In class we will study the dance “Strange Fruit” by Pearl Primus.
Dr. Pearl Primus (1919-1994) was a dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. “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 of the Atlantic.” Read more here: “Fierce!`Dr. Pearl Primus“
Watch: “Strange Fruit”
About “Stange Fruit”: Dr. Primus created socially and politically solo dances dealing with the plight of Black Americans in the face of racism. In Strange Fruit (1945), the solo dancer reflects on witnessing a lynching. The score for the dance is the poem by the same name by Abel Meeropol (publishing as Lewis Allan). The poem was later popularized as a song sung most memorably by Billie Holiday