Did You Know These 4 Famous Black Women Had Their Beginnings in Dance?

Azaria Hogans is a Dance Professor here at MSU! She recently had the chance to create an article exploring famous African American women in dance, including Maya Angelou, Eartha Kitt, Zora Neale Hurston and Lena Horne. These women have impacted our world through music, poetry, literature and Broadway. Hogans explains how these four women got their start in dance and the way it has shown through in many of their works.

The performance arts have always been used as a form of expression. Some would argue that certain artists use dance as another form of protest against racism in America. Black Africans brought their dances to North, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as slave labor starting in the 1500s.  In the west these dance styles of hundreds of Black ethnic groups merged with white dances, forming the extension of the African aesthetic in the Americas. Dance has always been an integral part of daily life in Africa.  In the Americas, it helped enslaved Africans connect with their homeland keeping their cultural traditions alive. Today we have seen how dance has shifted overtime from the Harlem Renaissance to our modern day movement styles. This article helps bring light to the legacy of African American women and their versatility in society.

Consider these questions:

• How has dance impacted these women through life?
• In what way do you see cross-cultural inspiration among these Women?
• How did these women open doors for other black women in the arts?