Melissa Talley-Palmer

Through the documentation and instruction of Bop, Cha Cha, and Line Dance classes, Melissa’s Let’s Dance project will explore the history of social dancing with intergenerational audiences. An eight-week series at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Greater Olney Branch, Let’s Dance will provide an opportunity for participants to share their own traditional dances, visit other dance classes around the city, and record interviews which will be used to preserve the history and culture of these dances. The cross-cultural dance project will conclude with a community performance. 

Melissa will create an interpretive dance performance, "Let Not Your History, Be a Mystery" based on her experience as a victim of molestation, speaking to audiences about the importance of breaking the silence around molestation. The performance will include video and audio of poems and short stories compiled from family and community members, gathered from interviews Melissa will do in her rural Virginia childhood home. In addition, she will organize several workshops to create art with members of her Philadelphia community that deals openly with and works to stop molestation. Melissa will use art to explore emotions that come from the many years she suppressed this issue of molestation, and provide a way for others to speak openly about their experiences so that they do not have to live with silencing the pain.