Finding a Way Out

This book is a historical biography and contributions of the life works of Charles H. Williams (1886 to 1978) as Department Chair of Physical Education and founder of the Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group. The main focus of the book is to highlight his pioneering efforts in establishing the Creative Dance Group and their use of African diasporic dance in modern choreography. Charles H. Williams’ contributions to dance were fundamental in shaping the face of modern dance today. Charles H. Williams’ modern dance program at Hampton Institute instituted in 1934 was innovative in its implementation of cultural and spiritual themes in the modern dance genre. The Creative Dance Group’s use of Haitian and African religious dance forms, as well as Negro spirituals and work songs, has never been fully recognized by scholars. The research documents the Hampton Institute Creative Dance Group’s unprecedented performances both in the modern dance arena and the university setting, of African and Afro-Caribbean derived material throughout the United States.