caption birth_place siblings birthname article_title name
cheryl byron portrait by cox trinidad & tobago nydia byron -lrb- limbo queen -rrb- cheryl byron cheryl byron
 cheryl byron
cheryl byron

cheryl byron -lrb- died june 17 , 2003 -rrb- was a visual artist .
she started her studies in her native land , trinidad & tobago .
there she also studied dance with neville shepard and acted with the caribbean theater guild .
while on tour in new york , her artwork won her a scholarship to the new school university , where she studied fine art .
byron then obtained a bachelor of arts and master of arts degrees in english from city college -lrb- cuny -rrb- while maintaining her professional life , including becoming in 1976 the first woman to perform her own original brand of poetry in a calypso tent in trinidad , for which she is recognised as `` the mother of rapso '' .
byron was a pioneering performer of rapso and dub poetry .
she studied dance with pearl primus , and became a member of the primus board `` earth theater '' .
she then became primus ' special assistant , accompanying her on her numerous teaching and choreography assignments , including with the alvin ailey american dance theater .
byron performed on national and international stages .
her talent took her to such places as canada , guyana , barbados , jamaica , london , kenya and nigeria .
byron was an ordained reverend mother in the spiritual baptist faith and a professor at medgar evers college and the college of new rochelle in brooklyn , new york .
byron also taught at city college , and new york city technical college .
byron played one of the lead roles in the pbs film `` homecoming '' , became a published poet in an anthology of poetry , `` woman rise '' , and is featured on an album of dub poetry , `` womantalk '' , on heartbeat records .
in addition , byron founded something positive , a not-for-profit dance organization based in new york city .
something positive is under the artistic direction of michael manswell .
byron died in new york at the age of 56 .
