretations and variations.
Luckily, most critics and audiences understood that the
dance material from the "far-flung regions of the earth"
were beautiful statements about a strong and vibrant
culture.
Somewhere between states and sometime between
rehearsals, Pearl Primus found time to publish an article
about African dance in Dance Magazine. In "Tcm-toms, Jungle
Bayard F. Ennis, "Highly Talented Dance Concert Given by Pearl Primus Group," The Charleston Gazette. 18 November 1946, 2. ; !> Ralph Lewando, "Pearl Primus Dance Recital Wins Acclaim at Settlement," The Pittsburgh Press. 14 November 1946.
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Rhythms and the Advanced Art of 'Primitive' People," Pearl
Primus analyzed the role of dance in Africa. She described
the role of dance in daily life, the affects of geographic
location and terrain upon the development of each region's
movement, the use of costumes to enhance the movement and
the role of audiences as participants in the traditional
dances of Africa. She took time to discuss some conation
misconceptions about Africa, its culture and its art form.
To better learn how the African American culture in
the United States was related to its African mother, Pearl
Primus enrolled as a doctoral candidate in anthropology at
Columbia University. Her life's work was demanding that she
know more than the research she had time to do on her own.
She believed anthropology would give her a stronger
background in the cultural systems of all people and provide
another chance to explore Africa in depth. She stated:
I have to know the political, economic and social life of people in order to explain them to others. Anthropology explains different people to one another by laying baro their cultural backgrounds. 7
To Pearl Primus, dance was an "accurate mirror of the
psychology of the people."
In 1947 Pearl Primus was back on Broadway in a
production called "Caribbean Carnival." Critics felt the
producers had not decided whether the show was musical
theatre or a dance recital, but they agreed the choreography
^ Goodman, 30.
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was "infinitely superior to the tawdry orgies Broadway
usually stages."177 Pearl Primus was the choreographer and
her dance numbers in the production saved the show from
total failure.
Additionally in 1947, Ruth Page, director of the
Chicago Opera Ballet, invited Pearl Primus to play the
"Witch Doctor" role in The Emperor Jones. Starring in The
Emperor Jones was Lawrence Tibbet, the same performer who in
1933 had insisted that the Metropolitan Opera hire fcl«>ck
dancer Hemsley Winfield for the role.173
In 1947 Pearl Primus' work was in the forefront of
American dance and musical theatre. Many were taking note
of her outstanding success. That year, Pearl Primus won the
New York Newspaper Guild's Page One Award. This prestigious
award was presented to her "for her interpretation of Negro
culture through the dance."174
During the summer of 1947, Time magazine exclaimed,
"Students saw one of the U.S.'s most spectacular dancers in
terrific action. " 173 The dancer was Pearl Primus and she had
been asked by Ted Shawn to appear and teach at the
177 Brooke Atkinson, "Pearl Primus and Claude Marchant in a Calypso Musical Entitled 'Caribbean Carnival, "' The New York Times. 7 December 1947.
173 Nash, "Pioneers in Negro Concert Dance," 12.
174 Lloyd, The__Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 265.
173 "Little Primitive," Time. 25 August 1947, 42.
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University of the Dance, otherwise known as Jacob's Pillow
Dance Festival in Lee, Massachusetts.
Critics reviewing performances in Boston,
Massachusetts during January 1948 showered her with
elaborate praise. With a new company comprised of five
dancers: Lily Peace, Romenia McDaniels, Jeanne Greenbridge,
Padget Fredericks and Matt Turney, Pearl Primus and Company
toured and performed in New York through April 1948.
The Performance Pearl Primus Will Never Forget
!!! April 28, 1949 !!!
Pearl Primus had performed enthusiastically once
again. At the end of the evening, after removing make-up,
after the reception, after the congratulations and an offer
of a lifetime, she could not sleep.
April 28, 1948 was a tour stop at Fisk University in
Nashville, Tennessee for Pearl Primus and Company. The
audience had made her feel welcome and proud of the career
she had chosen. One of the audience members, loudly
clapping in the house, was Mr. Edwim R. Embree, executive
director of the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. The foundation
provided funds for research in American black studies.
Watching Pearl Primus perform, Mr. Embree wanted to
know where she had studied the beautiful dances of Africa.
He had recently returned from Africa and "was much impressed
with both the quality and authenticity of Miss Primus'
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dances."^® Backstage, after the show, he was amazed to
learn she had not been to Africa. Mr. Embree thought it was
time for Pearl Primus to go to Africa and experience the
dance and culture first-hand.
Though the Rosenwald Foundation's deadline for grant
application had passed, President Embree called a special
meeting of the board members. Ironically, Pearl Primus had
applied to the Rosenwald Foundation earlier in the year.
Margaret Lloyd states that Pearl Primus had applied to the
foundation to finance her performing company in James Weldon
Johnson's production of God's Trombones. Pearl Primus
wanted her company to dance Go Down Death in the production,
but needed funds to cover the expenses of her company's
177 salaries. The foundation turned down her request because
110 they were unfamiliar with her work.
Arna Bontemps, librarian of Fisk University and
close friend of Langston Hughes, was one of the board
members for the Rosenwald Foundation. Mr. Bontemps and
Langston Hughes corresponded with one another extensively
between 1925 and 1967. Information gathered from their
published letters has a different sequence of events than
^® John Martin, "The Dance: Notes," The New York Times. 9 May 1948, II, 3:5.
111 Lloyd, The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. 265.
Martin, "The Dance: Notes," 3:5.
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that listed in other sources and is likely to be a more
accurate account of the circumstances.
In a letter dated April 28, 1948, Mr. Bontemps
thanks Langston Hughes for introducing him to Miss Primus at
that New York preview.1,1,3 Pearl Primus had such an affect
on Mr. Bontemps that he obtained an invitation for her to
perform at a festival. The festival is never named in the
letters and other sources do not mention Pearl Primus
performing in a festival at this time. Implied wording in
the letters and piecing known bits of information together
seems to indicate the festival was held at Fisk University.
Arna Bontemps vzrote Langston Hughes May 8 , 1948 that Pearl
Primus was "the real knock-out of the affair." Wording and
references imply that this "affair" was the same "festival"
and "performance" spoken of earlier.
When the Rosenwald Foundation board of directors
met, another 'hands down1 decision was made. Pearl Primus
was to receive $4,000 to research the traditional dance,
music and art of Africa for nine months.*®0 Arna Bontemps
wrote Langston Hughes that as a result of receiving the
grant Pearl Primus would:
start a new phase of her career as a scholarly anthropologist of the dance - as well as the world's
179 Charles H. Nichols, ed., Arna Bontemps-Langston Hughes Letters 1925-1967. (New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1980), 232.
180 Hering, "Little Fast Feet," 22.
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highest and handsomest jumper, not to mention interpreter of the blues.
II! April 28, 1948 I:!
How could Pearl Primus sleep? The years spent
studying Africa from across the sea were over. Pearl Primus
was about to journey to the continent of ancient
civilizations and learn first-hand the dances of 'her
people.'
Rather than tossing and turning, she pulled out.per*
and paper and began to write. Her thoughts state the
meaning of the trip to her as an artist and researcher.
To the Lands of Drum Throb and Dance By Pearl Primus
Sleep sat back and laughed that night. It was April 28, 1948 - Fisk University, Nashville, Tennessee. The concert was over. My muscles were charged with electricity. I could have danced for three more hours. My performing company and various people from the audience were off somewhere feasting. How well I remember the faces in the room - President Johnson, quiet, smiling - Mrs. Johnson, appearing and disappearing with soda and cookies - Dr. Edwin Embree, President of the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, laughing with his eyes - Miss Marjorie Rawlins, author of The Yearling, sitting as if she knew a secret - Mr. Bontemps, the librarian - silent. It slowly seeped into my brain that a strange thing was being discussed. A trip to Africa! Was I the person chosen to go? My soul hopped out of my body, swung on the lights, flew out of the window, screamed with the wind and vanished into the night like a thing insane. I tried to piece history together. The concert must have been a tremendous success. Dr. Embree had been in the audience. Mrs. Johnson planted the seed - this girl - Africa! The others watered it and now a little tree was
181 Nichols, 232.
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growing. Hy foolish soul had jumped to conclusions. I had not received it officially as yet. Many calls had to be made. After all the Foundation was closed. I managed to walk calmly and to talk a bit logically till I reached my company. Then like my soul, I burst into ecstacy, explaining with an incoherent tongue what had happened. I was drunk with excitement. Back in New York I shocked my family. I am going to Africa! Hy friends smiled strangely, my manager dismissed it as a joke I had concocted for myself. But I leaped over chairs, turned and turned till the whole world spun with me, sang to my cats, Faust and Chopin and my dog, Agripppina. Chopin turned his head and yawned, but Faust and Grippy traced up, and. down -this-studio with me. Then the official document came. It was true. I was granted...supplies-cameras-film-recording machine! Visas-questions, questions, QUESTIONS! Inoculations and their drastic reactions. I heard my friends discussing the trip and each time I grew more sober. I have been chosen to go on a serious mission - to go and live among the peoples of Africa - to learn from them the basic truths of dance and life - to salvage for America the beauty, dignity and strength of a threatened culture, to bring back music, folklore, dances, and to interpret them honestly for the audience. I am taking no one with me. Hy guides and contacts will be Africans. I shall visit the Watusi, proud giants, and the tiny pygmies of the Belgian Congo. I shall study the dances and culture of Higeria, Ashanti, Gold Coast, Liberia, Senegal, French West Africa, and the Congo. Prince Ocala of Onitsha, Nigeria has been my greatest help in planning the areas to be visited and in making contacts there. Yes, I have to put aside my books. I shall fold my costumes away at home and with great humility I shall go into the land of my forefathers. My heart will be filled with the music of the drums and my soul will dance with the people. *
^ Pearl Primus, "To the Lands of Brum Throb and Dance," Sunday Star, 17 December 1948.
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'LITTLE PAST FEET" IN AFRICA
Any scientist with a driven need to know, to
understand, to experiment with an idea, sets about the task
with a methodical, systematic outline with which to approach
the subject. Pearl Primus, cultural scientist, was no
different. The months before her departure were spent in
constant preparation.
To assure accurate records of the marvelous sights
that awaited her eyes, she studied dance notation. Alwin
Nikolais's choroscript provided her with symbols to record
the movements in a logical, systematic way.185 Pearl Primus
understood she was not merely recording the movements for
her own artistic and anthropological use, but chat her
records would be the archives for future generations to
learn and study Africa.18*
Pearl Primus had the rare opportunity to visit
Africa when it was on the cusp of urbanization. Cities were
thoroughly Westernized, but deep in the forest and high in
the mountains, there were villages still untouched by 2 0 th
188 Walter Terry, "Primus, La Heri Among Those Now Active in Dance Research," New 7ork Herald Tribune, 23 May 1S48.
18* Martin, "The Dance: Notes," 3:5.
102
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century civilization. These villages and their culture were
the destination of Pearl Primus.
!!! December 12, 1948 !!!
Another sleepless night. On December 13, "armed
with a gun, generous quantities of D.D.T., and the usual
inoculations"185 Pearl Primus departed New York City for
Nigeria, Africa. How excited she must have been! After so
much build up and anticipation, her original departure plans
had been changed due to a shipping strike.186 But on
December 13, 1948, Pearl Primus began an adventure she had
already been a part of for seven years.
Pearl Primus lived with the people of Africa. She
knew by living as a member of the African society she would
learn more about their customs, beliefs, foods, and
languages than if she accepted the hospitality of government
officials .18'
Doris Hering wrote of Pearl Primus' African
experience in the July 1950 issue of Dance Magazine:
It didn't take her long to discover that a small knife for cutting vines was more useful than the gun: the D.D.T. was unnecessary: there were plenty of ailments beyond the bounds of inoculation: and the best field
185 Hering, "Little Past Feet," 22.
186 Announcement, The New York Times. 5 December 1948.
187 Terry, "Primus, La Meri Among Those,".
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method was to approach the native villages with honesty and love, instead of gifts and bribes.1®6
Villagers throughout the African countries accepted
her as their own. Doris Hering stated that the natives
"usually considered her an ancestral spirit returned to them
in human form. And when they saw her dance, they were even
more convinced of the accuracy of their identification."188
Pearl Primus wrote to John Martin from Africa, "They spoiled
me in their own strange way, they dropped to their knees
before me, they named me into their tribes, and when they
saw me dance, they swore I was juju woman indeed."188 She
also states, "They compared me to the thunder and lightning
and many feared me when I moved."181
In Western Nigeria, a tribal chief named Pearl
Primus 'Omowale.' 'Omowale' means "child returned home."152
Tribes often made her a member of their tribe, initiated her
into their secret societies or tribal chiefs adopted her as
their daughter.
In Liberia Pearl Primus was initiated into the Sande:
188 Hering, "Little Fast Feet," 22.
188 Ibid.
188 John Martin, "The Dance: Advices," The New York Times. 26 June 1949.
181 Ibid.
182 Walter Terry, "Dance World: Hunting Jungle Rhythm," New York Herald Tribune.
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one of the most powerful of the female cults in Africa. The members are marked down the back and over the shoulder down the front to the pubic region. I shall plead for fewer cuts - though the design is beautiful I don't think I could endure all. Unfortunately I am sworn to secrecy and therefore cannot tell you too much.133
Another name given to Pearl Primus by the Africans
was "Little Fast Feet." This name evolved because unlike
African women who wore layers of bracelets around their
ankles, Pearl Primus' ankles were bare. She was able to
walk much faster than the village women.33*
As Pearl Primus departed one village to journey to
the next, the drummers began sending announcements across
the land. The talking drums were telling the next village
to look out for "Little Fast Feet."
In Nigeria, Pearl Primus found dance fading from the
society. To John Martin she wrote. "There are no
professional dancers as before, and when people dance in
most instances there is no emphasis on perfection."333
Pearl Primus was fortunate to meet many of the
oldest traditional dancers before they passed into "the land
of the ancestors."
Ancient costumes were dragged out, old men and women - toothless but beautiful with age - came forth to show me
133 Pearl Primus, "Africa Dances," Dance Magazine. December 1949, 147.
334 Hering, "Little Fast Feet," 22.
333 Martin, "The Dance: Advices."
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the dance which will die with them. I saw dances which had not been done for twenty-five years; I saw some which will not be seen again for twenty years. I found the people from whom came the "Shouters of the Sobo," and when I dance down the streets with them no one knew who was American, who African. 56
In September 1949 Pearl Primus wrote an article for
Dance Magazine describing her experiences in Africa.
Writing by a lantern from a Liberian village, whose chief
had adopted her as his daughter, she describes the joy and
excitement of the people welcoming her to their country.
Unlike Nigeria, the Liberians sti X X m u iatzined the dancer as
an important part of the community.
The dancing is basic — not primitive. (I shall never again use that term when speaking of African dance forms.) It seems to hug the earth, leaving it fleetingly only to plunge into its guts again — , the feet move faster than any other form I've seen. Often I must peer through narrowed eyes to see if the feet touch the ground at all. For the most part I would say the dance here shows mastery of subtle movement — Oh — the tiny movement of the back, the use of the hands, and the minute ripple of the neck.
Pearl Primus studied more than thirty major tribal
groups during her year in Africa. The dances of the African
villages crossed over into the young American dancers' body
with ease. ''£ learned the inner conversation of muscles and
the enjoyment of subtle movement."158
156 Ibid.
19^ Primus, "Africa Dances," 147.
198 «j»erry, "Dance World: Hunting Jungle Rhythm."
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Except in rare exceptions, she learned the dances by
participating in them. Dancers in Africa explained the
meaning of the dance and then had her learn the dance
through imitation. If she had trouble, her body was held
close against the dancers’ so that the movement was sent
directly into her own body.*88 Whenever possible, she
obtained individual instruction with one of the master dance
performers of the village.
Sometimes the tribes joyously helped with sections
of the dances which were incomplete. When Pearl Primus
danced the Trinidadian ritual Shouters of the Sobo for the
Eusolo people, they told her the dance was incomplete. The
entire tribe joined together to teach her missing steps and
show her how the sections of the dance fit together.
It was a relief and a joy to find that the dances
she had constructed from research in America were often
accurate. The villagers were stunned to see the young
American woman 'dancing the ancestors’ with such truth and
passion.
Pearl Primus kept journals in which she described
the dances she learned and witnessed in detail. She used
all the terminology and vocabulary she could gather from
ballet, modern dance, anatomy and kinesiology to translate
189 Hering, "Little Fast Feet," 23.
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the ephemeral moment into a more permanent written form.
Line sketches of postures, photographs and metered notation
were used to record the dances of villagers. Sadly,
"transcriptions of the musical backgrounds, representing the
equivalent of 240 discs, were lost when the package
containing the wire recordings was stolen in Liberia."200
Living the African life, seeing the dances in
practice as a response to the daily life illuminated Pearl
Primus' already unprecedented knowledge of the African
dance. She wrote:
This is a course in choreography. The basic patterns of life — the circle which is the embryo — the force of the straight forward line which is birth -- the spiral, the Xing, the jagged line which denote growth and struggle — the return to the circle again — the shrinking of the circle to a tiny speck and the dropping of that speck into the vastness of eternity which is death.201
As she worked in Africa, Pearl Primus began
formulating ways to incorporate the dances and their
teachings academically into the American educational system.
The motivating forces behind the dances were crucial to
America's understanding of the culture so much a part of
their own art forms and identity. Pearl Primus felt that it
was her role to be the link, the cultural bridge of
understanding, between Africans and Americans.
200 Terry, ''Dance World: Hunting Jungle Rhythm."
201 Primus, "Africa Dances," 147.
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The trip to Africa reinforced Pearl Primus' feelings
about the duty of an artist, an educator and a scientist.
Pearl Primus knew that children and adults in American
society needed to learn that beauty, human dignity and love
were a shared concern of every culture and each culture
manifested these qualities in its own way. Cultural
understanding was one of the most important values for peace
and equality between nations and people.
A memory, never to be forgotten from Pearl Primus'
first trip to Africa took place December 3, 1949. Pearl
Primus stood before Dr. William v.S. Tubman, President of
the Republic of Liberia. His Excellency leaned forward and
pinned the STAR OP AFRICA upon one of the world's greatest
dancers. Humbled and exalted, Pearl Primus was awarded the
highest honor of achievement given by African nations. In
later years she remarked, "...when I got a Rosenwald
Scholarship and went to Liberia, I knew that if I had any
destiny this was it."2®2
2®2 Wershba.
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OMOWALE TO AMERICA AND AFRICA
Touring the Globe: 1949 - 1959
Pearl Primus returned to the United States at the end of
1949 realizing the past year in Africa had overloaded her
physically, mentally and emotionally. Africa had been an
invaluable teacher, but now she needed time to fully
assimilate the experience and renew her energies. Feeling
much too close to the new discoveries, Pearl Primus decided
not to return to the stage immediately. She began other
projects utilizing the new material.
While recovering from malaria,*03 Pearl Primus catalogued
and standardized the dance material contained in her
journals. She resumed anthropological studies at Columbia
University, accepted an offer to teach African dance at
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.. dramatic play called The Woman of Zor and prepared lecture-demonstrations to show the transference of African cultural elements found in the Caribbean and the United States. Lecture-demonstrations allowed the abundance of movement material learned in Africa to slowly become a true 203 "Pearl Primus," Ebony. January 1951, 54. 110 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Ill part of Pearl Primus' movement system. Pearl Primus knew this time was not only important to her as an artist and scholar, but limited. Plans were already under way to form a company and tour oversees in 1951. An example of a lecture-demonstration Pearl Primus developed during this time is Dark Rhvthms. Audiences were treated to excerpts from over twenty-one different dances and songs of Africa and the Caribbean. Pearl Primus explained the background and significance of each piece before demonstrating the dances with a small ensemble of dancers, generally no more than five. Dark Rhythms traced the heritage of the music and dance of the Caribbean to Africa. Pearl Primus continued the tradition of including the best in pr cduct i uii elements with Dark Rhvthms. Music for a program was given the same importance as in Africa and audiences were treated to the best traditional musicians available. Helen Tinsley, a singer with Pearl Primus since the beginning of her career, sang traditional Caribbean chants. Alphonse Cimber and Moses Miann (sometimes spelt Mians) were drummers. Nigerian, Moses Miann (Mians) first played the drums in the United States at the age of thirty-seven. He had superb talent and toured with musical artists such as Josh White, Canada Lee and Larry Adler. In London, Mr. Miann (Mians) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 112 was nicknamed "Machine Gun Mians" for his drumming technique. Other lecture-demonstrations followed Dark Rhythms, but whether titled Dark Rhythms or The Magical Origin of__D_ance, each was a part of the assimilation process as Pearl Primus absorbed the experiences of her journey to Africa. Pearl Primus came to value the lecture-demonstrat 1011 oS e&R educational tool and integrated them into schedules throughout her career. In 1950 a writer attending a lecture-demonstration given at the American Museum of Natural History said "one feels both uplifted and humble..." at the end of her presentation.255 By the end of 1950, Pearl Primus had organised a dance company and New York audiences were sampling the repertoire created from the African sojourn. This was the material she intended to tour abroad. Initially, the program contained traditional dances, each performed separately, followed by a series of new and old works. But by October 1951, one reviewer noted that Pearl Primus had begun to "weld isolated dance episodes into suites and to mold African ceremonials into little ballets or theatre pieces."255 204 "African Carnival," 1961 souvenir program, Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY. 255 Gwendolyn S. Cherry and Ruby L. Thomas, Portraits in Color: The Lives of Colorful Negro Women. (NY Pageant Press, 1962), 114. 256 New York Herald Tribune. 21 October 1951. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 113 Dance Magasine critic Doris Hering stated: She has become an eloquent and inspired vessel of transmission, bringing to us the dignity and universality of the dance of Africa in a subtly theatrical setting. There is in her approack an unselfconscious wholeness that reaches deep and remains long. This was especially true of the first four sections of her long program. The opening African Ceremonial was snore beautiful than ever with its modulated blue lighting enveloping the priestess-dancer like a morning twilight. And the BfrfieiPAaJEgomJftn. African Journey (including two serene court dances and a staunch war dance...} were veritable jewels.20' New York audiences had only a brief glimpse of the mature Pearl Primus. In October 1951, her company was ready to begin the long planned tour. The program of traditional if /ifin /'n SK a s m 1 J 4> a t *« • 1 « ■Man Is 1 and ended with modern dances. Pearl Primus created a comprehensive package of dance history on her program. Pearl Primus received a royal summons from King George VI of England to appear in a benefit performance for the "Variety Artistes’ Benevolent Fund and Institution for Indigent Variety and Circus Artistes."200 The tour began at the Victoria Palace in London. SubSc^UcuL. jf, Pearl Prxrrius and Company appeared at Prince's Theatre in London and the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon before leaving for France, Israel and West Africa. 202 Doris Hering, "The Season in Review," Dance Maaasiae. December 1951, 59. 200 Royal Command Performance Citation, copy, Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York,• NY. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 114 A sample news release from Tel-Aviv, Israel indicates the success of the tour. ...she is the greatest hit in the dance field in this country in years. Originally signed for eight performances... Primus and her group of nine have already given 20 performances and 10 more are scheduled at this writing. They have danced in regular theatres, for the armed forces, in settlements and in immigration camps. 09 Returning to the United States in 1952, Pearl Primus’ - not s.o _spectacular. Pearl Primus was affected by the red scare initiated by Joseph McCarthy and his witch hunters. The following excerpt is the only documentation available about the influence of McCarthyism on Pearl Primus' career. In May 1952, Pearl Primus: voluntarily released her passport to the state department, after it was disclosed that she was listed in "Red Channels" and other "blacklists" of persons who supposedly are in sympathy with communism. For the past three years, Miss Primus has been accused of associating with supposed communist activities. Because of this she has had several entertainment engagements cancelled. Pearl Primus and her friend, Paul Robeson, were just two among many eminent black Americans to be denied freedom in 1952. Despite the shadow of continued oppression in her American home, Pearl Primus kept working. The activity between 1952 and 1959^* reveals a schedule that crosses states, countries and continents. Pearl "Israel Acclaims Pearl Primus," Dance Hews. March 1952. M "Pearl Primus Surrenders Passport To State Dept." The )^.p^is3L.ana. EfeeklY- ^ See Appendix A, Chronology for Pearl Primus. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 115 Primus, artist and scholar of dances derived from the African spirit, was establishing an unprecedented reputation as "the" authority on African dance. To Pearl Primus, each tour out of the United States, meant an opportunity to learn another foreign root of American dance. While in Trinidad during 1953, Pearl Primus and Beryl McBurnie (Belle Rosette) not only renewed acquaintances, but conducted their own cultural exchange. Since their last meeting in 1945, Beryl McBurnie had established The Little Carib Theatre and Pearl Primus had journeyed to Africa. Each artist combined forces and presented their work in joint performances, workshops and lectures.2*2 Unexpected circumstances did not deter Pearl Primus from continuing her research in dance abroad. In 1957, the State Department banned all American citizens from entering the Middle East except for diplomatic missions. The Middle East had been scheduled as a four month touring engagement for Pearl Primus and Company. Held over in Spain, Pearl Primus set to work investigating the influences of Spanish and Catalan dancing on Caribbean traditions. By 1959, Pearl Primus was known to heads of state as well as to dance professionals. An artist of global impact, rcai 1 F l~iiiVuS was destined to bridge the cultures of the past 212 Ahye, 52. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 116 with those of the future. Liberia, a country in the midst of assessing its needs for the future decided Pearl Primus was the person to help with its cultural and artistic identity. Konama Kende 1959-1961 A major concern of all African countries during the 1950s was the rapidity with which traditional art forms were disappearing as countries became more and more modernized. Young Africans were leaving the villages to live and work in cities. As they became more Western, there were fewer people to continue the elaborate and rich traditions of the past. Liberia, the oldest republic in Africa, developed a plan to preserve and perpetuate the traditional art forms of Africa. The Liberian Age, a Monrovian newspaper explained this: Africa has declared in no uncertain manner her avowed determination to speak for herself in all political affairs Now, more than ever in the history of Africa, the need arises for the expression of her cultural heritage. This Liberia was wise enough to realize, for only through a people's culture can they really be understood. 13 Liberia's idea was to establish a center to teach, showcase and train others in the traditional art forms of the country. President William V.S. Tubman and Mrs. Tubman served as official patrons. Until the center found a John Martin, "The Dance: In Liberia," The New York Times. 31 July 1960, II, 6:5. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 117 permanent home, the University of Liberia served as resident quarters for Director Pearl Primus and assistant Percival Borde. Under sponsorship from the Joint Liberian-United States Commission for Economic Development, Liberia created "Konama Rends." Konama Fends means "a new thing-1iving" in the Val language, the native language of Liberia. Konama Kende was the African Center of Performing Arts established in Monrovia, Liberia. At Konama Kende the past was to teach the present so that the future would know of its heritage. President Tubman, a staunch supporter of Pearl Primus from her first trip to Africa in 1948, appointed Pearl Primus Chairman of Cultural Activities and Director of the African Center of Performing Arts in 1959. The Center, or Konama Kende, represented all that Pearl Primus had been working for throughout her career. Pearl Primus described her role and the situation in Africa as follows: In general terms my work will be towards the perpetuation of African culture in dance, drama, music, the arts and folklore. At this transitional moment in African history, its national pride and awareness are awakening concurrent with a rapid absorption of the white man’s achievements on many levels. It is therefore vitally important that the traditional arts are kept alive, since in many cases the real reasons for the dances (religious), as well as the technique of the great masters are fast disappearing. Walter Sorell, "Conversation with Pearl Primus," Dance Magazine, October 1959, 15. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 118 This meant an extensive list of responsibilities for Pearl Primus: locating the living artists performing tradition dances, convincing them to leave their homes to teach and present their work at Konama Kende, selecting a group of younger generation Africans capable of presenting and passing on the traditions, demonstrating how to translate traditional folk customs into pieces appropriate for theatrical settings and presenting innumerable concerts for Africans to witness the place of traditional cultural heritage within the Western environment. Pearl Primus was not daunted by the work ahead. As one Liberian newspaper wrote, "She is aflame with her mission."2^ Pearl Primus was assisted by Percival Borde. Mr. Borde had been a dancer and co-director of The Little Carib in Trinidad with Beryl McBurnie. As Pearl Primus' guide in Trinidad during her 1952 visit, he had won her heart with his dancing, historical knowledge of Caribbean dance and his vibrant, warm personality. Pearl Primus offered Percival Borde a scholarship to study with her in New York and he accepted. Mr. Borde was an outstanding performer, whom New York critics saluted with honor. He danced the leading roles in Pearl Primus’ productions as well as took over the administrative tasks of her work. By the time the Liberian 215 John Martin, "The Dance: In Liberia," The New York Times. 31 July 1960, II, 6:5. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 119 government offered Pearl Primus a job, Percival Borde and Pearl Primus were married and parents of a son, Onwin. Onwin was four years old when Pearl Primus and Percival r,orde decided to accept the position in Liberia. His parents passed on their love and respect of Africa to Onwin through their personal and professional lives, Walter Sorell, during an interview with Pearl Primus, noted that Onwin already had his toys neatly packed for the trip; it * 1 was a month before the departure date.ao That same love and respect that excited Onwin, won the respect of the two artist/teacher/directors with their new African friends and colleagues and is reflected in the nicknames they were given. Pearl Primus was called "Jaybondu" meaning 'boss-lady of the dance' and Percival Borde held the name,"Jangbanolima," meaning 'the man who would rather dance than eat.' Each artist did far more dancing, teaching and planning than eating. To accomplish the tasks before them, Pearl Primus and Percival Borde split the duties and this meant periods of long separations for the small, close family. Pearl Primus went in search of the artists who would ultimately be responsible for passing on the traditions to the younger generation before their virtual extinction. She Sorell, "Conversation with Pearl Primus," 17. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 120 traveled far away from the modern city of Monrovia. "Little Fast Feet" was back in famaliar territory and: ...the native peoples...would gather from far-away villages to perform for her, to help in her research, in her study. She suffered from weather conditions; housing was difficult. The tutoring of her little son, Onwin, who doesn't know a permanent home was another problem to be taken into account. She would work for days without food and sleep, until she actually fell from exhaustion. At such times, her native cook became not only her nurse, but also a fierce guardian, not letting anyone near her until she recovered, sufficiently rested. ' Another aspect of Pearl Primus life in Africa, was that Liberian government officials were pleased to have artists who could represent the culture of their country. Often, while deeply involved in work, Pearl Primus would receive social and performance invitations for government functions. To refuse was ungracious, but it severely interrupted the slow process of compiling a network of teachers and students for the lasting future of Konama Kende. Pearl Primus felt obliged to refuse their requests on some occasions, but luckily, Percival Borde was an acceptable substitute to the socially prominent and to government officials. Percival Borde was working from a different angle. His work was audience development. This was indeed an ironic set of circumstances. Traditionally, African dance had been a functional part of society. Everyone participated in the dances. "Audience" was a Western ^ Jana Czernitzka Hornsey, "Pearl Primus," Dance Magazine. February 1962, 35. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 121 concept and for traditional dancers to restructure dances for theatrical presentation was a confusing concept for the native people. John Martin stated in 1960: ...there never have been professional performances of native art, there is no audience for them. The great mass of people, then, to benefit by the awareness of its own cultural creativeness must first be awakened to the fact that it has a cultural creativeness to be aware of.218 Mr. Borde began by re-educating the dancers who primarily worked in the tourist nightclubs. Nightclubs consisted of "cheap shows of sixteenth raced wiggle dancers,” described Pearl Primus to John Martin.229 Mr. Borde arranged special performances for the dancers he trained. He raised the quality of entertainment presented to tourists as "traditional" and set standards for levels of performance ability. The Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie, was so impressed watching Percival Borde and his group of dancers that he presented each dancer with a gold medallion.220 Just as noticeable results were beginning to take shape, financial concerns began to drain the project's effectiveness. The United States agreed to the project with Liberia but had never contributed financially to Konama Kende. Konama Kende was the only joint project of the 228 Martin, "The Dance: In Liberia," II, 6:5. 219 Ibid. 220 Hornsey, "Pearl Primus," 35. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 122 Economic Development committee to not receive monetary subsidy from the United States government.^* In Konama Kende's case, all support came from the Liberian government. In an effort to instill a sense of duty and to demonstrate the neglect of the United States, Pearl Primus returned to New York in 1960. She presented a lecture- demonstration entitled, "Meeting Life Crises Through the Dance," at the New Dance Group. University students from Ghana participated in the program and Alphonse Cimber drummed the rhythms representing people from the Congo, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia. All proceeds went to the Konama Kende fund.*^ No documentation exists stating the success of the event, but it could not have helped defray the escalating costs of maintaining the center. Pearl Primus surely returned to Africa wondering how long Konama Kende could continue. Despite the practical issues she faced, her outlook for Africa's future was positive. In an interview while in New York she stated, "I sense a great excitement in Africa, a feeling of newness and tremendous strength. Africa knows where Africa is going. ^* Martin, "The Dance: In Liberia," II, 6:5. ^ Announcement, The New York Times. August 14, 1960. ^ Wershba. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 123 Pearl Primus knew where she was going as well. When Pearl Primus returned from her tour abroad in 1S53, New York University had offered her a scholarship. Ten years had passed since she began her doctorate degree at Columbia, and New York University offered her a teaching position and encouraged her professional work in her field. Since beginning at New York University however, Pearl Primus had become so professionally involved in her work that years were stretching forward once again. In New York during 1960, she met with her doctorate advisors at New York University in regards to her Ph.D. During the meeting, Pearl Primus was granted permission to dance her final doctorate dissertation. To Pearl Primus, this was a major achievement. If my thesis presentation is successful, it may open a new dimension in the teaching field for other artists, painters and musicians. One thing I know - after all these years of struggle, the day I get my Ph.D., I am going to dance from wherever I am all the way to the office of the president of NYU. Pearl Primus returned to Africa with energies somewhat renewed. A year later, in 1961, President Tubman sorrowfully decided the government's money had to be used for schools and roads, rather than Konama Kende. Pearl Primus understood. Disappointed, but not without wisdom she stated: We, the artists, and a small minority of the population, know the great importance of the development of the arts 224 Ibid. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 124 in the growth of any nation. However, a glance into history shows that the encouragement of the artistic expression has always lagged behind social and economic devel Opinent. Though their job in Africa was dissolved, Pearl Primus and Percival Borde had a contract with New York producer Peter Long before leaving Africa. Under the auspices of the African Research Foundation, they were to stage and choreograph the production African Carnival. Proceeds from the show would purchase mobile hospital units needed in East Africa. African Carnival was designed to demonstrate the cultural ties and bonds between the American and African peoples. Written on the first page of the African Carnival souvenir program was: Neither the texts of anthropologists nor the proclamations of statesmen, nor the advances of the time- and-space conquerors, however valuable in their conglomerate, can convey the cultural unity of Africa and the Americas with the same impact and immediacy as actual artistic expression. The human voice in song speaks its own truth, a dancer's leap transcends the limitations of language, the rhythms of a drum form a communication below the consciousness. Here, then at one time, at one place, are performances by the most gifted artists from many places, men and women who share a common heritage, not merely of geography or ancestry, but of the quest for beauty that gives fullest meaning to all of humanity. 26 11 "African Carnival," 1961 souvenir program, Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York, NY. 226 Ibid. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 125 Dancers, musicians, designers, stage technicians and volunteers transformed the 69th Regiment Armory into an African village. Grass huts, stands of tropical trees, displays of African crafts and products, and the smell of African and Caribbean food were a feast for the senses before the performers took to the stage area. . ^ The fanciful plot of African Carnival involved an African sailor whose term of duty is over. He returns to his African village with newly-made friends from Cuba, Trinidad and Haiti. Stanley Levine’s program notes describe the scene: Dancers, singers and musicians from the islands of the Caribbean are the honored guests, eager to display talents derived from the folklore of their African hosts. The Villagers (a composite of tribes from many lands on the continent), respond enthusiastically with their own traditional interpretations. ' Audiences sat at small tables, free to eat and drink as the dances of Africa, Trinidad, Cuba and Haiti passed joyfully before their eyes. Pearl Primus, preserver of the past and leader for the future, created and performed a modern dance solo titled Africa Unbound. The work used traditional and modern dance movements to exemplify relationships between traditional villages and modernized cities in Africa. At the end of the program all nationalities, villagers, and guests came together in one 227 Ibid. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 126 dance to further extend the message that "the unity of the future that is now dawning."2*8 Leading dance and music performing artists made African Carnival an extravaganza of unparalleled cultural showmanship. Pearl Primus, Percival Borde, Jean Leon Destine and Mongo Santamaria were the featured artists. Included in the list of dance and music performers were Solomon Ilori, Pearl Reynolds, Akwasiba Derby, Mary Waithe, Clive Thompson, Babatunde Olatunji, Chief James Bey, Moses Miann (Mians) and Helen Tinsley. Activity was non-stop. There were two performances each evening. Between shows, popular entertainers performed and audiences strolled through the armory looking at the exhibits, greeting performers, and in timeless honored African tradition, visiting friends and simply enjoying the community spirit of the occasion. Though surrounded by friends and family during African Carnival. Pearl Primus' heart was heavy knowing the magnitude of work remaining to be done in Africa. Whether an artist in New York or in Liberia, establishing a solid base of financal support was a problem. "But here, once more, when things looked almost hopeless, the gracious spirit who seems to watch over truly sincere artists came to the rescue," wrot* author Jana 228 John Martin, "The Dance: African Carnival," The New York Times. 5 November 1961, II, 4:5. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 127 Hornsey.“ 5 The gracious spirit was Rebekah Harkness Kean of the Rebekah Harkness Foundation. Mrs. Kean met Pearl Primus during 1961 in Africa. She had been intrigued with Konama Kende and discussed the Liberian cultural center with Pearl Primus in detail. Pleased with, the interest. Pearl Primus arranged a special performance for Mrs. Kean and her husband to enjoy. Finances were not discussed during this first meeting. When the "gracious spirit" stepped forward in New York with an offer, Pearl Primus was caught by surprise. The Rebekah Harkness Foundation provided funds for Pearl Primus, Percival Borde and musician, Chief James Bey, to give intensive workshops and performances throughout West and Central Africa for four months. The Pearl Primus Dance Tour of Africa departed New York in December 1961. This was no ordinary performance tour. The American artists worked with native performers for a period of approximately two weeks and, before moving on to the next country on their busy schedule, concluded the workshop with a performance which displayed the talents of the artists and the workshop participants. To accomplish this tremendous task, two-thirds of the program was prepared in advance so that the remaining portion could evolve from of the workshops. ^ Hornsey, 36. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 128 Pearl Primus, Percival Borde and Chief James Bey- traveled to Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Cameroons, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Mali, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Southern Rhodesia, Kenya, Uganda, Burundi, Congo and Dahomey. To accomodate this extensive schedule, the originally planned four month tour expanded into ten months.228 Each country benefited from the performances. All proceeds were presented to the cultural leaders of the country. The money was to fund a performing group for the country. The Pearl Primus Dance Tour of Africa was the catalyst needed for African countries to realize the potential rewards of establishing their own national performance companies. The work and love Pearl Primus, Percival Borde and Chief James Bey shared with performing leaders of the countries remains today. Many of the countries visited by the artists on tour have established national dance companies. Pearl Primus' work in Africa helped Africans realize the richness of their culture and encouraged them to share it with others. 230 "primus-Borde End African Tour," Dance Magazine. January 1963, 3. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER X ART AND ACADEMICS: A PERFECT COMBINATION In 1963 the Pearl Primus Dance Tour of Africa ended and the artists returned to the United States. Stated Pearl Primus, "I have two homes. America gave me the technique and Africa gave me the heart - and to each, I must explain 931 the other." From 1963 to the present, Pearl Primus works within a variety of learning environments to transmit dance and cultural understanding into the hearts of Americans. Pearl Primus would like modern society to realize the educational value of dance studies. This includes dance as an art form, dance as a means of personal expression, dance as a means of unifying the group and dance as a means to cultural understanding. Cultural appreciation and understanding are of major concern to Pearl Primus. While helping Africa preserve its heritage and developing ways to present its traditions and rituals with dignity, Pearl Primus noticed America's perception about Africa had changed little. There were a growing number of "African" dance classes and companies forming throughout the United States, but in reality they were perpetuating the ^ Wershba. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 130 misconceptions. Pew of the men and women leading the classes and companies possessed first-hand knowledge or had studied the material they were teaching and performing. Pearl Primus felt propelled to present authentic, traditional material for others to learn to recognize false "imitations" of African culture. The Primus-Borde School of Dance232 was dedicated to providing a historical and sociological background needed to comprehend the intent and cultural values of African dance forms. Pearl Primus appointed Dr. Ethel J. Alpenfels, anthropology professor at New York University and Pearl Primus' mentor, as educational advisor for the studio. The studio offered an interdisciplinary educational program. Few studios or educational organizations followed this type of curriculum programming in the 1960s. Students supplemented dance studies with music, anthropology, history, theatre and foreign language classes; all offered at the Primus-Borde School of Dance. Pearl Primus described the studio as follows: The Primus-Borde School of Dance offers a full course of training in modern and ethnic dance to both children and adults cased upon the Pearl Primus technique. The Primus Technique is a unique and dynamic dance expression inspired by the deep power of authentic African ceremonies. It was developed after years of careful research into the rhythms of. the Caribbean Isles, the 232 In the 1960s the studio was called the Pearl Primus- Percival Borde Dance Studio, but in later years, the name changed to the Primus-Borde School of Dance. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 Spirituals, the work songs, the blues, the swift pulsating jazz and the modern dance forms of America. Ballet is also offered for children. Careful attention and personal direction are given every student in preparation for a professional career or for augmented dance education. 33 In addition, the African-Caribbean-American Institute of Dance Arts, Inc. was a non-profit organization for the presenting component of the Primus-Borde School of Dance. Pearl Primus called it the "cultural bridge to help bring about better understanding among people."23* African-Caribbean-American Institute of Dance Arts, Inc. presented lecture-demonstrations, workshops, performances and special events. These were directed by Pearl Primus and included her work as well as that of guest lecturers and artists. Special events were an important aspect of the Primus- Borde School of Dance. In the beginning, a special event would occur bi-monthly or monthly. In later years, a program called "Cultural Bridges" brought guest lecturers on dance and related topics to the studio weekly.235 Each 233 Pearl Primus, " A Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form and Anthropological Content For Teaching Children Ages 6 to 11 About Cultures and Peoples of the World," U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, February 1968, p. H-l. Pearl Primus-Percival Borde Dance Studio, flier, 1963- 1964, Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York, NY. 235 Primus, "Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form," p. H-l. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 132 special event evolved around a theme with one of or a combination of the following: dance, story-telling, films, slides, art displays, active participation, lectures and performance; all designed to instruct as-well- as- entertain. Pearl Primus and Percival Borde wanted students to learn the origin and development of dance. With this foundation, they hoped their students would be motivated and inspired to create a movement style of their own time and expression. The Primus-Borde School of Dance was never fully able to consume Pearl Primus' and Percival Borde's time. Each artists was in constant demand by cultural and educational institutions across the country. They shared their talents in public schools, performing arts centers, museums, cultural institutions, charity organizations, churches, community centers, etc. A reviewer for a Circle in the Square Theatre performance describes the mature presentation Pearl Primus had developed by 1965: Where does Africa leave off and Pearl Primus begin? In Black Rhythms, a panoramic program of songs and dances whose roots drive deep into that fascinating continent, the question is scarcely answerable. For Miss Primus has managed to shape the trophies of dance culture, won on her expeditions, into works of considerable theatrical impact. The result is dances which remain faithful to their ethnic origins, yet are constructed to appeal to an audience culturally removed from them. 36 ‘J0 Jacqueline Maskey, "Black Rhythms, Circle in the Square Theatre," Dance Magazine. July 1965, 32. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 133 By 1965, Pearl Primus was actively involved in educational institutions helping to set policies for the art of dance. The National Dance Teachers Guild held its first regional conference October 31, 1965 in New York. The topic of the conference was "The Guild As A Potential roree in the Development of Dance in the U.S.A." The two panelists selected to present the viewpoint of the dancers on the topic were Pearl Primus and Jose Limon.232 In November 1965, Pearl Primus was one of the first artists awarded a United States Office of Education Arts and Humanities grant. The purpose of the grant was to illustrate "the use of the visual and physical medium of dance as a teaching-learning experience thereby improving and extending curriculum content of world cultures in elementary schools."233 Specifically, Pearl Primus created, presented and evaluated a dance lecture-demonstration about the cultural values of African society in fifteen elementary schools to children of varying economic and ethnic 232 National Dance Teachers' Guild, flier, Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York, NY. 233 Primus, "Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form," p. C- 1. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 3 4 backgrounds. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Inc. provided financial sustenance to the project as well. The project was a partial requirement for Pearl Primus' rh.D. degree. It was also a project designed by the Office of Education and New York University to improve instructional methods in elementary schools. Pearl Primus' doctoral advisor, Ethel J. Alpenfels wrote: In order to better understand the various ethnic groups which now make up the population of America, it is necessary to understand the cultures from which they originally came. The results of this pilot study will influence and guide a major educational presentation designed to provide elementary school teachers with more vital curriculum content and methods of presenting cultures and peoples of the world to their students. Pearl Primus' affection and concern for the needs of children had been with her since childhood. She had often walked her small brothers and cousins to school. At times, walking the younger children to school had been an unpleasant experience. Neighborhood children ridiculed the young students for their racial and cultural differences.’’" Pearl Primus worked with children throughout her career to relieve this kind of abusive experience for other ^ Ibid., p. F-l. Pearl Primus, "Life Crises: Dance From Birth to Death,” proceedings, 4th annual conference, AmericanPance Therapy Association. (Philadelphia, 1969), 1. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 35 children. Besides the work in public shcools, she created many performances especially for children, some of which were presented at the New Dance Group, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, museums and the Primus- Borde School of Dance. The U.S. Office of Education project allowed Pearl Primus to demonstrate that if actual elements of a culture were accessible to children through sight, sound and kinesthetic response, the culture would be more easily understood and appreciated. To do this, Pearl Primus entwined verbal and non-verbal language. Pearl Primus with drummers, dancers, masks and colorful costumes carried children on a journey to Africa. First, they were greeted with a dance of welcome and then were presented with an initiation rite, a wedding dance, a dance for the health of children, etc. The dancers "whirled to the rumbling of drums with wit, buoyancy and supple elan, leading children into the mysteries of African culture, history and lore, turning the stage into a classroom without boundaries."’^ Throughout, Pearl Primus, a master storyteller, highlighted important information about the ^ Ric Estrada, "3 Leading Negro Artists," Dance Magazine. November 1968, 56. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 3 6 dances and culture of Africa with traditional stories of the African tribes. The project was an overwhelming success. Writer Nat Hentoff stated, "Whatever else the children may or may not have learned about the cultures of west and central Africa, they know that there is pleasure in these traditions. And pride. And great skill."242 A parent who watched the program wrote, "...the dancing and singing continued throughout the curtain calls and everyone hoped against hope that it would go on and on."242 Educational administrators in Washington, D.C. praised the project and reported its success to others. Requests poured in from Virginia to New Mexico, asking if Pearl Primus could tour the "Meet Africa" in their school systems. Pearl Primus described the difficulties in these pleas for her program: A group, an organization or a committee will call up about my giving them an exhibition. 'We can offer $50,' they say. Or, 'We've put together $42.' On this amount I must get together dancers and drummers, rehearse them, 242 Nat Hentoff, "An Inheritance Comes to P. S. 83," American Education. (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, February, 1966), 3G. 243 Primus, "Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form," p. 0- Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 137 feed them, take them there and bring them back. It's impossible! Yet it must be done!“* Pearl Primus had to objectify the results of the project for the written assessment expected at the Office of Education. She wrote: ...the artist and scholar clashed in me! The Artist argued that a work of art should speak for itself; that it was the artist who had enriched this program with creative experiences no report could truly describe...Then Reason, the impartial judge, took over. This project was not art for art sake, nor was it created for presentation in concert halls, television or artists' studios. The demonstration was conceived as art with the expressed function of education within the framework of the existing educational system. 5 Her professor, Ethel J. Alpenfels, at New York University responded with the following: ...I feel that your role has been far more than either artist o£ scholar. In fact, looking back to those early conferences in planning your project, I, too, would have unhesitantly labelled your role as artist-scholar. But, having observed the demonstrations, followed your creative thought as you made changes, talked with teachers and children, felt the impact of what you were accomplishing, I now prefer to label your role teacher- artist or, if you wish, artist-teacher. 6 In the end, Pearl Primus wrote a final report which outlined the objectives, goals and methodology for creating the dance iecture-demonstration. The outline, the breakdown ^ Estrada, 58. ^ Primus, "Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form," p. 1-1. Ibid., p. M-l. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 138 of parts into action steps needed to produce the whole, descriptions of intent and the process in formulating ideas and ways of meeting the intent are documented in detail. The wording of the final report, however, is from an artist; an artist intent on passing on the beauty of people, culture and life. Included in documentation for the evaluation of the project were responses Pearl Primus received from the children. Indeed, they speak of all that needs to be said: "It was an education, as well as a wonderful experience. There are many people who say that they know people are all the same, but very few who really mean it." Grade 8 "I think more groups like yours should come visit us, it makes children proud of their race and not ashamed." Grade 6 "Africa the way you told about it seemed like a more civilized country than what I see on television." Grade 6 "I think I would not of learned the things that I did not know for a long time if I did not come." Grade 6lil Pearl Primus' association with educational research was by no means over when the "Meet Africa" project culminated in 1968. In 1969, the Public Education Division of the Ford Foundation sent Pearl Primus to England. Her mission - to ^ Ibid., p. M-i. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 3 9 observe dance classes and study the dance curriculum in the primary and secondary schools and evaluate whether the British dance system would work well in American public schools,248 Pearl Primus visited thirteen areas in England, observing children in classes and interviewing the administrators and teachers involved in the program's development and implementation. She left England filled with a need to work directly with American teachers. Pearl Primus wanted to give them concrete methods and instructional skills towards developing children's self- confidence in their physical and emotional being. The Primus-Borde School of Dance offered a series of workshops designed to increase development of self-identify, self-awareness, and self-esteem in teachers and students. The workshops were accredited by the New York State Office of Education, the Department of Special Education in New Haven, CT and the Westchester Council of the Arts. This meant teachers could receive professional advancement credits for attending the workshops. Titles of the workshops included "Cultural Enrichment Through Ethnic Dance," "Changing the Self-Image,'1 "International 248 Barber, 237. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 40 Understanding Through Dance," "Dance As A Tool for the Classroom Teacher," "Adapting Recreational Dance to the Concert Stage," "Dance As Recreation," "The Use of Dance in Motivating Children to Read and Create Poetry," and "Workshop in Creative Adaptation of Cultural Dance Forms."249 The workshops, lead by Pearl Primus with support staff from other artists, were intensive and engulfed participants in the spirit of cultural unity. For example, the workshop entitled "Pilot Workshop in the Creative Application of Movement Inspired by Authentic African Dance Forms" included master dance classes in the Primus Technique, lectures, demonstrations, a visit to the "Man in Africa" wing of the American Museum of Natural History, and "a mouth-watering African dinner cooked by Miss Primus herself."29® Each workshop culminated in a demonstration open to the public. Reporter Ric Estrada described the atmosphere Pearl Primus exuded to all who entered her studio. Guests begin filing in, a few dancers, educators, families of friends, and many children. There is Alphonse Cimber, one of the greatest drummers of today, who has worked with Pearl since the beginning. There is Etienne Demezier, a genuine voodam dancer from Haiti with a dazzling technique and a truly gentle personality. And is Percivai Borde of course, with the promise of a great Watusi Warrior dance. But Pearl Frimus is the tribal 249 Barber, 238. 25® Estrada, 55. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 141 queen of the ball, as with word and dance she transports us to an African village and fills us with a fundamental child-like wonder, amusement and delight we haven't experienced in years. 51 The years of researching, investigating, respecting the traditions of the past, creating new expressive forms, and living within the African and American culture culminated in the studio-ciassroom for Pearl Primus. For Pearl Primus, the learning environment is the most vital place to make changes and develop understanding between people - the people who will guide the future. Continuing the Tradition: With Honors. Accolades. Awards andBy Al1 Means - The Purpose Since the 1970s,' Pearl Primus has continued to work in every capacity possible to pass on the gifts of learning, self-growth and pride through the art and science of dance. The list of credits and accomplishments crosses the artistic and scientific fields as much as she herself has crossed the continents. One honor in particular initiated the dance field's move to finally recognize Pearl Primus as one of the leading pioneer contributors to dance in the twentieth century. ^ Ibid., 60. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 142 Alvin Ailey, director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, was aware that few people knew Pearl Primus was an important "'historical link' to younger black choreographers such as himself, Talley Beatty and Donald McKayle."^2 Her intense teaching schedule limited the opportunities the public had to see Pearl Primus and her choreography. Mr. Ailey respected Pearl Primus as one of the earlier pioneers to pave a path for black people and gain acceptance in the American dance world. He also believed her choreography deserved preserving on its own merits. In 1974, Alvin Ailey invited Pearl Primus to reconstruct two of her dances for his dance company. Pearl Primus restaged Fanoa and Congolese Wedding for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. At City Center on December 3, Judith Jamison performed Fanoa to the masterful drumming of Alphonse Cimber. Drumming with Mr. Cimber were Ladji Camara and Pearl Primus’ son, Onwin Borde. Fanoa was performed throughout the 1974 season. Don McDonaoh, critic, stated: Judith Jamison danced this ceremonial welcoming ritual exuding good humor and opulent charm. In its three short sections she evoked the blessings of the sky and the earth to help her greet visitors. ^ Anna Kisselgoff, "Collins and Primus In Ailey Spotlight," The New York Times. 15 May 1974, 36. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 4 3 ...editing requires its own kind of genuis...Pearl Primus did a marvelous job...and produced a small jewel of African dance expression, condensed and shaped for the proscenium stage. 53 Critic Zita Allen described Congolese Wedding in a review published in Dance Magazine during 1974. She wrote: Pearl Primus' dances all work. Her 'Congolese Wedding' with its village scenario of a battle between good and evil, was exciting both to the audience and the dancers... they developed the characterizations of the village warriors, girls, a bride, older and younger sisters. Of course, Dudley Williams as the "Demon of Evil," Masazumi Chaya as Dudley's assistant, Judith Jamison as the "The Healer" and Mari Kajiwara as the bride seemed at home in their roles from the first night's performance. Alvin Ailey's honor was the beginning of an awakening in the dance world that there were serious oversights in merican dance history. The next recognition of Pearl Primus as a dance pioneer came in 1978, again from Alvin Ailey. The Dance Pioneer Award was created by Alvin Ailey in 1978 to pay tribute to Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus and Beryl McBurnie. In addition to the award, Pearl Primus had much to celebrate. In 1978, she finally obtained an honor she had been working on for most cf her career. She completed all Don McDonagh, "Pearl Primus Edits An Exquisit 'Fanga' From African Dance," The New York Times. 19 August 1974. nr i Zita Allen, "Memorabaileya," Dance Magazine. August 1974, 22. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 4 4 requirements from the Department of Educational Sociology and Anthropology for the Doctor of Philosophy degree at New York University. She was now Dr. Pearl Primus. Pearl Primus surely meant what she said in 1960 about dancing all the way to the university president's house upon receiving the degree. That it took thirty-two years to meet the requirements of the degree is not surprising in view of the tremendous accomplishments achieved elsewhere; that she persevered in reaching the goal set early in her career, is just another example of Pearl Primus' character. She stated: The dean nearly lost his mind. My life has been like traveling up a river. Every now and then I would hear singing around the bend, and so around the bend I would go and become occupied with living. Many years would go by and I'd realize, 'Oh, my God, I've got to get this Ph.D. I've lived many rivers and many peoples. Anthropology has become part of me instead of something superimposed. She credits Dr. Ethel Alpenfels of NYU with helping her persevere and also with enabling her to take the unprecedented,step of using dance to fulfill her language requirement. At the 1978 Alvin Ailey twentieth anniversary celebration, which paid tribute to Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus and Beryl McBurnie, Pearl Primus was in a festive ^ Robertson, IV. 28. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 145 mood. Dance critic, Deborah Jowitt describes a joyous Pearl Primus at the end of the evening. Pearl Primus beckoned to drummers she had thought to bring along and danced - a round, merry little woman now, a bundle of bright robes and turbans, covering an unbelievable amount of space in a blaze of energy and humor.2” Since 1984, Dr. Primus has been Guest Artist, Professor of Dance and Professor of Ethnic Studies at the rive College system in Massachusetts, which includes the campuses or Smith, Mount Holyoke, Amherst and Hampshire colleges. Pearl Primus also travels throughout the country giving workshops, serving on panels and consulting for museums, arts organizations and universities. Currently she works for the Department of Afro-American Studies at Smith College. The summer of 1988 was particularly eventful, not only for Pearl Primus, but for the world of dance. The American Dance Festival began a three year project entitled "The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance." Pearl Primus received funding from the National Endowment of the Arts and the Ford Foundation to reconstruct three works she had choreographed in 1943. Deborah Jowitt, "And Pearl Remembered to Bring Drummers." The Pence in Mind. (Boston: David R. Godins, 1985), 211. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 4 6 The idea for such an extensive project in the history of black dancers began when Alvin McDuffie, a teacher for the American Dance Festival, expressed concern that: his students did not know about the contributions made by black dancers and choreographers to modern dance. The ADF was also concerned that major dances by 20th century black choreographers were in danger of being lost. ADF accordingly decided to make the black tradition in American modern dance the current focus of its ongoing Humanities-and-Dance programs. Historically, documentation on black dancers has been minimal. America's social disease, racial prejudice, put a screen over the eyes of the public and writers in regards to black dancers and the development of modern dance. However, Pearl Primus was recognized by the public and critics during the peak of her performance career and this in itself makes her contribution to the current generation of black dancers of major significance. Despite the extraordinary expertise of Dr. Primus in the areas of the creative process, performance, translation of authentic material into theatrical material, anthropological analysis of culture and dance as language, no books have been written about her. Dance history texts acknowledge her presence in the field, but provide no depth Gerald E. Meyers, The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. American Dance Festival, i988, 2. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 147 or insight into the work of Pearl Primus. Alvin Ailey's tributes to Pearl Primus in 1974 and 1979 followed by The American Dance Festivals’ preservation of her three works, Strange Fruit. Hard Time Blues and The Necro Speaks of Rl V6 l 5 , hctS catapulted Pearl Primus into her rightful place in dance history. The Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute. Inc. (All information in the following paragraphs was obtained from a packet of materials written by Dr. Pearl Primus. They were given to the author by Mr. Joseph Hash, 11 February 1989.) In 1978 The Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute received its Certificate of Incorporation. A non-profit organization, its purpose is : To promote the dissemination of information about the dance, including but not limited to its use as a medium of communication; to promote the enjoyment of the arts; for purposes of improving culture; to educate as to the arts, with the emphasis upon dance, including but not limited to the teaching and appreciation of ethnic dancing to average individuals, those already trained in the dance, and physically handicapped persons. After the incorporation of the organization, plans for The Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute were set aside when Percival Borde passed away. In 1988 Pearl Primus began to spin the wheels to set in motion the institution which would preserve and share her work. A committee of advisors Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 4 8 assists in the development and organizational operation of the institute. They include: Dr. Terry Baker, Associate Dean, School of Education, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY; Mr. Seymour Gross, Accountant, Gross, Glassman & Tuckman, NY; Dr. David Julian Hodges, Professor, Hunter College, NY; Dr. Elsie Hug, Archivist and former Dean, Graduate Studies, New York University; Mr. Joseph Nash, Dance Historian; Dr. Murray w. Schwartz, Dean of Faculty for Humanities and the Fine Arts, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; Ms. Mary Waithe, Personnel Manager, Barbados Mutual Insurance Co., Barbados, West Indies; Ms. Joyce Knight, Personal Secretary to Pearl Primus, New Rochelle, NY. This project separates the work of Pearl Primus into three catagories: theatre, lectures and The Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute. As Pearl Primus writes in a letter to her committee members, each is a part of the whole, so all are equal in relation to one another. The theatre and lecture components are a part of Dr. Primus' life-long work. They include reconstruction of old works, creation of new works, and lecture topics: "Arts of Africa," "Legacy: African Culture in the New World," "Dance Is My Language," and "Life Crisis." Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 4 9 A special theatre project will be the realization of producing The Woman of Zor. Conceived in 1951, this dance- drama has been the budding vision within Pearl Primus since her first trip to Africa. Marjorie Rawlings, author of The Yearling, began helping her develop the script in 1951.258 Pearl Primus writes: The path is a deeply spiritual one for me. The present work, "The Woman of Zor," has been long inside me. At last I am ready to release it from my soul. This is a play which draws heavily on all my research. Its main character is a woman trapped between the laws of her ancestors and her duty to her people. It is set in an interior village in West Africa but it could take place anywhere in the world. To produce The Woman of Zor will take funding and the committee is seeking potential sources. Once found, the idea that has been growing, maturing, and spurring Pearl Primus forward will be unleashed. The proposed Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute, Inc. consists of seven projects. The projects are: 1) The Institute of Cultural Dance, 2) Earth Theatre, 3) Educational Workshops, 4) Documentation, 5) Dance Drama Theatre for Children, 6) Emily and Edward Primus Museum, and 7) Dance Language for Special Education Students. 288 Danton Walker, "Cabarabian Nites," no source, 20 May 1951 is handwritten on article, Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 150 Each project is thoroughly outlined in the literature Pearl Primus sent to committee members. They are designed for serious dance students, adults, children and people with physical and emotional handicaps. Each project is for "total cultural enrichment... in order to bring about better understanding of self for better group living" and each is a piece of Pearl Primus' life and that which has been her career. In essense, Pearl Primus is striving to create an institution that will train students in her philosophy and methodology. A place to house the organization and financial seed money are needed for the project to succeed. These are massive needs to meet in today's society. Pearl Primus writes: Companies on the East coast are folding like umbrellas after a rainstorm. I have learned over the years that my work needs dedicated dance people who are willing to work diligently with me over a long period of time. I must have the means to finance them. Yesterday is over. Was a time when a dancer worked with a Master without thought of time or money. But society has made many demands which the dancer cannot meet unless there is some funding. The future awaits as to the realization of these plans. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHAPTER XI PEARL PRIMUS: A WOMAN OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY Forty-sis years ago Pearl Primus believed in justice for all, regardless of racial heritage. She reunited with her cultural roots to acquire a better understanding of the current and past conditions and traditions of black Americans. She passed on to audiences and students her findings so that they too could understand and appreciate the social, moral and ethical values of different cultures. Forty-sis years ago America was coming out of its childhood. During the past decade, the American public has begun to see the relevancy of the ideas and concerns Pearl Primus spent her career promoting. There are signs indicating a change in American philosophy, but there remain plenty of signs signifying the distance we have yet to reach. Pearl Primus was a small child in New York, walking her brothers and cousins to school, when she felt the sting of persecution. Teasing, spitting, name-calling and 151 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 152 intimidation were directed upon her because of the color of her skin. It was as though America tried to abuse her self- image and self-esteem. A March 13, 1989 headline in The Mew York Times reads, "Bias Remains Pervasive in Region's Housing Market: Even blacks with high incomes find some neighborhoods closed," - The. ev-ecut i.vs- director, for .Host Chester •Residential Opportunities, a non-profit fair-housing agency stated in the article, "Sometimes it's very direct, very open. They say, 'We don't rent to minorities here,' or they say on the phone, 'What race are you?'"^ These communities are most likely full of people who would mentally abuse small children walking to school because their skin color, language, cultural orientation or religion were different. America must ask, as Pearl Primus asked forty-six year ago: What right does a person have to deny another human being anything based merely on the race or cultural background of the person? What can we do to allow all people to develop the most positive self-image possible? From the early training at New Dance Group, to the Primus-Borde School of Dance, to the university courses she teaches, Pearl Primus has followed an interdisciplinary and multi-cultural approach in education. Her methodology in the creative process and in the dissemination of information ^ Alan Finder, "Bias Remains Pervasive in Region's Housing Market," The New York Times. 13 March 1989, B:l. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 53 are invaluable resources for all educational systems of the world. America, in its childhood, believed its educational potential and resources were in the sciences and philosophies of the mind. The arts were ignored, brushed off as playful and luxury items. Yet, to anyone who has developed a trust and love in the arts, the arts are that which keep the goals and aspirations of an individual and a people in productive, successful motion. Motion which creates the energy to produce that which will be good for society. Congress and the National Endowment for the Arts are making the preparatory motions needed to perpetuate our civilization. Finally, there is evidence that schools will begin to develop students emotionally and creatively as well as intellectually. In 1985, the 99th Congress of the United States of America, issued a congressional mandate to the National Endowment for the Arts. The mandate requested a survey and analysis on the state of arts education in America. Toward Civilization was published in May, 1988 and is the most significant study on arts education in the school systems of this century. The National Endowment for the Arts concluded that Americans must contribute more time and money into building substantial, sequential, curriculum based arts education Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 5 4 programs. "It cannot be stressed too much that reform in arts education must be undertaken on a long-term basis and measured in decades, not years."2®® The following excerpt from Toward Civilization has been the crucial and vital core of concern throughout Pearl Primus' work. Arts education can help elementary and secondary school students to rea^h out "beyond prime time" and understand the unchanging elements in the human condition. It can teach them to see and hear as well as read and write. It can help them understand what civilization is so that as adults they can contribute to it. In a culturally diverse society, it can generate understanding of both the core and multiplicity of America's culture.“ As Pearl Primus sought to understand her own cultural identity forty-six years ago, she returned to the roots of her heritage for understanding. Africa and its culture became the way to comprehend the values and traditions of the black American culture. She had to prove, demonstrate and exemplify the beauty of what it meant to be African to those who are descendants of the African, Americans. Today, the black American is wearing the colors of the African continent with pride. From street corners to university courses, Americans, of all ethnic origins, are awakening to the fact that Africa contains beauty, 2®® National Endowment of the Arts, Toward Civilization. (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 138S), 171. 261 Ibid., p. v. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. intelligence and a history vital to the understanding of world civilization. America is slowly accepting African culture as a part of the American cultural identity. Now, steps must be taken to re-write the history books, re-design the curriculum and re-evaluate values so as to include the black American in the total and equal portrait of American society. We, as members of society, must change some our values before the full potential of our society can be reached. We must value teachers and an interdisciplinary approach to education to produce the civilization we hope to live in during the twenty-first century. Art, to Pearl Primus, has always represented the essential values each human being must posses in order to contribute to the development of, not the destruction of, civilization. Why has America overlooked the arts as essentials in education? Could it be that there was fear in discovering the truths of its social conditions? Are we beyond this fear today? Today, society talks of global concerns, global economy and the global community. Governments are realizing that preserving cultural identity of a nation and a people are crucial to reaching the highest creative potential of each individual and nation. Dominance and conquering are "out"; compassion, understanding and cooperation are "in." with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 5 6 Pearl Primus is a model for using the arts to extract the good and moving forward, not reveling in the sad conditions of the past. Pearl Primus. Just the name itself is a sentence; a life. The awards, conference leadership positions and honorary degrees received since 1943 indicate that Pearl Primus' work has been important to the fields of dance, anthropology, education, ethnology and the human condition. As educator, author, artist and humanitarian, Pearl Primus continues to contribute to society. Pearl Primus has lived beyond the philosophies and traditions of the twentieth century. She is an example of the spirit which we, as a nation, and we, as a global community, need to possess in order to successfully meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPENDIX A CHRONOLOGY FOR PEARL PRIMUS 157 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. CHRONOLOGY FOR PEARL PRIMUS 1919 Born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad 1921 Moves to the United States, New York city Attended PS 94 and PS 136 Hunter High School 1940 Hunter College, New York B.A. in biology & premedicine 1941 New Dance Group scholarship student New York University health education National Youth Administration, employee 1943 Dance Laurel Award No. 2 presented by John Martin, The New York Times Y.M.H.A. choreography audition one of five selected to present work Hunter College Master's degree candidate, psychology Cafe' Society Downtown first dancer hired at this location pictured in LIFE magazine Spanish Relief Appeal, Benefit performance Ziegfield Theatre "African Dance Festival," Carnegie Hall appeared with Asadata Dafora, performance sponsored and attended by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt 158 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 5 9 1944 Dance Observer pictured on cover of February issue Certificate of Merit, USO for dancing in army camps, hospitals, & ports of embarkation Trip to Southern States, researched African traditions in black church services "Pearl Primus" by Owen Dodson published in Theatre Arts. December issue Y.M.H.A. Concert, 92nd Street billed with Valerie Bettis The Dance Teachers Advisory Committee, presented Pearl Primus in concert first solo concert Chairman; Louis Horst and Committee: Bessie Schoenburg, Murial Stuart, Anita Zahn, Barbara Page, Eugenie Schein, Mary O'Donnell, Ruth Jones The Citizens Committee of Upper West Side, presented Pearl Primus in concert First Negro Freedom Rally, Madison Square Garden Belasco Theatre, 44th Street Roxy Theatre 1945 Show Boat, New York played Sal and Dahomey Oueen New Dance Group Formulated Ethnic Dance Studies course with Jean Erdman & Hadassah East and West Indian Dance Program with Hadassah & Josephine Premice Hunter College, performance Appeared in New Jersey and Connecticut under management of Max Jelin New Dance Group program, especially for children Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 160 1945 The Primus’ Company Cross Country Tour under Austin Wilder management O.R.T. Federation, benefit performance with Charles Weidman New Dance Group lecture-demonstration on African dance & its influence in Haiti and the U.S. South 1946 The Emperor Jones, Chicago Witch Doctor Columbia University Ph.D. program in anthropology New Dance Group, instructor American Museum of Natural History Y.M.H.A., Kaufmann Auditorium Kaufmann Settlement Theatre, Pittsburgh North Carolina College West Virginia State College Irvine Auditorium, Philadelphia 1947 Brooklyn Academy of Music, Central High School of Needle Trades, NY Jordan Hall, Boston, MA Student's Dance Recital Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Guest Artist Calypso, Boston Caribbean Carnival, International Theatre, Ni Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 1 1948 Participant, Walter Terry's Dance Lab at YMHA, topic was "Dance as a Social Force" Dance Observer's Benefit Performance at YM & YWHA Student's Dance Recital YM-YWHA Dance Center Fiske University performance Julius Rosenwald Fellowship grant for research in Africa Cafe' Society Downtown Departed New York for Africa 1949 Star of Africa, presented by President William Tubman, president of Liberia "Primitive African Dance and Its Influence on the Churches of the South," by Pearl Primus published in The Dance Encyclopedia 1949 edition The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance by Margaret Lloyd is published, Pearl Primus included 1950 The American Museum of Natural History, Dark Rhythms. lecture-demonstraiion Dark Rhythms. Kaufmann Auditorium of YMHA, Pearl S. Buck, chair of event Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival faculty The Henry Street Playhouse in association with The New York Dance Film Society presented a lecture/demonstration created by Pearl Primus entitled "The Magical Origin of Dance" Dark Rhythms, a program easpecially for children Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 2 1951 "Out of Africa," by Pearl Primus published in Walter Terry’s book The Dance Has Many Faces Ebonv magazine publishes article in January issue Student's Dance Recital, Central High School of Needle Trades New Lincoln School, benefit performance Brooklyn Academy of Music Hunter College, Lecture The Woman _of 2or began working with Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling on the story line Cafe' Society Downtown, performer Columbia University, faculty "Dark Rhythms," YM-YWHA, 92nd Street Y "Dark Rhythms," YM-YWHA, 92nd Street Y Royal Command Performance for King George VI Victoria Palace, England Prince's Theatre, London, England Stratford-Upon-Avon, England 1952 Israel, on tour Command Performance, Mayor of Tel Aviv American Museum of Natural History Dark Rhvthms Passport revoked, on "Red Channels" list 1953 Command Performance, Governor, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Little Carib Theatre YM -YWHA 2 programs for children Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 163 1954 Trinidad, forming a company The Gold Coast Students' Cultural Association two lecture-demonstrations Museum of Modern Art YM-YWHA New York Summer Dance Festival 1955 Student's Dance Recital 1956 Brooklyn Academy of Music International Student's Club, Columbia University, McMillin Theatre Mister Johnson, choreographer, Martin Beck Theatre ran on Broadway for 12 weeks Quirino Theatre, Italy, performance in honor of President William V.S. Tubman of Liberia Sponsored by Mediterranean Center of Culture and Entertainment 1956-1957 International Dance Festival Series, Rome, Italy 1957 Barcelona, studied Catalonian dance Cjater Barron Amphitheater, Washington, D.C. 1958 "Africa," by Pearl Primus, published in March issue of Dance Magazine St, Marks Playhouse, Jan Hus Auditorium, Percival Borde and Company with Pearl Primus as guest artist 1959 First International Conference of Negro Artists and Writers, Rome, Italy, "Cultural Dance Concert," St. Marks Playhouse Chairman of Cultural Activities and Director of the African Center of Performing Arts, (Konama Kende) Monrovia, Liberia Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 4 1960 18 presentations given under auspices of Konama Kenae, first performance in March at City Hall New York University agrees to allow Pearl Primus to dance her thesis New Dance Group, lecture-demonstration "Meeting Life Crises Through the Dance" benefit for Konama Kende Command Performance, H.E. Haille Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, Monravia Liberia 1961 Liberia, 68 presentations for private organizations African Carnival, sponsored by African Research Foundation, staged and choreographed by Pearl Primus and Percival Borde 1962 Pearl Primus Dance Tour of Africa begins, sponsored by the Rebekah Harkness Foundation Senegal, Mali, Guina, Togoland, Dahomey, Nigeria, Cameroons, Union of Central African Republic and Ruanda Urundi Command Performances, Heads of State: Sierre Leone, Dahomey, Rhodesia, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroons, Mali 28 concerts with Special African Artists, also sponsored by Rebekah Harkness Foundation 1963 Pearl Primus-Percival Borde Dance Studio, presents "Ti Bongo" (Your Dance) given by the artists themselves African-Caribbean-American Institute of Dance begun at the Primus-Borde Dance Studio Community Church, New York Lecture-demonstration, New York University for 200 high school students Freda Miller Memorial Concert, 92nd Street "Y" Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 5 1963 John Martin's Book of the Dance by John Martin is published, describes Pearl Primus' work 1964 Pearl Primus - Percival Borde Dance Studio reopens at 17 West 24th Street African-Caribbean-American Institute of Dance Arts, Earth Theatre. 24th Street 1965 National Dance Teachers Guild 1st Regional Conference Neighborhood Playhouse Pearl Primus and Jose Limon on panel Circle in the Square Theatre Black Rhvthms United States Office of Education Arts and Humanities Grant to create, test and evaluate a dance lecture-demonstration for use in elementary classrooms 1966 "A Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form and Anthropological Content for Teaching Children Ages 6-11 About Cultures and Peoples Of the World" U.S. Office of Education Project, 40 presentations in NY public schools American Education publishes article in February issue by Nat Hentoff describing the pilot study school program in the schools McBurney Young Men's Christian Association 215 West 23rd Street sponsored by the Office of Education National Conference on Education of the Disadvantaged, U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, presented Dance, a demonstration with lecture Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 6 1967 Pratt University, artist-in-residence Library and Museum of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, Dark Rhythms 1968 New York City Department of Cultural Affairs sponsors seminar entitled ’’Pilot Workshop in the Creative Application of Movement Inspired by Authentic African Dance Forms" 1969 Ford Foundation, Public Education Division asked Pearl Primus to evaluate the dance programs in the British school systems and determine their applicablity to the U.S. public school system "Awareness of Self," dance concert, I.M. Marsh College of Physical Education, Liverpool, England Hunter College, faculty member, course entitled "Dances of the Afro-American Heritage" American Dance Therapy Association 4th Annual Conference,Philadelphia Lecture "Life Crises: Dance from Birth to Death" 1970 White House Conference on Children and Youth, Washington, D.C., "Creativity in Education" choreography Hunter College, NY President's Medal 1971 University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, "The Black World: Perspectus," "African Dance Concert" National Culture Through the Arts Award New York Federation of Foreign Language Teachers The Today Show, NBC, "Dance and Life" Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 167 1971 Hunter College, NY Faculty member 1973 Phyllis Wheatley Poetry Festival, Jackson State College, Mississippi, "Hymn to the Rising Sun" Hunter College, NY Hunter Hall Of Fame Phi Beta Kappa Nu of New York at Hunter College 1974 Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theatre, Pearl Primus reconstructs Fanaa and The Wedding for the company 1975 Zeta Phi Beta Annual Conference, New Rochelle, NY, "Dance-A Teaching Tool' dance presentation Spelman College, Atlanta, GA "Life Crises" concert Whitney Young Auditorium, New Rochelle, NY Earth Theatre 1976 Harlem Cultural Council, NYC Fanaa 1978 Dance Pioneer Award Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater New York University, NY Ph.D. in Anthropology Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute incoroorated 1979 National Endowment for the Arts awards grant to reconstruct Fanaa Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 168 1979 Theatre of the Riverside Church, NY Earth Theatre. Fanaa performance dedicated to Dr. Ethel J. Alpenfels New York Ethnic Dance Festival, Carnegie Hall 1979 Perry Street Theatre, Ear_th Theatre Lincoln Center Out-of-Docrs Festival Damrosch Park, performance Month long residency in three East Harlem public schools Harbor Performing Arts School in Harlem faculty New Dance Group faculty Community Action Agency, New Rochelle, NY faculty 1980 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient 1981 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient The Theatre of the Riverside Church dedicated to Percival Borde Drum Talk in Tribute to Alphonse Cimber Joe Nash spoke 1982 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient VARC, panel discussion on the impact of Africa on Dance in the Americas, Pearl Primus, Thomas Pinnock, Tina Ramirez on panel with Duane Jones as moderator Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 6 9 1983 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient Caribe magazine, publishes special dance edition Pearl Primus publishes two articles and is pictured in photographic tribute State University of New York, Buffalo, NY Director of the Cora P. Maloney College and associate professor of the Theatre Dept. Adele R. Wenig publishes Pearl Primus: An Annotated BibUography of Sources From 1943 to. .1.97 5 1984 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient 1985 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient American Anthropological Association Distinguished Service Award Washington, D.C. University of Massachusetts Five College Visiting Artist 1985 Contact magazine, February issue, publishes article by Patricia Wright Five College Tribute to Black History Month "A Struggle for Memory," choreographed and produced a work for program 1986 New York University Ernest O. Meby Award for distinguished alumna 1987 National Endowment of the Arts Dance Fellowship Recipient Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival Pre-concert lecture in Studio 2 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 7 0 1988 American Dance Festival, The Black Tradition in_American Modern JDance, Duke University, 3 works reconstructed with a grant from the Ford Foundation Spellman College, Atlanta, GA Honorary Doctorate Degree Doctor of Human Letters Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY President's Award for Dance 17th Annual African Street Festival, NY Each day of the Festival is dedicated to a prominent African-Arscricsn artist in the performance or literary arts: July 3 Dedicated to Pearl Primus Gallery of the Harlem State Office Building New York State Division for Women presents "Black Women in the Arts," photographic exhibit Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute, Inc. Advisory Committee organized Osun Festival, Tribute to Pearl Primus Caribbean Cultural Center, NY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Ahye, Molly. Cradle ofCaribbean Dance. Trinidad and Todago: Heritage Cultures, LTD., 1983. Anderson, Jack. The American Dance Festival. Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press, 1987. Aschenbrenner, Joyce. Katherine Dunham: Reflections on the Social and Political Contexts of Afro-American Dance. New York: Congress on Research in Dance, Dance Research Annual XII, 1981. Case, Brian and Britt, Stan. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Jazz. New York: Harmony Books, 1978. Cherry, Gwendolyn S. and Thomas, Ruby L. Portraits in Color: The Lives of Colorful Negro flomeii. New York: Pageant Press, 1S62. CiiUjoy, Anatole and Hancuester, F.v,•, ec*. The ID a ii c e Encyclopedia. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1967. Clarke, Mary and Crisp, Clement. The History of Dance. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc., 1981. Cohen-Stratyner, Barbara Naomi. Bibliographical Dictionary of Dance. New York: Schirmer Books, 1982. Davis, Marianna W., ed. Contributions of Black Women To America. Vol. I: The Arts, Business and Commerce, Media. Law. Sports. Columbia, South Carolina: Kenday Press, Inc., 1981. Denby, Edwin. Dance Writings. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1986. Emery, Lynne Fauley. Black Dance In the United States From 1619 - 1970. Palo Alto: National Press Books, 1972. Harris, Sheldon, ed. Blues Who's Who. New Rochelle, New York: Arlington House, 1979. 171 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 7 2 Hughes, Langston and Meltzer, Milton. Black Maaio: A Pictorial History of Black Entertainers in America. New York: Bonanza Books, 1967. Jowitt, Deborah. The Dance In Mindr Boston: David R. Godine, Publisher, 1978. Levy, Eugene. James Weldon Johnson: Black Leader. Black Voice. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1973. Lloyd, Margaret. The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. Dance Horizons, 1949. Martin, John. John Martin’s Book of The Dance. New York: Tudor Publishing Company, 1963. Matney, William C., ed. Who's Who Among Black Americans. Ann Woik Krouse Publisher, 4th Edition, 1985. Mazo, Joseph H. Prime Movers: The Makers of Modern Dance in America. New Jersey: Princeton Book Company, 1977. McDonagh, Don. The Complete Guide to Modern Dance. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, 1976. National Endowment for the Arts. Toward Civilization: A Report on Arts Education. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1988. Nichols, Charles H., ed. Arna Bontemps-Lanoston Hughes Letters 1925 - 1967. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1980. O'Neill, Lois Decker, ed. The Women's Book of World Records and Achievements. Garden City, New York: Anchor Press of Doubleday, 1979. Ploski, Harry A. and Marr, Warren, II, eds. Afro USA: A Reference Work on the Black Experience. New York: Bellwether Publishing Company, Inc., 1976. Schlundt, Christena L. Tamiris: A Chronicle of Her Dance Career 1927 - 1955. New York: The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations, 1972. Sorell, Walter. Looking Back in Wonder: Diary of a Dance Critic. Columbia: Columbia University Press, 1986. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 173 The Dance Through the Ages. New York: Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, 1967. Terry, Walter. The Dance in America. Harper and Row Publishers, 1971. Uglow, Jennifer S., ed. The International. Dictionary of Women * s Blog raphv. New York: Continuum, 1982. Wenig, Adele R. An Annotated Bibliography of Sources from 1943 To 1975. Berkeley, California: Cleo's Duplication Service, 1983. Periodicals. Pamphlets. Journals and Dissertations "African Tour For Primus." Dance and Dancers. January 1962, 34. Allen, Zita D. "Memorabaileya: City Center, Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre." Dance Magazine. August 1974, 22+. Balcom, Lois. "The Negro Dances Himself." Dance Observer. December 1944, 122 - 124. ______"What Chance Has The Negro Dancer?" Dance Observer. November 1944, 110 - 111. ______"Valerie Bettis and Pearl Primus." Dance Observer. February 1944, 15. Barber, Beverly Anne Hillsman. "Pearl Primus, In Search Of Her Roots: 1943 - 1970." Ph.D. diss., The Florida State University, 1984. Beiswanger, George W. "Asadata Dafora and Company." Dance Observer. January 1944, 9. ______"Lobby thoughts and jottings: Budding Grove." Dance Observer. October 1943, 38. ______"Pearl Primus YMHA, April 22, 23 1944." Dance Observer, June-July 1944, 67. Bernstein, Harry. "Fercival Borde and Company with Pearl Primus, St. Harks Playhouse, June 16, 1959," Dance Observer. October 1959, 119. Boroff, David. "New Dance Group." Dance Magazine. July 1958, 49-51. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 7 4 Bowers, Theresa. "Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, 20t'n Anniversary season, Carnegie Kali, January 15, 1979." Dance Magazine, May 1979, 44. ______"Pearl Primus-Percival Borde Dance Company, Riverside Church, March 21, 1981." Dance Magazine. November 1981, 40 - 45. Braggiotti, Mary. "Democracy in Rhythm." Negro Digest. November 1944, 73 - 75. Carter, Michael. "Dancing On America's Conscience." Negro Digest. 19 September 1944, 69 - 70. "Choreographies." Dance Observer. May 1963, 74 - 77. Clarke, Mary. "Conversations with Dancers." The Dancing Times. December 1959, 135. Delman, Judith. "The New Dance Group." Dance Observer. January 1944, 3*. Denby, Edwin. "The Ballet: Pearl Primus." Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. Dier, Richard. "Interview with La Primus." Afro-American. 21 October 1944. Dodson, Owen. "Pearl Primus." Theatre Arts. December 1944, 712 - 713. Epstein, Milton. "Terpsichorean Acculturation." Dance Observer. December 1546, 120 - 12i. Estrada, Ric. "Three Leading Negro Artists and How They Feel About Dance in the Community." Dance Magazine. November 1968, 46 - 60. "Flyin' Through the Air with the Greatest of Ease." The People's Voice. 29 April 1944. Franck, Ruth and Locke, Linda. "Observations On Negro And White Dance." Dance Observer. August-September 1944. 80 - 81. Goodman, Ezra. "Hard Time Blues." Dance Magazine. April 1946, 30 - 31+. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 7 5 Hartshorne, Joan and Tom. "Jolly Black Minstrels Need Not Apply." Dance Scope. Vol. 3, No. 2, National Dance Guild, Spring 1967, 17 - 22. Hentoff, Nat. "An Inheritance Comes to P.S. 83." American Education, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, February 1966, 28 - 31. Hering, Doris. "Little Fast Feet: The Story of the Pilgrimage of Pearl Primus to Africa." Dance Magazine. July 1950, 21 - 23. ______"Pearl Primus and Company in 'Dark Rhythms' at the 92nd Street 'Y,' October 11 and 21." Dance Magazine. December 1951, 16+. ______"Reviewers Stand; Pearl Primus YM-YWHA Dance Center, 11 April 1948," Dance Magazine. 41 - 42. ______"The Season in Review." Dance Magasine, December 1951. Hornsey, Jana Czernitzka. "Pearl Primus - Adventures in and out of Africa." Dance Magazine, February 1962, 36 - 37 + . Horst, Louis. "Pcrcival Borde with Pearl Primus, guest artist." Dance Observer. December 1958, 156. "Israel Acclaims Pearl Primus." Dance News. March 1952. "Jacob's Pillow in its 9th Season." Dance Magazine. June 1950, 11. Kelly, Virginia. "Current Dancing and Skating Review." Dar.ce Magazine. November 1944, 14. Krevitsky, Nik. "Pearl Primus and Company, YM-YWHA, April 11, 1948." Dance Observer. May 1948, 57. ______"Walter Terry's 'Dance Laboratory'." Dance Observer. April 1953, 57 - 58. "LaRocque Bey - Executive Director/Founder of the LaRocque Bey School of Dance Theatre." Black Arts New York, Vol. 2, No. 6, February 1989, 8. "Little Primitive." Time. 25 August 1947, 42 - 43. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 17 6 ______"Dancer Gives First Boston Performance." The Christian Science Monitor. Marks, Marcia. "Earth Theatre, Pearl Primus-Percival Borde Institute, June 13, 1964.''' Dance Magazine. August 1974, 28. ______"Freda Miller Memorial Concert; 92nd Street 'Y' May 4, 1963." Dance Magazine. June 1963, 68. Maskey, Jacqueline. "Black Rhythms, Circle in the Square Theatre." Dance Maqasine. July 1965, 32+. Morgan, Clyde. "Art Had a Power Then." Dance Scope. Vol. 3, No. 2, National Dance Guild, Spring 1967, 23 - 25- Myers, Gerald E., ed. The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. Durham, North Carolina: American Dance Festival, 1988. "New Primus Group." Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "New York Concert Scene - Winter." Dance Magazine. December, 1963, 6. Osemare, Hal ifu. "To Be or Not To Be.” Crisis Magazine. October 1988, 22+. "Pearl Primus." Ebony. January 1951, 54 - 55+. "Pearl Primus, Museum of Modern Art, June 9, 16 1954." Dance Observer. August-September 1954, 102 - 106. "Percival Borde and Company with Pearl Primus." Dance Observer. October 1959, 119. "Primitive Primus." Liberty. 7 June 1947, 66-67. "Primus & Group Open Y Season." Dance News. November 1946. "Primus-Bcrde End African Tour." Dance Magazine. January 1963, 3. "Primus-Borde Establish Institute." Dance Magazine. August 1963, 3. "Primus Quits Show To Go on Tour." Dance News. December 1 OAC^ 1 V t Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 177 Primus, Pearl. "Africa." Dance Magazine. March 1958, 42 - 49+. "Africa Dances." Dance Observer. December 1949, 147. 'African Dance: Eternity Captured." Caribe. Vol. VII, No. 1, Special Dance Issue, 1983, 10. "An Anthropological Study of Masks As Teaching Aids In The Enculturation Of Mano Children." Ph.D. dissertation, New York University, 1978. ______"Life Crises: Dance Prom Birth to Death." Proceedings from 4th Annual Conference in Philadelphia, American Dance Therapy Association, 1969. "My Statement." Caribe. Vol. VII, No. 1, Special Dance Issue, 1983, 5. R.S. "Pearl Primus Begins Dance Series." 17 March 1944, Vertical File. The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "Salute to Jacob's Pillow." Dance Magazine. July 1957, 60. "Schools around NY." Dance Magazine. April 1963, 7-8= Small, Linda. "Prima Pearl Primus." Other Stages. 5 April 1979. Sommers, Pamela. "Prom Africa to Disco." H, 1+, Vertical File, National Museum of African Art. Sorel1, Walter. "Conversat ion with Pearl Primus." Dance M agazine. October 1959, 14-15. Supree, Burt. "Footlights: Dancemobile Winter Series." Vertical, File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center. T., L.K. "Pearl Primus and Company." Dance Observer. April 1956, 55. Thom, Rose Anne. "Pearl Primus Dance Company, Riverside Church, March 22, 1979." Dance Magazine. June 1979, 136 - 139. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 7 8 Todd, Arthur. "Mister Johnson." Dance Observer. June-July 1956, 88 - 91. Williams, Julinda Lewis. "Black Dance: A Diverse Unity." Dance. Scone. Vol. 14, No. 2, American Dance Guild, 1980, 54 - 63. Wright, Patricia. "The Prime of Miss Pearl Primus." Contact: University of Massachusetts - Amherst. February 1985, 13 - 16. Newspaper Articles "Alphonse Cimber, Drummer, Is Dead." The New York Times. 19 March 1981, II, 14. "Ambassador of Dance." The New York Times. 14 March 1966, 36:2. Atkinson, Brooks. "Pearl Primus and Claude Marchant in a Calypso Musical Entitled 'Caribbean Carnival.'" The New York Times. 7 December 1947. Beaumont, Cyril. "Exotic Ballet." London Times. 4 November 1951. Braggiotti, Mary. "Fight for Democracy in Jungle Rhythm." New York Post, 22 September 1944, Daily Magazine section. Buckle, Richard. "Ballet." London Observer. 11 November 1951. Conrad, Earl. "Pearl Primus Tell Her Faith In Common People." Chicago Defender. 6 January 1945. Dawson, L.M. "African Dances Tell of Life." The New York Amsterdam News, 12 May 1951. Denby, Edwin. "The Dance: Dancer as Propagandist." New York Herald Tribune. 21 April 1944. ______"The Dance: Not Tied to Any Apron Strings." New York Herald Tribune, 24 January 1944. D.H. "Pearl Primus." Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center. D.M'D. "Dances of Africa Given on Program By Pearl Primus." The New York Times. 27 July 1967, 67. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 179 Dunning, Jennifer. "Pearl Primus Dancing Indoors and Out." The New York Times. 17 August 1979. Freedley, George. "Stage Today: Pearl Primus In Two Parts." Morninc? Telegraph. New York. 10 October i944. Hague, Robert A. "Pearl Primus In B 'way Ecw." PM Sew York. 6 October 1944. Hammond, Sally. "Spreading the Heritage." Hew York Post. Holbrook, Norman. "No Power Cut With Miss Primus." Goening Dispatch. 4 December 1951. Hughes, Elinor. "The Dance: Pearl Primus." Boston Herald. 18 January 1947. Kisselgoff, Anna. "Collins and Primus In Ailey Spotlight." The New York Times. 15 May 1974, 36. ______"Pearl Primus Offering Program of Dance called 'Earth Theatre'." The New York-Times, 24 March 1979. ______"Pearl Primus Rejoices in the Black Tradition." The New York Times. 19 June 1988, VIII, 18. Martin, John. "Brilliant Dancing By Pearl Primus." The New York Times. 5 October 1944, 18:8. ______"Dance: Miscellany." The New York Times. 17 February 1957, II, 9:2. ______"The Dance: Advices, African Note From Pearl Primus - Local Items." The New York Times. 26 June 1949. ______"The Dance: Allies In the Arts." The New York Times. 13 June 1943, II, 2:2. ______"The Dance: An African Carnival." The New York Times. 5 November 1961, II, 4:5. ______“The Dance: Busy Days Ahead.The New York Times. 8 October 1944, 3. ______"The Dance: Current Activities." The New York Times. 4 November 1945, II, 5. ______"The Dance: Current Events." The Hew York Times. 25 November 1945, II, 22:3. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 8 0 ______"The Dance: Current Trends." The Mew York Times. 3 December 1944, II, 4:3. ______"The Dance: Five Artists." The New York Times. 21 February 1943, II, 5:3, "The Dance: Formal Bow." The New York Times. 1 October 1944, 19. - "The Dance: Futures." The New York Times. 21 February 1954. ______"The Dance: In Liberia." The Hew York Times. 31 July 1960, II, 6:5. ______"The Dance: Laurels - Award No. 2." The New York Times. 1 August 1943, 2. ______"The Dance: Notes." The New York Times. 9 May 1 0^ 0 T T "i • K • h ^ S V / A J . f V • • ______"The Dance: Notes From The Field." The New York Times. 20 August 1944. ______"The Dance: Repertory Season." The New York Times. 10 June 1945, II, 4:6. ______"The Dance: Rovings." The New York Times. 21 October 1951. ______"The Dance: Stadium Ballet." The New York Times, 22 July 1945, 6. ______"The Dance: Summer Season." The New York Times. 16 June 1946, II, 2:2. _____ "The Dance: The Week's Events." The New York Times. 10 November 1946, II, 3:8. ______"The Dance: Week's Programs." The New York Times. 19 May 1946, II, 4:1. ______"The Week's Events." The New York Times. 28 January 1951. __ "The Week's Events." The New York Times. 13 December 1953. McDonagh, Don. "Pearl Primus Edits An Exquisite 'Fanga' From Africa Dance." The New York Times. 19 August 1974. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 18 1 "Primus 'Fanga' Enchants." The Ne.w_Y.ork Times. 17 August 1974, 33. Nuchtern, Jean. "Back to Africa." The Soho weekly News. 29 March i V i 27. "Pearl Primus Acclaimed."’ New York Herald Times. 24 September 1956. "Pearl Primus and Company Give Two Y Recitals Sunday." Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "Pearl Primus Dancer Par Excellence Interpreter of a People's Struggle." The People's Voice. 4 December 1943. "Pearl Primus' engagement at Cafe' Society has been extended..." New York Herald Tribune, 3 June 1951. "Pearl Primus Is Honored For Contribution to Culture." The New York Times. 16 October 1971. "Pearl Primus's new program..." New York herald Tribune. 24 October 1951, no p. "Pearl Primus Surrenders Passport To State Department." The Louisiana Weekly. 31 May 1952. "Pearl Primus will give a lecture-demonstration..." The New York Times. 11 August 1960. "Pearl Primus Will Open Engagement Wednesday." New York Herald Tribune. 1 October, 1945. "Pearl Primus will return to Cafe' Society..." The New York Times. 31 October 1948. "Primus at Cafe' Society." The New York Times. 5 October 1951. Primus, Pearl. "To the Lands Of Drum Throb and Dance." Washington Star. 17 December 1948. Robertson, Michael. "Pearl Primus, Ph.D., Returns." The New York Times. 18 March 1979, IV, 28+. Summers, Eileen. "Dancer Pearl Primus: She Searches Birthplace of the Blues," Washington Post. 18 June 1957. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 182 Terry, Walter. "Dance: African Carnival." New York Herald Tribune, 25 November 1961. ______"Dance World: Hunting Jungle Rhythm." New York fiSia l d .Tciby'ni?, 15 January 1950. ______"Primus, Fonaroff and Others in Non-Balletic Dance Events." New. York Herald Tribune. 17 November 1946. ______"Primus, La Meri Among Those Now Active in Dance Research." New York Herald Tribune. 23 Hay 1948. Thompson, Vickie. "Pearl Primus Dancers6 Feet Infected Declares Tour's 'Grossly Mishandled'." New York Amsterdam News, 10 February 1945. "Tomorrow evening, Pearl Primus will give a lecture- demonstration..." The New York Times. 14 August I960. Visiting Camps Of Israel's People." The N.Y, Amsterdam News . - 22 Mar.ch 1952. Watts, Phyllis. "The Dance: Jordan Hall, Pearl Primus." Boston Daily Globe. 18 January 1947. Wershba, Joseph. "The Gift of Healing Is Not Always a Medical Matter." New York Post. 9 August 1960. Wood, Eunice. "Primus Captivates With Authentic Beauty." typewritten Press Release by a reporter for Pittsburg Courier. Vertical File, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center. Programs and Playbills "The African Research Foundation presents the First Annual African Carnival." 1961 Souvenir Program. Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. "Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theatre." City Center. December 3, 1974. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The American Dance Festival presents 'The Black Tradition in American Modern D a n c e . ' " Page Auditorium, Duke University. June 23-25, 1988. American Dance Festival office, New York. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 183 "The American Museum of Natural History presents Dark Rhythms." October 17, 1946. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The American Museum of Natural History presents Pearl Primus and Group in Dark Rhythms." May 4, 1950. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center in Lincoln Center, New York. "Belapr'o Theatre.” October 4-14, 1944. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "Benefit for The New Lincoln School." February 2, 1951. Hunter College Assembly Hall. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "Caribbean Carnival: The First Calypso Musical Ever Produced." The International Theatre, Columbus Circle, New York, Beginning December 5, 1947. Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. "The Citizens' Committee of Upper West Side presents Pearl Primus in a Dance Recital." 1 June 1944. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The Dance Teachers Advisory Committee of the Y.M.H.A. presents Pearl Primus." April 22 and 23, 1944. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The Dance Theatre of the Y.M.H.A. presents Valerie Bettis and Pearl Primus." January 23, 1944. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The Dance Theatre of YMHA 1944-45 Season presents Pearl Primus and Dance Company." February 25, 1945. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. “The Dance Theatre of Y.M. & Y.W.K.A. 1945-46 Season," April 14, 1946. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The Dance Theatre of the Y.M. & Y.W.H.A. 1946-47 Season." November 10, 1946. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, Hew York. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 8 4 "Earth Theatre." Riverside Dance Festival. March 21-25, 1979. Dance Collection., The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The Henry Street Playhouse in association with The New York Dance Film Society presents Pearl Primus in a lecture- demonstration." October 2, 1950. The Magical Origin of Dance. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "The International Student's Club of Columbia University presents A World Dance Festival." McMillin Theatre. February 18, 1956. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Ninth Season of the Fourth Week." July 21 - 22, no date, but probably 1950. Jacob's Pillow Archives, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lee, Massachusetts. "Mister Johnson." April 30, 1956. Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. "Negro Freedom Rally at Madison Square Garden." June 26, 1944. Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. "New York City Summer Dance Festival." YM-YWHA. July 11, 1954. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "New York Ethnic Dance Festival present Pearl Primus Afro/American Dancers with special guest Pereival Borde.” Carnegie Hall. July 31, 1979. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Center at Lincoln Center, New York. "Pearl Primus." Souvenir Program, no date (after 1951 because of quote from Ebonv magazine article). Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. "Pearl Primus and Company." Dark Rhythms. YM-YWHA, October 11 and October 21, 1951. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 185 "Pearl Primus and Her Company in Dark Rhythms." The American Museum of Natural History. May 15, 1952. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. 1 TO •»“ ■» 1 ^ ^ *• ^ r* •« V% «» ^ D "Perry Street Theatre presents Earth Theatre." Pearl Primus and Percival Borde. August 17, 1979. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Library at Lincoln Center, New York. "Students' Dance Recitals, Pearl Primus and Company with Maudelle as The Blind Beggar Woman." January 6, 1951. Central High School of Needle Trades. Dance Collection, The Performing Arts Research Center at Lincoln Center, New York. Winston-Salem Teacher's College presents Pearl Primus, November 18, 1946, Fries Auditorium. Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. "University of Michigan, Summer Session, August 9, 1956." Pearl Primus and Percival Borde assisted by Moses Miann, Helen Tinsley and Mary Waithe. Joe Nash Collection, The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York. Video and Film Viewings. Letters. Interviews. and Workshops Primus, Pearl. Personal Corre-spondance to Joe Nash in August 1588. Mr. Nash permitted author to xerox the correspondence which describes the Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute, Inc. in detail. February 11, 1989. Video Cassette. Choreography of three reconstructed works: The Negro Sneaks of Rivers. Strange Fruit and Hard Times Blues. The American Dance Festival, The.Black Tradition in American Modern_Dance, June 23 to 25, 1988, Page Auditorium, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. Video viewing courtesy of Charles Reinhart, American Dance Festival office, New York. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. 1 8 6 ______Pearl Primus performing at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lee, Massachusetts, 1950. Dance Collection, The Performing Art? Research Center at Lincoln Center, Hew York. Film. ______Pre-Concert Lecture. Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Lee, Massachusetts, Surmaer 1837. Video viewi courtesy of Norton Owen at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival. Nash, Joe. The Schomburg Center for Research of Black Culture, New York, 10:00am to 2:00pm, interview, February 11, 1989. ______Lecture and Workshop. "Black Dance From the Harlem Renaissance." Festival of Afro-American Arts, Baltimore, Maryland, February 26, 1989. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.