Here are 10 facts about her fascinating life. Katherine Dunham | Biography, Dance, Technique, Dance - Britannica A key reason for this choice was because she knew that through dance, her work would be able to be accessed by a wider array of audiences; more so than if she continued to limit her work within academia. Katherine Dunham Birthday & Fun Facts | Kidadl These exercises prepare the dancers for African social and spiritual dances[31] that are practiced later in the class including the Mahi,[32] Yonvalou,[33] and Congo Paillette. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . Katherine Dunham, 1909-2006 - WWP ", Scholar of the arts Harold Cruse wrote in 1964: "Her early and lifelong search for meaning and artistic values for black people, as well as for all peoples, has motivated, created opportunities for, and launched careers for generations of young black artists Afro-American dance was usually in the avant-garde of modern dance Dunham's entire career spans the period of the emergence of Afro-American dance as a serious art. Fun Facts. In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. For several years, Dunham's personal assistant and press promoter was Maya Deren, who later also became interested in Vodun and wrote The Divine Horseman: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti (1953). from the University of Chicago, she had acquired a vast knowledge of the dances and rituals of the Black peoples of tropical America. As celebrities, their voices can have a profound influence on popular culture. Katherine Dunham. Katherine Dunham or the "Matriarch of - Medium Katherine Dunham - Dancing with History 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. The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. Ruth Page had written a scenario and choreographed La Guiablesse ("The Devil Woman"), based on a Martinican folk tale in Lafcadio Hearn's Two Years in the French West Indies. As a result, Dunham would later experience some diplomatic "difficulties" on her tours. Example. "Kaiso! There she was able to bring anthropologists, sociologists, educational specialists, scientists, writers, musicians, and theater people together to create a liberal arts curriculum that would be a foundation for further college work. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. [3] Dunham was an innovator in African-American modern dance as well as a leader in the field of dance anthropology, or ethnochoreology. Intrigued by this theory, Dunham began to study African roots of dance and, in 1935, she traveled to the Caribbean for field research. Dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist Katherine Dunham was born on June 22, 1910, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small suburb of . Initially scheduled for a single performance, the show was so popular that the troupe repeated it for another ten Sundays. All You Need to Know About Dunham Technique - Dance Spirit Encouraged by Speranzeva to focus on modern dance instead of ballet, Dunham opened her first dance school in 1933, calling it the Negro Dance Group. Unlike other modern dance creators who eschewed classical ballet, Dunham embraced it as a foundation for her technique. [50] Both Dunham and the prince denied the suggestion. . Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. Katherine Dunham. [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. As this show continued its run at the Windsor Theater, Dunham booked her own company in the theater for a Sunday performance. informed by new methods of america's most highly regarded. Her legacy was far-reaching, both in dance and her cultural and social work. Katherine Dunham Timeline | Articles and Essays | Selections from the She was instrumental in getting respect for Black dancers on the concert dance stage and directed the first self-supported Black dance company. Updates? Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, was a descendant of slaves from West Africa and Madagascar. "[48] During her protest, Dick Gregory led a non-stop vigil at her home, where many disparate personalities came to show their respect, such Debbie Allen, Jonathan Demme, and Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. Katherine Dunham on dance anthropology. "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology." Long, Richard A, and Joe Nash. Video. [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. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) was a world-renowned choreographer who broke many barriers of race and gender, most notably as an African American woman whose dance company toured the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia for several decades. Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. Katherine Dunham - Author, Career, Childhood - Katherine Dunham Biography 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. In 1964, Dunham settled in East St. Louis, and took up the post of artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University in nearby Edwardsville. 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. Birth City: Decatur. Died: May 21, 2006. There, he ran a dry cleaning business in a place mostly occupied by white people. Dunham was always a formidable advocate for racial equality, boycotting segregated venues in the United States and using her performances to highlight discrimination. A actor. 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. In 1963, Dunham became the first African-American to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera. "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. and creative team that lasted. After this well-received performance in 1931, the group was disbanded. Katherine Dunham Helped Teach the World to Dance : NPR Katherine Dunham. Katherine Dunham is the inventor of the Dunham technique and a renowned dancer and choreographer of African-American descent. [59] She ultimately chose to continue her career in dance without her master's degree in anthropology. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) is revered as one of the great pillars of American dance history. Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." [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. "[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. Schools inspired by it were later opened in Stockholm, Paris, and Rome by dancers who had been trained by Dunham. It next moved to the West Coast for an extended run of performances there. Birth date: October 17, 1956. Barrelhouse. A continuation based on her experiences in Haiti, Island Possessed, was published in 1969. However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. She is best known for bringing African and Caribbean dance styles to the US [1]. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. Based on this success, the entire company was engaged for the 1940 Broadway production Cabin in the Sky, staged by George Balanchine and starring Ethel Waters. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. [35] In a different interview, Dunham describes her technique "as a way of life,[36]" a sentiment that seems to be shared by many of her admiring students. 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. Gender: Female. 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 . Her choreography and performances made use of a concept within Dance Anthropology called "research-to-performance". She also developed the Dunham Technique, a method of movement to support her dance works. A fictional work based on her African experiences, Kasamance: A Fantasy, was published in 1974. The Washington Post called her "dancer Katherine the Great." At the age of 82, Dunham went on a hunger strike in . Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! Other movies she performed in as a dancer during this period included the Abbott and Costello comedy Pardon My Sarong (1942) and the black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which featured a stellar range of actors, musicians and dancers.[24]. While trying to help the young people in the community, Dunham was arrested. 10 Facts About Katherine Johnson - Mental Floss [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". Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [26] This work was never produced in Joplin's lifetime, but since the 1970s, it has been successfully produced in many venues. It was considered one of the best learning centers of its type at the time. 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." Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. Katherine Dunham is credited Her dance troupe in venues around. This initiative drew international publicity to the plight of the Haitian boat-people and U.S. discrimination against them. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. Dunham used Habitation Leclerc as a private retreat for many years, frequently bringing members of her dance company to recuperate from the stress of touring and to work on developing new dance productions. Who Was Katherine Dunham??? by Adrianne Hoopes - Prezi While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. 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].