Much of Ailey’s work was bred from his experiences of growing up in the south. Revelations (specifically) came from his spiritual upbringing in a rural Baptist church in Texas. Drawing from African-American cultural heritage he said ““sometimes sorrowful, sometimes jubilant, but always hopeful.”

“In 1958, Ailey founded Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater to carry out his vision of a company dedicated to enriching the American modern dance heritage and preserving the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience.”

The New York Times said of him, “you didn’t need to have known [him] personally to have been touched by his humanity, enthusiasm, and exuberance and his courageous stand for multi-racial brotherhood.”

Coined the “Matriarch and queen mother of black dance,” Katherine Dunham was a famous dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist who performed in Hollywood movies, Broadway, and created her own dance company.

Much of her work was drawn from her studies of the roots of black dance and rituals in Haiti. She was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography and one of the founders of the anthropological dance movement.

Later in life she was a huge advocate for racial equality and the fight for social justice. She was politically active in both domestic and international humans’ rights issues which she fought for fervently.

Hip Hop was born and bred right here in NYC, in the South Bronx. Faced with a lack of economic opportunity, as well as rising crime and poverty rates, the young people in the Bronx and nearby communities began creating their own kinds of cultural expressions. These forms of expression would come together to form the four pillars of hip hop (Deejaying, rapping, graffiti, and break dancing).

Hip Hop dance (popping, locking, Up Rock, Breaking, etc.) popularized by the African American and Latino communities, incorporated stylized footwork and athletic movements taken from a variety of sources including martial arts and gymnastics.

Like many social dances throughout American history, 90s party dance moves were created by communities and not by any one individual. These movements were agreed on by the communities, but each person can add their own individuality to it. Many of our social dances throughout history stem from the African American community, and can be traced back to slaves on plantations in the south.