Showcase of Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors (SOURCE)

From Street Corners to the American Main Stage; The Erasure of Black Bodies and their Contributions in Western Dance

Oftentimes within the Black community it is common to hear the sentiment that “we drive culture.” An analysis of the history of American dance and its various aesthetic and cultural evolutions reveals a recurring theme of the co-opting of African American movement vocabulary and traditions into mainstream American/Western dance. This research paper poses the question: how the historic gentrification of African American (social and vernacular) dance by (White) American culture has contributed to the overlooking of aesthetic and cultural contributions by African Americans in Western dance. Throughout this paper, the dominant narrative of American/Western dance being evolved predominately through the efforts of White pioneers will be challenged and explored with research centering on the less notable contributions of African American dancers and community in the specific dance forms of tap dancing and “the lindy hop”, and the dance fad “the renegade”.