Watch musicians from Castle of our Skins perform the ‘Juba’ from String Quartet in A minor by Florence Price. The performers are Gabriela Diaz and Mina Lavcheva on violins, Ashleigh Gordon on viola and Seth Parker Woods on cello.

The Juba is an African-American plantation dance brought over originally by Kongo slaves to Charleston, South Carolina. The dance involved slapping, stomping and body percussion during a time when rhythmic instruments were banned from slaves, to discourage secret codes embedded in drumming. Music and lyrics were added by the mid-19th-century, whereupon the style seeped into the entertainment industry in the form of dances and musical compositions.

Castle of our Skins is a concert and educational series dedicated to celebrating Black artistry through music

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