#balletsnegres

Typed letter signed from Pasuka to the Editor of The New Statesman, 2pp. 4to, [London] (King's Theatre, Hammersmith], 29 September 1952; autograph draft letter in reply from Farjeon, 1p. 4to (on verso of latter), [9 October 1952]; autograph letter signed from Pasuka to Farjeon, 4pp. 4to, [London] (14 Lansdowne Crescent), 14 September [but October] 1952; and two disappointed letters from New Statesman readers, October 1952. Farjeon, a dance critic, daughter of Herbert and niece of Eleanor, had written an article patronizing a performance of Les Ballets Nègres at the Twentieth Century Theatre for its "fervent integrity, but little art". Pasuka, who had brought Les Ballets Nègres to England from Jamaica in 1946, was dignified in response. Surely she had read the programme? This was no Russian ballet "with its stereotyped entrechats and point work" - the "lack of discipline" of which she complained was, rather, "spontaneity": he quotes Beryl de Zoete's New Statesman review of 1946, "There is no doubt that in his Ballets Negres Berto Pasuka has discovered a new art form, which in dance may have an impact comparable to that of primitive African sculpture." Farjeon's reply doesn't mollify him. "Spontaneous" could simply mean "amateur", she suggests. "I am sure you will agree with me that this sincerity - though beautiful in its own way - cannot create art without technique. I found the most artistically satisfying moment of the evening," she offers, by way of flattery, "came from yr. own performance at the end of De Prophet" (Lillian Browse, in The Spectator, 18 September, went further: for her De Prophet seemed "a perfect example of negro dancing translated into theatrical terms"). Pasuka responds at length and with vigour, in so doing defining a potent manifesto for Les Ballets Nègres. Why, if she found his own work "superb and moving", did she not say so in her article, instead of dismissing it as "raw, emotional dollops"? He doubts her sincerity. "The choreography of the ballet nègres," he writes, "is composed of basic (not tribal) steps, and spontaneous moments. This is our technique. Therefore the success of each work in our repertoire must be judged on these standards. It is . . . ridiculous to say spontaneity in the ballets nègres is amateurish. Would you say ice-cream is no good because it is not cheese!" He continues, "We are trying to create a Negro dance idiom independent of the classic ballet, Indian, Modern etc. The ballet is not African, but Negro. There is a great difference which people in Europe fail to realise. Negroes are the children of Africa scattered all over the world. They adopt the culture of the respective country [where] they happen to reside - hence the term Afro-American etc." (Drily, he adds, "May I point out to you that it is not true to say 'shimmering vitality can only be achieved by Negroes'.") He ends, "I . . . pray in future that you will acquaint yourself with facts, and . . . if there are 'General Notes' read them, understand them, and if you d[i]slike what is presented then for heaven sake give your personal dislikes. Please do not expect Indian dancing in the midst of Swan Lake!" Pasuka's Ballets Nègres only survived another year. And he himself died, before his time, in 1963. Inscribed by Author(s).