PDF Pioneer to Black Voices: Pearl Primus and Strange Fruit She had recognized that they were a part of her cultural heritage, and she made them the centerpiece of her dance aesthetic. When analyzing the dance, one can see that the performer is portraying a female character's reaction after witnessing a lynching. It was her first performance and included no music but the sound of a Black man being lynched. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Pearl Primus was born in Trinidad on November 29, 1919, to Edward and Emily Jackson Primus. The choreographer and educator Pearl Primus, has been described by Carl Van Vechten as "the grandmother of African-American dance." Though initially an untrained dancer, Primus became an astounding dancer and choreographer, as her work was characterized by "speed, intensity rhythms, high jumps, and graceful leaps." Watch: ViewStrange Fruit and Hard Time Blues. In Strange Fruit (1945), the solo dancer reflects on witnessing a lynching. In 1958, he established the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. When she returned to the United States, she continued her efforts to maintain a company and a school that would forward her artistic vision. Hard Time Blueswas a dance that focused on the plight of southern sharecroppers. When Primus returned, she performed many of these dances to audiences throughout the world. Throughout her career, Primus used her craft to express social ills in United States society. Primus, however, found her creative impetus in the cultural heritage of the African American. In showing the humanity of the otherwise monstrous lynchers, she shows the tension-filled situation in the South. Strange Fruit, was a protest against the lynching of blacks. CloseProgram, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival: Opera and Opera Ballet, Season 1947.By the 1940s, the extensive canon of Negro spirituals or sorrow songs that stemmed from American slave culture had become a recurrent source of artistic inspiration for contemporary dance artists. The solo seen here exemplifies the pioneering work of Pearl Primus, who titled it "A Man Has Just Been Lynched" at its 1943 premiere. Primus, Pearl. 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. 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. Move: Set up a movement experience that allows students to explore gestures and movement qualities present in Primuss work and that students might relate to contemporary protest. The Oni and people of Ife, Nigeria, felt that she was so much a part of their community that they initiated her into their commonwealth and affectionately conferred on her the title "Omowale" the child who has returned home. 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. Dr. Pearl Primus - Choreography: Physical Design for the Stage They were artistic innovators against poverty, fascism, hunger, racism and the manifold injustices of their time. CloseThe New Dance Group Gala Concert, p. 6. [13], Following this show and many subsequent recitals, Primus toured the nation with The Primus Company. This is why she is not an entirely sympathetic character. Primus, Pearl 1919- | Encyclopedia.com For that project, Primus taught the solos to Kim Bears, a young dancer from the Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco), and it was Bears who restaged them for the 2011 performance at the Pillow. A dancer, choreographer, and proselytizer for African dance, Pearl Primus (1919-1994) trained at the New Dance Group and worked with Asadata Dafora. Because of society's limitations, Primus was unable to find a job as a laboratory technician and she could not fund herself through medical school, so she picked up odd jobs. All of the works except Statementhad been restaged two decades earlier as a part of an American Dance Festival project, The Black Tradition in Modern Dance, that had been initiated to preserve important works by black choreographers. She mastered dances like the war dance Bushasche, and Fanga which were common to African cultural life. "Strange Fruit"-- Choreography by Pearl Primus; Performance by Dawn She had learned how the dance expressions of the people were connected to a complex system of religious beliefs, social practices, and secular concerns, ranging from dances that invoked spirits to intervene on behalf of a communitys well-being to dances for aristocrats that distinguished their elevated social class. Straight Outta Philly | Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State Or is there a deeper reading to take on both this character, and of the southerners of Primuss day? Her research in Africa was funded by the Rosenwald Foundation, the same philanthropic organization that had sponsored a similar research trip to the Caribbean for Katherine Dunham in 1935. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. After receiving this funding, Primus originally proposed to develop a dance project based on James Weldon Johnsons work "God's Trombones. That performance is on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 - October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Internationally famous choreographer, dancer, anthropologist, Dr. Pearl Eileen Primus (1919-1994) was hailed by critics as one of the United States most spectacular dancers. Her interpretation of Black Heritage through the medium of dance was regarded as being without peer this of the Atlantic. Read more here: , Choreography: Physical Design for the Stage, Disability & Dance Research Circle Project, When Dancers Talk: Research Circle Project. In 1978, she completed her doctoral degree in dance education at New York Universitys School of Education. My hands bear no weapons. Instead of growing twisted like a gnarled tree inside myself, I am able to dance out my anger and my frustrations. 1933-2023 Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In 1945 she continued to develop Strange Fruit (1945) one of the pieces she debuted in 1943. After. Test your dance knowledge with our Guess Game, then challenge your friends! In 1979, Percival Borde passed away. This blog, and the Political Cabaret exhibition,was informed byresearch by the Performing Arts Museum's summer interns: Brittany Camacho, Colorado College, and Kameshia Shepherd, Bank Street College of Education, Program in Museum Education. In the summer of 1944, Primus visited the Deep South to research the culture and dances of Southern blacks. 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. Her meticulous search of libraries and museums and her use of living source materials established her as a dance scholar.[1]. 508 0 obj <>stream Her view of "dance as a form of life" supported her decision to keep her choreography real and authentic. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/african-american-modern-dance-choreographers-45330. Primus' approach to developing a movement language and to creating dance works parallels that of Graham, Holm, Weidman, Agnes de Mille and others who are considered to be pioneers of American modern dance. Over time Primus developed an interest in the way dance represented the lives of people in a culture. Pearl Primus, (born November 29, 1919, Port of Spain, Trinidaddied October 29, 1994, New Rochelle, New York, U.S.), American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and teacher whose performance work drew on the African American experience and on her research in Africa and the Caribbean. Do some research on America in the 1940sandlist some events important to African Americans in the 1940s. While on the university and college circuit, Primus performed at Fisk University in 1948, where Dr. Charles S. Johnson, a member of Rosenwald Foundation board, was president. Do you find this information helpful? Femi Lewis is a writer and educator who specializes in African American history topics, including enslavement, activism, and the Harlem Renaissance. 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. Ailey began his career as a dancer at the age of 22 when he became a dancer with the Lester HortonCompany. Her interest in world cultures had led her to enroll in the Anthropology Department at Columbia University in 1945. 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. By John Perpener Explore by Chapter The Early StagesDiscovering Cultural OriginsExcerpts From An African JourneyTouring InternationallyThe Later Years The Early Stages These pieces were rooted in Primus experience with black southern culture. The intention of this piece introduces the idea that even a lynch mob can show penitence. Primus took these traditionally long rituals, dramatized them, made them shorter, and preserved the foundation of the movement . In 1974, Primus staged Fanga created in 1949 which was a Liberian dance of welcome that quickly made its way into Primus's iconic repertoire. For the Bushasche project, Zollar did have videos of the version that Primus taught to the Five College students in 1984; so, of course, she would have been influenced by it. Primuss promise as a dancer was recognized quickly, and she received a scholarship from the National Youth Associations New Dance Group in 1941. 'Strange Fruit' (1943) dealt with lynching. How does Primus express themes of social commentary and protest in her work? Dance critic Walter Terry wrote an article discussing the time she spent interacting with people from more than thirty different tribal groups, and he described the knowledge she had gained from her research. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. The Influence of Pearl Primus Yes, I have danced about lynchings, protested in dance against Jim Crow cars and systems which created sharecropping. This inaugural dance, accompanied by Strange Fruit, Rock Daniel and Hard Time Blues, was presented when Pearl Primus debuted February 14, 1943 for the Young Men's Hebrew Association on 92 nd Street. [9] However, Marcia Ethel Heard notes that he instilled a sense of African pride in his students and asserts that he taught Primus about African dance and culture. 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. She learned more about African dance, its function and meaning than had any other American before her. For her, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival was a place where all of those paths and visions intersected. After six months of thorough research, she completed her first major composition entitled African Ceremonial. Poetry is a good choice to focus on since that is the literary form Primus drew upon to inspire several of her dances. The dance performance, Strange Fruit, choreographed by Pearl Primus, depicts a white woman reacting in horror at the lynching which she both participated in and watched. In 1943, Primus performed Strange Fruit. 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. Dunham made her debut as a performer in 1934 in the Broadway musical Le Jazz Hot and Tropics. She used her dancing as an art to express the many issues revolving around black culture. After her field research, Primus was able to establish new choreography while continuously developing some of her former innovative works. Pioneer to Black Voices: Pearl Primus and Strange Fruit - SlideShare Her familial ties laid the foundation for the art she would later create.