Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk

The Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project’s concert "Divination: The Dancing Souls of Black Folk" will celebrate the divine presence and inspiration in Black Dance—past, present, and future. Kicking off with a DJ set by Duane Powell, the engagement will highlight the spiritual and mystical practices of African-derived people in America and throughout the diaspora. Together with video transitions, the performance will seamlessly thread movement vignettes featuring legacy figures from each company's history. Additionally, there will be an In Memoriam segment honoring CBDLP family members who have joined the Ancestors and a special finale featuring dancers from the CBDLP companies and guest artists from the greater Chicago dance community, created by emerging choreographer Imani English.

The full list of companies performing include: The Chicago Multicultural Dance Company and Hiplet Ballerinas, Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, The Era Footwork Collective, Forward Momentum Chicago, Joel Hall Dancers & Center, M.A.D.D. Rhythms, Move Me Soul, Muntu Dance Theatre, NAJWA Dance Corps, and Praize Productions Inc.

Gary Abbott and Kevin Iega Jeff, celebrated choreographers/directors and
co-founders of Deeply Rooted Dance Theater, will act as curators for the performance, whose original artistic vision was set by Princess Mhoon, former Director, CBDLP.

This engagement is a part of the #MillenniumPark Residency Program and the Park’s 20th Anniversary Summer Season.

A project of the Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts at The University of Chicago, the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project is a multi-year project that celebrates the historic impact of Black dance in Chicago and beyond. Lead funding for the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project’s 2023-24 cohort comes from the Joyce Foundation and the Mellon Foundation. Additional support is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Walder Foundation, and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events with funding from the Pritzker Foundation and the Millennium Park Foundation, Pam Crutchfield and other individual Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project funders. Funding is also provided by University of Chicago’s Logan Center for the Arts, Women’s Board, Office of Civic Engagement’s Community Programs Accelerator, and the Black Metropolis Research Consortium.