A History of Black Social Dance on Film, 1900 – 1986
PART 1: Jazz Dance from the Turn of the Century to 1950
PART 2: Savoy Ballroom of Harlem, 1950s
PART 3: Postwar Era
Owners of The Spirit Moves DVD series possess the most important video collection of African American—and therefore, modern American—social dance. The Spirit Moves is a rare social document providing a living record of the men and women who crafted American social dance styles and jazz music into an improvisational art form. Previously, the films comprising this DVD were unavailable to the public; Dancetime Publications has made the most extensive video encyclopedia of African American Social Dance available to the world’s libraries, schools, dance aficionados, and scholars. A true film gem, this is the Rosetta stone for researchers interested in black dance.
Carol Téten’s Dancetime Publications’ compilation of Mura Dehn’s raw footage of directed improv from 1900-1950.
Run-time: 1 hour and 55 minutes on 3 DVDs
Reviews
A seminal appreciation of the evolution of African-American dance in urban America, The Spirit Moves series is a must-have for any serious American dance history DVD collection. The Midwest Book Review
The dancing is often spectacular… a remarkable record of vernacular dance. Ballet Review
Mura Dehn…
knew instantly that this remarkable scene had to be documented: ‘My contribution is to have assembled and preserved these dances as presented by their greatest exponents.’ …these DVDs… are essential viewing. This is our history. If you’ve danced to jazz or funk or house you have participated in that cultural continuum. Jazz dance, like jazz music, is one of Americas major contributions to world culture, and if you havent seen the film, then you have been cheated of your own dance history. Paul Bradshaw, Mondomix
