In 1978 Dunham was featured in the PBS special, Divine Drumbeats: Katherine Dunham and Her People, narrated by James Earl Jones, as part of the Dance in America series. Who Is Katherine Dunham? | GCU Blogs Dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist Katherine Dunham was born on June 22, 1910, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small suburb of . Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. 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. 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". Example. In 1945, Dunham opened and directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theatre near Times Square in New York City. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. But what set her work even further apart from Martha Graham and Jos Limn was her fusion of that foundation with Afro-Caribbean styles. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. Educate, entertain, and engage with Factmonster. Katherine Dunham - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family - Sticky Facts 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. She is a celebrity dancer. There, he ran a dry cleaning business in a place mostly occupied by white people. It closed after only 38 performances. The program she created runs to this day at the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, revolutionizing lives with dance and culture. Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. Anna Kisselgoff, a dance critic for The New York Times, called Dunham "a major pioneer in Black theatrical dance ahead of her time." 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. informed by new methods of america's most highly regarded. [37] One historian noted that "during the course of the tour, Dunham and the troupe had recurrent problems with racial discrimination, leading her to a posture of militancy which was to characterize her subsequent career."[38]. Dunham had been invited to stage a new number for the popular, long-running musical revue Pins and Needles 1940, produced by the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union. All rights reserved. "Hoy programa extraordinario y el sbado dos estamos nos ofrece Katherine Dunham,", Constance Valis Hill, "Katherine Dunham's, Anna Kisselgoff, "Katherine Dunham's Legacy, Visible in Youth and Age,". "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. for the developing one of the the world performed many of her. 4 (December 2010): 640642. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. 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. It was not a success, closing after only eight performances. She established the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities in East St. Louis to preserve Haitian and African instruments and artifacts from her personal collection. Alvin Ailey, who stated that he first became interested in dance as a professional career after having seen a performance of the Katherine Dunham Company as a young teenager of 14 in Los Angeles, called the Dunham Technique "the closest thing to a unified Afro-American dance existing.". [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. She also continued refining and teaching the Dunham Technique to transmit that knowledge to succeeding generations of dance students. ", While in Europe, she also influenced hat styles on the continent as well as spring fashion collections, featuring the Dunham line and Caribbean Rhapsody, and the Chiroteque Franaise made a bronze cast of her feet for a museum of important personalities.". As this show continued its run at the Windsor Theater, Dunham booked her own company in the theater for a Sunday performance. In the mid-1950s, Dunham and her company appeared in three films: Mambo (1954), made in Italy; Die Grosse Starparade (1954), made in Germany; and Msica en la Noche (1955), made in Mexico City. [6] After her mother died, her father left the children with their aunt Lulu on Chicago's South Side. [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. . Together, they produced the first version of her dance composition L'Ag'Ya, which premiered on January 27, 1938, as a part of the Federal Theater Project in Chicago. Please scroll down to enjoy more supporting materials. Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance. Dancer, choreographer, composer and songwriter, educated at the University of Chicago. Biography. 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. Died: May 21, 2006. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) is revered as one of the great pillars of American dance history. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! [12] Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. Dunham also studied ballet with Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page, who became prima ballerina of the Chicago Opera. After he became her artistic collaborator, they became romantically involved. Using some ballet vernacular, Dunham incorporates these principles into a set of class exercises she labeled as "processions". Katherine Dunham Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. Katherine Dunham | Biography, Dance, Technique, Dance - Britannica Katherine Dunham always had an interest in dance and anthropology so her main goal in life was to combine them. 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. 30 seconds. There, her father ran a dry-cleaning business.[8]. Katherine Dunham. Katherine Dunham on Break the FACTS! - YouTube "[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. A dance choreographer. until hia death in the 1986. Interesting facts. From the 40s to the 60s, Dunham and her dance troupe toured to 57 countries of the world. Genres Novels. Schools inspired by it were later opened in Stockholm, Paris, and Rome by dancers who had been trained by Dunham. Leverne Backstrom, president of the board of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, still does. Katherine Dunham Fused Together Dance and Anthropology Katherine Dunham is the inventor of the Dunham technique and a renowned dancer and choreographer of African-American descent. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. [60], However, this decision did not keep her from engaging with and highly influencing the discipline for the rest of her life and beyond. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. 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. In Hollywood, Dunham refused to sign a lucrative studio contract when the producer said she would have to replace some of her darker-skinned company members. for teaching dance that is still la'ag'ya , Shange , Veraruzana, nanigo. Numerous scholars describe Dunham as pivotal to the fields of Dance Education, Applied Anthropology, Humanistic Anthropology, African Diasporic Anthropology and Liberatory Anthropology. 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. 8 Katherine Dunham facts - Katherine dunham Birth State: Alabama. Birth Country: United States. [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. Receiving a post graduate academic fellowship, she went to the Caribbean to study the African diaspora, ethnography and local dance. At this time Dunham first became associated with designer John Pratt, whom she later married. Katherine Dunham - Dance Katherine Dunham on dance anthropology. [15], In 1935, Dunham was awarded travel fellowships from the Julius Rosenwald and Guggenheim foundations to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Trinidad studying the dance forms of the Caribbean. Beda Schmid. [13] University of Chicago's anthropology department was fairly new and the students were still encouraged to learn aspects of sociology, distinguishing it from other anthropology departments in the US that focused almost exclusively on non-Western peoples. Katherine Dunham - Dancing with History She also choreographed and appeared in Broadway musicals, operas and the film Cabin in the Sky. [13] The Anthropology department at Chicago in the 1930s and 40s has been described as holistic, interdisciplinary, with a philosophy of liberal humanism, and principles of racial equality and cultural relativity. While in Haiti, she hasn't only studied Vodun rituals, but also participated and became a mambo, female high priest in the Vodun religion. Katherine Dunham PhB'36. As Julia Foulkes pointed out, "Dunham's path to success lay in making high art in the United States from African and Caribbean sources, capitalizing on a heritage of dance within the African Diaspora, and raising perceptions of African American capabilities."[65]. "[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. Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . Most Popular #73650. From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. Katherine Dunham and her Haitian legacy - Dance Australia Katherine Dunham: legendary dancer who founded the 1st American black They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. In 1987 she received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, and was also inducted into the. Katherine Dunham Facts for Kids After noticing that Katherine enjoyed working and socializing with people, her brother suggested that she study Anthropology. Name: Mae C. Jemison. She decided to live for a year in relative isolation in Kyoto, Japan, where she worked on writing memoirs of her youth. Born in 1909 during the turn of the century Victorian era in the small town of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, she became one of the first dance anthropologists, started the first internationally-touring pre-dominantly black dance company . It was a venue for Dunham to teach young black dancers about their African heritage. 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. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . In 1976, Dunham was guest artist-in-residence and lecturer for Afro-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Barrelhouse. Birthday : June 22, 1909. In 1950, while visiting Brazil, Dunham and her group were refused rooms at a first-class hotel in So Paulo, the Hotel Esplanada, frequented by many American businessmen. 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. [6][10] While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children. Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. [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 : Dance and the African Diaspora - Google Books This gained international headlines and the embarrassed local police officials quickly released her. As Wendy Perron wrote, "Jazz dance, 'fusion,' and the search for our cultural identity all have their antecedents in Dunham's work as a dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist.