Local Dance Scholar On National Book Tour

By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer Photo Credit: Courtesy Dr. Halifu Osumare It’s all connected.& Renowned dance scholar and UC Davis Professor Emerita, Dr. Halifu Osumare is sharing her new memoir, “Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy,” which chronicles her evolution from a dancer-activist in the Bay Area to an academic researching the global effects of hip-hop culture. The new book is a continuation of Dr. Osumare’s award-winning 2018 book, “Dancing In Blackness.” In it, she refers to legendary choreographer and dance anthropologist Katherine Dunham as her “spiritual mother and mentor.” “‘Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy’ continues the review of my life and career in relation to the shifting political, cultural, and aesthetic contexts of my artistic, academic and personal choices,” the author writes. “In this sequel memoir I focus more on how I use Katherine Dunham’s dance and philosophy to navigate this multilayered terrain.” Dr. Osumare’s career and self-exploration have taken her around the globe, including stops in Hawaii and Ghana.& In “Dancing the Afrofuture,” Dr. Osumare talks about the past and embraces the future. She shares her theory of& “connective marginality” and “the link between disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalized...