The popularity and profile of African dance have exploded across the
African diaspora in the last fifty years. Hot Feet and Social Change
presents traditionalists, neo-traditionalists, and contemporary artists,
teachers, and scholars telling some of the thousands of stories lived
and learned by people in the field. Concentrating on eight major cities
in the United States, the essays challenges myths about African dance
while demonstrating its power to awaken identity, self-worth, and
community respect. These voices of experience share personal accounts of
living African traditions, their first encounters with and ultimate
embrace of dance, and what teaching African-based dance has meant to
them and their communities. Throughout, the editors alert readers to
established and ongoing research, and provide links to critical
contributions by African and Caribbean dance experts.
Contributors: Ausettua Amor Amenkum, Abby Carlozzo, Steven Cornelius,
Yvonne Daniel, Charles "Chuck" Davis, Esailama G. A. Diouf, Indira
Etwaroo, Habib Iddrisu, Julie B. Johnson, C. Kemal Nance, Halifu
Osumare, Amaniyea Payne, William Serrano-Franklin, and Kariamu Welsh