Two dancers onstage in white with blue accents lift one arm and hold a white kerchief in the other arm. Three dancers mirror them in the background.

Umfundalai: A Contemporary African Dance Technique

Dr. C. Kemal Nance, Senior Master Teacher of Umfundalai and Assistant Professor in the Departments of Dance and African American Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes the value of Umfundalai, a contemporary African dance technique derived from traditions throughout the African diaspora.

December 1, 2025  |  Read Article

A belly dancer stands on grass with her arms over her head holding a long sheer scarf trailing in the wind. The Golden Gate bridge is in the background.

The View From Here

Jill Randall catalogues how dance artists in the Bay Area are defying the current political climate by continuing to make relevant and dynamic work.

November 24, 2025  |  Read Article

One dancers lights another dancer who shoots their leg out to the side. They are wearing orange and a city scape rises behind them.

getting the wild light into my bones

Bay Area-based choreographer Bhumi B. Patel chronicles the inspiration behind her new work "wild light" using author Donna Haraway's speculative fiction, and her desire to put on-stage the worlds she wants to see off-stage.

November 17, 2025  |  Read Article

Lucy stands to the side and coaches four dancers looping their arms around each other.

Disappearing Dances

Arizona-based dance artist Yvonne Montoya highlights the work of Lucy Salazar, a New Mexican dancer and historian who is single handedly trying to save Los bailes de salón de Nuevo México from disappearing.

November 10, 2025  |  Read Article

Devin supports their weight on one hand and one foot, their other hand and foot extended outward. They are wearing black in a dance studio.

The Power of Being Seen

Washington, DC-based dance artist Devin Hill details their experiences of repeated inaccessibility and prejudice in dance, demonstrating how we must confront and deconstruct ableism as a field.

November 3, 2025  |  Read Article