When you live in wet and cold climates, survival becomes dependent upon how dry you can be. Ancestors and elders have passed on clothes-making traditions. Our host Dr. Lee Francis IV of Laguna Pueblo discusses ancient traditions involved in the making of waterproof clothing.

A group of teachers learning a West African dance demonstrate how to choreograph a dance using four simple movements in this video from the Dance Arts Toolkit series.

Harlina Churn-Diallo and Mali native Yaya Diallo perform and teach the Mouwa in this video from the Dance Arts Toolkit series. The Mouwa is a dance that comes from the Bambara, Senufo, and Miniaka people of West Africa.

Dancer Harlina-Churn Diallo and musician Yaya Diallo teach a group of teachers four basic movements of West African dance in this video from the Dance Arts Toolkit series.

Kwesi Anku, Kwaku Manu, and Selasi Morgan are performing artists who teach at the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts in Richmond, CA and are members of the Bay Area's West African Music and Dance Ensemble. Originally from Ghana, they came to the US to study dance with their professor at UC Berkeley, Dr. CK Ladzekpo. They stayed in the Bay Area to spread their love of music and dance and to provide opportunities for young people in their community to express themselves, using music and dance as tools for positive change.

This 10-minute video examines how race-based federal lending rules from New Deal programs in the 1930s kept Black families locked out of suburban neighborhoods, a policy that continues to slow their economic mobility.

A good story includes who the story is about (the characters), what it is about (the plot) and where it takes place (the setting). A storyteller can create any story with these building blocks. As readers, when we can identify these elements in a story, we can better interpret, understand and respond to it. Additionally, it's entertaining when we can tell it in different ways, such as through the rhyming style of rap. In this video segment from JAKERS!, a storyteller tells a story in the form of a rap and incorporates the story elements of who, what and where.

High school students Aiden Phillips and Hannah Schmidt describe what they learned about playwriting through their involvement in the New Voices Young Playwrights Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville. Teaching artist Keith McGill explains how he coaches young writers in the playwriting process.

Apexer is a street artist who creates colorful, spray-painted murals around the world. Using a visual foundation based in graffiti art and Chinese calligraphy, Apexer abstracts letterforms to create complex, dynamic compositions for his street art projects. Often creating artworks that communicate the vibe of the neighborhood where they are on view, Apexer’s painted gestures are accessible to a wide audience, and are constantly expanding upon the core element of his work: the letters of his nickname.

Learn about Zitkála-Šá, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, a Yankton Sioux author, composer, and indigenous rights activist in this video from the Unladylike2020 series.

Taken from her community at age 8 to attend a boarding school as part of the assimilationist policy of the U.S. government to educate Native American youth under the motto: "Kill the Indian to save the man," she used her education to advocate for American Indian rights. She trained as a violinist at the New England Conservatory of Music, and in 1913 wrote the libretto for what is considered the first Native American opera, The Sun Dance Opera. As an author, she published in prestigious national magazines such as Harper’s and The Atlantic, writing about American Indian struggles to retain tribal identities amid pressures to assimilate into European American culture.

She joined the Society of American Indians, edited its publication American Indian Magazine, and in 1926 co-founded the National Council of American Indians to lobby for voting rights, sovereignty rights, and the preservation of Native American heritage and ways of life. Support materials include discussion questions, research project ideas, and primary source analysis.

Houston’s zydeco dance scene brings joy and a driving rhythm to partner dancing, and in this episode, we explore the dance’s deep roots in Creole culture and music. What was called La-la in Southeastern Louisiana Creole communities became known as zydeco in Houston with the influence of R & B and the ‘King of Zydeco’, Clifton Chenier. Houston is where zydeco is thriving, evolving and reaching a broader audience, around trail-riding clubs who dance together after their rides to the accordion-driven sounds of zydeco bands with a touch of hip-hop. As infectious as zydeco is, it’s grown popular worldwide, but what hasn't changed is how zydeco brings community together in Houston.

If Cities Could Dance is a Webby Award-winning video series featuring dancers from cities across the United States. Step into the shoes of dancers from across the country who dare to imagine what it would look like if their city could dance.