The Better Family Life Cultural, Educational and Business Center is celebrating 40 years of Black Dance USA: A Celebration in Movement — a dance conference and festival that brings dancers from across the nation to St. Louis. The multi-day gathering unites participants through a shared appreciation of African and African diaspora art forms, creating a powerful space for connection, culture and transformation.
“Black Dance USA is a gathering of dancers who have a passion for African and African diaspora dance,” said Better Family Life Co-founder and Executive Director Deborah Ahmed. “It is an opportunity to correct misconceptions and misinformation about different dance styles and genres of movement.”
From Thursday, April 9 through April 11, participants can take classes in Traditional West African dance, Afro-fusion and modern styles like Chicago Steppin’. Open to all levels, the conference culminates in a rousing performance by Asase Yaa African American Dance Theatre of Brooklyn, New York.
Now in its 40th year, the cultural event began as a vision inspired by a New York festival called Dance Black America. “Dance Black America was a phenomenal experience and a gathering of people from all across the country,” Ahmed said.
She attended the festival with a small group of students, immersing herself in concerts, classes and late-night performances. “When I came back home, I was talking to my husband and said, ‘We’ve got to do something like this in St. Louis.’” And so they did.
Four decades later, that vision continues to bring together dancers, teachers and cultural leaders from around the country — creating a space where community, artistry and identity intersect.
In recent years, the conference has been co-produced by Malena Amusa, founder and CEO of Artsy-Preneur and a longtime student of Ahmed’s. “Black Dance USA has a specific mission to expose, teach and empower,” she said.
For many attendees, the experience has become deeply personal. “Reclaiming history is something that happens at the conference, but it has become a lot more personal,” Amusa said. “People come to the dance floor to recharge their souls — for their mental health, for social connection, or to rediscover themselves as creative people.”
Alongside producing the event, Amusa is also teaching a West African dance class. Still, she looks forward to learning as much as teaching, especially in an Afro-Cuban/Orisha-style class led by Andrea Peoples, whom she describes as a “super-dance powerhouse.”
“That’s something Deborah and I are trying really hard to do,” she added. “We want to create an environment where people can stay and find superior training here. The teachers bring their best, so it’s a place where minds can exchange great ideas.”
“Black Dance USA is essentially a learning opportunity,” Ahmed said. “It is an opportunity to be exposed to African and African diaspora cultural art forms and to celebrate the strength and spirituality of African diaspora creativity.”
More than a festival, Black Dance USA serves as a dedicated cultural space — one where people from different backgrounds come together to learn, grow and reconnect with themselves and each other.
“There has to be a special space where we engage African arts,” Amusa said. “And Black Dance USA is that dedicated space. You will get what your soul needs — whether you’re training for an upcoming audition, being introduced to a new health modality or simply finding the opportunity to move again.”
For many, the weekend becomes a transformative experience that builds community, celebrates heritage and inspires long after the music stops.
“It’s important that we do Black Dance, come together, practice and do it,” Amusa said. “People get so charged up for the rest of the year. Whether meeting a new friend, sharpening your skills or just hearing the drums — Black Dance USA is a space where we elevate African arts and take it to the next level.”
The 40th Anniversary of Black Dance USA will take place April 9–11 at Better Family Life, 5415 Page Blvd. For more information, visit www.betterfamilylife.org.
Living It content is produced with funding by the ARPA for the Arts grants program in partnership with the Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis and the Community Development Administration.
