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Free to Dance About the Film
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In three one-hour programs, "Free To Dance" chronicles the crucial role that African-American dancers and choreographers have played in the development of modern dance as an American art form. Through first-person accounts by dancers and witnesses, the series documents how African-derived movement and other forms of dance were fused to make modern dance so distinctively American. Landmark dance masterpieces by African-American choreographers were filmed expressly for the series and woven throughout the historical narrative. They include the work of Katherine Dunham ("Barrelhouse Blues"), Pearl Primus ("Strange Fruit"), Donald McKayle ("Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder"), Talley Beatty ("Mourner's Bench"), Bill T. Jones ("D-Man in the Water"), Alvin Ailey ("Revelations"), and many others. "Free To Dance" is a presentation of the American Dance Festival (ADF) and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Madison Davis Lacy is the series producer and director, and Charles L. and Stephanie Reinhart are the executive producers.

"Free To Dance" premieres on GREAT PERFORMANCES on Sunday, June 24 at 8 pm (ET) on PBS. To find out when the series will be broadcast in your area, use the PBS Station Finder to link to your local station's TV schedule.

Educators and educational institutions can purchase the "Free To Dance" series on DVD for $79 plus shipping and handling. To order, contact Brad Burford via email at brad@nbpc.tv or phone atÊ212 234 8200, ext. 221.