The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus - Hardcover

Schwartz, Peggy; Schwartz, Murray

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300155344 ISBN 13: 9780300155341

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Pearl Primus (1919-1994) blazed onto the dance scene in 1943 with stunning works that incorporated social and racial protest into their dance aesthetic. In The Dance Claimed Me, Peggy and Murray Schwartz, friends and colleagues of Primus, offer an intimate perspective on her life and explore her influences on American culture, dance, and education. They trace Primus's path from her childhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad, through her rise as an influential international dancer, an early member of the New Dance Group (whose motto was "Dance is a weapon"), and a pioneer in dance anthropology.

Primus traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, Israel, the Caribbean, and Africa, and she played an important role in presenting authentic African dance to American audiences. She engendered controversy in both her private and professional lives, marrying a white Jewish man during a time of segregation and challenging black intellectuals who opposed the "primitive" in her choreography. Her political protests and mixed-race tours in the South triggered an FBI investigation, even as she was celebrated by dance critics and by contemporaries like Langston Hughes.

For The Dance Claimed Me, the Schwartzes interviewed more than a hundred of Primus's family members, friends, and fellow artists, as well as other individuals to create a vivid portrayal of a life filled with passion, drama, determination, fearlessness, and brilliance.

About this title

About the Author

Peggy Schwartz is professor emeritus of dance and former director of the dance program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Murray Schwartz is former dean of humanities and fine arts at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He teaches literature at Emerson College.

Review

"The authors. . . create vivid descriptions of [Primus's] performances, and illuminate her pioneering work in merging African dance with modern dance innovation;  they explore her charming but difficult personality with tact and grace."—Judith Flanders, Times Literary Supplement (Judith Flanders Times Literary Supplement)

"[A]n informal, intimate, yet scholarly biography of Primus . . . This is an excellent source for those interested in American and African American studies, women's studies, and, of course, American modern dance, dance anthropology, and dance education."—C.T. Bond, Choice (C.T. Bond Choice)

"Filled with eyewitness accounts of her powerful presence on stage and off . . . this welcome addition to dance history illuminates Primus's life and career."—Library Journal.com (Library Journal.com)

"In The Dance Claimed Me, we see Pearl Primus dancing a dance performed only by Watusi men. We see her electrifying performance at the first Negro rally at Madison Square Garden in New York City, where she became moon and prayer. Rain. Thunder. Light on the world stage. We feel the pulse of this twentieth century African-American woman claiming the dance of her people for all people and we chant Amen. Amen. A woman. A woman."—Sonia Sanchez, author of Morning Haiku (Sonia Sanchez)

"The Dance Claimed Me is at once an invaluable contribution to the cultural history of American dance as well as a scintillating account of an extraordinary life. As dancer, a force majeure; as choreographer, a culturally groundbreaking and influential innovator; as devotee and tireless teacher of traditional African cultural values, Mama Pearl Primus was the embodiment of black consciousness and womanhood at its very best.  All of which emerges powerfully from these pages.”—Ekwueme Michael Thelwell, author of The Harder They Come

(Ekwueme Michael Thelwell)

"Peggy and Murray have taken the great, complicated life and legacy of Pearl Primus and given us a way to learn, breathe and feel Pearl's life journey. It reads like a mystery novel, turning and churning at unexpected moments. Dance scholars, African American historians and lovers of dance will all inhale this book."--Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Founder and Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women

(Jawole Willa Jo Zollar)

"Pearl Primus was a cauldron of creativity. When she danced she allowed us to share her soul. Peggy and Murray Schwartz celebrate one of the most fantastic beings to set rhythms on the sacred ground called Earth."--Chuck Davis, Founder and Artistic Director of the African American Dance Ensemble

(Chuck Davis)

"Peggy and Murray Schwartz have written a bold biography of one of the most important figures in American dance. Pearl Primus almost single-handedly lifted African dance to the American stage and gave the world her magic in a daring creativity sustained by a sheer love of movement. This book should be read by anyone seeking to understand modern dance traditions."--Molefi Kete Asante, author of The History of Africa: The Quest for Eternal Harmony

(Molefi Kete Asante)

"The authors soar as they extrapolate and define the many complex parts of Pearl Primus. Their research is exhaustive and comprehensive. The reader is pulled into her dynamic world and given a front row seat to one of her many mesmerising performances."—Dr. Glenville Ashby, Trinidad Guardian
  (Dr. Glenville Ashby Trinidad Guardian)

"A revelation of one woman’s life, a celebration of Black beauty, and a pleasure to read, The Dance Claimed Me is required reading for anyone interested in one 20th century Black woman trailblazer’s story."—Eisa Nefertari Ulen, The Crisis (Eisa Nefertari Ulen The Crisis)

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0300155344
• ISBN 13: 9780300155341
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352