Netflix Revitalized the Corny Christmas Special With Black Joy
We have finally achieved Christmas classic status with ‘Jingle Jangle’ and ‘Dance Dreams’
For a long time, Lifetime and Hallmark Christmas films were a last frontier for us. With Kelly Rowland, Holly Robinson Peete, Keshia Knight Pulliam, Kat Graham, and Amber Stevens West helming a bunch of them this season, that’s no longer the case. What’s been even more elusive, however, is the quintessential Black Christmas classic. Through the soul-singing, fantasy pop of Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey to the entertaining documentary Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker, Netflix puts up a mirror to this enduring reality, underscoring — especially with the latter — why Black Christmas classics matter.
The Shondaland-produced Dance Dreams is a glimpse into the kind of culture-shifting work Black people have always done in the shadows. Although we know Debbie Allen as the woman who taught us that Fame costs and put historically Black colleges and universities into our beloved A Different World, dance is her foundation. Through her Los Angeles-based Debbie Allen Dance Academy, now in its milestone 20th year, Allen passes that love on. Her annual holiday production of Hot Chocolate Nutcracker is a testament to that. Allen’s creation is a holiday dance extravaganza…
