In her first posthumous work, the revered poet crafts a personal
history of Black dance and captures the careers of legendary dancers
along with her own rhythmic beginnings.
Many learned of
Ntozake Shange's ability to blend movement with words when her
acclaimed choreopoem for colored girls who have considered
suicide/when the rainbow is enuf made its way to Broadway in 1976,
eventually winning an Obie Award the following year. But before she
found fame as a writer, poet, performer, dancer, and storyteller, she
was an untrained student who found her footing in others' classrooms.
Dance We Do is a tribute to those who taught her and her
passion for rhythm, movement, and dance.
After 20 years of
research, writing, and devotion, Ntozake Shange tells her history of
Black dance through a series of portraits of the dancers who trained
her, moved with her, and inspired her to share the power of the Black
body with her audience. Shange celebrates and honors the
contributions of the often unrecognized pioneers who continued the
path Katherine Dunham paved through the twentieth century. Dance
We Do features a stunning photo insert along with personal
interviews with Mickey Davidson, Halifu Osumare, Camille Brown, and
Dianne McIntyre. In what is now one of her final works, Ntozake
Shange welcomes the reader into the world she loved best.