DanceAfrica — Black-Owned Brooklyn

Having moved to Brooklyn in the mid-2000s from my native Los Angeles, I always got this sense of emerging from winter hibernation when Memorial Day and DanceAfrica approached. Brooklynites know this Fort Greene event marks the unofficial beginning of summer, and all the beautiful brown-skinned friends that you’d left in the previous season were certain to be at the bazaar.

To swim through the sea of vendors outside BAM displaying vibrant clothing, jewelry, crafts and food from across the Diaspora; eager shoppers rocking Afrocentric street style; drumlines and drill teams; and the coolest kids in Brooklyn felt like homecoming. (And anyone who’s been to an HBCU homecoming knows how good that feeling is.)
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Founded in 1977 by the late Dr. Chuck Davis — dancer, choreographer and one of the foremost teachers of traditional African dance in America — DanceAfrica is BAM’s longest running cultural program. Baba Chuck’s vision set the foundation for more than four decades of performances, master classes in African movement and music, film series and lectures.

That first outdoor bazaar in ‘77, legend has it, featured elephant and camel rides for Brooklyn children. At the inaugural festival’s closing, 2,200 people packed the BAM Opera House for its original five dance troupes. But the most remarkable moment was when author Alex Haley unexpectedly addressed the audience for 45 minutes, providing deeper context for the events.
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In its 43rd year, DanceAfrica is one of countless festivals across the globe that’s had to shift to digital programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other offerings, this virtual incarnation (on BAM.org, now through June 14) offers online dance classes, streams from past performances, interviews with members of the Council of Elders and a virtual bazaar.

“The spirit of DanceAfrica has no boundaries,” says Abdel R. Salaam, DanceAfrica’s current artistic director. “And will always find its way to the people.” —By Mai Perkins