Showing posts with label modern black dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label modern black dance. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2022
Janet Collins, who died just a few years ago in Fort Worth, Texas, was a forerunner for black female ballet dancers. She was one of very few black women to become prominent in American classical ballet in the 1950s, inspiring a generation and giving hope for a more equal society.
Collins began dancing in Los Angeles and eventually relocated to New York. Her big debut was to her own choreography in 1949 on a shared program at the 92nd Street Y. She was well received, being praised for her sharp, technical precision. After performing on Broadway in the Cole Porter musical Out of This World, she was hired as a principal dancer at the Metropolitan Opera House in the early 1950s.
Throughout her career, Collins also danced alongside Katherine Dunham and performed with the Dunham company in the 1943 film musical Stormy Weather.
She danced a solo choreographed by Jack Cole in the 1946 film The Thrill of Brazil, and even toured with Talley Beatty in a nightclub act.
In recognition of Collins’ great work, her renowned cousin Carmen De Lavallade started the Janet Collins Fellowship.
Josephine Baker (1906-1975)
One of the first black women to leave her mark on the dance world, Josephine Baker’s legacy is synonymous with sensuality, bravery and uninhibited passion. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Baker grew up with little and quickly developed an independent spirit, learning to provide for herself and make her own way. This free and bold behavior led her to perform across the country with The Jones Family Band and The Dixie Steppers in 1919. By the time she sashayed onto a Paris stage during the 1920s, she was confident in her abilities and performed with a comic, yet sensual appeal that took Europe by storm.
Famous for barely-there dresses and modernized movement, Baker went on to perform and choreograph for 50 years in Europe. Although racism in the States often restricted her from gaining the same renown at home as she did abroad, Baker fought segregation through organizations like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The organization actually named May 20 “Josephine Baker Day” in honor of her efforts.
In her lifetime, it is said she received approximately 1,500 marriage proposals and countless gifts from admirers, including luxury cars. On the day of her funeral, more than 20,000 people crowded the streets of Paris to watch the procession on its way to the church. Baker was the first American woman buried in France with military honors
information provided by Bim2022
Like Robinson, singer and dancer John W. Bubbles made significant strides in the progression and commercialization of tap. Starting his career at 10 years old, Bubbles joined six-year-old dancer “Buck” Washington to create a singing-dancing-comedy act. With Buck, Bubbles became very popular. The two performed an act in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 and became the first black artists to perform in New York’s acclaimed Radio City Music Hall.
Bubbles, who is perhaps best known for performing as Sportin’ Life in George Gershwin’s 1935 production Porgy and Bess, later went on to perform in Harlem’s famous Hoofers Club, which led to Broadway gigs, which led to opportunities in Hollywood.
Bubbles is said to be the first dancer to fuse jazz dance with tap, a frontrunner for many jazz-tap companies that exist today. He created off-beats and in turn, altered accents, phrasing and timing.
Bill Robinson, nicknamed Bojangles (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid African-American entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. His long career mirrored changes in American entertainment tastes and technology. His career began in the age of minstrel shows and moved to vaudeville, Broadway theatre, the recording industry, Hollywood films, radio, and television.
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Tuesday, January 8, 2019
Ann Raven Wilkinson (February 2, 1935 – December 17, 2018) was an American dancer who is credited with having been the first African-American woman to dance for a major classical ballet company. Wilkinson broke the color barrier in 1955 when she signed a contract to dance full-time with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She was promoted to soloist during her second season with the troupe, and remained with the company for six years. Wilkinson later became a mentor to American Ballet Theatre principal dancer Misty Copeland, presenting Copeland with the 2014 Dance Magazine Award.
Wilkinson became a ballet fan at the age of five after seeing Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo perform Coppelia. Her mother, who had studied ballet in Chicago, took young Raven to the School of American Ballet for lessons. But, they said they could not accept her until she was nine, so she initially trained in the Dalcroze method. According to Wilkinson, "It was basically eurhythmics and was all about music and tempi and meters." For her ninth birthday, an uncle made her the gift of ballet lessons at the Swoboda School, later known as the Ballet Russe School. Wilkinson's first teachers included well-known dancers from Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre, Maria and Vecheslav Swoboda.
Sergei Denham, director of the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo,
bought the Swoboda School in 1951, giving Wilkinson an opportunity to
audition for the troupe. Although she was light-skinned, acceptance into
a ballet company was unlikely because of her race. Fellow ballet
students also advised her not to seek a position.
But, in 1954, Wilkinson auditioned for the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
She was rejected. On a second attempt, she was rejected once again. On
her third try, in 1955, Denham informed her that she had been accepted
on a six-week trial basis. She was 20 years old.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Donal McKayle, one of the first choreographers to weave the African-American experience into the fabric of modern dance and the first black man to direct and choreograph a Broadway musical (“Raisin”), died on Friday at a hospital near his home in Irvine, Calif. He was 87.
His
wife, Lea Vivante McKayle, confirmed the death. He was a professor of
dance at the University of California, Irvine, for almost 30 years.
Mr.
McKayle had been working on Broadway for more than two decades when he
achieved his triumph with “Raisin,” a musical based on “A Raisin in the
Sun,” Lorraine Hansberry’s classic drama about a black family struggling
with loss, change and identity in midcentury Chicago.
Thursday, November 20, 2014
Dance Theatre of Harlem
The Dance Theatre of Harlem perform Dialogues in 2006.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the co-directorship of Arthur Mitchell, who was the first African-American principal dancer at New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, who had been the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981-1992. The DTH is renowned both as "the first black classical ballet company",and "the first major ballet company to prioritize black dancers". Homer Bryant, founder of Chicago's Multicultural Dance Center, joined DTH in 1972 and became one of its principal >
Photographs taken by dance theatre of Harlem
The Dance Theatre of Harlem perform Dialogues in 2006.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the co-directorship of Arthur Mitchell, who was the first African-American principal dancer at New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, who had been the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981-1992. The DTH is renowned both as "the first black classical ballet company",and "the first major ballet company to prioritize black dancers". Homer Bryant, founder of Chicago's Multicultural Dance Center, joined DTH in 1972 and became one of its principal >
Photographs taken by dance theatre of Harlem
Alvin Ailey Jr. was born to Alvin and Lula Elizabeth Ailey on January 5, 1931, in Rogers, Texas. He was an only child, and his father, a laborer, left the family when Alvin Jr. was less than one year old. At the age of six, Alvin Jr. moved with his mother to Navasota, Texas. As he recalled in an interview in the New York Daily News Magazine, “There was the white school up on the hill, and the black Baptist church, and the segregated [only members of one race allowed] theaters and neighborhoods. Like most of my generation, I grew up feeling like an outsider, like someone who didn’t matter.”
In 1942 Ailey and his mother moved to Los Angeles, California, where his mother found work in an aircraft factory. Ailey became interested in athletics and joined his high school gymnastics team and played football. An admirer of dancers Gene Kelly (1912–1996) and Fred Astaire (1899–1987), he also took tap dancing lessons at a neighbor’s home. His interest in dance grew when a friend took him to visit the modern dance school run by Lester Horton, whose dance company (a group of dancers who perform together) was the first in America to admit members of all races. Unsure of what opportunities would be available for him as a dancer, however, Ailey left Horton’s school after one month. After graduating from high school in 1948, Ailey considered becoming a teacher. He entered the University of California in Los Angeles to study languages. When Horton offered him a scholarship in 1949 Ailey returned to the dance school. He left again after one year, however, this time to attend San Francisco State College.
Photographys taken by Alvin Ailey Dance Group
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
Project by
Jamile McGee
Annapolis, MD
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Website: riiseupdance.com
Riise Up Dance Productions by Jamile McGee
Jamile McGee
Annapolis, MD • Last login Dec 11, 2013 • Full profile
From dancing beside Rihanna, gracing the floor with Beyonce, working alongside Chris Brown and sharing laughs, Jamile McGee has danced with top names in the entertainment industry. Following his days on Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance?” season one, as third place finalist Jamile has had a successful career as a dancer and choreographer.
Jamile’s love for dance has been alive since a very young age. At the age of four Jamile was always dancing around the house, mimicking the famous dance moves of Michael Jackson, James Brown, and Fred Astaire. The dance moves weren’t just a fun child hood pastime but an imprint on his soul that laid down the foundation for his destiny. But sadly at the age of nine Jamile was diagnosed with Systemic Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and told that he was going to never walk again or live out his dream as a dancer. Unbeknownst to the doctors, it was Jamile’s destiny to dance around the world and fate had a different plan for his life. He was miraculously healed and decided to devote his life to dance.
His love for dance was molded at Wright State University, where he studied ballet, modern, lyrical, and jazz. His versatile background in dance can be attributed to his success on “So You Think You Can Dance?” a show in which dancers are taken outside of their comfort zone and every week learn new dance routines. With such an extensive background in all styles of dance, including some salsa, and years of mimicking Fred Astaire, Jamile was well prepared for any challenge that was thrown his way. During that time, his ability to dance any style was tested and proven on the highly rated national Fox TV show. He amazed the crowd with his spirited come back every week with highly energized, outstanding freestyle solos.Jamile11
The show may have put Jamile in the public eye, but it didn’t define him as a dancer. Jamile McGee taught his first master class at the age of 16 at the Peabody Conservatory for Dance and since then has had a passion for spreading his love of dance to the world. Now at the age of 28, Jamile has danced into to hearts of those throughout the US and abroad. While on tour with Wayne Brady last year, Jamile had the chance to travel the world and had exposure to culture and the arts abroad.
His love for African music, house, indie dance styles, foreign fashion, and different cuisines were cultivated while jet setting from the edges of the Australian outback, to Amsterdam, South Africa, London, New Zealand, Greece, and Malaysia. Being on tour gave him the opportunity to network with legends in the entertainment industry and birthed in him an intense dedication to becoming the best dancer and choreographer.
Jamile had the pleasure of choreographing for Will Ferrell’s “Funny or Die” video featuring Wayne Brady, Mike Tyson, and Bobby Brown. The video was a viral success and quickly became one of the most circulated videos on the web in 2010. When asked about working on the video and the experience, Jamile said “As a choreographer on this job, I had to watch Bobby Brown’s “Every Little Step I Take” music video over and over again to prepare my mind for shoot day. I wanted to be prepared mentally to teach the steps to the guys. Overall the job went viral and it was a huge hit! It is one of the biggest video’s on the internet and still is. Was cool seeing my face on Larry King Live. It was such an honor to work with entertainment legends and the boxing champion Mike Tyson, it was a rewarding experience”
Working with Mike Tyson and Bobby Brown was a big moment in Jamile’s career, but his love for dance has given him the opportunity to work with other popular artists. In the past Jamile has worked with entertainment superstars such as Nelly Furtado, Mariah Carey, Katy Perry, Keri Hilson, Nicki Minaj, and many more. His love for dance has reached a huge fan base and has opened up doors for him to work with the dance industry’s biggest choreographers such as Brian Friedman, Mia Michaels, Shane Sparks, Lavelle Smith Jr., and Laurie Ann Gibson.
Websites
riiseupdance.com
jamzchoreography.com
twitter.com
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
My Notes: Carmen De Lavallade was the first African-American prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1954, she became a lead dancer in Alvin Ailey's dance company. I have Downloaded several videos for you to review.
Carmen De Lavallade was born in Los Angeles, California, on March 6, 1931, to Creole parents from New Orleans, Louisiana. She was raised by her aunt, who owned one of the first African-American history bookshops on Central Avenue. Her cousin, Janet Collins, was the first African-American prima ballerina at the Metropolitan Opera. De Lavallade began studying ballet with Melissa Blake at the age of 16 and after graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School in Los Angeles was awarded a scholarship to study dance with Lester Horton.
Career
De Lavallade became a member of the Lester Horton Dance Theater in 1949 where she danced as a lead dancer until her departure for New York City with Alvin Ailey in 1954. De Lavallade, like all of Horton's students, studied other art forms, including painting, acting, music, set design and costuming, as well as ballet and other forms of modern and ethnic dance. She studied dancing with ballerina Carmelita Maracci and acting with Stella Adler. In 1954, De Lavallade made her Broadway debut partnered with Alvin Ailey in Truman Capote's House of Flowers.
In 1955, she married dancer and actor Geoffrey Holder, whom she had met while working on House of Flowers. It was with Holder that De Lavallade choreographed her signature solo Come Sunday, to a black spiritual sung by Odetta Gordon. The following year, De Lavallade danced as the prima ballerina in Samson and Delilah, and Aida at the Metropolitan Opera. She also made her television debut in John Butler's ballet Flight, and in 1957 she appeared in the television production of Duke Ellington's A Drum Is a Woman. De Lavallade also appeared in several off-Broadway productions, including Othello and Death of a Salesman. An introduction to Twentieth Century Fox executives by Lena Horne led to more acting roles between 1952 and 1955. She appeared in several films including Carmen Jones (1954) with Dorothy Dandridge and Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) with Harry Belafonte.
De Lavallade was a principal guest performer with Alvin Ailey's Dance Company on the company's tour of Asia and in some countries the company was billed as De Lavallade-Ailey American Dance Company. Other performances included dancing with Donald McKayle and appearing in Agnes DeMille's American Ballet Theatre productions of The Four Marys and The Frail Quarry in 1965. She joined the Yale School of Drama as a choreographer and performer-in-residence in 1970. She staged musicals, plays and operas, and eventually became a professor and member of the Yale Repertory Theater. Between 1990 and 1993, De Lavallade returned to the Metropolitan Opera as choreographer for Porgy and Bess and Die Meistersinger.
In 2003 she appeared in the rotating cast of the off-Broadway staged reading of Wit & Wisdom. In 2010, she appeared in a one-night-only concert semi-staged reading of Evening Primrose by Stephen Sondheim. In 2012, she was part of the cast of the Broadway revival of Streetcar Named Desire, playing the Mexican Woman and neighbor characters.
Personal life
De Lavallade resides in New York City with her husband, Geoffrey Holder. Their lives were the subject of the Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob documentary Carmen and Geoffrey.
In 2004, De Lavallade received the Black History Month Lifetime Achievement Award, the Rosie Award and the Bessie Award in 2006 and the Capezio Dance Award (in 2007), as well as an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from Juilliard in 2007.
Carmen de Lavallade: Knowing Alvin Ailey
Carmen De la vallade Award for Dance - Sean McLeod
TEDxEast - Carmen DeLavallade The Creation: Plus 40
Dear Quincy 1968
Carmen & Geoffrey - from First Run Features
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Alvin Ailey Revelations - Sinnerman
Check out the Modern Dance section for more selections.
Check out the Modern Dance section for more selections.
Monday, April 8, 2013
The Dance Theatre of Harlem is back after an 8 year Hiatus. In 2004 they had to close the company because of a lack of funding.
Dance Theatre of Harlem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Dance Theatre of Harlem perform Dialogues in 2006.
Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is a ballet company and school of the allied arts founded in Harlem, New York City, USA, in 1969 under the co-directorship of Arthur Mitchell, who was the first African-American principal dancer at New York City Ballet, and Karel Shook, who had been the first teacher and ballet master of the Dutch National Ballet. Milton Rosenstock served as the company's music director from 1981-1992. The DTH is renowned both as "the first black classical ballet company", and "the first major ballet company to prioritize black dancers". Homer Bryant, founder of Chicago's Multicultural Dance Center, joined DTH in 1972 and became one of its principal dancers.
•
History
Founded in 1969, the Dance Theatre of Harlem made its official debut on January 8, 1971, at the New York Guggenheim Museum with three chamber ballets by Mitchell. During the same season the company's repertory was supplemented with several ballets by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Its European debut was at the Spoleto Festival. In 1981 the Dance Theatre of Harlem became the first black company to appear at Covent Garden. In 1992, the company toured to South Africa in the "Dancing Through Barriers" tour that gave birth to the outreach program of the same name that still continues to operate.
In 1999, the year of the company's 30th anniversary, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Mitchell were inducted into the National Museum of Dance and the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
In February 2009 Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrated its 40th anniversary. In 2009, Virginia Johnson was named Artistic Director, with Arthur Mitchell becoming Artistic Director Emeritus.
Young dancers from the Dance Theatre of Harlem perform during a dinner held at the White House on February 6, 2006. President George W. Bush and Laura Bush are in attendance.
Outreach work
The Dance Theatre of Harlem School offers training to more than 1,000 young people annually with its community program called Dancing Through Barriers, open to any child who wants to study dance. The company's Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble does outreach throughout the US. It accepts pre-school children up to senior citizens. The school offers specializations in children's movement, European ballet, choreography, and musicology.
The Dance Theatre of Harlem now has a Pre-Professional Residecy program at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., for dancers aged 8 to 18. If accepted, the students meet every Saturday, October through April, and work with DTH resident choreographer Robert Garland. The program includes four levels from beginner to advanced for both ladies and gentleman of the DC metro area. In April, the program culminates with a performance on the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall stage as a part of the Millenum Stage series.
Having ceased performing in 2004 due to budgetary constraints,[5] the Dance Theatre of Harlem has announced that it will resume performances in 2012-2013.
1955 – 1969
Arthur Mitchell
In 1955 a miracle happened. Arthur Mitchell, an African-American ballet dancer selected by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, joined the New York City Ballet. This historic occurrence in pre-civil rights America set the stage for many firsts by Mitchell, which changed the face and future of dance forever.
Through roles choreographed by Balanchine specifically for Mitchell, such as the pas de deux in Agon and the role of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he honed his craft to become a principal dancer with NYCB for 15 years.
1969
The Birth of Dance Theatre of Harlem
In 1969, shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Nurtured by the optimism and idealism of the Civil Rights Era, the school began with classes taught in a garage on 152nd Street in Harlem, the community in New York City in which Arthur Mitchell grew up. The school's curriculum was designed to give the children of Harlem the same opportunities Mitchell had as a teenager. Dance Theatre of Harlem flourished and the nucleus of a professional company was born.
One of the benchmarks of the school became the "Open House Series", which opens the doors of Dance Theatre of Harlem to showcase the activities of the professional Company, DTH Ensemble, students from the school as well as guest artists from all disciplines. These informal studio performances are a community concert series that continues today, offering quality entertainment at nominal ticket prices to families living in Harlem and the New York Metropolitan area.
1970 - 1979
A Decade of Triumph for Dance Theatre of Harlem
Almost immediately, Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook began an education-outreach program, which was eventually called Arts Exposure, giving lecture-demonstrations and small performances at public schools, colleges and universities to give the dancers experience in performing. In 1971, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City a neoclassical ballet company named "Dance Theatre of Harlem" made its debut. Later that year, George Balanchine invited Arthur Mitchell to co-choreograph Concerto for Jazz Band and Orchestra in an exciting collaboration between New York City Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem.
By 1979, DTH had toured internationally, had three successful Broadway seasons, received critical acclaim for a public television Great Performances – Dance in America special, expanded its repertory to 46 ballets and formed a choral and percussion ensemble. In the course of this lively decade, what begun as a modest performing company became a major force and established itself as something very unique and deeply needed on the scene of contemporary dance. What started out as a natural resource became a national and international resource; a moving, innovative force in dance, theatre and education.
1980 - 1989
Dance Theatre of Harlem, a World-Class Neoclassical Ballet Company
In the 1980's, spectacular productions and rave reviews from the performances of Firebird, Creole Giselle ,Scheherazade, Bugaku, Agon, and Dougla to name a few, have carved a niche for Dance Theatre of Harlem. The repertory is grounded in neoclassical technique, which enables DTH artists to dance all styles.
The verve in which the company performed, incorporating brilliant costuming and elaborate set designs is an indication to audiences that DTH is a major "tour de force" in dance. As the signature of this decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem was the first American ballet company to perform in Russia as a part of a cultural exchange initiative sponsored mutually by the United States and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union.) One of the highlights of this groundbreaking tour was the company's induction into the Kirov Museum.
1990 - 1999
Timeline
Thirty Years of Dance Theatre of Harlem
During the 90's, Dance Theatre of Harlem continued its mission to be an organization that is artistic, educational and socially aware. As in the beginning, DTH continued to challenge widely held stereotypes, while bridging the gaps created by extreme cultural and economic disparity worldwide. DTH's historic tour to South Africa in 1992 known as the Dancing Through Barriers tour gave birth to the Dancing Through Barriers® program, wherein the company's reputation as a traveling university was formally institutionalized. Since that time, the DTB® program has become a cornerstone in Dance Theatre of Harlem's educational programming.
In 1999, Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a New York City season, and educational activities, including the company's world renowned Firebird, performed with live music for New York City Public School students. For some of the students, this event was their first time in a theater, especially with a live orchestra.
As an addition to the crowning achievement of the 30th anniversary and Arthur Mitchell’s 50th year in performing arts, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Mitchell were inducted into the National Museum of Dance and the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney - Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.
2000 – Present
Dance Theatre of Harlem: Using the Arts to Ignite the Mind
Eager to continue to shape the spirit of dance into the new millennium, in 2000, Dance Theatre of Harlem performed to sold-out houses in China, giving the country its first performances of Firebird and conducted extensive outreach and educational activities in Mandarin Chinese. That same year, the company returned to the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, which marked DTH’s first performance on its stage in 25 years.
At home or abroad, DTH is met with sold-out performances and accolades. After successfully returning to the UK in 2002 and 2004, DTH celebrated its 35th Anniversary with an extensive U.S. tour, followed by performances in Greece prior to the opening of the 2004 summer Olympics.
In late 2004, the professional company went on hiatus; in keeping with the DTH philosophy of “using the arts to ignite the mind” the DTH Ensemble, the performing arm of the school, continues to thrill audiences with lecture-demonstrations at schools, colleges, universities and dance festivals. Most recently, the Ensemble was invited to perform for the President and First Lady of the United States at the White House and is the only performing arts group invited to dance in the elegant rotunda at the New York State Supreme Court for the annual African American History Month celebration.
Dance Theatre of Harlem in Contested Space
Dance Theatre of Harlem | NYC-ARTS Profile
Dance Theater of Harlem Ensemble - Fragments
Dance Theatre of Harlem Street Festival 2012
Dance Theatre of Harlem: 'Contested Space' Ballet Excerpts, Live in The Greene Sp
Dance Theater of Harlem - South African Suite
Dance Theatre of Harlem Performance
Thursday, April 7, 2011
The essay will discuss how the influence of Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham help shape the development of Modern Black Dance in America. As stated before, like any other social craft, Modern Black Dance must be examined within the sociocultural and economic conditions which gave rise to it’s development. The essay should not be viewed as some kind of academic discourse, but rather an opinion based on some degree of historical research and fact. Readers are welcome to agree or disagree with my conclusions.
As stated above, two central figures laid the ground work for the development of Modern Black Dance. These two ladies were not just great performers, but Cultural Anthropologist, scientist, educators and social activist. They viewed African Dance and Modern Black Dance as an endless cycle of historical investigation. Katherine Dunham stated in an interview that some people go through their entire life just existing from day to day, but that she can only exist where consciousness is foremost in the minds of the people. She along with Pearl Primus spent their entire life sharing their research and knowledge of dance. The essay also discusses several dance companies who were directly or indirectly influenced by Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Dallas Contemporary Dance Theater and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. These particular dance companies were highlighted because they are internationally known and have won many distinguish awards. I hope you will enjoy the essay and come away with the idea that dance is more than just movement of the feet and body, but it is an expression of the way people live their lives, enjoy comrades.
What is Dance? I went looking for a broad definition of dance and could not find one, so I did some research and came up with a broad definition: Dance is an ordered sequence of movements with visual and rhythmic patterns (with or without music) which is usually expressed through certain social norms within a given society. In my opinion, dance have to be linked with certain social norms, not just the movement of the hands and feet as Webster points out. In Africa and other ethnic societies, dance expresses the way people live their lives, it tells a story. This essay is also an attempt to tell a story about Modern Black Dance in America.
The essay will discuss how the influence of Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham help shape the development of Modern Black Dance in America. As stated before, like any other social craft, Modern Black Dance must be examined within the sociocultural and economic conditions which gave rise to it’s development. The essay should not be viewed as some kind of academic discourse, but rather an opinion based on some degree of historical research and fact. Readers are welcome to agree or disagree with my conclusions.
As stated above, two central figures laid the ground work for the development of Modern Black Dance. These two ladies were not just great performers, but Cultural Anthropologist, scientist, educators and social activist. They viewed African Dance and Modern Black Dance as an endless cycle of historical investigation. Katherine Dunham stated in an interview that some people go through their entire life just existing from day to day, but that she can only exist where consciousness is foremost in the minds of the people. She along with Pearl Primus spent their entire life sharing their research and knowledge of dance. The essay also discusses several dance companies who were directly or indirectly influenced by Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Dallas Contemporary Dance Theater and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. These particular dance companies were highlighted because they are internationally known and have won many distinguish awards. I hope you will enjoy the essay and come away with the idea that dance is more than just movement of the feet and body, but it is an expression of the way people live their lives, enjoy comrades.
My Forward:
Richardg
Most of the background information concerning the life and times of Pearl Primus was taken from Wikipedia and several other sources. I wanted to start the discussion on Black Modern Dance with Pearl Primus because she was mainly interested in the study of African Culture and dance. Her mission was to change people’s perceptions and attitudes about African dance through education and performance. She took trips to Africa and wrote books about African dance. She wanted Black people and others to understand that
richardg
– March 31, 2011Posted in: Art and Music
Early life
Primus was born in Trinidad in 1919 to Edward and Emily (Jackson) Primus. Among her relations were drummers and initiates into the Shango/Spiritual Baptist faith. Her maternal grandfather, in particular, was an Ashanti musician from Ghana. When Pearl Primus was two years old she, with her two brothers were brought to New York City where they were reared. Although her parents did not exhibit theatrical tendencies, Primus’ mother had learned the social dances of Trinidad from her grandfather. Primus also had a colorful aunt who sympathized with her decision to embrace dance. When that came, this aunt who dressed in unusually colorful clothing, exclaimed that she would have been shocked had Primus not become an entertainer.
Primus did not set out to be a dancer. When she finished Hunter College High School, she entered Hunter College as a pre-medical student majoring in biology. There she was an outstanding athlete in track and field and could run at an award winning pace. Upon graduating in 1940, Primus entered graduate school at New York University. While there, in pursuit of work to finance her studies, Primus found herself in the employ of National Youth Administration. Although she was looking for another type of work, she was fortuitously assigned to the NYA dance group as an understudy. She then studied at the New Dance Group. Her natural abilities made her an excellent dancer and her instructors, who were among the leading modern dance pioneers of that era, recognized her talents and encouraged her to develop them.
Southern Diaries2 Perfoms One of Primu's Dances
Primus’ dance orientation, then, began with experimental choreography in dances that expressed social protest and explored ethnic material. As her interest in dance grew, Primus also studied with the major modern dance pioneers: Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm and Louis Horst.
During this period, Primus combined studies in educational sociology and anthropology with her dance training and performances with the choreographers listed above. Among some of her most significant performances was that with Beryl McBurnie in Antilliana. From McBurnie, Primus learned Afro-Caribbean dance and the folk dances of the Caribbean. Her dancing ability and dramatic presence was noticed during one of thse performances when McBurnie had her dancing a minute part in a Caribbean market scene.
Video discussing the Life and Times of Pearl Primus
Primus obviously performed the piece above and beyond McBunie’s expectations because she was so provocative that she stole the show. Primus, however, was unaware of the audience’s reaction and quietly left after the piece to go to work on her part time job as a riveter.
continue reading pt.3
History of Black Dance/Pearl Primus/pt.3
By
richardg
– March 31, 2011Posted in: Art and Music
Career
Primus began to research African dance, “consulting books, articles, and pictures and visiting museums’. After six months, she had completed her first composition, African Ceremonial. It was presented along with Strange Fruit, Rock Daniel, and Hard Time Blues at her debut performance on February 14, 1943 at the 92nd Street YMHA. Her performance was so outstanding that John Martin of the New York Times states that “she was entitled to a company of her own.”
Her next performances began in April 1943, as an entertainer at the famous night club, Cafe Society Downtown, for ten months.
In June 1943, Primus performed at the Negro Freedom Rally at Madison Square Garden before an audience of 20,000 people.
Primus also choreographed a work to Langston Hughes’s famous poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, which was performed at her Broadway debut on October 4, 1944 at the Bealson Theatre.
She then began to study more intensively at the New Dance Group and became one of their instructors. In the summer of 1944, Primus visited the Deep South to research the culture and dances of Southern blacks. She visited over seventy churches and picked cotton with the sharecroppers. In December 1943, Primus appeared as a guest artist in Asadata Dafora’s African Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall.
Pearl Primus (Negro Speaks of Rivers) – Large.m4v
In December 1944, Primus, who was primarily a solo artist recruited other dancers and performed in concerts at the Roxy Theatre. African Ceremonial was rechoreographed for a group performance. At this time, Primus’ African choreography could be termed interpretive, based on research and her imagining of the way in which a piece of African sculpture would move.
In 1946, Primus was invited to appear in the revival of the Broadway production Showboat choreographed by Helen Tamiris. Then, she was asked to choreograph a Broadway production called Calypso whose title became Caribbean Carnival. She also appeared at the Chicago Theatre in the 1947 revival of the Emperor Jones in the ‘’’Witch Doctor’’’ role that Hemsley Winfield made famous.
Following this show and many subsequent recitals, Primus toured the nation with a company she formed. 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. He was so impressed with the power of her interpretive African dances that he asked her when she had last visited Africa. She replied that she had never done so. She then received the last and largest ($4000) of the major Rosenwald Fellowships for an eighteen month research and study tour of the Gold Coast, Angola, Cameroons, Liberia, Senegal and the Belgian Congo.
Primus was so well accepted in the communities in her study tour that she was told that the ancestral spirit of an African dancer had manifested in her. 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.
continue reading…..pt.4
By
richardg
– March 31, 2011Posted in: Art and Music
Career
Primus began to research African dance, “consulting books, articles, and pictures and visiting museums’. After six months, she had completed her first composition, African Ceremonial. It was presented along with Strange Fruit, Rock Daniel, and Hard Time Blues at her debut performance on February 14, 1943 at the 92nd Street YMHA. Her performance was so outstanding that John Martin of the New York Times states that “she was entitled to a company of her own.”
Her next performances began in April 1943, as an entertainer at the famous night club, Cafe Society Downtown, for ten months.
In June 1943, Primus performed at the Negro Freedom Rally at Madison Square Garden before an audience of 20,000 people.
Primus also choreographed a work to Langston Hughes’s famous poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”, which was performed at her Broadway debut on October 4, 1944 at the Bealson Theatre.
She then began to study more intensively at the New Dance Group and became one of their instructors. In the summer of 1944, Primus visited the Deep South to research the culture and dances of Southern blacks. She visited over seventy churches and picked cotton with the sharecroppers. In December 1943, Primus appeared as a guest artist in Asadata Dafora’s African Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall.
Pearl Primus (Negro Speaks of Rivers) – Large.m4v
In December 1944, Primus, who was primarily a solo artist recruited other dancers and performed in concerts at the Roxy Theatre. African Ceremonial was rechoreographed for a group performance. At this time, Primus’ African choreography could be termed interpretive, based on research and her imagining of the way in which a piece of African sculpture would move.
In 1946, Primus was invited to appear in the revival of the Broadway production Showboat choreographed by Helen Tamiris. Then, she was asked to choreograph a Broadway production called Calypso whose title became Caribbean Carnival. She also appeared at the Chicago Theatre in the 1947 revival of the Emperor Jones in the ‘’’Witch Doctor’’’ role that Hemsley Winfield made famous.
Following this show and many subsequent recitals, Primus toured the nation with a company she formed. 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. He was so impressed with the power of her interpretive African dances that he asked her when she had last visited Africa. She replied that she had never done so. She then received the last and largest ($4000) of the major Rosenwald Fellowships for an eighteen month research and study tour of the Gold Coast, Angola, Cameroons, Liberia, Senegal and the Belgian Congo.
Primus was so well accepted in the communities in her study tour that she was told that the ancestral spirit of an African dancer had manifested in her. 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.
continue reading…..pt.4
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