Through the lens of popping, a funk-based street dance originating in the 1960s characterized by the sudden tensing and releasing of muscles to a rhythm, and fancy dance, a Native American dance dating back to the 1920s to preserve tribal cultures and religions, WHAT CAME BEFORE is a poignant encounter where the respective blood memory of African Americans and Native Americans is channeled into the souls of one another. This rendezvous illuminates their histories and ignites brotherhood between two of America’s pillars on a playground in one of the country’s most prolific cultural melting pots—New York City.
