Beryl McBurnie
| Dr. Beryl "La Belle Rosette" McBurnie | |
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| Born |
Beryl McBurnie November 2, 1913 Port-of-Spain, Trinidad |
| Died | March 30, 2000 (aged 84) Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Nationality |
 Trinidad and Tobago
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| Education | Columbia University, New York |
| Known for | Dance, choreography, dance instruction |
| Notable work | The Little Carib Theatre |
| Movement | Promotion of Dance, Arts and Culture of Trinidad & Tobago |
| Awards | Doctor of Laws, The University of the West Indies; Hummingbird Gold Medal, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; Trinity Cross, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Patron(s) | Katharine Dunham, Martha Graham, Paul Robeson, Sam Manning, Carmen Miranda, Charles Weidman, Louise Crane, Doris Humphrey |
Beryl Eugenia McBurnie (2 November 1913 – 3 March 2000) was a Trinidadian dancer. She established the Little Carib Theatre, and promoted the culture and arts of Trinidad and Tobago as her life's work. She helped to promote the cultural legitimacy of Trinidad and Tobago that would ultimately arm its people to handle independence psychologically and healthily. McBurnie dedicated her life to dance, becoming one of the greatest influences on modern Trinidadian pop culture.
At the age of eight years she was invited to recite the "Sycamore Tree" for a charity concert in the district. Soon after that she set about gathering children from the neighbourhood to form a group, which would present concerts. The first concert planned did not take place, but she and her friends tried again, borrowing chairs from neighbours. This time the performance was well appreciated and this successful venture encouraged her to continue.
Beryl 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."
On leaving Tranquility Girls School, McBurnie became a teacher and used this opportunity to engage in the extracurricular activities surrounding the preparation for school concerts, play productions and operettas. She danced at every opportunity that came her way, at the same time becoming quite accomplished at piano and in the use of voice.
She trained at 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 Graham. McBurnie also worked with American modern dancer and choreographer Charles Weidman, African-American choreographer Katharine Dunham, and studied eurhythmics with Elisa Findlay - a student of Emile Jacques Dalcroze. McBurnie also taught Trinidadian dance at the New Dance Group
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