Welcome!

In 1969 "Black Genesis Dance Troupe" became the first African-American student organization to be inducted into the University of Iowa campus. Founded by UI graduate student Julie Merritt, and umbrellaed under the Black Student Union, the dance troupe was developed to give African-American dancers an opportunity to perform and express themselves in the Black Traditions. Black Genesis Dance Theater gained high recognition on the UIowa campus and the state of Iowa and even incorporated the Black Genesis Band (Mutha Funk) who performed and created musical scores for the student organization.

Dissolving in 1985, a group of undergraduate students (Latoria Akins, Beverly Carrington, and LaToya Buchanan) along with a graduate mentor (Jeffrey Bullock, MFA), reorganized the group in 1995 renaming it "Black Genesis Dance Theater." A year later under the leadership of another graduate student, (Bryon L. Davis, MFA) the company became a recognized student organization once again on the UIowa campus, until its final year of indication in 2004.

A mixture of dance majors, minors, and those who just loved to dance, BGDT became not only a cultural home for these talented people to express their artistries but a reputable dance theater company that performed across their home state of Iowa and various cities throughout the United States of America.

Black Genesis Dance Theater was blessed with the talents of many choreographers and dancers from all ethnic heritages, which allowed this company to developed an eclectic dance repertoire. It is because of this, that we look to petition towards getting Black Genesis Dance Theater recognized as a historically Black dance company in the state of Iowa, and entered to have a permanent exhibit space at the African-American Museum of Iowa.

Thank you for visiting and signing, 

BGDT Historian