Dancing in the Light

Overview

The American Dance Festival presents Dancing in the Light, a one-hour modern dance television program showcasing 6 historic dance compositions by African American choreographers. All of the dances were originally recorded for the Emmy Award winning series Free to Dance, a three-hour documentary that aired on PBS in 2001 as part of the Great Performances: Dance in America series. While Free to Dance uses select excerpts from the dances to inform it's narrative within a historical context, Dancing in the Light features six dances in their entirety or in the case of one work, a complete section. The dances include: Ostrich (1932) by Asadata Dafora, Barrelhouse Blues (1943) by Katherine Dunham, Strange Fruit (1943) by Pearl Primus, Mourner's Bench (1947) by Talley Beatty, Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959) by Donald MC Kayle, First Section of D-Man in the Waters (1989) by Bill T. Jones.