On a warm July afternoon, Princess Mhoon, the director of the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, was sitting in a bustling cafe on the outskirts of the University of Chicago’s campus in Hyde Park. Her parents met in an African dance class, and her father was a drummer for local dance companies. So, we had cherry vitamin C — that was my candy.”Recounting her early life, Mhoon, 47, moved through a who’s who of Chicago’s rich Black dance scene. Mhoon trained in African dance with Muntu Dance Theater and learned techniques of the African American diaspora with Najwa Dance Corps, both near where she grew up on the South Side. Several of these companies are now being brought together by the Chicago Black Dance Legacy Project, an initiative that strives to help sustain Black dance makers in the city and offer lasting acknowledgment for their contributions.

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Persons: Mhoon, “, ”, Katherine Dunham, Homer Bryant, ” Mhoon Organizations: Chicago Black, University of Chicago’s, Kenwood Academy, Black Arts Movement, Najwa Dance Corps Locations: Hyde Park, Chicago