In-person

A Celebration of Dancer Doug Crutchfield: Screening and Reflections with Amir George and Dr. Davia Crutchfield

2655 NW Market Street, Seattle, WA 98107

206.789.5707

Special exhibition Nordic Utopia? African Americans in the 20th Century illuminates the untold story of African American visual and performing artists, such as legendary dancer and choreographer Doug Crutchfield. Join us for a screening of Dancing Prophet (1971) followed by An Encomium for Doug Crutchfield, a short directed by Amir George. Dr. Ethelene Whitmire will moderate a conversation with Amir George and Dr. Davia Crutchfield, Doug's great-niece.

About Dancing Prophet (1971)

Bruce Baker’s documentary Dancing Prophet presents the personal mission of Cincinnati-born Doug Crutchfield (1938 – 1989), who performed and taught dance in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Lund, Sweden, for twenty-four years.

“When I was a teenager, I always felt like a lion in a cage,” Crutchfield comments, revealing the feelings that catalyzed his search for creative freedom in the Nordics. Crutchfield’s father, a Baptist minister, shares his unfulfilled desire to see Douglas follow in his footsteps, yet he ultimately expresses acceptance of the chosen path. The film’s title alludes to Crutchfield’s vision— “the dancing spirit of humanity.”

After Crutchfield’s extended residency in Copenhagen, he returned to Cincinnati in 1986. On his headstone, the moniker “Dancing Prophet” was inscribed along with a dedication from his “Scandinavian Friends.”

About An Encomium for Doug Crutchfield

Amir George's short film is a posthumous homage to the legacy of dancer Doug Crutchfield, featuring Doug's family as they recount memories and contemplate his magic and the life he lived.

Speakers

Amir George

Amir George creates spiritual stories, juxtaposing sound and image with a non-linear perception. He creates fragmented vignettes that conjure the secret life of objects both found and collected.
Bio

Amir George

Amir George creates spiritual stories, juxtaposing sound and image with a non-linear perception. He creates fragmented vignettes that conjure the secret life of objects both found and collected.

The characters that inhabit his stories tend to dwell outside of social norms and exist in the space between and in the process of becoming. Amir’s short films have screened at film festivals including BlackStar Film Festival, Rockaway Film Festival and Camden International Film Festival, as well as cultural institutions, including Institute of Contemporary Arts, London; Moma PS1; Royal College of Art; Museum of Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; and Museum of Contemporary Arts Detroit.
Dr. Davia Crutchfield

Davia J. Crutchfield, Ph. D. has over a decade of experience as a creative strategist, communications specialist, and writer. She combines her skills as a cultural researcher and writer with her passion for art and storytelling.
Bio

Dr. Davia Crutchfield

Davia J. Crutchfield, Ph. D. has over a decade of experience as a creative strategist, communications specialist, and writer. She combines her skills as a cultural researcher and writer with her passion for art and storytelling.

Her professional objective is to uplift the multitude of Black narratives in academic and non-traditional spaces. Dr. Crutchfield received her bachelor’s degree from the Ohio State University, and her master’s and doctoral degrees from Howard University. Her interdisciplinary research intersects areas of communication and culture, music, gender, and spirituality. She is the creator and co-founder of BL&CK (pronounced “andBlack”), a community-centered organization collaborating arts and entertainment, with culture and history. Founded in 2018, BL&CK operates with a twofold mission: 1) to provide motivational content and products for our community; and2) to provide spaces for creatives to present their works as part of a communal collective. Dr. Crutchfield and her beloved husband, Michael Bernard, reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Dr. Ethelene Whitmire

Ethelene Whitmire is the Chair and a Professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Bio

Dr. Ethelene Whitmire

Ethelene Whitmire is the Chair and a Professor in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison.

Whitmire was a Fulbright Scholar and a Visiting Professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Transnational American Studies in 2016-2017. She has received additional fellowships from the American-Scandinavian Foundation and the Lois Roth Endowment. Her current book projects are: The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Viking) and Searching for Utopia: African Americans in 20th Century Denmark. She is the author of Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian (University of Illinois Press, 2014).