My inspiration for my Harlem Renaissance Project was how much dancing has changed and grown over time. African Americans created their own form of dancing during the slave era.  Over time it progressed to the sound of jazz music. One style of dance was the Lindy Hop. It was  popular because it was very upbeat and enthusiastic. Many of the other styles of dancing at this  time were similar to the Lindy Hop. However, all the types of dancing originated from the African American culture. African American dancing was the foundation of our dancing today. I chose to use a 3-D model to show the progression of dancing over time and to help better show the difference between the African American culture to that of the Whites. It all started out very segregated and has grown to now everyone dancing together as one.

The main themes of my work are the Creation of a New Negro Culture and Crossing Borders. This piece shows how African American culture went from only being apart of their community to being the dance that everyone wants to imitate and be a part of today. The Crossing Borders theme is shown by the Whites taking in the Blacks way of dance into there own. During the Harlem Renaissance African Americans were the ones playing the music and the Whites danced to it. The two races formed together for their way of entertainment. This all connects to the Harlem Renaissance because it shows how Blacks got a voice and did what they enjoyed, which brought them into a better-known world. Their way of dance helped  them define who they really were to the world. The Harlem Renaissance was the main start of the growth of African American dance.