Takes the reader on an odyssey across West Africa, in the company of one of the great black ballet stars of 1930's Paris. It is a devastating critique of colonial rule, which is seen to be destroying African society while Christian missionaries undermine indigenous morality. Africa Dances captures the rich physical and psychological detail of African village life - from food and architecture to witch doctors, dance and magic. Gorer witnesses men diving for three-quarters of an hour without coming up for breath, witch-doctors conjuring thunderstorms out of clear blue skies and chameleon fetishists whose skin changes from a dirty white to almost black. It takes us back to a place where if you believed you could.
