Dule Hill hosts “The Express Way with Dule Hill” on PBS.
LOS ANGELES – “Politics tries to narrow things,” actor Dule Hill says. “Art tries to expand them.”
The former “West Wing” star knows as much from talking with artists in all sorts of disciplines around the country. His series, “The Express Way with Dule Hill,” shows people who are using creativity as a force for change.
“Art builds bridges, art creates change, art is powerful,” Hill says in the series opener.
“We are all looking for the same things,” he explains. “Whether you’re in San Francisco, Chicago, the mountains of Appalachia, we all want the same thing – to be seen and to be heard. We want to know we can take care of ourselves and our loved ones. We want to find peace and joy and happiness and be able to enjoy the moment.”
In the first season, he visits a luthier school, interviews an LGBTQ+ mariachi band and rehearses with a senior citizen burlesque group.
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Dule Hill travels around the country (and brings his tap dance shoes) in “The Express Way.”
“We’re giving light to corners that may not get enough light,” says Danny Lee, the series’ executive producer.
And Hill? He’s just the man to do it. Even though most know him from his work on “Psych” and “The West Wing,” he had a successful career as a dancer, starring on Broadway in “The Tap Dance Kid” and “Bring in ‘da Noise, Bring in ‘da Funk.”
When he went to Los Angeles to find work in film and television, he didn’t mention his dancing background. “I was trying to make space as an actor. Now, as life goes on, people only think about what you last did. But you can do many things.”
Thus, Hill has what he calls a “Murphy floor” in his garage. He can back out his car, pull the floor down (like a Murphy bed) and tap dance. “When I’m all done, I’ll put it back up and put the car in the garage.”
Dule Hill visits artists around the country in “The Express Way.”
Dancing, he says, is a great outlet. “It takes patience, but I think I’m a better technician today than I was 15-20 years ago.”
The 48-year-old’s ultimate desire is to bring dancing back to the big screen. Gregory Hines was a “huge” inspiration. “I don’t know what story I want to tell but I do desire to act and sing and dance on screen.”
Most recently, he starred in the rebooted “The Wonder Years,” a look at a Black family in the 1960s. Hill played the father, a music teacher and musician. “I was honored to tell that story,” he says. “The experience of Black nostalgia really shows that we are all a part of this country. We have these stories that are unique to ourselves but also very common. Just because someone doesn’t look a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t relate. I wish we had had more time to build our audience.”
The series lasted two seasons but showed even more sides to Hill.
Shaheem teaches Dule Hill how to use art in a multitude of ways on “The Express Way.”
That led to “Express Way,” a series that “hopefully will let people be able to look in the mirror and see the value in themselves. There’s power in exposure.”
Hill’s example: When he was a child, his older brother and cousins went to dance school. They exposed him to the art form and showed how he could feel like he was part of a group.
“It’s important for people to share what they do because you never know who’s watching. You might think what you’re doing is of no consequence, but you could be empowering someone just by existing and expressing yourself.”
In the series, Hill has fun teasing with the Asian American burlesque dancers (and learning their routine). He also learns how the luthier – or builder of stringed instruments – teaches those recovering from addictions to focus on something meaningful and, as Lee says, “divert prison time.”
Cynthia Yee is part of a burlesque dance group that shows Dule Hill it’s possible to create art at any age.
With singer Amythyst Kiah, Hill discovers how it’s possible to use music to work through social anxiety and process emotional turmoil. “It went from being my therapy to then becoming my job,” Kiah says. “Meditation, songwriting and performance create this feeling (that) I’m full of light and connected to everything.”
“This is just the tip of the iceberg,” Hill says of the series’ first season. “You kind of forget how big this country is.
“There are all these people in this country using art to shine a light in a dark place and, hopefully, inspire those who feel powerless. It’s a beautiful thing to see.”
“The Express Way with Dule Hill” airs on PBS.
Bruce Miller is editor of the Sioux City Journal.