Reading 8: African Dance in New York City

Flo DiBiase 163A

I found this article very informative of the transition of African dance across the sea and into American culture. I cannot say that I was surprised, but it was still amazing to discover how centralized this process was to New York City; it is really an integral hub of diversity and culture. I heard some familiar names throughout the article of prominent African and African American dancers like Katherine Dunham, Pearl Primus, and others. It was also interesting to note how contained and interweaving the African dance culture was. To see how many of the most prominent figures worked and danced together was surprising and I wonder how they influenced each other. The relationship between the creation of African dance and politics was revealed, discussing movements such as Black Power. The International African American Ballet was one of the groups responding to these movements, and it was fascinating to learn how the dancers must know how to make music and vice versa. It was also very apparent how much work they put into their dances, researching, discovering, and sharing with each other. Finally it is depressing to hear that though these people worked so passionately to develop and perfect their art, many were subject to the burden of poverty. Whether they died of starvation and their inability to sustain themselves or a powerful and talented organization was split up due to low funding, it is unfortunate that such a passionate and creative art was limited.