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DANCE . THEATRE . MUSIC . MEDIA .

A leading company of contemporary Indigenous performance in Canada and worldwide.

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Red Sky Performance is a leading company of contemporary Indigenous performance in Canada and worldwide.

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A resource guide for bringing Canadian Indigenous culture into the classroom.

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In a Good Way - Guidelines for teaching Indigenous drama and dance.

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In a Good Way - Guidelines for teaching Indigenous drama and dance.

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FN, Métis and Inuit Music and Dance - Resource for Teachers

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FN, Métis and Inuit Music and Dance - Resource for Teachers

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The Alberta Teachers Association - Education for Reconciliation

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7 Iconic Black Women Who Changed the Course of Ballet History

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7 Iconic Black Women Who Changed the Course of Ballet History

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And arguably dance history itself.

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Just three years ago, Misty Copeland made ballet history when she became the first Black woman to ever be promoted to principal in American Ballet Theater. It was a groundbreaking moment for the company, which is considered the crème de la crème of the ballet world, and for Black dancers everywhere. Now, Copeland is a household name, with an Under Armour endorsement and a Barbie made in her likeness.

But to understand why Copeland's rise to fame is so significant, it's important to acknowledge the classical dancers who broke into the historically whitewashed art form long before her. In honor of Black History Month, here are the some of the other Black dancers who set the stage for Copeland's success.

It's Black History Month, but at Refinery29, we believe in celebrating Black voices, Black art, and Black women 365 days of the year. Follow us on Instagram at @r29unbothered for more on issues that affect Black women's everyday lives.

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7 Iconic Black Women Who Changed The Course Of Ballet History

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Just three years ago, Misty Copeland made ballet history when she became the first Black woman to ever be promoted to principal in American Ballet Theater. It was a groundbreaking moment for the company, which is considered the crème de la crème of the ballet world, and for Black dancers everywhere.

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Library of Congress, with more samples of Dunham Technique to explore.

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The Library of Congress is providing access to these materials for educational and research purposes and makes no warranty with regard to their use for other purposes. The written permission of the copyright owners and/or other rights holders (such as holders of publicity and/or privacy rights) is required for distribution, reproduction, or other use of protected items beyond that allowed by fair use or other statutory exemptions.

There may be content that is protected and/or under the copyright or neighboring-rights laws of other nations. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item. Users should consult the bibliographic information that accompanies each item for specific information. This catalog data provides the details known to the Library of Congress regarding the corresponding items and may assist users in making independent assessments of the legal status of these items as related to their desired uses.

Items included here with the permission of the rights holders are indicated as such in the bibliographic record for each item. In some cases, the Library was unable to identify a possible rights holder and has elected to place some of those items online as an exercise of fair use for strictly non-commercial educational uses.

The Library of Congress would like to learn more about these materials and would like to hear from individuals or institutions that have any additional information or know of their history.

Please contact: Performing Arts Reading Room.

Suggested credit line: Library of Congress, Music Division.

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In 2002, with funds from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Library of Congress undertook the documentation of Katherine Dunham's dance technique.

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Katherine Dunham created the Dunham Technique for contemporary dance: she was the first to combine the individualistic dance movements of Caribbean and African cultures with European-style ballet.

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Katherine Dunham Timeline | Articles and Essays | Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection | Digital Collections | Library of Congress

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Katherine Mary Dunham is born on 22 June 1909 in a Chicago hospital. Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, is black; her mother, Fanny June Dunham, is a woman of French-Canadian and American Indian heritage. Shortly after her birth, her parents take the infant Katherine to their home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a village about fifteen miles west of Chicago.

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Powwow Dance Tutorial by Angela Gladue of Frog Lake First Nation

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Powwow Dance Tutorial by Angela Gladue of Frog Lake First Nation

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Easy to follow dance tutorial by an Indigenous dancer.

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These dances are not meant to be replicated by students. Viewing traditional dance is about connecting with what is traditional in your own life, and learning about and from it. Indigenous dancers can be brought in to teach students appropriate forms of indigenous dance.

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Women's Northern Traditional - 2018 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

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Men's Traditional Dance at Onion Lake Powwow

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Men's Traditional Dance at Onion Lake Powwow

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These dances are not meant to be replicated by students. Viewing traditional dance is about connecting with what is traditional in your own life, and learning about and from it. Indigenous dancers can be brought in to teach students appropriate forms of indigenous dance.

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Onion Lake powwow 2021 sr men’s traditional Sunday

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By Deanne Hupfield. Her whole channel is here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3GaWFHI9iUXd8CNsHmQdQA

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We are an Indigenous dance company
with a rich history of masked dance
that inspires a compelling performance.

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For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that these artistic practices were not lost.

For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that these artistic practices were not lost.

Company Background

Dancers of Damelahamid is an Indigenous dance company founded upon over five decades of extensive work of song and dance revitalization. For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. In response to the lifting of the Potlatch Ban (1884 - 1951), was the resurfacing of dance and the awakening of an art form that was outlawed for almost 70 years. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that these artistic practices were not lost.

The Dancers of Damelahamid has since established itself as a leading professional Indigenous dance company. The company's artistic approaches have contributed to its abilities to bridge creative practices and to work with innovative mediums, while maintaining commitment to the integrity of their artistic legacy. It is through continual and diligent practice that this dance form endures as non-static and relevant to current innovation, influence, and insights.

The Dancers of Damelahamid has produced several theatre-based productions and choreographed dance works, with their most recent production, Mînowin, premiering at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, ON. The company has produced the annual Coastal Dance Festival since 2008, presenting Indigenous dance from the Northwest Coast as well as hosting guest national and international Indigenous artists.

Company Background

Dancers of Damelahamid is an Indigenous dance company founded upon over five decades of extensive work of song and dance revitalization. For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. In response to the lifting of the Potlatch Ban (1884 - 1951), was the resurfacing of dance and the awakening of an art form that was outlawed for almost 70 years. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that these artistic practices were not lost.

The Dancers of Damelahamid has since established itself as a leading professional Indigenous dance company. The company's artistic approaches have contributed to its abilities to bridge creative practices and to work with innovative mediums, while maintaining commitment to the integrity of their artistic legacy. It is through continual and diligent practice that this dance form endures as non-static and relevant to current innovation, influence, and insights.

The Dancers of Damelahamid has produced several theatre-based productions and choreographed dance works, with their most recent production, Mînowin, premiering at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, ON. The company has produced the annual Coastal Dance Festival since 2008, presenting Indigenous dance from the Northwest Coast as well as hosting guest national and international Indigenous artists.

To advance the public's knowledge and appreciation of the art, history, language, and traditions of First Nations' culture through story dance and song;

To educate the public about and increase cross-cultural understanding of First Nations' heritage through dance performances at festivals, in educational institutions, and at other venues and public spaces; and

To advance education by providing instructional workshops on traditional First Nations' dance to students at elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools.

To advance the public's knowledge and appreciation of the art, history, language, and traditions of First Nations' culture through story dance and song;

To educate the public about and increase cross-cultural understanding of First Nations' heritage through dance performances at festivals, in educational institutions, and at other venues and public spaces; and

To advance education by providing instructional workshops on traditional First Nations' dance to students at elementary, secondary and post-secondary schools.

Artistic Statement

Growing up in a small community on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia, I was immersed from a young age in the practice of song and dance that had been passed down for countless generations. It was through this experience that I entered into a relationship with my ancestral memories. Today, as a dance artist, within a practice that interweaves many artistic disciplines, I have found a means to make a tangible connection with the stories and values that define us.

The work that I do as Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid is to ensure the continuation of what has been of such great importance to my parents and the generation that revitalized dance. I treasure dance as the most significant inheritance that I have, and it will be a life journey to strive to develop the art form to its potential. For me dance, song and story have provided a protective environment to address the limitations placed on our Indigenous peoples and to create a healing space. Our bodies, our thoughts, our emotional attachments and our prayers are connected through the ceremony of dance. In our performances we are not only turning to our ancestral knowledge for our own reconciliation, but we are sharing and supporting others through our art.

Artistic Director, Margaret Grenier

Artistic Statement

Growing up in a small community on the Northwest Coast of British Columbia, I was immersed from a young age in the practice of song and dance that had been passed down for countless generations. It was through this experience that I entered into a relationship with my ancestral memories. Today, as a dance artist, within a practice that interweaves many artistic disciplines, I have found a means to make a tangible connection with the stories and values that define us.

The work that I do as Executive and Artistic Director for the Dancers of Damelahamid is to ensure the continuation of what has been of such great importance to my parents and the generation that revitalized dance. I treasure dance as the most significant inheritance that I have, and it will be a life journey to strive to develop the art form to its potential. For me dance, song and story have provided a protective environment to address the limitations placed on our Indigenous peoples and to create a healing space. Our bodies, our thoughts, our emotional attachments and our prayers are connected through the ceremony of dance. In our performances we are not only turning to our ancestral knowledge for our own reconciliation, but we are sharing and supporting others through our art.

Artistic Director, Margaret Grenier

Land Acknowledgment

Dancers of Damelahamid cultivate and uphold relationships with the Indigenous communities upon whose territories their artistic practice takes place. The company primarily creates, presents, and produces Indigenous dance on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and the Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

Land Acknowledgment

Dancers of Damelahamid cultivate and uphold relationships with the Indigenous communities upon whose territories their artistic practice takes place. The company primarily creates, presents, and produces Indigenous dance on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), and the Tsleil-Waututh peoples.

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For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture. The Dancers of Damelahamid emerged in the 1960s out of an urgency to ensure that these artistic practices were not lost. For countless generations Indigenous dance played an integral part in defining art and culture.

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Vimeo stream of performance trailers

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kahawidance is a member of Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

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RED SKY PERFORMANCE - TRACE EXCERPT 4 (Canadian Stage) TR07

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Music and Dance performance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

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Music and Dance performance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls

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Performance for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women

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There are few pow wow dances as ebullient, or as symphonic, as the Jingle Dress Dance, especially when there are multiple female dancers moving together. The rows of metal cones, called ziibaaska'iganan in the Ojibew language, dangle from the dresses and rattle and clink as the dancers move. The traditional dance required the dancers to never cross their feet, never dance backward, and never complete circle. They kept footwork light, nimble, and close to the ground. Their dresses chirped as they moved. Modern Jingle Dress Dance allows more fluidity, the dancers can cross their feet, can complete full circles, and can dance backwards. The dresses are designed so they can move more freely, but the metal cones remain, singing along, while the dancer often carries a feather fan during the dance. The Jingle Dress Dance grew in popularity, and cultural significance, from the 1920s to around the 1950s, only to decline, go back to the dream-state from which it sprang, and rise back to life in the 1980s with the advent of pow wow expansion and competition.

By most accounts, women's Jingle Dress Dance has its roots in some part of Ojibwe country, be it Wisconsin to the Mille Lacs Ojibew community in north central Minnesota, to White Fish Bay, Ontario. The time period is reliably around World War I. Of the number of accounts that tell the origin story for this beloved style of pow wow dancing, the one most often found is that the dress and dance were bequeathed to the Ojibwe from a vision.

The various origin stories are told in books such as Reflections on American Indian History, which was edited by Albert L. Hurtado with an introduction by legendary Cherokee Principal Chief Wilma Pearl Mankiller,and Heartbeat of the People: Music and Dance of the Northern Pow Wow, by Tara Browner, an ethnomusicologist of Choctaw ancestry who was a jingle dress dancer on the pow wow circuit for seven years. The most consistent element is of a an Ojibwe man (occasionally he's credited as being a medicine man) who had a vision that he was being given instructions for a style of dress and the specifics of a dance that would help heal a young girl.

In Reflections, this story is told in Chapter Five by Brenda J. Child-during World War I, an Ojibew girl became very sick, possibly from the widespread Spanish influenza epidemic. Her father feared he was going to lose her, and sought a vision to save his daughter. He saw the dress and the instructions for the dance, and went about putting the dress together for his daughter, then asked her to do a few "springlike" steps, in which she always kept one foot on the ground. She started feeling better, and kept dancing. Finally, she recovered completely, and kept on dancing, and eventually she formed the first Jingle Dress Dance Society.

In Heartbeat of the People, Browner gives a name to that little girl from the Jingle Dress Dance origin story, Maggie White. According to Browner, it was Maggie who was sick and gave no signs of recovering, so her father searched for a vision. That vision of a dress and a dance came to him in a dream. He constructed the dress and put it on his sick daughter. He instructed her from his vision how to perform the dance, and as she did she was cured. Little Maggie sought out other girls, showing them how make a dress in the four sacred colors (red, yellow, white and blue), with four rows of jingles made from snuff cans. She and these three other girls became the heart of the Jingle Dress Dance Society.

One aspect of the Jingle Dress Dance tradition that makes it so important in Indian Country is that the dance coincided with the suppression of Native American religion in the United States in 1921, with the outlawing of religious dancing. Yet according to Child, Ojibwe women disregarded the new ruling as historic photographs show them in their jingle dresses around 1920, and every decade thereafter.

The dance faded from popularity later in the century, only to explode back on the scene when as competitive dancing and the pow wow circuit expanded, giving tribes in different regions of the country their first real exposure to the dance. Back in chapter five of Reflections, Brenda J. Child discusses how legendary Wilma Mankiller, the first woman Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, had been given a jingle dress by Red Lake tribal chairman Roger Jourdain in the 1980s, a moving gesture because the jingle dress is a "strong cultural reference to the power of women." Childs' chapter on the jingle dress dance really focuses on the connection between the dance and the power of Native American women. As the dance spread throughout Wisconsin and then on to the Dakotas in the 1920s, Child focuses on how the jingle dress and its rituals were closely associated with how active Ojibwe women were in keeping up the health and spirits of their communities during the harsh conditions in the Great Lakes area. Once the pow wow circuit grew, and the dance moved beyond its original borders, the dance was adopted by more Native communities because of its connection to prayer and healing, something tribes from all four corners know a lot about.

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There are few pow wow dances as ebullient, or as symphonic, as the Jingle Dress Dance, especially when there are multiple female dancers moving together. The rows of metal cones, called ziibaaska'iganan in the Ojibew language, dangle from the dresses and rattle and clink as the dancers move.

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Shanley Spence - Hoop Dance - Winnipeg Folk Fest Sessions

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Women's Jingle - 2019 Gathering of Nations Pow Wow

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Lindy Hoppers Al Minns and Leon James have been seen dancing to the Charleston in a viral Daft Punk version, but this is the original that shows what it would have been like to watch them perform on television in the 1950s.

Minns and James were a well known for their performances at Harlem's Savoy Ballroom in the 1930s and 40s. You can watch them break down the Shim Sham here and the Shimmy, Snakehips, and the Lindy Hop here on the DuPont Show of the Week in 1961:

Watch this stunning performance next: Whitey's Lindy Hoppers in Hellzapoppin' (1941).

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The brilliant Lindy Hopping of Al Minns and Leon James | The Kid Should See This

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Lindy Hoppers Al Minns and Leon James have been seen dancing to the Charleston in a viral Daft Punk version, but this is the original that shows what it would have been like to watch them perform on television in the 1950s.

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Amazing dancing, but the clip needs historical context vis à vis the racial stereotypes as seen in the costuming and facial expressions (mugging).

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Hellzapoppin' in full color | Colorized with DeOldify

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Website with performances and classes, including online classes.

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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater was founded in 1958 by dancer, choreographer, and visionary Alvin Ailey, to bring African-American Dance to all audiences.

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Archival footage of African-American social dances from around 1920 - 1950

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Revelations - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

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Haitian dance classes in Montreal - access to dance teachers for projects.

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Konpa, konpa ladystyle, zouk, troubadour, carnival, creolized or urbanized music (Gospel music, urban rabòday, creole rock, creole rap, R&B, dancehall, etc.), more than 100 traditional dances (yanvalou, maskawon, ibo, nago, banda, zanrenyen, kongo, parigòl, rasin, petro, gede, djoumba, mayi, zepòl, rara, rabòday, konbit, mazoun, kontredans, kòy, dogi, afranchi, etc.)

We use all of these styles to offer dance classes fitness Haitian

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JOIN OUR NEXT HAITIAN DANCE GROUP The Haitian musical landscape is so vast! We have the famous konpa, the zouk, the twoubadou, the carnival meringues ... Not to forget all our traditional dances (more than a hundred in total such as yanvalou, ibo,

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Holla Jazz is an award-winning dance company based in Toronto that explores soulful and funky approaches to jazz dance.

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12 Notes Video Series Upcoming Workshops & Classes In Development Performances & Events Blog Contact

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MORE THAN 30 YEARS CREATING A DANCE THAT SHOWS AND ASKS MAKES THE SILENCE VIBRATE AND ALLOWS RYTHMS TO SPEAK DRAWN FROM THE MUSIC OF BODIES TO REINSTATE THE INTIMATE AND THE STRENGTH WITHIN

ZAB MABOUNGOU/COMPAGNIE DANSE NYATA NYATA is a unique contemporary dance company on the Montreal and Canada scenes. Its artistic director, a choreographer, thinker and renowned performer Zab Maboungou, has asserted her firm commitment to produce her choreographic works, throughout the world, on and off stage, to teach the techniques of African dance, to support dancer education, develop audiences and take an active part in the institutional renewal of policies concerning the arts field.

Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata was founded due to a deep vocation for art, for creative works and their role in society. Together these two aspects make up the backbone of this arts organization, whose mission is to create choreographic and musical works, but also literary and didactic productions based on its commitment to develop the art of contemporary dance, not only in terms of creating and producing shows, but also encompassing the full range of artistic development activities (research, training and education, creation and production).

ARTISTIC CREATION

The choreographic, musical and dance works of Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata strive to elicit the poetic power that emanates from the art of movement, bodies and rhythms. This power is inseparable from the intelligence of body language, emerging from the art of movement, bodies and rhythms. In the company's works, abstract forms vie with physical space crossed by multiple pathways, whose tracks reveal their sophisticated poly-rhythmic composition. The casts of the different pieces are chosen among a group of dancers and musicians from a range of training backgrounds and origins.

REPUTATION

Finally, in terms of global artistic development and art's ability to root itself in diversity of knowledge and communities, Nyata Nyata is a model among its kind.

After 30 years of tireless work in creation and teaching, the Company has earned an enviable reputation both in Québec and abroad. The works of Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata are recognized for this strong and manifest alliance between the physical and intellectual levels, and even the spiritual one. This sets its creations apart. Inspired by artistic and cultural action inseparable from the choreographic works driving it, Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata's entire organization and activities play a part in creating a hotbed of creation and renewal.

Its credo: Arts, knowledge and people; People, arts and knowledge.

"At a time when exotic cultures are often merely tagged on to Western works, Maboungou utilizes her sources with artistic integrity." - Victor Swoboda, The Gazette, May 22, 2010

"Maboungou reveals a body language never yet explored" - Frédérique Doyon, Le Devoir, February 2003

"Zab Maboungou is one of the many talented African artists who have come to Canada in search of a new life and made outstanding contributions to Canadian culture." - Foreign Affairs Canada.

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Zab Maboungou/Compagnie Danse Nyata Nyata

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ZAB MABOUNGOU/COMPAGNIE DANSE NYATA NYATA is a unique contemporary dance company on the Montreal and Canada scenes. Its artistic director, a choreographer, thinker and renowned performer Zab Maboungou, has asserted her firm commitment to produce her choreographic works, throughout the world, on and off stage, to teach the techniques of African dance, to support dancer education, develop audiences and take an active part in the institutional renewal of policies concerning the arts field.

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Based in Longueuil, QC

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EKSPRESYON - Danse traditionnelle haïtienne

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La troupe EKSPRESYON a pour objectif de faire connaître la culture haïtienne à travers la danse traditionnelle d'Haïti.

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Toronto-based dance company

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Ballet Creole is One of Canada's 1st Professional Black Dance Companies Presenting African and Caribbean-Centred Programming on Stage and in Communities.

One of Canada's first Black dance companies, Ballet Creole is a charitable organization representing the best of traditional and contemporary dance rooted in African and Caribbean forms. From performance to professional training to Summer camps, you can immerse yourself in our "creolization" - celebrating the rich heritage of African and Caribbean cultures as they interface with European traditions. Ballet Creole represents Diversity in Harmony both on stage and in the community.

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Ballet Creole is One of Canada's 1st Professional Black Dance Companies Presenting African and Caribbean-Centred Programming on Stage and in Communities. One of Canada's first Black dance companies, Ballet Creole is a charitable organization representing the best of traditional and contemporary ...