Beryl McBurnie
Encyclopedia
Beryl McBurnie was a Trinidad
ian dance legend. She established the Little Carib Theatre, and promoted the culture and arts of Trinidad and Tobago as her life's work. McBurnie helped to promote the cultural legitimacy of Trinidad and Tobago that would ultimately arm its people to handle independence psychologically and healthily. Beryl McBurnie dedicated her life to dance, becoming one of the greatest influences on modern Trinidadian popular culture.
. She also worked with American modern dancer and choreographer Charles Weidman
, African-American choreographer Katharine Dunham, and taught Trinidadian dance at the New Dance Group
studio.
In 1940, McBurnie enjoyed a brief return to Trinidad. She presented A Trip Through the Tropics at the Empire Theatre, Port of Spain
. McBurnie combined Caribbean
and Brazil
ian dances with interpretations of New York and modern dances, performed to the music of Wagner, Beethoven and Bach
, to a packed audience. Her performances sold out.
She returned to New York in 1941 and stayed until 1945. In 1941, she danced and sang with Sam Manning and his ensemble, in the production of the only known calypso "soundies
," film clips made for film jukeboxes located in restaurants and bars. Performing under the stage name of La Belle Rosette, McBurnie was booked to perform at "coffee concerts" at the Museum of Modern Art
by philanthropist Louise Crane
, then a young theatrical agent. The poet Hilda Doolittle wrote a very positive review of her "coffee concert" showing. After her "coffee concert" performances, La Belle Rosette performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
and the 92nd Street Y
alongside American dancers Doris Humphrey
and Martha Graham
. While performing, McBurnie continued to teach at the studio of the New Dance Group
where, in 1942, the Trinidadian dancer Pearl Primus
was one of her students. In June 1942 McBurnie replaced Carmen Miranda
in the hit Broadway musical revue Sons o' Fun at the Winter Garden Theatre
. The following year, she made a film appearance with the Trinidadian vocalist Sam Manning in "Quarry Road".
laid the cornerstone of the building during a tour of the Caribbean in 1948. Among the many highlights of her work from this period were Talking Drums; Carnival Bele, in which the j'ouvert ballet danced to a steel band; Sugar Ballet; Caribbean Cruise; and Parang
. She is considered to be one of the fore-mothers of Parang music.
By the 1960s, the work of the Little Carib Dance Company had been recognised and celebrated overseas, performing at such events as the Caribbean Festival of Arts in Puerto Rico in 1952, the Jamaica Tercentenary Celebrations in 1955 and the opening of the Federal Parliament of Toronto in April 1958. In fact, the celebration in Canada in 1958 would influence the way Caribbean culture was understood in Canada. Her performances in Canada helped pave the way for Canada's Caribana festival in the 1960s. In 1965 the Little Carib building, no longer safe in Port-of-Spain, had to be closed down and was re-built in 3-years time. However the permanent dance troupe had disbanded and McBurnie instead focused her energies on teaching children.
, the highest national award in Trinidad and Tobago then, for Promotion of the Arts. She died 30 March 2000.
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
ian dance legend. She established the Little Carib Theatre, and promoted the culture and arts of Trinidad and Tobago as her life's work. McBurnie helped to promote the cultural legitimacy of Trinidad and Tobago that would ultimately arm its people to handle independence psychologically and healthily. Beryl McBurnie dedicated her life to dance, becoming one of the greatest influences on modern Trinidadian popular culture.
Early life
McBurnie began dancing as a child, performing regularly in dances and plays at Tranquility Girls' School, Port-of-Spain. In her youth she performed Scottish reels, jigs, and other British folk dances that the teacher instructed. Though she appreciated their beauty, she yearned for more. In her teens, she decided to focus on promoting "the emotions of the folk, and which in some cases gave an insight into the history and the way of life of the ordinary people."Rise to Prominence
McBurnie trained at the Mausica Teachers' College and started her career teaching in Port-of-Spain. She instead decided to pursue her dream career in folk-dance after touring the country with Trinidad's leading folklorist, Andrew Carr. Many melodies and folk dances that would have been lost to Trinidad and Tobago were rescued by McBurnie and promoted in her dancing. In 1938, she enrolled at Columbia University in New York and studied dance with dance pioneer Martha GrahamMartha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
. She also worked with American modern dancer and choreographer Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman is a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of Modern Dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance forms popular at the time to create a uniquely American style of movement...
, African-American choreographer Katharine Dunham, and taught Trinidadian dance at the New Dance Group
New Dance Group
New Dance Group, or more casually NDG, is a performing arts organization in New York City, USA.-History:New Dance Group was established in 1932 by a group of artists and choreographers dedicated to social change through dance and movement...
studio.
In 1940, McBurnie enjoyed a brief return to Trinidad. She presented A Trip Through the Tropics at the Empire Theatre, Port of Spain
Port of Spain
Port of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
. McBurnie combined Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian dances with interpretations of New York and modern dances, performed to the music of Wagner, Beethoven and Bach
Bạch
Bạch is a Vietnamese surname. The name is transliterated as Bai in Chinese and Baek, in Korean.Bach is the anglicized variation of the surname Bạch.-Notable people with the surname Bạch:* Bạch Liêu...
, to a packed audience. Her performances sold out.
She returned to New York in 1941 and stayed until 1945. In 1941, she danced and sang with Sam Manning and his ensemble, in the production of the only known calypso "soundies
Soundies
Soundies were an early version of the music video: three-minute musical films, produced in New York City, Chicago, and Hollywood between 1940 and 1946, often including short dance sequences. The completed Soundies were generally released within a few months of their filming; the last group was...
," film clips made for film jukeboxes located in restaurants and bars. Performing under the stage name of La Belle Rosette, McBurnie was booked to perform at "coffee concerts" at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
by philanthropist Louise Crane
Louise Crane
Louise Crane , a prominent American philanthropist. Crane was a friend to some of New York’s leading literary figures, including Tennessee Williams and Marianne Moore....
, then a young theatrical agent. The poet Hilda Doolittle wrote a very positive review of her "coffee concert" showing. After her "coffee concert" performances, La Belle Rosette performed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
and the 92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y
92nd Street Y is a multifaceted cultural institution and community center located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, at the corner of E. 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Its full name is 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association...
alongside American dancers Doris Humphrey
Doris Humphrey
Doris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...
and Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
. While performing, McBurnie continued to teach at the studio of the New Dance Group
New Dance Group
New Dance Group, or more casually NDG, is a performing arts organization in New York City, USA.-History:New Dance Group was established in 1932 by a group of artists and choreographers dedicated to social change through dance and movement...
where, in 1942, the Trinidadian dancer Pearl Primus
Pearl Primus
Pearl Primus was a dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the needs to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance...
was one of her students. In June 1942 McBurnie replaced Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda
Carmen Miranda, GCIH was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, Broadway actress and Hollywood film star popular in the 1940s and 1950s. She was, by some accounts, the highest-earning woman in the United States and noted for her signature fruit hat outfit she wore in the 1943 movie The Gang's...
in the hit Broadway musical revue Sons o' Fun at the Winter Garden Theatre
Winter Garden Theatre
The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 1634 Broadway in midtown Manhattan.-History:The structure was built by William Kissam Vanderbilt in 1896 to be the American Horse Exchange....
. The following year, she made a film appearance with the Trinidadian vocalist Sam Manning in "Quarry Road".
Creation of The Little Carib Theatre
McBurnie left the United States in 1945 at the height of her popularity in New York to become a dance instructor with the Trinidad and Tobago government's Education Department in 1945. In 1948 she established the first permanent folk-dance company and theatre in Trinidad. Her first show was "Bele" pre-carnival 1948 at her newly opened Little Carib Theatre in Woodbrook, Port of Spain. Paul RobesonPaul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson was an American concert singer , recording artist, actor, athlete, scholar who was an advocate for the Civil Rights Movement in the first half of the twentieth century...
laid the cornerstone of the building during a tour of the Caribbean in 1948. Among the many highlights of her work from this period were Talking Drums; Carnival Bele, in which the j'ouvert ballet danced to a steel band; Sugar Ballet; Caribbean Cruise; and Parang
Parang
Parang is a popular folk music originating out of Trinidad and Tobago, it was brought to Trinidad by Venezuelan migrants who were primarily of Amerindian and African heritage, something which is strongly reflected in the music itself. The word is derived from two Spanish words:'Parranda', meaning...
. She is considered to be one of the fore-mothers of Parang music.
By the 1960s, the work of the Little Carib Dance Company had been recognised and celebrated overseas, performing at such events as the Caribbean Festival of Arts in Puerto Rico in 1952, the Jamaica Tercentenary Celebrations in 1955 and the opening of the Federal Parliament of Toronto in April 1958. In fact, the celebration in Canada in 1958 would influence the way Caribbean culture was understood in Canada. Her performances in Canada helped pave the way for Canada's Caribana festival in the 1960s. In 1965 the Little Carib building, no longer safe in Port-of-Spain, had to be closed down and was re-built in 3-years time. However the permanent dance troupe had disbanded and McBurnie instead focused her energies on teaching children.
Recognition and Passing
In 1950 McBurnie was appointed the director of dance in the Education Department. The British Council sent her on a dance tour of England and Europe. In 1959 she was appointed OBE, and in 1969 she was presented with the Humming Bird Gold Medal of Trinidad and Tobago. In 1976 the University of the West Indies conferred on her the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws and in America in 1978 she was honoured along with Katharine Dunham and Pearl Primus at the Twentieth Anniversary Gala of the Alvin Ailey Theater. In 1989, McBurnie received the Trinity CrossTrinity Cross
The Trinity Cross was the highest of the National Awards of Trinidad and Tobago, between the years 1969– 2008. It was awarded for: distinguished and outstanding service to Trinidad and Tobago...
, the highest national award in Trinidad and Tobago then, for Promotion of the Arts. She died 30 March 2000.