Setting the Stage – Kansas City

Setting the Stage is a visual journey through African-American dance history. This multi-media story of African-American dance is interwoven into the broader tapestry of history, and gives insights into the legacies of African-American pioneers in modern dance and American history. Against the backdrop of a large-screen narrated slide presentation, Setting the Stage is performed by talented local and national artists demonstrating the evolution of American dance styles since the Middle Passage. This multi-media program combines live performance with narrated slide presentations about historically important dancers and choreographers including Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey.