Trinidad embraces co-author of Primus bio

A Gift to Africa
by Glenvile Ashby, The Trinidad Guardian, August 1, 2011

The Dance Claimed Me: A Biography of Pearl Primus
by Peggy and Murray Schwartz (Yale University Press, 2011)

To authors Peggy and Murray Schwartz, the Trinidad-born dancer, choreographer, anthropologist and educator Pearl Primus (1919-1994) was an extraordinary lifelong friend. Their biography reflects honest but compassionate insight into a towering artist who was not always easy to understand or work with. The Dance Claimed Me ably portrays Primus and the times and experiences that molded her--from racism and Red-baiting in America to a life-transforming, if sometimes unreliably welcoming, Africa. Regal, headstrong and as complex as only a driven genius can be, Primus can be credited with infusing the American dance stage with the profundities and subtleties of African ritual dance and music, influential if impossible to duplicate to perfection. I recommend this engrossing, poignant study of her life and contributions.

Peggy Schwartz is professor 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.

The Dance Claimed Me on Amazon.com