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Date/Time
Date(s) - 04/21/2026
5:45 pm - 8:45 pm
Location
Parkway Central Library
Categories
Celebrate the legacy of Black dance in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Black Dance Mural Project. Hear all about a generation of great dancers, from Essie Marie Dorsey to Joan Myers Brown. Dorsey, a pioneering dance instructor (1893–1967), taught Black students from her home studio, beginning in 1926. One of her students was Brown, the founder of Philadanco and a dance educator who shaped the city’s cultural identity and global influence.
Visual and spoken-word artist Bernard Collins Jr., will pay tribute to the trailblazers who overcame centuries of racial barriers to teach European techniques to Black students excluded from white ballet institutions. Enjoy live performances, a film screening, and an informative conversation. You can be the first to see the unveiling of a new Mural Arts Philadelphia design honoring history and the shining stars of the local dance community, including Michaela DePrince, a Sierra Leone–born prodigy who trained in Philadelphia and achieved worldwide acclaim. The mural will be installed in Grays Ferry in South Philadelphia. Featured speakers will be Dr. Lynette Young Overby, Professor Emerita of Theater and Dance, University of Delaware; Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt, Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies and Social Work, and dance historian Karen Warrington. Refreshments will be served.
Free, 5:45 p.m. EST to 8:45 p.m. EST. Parkway Central Library, 1901 Vine St. 215-685-0750 or https://muralarts.org/artworks/black-dance-legacy-mural/
