Recitatif

Twyla and Roberta first meet within the confines of a state home for children, St. Bonny's, because each has been taken away from her mother. Roberta's mother is sick; Twyla's mother "just likes to dance all night." The girls look different from one another: one is black, one is white, although we aren't told which is which. Despite their initially hostile feelings, they are drawn together because of their similar circumstances.