Cheryl Byron
Cheryl Byron (c. 1947 – June 17, 2003) was a Trinidad-born artist, poet, dancer, singer and teacher who helped popularize rapso, a Caribbean style of poetry and music. She studied dance in Trinidad with Neville Shepard and acted with the Caribbean Theater Guild. While touring New York, her art won a scholarship to study fine art at the New School, and she later earned BA and MA degrees in English from City College of the City University of New York.
In 1976, she became the first woman to perform her own original poetry in a calypso tent in Trinidad. She is known as the "Mother of Rapso" and was inspired by Lancelot Lane. Byron blended poetry with performance and dance, often touching on anticolonial themes. She studied dance with Pearl Primus and worked with the Primus Borde Earth Theater, later serving as Primus’ special assistant on teaching and choreography, including work with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She performed on stages around the world, including in Canada, Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, London, Kenya and Nigeria.
BYron was ordained a Reverend Mother in the Spiritual Baptist faith. She taught at Medgar Evers College and the College of New Rochelle in Brooklyn, as well as City College and NYC Technical College. She acted in the PBS film Homecoming, published poetry in the anthology Woman Rise, and appeared on the dub poetry album Womantalk. In 1981 she founded Something Positive, a New York City group that uses dance, song and storytelling to celebrate African Diaspora art and culture. The ensemble performs nationally and internationally and is led by Michael Manswell. Cheryl Byron died in New York at age 56. Something Positive released Vision, a collection of her music, in 2012.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 08:34 (CET).