Netflix Show "Explained" Dance Crazes Episode

There’s an outstanding episode of the Netflix series, “Explained” that I encourage you to watch.

This episode on Dance Crazes spotlights the importance recognizing the historical roots of various dance forms. More importantly, it spotlights how corporations and people in power appropriate those forms without giving compensation, support, or acknowledgment to the communities and cultures in which they developed.

That said, of course this episode (and the series) does not cover every culture that has been appropriated. If there is any shortcoming in the program, it’s this lack of acknowledgment that this has taken place within a number of other dance forms that do not have African roots (Salsa, for instance). Still, the episode nicely ties in how this appropriation has continued from the jazz era to today.

Beyond it reflecting our own values, it is for this reason that we are constantly sharing the history of jazz dance in our classes, newsletters, social forums, etc. The context for their development is essential to understanding what makes these dances so special. It is also why Swing It Seattle makes monthly contributions to various organizations that support black social justice and history.

*NAACP Legal Defense Fund
*Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
*Black Heritage Society of Washington State
*American Civil Liberties Union

I hope you’ll take the time to check out the episode.