The National Hand Dance Association (“NHDA”) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization. The mission of NHDA is to “Preserve, Educate and Promote the cultural art form of. Hand Dance.”*
The National Hand Dance Association is the clearinghouse and resource center by which information on D.C. Hand Dance (also known as “Hand Dance”) is disseminated. NHDA provides support through promotion of established area wide Hand Dance classes, social events, Hand Dance night clubs and venues, Hand Dance and swing dance competitions, public outreach projects and other events relevant to the Hand Dance culture.
The National Hand Dance Association sponsors educational and community outreach programs through discussions, performance demonstrations, social events and cultural exchange.
An on-going archiving project documenting the history of DC Hand Dance, sponsored by NHDA, will provide historical content for public viewing and research. The collection will be in the form of oral history interviews, photographs and memorabilia, and expert analysis by dance historians and ethnomusicologists. The competed project will be donated to an educational and research institution.
In an effort to preserve the dance for future generations, The National Hand Dance Association has instated the NHDA Youth and Young Adult Affairs Division. The NHDA Youth and Young Adult Affairs Division was created to introduce and promote Hand Dance among youth. The Youth and Young Adult Affairs Division sponsors Hand Dance workshops, dance education for young children, teenagers and young adults, and assists in providing opportunities for youth to dance and socialize. NHDA also lends support to established Hand Dance classes which provide instruction to the youth.
*(DC Hand Dance, also known as “Hand Dance”, is a contemporary swing style partner dance with roots in Lindy and Swing. Hand Dance has over a fifty year history as a folk and traditional art form indigenous to the Washington, DC area, and is the “Official Dance of the Nation’s Capitol” by Resolution of the DC Council (Council Member Phil Mendelson, Sponsor).
