We are just a few days away from a highly-anticipated weekend of PHILADANCO. The Straight Outta Philly program features a collaboration with Rennie Harris Puremovement for a unique fusion of hip-hop and modern dance.
To get warmed up, we looked back on some reflective words from the incomparable Joan Myers Brown, the matriarch and founder of the city’s premier African American dance company.
Last February, Joan spoke to The Philadelphia Inquirer for their “What I Wish I Knew” Black History Month feature about her experience growing up learning about the “rich history of Black dance”.
“It wasn’t until I was an adult and I met dancers from other cities that I began to ask questions about their backgrounds and questions of my now-older teachers‚ I learned there was a rich history of blacks in dance here in America. Even today‚ hip-hop which was once looked down upon when done by Black kids on street corners‚ has been assimilated into American culture.”