In her first posthumous work, the revered poet crafts a personal
history of Black dance and captures the careers of legendary dancers
along with her own rhythmic beginnings.
Many learned of Ntozake Shange's ability to blend movement with words
when her acclaimed choreopoem for colored girls who have considered
suicide/when the rainbow is enuf made its way to Broadway in 1976,
eventually winning an Obie Award the following year. But before she
found fame as a writer, poet, performer, dancer, and storyteller, she
was an untrained student who found her footing in others' classrooms.
Dance We Do is a tribute to those who taught her and her passion for
rhythm, movement, and dance.
After 20 years of research, writing, and devotion, Ntozake Shange tells
her history of Black dance through a series of portraits of the dancers
who trained her, moved with her, and inspired her to share the power of
the Black body with her audience. Shange celebrates and honors the
contributions of the often unrecognized pioneers who continued the path
Katherine Dunham paved through the twentieth century. Dance We Do
features a stunning photo insert along with personal interviews with
Mickey Davidson, Halifu Osumare, Camille Brown, and Dianne McIntyre. In
what is now one of her final works, Ntozake Shange welcomes the reader
into the world she loved best.
