upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024
Dorothy is a dancer, choreographer and teacher, who specializes in dances of West African and the African Diaspora. She has studied in Guinea and Cuba and also with teachers from Senegal and Ghana. She has been artistic director of Kulu Mele African American Dance Ensemble, the longest-lived African dance company in Philadelphia, for over twenty years. She teaches dance to children, mainly African American youth in Philadelphia's underserved communities, through free weekly classes at a local cultural center. Many of her former students and dancers have gone on to found their own companies or perform professionally. Ultimately, Dorothy's goal is for the broader community to have a chance to appreciate these forms of dance and along with the art an alternative, African-centered vision of beauty, heritage, and historical continuity.