Pearl Primus is a stocky, powerhouse dancer who has always tried to "express the culture of the Negro people." Until she went to Africa two years ago to study Negro dancing at its source, she always felt she was just "experimenting." Now, says Pearl, "when I put my feet down, I am putting my feet down, and the audiences know it."
In Greenwich Village's Café Society last week, she gave her nightclub fans a prayer dance first. "That makes the audience think 'Here is a person who is serious,' " Pearl says. "Once I show...
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