The medium of dance has a long history of speaking to American culture. In 1927 Isadora Duncan choreographed "I Hear America Singing" (a poem by Walt Whitman), her vision for dance as a powerful tool for cultural expression.
During the 1930s and 1940s many choreographers and members of the New Dance Group asserted their voices against the rise of fascism, homelessness, hunger, unemployment and racism, among other themes.
And today dance still reflects the diverse spectrum of American culture.
This excerpt from "Ounce of Faith" by Darrell Grand Moultrie features Khalia Campbell of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.
These lyrics are beautiful on their own, but when combined with the grace and beauty of dance there is a special impact.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqfBIdHJnho
Enjoy, and please offer your thoughts as to how dance impacts our society and culture today by email at pop-culture@fulcrum.us.
Lorraine Marquez Eiler’s photo of her great-great grandparents and her great-grandparents, who would walk about 50 miles through the Sonoran Desert to the springs.
Construction equipment is seen near the U.S.-Mexico border just west of the Lukeville port of entry on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Casanova
Rep. Adelita Grijalva, left, and Tohono O’odham Chairman Verlon Jose listen as Lorraine Marquez Eiler, a Hia-C’ed O’odham elder, shares how her ancestors would hold ceremonies at Quitobaquito Springs. Grijalva visited the springs with tribal leaders on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Casanova
Sara Mae Williams, Justice of the Peace in Ajo and a Tohono O’odham citizen, shares their concerns regarding border wall construction on Tohono O’odham land at a town hall at the Ajo Plaza Rec Hall on Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. Credit: Stephanie Casanova