~Meechi~
                                                                     meechi@excapethematrix.com

1619~   In August 1619, the first Africans to set foot on American soil step off a Dutch ship onto the shores of Jamestown, Virginia.  Many of the first Africans arriving to America are not slaves but indentured servants, like many of the first Europeans.

1791~ In 1788, Alexander Falconbridge's book AN ACCOUNT OF THE SLAVE TRADE ON THE COAST OF AFRICA describes "dancing the slaves" -- a brutal practice of forced exercise prompted by the fact that healthy slaves fetch high prices on the auction block.

1828~ White performer Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice adds a new twist to the tradition of mimicking African Americans,  his "Jim Crow" dance earns him the title "father of blackface minstrelsy." Minstrel shows produce two major stereotypes that haunt black performers for years -- the clown and the dandy.

Aspiring black performers must follow "Daddy" Rice's lead and don blackface. African American William Henry Lane, also known as "Juba," claims the title "the greatest dancer of his time." 

1890~ Blacks are allowed into the stage production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin," which premiered in 1852 with an all-white cast.

The Great Migration- Southern Blacks flock to northern cities bringing with them popular dances such as the "Black Bottom," the "Charleston," the "Lindy Hop," "Jitterbug," amongst others that caused whites to crowd dance halls to learn them. 

1921~ "Shuffle Along," by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake, based on the book by Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles, is the first all-black Broadway musical to debut in over a decade. Its smashing success launched many careers and ushered in a new era for black performers. 

1925~ Rhodes scholar Alain LeRoy Locke proclaims the birth of "the New Negro" in his anthology of stories, poems, and essays entitled THE NEW NEGRO. It becomes the definitive work of the Harlem Renaissance.

Lew Leslie's "Blackbirds of 1928" opens on May 9 and makes an overnight sensation of 50-year-old Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Earl "Snake Hips" Tucker also makes his debut with his signature dance known as the "Snake Hip," a replica of an older one from Africa.
 

 1938~ Katherine Dunham becomes the director of ballet for the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago and performs "L'Ag'Ya."

Pearl Primus premieres her anti-lynching solo, "Strange Fruit," and two other social protest pieces, "Rock Daniel" and "Hard Time Blues" at the 92nd Street YMHA. For a performance at Café Society, she creates "The Negro Speaks of Rivers," inspired by Langston Hughes' Poem. White choreographers also tackling social issues include Sophie Maslow, William Bales, and Jane Dudley.

1944~ Pearl Primus debuts on Broadway at The Belasco Theatre on October 4.

Pearl Primus receives the last and largest Rosenwald Fellowship to study for 18 months in Africa. Nigerians rename her "Omowale," meaning "child returned home." Her research there influences her subsequent choreography, including "Fanga," a dance of welcome that becomes her signature.

1947~ Talley Beatty performs in the minstrel ballet "Blackface," choreographed by Lew Christensen for Ballet Society. 

1949~ A young Alvin Ailey joins high school classmate Carmen de Lavallade to study at the California-based Lester Horton Dance Theatre studio

                                        1950's

1951~ Janet Collins, Carmen de Lavallade's cousin, becomes the first African-American premiere danseuse of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. She also teaches modern dance at the School of American Ballet.

1954~ Alvin Ailey and Carmen de Lavallade appear at the Jacob's Pillow Festival and later accept an invitation to appear in the black Broadway musical "House of Flowers." The musical's stellar cast includes Pearl Bailey, Diahann Carroll, Juanita Hall, Geoffrey Holder, Louis Johnson, Donald McKayle, Arthur Mitchell, and many others.

1956~ Arthur Mitchell becomes the first Black member of the New York City Ballet.

1957~ Donald McKayle dances in Leonard Bernstein's hit Broadway musical "West Side Story."
 

On January 21, Alvin Ailey gives a second concert at the 92nd Street Y and premieres his timeless masterpiece "Revelations" sending shock waves and signaling the arrival of a powerful new voice. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT), one of the first racially integrated companies, forever alters the American modern dance landscape.
 

                                      1970's

1970~ Garth Fagan, who comes out of the Jamaican National Company, creates The Bottom of the Bucket, But ... Dance Theatre in Rochester, New York.  

THE FEET, an Afro-centric dance magazine is launched, with Carole Y. Johnson, a member of the Eleo Pomare company, as its editor. It is later edited by Alicia Adams, with contributions from Chuck Davis, Rod Rodgers, Zita Allen, and others.

Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem makes its official debut in the lobby of the Guggenheim Museum. 

1973~ DANCE MAGAZINE makes Zita Allen its first African-American dance critic in response to concerns voiced by the Black Choreographers Association.

1974~ George Faison is the first African-American choreographer to win a Tony Award for his work on the Broadway musical "The Wiz."

1979~ Ulysses Dove, Ailey company member and a former Merce Cunningham dancer, premieres "I See the Moon ... and the Moon Sees Me" on the AAADT.
 

                                           1980's

1985~ Ron K. Brown, the self-proclaimed "club kid from Brooklyn," forms Evidence, a dance company with a mission to, among other things, "discuss issues of race, class, gender, and assimilation."

1987~ ADF(American Dance Festival) creates the Black Tradition in American Modern Dance project directed by Dr. Gerald E. Myers. It seeks to preserve, celebrate, and create access to classic dance works by African-American choreographers. To date, more than 23 major works have been reconstructed on leading U.S. dance companies.

1989~ Alvin Ailey dies on December 1. 

1989~ Judith Jamison is named the AAADT's artistic director on December 20. She pledges to "keep Mr. Ailey's legacy alive."
 

1991~ George Faison wins an Emmy for his work on the HBO special THE JOSEPHINE BAKER STORY.

1998-99~ Garth Fagan choreographs Disney's hit Broadway musical "The Lion King," for which he wins a Tony Award.

Judith Jamison wins an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography for the PBS documentary A HYMN FOR ALVIN AILEY and The Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement.

Ron K. Brown's Evidence premieres the politically and socially compelling "Incidents," an evening-length work inspired by black women's memories of slavery.
 

                                       New Century

2001~ Garth Fagan receives the Scripps American Dance Festival Award, following in the footsteps of Pearl Primus, Talley Beatty, the Nicholas Brothers, Katherine Dunham, and Alvin Ailey.

2001~ PBS' GREAT PERFORMANCES series airs "Free To Dance," produced by ADF and The Kennedy Center. It is the first major film chronicling the impact of African Americans on American modern dance.