For 25 years, the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in Los Angeles has inspired generations of young talent in Hollywood. But the January wildfires overshadowed the milestone, including forcing Allen to evacuate her home.
“The smoke was billowing in our neighborhood. I could see the red fires and the Palisades from my backyard, and so many people were compromised, but so many people lost everything,” she recalls.
Her home survived, but Allen knew others whose lives were forever changed. She offered help.
“We have to do something that will give back. So I came up with this idea [called] Dancing in the Light: Healing with the Arts,” Allen says.
The free classes take place on March 9 at Pasadena City College. It’s for ages 9 to adult and all skill levels.
Allen believes dance classes offer opportunities to commune with people, especially those impacted by the wildfires.
“When I think about our motherland, my motherland, Africa … there was always music and dancing and drumming for birth … loss of life, or if we wanted rain, or whatever it was. It's a part of who we are. It's our nature to stamp [sic] the ground, claim it, and just scream out loud. And that's what we do in these classes.”
Allen says movement is part of the healing process.
“Dance healed me as a little girl, when I wanted to dance and everything was segregated, and you couldn't go to ballet class or the movies or restaurants because you were Black. It was dancing that made me feel that I was truly equal and that I could move in the world, because dance was my language, and I've done this my whole life.”