The curve of the dancer’s muscular body, balanced by the large sword arcing over his head, enhances the drama of this sculpture. Féral Benga was the stage name of Senegalese cabaret dancer François Benga (1906–1957), a muse to Harlem Renaissance artists including sculptor Richmond Barthé. Benga, an acclaimed dancer in Paris, developed a danse du sabre, which drew upon exoticized stereotypes of Black bodies and was popular with white audiences. Benga opened a Senegalese restaurant in the mid-1930s, using photographs of himself in his marketing.