Dancing in Blackness

Osumare (emerita, African American & African studies, Univ. of California, Davis; The Hiplife in Ghana: West African Indigenization of Hip-Hop) has engaged with black dance as performer, choreographer, educator, arts administrator, researcher, and activist in the United States, Africa, and Europe, and through multiple careers. In this equal parts memoir, autoethnography, history, encyclopedic catalog, and sociocultural analysis, she traces her activities from the 1960s through the late 1990s, as she becomes a tenacious advocate for black dance. The text is a mix of academic writing, lengthy quotes from journalists, scholars, and the author's journals, and easygoing travel and personal adventures. Particularly striking are descriptions of dance movements that allow us to "see" what Osumare saw. She discusses dance history; life during the hippie era; racial, ethnic, and gender identity; and selected issues in black studies. Her self-proclaimed mantra, "less is more," could have been applied to make this title more unified and reader friendly. Because of the tremendous amount of information about dance companies, people, and organizations, the index (not seen) will prove useful.