Analyzing Pearl Primus' 'Strange Fruit' Choreography - Her Campus She often recounted how she had been taught Impinyuzaduring her travels in Africa, after being declared a man by the royal monarch of the Watusi people. Read:Read the information on Pearl Primus from Margaret Lloyds chapter New LeadersNew Directions from The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance. What gestures does she use? In 1943, Primus performed Strange Fruit. For more information on Primus, her career and choreography, seeThe Dance Claimed Me(P Bio S) by Peggy and Murray Schwartz, Yale University Press, 2012. She developed a growing awareness that people of different cultures performed dances that were deeply rooted in many aspects of their lives. The 68-year-old dancer, choreographer and Ph.D. in anthropology (from New York University) is much honored (the latest honorary doctorate was from Spelman College last month). In 1944, Dunham opened her dance school and taught students not only tap and ballet, but dance forms of the African Diaspora and percussion. Each time Pearl Primus appeared at Jacobs Pillow, her performances were informed by actual fieldwork she had just completed. She would also share that program at the Pillow with Iris Mabry. At the Pillow, she performed Dance of Beauty, with a program note stating, In the hills of the Belgian Congo lives a tribe of seven foot people. Primus' sojourn to West Africa has proven invaluable to students of African dance. Pearl Primus - Alchetron, The Free Social Encyclopedia Primus intent was to show the humanity behind those deemed too awful to be human. Choreographer and dancer Alvin Ailey often receives credit for mainstreaming modern dance. One of her dances, Strange Fruit, was a protest against the lynching of blacks. "Strange Fruit"-- Choreography by Pearl Primus; Performance by Dawn Marie Watson. I highly recommend watching before reading. Primus was a powerhouse dancer, whose emotions, exuberance, and five-foot-high athletic jumps wowed every audience she performed for. Psychology Undergrad Major at Kutztown University. Pearl Primus' debut performance predated Dr. King's March on Selma by over 20 years, however her work did much to dispel prejudice and instill and understanding of African heritage in American audiences. [25], Pearl fused spirituals, jazz and blues and then coupling these music forms with the literacy works of black writers, Primus' choreographic voice though strong resonated primarily for and to the black community. Her Campus may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. This cannon of Negro spirituals, also referred to as "sorrow songs" branched from slave culture, which at the time was a prominent source of inspiration for many contemporary dance artists. When Pearl Primus performed at Jacobs Pillow for the first time on August 16, 1947, she was in the early stages of establishing her career as an important theatrical concert dancer on the American contemporary dance scene. %%EOF Strange Fruit (1945) Choreography by Pearl Primus A piece in which a woman reflects on witnessing a lynching used the poem (Links to an external site.) He received a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University and a MFA in Dance from Southern Methodist University. . [21] As an anthropologist, she conducted cultural projects in Europe, Africa and America for such organizations as the Ford Foundation, US Office of Education, New York University, Universalist Unitarian Service Committee, Julius Rosenwald Foundation, New York State Office of Education, and the Council for the Arts in Westchester. The first time, it had been her travels in the South. She made sure to preserve the traditional forms of expression that she observed. Straight Outta Philly | Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State [31], In 1991, President George H. W. Bush honored Primus with the National Medal of Arts. Author Norton Owen notes that Shawn credited the practice of putting diverse dance offerings on a single concert to Mary Washington Ball. Primus and Borde taught African dance artists how to make their indigenous dances theatrically entertaining and acceptable to the western world, and also arranged projects between African countries such as Senegal, Gambia, Guinea and the United States Government to bring touring companies to this country.[24]. Both drew on types of movement that are often found in the dances of Africa and its diaspora. Her most famous dance was the Fanga, an African dance of welcome which introduced traditional African dance to the stage. Like Primus, Dunham was not only a performer but also a dance historian. Her creative endeavors in political and social change makes Primus arguably one of the most political choreographers of her time because of her awareness of the issues of African Americans, particularly during the period between World War I and II.[26]. Strange Fruit(1945), a piece in which a woman reflects on witnessing a lynching, used the poemby the same name by Abel Meeropol (publishing as Lewis Allan). in education from New York University, she traveled to Liberia, where she worked with the National Dance Company there to create Fanga, an interpretation of a traditional Liberian invocation to the earth and sky. By 1943, she appeared as a soloist. Another connection between the two artists was their unswerving commitment to use their creative endeavors in the name of social and political change. Feel free to ignore the images edited in, as the only point of focus for this article is on the dance itself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ1CLB0Okug. Her first international tour took her to England in January 1952; from there, she traveled on to Liberia for the second time; and then she continued to Israel and to France. Her travels were clearly connected to her overarching interests mentioned above, and they also informed the type of protest dances that grew out of the New Dance Groups objectives: The New Dance Group aimed to make dance a viable weapon for the struggles of the working class. Great Summer Dance Programs for High School Students, Famous Women of Dance from 1804 to the Present, Black History and Women's Timeline: 19501959, Biography of Maya Angelou, Writer and Civil Rights Activist, Black History and Women's Timeline: 1920-1929, Biography of General Tom Thumb, Sideshow Performer, Areitos: Ancient Caribbean Tano Dancing and Singing Ceremonies, Biography of Lorraine Hansberry, Creator of 'Raisin in the Sun', Important Black Women in American History, Biography of Marian Anderson, American Singer, M.S.Ed, Secondary Education, St. John's University, M.F.A., Creative Writing, City College of New York. The New York Public Library. Pearl Primus | Essay - Jacob's Pillow Dance Interactive Her work has also been reimagined and recycled into different versions by contemporary artists. Test your dance knowledge with our Guess Game, then challenge your friends! In 1979, Percival Borde passed away. Primus had studied and performed with McBurnie when the older woman was in New York City during the early 1940s, so Primuss research trip gave them an opportunity to reconnect. "Black American Modern Dance Choreographers." Her many works Strange Fruit, Negro Speaks of Rivers, Hard Time Blues, and more spoke on very socially important topics. Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 - October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. This is cemented as she rises from the ground, now calm and self-assured. Primus' strong belief that rich choreographic material lay in abundance in the root experiences of a people has been picked up and echoed in the rhythm and themes of Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Talley Beatty, Dianne McIntyre, Elo Pomare and others. In 1947 Primus joined Jacob's Pillow and began her own program in which she reprised some of her works such as Hard Time Blues. J z7005;09pl=*}7ffN$Lfh:L5g=OmM4 hrH^ B @A1" % t!L |`00\dIILj^PY[~@*F Iy . In her program she also presented Three Spirituals entitled "Motherless Child", "Goin to tell God all my Trouble", and "In the Great Gettin-up Mornin." The Search for Identity Through Movement: Martha Grahams Frontier, The Search for Identity Through Movement: Pearl Primuss The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Pearl Primuss Strange Fruit and Hard Time Blues, Creating Contemporary American Identities Through Movement: Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Creating Contemporary American Identities Through Movement: Martha Grahams American Document, Creating American Identities Primary Sources, Thanjavur and the Courtly Patronage of Devadasi Dance, Social Reform and the Disenfranchisement of Devadasis, New Dance for New Audiences: The Global Flows of Bharatanatyam, Natural Movement and the Delsarte System of Bodily Expression, Local Case Study: Early Dance at Oberlin College, Expanding through Space and into the World, Exploring the Connections Between Bodies and Machines, Exploring the Connections Between Technology and Technique, Ability and Autonomy / Re-conceptualizing Ability, Reconfiguring Ability: Limitations as Possibilities, Accelerated Motion: towards a new dance literacy in America, http://acceleratedmotion.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/stage_fruit_lg.flv. Primus, however, found her creative impetus in the cultural heritage of the African American. [7] The organization trained dancers like Primus to be aware of the political and social climate of their time. Moreover, to honor the original work was part of her objective. This text can be changed from the Miscellaneous section of the settings page. Many choreographers, such as Jawolle Willa Jo Zollar, created projects inspired by Primus work. Primus was raised in New York City, and in 1940 received her bachelors degree in biology and pre-medical science from Hunter College. Pearl Primus, dancer and choreographer, was born on November 29th, 1919, in Trinidad. Two of the spirituals were the same, but Tis Me, Tis Me, Oh, Lord replaced Motherless Child., Miami City Ballet, Jazz/Musical Theatre Dance Program Ensemble, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Doug Elkins and Friends +10others, Boston Ballet, Adam H. Weinert, Ballet BC, Companhia Urbana de Dana +10others. The choreography for this piece, which was made in protest of sharecropping, truly represented Primus movement style. CloseNorton Owen, A Certain Place: The Jacobs Pillow Story (Lee, MA: Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, 2002), p. 11.Everything in Shawns background indicates that he would have enthusiastically followed this type of programming that ranged far and wide among the dance expressions of the world. Credits & Terms of Use. New York Times dance critic John Martinwho would become a devoted champion of the young dancer over the yearssingled Primus out as a remarkably gifted artist; and he went on to comment positively on her technique, her stunning vitality, and her command of the stage. Pearl Primus - Wikipedia Primus' 1943 work 'Strange Fruit' leaped over the boundaries of what was then considered 'black dance', "The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance - PDF Free Download", https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLSR-V3TM, https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QLS5-YS1P, "Pearl Primus Is Dead at 74; A Pioneer of Modern Dance", Picture of Pearl Primus in Folk Dance (1945), Archive footage of Primus performing Spirituals in 1950 at Jacob's Pillow, "Pearl Primus rejoices in the Black tradition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pearl_Primus&oldid=1151870198, Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development alumni, United States National Medal of Arts recipients, Trinidad and Tobago people of Ghanaian descent, Trinidad and Tobago emigrants to the United States, Trinidad and Tobago people of Ashanti descent, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 19:27. She choreographed this dance to a song by folk singer Josh White. Created in 1945 by Pearl primus, this solo is choreography on a song referring to the sharecroppers and interprets by the singer of folksong Josh White. In 1953 Primus returned to Trinidad to study dance there, and met her husband, Percival Borde. Instead of growing twisted like a gnarled tree inside myself, I am able to dance out my anger and my frustrations. American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist (19191994), Pioneer of African dance in the United States, Primus, from the Schomburg Library: Primus File, 1949, "New York, New York City Marriage Licenses Index, 1950-1995," database, FamilySearch (, "(Up)Staging the Primitive: Pearl Primus and 'the Negro Problem' in American Dance", "The New Dance Group: Transforming Individuals and Community", "THE DANCE: FIVE ARTISTS; Second Annual Joint Recital Project of the Y.M.H.A. It also laid the foundation for her relationship with Borde, who would follow her back to New York, marry her, and become her partner in all aspects of her life. For not even the entire mob is made up of people terrible by nature, because very few are. She used her dancing as an art to express the many issues revolving around black culture. [19] During her travels in the villages of Africa, Primus was declared a man so that she could learn the dances only assigned to males. The second timeJuly 21 and 22, 1950she had returned from Africa several months earlier. The note seems to succinctly capture Primuss deep affection for and attachment to the dance: I welcome you. The repeal of Prohibition brought new or re-opened spaces where audiences could enjoy theater, dance or music while purchasing legal drinks for those who, in the Depression,could afford them. Great Performances: Free To Dance - Biographies - Pearl Primus Cal Poly State University - San Luis Obispo, California State University - Los Angeles, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, California State University, Channel Islands, Jesus and Mary College, University of Delhi, Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising, Federal University Of Agriculture Abeokuta, University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, Interamerican University of Puerto Rico San German campus, Keiser University - Latin American Campus, London School of Economics and Political Science, California State University of Sacramento, Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta, School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, The University of Texas of the Permian Basin, University of North Carolina - Wilmington, University of South Florida - St. Petersburg, William Paterson University of New Jersey, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ1CLB0Okug. Then go to part two below for response details. Her performance was so outstanding that John Martin, a major dance critic from the New York Times stated that "she was entitled to a company of her own. Her efforts were also subsidized by the United States government who encouraged African-American artistic endeavors. Pearl Primus in Britannica Encyclopedia, She was a fledgling artist during the 1960s, when the Black Arts Movement was coming into its own in America, with its message of using art to increase self-representation, self-determination, and empowerment among people of color. Watch: ViewStrange Fruit and Hard Time Blues. The solo seen here exemplifies the pioneering work of Pearl Primus, who titled it A Man Has Just Been Lynched at its 1943 premiere. This piece served as an introduction to her swelling interest in Black heritage. Moreover, she developed an overarching interest in the cultural connections between dance and the lives of the descendants of African slaves who had been taken to widespread parts of the world. In 1953 Primus returned to Trinidad to study dance there, and met her husband, Percival Borde. 2019-12-09 . Beginning in 1928 and continuing over the next two decades, European-American artist Helen Tamiris explored the African-American folk music in several dances that comprised her suite, Negro Spirituals. As we have seen, Primus began following that path in the early 1940s, at the very beginning of her career. She presented Three SpiritualsMotherless Child, Goin to tell God all my Trouble, and In the Great Gettin-up Mornin. Included were Dance of the Fanti Fishermen, from Nigeria and Benis Womens War Dance, and the last dance of that section was Fanga, CloseProgram, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Ninth Season, 1950.a Liberian dance of welcome that became an iconic piece in her repertoire. [8] Amongst these influencers, Dafora's influence on Primus has been largely ignored by historians and unmentioned by Primus. Like the stories of so many of the artists discussed in these essays, Pearl Primuss story recounts the many paths she took on her way to accomplish her artistic vision, a vision that included her love of performing, her commitment to social and political change, and her desire to pass her knowledge and her artistry on to later generations. However, her goal of working as a medical researcher was unrealized due to the racial discrimination of the time. My hands bear no weapons. Allan, the pen name of teacher AbelMeeropol, was a frequently contributor to the TAC Cabarets, most often in collaboration with Earl Robinson. Pearl discovered her innate gift for movement, and she was quickly recognized for her abilities. Poetry is a good choice to focus on since that is the literary form Primus drew upon to inspire several of her dances. John O. Perpener III is a dance historian and independent scholar based in Charlotte, NC. After her field research, Primus was able to establish new choreography while continuously developing some of her former innovative works. Access a series of multimediaessaysoffering pathways to hundreds of rare videos, photos, programs, and more! Many viewers wondered about the race of the anguished woman, but Primus declared that the woman was a member of the lynch mob. The piece is set to the words of a power off the same title written by Abel Meeropol, under the pseudonym Ballet Started in Italy Classical Ballet A traditional, formal style of ballet that adheres to classical ballet techniques Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-modern-dance-choreographers-45330. She also staged The Wedding created in 1961. It was her first performance and included no music but the sound of a Black man being lynched. She later taught it to her husband, who performed it as his signature piece until his death, in 1990, and it was also performed by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1990. As an artist/ educator, Primus taught at a number of universities during her career including NYU, Hunter College, the State University of New York at Purchase, the College of New Rochelle, Iona College, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Howard University, the Five Colleges consortium in Massachusetts. She developed a growing awareness that people of different cultures performed dances that were deeply rooted in many aspects of their lives.Primuss early experiences as a student of dance and as a young black woman with an evolving political and social consciousness resulted in her having several intertwined objectives. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Pearl Primus was the first Black modern dancer. DANCE VIEW; Pearl Primus Rejoices in the Black Tradition I stretch my arms to the earth and to the sky for I alone am not strong enough to greet you. CloseIbid., p. 264. In 1977, Ailey received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. Pearl Primus was a member of the New Dance Group where she was encouraged by its socially and politically active members to develop her early solo dances dealing with the plight of African Americans in the face of racism. In their book, the Schwartzs include a program note from a 1951 performance of Fangain New York City. Early in her career she saw the need to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance. Pearl Primus's Strange Fruit and Hard Time Blues She later wrote: The dance begins as the last person begins to leave the lynching ground and the horror of what she has seen grips her, and she has to do a smooth, fast roll away from that burning flesh. Pearl Primus onStrange Fruit,Five Evenings with American Dance Pioneers: Pearl Primus, April 29th, 1983. [30], Primus believed in sound research. Dancers' Choices, Choreographers' Choices | Wolf Humanities Center However, Primuss original works continued to be performed at the festival. The movements she makes both towards and away from the body shows her struggle with facing the reality of the situation, of both her own actions, and the truth of the world she has lived in till now. I dance not to entertain, she once said, but to help people to better understand each other. Some four decades after her Pillow debut, she returned to lecture and participate in a special African Music and Dance project. Strange Fruit Choreographed by Pearl Primus, this solo piece portrays a woman's reaction to a lynching. inspired by a Liberian ritual dance, and Strange Fruit (1943), which dealt with lynching of blacks in the Deep South. Conclusion In conclusion, Strange Fruit is a major contribution to the world because it humanized black people, told real black stories, and helped legitimize black concert dance. Hard Time Blueswas a dance that focused on the plight of southern sharecroppers. She later included it in her performances at Barney Josephsons jazz club/cabaret Caf Society, which this photograph promoted. For me it was exultant with the mastery over the law of gravitation. CloseMargaret Lloyd, Borzoi Book of Modern Dance (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Books, 1949), p. 271.. Another work on her 1947 Jacobs Pillow program was also rooted in black southern culture. Her interest in world cultures had led her to enroll in the Anthropology Department at Columbia University in 1945.Primuss 1947 concert followed a format that Ted Shawn adopted at the time of his festivals opening in 1943. I have attacked racial prejudices inallforms Pearl Primus,Dance Magazine, November 1968. Pearl Eileen Primus (1919 -1994) was a dancer, choreographer and anthropologist who played an important role in the presentation of African dance to audiences outside African culture. Under the direction of Samuel Pott, the New Jersey-based Nimbus Dance Works focuses on the intersection between high-level dance and innovative ways of involving communities and audiences. Pearl Primus in "Strange Fruit" - The New York Public Library Again, we come to one of the recurrent themes of these essays: It was importantduring the different decades of the 20th and 21st centuryfor black artists to create work that served a number of purposes that went far beyond the creation of art for the sheer pleasure of aesthetic contemplation. Strange Fruit (1945), a piece in which a woman reflects on witnessing a lynching, used the poem by the same name by Abel Meeropol (publishing as Lewis Allan). Pearl Primus | Biography, Dance, & Facts | Britannica In 1942, she performed with the NYA, and in 1943 she performed with the New York Young Mens Hebrew Association. Within a year, Primus auditioned and won a scholarship for the New Dance Group, a left-wing school and performance company located on the Lower East Side of New York City.[6]. According to John Martin of The New York Times, Primus' work was so great that she was "entitled to a company of her own." Primus continued to study anthropology and researched dance in Africa and its Diaspora. Choreographed pieces include Strange Fruit, Hard Times Blues, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, Shouters of Sobo, and tmpinyuza. Pearl Primus, trained in Anthropology and at NY's left-wing New Dance Group Studio, chose to use the lyrics only (without music) as a narrative for her choreography which debuted at her first recital, February 1943, at the 92nd St. YMHA. Dr. Pearl Primus - Choreography: Physical Design for the Stage Early in her career she saw the need to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance. Primus, Pearl 1919- | Encyclopedia.com After his death Primus rarely performed although she continued to occasionally present African and African-American dances around the country. In this way she differed from other dance groups who altered the African dances that they incorporated into their movements. "Black American Modern Dance Choreographers." Lewis, Femi. According to John Martin of The New York Times, Primus work was so great that she was entitled to a company of her own.. Her performance of Strange Fruit, choreographed by the late Dr. Pearl Primus, is currently on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. . But Primus explained that jumping does not always symbolize joy. After receiving this funding, Primus originally proposed to develop a dance project based on James Weldon Johnsons work "God's Trombones. Biographers Peggy and Murray Schwartz point out how Fangabecame a dance that was often the central focus in her lecturing and teaching after she returned from Africa. For the balance of her careerin her interviews and through her lecture-demonstrations and performancesshe would stress the complex and interrelated functions of dance in the different cultures of Africa and its diaspora. Primus was known as a griot, the voice of cultures in which dance is embedded. Dawn Marie is a former member of Philadanco and has also performed featured roles in Broadway and regional musical theatre productions. PDF Pioneer to Black Voices: Pearl Primus and Strange Fruit ''[14] She observed and participated in the daily lives of black impoverished sharecroppers. But, here, it is also important to note the obviousthat the younger artist had explored those types of movement elements well before the Primus project took place. Explore a growing selection of specially themed Playlists, curated by Director of Preservation NortonOwen. In 1945 she continued to develop Strange Fruit (1945) one of the pieces she debuted in 1943. [13] With an enlarged range of interest, Primus began to conduct some field studies. In 1958, he established the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Pearl PrimusStrange Fruit Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1919 before immigrating to America She had little dance experience butcaught on naturally as she joined NewDance Group Fused her modern and ballet training Solo created in 1943 Inspired by the song Strange Fruit sung by Billie Holiday She had not yet undertaken fieldwork on the continent of Africa, but based on information she could gather from books, photographs, and films, and on her consultations with native African students in New York City, she had begun to explore the dance language of African cultures. It was an effort to guide the Western world to view African dance as an important and dignified statement about another way of life. She spoke up through dance about what was happening to other African Americans at the time (as a woman, too) and had a powerful political voice that could've gotten her killed as well. %PDF-1.6 % 5, p.3. 'Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore' (1979) was a . Ted Shawn and his Men dancers presented their Negro Spirituals on tour and in New York City performances during the 1930s; a program dated August 18, 1934 indicates that Ted Shawn and his company performed Three Negro Spirituals at a benefit concert for the Long Ridge Methodist Episcopal Church in Danbury, Connecticut.
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