About Us

Special Exhibit

When the Spirit Moves: African American Dance in History and Art

Scholar Judith Lynee Hanna writes “to dance is human, and humanity almost universally expresses itself in dance”. Culturally, a people’s values, attitudes, and beliefs partially determine the conceptualization of dance as well as its production, style structure, content and performance. As African American dance continues to shape mainstream American dance, this exhibition, When the Spirit Moves: African American Dance in History and Art, was organized to illustrate and chronicle this story from beginning to end and everything in between.

The history of African American dance is expansive and dates as far back as the 1600s with the arrival of African slaves to America. Distinct variations of dance in these communities were a result of traditions from different African ethnic groups, the culture of slave owners and other groups within the immediate society, as responses to the musical and social lives of individuals in that community, and in response to different experiences under slavery.

Even today’s African American dance movements have inherited the culturally rich, innovative and distinct blends of rhythmic techniques of its predecessors. Dance, as with the folktales of that time, had become the primary means of preserving history, morals, and other cultural information. As a result, a generational story effectively expressed through movement has been created.

When the Spirit Moves: African American Dance in History and Art was developed and organized by the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. This exhibition has been made possible through the generous support of the Houston Public Library