Pearl Primus History Quiz

1. Where did Primus and her family live before immigrating to the United States?

2. Before shifting to a career in dance, what profession was she trying to pursue?

3. What job first exposed Primus to the world of dance?

4. What school gave Primus a scholarship, where faculty members like Sophie Maslow greatly influenced her with their commitment to using dance as a tool for social reform?

5. When and where did she make her theatrical debut?

6. What dance movement was she famous for?

7. What continent did she first visit in 1948 to observe and record dance?

8. Name the institution that Primus and her dancer/choreographer husband, Percival Borde opened in New York City in 1963, where she developed methods of teaching cross-culturally.

9. What two pieces did she choreograph for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater?

10. What subject did Primus earn a PhD in from New York University in 1978?

    

Answer Key:

1. Port of Spain, Trinidad 2. A medical doctor 3. Working in the wardrobe department for the National Youth Administration’s “America Dances.” 4. The New Dance Group 5. February 14, 1943; 92nd Street Y 6. Her five-foot-high jumps 7. Africa (Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, Angola, Cameroon, Senegal and Zaire) 8. The Primus-Borde School of Primal Dance 9. Fanga (1949) and The Wedding (1961) 10. Anthropology

 

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Additional Resources

African Dance: An Artistic, Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, edited by Kariamu Welsh-Asante, Africa World Press, 1996

“American Dancer, Negro,” by Harriet Jackson, Dance Magazine, September 1966

Black Dance: From 1619 to Today, by Lynne Fauley Emery, Princeton Book Company, 1989

The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance, by Margaret Lloyd, Princeton Book Company Publishers, 1987

“The Dance: Five Artists,” by John Martin, The New York Times, February 21, 1943

“The Dance Laurels—Award No. 2,” by John Martin, The New York Times, August 1, 1943

Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance, edited by Thomas F. DeFrantz, University of Wisconsin Press, 2002

Modern Bodies: Dance and American Modernism, by Julia L. Foulkes, The University of North Carolina Press, 2002

“Little Fast Feet: The Story of the Pilgrimage of Pearl Primus to Africa,” by Doris Hering, Dance Magazine, July 1950

“Earth Theatre,” by Pearl Primus, Theatre Arts, December 1950

“Pearl Primus: Foremost Dancer to Unveil New Exciting Work Based on Year-long Study of African Peoples,” Ebony Magazine, January 1951