Culture Canvas: Celebrating dance in Detroit

Hey, it’s Micah and welcome back to Culture Canvas.

I have a question for you all: How many of you danced at Detroit-Windsor Academy when you were younger or knew someone who did?

I had the opportunity to highlight the dance institution for my latest story, celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. I visited the New Center studio and spoke to founders Debra White-Hunt and Bruce Hunt, dancer Nylah Morris and artist Priscila Phifer, who is working on a piece in honor of the anniversary.

It’s amazing to see all the history that exists at Detroit-Windsor Dance Academy (DWDA). Studio walls and hallways are filled with photos of dancers from years past and newspaper articles highlighting its work throughout the years.

The husband-and-wife team founded the nonprofit in 1984, and it has since become one of the oldest dance academies in Detroit. White-Hunt told me DWDA is now serving its fourth generation of students.

“Grandmothers who brought their kids, their kids brought their kids and now, their kids are here. It’s amazing,” she said.

The two first started in a small studio in the Harmonie Park neighborhood downtown. A dance and physical education teacher for Detroit public schools at the time, White-Hunt wanted to offer a place where students from Bates Academy could develop their skills during the summer.

But by the 1990s, White-Hunt left the school district for good and started working full-time at the dance academy. Word spread across the metro area about DWDA and membership grew. By the end of the 1990s, the studio moved inside the New Center One building on West Grand Boulevard where it remains today.

The dance academy is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year with a series of events. The first one is the nonprofit’s annual Black History Month concert, which takes place Thursday at the Detroit School of Arts.

As someone who was on the dance team for three years in high school, it was fun to be back in that environment again and peek in on some of the classes. I don’t miss high school much, but sometimes I wish I could go back to the practices, performances and competitions.

Talk to you next week!

Cheers,

Micah

313 Scene

• Bedrock and The Carr Center are hosting the exhibit, “Celebrating Black Artists,” which features 23 student artists from 10 Detroit schools as well as work from 10 emerging and established Detroit artists. The free show is on display inside Bedrock’s 1001 Woodward building through Feb. 29.
• The Detroit City Council Historic Designation Advisory Board is launching a study of Arab and Chaldean community histories, thanks to a $50,000 grant. Detroit is the first city in the nation to receive an Underrepresented Communities (URC) Grant that recognizes Arab and Chaldean immigrants. The advisory board will work with Arab and Chaldean community partners to collect local and family histories.
• The late Henry Fambrough, co-founder of R&B group The Spinners, was celebrated Saturday during a funeral at his longtime home church, St. Stephen A.M.E. on Detroit’s west side. The 85-year-old died Feb. 7 of natural causes. Fambrough was the last surviving member of the Spinners’ founding lineup.
• Jennifer Lopez is heading to Detroit in July to promote her latest album and film project, “This is Me…Now.” The singer and actress will be at Little Caesars Arena July 31. Tickets go on sale to the general public Friday at 10 a.m.

What’s Going on in the D? 

• The city’s Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity Department is hosting its annual Black History Month Business Crawl Friday. The event will start at 9 a.m. at Detroit Rosa Coffee Shop and continue throughout the day at places such as Dtown Vinyl, Art in Motion and Ivy Kitchen and Cocktails.
• Event production company Code x Rosella is hosting its inaugural R&B festival Fireside Lovefest 7 p.m. Friday at east side venue Big Pink. Performers include Natasia, 904 Matcha, Tommy Papi, Racquel Soledad and more. Tickets start at $22.
• DJ duo HouseParty is hosting a show Friday at music venue and record store Spot Lite from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Tickets start at $15.
• The Detroit Repertory Theatre is hosting performances of playwright August Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.” Set in 1911, the play shows a group of strangers sharing a boarding house as they search for lost ones, love, work, identity and their place in America. Shows are Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. until March 3. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the performance.

Before you go, here’s one The Spinners’ most popular songs, “I’ll Be Around.