This article explores continuing professional development. I teach in a community college where 93% of the students are black and Latino. I am a Caucasian teacher, and my background is primarily modern and jazz dance. In recent years I have been studying African and Latin dance forms, so that I can address the deep hunger my students have to learn more about their cultural backgrounds and dance forms. At times I have felt self-conscious when teaching this material, since my knowledge comes from dance studios and libraries, rather than from my own roots. Recently, I secured a grant from Bronx Community College to spend 2 weeks in Senegal studying traditional dancing and drumming. While there I had a vivid personal experience of the strength and vitality that these traditions embody. Therefore, I can bring a more legitimate and personally meaningful perspective to my teaching. (Contains 1 figure.)