History of Black Dance, What is Black Dance?

I found both of these articles to be very interesting. The History of Black Dance was particularly informative. I was unaware, for example, that the dancing done by slaves on plantations was not traditional African dancing, but a modified form. It was also interesting to learn that most of the common and accepted dances of white society were just simplified versions of dances created by black dancers. I was also struck by the soul searching that black dance provoked in the African-American community as they reconnected with their African roots.
The second article focused on the uncertainty surrounding a definition for the term black dance. Was it dance performed by black artists, written by black choreographers or dance inspired by black themes and history? I found myself unable to come to a decision; I think that they could all be right. It seems to me that, just as people of all ethnicities can do "white" dance (ballet etc), other ethnicities are able to create and perform black dance. The arrival at a single definition for black dance is certainly complicated by the mixing of dance styles and appropriation of dances between ethnicities.

Martin Breu
Dance 0163- A