Amazed by Grace is a dance–music collaboration with choreographer Nikka Maynard, the legendary Diamano Coura West African Dance Company and the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir (OIGC), commissioned and produced by World Arts West. Together exploring the historical and artistic intersections between West African and African American Praise traditions in music and dance.

Praise dance (or Liturgical Dance) emerged in Black Baptist churches in the late 19th century, as a descendant of the ring shout. Influenced by Alvin Ailey’s Revelations, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and infused with modern, jazz, hip-hop, Caribbean, mime, krump, and flag dance, Praise dance rose to prominence in the 1970s. More than performance, it is a physical expression of worship—an offering of devotion and storytelling through movement.

Hidden within Praise dance is the story of the journey from Africa to the present home in the San Francisco Bay Area. In Black culture, the arts and the church have always been intertwined, nurturing generations of artists, yet this aspect of cultural history often remains overlooked.

This collaboration will illuminate the deep connections between West African traditions and African American Praise dance, restoring it to its rightful place in the African American story—an embodied history of resilience, faith, and joy.

Special Artist Commissions are part of World Arts West's Cultural Dance Sustainability Initiative (CDSI).

CDSI includes the following artist service programs:​

• ​​WAW Cultural Dance Catalyst Fund
• Grants Accelerator Program (GAP)
• Special Artist Commissions (SAC)
  • Migrations
  • ​5th Quarter Bantaba
  • Ipat A Kadsakay
• Career Pathways Roundtable (CPR)
• Professional Development Workshops

​As well as:

• Visibility & Advocacy
• Research & Impact​