When Negro slaves arrived in America, from the early 1600’s, they brought their culture – its rhythms, music and movement – with them.
Chained – literally and figuratively – to a foreign landscape and another’s rule of law, these African voices (numbering in the millions) moved to the beat of their own world to prolong survival. It’s in this diaspora that the unique vocabulary of Negro dance rose and flourished – beginning as celebrations and contests amongst slaves, then reinventing itself over time as a calling card, political weapon, and badge of honor.
