Heavy Is The Crown is a celebration of African American culture and the beauty of the Black diaspora by Freshworks artist Arnita Simone. This contemporary dance performance in progress explores the interconnected, sacred histories of Black hair traditions, honoring them while educating audiences about the fascinating origins and revolutionary applications of these styles. Heavy Is The Crown traces historically and culturally significant moments from 3500 BCE, when a hairstyle would be used to communicate a person’s wealth, power, ethnicity, marital status, social status, religion, and more, through the natural hair movement of the 1960’s, to the social media resurgence of natural hairstyles in the 2010’s.

Arnita centers the philosophy of traditional Black hair designs as being a sacred part of the connected consciousness of melanated human beings. Join the artist as she celebrates braids, twists, knots, and locs by diving into the beauty of the Black diaspora, and its influences on the current media, beauty trends, and popular culture of today.