Song of Sons

Song of Sons is a series of photographs about a group of young Black men who practice a style of dance that was born in Washington, DC, a city experiencing a phase of rapid cultural erasure.

At its foundation, Song of Sons is a series of photographs about a group of young Black men who practice Beat Ya Feet, a style of dance that was born in Washington, DC and remains an important part of the city’s culture. With dance and creative expression as its vehicle, the series focuses on the lives of these young men and their unique journey into adulthood. Underneath its surface, the work grapples with concepts of masculinity and societal conditioning with the nation’s capital as its backdrop, a city that experiences some of the highest rates of gentrification in the country, and in turn, a rapid displacement of Black culture and community.

While DC is mostly recognized as the nation’s political center, those from the city understand how deeply their cultural roots penetrate. Go-Go music is a subgenre of Funk that developed in Washington, DC in the late 1970s, at a time when Black residents were the majority of the city’s population. The music has evolved over time, as have the dances associated with it, with Beat Ya Feet being the most commonly practiced form of dance to come from Go-Go. As these dancers perform on the streets and the Metro, at festivals and battles, they have become an instrumental part of keeping Black culture alive in DC. 

With the displacement of long term Black residents comes the interruption of a vast cultural network, one that in DC is deeply rooted in music, dance and play. The intention behind these photographs is to capture the beauty in interpretive movement, which is always fleeting, as a commentary on cultural erasure. 

Through portraiture, scene setters, and dance imagery, this body of work offers a full spectrum of both intensity and tenderness. Though these dancers are increasingly fragmented due to gentrification and cultural displacement, it is that culture from which they come and which binds them together, like islands of the same archipelago. Song of Sons is an exploration of cultural expression, Black joy, and brotherhood that aims to preserve and celebrate dance culture in Washington, DC.