In 1937 she traveled with them to New York to take part in A Negro Dance Evening, organized by Edna Guy at the 92nd Street YMHA. Her technique was "a way of life". [15] It was in a lecture by Redfield that she learned about the relationship between dance and culture, pointing out that Black Americans had retained much of their African heritage in dances. ", "Dunham's European success led to considerable imitation of her work in European revues it is safe to say that the perspectives of concert-theatrical dance in Europe were profoundly affected by the performances of the Dunham troupe. Not only did Dunham shed light on the cultural value of black dance, but she clearly contributed to changing perceptions of blacks in America by showing society that as a black woman, she could be an intelligent scholar, a beautiful dancer, and a skilled choreographer. [54] After recovering crucial dance epistemologies relevant to people of the African diaspora during her ethnographic research, she applied anthropological knowledge toward developing her own dance pedagogy (Dunham Technique) that worked to reconcile with the legacy of colonization and racism and correct sociocultural injustices. At the age of 82, Dunham went on a hunger strike in . It was a huge collection of writings by and about Katherine Dunham, so it naturally covered a lot of area. After the tour, in 1945, the Dunham company appeared in the short-lived Blue Holiday at the Belasco Theater in New York, and in the more successful Carib Song at the Adelphi Theatre. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. In 1964, Dunham settled in East St. Louis, and took up the post of artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University in nearby Edwardsville. ", Kraut, Anthea, "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:48. Many of her students, trained in her studios in Chicago and New York City, became prominent in the field of modern dance. It next moved to the West Coast for an extended run of performances there. ", Examples include: The Ballet in film "Stormy Weather" (Stone 1943) and "Mambo" (Rossen 1954). She was hailed for her smooth and fluent choreography and dominated a stage with what has been described as 'an unmitigating radiant force providing beauty with a feminine touch full of variety and nuance. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. [50] Both Dunham and the prince denied the suggestion. The company returned to New York. Much of the literature calls upon researchers to go beyond bureaucratic protocols to protect communities from harm, but rather use their research to benefit communities that they work with. In September 1943, under the management of the impresario Sol Hurok, her troupe opened in Tropical Review at the Martin Beck Theater. Regarding her impact and effect he wrote: "The rise of American Negro dance commenced when Katherine Dunham and her company skyrocketed into the Windsor Theater in New York, from Chicago in 1940, and made an indelible stamp on the dance world Miss Dunham opened the doors that made possible the rapid upswing of this dance for the present generation." Our site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids . Her father was given a number of important positions at court . Dunham considered some really important and interesting issues, like how class and race issues translate internationally, being accepted into new communities, different types of being black, etc. Digital Library. Birth Country: United States. Katherine Dunham was a rebel among rebels. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him. "[35] Dunham explains that while she admired the narrative quality of ballet technique, she wanted to develop a movement vocabulary that captured the essence of the Afro-Caribbean dancers she worked with during her travels. [11], During her time in Chicago, Dunham enjoyed holding social gatherings and inviting visitors to her apartment. Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. Stormy Weather is a 1943 American musical film produced and released by 20th Century Fox, adapted by Frederick J. Jackson, Ted Koehler and H.S. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. The Dunham company's international tours ended in Vienna in 1960. It was a venue for Dunham to teach young black dancers about their African heritage. Numerous scholars describe Dunham as pivotal to the fields of Dance Education, Applied Anthropology, Humanistic Anthropology, African Diasporic Anthropology and Liberatory Anthropology. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. In 1976, Dunham was guest artist-in-residence and lecturer for Afro-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Katherine Dunham always had an interest in dance and anthropology so her main goal in life was to combine them. In 2000 she was named one of the first one hundred of "America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures" by the Dance Heritage Coalition. Alumnae include Eartha Kitt, Marlon Brando and Julie Belafonte. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. Katherine Dunham Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. [2] Most of Dunham's works previewed many questions essential to anthropology's postmodern turn, such as critiquing understandings of modernity, interpretation, ethnocentrism, and cultural relativism. Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. They had particular success in Denmark and France. The 1940s and 1950s saw the successors to the pioneers, give rise to such new stylistic variations through the work of artistic giants such as Jos Limn and Merce Cunningham. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Later in the year she opened a cabaret show in Las Vegas, during the first year that the city became a popular entertainment as well as gambling destination. Katherine Mary Dunham, 22 Jun 1909 - 21 May 2006 Exhibition Label Born Glen Ellyn, Illinois One of the founders of the anthropological dance movement, Katherine Dunham distilled Caribbean and African dance elements into modern American choreography. Katherine Johnson, ne Katherine Coleman, also known as (1939-56) Katherine Goble, (born August 26, 1918, White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, U.S.died February 24, 2020, Newport News, Virginia), American mathematician who calculated and analyzed the flight paths of many spacecraft during her more than three decades with the U.S. space program. [12] The show created a minor controversy in the press. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190264871.003.0001, "Dunham Technique: Fall and recovery with body roll", "Katherine Dunham on need for Dunham Technique", "The Negro Problem in a Class Society: 19511960 Brazil", "Katherine Dunham, Dance Icon, Dies at 96", "Candace Award Recipients 19821990, Page 1", "Katherine the Great: 2004 Lifetime Achievement Awardee Katherine Dunham", Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology, Katherine Dunham on her anthropological films, Guide to the Photograph Collection on Katherine Dunham, Katherine Dunham's oral history video excerpts, "Katherine Dunham on Overcoming 1940s Racism", Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, Recalling Choreographer and Activist Dunham, "How Katherine Dunham Revealed Black Dance to the World", Katherine Dunham, Dance Pioneer, Dies at 96, "On Stage and Backstage withTalented Katherine Dunham, Master Dance Designer", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katherine_Dunham&oldid=1139015494, American people of French-Canadian descent, 20th-century African-American politicians, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, In 1971 she received the Heritage Award from the, In 1983 she was a recipient of one of the highest artistic awards in the United States, the. The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology through African American Dance Pedagogy." Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. Luminaries like Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Katherine Dunham began to shape and define what this new genre of dance would be. The company soon embarked on a tour of venues in South America, Europe, and North Africa. Years later, after extensive studies and initiations in Haiti,[21] she became a mambo in the Vodun religion. In the mid-1930s she conducted anthropological research on dance and incorporated her findings into her choreography, blending the rhythms and movements of . Childhood & Early Life. Dunham created many all-black dance groups. She . In addition, Dunham conducted special projects for African American high school students in Chicago; was artistic and technical director (196667) to the president of Senegal; and served as artist-in-residence, and later professor, at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and director of Southern Illinoiss Performing Arts Training Centre and Dynamic Museum in East St. Louis, Illinois. [14] Redfield, Herskovits, and Sapir's contributions to cultural anthropology, exposed Dunham to topics and ideas that inspired her creatively and professionally. One of her fellow professors, with whom she collaborated, was architect Buckminster Fuller. Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. In response, the Afonso Arinos law was passed in 1951 that made racial discrimination in public places a felony in Brazil.[42][43][44][45][46][47]. Dana McBroom-Manno still teaches Dunham Technique in New York City and is a Master of Dunham Technique. and creative team that lasted. Video. 8 Katherine Dunham facts. Name: Mae C. Jemison. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. London: Zed Books, 1999. Katherine Dunham. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution". [3] Dunham was an innovator in African-American modern dance as well as a leader in the field of dance anthropology, or ethnochoreology. She had incurred the displeasure of departmental officials when her company performed Southland, a ballet that dramatized the lynching of a black man in the racist American South. Dunham's mother, Fanny June Dunham (ne Taylor), who was of mixed French-Canadian and Native American heritage. In 1966, she served as a State Department representative for the United States to the first ever World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal. Katherine Dunham. Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. The Katherine Dunham Museum is located at 1005 Pennsylvania Avenue, East St. Louis, Illinois. On another occasion, in October 1944, after getting a rousing standing ovation in Louisville, Kentucky, she told the all-white audience that she and her company would not return because "your management will not allow people like you to sit next to people like us." She made world tours as a dancer, choreographer, and director of her own dance company. ", "Kaiso! Claude Conyers, "Film Choreography by Katherine Dunham, 19391964," in Clark and Johnson. Her dance company was provided with rent-free studio space for three years by an admirer and patron, Lee Shubert; it had an initial enrollment of 350 students. Birth date: October 17, 1956. Long, Richard A, and Joe Nash. The Washington Post called her "dancer Katherine the Great." Using some ballet vernacular, Dunham incorporates these principles into a set of class exercises she labeled as "processions". In 1946, Dunham returned to Broadway for a revue entitled Bal Ngre, which received glowing notices from theater and dance critics. Photo provided by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Morris Library Special Collections Research Center. katherine dunham fun factsaiken county sc register of deeds katherine dunham fun facts The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. The Katherine Dunham Fund buys and adapts for use as a museum an English Regency-style townhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue at Tenth Street in East Saint Louis. Dunham is still taught at widely recognized dance institutions such as The American Dance Festival and The Ailey School. Katherine Dunham is credited Her dance troupe in venues around. Here are 10 facts about her fascinating life. June 22 Dancer #4. 1910-2006. Dunham is a ventriloquist comedian and uses seven different puppets in his act, known by his fans as the "suitcase posse." His first Comedy Central Presents special premiered in 2003. The troupe performed a suite of West Indian dances in the first half of the program and a ballet entitled Tropic Death, with Talley Beatty, in the second half. In the summer of 1941, after the national tour of Cabin in the Sky ended, they went to Mexico, where inter-racial marriages were less controversial than in the United States, and engaged in a commitment ceremony on 20 July, which thereafter they gave as the date of their wedding. Search input Search submit button. Anna Kisselgoff, a dance critic for The New York Times, called Dunham "a major pioneer in Black theatrical dance ahead of her time." Katherine Dunham, pseudonym Kaye Dunn, (born June 22, 1909, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.died May 21, 2006, New York, New York), American dancer and choreographer who was a pioneer in the field of dance anthropology. Dunham married Jordis McCoo, a black postal worker, in 1931, but he did not share her interests and they gradually drifted apart, finally divorcing in 1938. Leverne Backstrom, president of the board of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, still does. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance."[2]. Barrelhouse. But what set her work even further apart from Martha Graham and Jos Limn was her fusion of that foundation with Afro-Caribbean styles. It closed after only 38 performances. Born: June 22, 1909. This is where, in the late 1960s, global dance legend Katherine Dunham put down roots and taught the arts of the African diaspora to local children and teenagers. As a graduate student in anthropology in the mid-1930s, she conducted dance research in the Caribbean. In the 1970s, scholars of Anthropology such as Dell Hymes and William S. Willis began to discuss Anthropology's participation in scientific colonialism. Educate, entertain, and engage with Factmonster. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Tropics (choreographed 1937) and Le Jazz Hot (1938) were among the earliest of many works based on her research. They were stranded without money because of bad management by their impresario. The finale to the first act of this show was Shango, a staged interpretation of a Vodun ritual, which became a permanent part of the company's repertory. In 1963 Dunham was commissioned to choreograph Aida at New York's Metropolitan Opera Company, with Leontyne Price in the title role. In 1963, Dunham became the first African-American to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera. Dunham also studied ballet with Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page, who became prima ballerina of the Chicago Opera. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
. If Cities Could Dance: East St. Louis. After her company performed successfully, Dunham was chosen as dance director of the Chicago Negro Theater Unit of the Federal Theatre Project. Among Dunham's closest friends and colleagues was Julie Robinson, formerly a performer with the Katherine Dunham Company, and her husband, singer and later political activist Harry Belafonte. Deren is now considered to be a pioneer of independent American filmmaking. Dunham Company member Dana McBroom-Manno was selected as a featured artist in the show, which played on the Music Fair Circuit. Kraft from the story by Jerry Horwin and Seymour B. Robinson, directed by Andrew L. Stone, produced by William LeBaron and starring Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Cab Calloway.The film is one of two Hollywood musicals with an African . This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. Dunham also created the well-known Dunham Technique [1]. In 1939, Dunham's company gave additional performances in Chicago and Cincinnati and then returned to New York. From the beginning of their association, around 1938, Pratt designed the sets and every costume Dunham ever wore. She did not complete the other requirements for that degree, however, as she realized that her professional calling was performance and choreography. For almost 30 years she maintained the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-supported American black dance troupe at that time. [49] In fact, that ceremony was not recognized as a legal marriage in the United States, a point of law that would come to trouble them some years later. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. Interesting facts. Dunham was always a formidable advocate for racial equality, boycotting segregated venues in the United States and using her performances to highlight discrimination. While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. At this time Dunham first became associated with designer John Pratt, whom she later married.
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