THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE
DANCE AFTER THE Renaissance
BY NATALYNN MASTERS
EXCELLENCE
Read about this
new style of dance!!
11
HIPLET
Modern black dance
Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus are two women who brought dance to the modern age! . The were knowledgeable of the origins of dance in America. The were stars on the dance floor and in the classroom. Their work influenced the Berto Pasuka, founder first British black dance company Ballet Nègres.
Katherine Dunham was known for the Broadway musicals Le Jazz Hot and Tropics. Here she showcased the dance known as L’ag’ya. T
Pearl Primus was the first black modern dancer. Strange Fruit was her first performance. Her dance was not to music, but rather the sound tape of the poem.
Black American dance companies
Alvin Ailey was in 1931 in a poor rural area of Texas. The Ballet Russes de Monte Carlo inspired him as a schoolboy. He trained at Lester Horton Studio in New York and with Katherine Durham (mentioned to the left). He danced in Broadway musicals and taught classes to make money on the side.
In 1958 Ailey founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. The company aims "to express black cultural heritage and enrich American dance". His choreography showed a highly individual mix of elements taken from primitive Revelations.