Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, “The Black Swan”
Born into slavery, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield broke barriers with every note she sang.
Ruth Page, the Ballerina Who Danced Poems
In the 1940s, American dancer Ruth Page combined poetry, performance, and personal reflection to create a new type of dance.
How Harmonicas Came to America
Harmonicas were invented in Europe in the 1820s as an aid for tuning pianos, but they didn't really take off until they crossed the Atlantic.
Why Miles Davis’s “Kind of Blue” Is So Beloved
A music scholar suggests that Miles Davis combined the blues with the musical avant garde in a manner reflecting the integrationist spirit of the era.
The History of African-American Casting in Ballet
Ballet has been slow to accept African-American dancers in major companies, and those who make it tend to be offered limited roles.
Germany’s Real-Life “Swing Kids”
Rebellious teenagers thumbed their noses at Hitler with jazz music, wild dancing, and the greeting “Swing Heil.” But how serious was their resistance?
When Jazz Was a Public Health Crisis
In the 1920s, jazz music was thought to cause physical illness or even disability.
Samuel Beckett and the Theatre of Resistance
The dark, absurdist humor of Samuel Beckett's work was directly informed by his time in the French Resistance during World War II.
