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Dancer bios

Pearl Primus

Pearl Eileen Primus (1919–1994) was an ambassador of African dance in the Caribbean and United States. In 1941, she received a scholarship at the New Dance Group, becoming its first African American student. Primus was greatly influenced by the faculty—which included Jane Dudley, Sophie Maslow, Nona Schurman and William Bales—for their commitment to using dance as a tool for social reform. She also trained with Martha Graham, Charles Weidman, Doris Humphrey and Louis Horst, from whom she gained an eclectic foundation in modern dance. In 1974, Primus staged Fanga (1949) and The Wedding (1961), theatricalizations of African ritual dances, for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Throughout her career, she taught at numerous universities, including NYU, Hunter College, the State University of New York at Buffalo, Howard University and Five College Dance Department. She remained active in the dance community until succumbing to diabetes at her New Rochelle home on October 29, 1994. In acknowledgement of her immense impact and extraordinary vision, Primus received many honors, including an honorary doctorate from Spelman College, the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of American Anthropologists and the National Medal of Arts.

Hadassah

Hadassah (1909-1992) was a pioneer of Israeli and Indian (Hindu) dancing in America. A choreographer of rare taste and artistic integrity, Hadassah was also a faculty member, board member and chairwoman of the ethnic division at the New Dance Group Studio in Manhattan. In 1938, she made her professional debut with Japanese dancer Kenji Hinoke and in 1945, she made her solo debut in a program shared with Josephine Premice and Pearl Primus. Hadassah and Company debuted at the YM/YWHA on June 4, 1950. During the 1950s and 1960s, Hadassah performed many times at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Becket, Massachusetts. Her best-known work was Shuvi Hafshi (Return My Soul) (1947), was based on a verse in Psalm 116. On November 18, 1992, Hadassah died of cancer in Manhattan at the age of 83.

Anna Sokolow

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Anna Sokolow (1910-2000) trained at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Martha Graham and Louis Horst. In the 1930’s she danced as a member of the Graham Dance Company and assisted Horst in his dance composition classes. During this time, Sokolow also formed her own company and began performing solo concerts and ensemble works, including choreographing for Broadway productions like Street Scene (1947), Camino Real (1953), and the original Hair (1967). Sokolow also frequently traveled to Mexico and Israel to teach and choreograph. She also served as a longtime faculty member of the Juilliard School. Sokolow received many honors and awards, including Honorary Doctorate degrees from Ohio State University, Brandeis University and the Boston Conservatory of Music. She also received a Fulbright Fellowship to Japan, the Dance Magazine Award, a National Endowment for the Arts’ Choreographic Fellowship, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American/Israeli Cultural Foundation, the Samuel H. Scripps Award, and the Encomienda, Aztec Eagle Honor (the highest civilian honor awarded to a foreigner by Mexico). On March 29, 2000 at the age of 90, Sokolow passed away in her home in New York City. Today, her works are performed by the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, and are in the repertories of numerous other companies around the world.

Joyce Trisler

Contemporary dancer, teacher, and choreographer, Joyce Trisler (1950-1979) was born in Los Angeles and studied with such influential dance figures such as Hanya Holm, Lester Horton, Robert Joffrey, and Antony Tudor. She taught modern dance for many years in New York and was a teaching member of the New Dance Group. Trisler was also a leading dancer with Doris Humphrey’s Juilliard Dance Theatre and performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater until 1964. She staged numerous operas and Broadway shows, including the New York Shakespeare Festival productions in the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. In 1974, she formed the Joyce Trisler Danscompany and created numerous acclaimed works, including Dance for Six, Rite of Spring, and Four Temperaments. Shortly after her untimely death on October 13, 1979, Alvin Ailey created his tribute ballet Memoria and dedicated it to “the joy, beauty, the creativity and the wild spirit of my friend, Joyce Trisler.”

Sophie Maslow

Sophie Maslow (1911-2006) was an American choreographer and dancer. After studying dance with Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse, she joined the Martha Graham Company as a soloist in 1931. As an early member of the New Dance Group, Maslow began dancing with fellow artists William Bales and Jane Dudley. The Dudley-Maslow-Bales Trio was a success and toured extensively throughout the United States in the 1940s. It eventually evolved into the Sophie Maslow Dance Company which Maslow helmed for over 30 years, producing works such as Folksay (1942), Poem (1964), and Tzilling (1984). Maslow was often invited to be a guest choreographer and worked with companies such as the Danskern Company, Harkness Ballet, Winnipeg Contemporary Dance Company and Batsheva Dance Company. She also designed movement for several plays such as The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (1964) and created dances for the 1952 and 1961 seasons of the New York City Opera. Maslow died in Manhattan on June 25, 2006 at age 95.