Eleo Pomare (20 October 1937 – 8 August 2008) was a Colombian-American modern dance

choreographer Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which Motion (physics), motion or Visual appearance, form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A chor ...

. Known for his politically-charged productions depicting the Black experience, his work had a major influence on

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

, especially Black dance. He founded the Eleo Pomare Modern Dance Company in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Netherlands (1960-1963), and, after returning to the United States, established the Eleo Pomare Dance Company in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1964, which continued after his death. After a tour to Australia in 1972, and the subsequent return of his then lead dancer, Carole Johnson, his style of dancing continues to influence

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

modern dancers.

Early life and education

Eleo Pomare was born on 20 October 1937 in

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially the Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta (), is a port List of cities in Colombia, city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena Department and the fou ...

, Colombia, where on 19 June 1940 his sister Selina Forbes Pomare also was born. His father - James "Tawney" Forbes of Haitian/French ancestry - was captain of a cargo ship which while near

Colón, Panama Colón () is a city and Port#Seaport, seaport in Panama, beside the Caribbean Sea, lying near the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is the capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's se ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

was torpedoed by the Germans. Six-year-old Pomare was with his dad at that time and was rescued, but his father was never found. Afterward, Pomare went to live with his mother - Mildred Pomare Lee - in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

. During 1947, he was sent on his own to stay with an aunt and uncle in

where a few years later, he was joined by his mother. Pomare attended

New Lincoln School The New Lincoln School was a private experimental coeducational school in New York City enrolling students from kindergarten through grade 12. History New Lincoln's predecessor was founded as Lincoln School in 1917 by the Rockefeller-funded Gene ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

and later studied at New York's

High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...

, where he was mentored by Verita Pearson prior to graduating in 1953. During that time, Pomare was also teaching dance to young people at the

Police Athletic League The Police Athletic League (PAL) is an organization in many American police departments in which members of the police force coach young people, both boys and girls, in sports, and help with homework and other school-related activities. The purpos ...

(PAL). Includes link to extensive notes summarising the videoed interview
Interview notes
/ref>

Career

Pomare founded his first

dance company A dance troupe or dance company is a group of dancers and associated personnel who work together to perform dances as a sport, spectacle or entertainment. There are many different types of dance companies, often working in different list of dance ...

in 1957, called Corybantes, but dismantled it to travel to Europe to study and perform with

Kurt Jooss Kurt Jooss (12 January 1901 – 22 May 1979)Kurt Jooss
Internationales Biographisches Arch ...

and Harold Kreutzberg in

Essen Essen () is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as ...

, Germany, on a John Hay Whitney scholarship. After clashing with British choreographer teacher

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-195 ...

there, refusing to comply with "the preservation of a racialized hierarchy within dance", he left the Jooss school, along with the other dancers in his group. He established his own dance company in

, Netherlands, called the Eleo Pomare Modern Dance Company (1960-1963). There he collaborated with many dancers, in particular the Australian modern dancer, teacher, and choreographer,

Elizabeth Cameron Dalman Elizabeth Cameron Dalman (nee Wilson; born 1934) is an Australian choreographer, teacher, and performer. She founded Australian Dance Theatre and was its artistic director from 1965 to 1975. She is also the founding director of Mirramu Dance ...

(then Wilson), who became company manager. His most significant performance with the company was ''Resonance'', a collaboration with the electronic composer Ton Bruynèl, Japanese-American sculptor Shikiji Tajiri, and African-American painter

Sam Middleton Sam Middleton (April 2, 1927 – July 19, 2015) was an American mixed-media artist from New York City. He travelled all over the world with the US Merchant Marine, lived in Mexico and Sweden and eventually settled down in the Netherlands, where ...

, first presented in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and afterwards in other cities in the Netherlands. Dalman also danced in this production. He returned to the United States in 1964, when he revived and expanded his company.Annemarie Bean, ''A Sourcebook of African-American Performance: Plays, People, Movements'', Routledge, 1999, p. 86. The company performed at the

Waltann School of Creative Arts The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts center in Brooklyn, New York City. It hosts progressive and avant-garde performances, with theater, dance, music, opera, film programming across multiple nearby venues. BAM was chartered in 18 ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in November 1967. During September 1966, Pomare, along with Carole Johnson and others, established the

Association of Black Choreographers Carole Yvonne Johnson (born 1940) is an African American contemporary dancer and choreographer, known for her role in the establishment of the National Aboriginal Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), and as co-founder of Bangarra ...

, which later was followed by founding of ''The Feet'', a magazine for black dancers. William Moore (1933–1992), African American dance critic, dancer, researcher, and founder of ''Dance Herald'' magazine, managed the company at some point.

Major works

An important work was ''Gin. Woman. Distress.'', a three-part solo dance, to the songs of

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

. It depicts the slow deterioration of a homeless woman. Pomare choreographed the work for

in New York during 1966, and it was widely toured by Dalman in Europe and Australia from 1966 to 1987. The work was also taught to Johnson, who performed it in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

in 1972. One of the company's signature pieces developed by Pomare was called ''Blues for the Jungle'' (1966), originally titled ''Harlem Moods'', as it depicted life in

, New York. First performed in

, the work is in three parts: Underworld, From Prison Walls, and Dat Day. Other productions in the 1960s included '' Missa Luba'' in 1965 and ''Las Desenamoradas'' in 1967 (based on

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936) was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27, a g ...

's play ''

The House of Bernarda Alba ''The House of Bernarda Alba'' () is a play (theatre), play by the Spain, Spanish dramatist Federico García Lorca. Commentators have often grouped it with ''Blood Wedding (play), Blood Wedding'' and ''Yerma'' as the Rural Trilogy. García Lorc ...

'' set to "Olé" by

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the Jazz#Post-war jazz, history of jazz and 20th-century musi ...

). A November 1983 performance by Leni Wylliams as "Profit Jones" in ''Radiance of the Dark'' during the company's 25th anniversary season was reported in a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review as being "show stopping". Other featured dancers included: * Dudley Williams * Loretta Abbott *Al Perryman *Dyane Harvey *Charles Grant * Chuck Davis *Martial Roumain In 1986, in honour of

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

, Pomare created ''Morning Without Sunrise'', set to music by

Max Roach Maxwell Lemuel Roach (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was an American jazz drummer and composer. A pioneer of bebop, he worked in many other styles of music, and is generally considered one of the most important drummers in history. He wo ...

Touring

The company toured to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, in 1972, to perform at the

Adelaide Festival of Arts The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

. Dancers on the tour were: Carole Johnson, Roberta Pikser, Jennifer Barry, Frank Ashley, Strody Meekins, Martial Roumain, Henry Yu Hao Yen, Lillian Coleman, Dyane Harvey, and Carole Simpson. Pomare came to the attention of

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

activists after refusing to perform at Chequers Theatre, situated in the suburb of

Nailsworth Nailsworth is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, England, lying in one of the Stroud Valleys in the Cotswolds, on the A46 road, south of Stroud and about north-east of Bristol and Bat ...

, north of Adelaide city centre. Pomare deemed it unsafe for the type of performance, and an inferior venue, and he insisted that his company be treated with respect. The powers that be ensured that equipment and props were moved to the Warner Theatre in King William Street, in time for the performance the following day. Pomare upset the box office manager by giving his allocation of orchestra seats away to some Aboriginal people who wanted to see the performance but had not been able to get tickets. The company performed ''Blues for the Jungle'' on this tour, which, according to Johnson, "really excited the blacks who saw for the first time how the contemporary arts could be used to convey relevant social messages". Johnson also performed ''Gin. Woman. Distress.'' on the tour. The company also toured to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, supported by the

Australia Council for the Arts Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announ ...

. Johnson went on to run a workshop and then start courses for

Aboriginal Australians Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia (co ...

, and headed the

Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre (AIDT) was the first dance company used to train Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students on their dancing career, and grew into a performance group. Originating in the National Aboriginal and Islander ...

in 1976.
Attribution 2.0 Australia (CC BY 2.0 AU)
licence. The company also toured North America, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and Africa, performing in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria, for FESTAC '77, the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture.

Recognition

Pomare was awarded a

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

in 1972. The borough president of

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. Dinkins was among the more than 20,000 Montford Point Marine Associa ...

, declared 7 January 1987 as Eleo Pomare Day.

Death and legacy

Pomare died of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

, New York, on 8 August 2008. The Eleo Pomare Dance Company continued after his death. Dancer and choreographe
Martial Roumain
who joined the company as a teenager, was responsible for preserving Pomare's work and for future performances of it. An exhibition celebrating his achievements, entitled ''The Man, The Artist, The Maker of Artists'', was mounted at the National Museum of Dance from 2011 to 2012. In January 2021
Loris Anthony Beckles
a former member of the Eleo Pomare Dance Company and founder of the Beckles Dancing Company in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, gave a talk on Pomare's legacy, entitled ''Dance as activism: Meet Eleo Pomare, a revolutionary artist''. Pomare is often considered the angry black man of

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert dance, concert or theatrical dance which includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th ...

, although he did not consider himself angry or bitter, but that he is rather "telling it like it is". "I'm labeled...angry...because I will not do what they want from a black dancer. They want black exotics... I have something to say and I want to say it honestly, strongly and without having it stolen, borrowed or messed over." The impact of Pomare as writer, dancer and choreographer has helped many gain an understanding of the black experience.Emery (1988), pp. 298–301. Johnson's work with

dancers in Australia, helping to create

NAISDA The NAISDA Dance College (usually referred to as simply NAISDA) is a performing arts training college based in Kariong, New South Wales for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. It was established as the Aboriginal Islander ...

's forerunner in 1975, and subsequent formation of

Bangarra Dance Theatre Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-bor ...

in 1989, carried on Pomare's legacy. Johnson herself said that "Pomare made me the dancer that I am today... I was very technical, which he liked, but he managed to pull all my emotion out". She also said that he had a strong influence in Australia, the legacy of his 1972 visit to Adelaide.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pomare, Eleo 1937 births 2008 deaths Deaths from cancer in New York (state) American choreographers