Pearl Primus

Pearl Primus. , Before there was Alvin Alley, there was Pearl Primus. Pearl Eileen Primus has been called "the grandmother of African-American dance." An innovative dancer and choreographer, she studied African, African-American and Caribbean culture and incorporated her considerable knowledge into her dance programs. She also married the art of dance to social commentary, historical study and community action., Born in Trinidad and raised in New York City, Pearl Primus developed a serious interest in dance after having graduated from Hunter College as a pre-medical student. Unable to find work in her chosen field, she began studying with the National Youth Administration's New Dance Group. She took to dance immediately and began performing in public with dance groups. In 1946, she founded her own dance company., In 1948, she traveled to Africa where she learned traditional dances and rituals. Returning to the United States, she introduced American audiences to African dance. "Everything I do is consistent with what I saw in Africa," Primus said, "except for wearing a bra. I have to make that concession to modern standards.", She met her husband, Percival Borde, while spending the summer in the West Indies studying Caribbean dance forms. They married and settled in New Rochelle on Coligni Avenue in 1970 and immediately embraced their new community. Pearl volunteered her time to teach dance in New Rochelle schools and at the Community Action Agency., In a 1992 interview she relates, "I think it (dance) was really a mandate from the ancestors. From early on, I wanted to speak in dance of the beauty, the strength and dignity in the heritage of peoples of African ancestry.", Pearl Primus held a Ph.D. in dance education from New York University. Her many honors and awards include the Liberian Star of Africa, the National Council of Negro Women's Scroll of Honor and the National Medal of the Arts. She died in her New Rochelle home in 1994.