"My Career has been a quest... a search for roots. The journey has taken me deep into the cultures of many people in many countries of the world."
"Dance has been my vehicle. Dance has been my language, my strength. In the dance I have confided my most secret thoughts and shared the inner music of all mankind. I have danced across mountains and deserts, ancient rivers and oceans and slipped through the boundaries of time and space."
"Dance has been my freedom and my world. It has enabled me to go around, scale, bore through, batter down or ignore visible and invisible social and economic walls."
"Dance is my medicine. It is the scream which eases for awhile the terrible frustration common to all human beings who, because of race, creed or color, are "invisible". Dance is the fist with which I fight the sickening ignorance of prejudice. It is the veiled contempt I feel for those who patronize with false smiles... empty promises. Instead of growing twisted like a gnarled tree inside myself I am able to dance out my anger and my tears."
"Dance has been my teacher, ever patiently revealing to me the dignity, beauty and strength in the cultural heritage of my people as a vital part of the great heritage of all mankind."
"I dance not to entertain but to help people better understand each other. Because through dance I have experienced the wordless joy of freedom, I seek it more fully now for my people and for all people everywhere."
Internationally famous choreographer, dancer, anthropologist, Dr. Pearl Eileen Primus (1919-1994) was hailed by critics as "...one of the United States' most spectacular dancers." Her interpretation of Black Heritage through the medium of dance was regarded as being without peer this side of the Atlantic.
Pearl Primus conducted extensive research throughout Africa, the Caribbean Islands and the Southlands of the United States. She lived and worked with the people of these regions and shared their daily lives.
The Oni (King) of Ife, H.E. Sir Adesoji Aderemi II, who ruled as Spiritual Head of the Yoruba People of Modern Nigeria (1930-1980), officially adopted her as his daughter and renamed her Omowale - translated as, "child returned home."
An honored member of the Black Academy of Arts and Letters, Pearl Primus' intense studies into Afro-American and Afro-Caribbean cultures found expression in her art form, in her dedication to education, and in her promotion of greater understanding between all peoples. She was the recipient of numerous honors and awards among which are: The cherished Liberian Government Decoration, "Star of Africa"; The Scroll of Honor from the National Council of Negro Women; Membership in Phi Beta Kappa; and The National Culture Award from the New York State Federation of Foreign Language Teachers Commendation from the White House Conference on Children and Youth.
As a working artist, Pearl Primus made numerous appearances as a soloist, and with her own professional company of dancers, singers and musicians at various concerts, operas, and festivals throughout the United States, Europe, Israel, Africa, the Caribbean Islands and Mexico. From Harlem to Broadway, as well as American TV, she displayed with phenomenal precision and agility the unique Pearl Primus Dance Technique woven from her personal studies of African, Afro-American, Afro-Caribbean dance and life, the Modern Dance techniques of America and the Ballet. During her peak, Dr. Primus was frequently requested to give Command Performances before distinguished heads of State.
As an Artist/Educator, Dr. Primus lectured at outstanding universities and centers of learning in America and abroad. She was an ethnologist for major art museums and Broadway productions. She received her BA from Hunter College, her MA in Educational Sociology and Anthropology and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from New York University.
As an Anthropologist, Dr. Primus conducted cultural projects in Europe, Africa and America for such organizations as the Ford Foundation, US Office of Education, New York University, Universalist Unitarian Service Committee, Julius Rosenwald Foundation, New York State Office of Education, and the Council for the Arts in Westchester. Her choreographed works, The Wedding (1961) and Fanga (1949), were performed by the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, garnering thunderous ovations from audiences and critics at City Center Theater and the State Theater at Lincoln Center, New York City. Her album, Pearl Primus' Africa - produced especially to assist teachers in elementary and high schools - was received with great acclaim in the field of education.
Dr. Pearl E. Primus was an Artist-in-residence at the New Rochelle Community Action Agency. Her efforts brought into being the Whitney Young Jr. Theater Dance Company, the then official resident troupe of the Agency, with the help of Mrs. Whitney Young -- its distinguished patron. 
She was married to the outstanding artist-dancer Percival Borde, who was an Associate Professor of Theater at Binghamton University, New York. Their son, Onwin Borde, was a Master drummer and did work with stage pyrotechnics. Their work together would keep them in the Southern Tier NY area for extended periods of time, so they maintained a residency in Johnson City. In 1985, Dr. Primus was given a commendation by the City of Binghamton for her use of arts "to promote Black culture and interracial understanding."
Still, Westchester, New York was where the family made their home. Pearl was given numerous honors from her community including: selection as "One of Westchester's most admired women" by Westchester Magazine, and as "1974 Woman of the Year" by the Westchester Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. She was cited for her integrity as an artist by the New Covenant Church of the Holy Spirit in New Rochelle, commended by the Human Rights Commission of New Rochelle, honored by the Youth Bureau of New Rochelle for her "outstanding contribution to youth," and further honored by the Westchester Chapter of Hunter Alumni. She served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Council for the Arts in Westchester and as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Neuberger Museum. In Westchester she taught at State University of New York at Purchase, College of New Rochelle, Iona College and assisted the New Rochelle High School with cultural presentations.
At the time of her death (1994), Pearl Primus was working on plans for The Pearl Primus Dance Arts Foundation. She felt that more needed to be done to preserve and document the great dance heritage of the people of African ancestry, as part of the cultural contribution of America to the world.
Dr. Pearl E. Primus was indeed a privileged person. And she often would say this. As a choreographer and dancer, she had the privilege of studying modern dance techniques with America's great dance pioneers- Martha Graham (1894-1991), Doris Humphrey (1895-1958), Hanya Holm (1893-1992) and Charles Weidman (1901-1975). She was trained in classical and pre-classical dance forms by the master teacher, Louis Horst (1884-1964). Her knowledge of ballet, character and folk dances of Europe and America as well as her solid base in creative modern was gained by study at the New Dance Group in New York City. Among those teachers who helped shape her destiny as a serious dancer were Jane Dudley, Sophie Maslow, Nona Schurman, Eve Gentry, Margo Mayo, Beryl McBurnie and Olga Kulbitsky.
Travel and study within the interior villages of Africa, the Islands of the Caribbean and throughout the Southlands of the United States gave Dr. Primus the unique training which characterized her as a prominent specialist in the dance heritage of Black people. Dance critic Walter Terry (1913-1982) called her "...the world's foremost authority on African dance."
Dr. Primus created her own dynamic technique of dance. Along with her husband/partner Professor Percival Sebastian Borde, they taught this technique in various American universities. 
She founded and directed the Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute, Inc. while earning her Ph.D. in Anthropology from N.Y.U.
In the fields of Anthropology, Art and Human Relations, the names of those great teachers who shared their specialized knowledge with Pearl Primus read like a Who's Who. Not only were these pioneers her professors at Columbia University and New York University, they were also her special friends. Among these distinguished professors were Ruth Benedict, Franz Boas, Ralph Linton, George Herzog, Margaret Mead, Duncan Strong, Paul Wingert, William Sears, Ethel Alpenfels, Dan Dodson, Gene Weltfish, Charles Wagley, Harry Shapiro, Joseph Greenberg Elsie Hug, Marion Smith and Patricia Rowe. All of these and other outstanding scholars helped stimulate, feed and direct her mind.
African, American, European and Caribbean governments, institutions of higher education, national, state, city and private funding sources, and community-based organizations, all afforded her valuable 
experience as a project director, arts administrator, consultant for cultural affairs, curriculum developer and special conference delegate.
Dr. Pearl E. Primus was the recipient of one of the first Three Year Choreographers Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as previous NEA Grants. She was also Director of the Cora P. Maloney College at State University of New York at Buffalo, while holding the position of Associate Professor in Theater and Dance. Her son, Master Drummer Onwin Babajide Primus Borde, would always accompany her, whenever she presented her professional dance company Earth Theater, or performed in concerts, lectured and conducted workshops.
Dr. Pearl E. Primus was truly unique in her field.
Born in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad
Moves to the United States, New York City.
Attended PS 94 and PS 136
Hunter High School (1933 - 1937)
Hunter College, New York - Received B.A. in Biology & Pre-Medical Science
New Dance Group scholarship student, New York University
Health Education National Youth Administration, employee
YWHA choreography audition one of five selected to present work
Choreographs "Strange Fruit" based on a poem by the same name, written by Lewis Allan and made famous in song by Billie Holiday (to protest the Southern U.S. practice of lynching Blacks), and "Hard Times Blues"
Dance Laurel Award No. 2 presented by John Martin, The New York Times
Hunter College Master's degree candidate, Psychology
Cafe Society Downtown, first dancer hired at this location
Choreographs "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" inspired by Langston Hughes' poem of the same title
Her photograph appears in LIFE Magazine
Spanish Relief Appeal, Benefit performance, Ziegfield Theatre
"African Dance Festival," Carnegie Hall appeared with Asadata Dafora, performance sponsored and attended by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt
Dance Observer" pictured on cover of February issue
Certificate of Merit, USO for dancing in Army camps, hospitals, & ports of embarkation
Trip to Southern States researched African traditions in Black Church services
"Pearl Primus" by Owen Dodson published in Theatre Arts, December issue
YMHA Concert, 92nd Street, NYC - billed with Valerie Bettis
The Dance Teachers Advisory Committee presents "Pearl Primus in Concert" - first solo concert. Chairman: Louis Horst and Committee: Bessie Schoenburg, Murial Stuart, Anita Zahn, Barbara Page, Eugenic Schein, Mary O'Donnell, Ruth Jones
The Citizens Committee of Upper West Side presents "Pearl Primus in Concert"
First Negro Freedom Rally, Madison Square Garden
Belasco Theatre, 44th Street, NYC
Roxy Theatre
"Show Boat" ( New York) - played "Sal" and "Dahomey Queen"
New Dance Group
Formulated Ethnic Dance Studies course with Jean Erdman and Hadassah East and West Indian Dance Program with Hadassah and Josephine Premice
Hunter College, performance
Appeared in New Jersey, and Connecticut under management of Max Jelin
New Dance Group program, developed especially for children
The Primus' Company Cross Country Tour under Austin Wilder management
O.R.T. Federation, benefit performance with Charles Weidman
New Dance Group lecture-demonstration on African dance and its influence in Haiti and the US South
Revival of "The Emperor Jones", Chicago Witch Doctor
Columbia University Ph.D. Program in Anthropology
New Dance Group, instructor
American Museum of Natural History
Irene Kaufmann Settlement Theater , Pittsburgh
North Carolina College
West Virginia State college
Irvine Auditorium, Philadelphia
Choreographed a piece about American life, based on Lewis Allan’s anti-lynching anthem - “Strange Fruit”
Performed in the Broadway revival of "Show Boat"
Rudolph Thenstead's Broadway production of "Caribbean Carnival" at the International Theatre, New York
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Central High school of Needle Trades, NY
Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
Student's Dance Recital Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival,
Guest Artist Calypso, Boston Caribbean Carnival
Participant, Walter Terry's Dance Lab at YMHA, topic was "Dance as a Social Force"
Awarded the largest Julius Rosenwald Fellowship grant for research in Africa
Cafe Society Downtown
Departed New York for Africa
Travels to Africa on a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation. There she lived among villagers in Nigeria, Belgian Congo, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, observing and recording African dances, ceremonies, and other cultural activities and aspects of their societies
Receives the "Star of Africa," a national award presented by the serving President of Liberia, West Africa, William Tubman
"Primitive African Dance and Its Influence on the Churches of the South" - written by Pearl Primus is published in The Dance Encyclopedia (1949 edition)
The Borzoi Book of Modern Dance - by Margaret Lloyd is published. Pearl Primus included
The American Museum of Natural History, "Dark Rhythms", lecture-demonstration
"Dark Rhythms", Kaufmann Auditorium of YMHA, Pearl S. Buck, chair of event
Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, faculty
The Henry Street playhouse in association with The New York Dance Film society presented a lecture/demonstration created by Pearl Primus titled "The Magical Origin of Dance"
"Dark Rhythms" - a program developed especially for children
"Out of Africa" - by Pearl Primus published in Walter Terry's book The Dance Has Many Faces
Ebony Magazine publishes article in January issue
Student's Dance Recital, Central High School of Needle Trades
New Lincoln School, benefit performance
Brooklyn Academy of Music Hunter College, Lecture
"The Woman of Zor" - began collaborating with Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling on the story line
Cafe Society Downtown, performer
Columbia University, faculty
"Dark Rhythms", YM-YWHA, 92nd Street, NYC
Royal Command Performance for King George VI Victoria Palace
England Prince's Theatre, London, England Stratford-Upon-Avon, England
In Israel, on tour
Command Performance, Mayor at Tel Aviv American
Museum of Natural History, "Dark Rhythms"
Passport revoked, on "Red Channels" list
Command Performance, Governor, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Little Carib Theatre
In Trinidad, forming a dance company
The Gold Coast Students Cultural Association, two Lecture- demonstrations
Museum of Modern Art
YM-YWHA New York Summer Dance Festival
Student's Dance Recital
Brooklyn Academy of Music
International Students Club, Columbia University, McMillin Theatre
"Mister Johnson" (choreographer) ran on Broadway for 12 weeks at the Martin Beck Theatre
Quirino Theatre, Italy - performance in honor of President William V. S. Tubman of Liberia sponsored by Mediterranean Center of Culture and Entertainment
1956-57 "International Dance Festival Series" in Rome. Italy
Barcelona, Spain - studied Catalonian dance
Carter Barron Amphitheater, Washington, D.C.
"Africa" by Pearl Primus - published in March issue of Dance Magazine
St. Marks Playhouse
Jan Hus Auditorium - Percival Borde and Company with Pearl Primus as guest artist
First International Conference of Negro Artists and Writers, Rome, Italy
"Cultural Dance Concert" St. Marks Playhouse
Appointed Chairman of Cultural Activities and Director of the African Center of Performing Arts, (Konama Kende) Monrovia, Liberia
(18) presentations given under auspices of Konama Kende, first performance in March at City Hall
New York University agrees to allow Pearl Primus to dance her thesis
New Dance Group, lecture-demonstration "Meeting Life Crises Through the Dance"
Benefit for Konama Kende
Command Performance - H.E Haille Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia, Monrovia, Liberia
Liberia, West Africa - 68 presentations for private organizations
African Carnival sponsored by African Research Foundation, staged and choreographed by Pearl Primus and Percival Borde
Pearl Primus "Dance Tour of Africa" begins - sponsored by the Rebekah Harkness Foundation. Countries included: Senegal, Mali, Guinea, Togoland, Dahomey, Nigeria, Cameroons, Union of Central African Republic, and Rwanda-Burundi
Command Performances - Heads of State Sierra Leone, Dahomey, Rhodesia, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroons, Mali
(28) concerts with special African Artists, also sponsored by Rebekah Harkness Foundation
Pearl Primus - Percival Borde Dance Studio presents "Ti Bongo" (Your Dance) given by the artists themselves
African-Caribbean-American Institute of Dance begun at the Primus - Borde Dance Studio
Community Church, New York - Lecture-demonstration
New York University
John Martin’s Book of the Dance by John Martin is published, describes Pearl Primus’ work
Pearl Primus - Percival Borde Dance Studio reopens at 17 West 24th Street
African-Caribbean-American Institute of Dance Arts
Earth Theatre, 24th Street
National Dance Teachers Guild First Regional Conference - Neighborhood Playhouse, Pearl Primus and Jose Limon on panel
Circle in the Square Theatre, "Dark Rhythms"
United States Office of Education Arts and Humanities Grant to create, test and evaluate a dance lecture-demonstration for use in Elementary classrooms
"A Pilot Study Integrating Visual Form and Anthropological Content for Teaching Children Ages 6-11 About Cultures and Peoples of the World" - U.S. Office of Education Project, (40) presentations in NY Public Schools
American Education publishes article in February issue by Nat Hentoff describing the pilot study school program in the schools
McBurney Young Men’s Christian Association 215 West 23rd Street sponsored by the Office of Education National Conference on Education of the Disadvantaged
US Department of Health, Education and Welfare - presented "Dance", a demonstration with lecture
Pratt University, Artist-in-Residence
Library and Museum of Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, "Dark Rhythms"
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs sponsors seminar titled "Pilot workshop in the Creative Application of Movement Inspired by Authentic African Dance Forms"
Ford Foundation, Public Education Division asked Pearl Primus to evaluate the dance programs in the British school Systems and determine their applicability to the U.S, public school system
"Awareness of Self" - dance concert, I.M. Marsh College of Physical Education, Liverpool, England
Hunter College (faculty member) - course titled "Dances of the Afro- American Heritage"
American Dance Therapy Association 4th Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Lecture "Life Crises: Dance from Birth to Death"
White House Conference on Children and Youth in Washington, D.C.
"Creativity in Education" - choreography
Hunter College, NY - President's Medal
University of Illinois, Champaign, IL
"The Black World: Perspectus"
"African Dance Concert"
National Culture Through the Arts Award
New York Federation of Foreign Language Teachers
The Today Show, NBC
"Dance and Life"
Hunter College, Faculty member
Phyllis Wheatley Poetry Festival - Jackson State College, Mississippi
"Hymn to the Rising Sun" - Hunter College
"Hunter Hall Of Fame" - Phi Beta Kappa Nu of New York at Hunter College
Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theatre - Pearl Primus reconstructs "Fanga" and "The Wedding" for the company
Zeta Phi Beta Annual Conference - New Rochelle, NY
"Dance-A Teaching Tool" - dance presentation Spelman College, Atlanta, GA
"Life Crises" - concert Whitney Young Auditorium, New Rochelle, NY
Earth Theatre
Harlem Cultural Council, NYC
"Fanga" - origins and performance presentation for Dancemobile
Dance Pioneer Award - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Received her Ph.D. in Educational Sociology and Anthropology - New York University, NY
Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute incorporated
National Endowment for the Arts awards grant to reconstruct "Fanga"
Theatre of the Riverside Church, NY
Earth Theatre, "Fanga", performance dedicated to Dr. Ethel J. Alpenfels
New York Ethnic Dance Festival, Carnegie Hall
Perry Street Theatre
Earth Theatre
Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival - Damrosch Park, performance
Month-long residency in three East Harlem public schools
Boy’s Harbor Performing Arts School in Harlem - faculty
New Dance Group - faculty
Community Action Agency in New Rochelle, NY - faculty
National Endowment of the Arts - Dance Fellowship Recipient
National Endowment of the Arts - Dance Fellowship Recipient
The Theatre of the Riverside Church dedicated to Percival Borde
Drum Talk in Tribute to Alphonse Cimber - Joe Nash spoke
National Endowment of the Arts - Dance Fellowship Recipient
VARC, panel discussion on the impact of Africa on Dance in the Americas, Pearl Primus, Thomas Pinnock, Tina Ramirez on panel with Duane Jones as moderator
National Endowment of the Arts - Dance Fellowship Recipient
Caribe Magazine - publishes special dance edition Pearl Primus publishes two articles and is pictured in photographic tribute
State University of New York at Buffalo - Director of the Cora P. Maloney College and Associate professor of the Theatre Dept.
Adele A. Wenig publishes Pearl Primus, An Annotated Bibliography of Sources From 1943 to1975
National Endowment of the Arts - Dance Fellowship Recipient
Beverly Anne Hillsman Barber authors Ph.D thesis, "Pearl Primus, in Search of Her Roots, 1943-1970".
National Endowment of the Arts, - Dance Fellowship Recipient
American Anthropological Association Distinguished Service Award, Washington, D.C.
University of Massachusetts Five College Visiting Artist
CONTACT Magazine - February issue publishes article by Patricia Wright
Five College Tribute to Black History Month, "A Struggle for Memory" - choreographed and produced a work for program
New York University's Ernest O. Meby Award for distinguished alumna
National Endowment of the Arts - Dance Fellowship Recipient
Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival - Pre-concert lecture in Studio 2
American Dance Festival, "The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance" at Duke University - (3) works reconstructed with a grant from the Ford Foundation
Spelman College, Atlanta, GA - Honorary Doctorate Degree Doctor of Humane Letters
Manhattanville College, Purchase, NY President's Award for Dance
17th Annual African Street Festival, NY - Each day of the Festival is dedicated to a prominent African-American artist in the Performance or Literary Arts: July 3 dedicated to Pearl Primus
Gallery of the Harlem State Office Building New York State Division for Women presents "Black Women in the Arts" - photographic exhibit
Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute Inc. - Advisory Committee organized
Osun Festival, "Tribute to Pearl Primus" - Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, NYC
Resigns from 5 College Program after being told she was too old to teach.
College Lecture Circuit - including Spelman College (Atlanta, GA),
North Carolina Institute of the Arts
Claremont University, West Los Angeles, performs"Negro Speaks of Rivers"
"National Medal of the Arts", US Presidential Award presented by then US President George Bush
"American Dance Festival" - Duke University, several of dances were mounted "Strange Fruit", "Negro Speaks of Rivers", and others.
"Pearl Primus 50th Anniversary" sponsored by Reader’s Digest and held at the Kennedy Center (Main Concert). First concert held at Howard University Auditorium, Washington DC
Dr. Pearl E. Primus dies at home in New Rochelle, NY.
