Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution". [4], Katherine Mary Dunham was born on 22 June 1909 in a Chicago hospital. Dunham, who died at the age of 96 [in 2006], was an anthropologist and political activist, especially on behalf of the rights of black people. Her alumni included many future celebrities, such as Eartha Kitt. 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. In the mid-1930s she conducted anthropological research on dance and incorporated her findings into her choreography, blending the rhythms and movements of . 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. First Name Katherine #37. Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. Initially scheduled for a single performance, the show was so popular that the troupe repeated it for another ten Sundays. While a student at the University of Chicago, Dunham also performed as a dancer, ran a dance school, and earned an early bachelor's degree in anthropology. Born: June 22, 1909. Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. The critics acknowledged the historical research she did on dance in ancient Egypt, but they were not appreciative of her choreography as staged for this production.[25]. At the height of her career in the 1940s and 1950s, Dunham was renowned throughout Europe and Latin America and was widely popular in the United States. Unlike other modern dance creators who eschewed classical ballet, Dunham embraced it as a foundation for her technique. In 1967 she officially retired, after presenting a final show at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. [16], After her research tour of the Caribbean in 1935, Dunham returned to Chicago in the late spring of 1936. Other Interesting Katherine Dunham Facts And Trivia 'Come Back To Arizona', a short story Katherine Dunham penned when she was 12 years old, was published in 1921 in volume two of 'The Brownies' Book'. It next moved to the West Coast for an extended run of performances there. Others who attended her school included James Dean, Gregory Peck, Jose Ferrer, Jennifer Jones, Shelley Winters, Sidney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty. 2023 The HistoryMakers. Later that year she took her troupe to Mexico, where their performances were so popular that they stayed and performed for more than two months. 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 . Video. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. Katherine Dunham on dance anthropology. Her work inspired many. Such visitors included ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, Robert Redfield, Bronisaw Malinowski, A.R. Dunham early became interested in dance. Admission is $10, or $5 for students and seniors, and hours are by appointment; call 618-875-3636, or 618-618-795-5970 three to five days in advance. London: Zed Books, 1999. In 1950, Sol Hurok presented Katherine Dunham and Her Company in a dance revue at the Broadway Theater in New York, with a program composed of some of Dunham's best works. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. Katherine Mary Dunham (also known as Kaye Dunn, June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. Kaiso is an Afro-Caribbean term denoting praise. One of the most important dance artists of the twentieth century, dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) created works that thrilled audiences the world over. It closed after only 38 performances. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! Katherine Dunham. Her legacy was far-reaching, both in dance and her cultural and social work. Katherine Dunham Quotes On Positivity. [3] She created many all-black dance groups. The program she created runs to this day at the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, revolutionizing lives with dance and culture. He continued as her artistic collaborator until his death in 1986. Over the years Katherine Dunham has received scores of special awards, including more than a dozen honorary doctorates from various American universities. Katherine Dunham. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. She directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, and was artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. She had one of the most successful dance careers in Western dance theatre in the 20th century and directed her own dance company for many years. "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology." She describes this during an interview in 2002: "My problemmy strong drive at that time was to remain in this academic position that anthropology gave me, and at the same time continue with this strong drive for motionrhythmic motion". In 1931, at the age of 21, Dunham formed a group called Ballets Ngres, one of the first black ballet companies in the United States. [1] She is best known for bringing African and Caribbean dance styles to the US. She died a month before her 97th birthday.[53]. After her company performed successfully, Dunham was chosen as dance director of the Chicago Negro Theater Unit of the Federal Theatre Project. She wrote that he "opened the floodgates of anthropology" for her. Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. Her dance career was interrupted in 1935 when she received funding from the Rosenwald Foundation which allowed her to travel to Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, and Haiti for eighteen months to explore each country's respective dance cultures. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. Birth Year: 1956. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. The next year, after the US entered World War II, Dunham appeared in the Paramount musical film Star Spangled Rhythm (1942) in a specialty number, "Sharp as a Tack," with Eddie "Rochester" Anderson. By 1957, Dunham was under severe personal strain, which was affecting her health. Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. [17] She was one of the first African-American women to attend this college and to earn these degrees. Her mission was to help train the Senegalese National Ballet and to assist President Leopold Senghor with arrangements for the First Pan-African World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar (196566). Katherine Dunham died on May 21 2006. The next year the production was repeated with Katherine Dunham in the lead and with students from Dunham's Negro Dance Group in the ensemble. She arranged a fundraising cabaret for a Methodist Church, where she did her first public performance when she was 15 years old. She is a celebrity dancer. Anna Kisselgoff, a dance critic for The New York Times, called Dunham "a major pioneer in Black theatrical dance ahead of her time." On graduating with a bachelors degree in anthropology she undertook field studies in the Caribbean and in Brazil. The committee voted unanimously to award $2,400 (more than $40,000 in today's money) to support her fieldwork in the Caribbean. Katherine Dunham. As celebrities, their voices can have a profound influence on popular culture. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, creator of the Dunham Technique, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. In 1928, while still an undergraduate, Dunham began to study ballet with Ludmilla Speranzeva, a Russian dancer who had settled in Chicago, after having come to the United States with the Franco-Russian vaudeville troupe Le Thtre de la Chauve-Souris, directed by impresario Nikita Balieff. [34], According to Dunham, the development of her technique came out of a need for specialized dancers to support her choreographic visions and a greater yearning for technique that "said the things that [she] wanted to say. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. [21] This style of participant observation research was not yet common within the discipline of anthropology. ", Black writer Arthur Todd described her as "one of our national treasures". In this post, she choreographed the Chicago production of Run Li'l Chil'lun, performed at the Goodman Theater. [8], Despite her choosing dance, Dunham often voiced recognition of her debt to the discipline: "without [anthropology] I don't know what I would have done.In anthropology, I learned how to feel about myself in relation to other people. Example. In December 1951, a photo of Dunham dancing with Ismaili Muslim leader Prince Ali Khan at a private party he had hosted for her in Paris appeared in a popular magazine and fueled rumors that the two were romantically linked. A continuation based on her experiences in Haiti, Island Possessed, was published in 1969. (She later wrote Journey to Accompong, a book describing her experiences there.) Jobson, Ryan Cecil. Born in 1512 to Sir Thomas Parr, lord of the manor of Kendal in Westmorland, and Maud Green, an heiress and courtier, Catherine belonged to a family of substantial influence in the north. [50] Both Dunham and the prince denied the suggestion. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) is revered as one of the great pillars of American dance history. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. Also Known For : . "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katherine-Dunham, The Kennedy Center - Biography of Katherine Dunham, Katherine Dunham - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance. [11], During her time in Chicago, Dunham enjoyed holding social gatherings and inviting visitors to her apartment. 1910-2006. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. In 2004 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from, In 2005, she was awarded "Outstanding Leadership in Dance Research" by the. [15] He showed her the connection between dance and social life giving her the momentum to explore a new area of anthropology, which she later termed "Dance Anthropology". Although Dunham was offered another grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to pursue her academic studies, she chose dance. In 1948, she opened A Caribbean Rhapsody, first at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, and then took it to the Thtre des Champs-lyses in Paris. 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. Subsequently, Dunham undertook various choreographic commissions at several venues in the United States and in Europe. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) brought African dance aesthetics to the United States, forever influencing modern and jazz dance. 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. [54] Her dance education, while offering cultural resources for dealing with the consequences and realities of living in a racist environment, also brought about feelings of hope and dignity for inspiring her students to contribute positively to their own communities, and spreading essential cultural and spiritual capital within the U.S.[54], Just like her colleague Zora Neale Hurston, Dunham's anthropology inspired the blurring of lines between creative disciplines and anthropology. When she was not performing, Dunham and Pratt often visited Haiti for extended stays. Dunham, Katherine dnm . On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Later Dunham established a second home in Senegal, and she occasionally returned there to scout for talented African musicians and dancers. The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. 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. 7 Katherine Dunham facts. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . In 1949, Dunham returned from international touring with her company for a brief stay in the United States, where she suffered a temporary nervous breakdown after the premature death of her beloved brother Albert. International dance icon Katherine Dunham (right,) also an anthropologist, founded an art museum in East St. Louis, IL. Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! This concert, billed as Tropics and Le Hot Jazz, included not only her favorite partners Archie Savage and Talley Beatty, but her principal Haitian drummer, Papa Augustin. From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. In the 1930s, she did fieldwork in the Caribbean and infused her choreography with the cultures . Birth date: October 17, 1956. Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. Her father was of black ancestry, a descendant of slaves from West Africa and Madagascar, while her mother belonged to mixed French-Canadian and Native . Most Popular #73650. "What Dunham gave modern dance was a coherent lexicon of African and Caribbean styles of movementa flexible torso and spine, articulated pelvis and isolation of the limbs, a polyrhythmic strategy of movingwhich she integrated with techniques of ballet and modern dance." 30 seconds. 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. [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. Dunham is still taught at widely recognized dance institutions such as The American Dance Festival and The Ailey School. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. Dunham refused to hold a show in one theater after finding out that the city's black residents had not been allowed to buy tickets for the performance. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. Dunham early became interested in dance. The school was managed in Dunham's absence by Syvilla Fort, one of her dancers, and thrived for about 10 years. At the age of 82, Dunham went on a hunger strike in . . The impresario Sol Hurok, manager of Dunham's troupe for a time, once had Ms. Dunham's legs insured for $250,000. During her tenure, she secured funding for the Performing Arts Training Center, where she introduced a program designed to channel the energy of the communitys youth away from gangs and into dance. 2 (2020): 259271. [36] Her classes are described as a safe haven for many and some of her students even attribute their success in life to the structure and artistry of her technical institution. ", "Kaiso! Somewhat later, she assisted him, at considerable risk to her life, when he was persecuted for his progressive policies and sent in exile to Jamaica after a coup d'tat. [1] The Dunham Technique is still taught today. They were stranded without money because of bad management by their impresario. [60], However, this decision did not keep her from engaging with and highly influencing the discipline for the rest of her life and beyond. They had particular success in Denmark and France. Dunham accepted a position at Southern Illinois University in East St. Louis in the 1960s. Occupation(s): In particular, Dunham is a model for the artist as activist. Katherine Dunham or the "Matriarch of Black Dance'' as many called her, was a revolutionary African American anthropologist and professional dancer. Katherine Dunham Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. Dancers are frequently instructed to place weight on the balls of their feet, lengthen their lumbar and cervical spines, and breathe from the abdomen and not the chest. teaches us about the impact Katherine Dunham left on the dance community & on the world. The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. She returned to graduate school and submitted a master's thesis to the anthropology faculty. She wanted to know not only how people danced but why they dance. Legendary dancer, choreographer and anthropologist Katherine Dunham was born June 22, 1909, to an African American father and French-Canadian mother who died when she was young. The company was located on the property that formerly belonged to the Isadora Duncan Dance in Caravan Hill but subsequently moved to W 43rd Street. In 1945, Dunham opened and directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theatre near Times Square in New York City. [5] She had an older brother, Albert Jr., with whom she had a close relationship. Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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