Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

The Spirit Moves

From Street Corners to the American Main Stage: The Erasure of Black Bodies and their Contributions in Western Dance”, and is an attempt to bridge the gap between academic and creative research. For years, we have viewed academic and creative research as two distinctly separately categories, never finding a balance between the concrete information and movement of the past with the movement of the present. The movement used throughout the piece was generated from both personal experiences and outside research. The first half of the piece pulls heavily from my upbringing and experience in the “Black Church”, in addition to works such as Alvin Ailey’s Revelations. The second half of the piece pulls inspiration from the artistic environment surrounding the Harlem Renaissance including literature from writers such as Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston, music from Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, and dancers such as the Nicholas Brothers. This piece is important because making work about historical events provides an entrance point into the movement for audiences across multiple disciplines and perspectives. This work aims to foster a sense of pride and responsibility by exploring a culture and history that is uniquely both Black and American; it is a tribute to the unspoken people whose shoulders we are standing upon—who are constantly showing us the way.