On one of these visits, during the late 1940s, she purchased a large property of more than seven hectares (approximately 17.3 acres) in the Carrefours suburban area of Port-au-Prince, known as Habitation Leclerc. 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. 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. Dunham also created the well-known Dunham Technique [1]. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE. "[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. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. By Renata Sago. She felt it was necessary to use the knowledge she gained in her research to acknowledge that Africanist esthetics are significant to the cultural equation in American dance. Here are some interesting facts about Alvin Ailey for you: Facts about Alvin Ailey 1: the popular modern dance On graduating with a bachelors degree in anthropology she undertook field studies in the Caribbean and in Brazil. Glory Van Scott and Jean-Lon Destin were among other former Dunham dancers who remained her lifelong friends. Katherine was also an activist, author, educator, and anthropologist. In 1963, Dunham became the first African-American to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera. She did not complete the other requirements for that degree, however, as she realized that her professional calling was performance and choreography. She also created several other works of choreography, including The Emperor Jones (a response to the play by Eugene O'Neill) and Barrelhouse. Also Known For : . Never completing her required coursework for her graduate degree, she departed for Broadway and Hollywood. Tune in & learn about the inception of. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham". Although Dunham was offered another grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to pursue her academic studies, she chose dance. 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. While Dunham was recognized as "unofficially" representing American cultural life in her foreign tours, she was given very little assistance of any kind by the U.S. State Department. [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. Kantherine Dunham passed away of natural causes on May 21, 2006, one month before her 97th birthday. The State Department regularly subsidized other less well-known groups, but it consistently refused to support her company (even when it was entertaining U.S. Army troops), although at the same time it did not hesitate to take credit for them as "unofficial artistic and cultural representatives". Claude Conyers, "Film Choreography by Katherine Dunham, 19391964," in Clark and Johnson. He was only one of a number of international celebrities who were Dunham's friends. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. Katherine Dunham. The committee voted unanimously to award $2,400 (more than $40,000 in today's money) to support her fieldwork in the Caribbean. Childhood & Early Life. From the beginning of their association, around 1938, Pratt designed the sets and every costume Dunham ever wore. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. Commonly grouped into the realm of modern dance techniques, Dunham is a technical dance form developed from elements of indigenous African and Afro-Caribbean dances. 1. Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. Dunham early became interested in dance. Birth Country: United States. 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 Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology." In 1992, at age 83, Dunham went on a highly publicized hunger strike to protest the discriminatory U.S. foreign policy against Haitian boat-people. Jobson, Ryan Cecil. Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] [2] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. Many of her students, trained in her studios in Chicago and New York City, became prominent in the field of modern dance. He has released six stand-up specials and one album of Christmas songs. most important pedagogues original work which includes :Batuada. Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. While in Haiti, she hasn't only studied Vodun rituals, but also participated and became a mambo, female high priest in the Vodun religion. 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]. What are some fun facts about Katherine Dunham? [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. Katherine Dunham. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . 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." In 1921, a short story she wrote when she was 12 years old, called "Come Back to Arizona", was published in volume 2 of The Brownies' Book. A actor. [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. Died: May 21, 2006. "Her mastery of body movement was considered 'phenomenal.' 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. He started doing stand-up comedy in the late 1980s. ", Richard Buckle, ballet historian and critic, wrote: "Her company of magnificent dancers and musicians met with the success it has and that herself as explorer, thinker, inventor, organizer, and dancer should have reached a place in the estimation of the world, has done more than a million pamphlets could for the service of her people. (She later took a Ph.D. in anthropology.) Johnson 's gift for numbers allowed her to accelerate through her education. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . All You Need to Know About Dunham Technique. Named Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt, she was their only child. 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. There is also a strong emphasis on training dancers in the practices of engaging with polyrhythms by simultaneously moving their upper and lower bodies according to different rhythmic patterns. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. New York City, U.S. "[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. Banks, Ojeya Cruz. Katherine Dunham Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. He had been a promising philosophy professor at Howard University and a protg of Alfred North Whitehead. 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. [54] This wave continued throughout the 1990s with scholars publishing works (such as Decolonizing Anthropology: Moving Further in Anthropology for Liberation,[55] Decolonizing Methodologies,[56] and more recently, The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn[57]) that critique anthropology and the discipline's roles in colonial knowledge production and power structures. 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. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. Throughout her distinguished career, Dunham earned numerous honorary doctorates, awards and honors. The show created a minor controversy in the press. Leverne Backstrom, president of the board of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, still does. Additionally, she worked closely with Vera Mirova who specialized in "Oriental" dance. Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. 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. Dancer, anthropologist, social worker, activist, author. 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. Such visitors included ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, Robert Redfield, Bronisaw Malinowski, A.R. . [21] This style of participant observation research was not yet common within the discipline of anthropology. Katherine Dunham predated, pioneered, and demonstrated new ways of doing and envisioning Anthropology six decades ahead of the discipline. Her mother passed away when Katherine was only 3 years old. June 22 Dancer #4. She wanted to know not only how people danced but why they dance. Katherine Mary Dunham (also known as Kaye Dunn, June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . Dunham technique is a codified dance training technique developed by Katherine Dunham in the mid 20th century. [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. USA. Birthday : June 22, 1909. Dunham early became interested in dance. However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. Beautiful, Justice, Black. 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. theatrical designers john pratt. Dunham's background as an anthropologist gave the dances of the opera a new authenticity. 6 Katherine Dunham facts. She also choreographed and appeared in Broadway musicals, operas and the film Cabin in the Sky. By drawing on a vast, never-utilized trove of archival materials along with oral histories, choreographic analysis, and embodied research, Katherine Dunham: Dance and the African Diaspora offers new insight about how this remarkable woman built political solidarity through the arts. 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. "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. As a teenager, she won a scholarship to the Dunham school and later became a dancer with the company, before beginning her successful singing career. Her work inspired many. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in American and European theater of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. Others who attended her school included James Dean, Gregory Peck, Jose Ferrer, Jennifer Jones, Shelley Winters, Sidney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty. The company returned to New York. Among her dancers selected were Marcia McBroom, Dana McBroom, Jean Kelly, and Jesse Oliver. She was born on June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small suburb of Chicago, to Albert Millard Dunham, a tailor and dry cleaner, and his wife, Fanny June Dunham. [6] At the age of 15, she organized "The Blue Moon Caf", a fundraising cabaret to raise money for Brown's Methodist Church in Joliet, where she gave her first public performance. 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. The PATC teaching staff was made up of former members of Dunham's touring company, as well as local residents. Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. When you have faith in something, it's your reason to be alive and to fight for it. The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. But what set her work even further apart from Martha Graham and Jos Limn was her fusion of that foundation with Afro-Caribbean styles. Gender: Female. [5] Along with the Great Migration, came White flight and her aunt Lulu's business suffered and ultimately closed as a result. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. Having completed her undergraduate work at the University of Chicago and decided to pursue a performing career rather than academic studies, Dunham revived her dance ensemble. After noticing that Katherine enjoyed working and socializing with people, her brother suggested that she study Anthropology. In August she was awarded a bachelor's degree, a Ph.B., bachelor of philosophy, with her principal area of study being social anthropology. Katherine Dunham: The Artist as Activist During World War II. She made national headlines by staging a hunger strike to protest the U.S. governments repatriation policy for Haitian immigrants. After Mexico, Dunham began touring in Europe, where she was an immediate sensation. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. "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." A short biography on the legendary Katherine Dunham.All information found at: kdcah.org Enjoy the short history lesson and visit dancingindarkskin.com for mo. Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. Question 2. In 1963 Dunham was commissioned to choreograph Aida at New York's Metropolitan Opera Company, with Leontyne Price in the title role. 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.
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