by Nathan Southern
synopsis
As produced by the American Dance Festival, the hour-long special Dancing in the Light compiles six acclaimed and legendary theatrical dance numbers by African American choreographers, originally shot for the three-hour documentary miniseries Free to Dance (2001) on PBS. The numbers include: "Strange Fruit," choreographed by Pearl Primus in 1943; "Awassa Astrige/Ostrich," choreographed by Asadata Dafora in 1932; "Barrelhouse Blues," choreographed by Katherine Dunham in 1938; "Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder," choreographed by Donald McKayle in 1959; "D-Man in the Waters," choreographed by Bill T. Jones in 1989; and "Mourner's Bench," choreographed by Talley Beatty in 1947.
