Scope and Contents Akua Kouyate speaks about and reflects on the important role that dance has played in her life and the importance of DanceAfrica and other programs that connect African-Americans to traditional and contemporary styles of African dance. She speaks about growing up and going to Washington, D.C. public schools. She discovered AfricanDance at a community organization in Southeast Washington, D.C. She developed her interest in dance while a student at Boston University, and continued to study...

Scope and Contents Makini Niliwambieni a.k.a. Mama Makini reflects on her life and what brought her to dedicate decades to performing, choreographing, and teaching African styles of dance. She talks about growing-up in Trenton, NJ, where she was exposed to “Black Arts” coming out of the Civil Rights Movement. She first started attending African Dance classes as part of the African People’s Action School, which was closely related to the socialist All African People Revolutionary Party founded by Kwame NKrumah...

Scope and Contents "Melvin Deal reflects on his work performing, choreographing, managing, and promoting African dance, which he has been involved in for over half a century. He speaks about how when he started dancing it was generally understood that you had to do ballet, if you wanted to be successful. But he was drawn to African dance and decided to follow that desire. At the time, decolonization was happening in Africa. Part of his work was fighting stereotypes about Africa. He reflects that at the time...

Scope and Contents In this oral history Sylvia Soumah reflects on her young life growing up in a Cincinnati, Ohio housing project, falling in love with dance, and building her career in dance in Washington, D.C. In Cincinnati she attended a performing arts high school, upon graduation she worked at a German restaurant, until, at age 20, she left for Washington D.C. While waitressing in Adams Morgan, she began dancing, initially dancing mostly modern and jazz. She talks about discovering African styles of dance...