Pearl primus choreography
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Biography
Pearl Eileen Primus was born in the Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on November 29, 1919, and relocated to New York with her parents in 1921. Primus began her studies at Hunter College High School as one of the few blacks to do so. Ultimately, Primus attended New York University with a focus on health education courses but transferred to the psychology program at Hunter College in May of 1941.1 Knowing how unfulfilled she would be as a staff of medical personnel, she transitioned to finding jobs within the arts, especially dance. Once in this arena, Primus realized that her natural ability to create precise and colorful movements held higher importance. This opportunity allowed Primus to audition for a scholarship for the New Dance Group which would seal her fate.
As a participant in the New Dance Group, she quickly advanced her movements under formal study while also being involved with activism within the confines of the company’s medium. The New Dance Group was heavily associated with protests and rallies of just causes.2 With the learned experience of t
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Pearl Primus
American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist (1919–1994)
Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 – October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the need to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance. Primus' work was a reaction to myths of savagery and the lack of knowledge about African people. It was an effort to guide the Western world to view African dance as an important and dignified statement about another way of life.[1]
Background
Born in Port of Spain, Trinidad, Pearl Primus was two years old when she moved with her parents, Edward Primus and Emily Jackson, to New York City in 1921.[2][3] In 1940, Primus received her bachelor's degree from Hunter College[4] in biology and pre-medical science. As a graduate student in biology, she realized that her dreams of becoming a medical researcher would be unfulfilled, due to racial dis
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Pearl Primus, dancer and choreographer, was born on November 29th, 1919, in Trinidad. Her parents, Edward and Emily Primus, immigrated to the United States in 1921 when Pearl was still a small child.
Primus was raised in New York City, and in 1940 received her bachelor’s degree in biology and pre-medical science from Hunter College. However, her goal of working as a medical researcher was unrealized due to the racial discrimination of the time. When she went to the National Youth Association (NYA) for assistance, she was cast as a dancer in one of their plays.
Primus’s promise as a dancer was recognized quickly, and she received a scholarship from the National Youth Association’s New Dance Group in 1941. She soon began performing professionally both as a soloist and in dance groups around New York. In 1942, she performed with the NYA, and in 1943 she performed with the New York Young Men’s Hebrew Association. By 1943, she appeared as a soloist.
In 1948 Primus received a federal grant to study dance, and used the money to travel around Africa and the Caribbean to learn different
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