The question of ownership came up. Many of the respondents wondered whether African dance could be owned, and bristled somewhat at the idea that African Americans could "own" African dance. While some understood why African Americans felt they had a special affinity to the culture, the white contributors felt African Americans, historically, were removed from the true culture and moreover today, not that many embrace their African roots. At the same time, they universally rejected the idea that whites could own African dance and drum culture. If any one owned it, they felt it would be the people from whom each dance came. There was some tendency to claim that the culture belonged to every one, to the whole world, and some whites asserted that even the Africans deny ownership of the culture.

Will You Compete?

We inquired whether the companies would compete with an African dance company run by Africans or African Americans. The question was carefully considered by all. Some admitted this was a subject of discussion among their company and if presented with that circumstance they would have to think carefully about whether it was appropriate to compete for jobs with such a company. Others felt, that though they might understand why people would think they should not compete, they believed they had earned the right to compete and they would not apologize for it.

Experience With Non-respectful Whites

We inquired whether they had ever seen or experienced whites who were not as respectful of the culture as they were or maybe who were overtly disrespectful. They did not acknowledge any overt disrespect, but when pressed, several whites spoke of seeing whites come in, for example at a conference, and think African dance was just about shaking their behinds. At a recent conference there was an incident where a couple of white women thought they could just come in, without paying, film the class, jump in, etc. They didn't respect the fact there was technique and culture behind the dance. Another white dancer said, she has seen whites who want to BECOME African or black "as if culture could be swallowed and consumed, as if it's okay to do that." The dancer said if a person is not real about who they are and where they come from, the attempt to connect to the unknown can become materialistic. Another dancer said she has danced in the NY/DC area, which is predominantly black; in upstate New York, which was about 50-50 black and white; and out west, where groups were all white. When she dances out there, she stated, it makes her thankful that she has an opportunity to dance with women of color. The same dancer said she wasn't sure what to think of all white companies. She was torn and imagined they could have a role in educating if they learn well and try to be authentic, but she thought they should do their best to mix the group. "It's kind of peculiar to have an all white group that does African dance, unless you're living in an isolated area."

We had an interesting exchange with a drummer who thought the friction between black and white was akin to what happened in the music world when blues moved out of the South into places like Chicago. At first, the musicians in Chicago did not appreciate the newcomers or their music, but eventually the music won the two sides over. We suggested that perhaps a better analogy would be what happened when black musicians created rock and roll, only to have it co-opted by white music labels to the point where the black artists got neither credit nor compensation for their work and were eventaully legally barred from even claiming they had something to do with the music. It was food for thought for both sides.

The conversations were enlightening and at times heart wrenching. If all of what we heard could be summed up, it was the following; the white dancers and drummers feel the spirit of the dance and drum; they do respect the culture, even if they are not perceived as respecting it. They do, to the extent they can as white people, understand what African Americans have experienced and they understand the impact their presence has upon African Americans; they hope that our community will grow into a model for waht a world can look like when whites, blacks and all people love African culture. But no matter what happens, they will keep dancing and drumming.

Next month for the last installment, we'll share some of our conversations with African instructors on the subject and we talked to some dancers of color who are not black. We'll also share some of the correspondence we have received on the subject. Stay tuned.