Celebrating Black Dance: A Legacy of Movement and Expression in Chicago

Ten dance companies, one night of performance. This event brings performers from the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project to the Harris Theater for Music and Dance at the end of the month. Artists from local Black dance groups such as the Chicago Multicultural Dance Center, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, The Era Footwork Collective, Forward Momentum Chicago, Joel Hall Dancers & Center, M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Move Me Soul, Muntu Dance Theatre, NAJWA Dance Corps, and Praize Productions will showcase diverse dance genres. These include African, traditional, contemporary modern, ballet, jazz, tap, and more, under the theme “Dancing the Archive: Embodied Histories, Collective Power.”

Mashaune Hardy, executive director of CBDLP, emphasized the significance of storytelling. “Who keeps our stories? Who tells our stories? Who keeps our stories accurate?” she asked. “The archive is not pieces of paper that sit. It is a living, breathing thing; we are the archive, and we’re dancing the archive because we’re dancing our living, breathing stories.”

The performance is a tribute to Chicago’s dance leaders, whose work has shaped the dance community based on collaboration and growth. Hardy noted the production’s unique presentation in chapters, with each company highlighting a legacy bearer. The honorees are Carol Adams (Record Keeper), Chance the Rapper (Stewardship), Ida B. Wells via Dan Duster (Wordsmith), James and Pauline Montgomery (Moral Courage), Curtis Mayfield and Lupe Fiasco (Sound), Runako Jahi (Voice), Jackie Taylor (Space Maker), Pamela Crutchfield (Cultural Ally), NAJWA (Cultural Memory Continuum), and Anthony Brown (Transmission).

According to Hardy, the current environment influenced this year’s theme, where Blackness faces erasure nationwide. “We wanted to assert that we are still here and we are still making the work,” she stated.

William Gill, artistic director at Joel Hall Dancers & Center, highlighted the annual reunion-like gathering. “Coming together once a year, every year, it’s like a family reunion,” he said. “To see all the different companies… we’re in the same city, but we don’t see each other all the time until we do these fantastic projects.”

“The project was developed with the intent for us to uphold the traditions of Black dance in Chicago and pass them on,” said Kevin Iega Jeff, CBDLP artistic director.

CBDLP originated in 2019 to address funding disparities faced by dance companies. Tracie Hall of the Joyce Foundation’s Culture Program envisioned CBDLP in collaboration with the Logan Center for the Arts to provide resources. Since its inception, CBDLP has hosted concerts such as “Legacy” in 2019, “Reclamation: The Spirit of Black Dance in Chicago” in 2022, and “Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk” in 2024.

The project’s ambition is to sustain Black dance traditions in Chicago. Support includes advocacy, archiving, capacity building, and presentation. Projects aim to transform companies by investing in artistic development and infrastructure.

Veteran artists share insights with upcoming ones, imparting wisdom from figures like Camille A. Brown and Joan Myers Brown. Hardy emphasized learning from cultural leaders. “There is a core of civic, municipal, cultural Black leaders in their 70s, 80s, and 90s who have gone through this already,” she commented. She expressed the importance of understanding the creative processes of past leaders.

Gill stressed the project’s role in visibility and advocacy. “The work still has to get done,” Gill said. Performances like these offer crucial opportunities for Black dance companies to thrive.

Hardy emphasized dance’s role in human development. Dance acts as a healing modality, a character builder, a job, and wellness. “It opens up the world,” she stated. Cross-pollination of audiences and ideas is central to the project’s mission.

If you go: The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project is at 7 p.m. on Aug. 28 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St.; tickets start at $35 at harristheaterchicago.org.