In undergrad, I took a class on the history of dance. My professor was a Black ballerina and her body was exquisitely toned and pronounce, from posture to toe point.

She eagerly taught us about Katherine Dunham and how she bridged Black liberation thru the dance of ancestry...

She traveled to Martinique and lived in Haïti for a while. Learned the tongue of vodou through movement and spoke it in the states respectfully and well. She STUDIED dance and all of its form in the body. She created techniques and taught so many Black people thru her company.

Her company and style of ballet was revolutionary, period, but she fought for Black liberation when studios wouldn’t allow Blacks to buy tickets or producers wanted her to get rid of her darker skinned dancers. She created shows on lynching and dealt with racial discrimination.

She went HAAAARD for Haiti lol. From living/studying there during her studies to frequenting often to buying a home that she also let her dancers use as a place for recuperation.

She even went on a 47 day hunger strike at her big age of 83 in support of Haitian refugees.

She taught our legendary Eartha Kitt, who was in her dance company and got her first film debut dancing with her group in the 1948 film Casbah.