Skip to main content
Back to Show
If Cities Could Dance

Katherine Dunham and the Dances of the African Diaspora

Season 4 Episode 5

African American dance legend Katherine Dunham turned East St. Louis into an important hub of the Black Arts movement. By 1972, she directed an artist relief program, started a student dance company, and opened a museum dedicated to African art. Meet some of the city's culture keepers and watch Dunham program alums perform in front of the Katherine Dunham Museum, and in downtown East St. Louis.

Only Available with Passport Starting
Support Provided By
Season
High-Stepping Moves on New Orleans' Second Line Parades
3:14
In New Orleans, Sunday parades fill the streets with joyful dancing and brass bands.
Dancing to Reclaim Historic Detroit
3:01
A fourth-generation Detroit resident uses historic landmarks to frame her movement
Voguing on the Streets of San Francisco
2:49
San Francisco's LGBTQ community reshapes the vogue balls of 1970s Harlem
Active loading indicator