Scope and Contents Founding Director Emerita of Dance Place Carla Perlo reflects on her life and leading Dance Place, the organizational host of DanceAfrica, DC. Perlo speaks about her professional trajectory and building one of the nation’s leading dance organizations with focus on how DanceAfrica, DC fits into the larger scope of Dance Place’s 40-year history as a dance presenter, school, and community arts center in Ward 5’s Brookland/Edgewood neighborhood. Perlo also speaks on her legacy in the dance...

Scope and Contents Director Emerita of Dance Place Deborah Riley reflects on her life and leading Dance Place, the organizing host of DanceAfrica, DC. Riley talks about her career as a professional choreographer, performer, and teacher and how her love for dance fuels all she does. Riley describes the magic of DanceAfrica, DC and its importance to the community. Riley also discusses her legacy and what she hopes to see continue in the dance field post COVID-19 as Dance Place celebrates its 40-year history as a...

Scope and Contents Denise Rollins, current Chair of the Board of Directors at Dance Place, reflects on her life and relationship to the DC African dance community. Rollins speaks about her professional trajectory that began in public policy, which led her to spend a number of years working for the African American Institute and eventually USAID. Rollins recalls the early years of Dance Place and DanceAfrica, DC and how each remains important to her life today as Dance Place celebrates its 40-year anniversary...

Scope and Contents Marcia Howard, long-time company member of Coyaba Dance Theater and coordinator of the Coyaba Youth Academy, reflects on her life and passion for dance. Howard speaks about her childhood growing up in Baltimore, her dance training, and early recollections of racial tension in the country. After a brief hiatus, Howard talks about how dance reentered her life and became her sole purpose, leading her to travel around the world to perform and study dances of the African diaspora, as well as hold...

Scope and Contents

This series is the second grant for Oral History of DanceAfrica, D.C. DanceAfrica is a celebration of dance forms of the African Diaspora and is held annually in Washington, D.C., New York, New York, and Chicago, Illinois. The festival includes performance, films, master classes, educational programming, and a bazaar. This oral history project features six interviews with members of the DanceAfrica, D.C. elders’ council.