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288 pages, Hardcover. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th . Beda Schmid. 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. Dunham's last appearance on Broadway was in 1962 in Bamboche!, which included a few former Dunham dancers in the cast and a contingent of dancers and drummers from the Royal Troupe of Morocco. Interesting facts. She . [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. 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. [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. Throughout her career, Dunham occasionally published articles about her anthropological research (sometimes under the pseudonym of Kaye Dunn) and sometimes lectured on anthropological topics at universities and scholarly societies.[27]. Long, Richard A, and Joe Nash. [13], Dunham officially joined the department in 1929 as an anthropology major,[13] while studying dances of the African diaspora. Choreographer. until hia death in the 1986. There she met John Pratt, an artist and designer and they got married in 1941 until his death in 1986. 1910-2006. for the developing one of the the world performed many of her. Her world-renowned modern dance company exposed audiences to the diversity of dance, and her schools brought dance training and education to a variety of populations sharing her passion and commitment to dance as a medium of cultural communication. In 1964, Dunham settled in East St. Louis, and took up the post of artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University in nearby Edwardsville. In 1963, Dunham became the first African-American to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera. 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. While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. 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. However, one key reason was that she knew she would be able to reach a broader public through dance, as opposed to the inaccessible institutions of academia. 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. The impresario Sol Hurok, manager of Dunham's troupe for a time, once had Ms. Dunham's legs insured for $250,000. In my mind, it's the most fascinating thing in the world to learn".[19]. [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. 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. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. [12] Katherine Dunham, the dancer, choreographer, teacher and anthropologist whose pioneering work introduced much of the black heritage in dance to the stage, died Sunday at her home in Manhattan. Question 2. 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]. A continuation based on her experiences in Haiti, Island Possessed, was published in 1969. 2023 The HistoryMakers. 47 Copy quote. She lectured every summer until her death at annual Masters' Seminars in St. Louis, which attracted dance students from around the world. 3 (1992): 24. Dunham's background as an anthropologist gave the dances of the opera a new authenticity. Her the best movie is Casbah. This won international acclaim and is now taught as a modern dance style in many dance schools. In 1963, she became the first African American to choreograph for the Met since Hemsley Winfield set the dances for The Emperor Jones in 1933. 6 Katherine Dunham facts. . She is best known for bringing African and Caribbean dance styles to the US [1]. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. Through much study and time, she eventually became one of the founders of the field of dance anthropology. 113 views, 2 likes, 4 loves, 0 comments, 6 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Institute for Dunham Technique Certification: Fun facts about Julie Belafonte brought to you by IDTC! She was also consulted on costuming for the Egyptian and Ethiopian dress. Her work inspired many. A fictional work based on her African experiences, Kasamance: A Fantasy, was published in 1974. Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance. Episode 5 of Break the FACTS! However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student at the University of Chicago. 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]. All rights reserved. USA. [17] She was one of the first African-American women to attend this college and to earn these degrees. The result of this trip was Dunham's Master's thesis entitled "The Dances of Haiti". [3] Dunham was an innovator in African-American modern dance as well as a leader in the field of dance anthropology, or ethnochoreology. Died On : May 21, 2006. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. 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. Fun Facts. Facts about Alvin Ailey talk about the famous African-American activist and choreographer. It was not a success, closing after only eight performances. Katherine Dunham is the inventor of the Dunham technique and a renowned dancer and choreographer of African-American descent. As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. The program she created runs to this day at the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, revolutionizing lives with dance and culture. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. [ ] Katherine Dunham was born on June 22, 1909 (age 96) in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. [59] She ultimately chose to continue her career in dance without her master's degree in anthropology. [22] Here are 10 facts about her fascinating life. 1. Her alumni included many future celebrities, such as Eartha Kitt. Dun ham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. In August she was awarded a bachelor's degree, a Ph.B., bachelor of philosophy, with her principal area of study being social anthropology. 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. Pratt, who was white, shared Dunham's interests in African-Caribbean cultures and was happy to put his talents in her service. 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. Understanding that the fact was due to racial discrimination, she made sure the incident was publicized. Anthropology News 33, no. In 1987 she received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, and was also inducted into the. [28] Strongly founded in her anthropological research in the Caribbean, Dunham technique introduces rhythm as the backbone of various widely known modern dance principles including contraction and release,[29] groundedness, fall and recover,[30] counterbalance, and many more. She wrote that he "opened the floodgates of anthropology" for her. katherine dunham fun factsaiken county sc register of deeds katherine dunham fun facts As a result, Dunham would later experience some diplomatic "difficulties" on her tours. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Biography. Jeff Dunham hails from Dallas, Texas. [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. American dancer and choreographer (19092006). On February 22, 2022, Selkirk will offer a unique, one-lot auction titled, Divine Technique: Katherine Dunham Ephemera And Documents. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham". Katherine Dunham, was published in a limited, numbered edition of 130 copies by the Institute for the Study of Social Change. This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. [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. theatrical designers john pratt. [7] The family moved to a predominantly white neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois. Beautiful, Justice, Black. ", 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.". [1] Dunham also created the Dunham Technique. In 1938 she joined the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago and composed a ballet, LAgYa, based on Caribbean dance. The Dunham Technique Ballet African Dancing Her favorite color was platinum Caribbean Dancing Her favorite food was Filet of Sole How she started out Ballet African Dance Caribbean Dance The Dunham Technique wasn't so much as a technique so On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. She was a woman far ahead of her time. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. The Katherine Dunham Company became an incubator for many well known performers, including Archie Savage, Talley Beatty, Janet Collins, Lenwood Morris, Vanoye Aikens, Lucille Ellis, Pearl Reynolds, Camille Yarbrough, Lavinia Williams, and Tommy Gomez. 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. Despite these successes, the company frequently ran into periods of financial difficulties, as Dunham was required to support all of the 30 to 40 dancers and musicians. forming a powerful personal. "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." 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). Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . By Renata Sago. Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. After the 1968 riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Dunham encouraged gang members in the ghetto to come to the center to use drumming and dance to vent their frustrations. Name: Mae C. Jemison. In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. Birth Year: 1956. Featuring lively Latin American and Caribbean dances, plantation dances, and American social dances, the show was an immediate success. Last Name Dunham #5. He was only one of a number of international celebrities who were Dunham's friends. Dunham was born in Chicago on June 22, 1909. Katherine Dunham predated, pioneered, and demonstrated new ways of doing and envisioning Anthropology six decades ahead of the discipline. She made national headlines by staging a hunger strike to protest the U.S. governments repatriation policy for Haitian immigrants. [5] She had an older brother, Albert Jr., with whom she had a close relationship. "[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. She did this for many reasons. The first work, entitled A Touch of Innocence: Memoirs of Childhood, was published in 1959. Dunham, Katherine dnm . Katherine Dunham and John Pratt married in 1949 to adopt Marie-Christine, a French 14-month-old baby. Born Katherine Coleman in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia . 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. Dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist Katherine Dunham was born on June 22, 1910, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small suburb of . When she was not performing, Dunham and Pratt often visited Haiti for extended stays. Throughout her distinguished career, Dunham earned numerous honorary doctorates, awards and honors. The schools she created helped train such notables as Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins in the "Dunham technique." Death . Dunham became interested in both writing and dance at a young age. During these years, the Dunham company appeared in some 33 countries in Europe, North Africa, South America, Australia, and East Asia. With Dunham in the sultry role of temptress Georgia Brown, the show ran for 20 weeks in New York. 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 was commissioned to choreograph Aida at New York's Metropolitan Opera Company, with Leontyne Price in the title role. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. Katherine Dunham, it includes photographs highlighting the many dimensions of Dunham's life and work. 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. [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. It closed after only 38 performances. [61][62][63][64] During this time, in addition to Dunham, numerous Black women such as Zora Neal Hurston, Caroline Bond Day, Irene Diggs, and Erna Brodber were also working to transform the discipline into an anthropology of liberation: employing critical and creative cultural production.[54]. Dunham ended her fast only after exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Jesse Jackson came to her and personally requested that she stop risking her life for this cause. See "Selected Bibliography of Writings by Katherine Dunham" in Clark and Johnson. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. A highlight of Dunham's later career was the invitation from New York's Metropolitan Opera to stage dances for a new production of Aida, starring soprano Leontyne Price. There, her father ran a dry-cleaning business.[8]. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him. According to the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, Dunham never thought she'd have a career in dance, although she did study with ballerina and choreographer Ruth Page, among others. 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'. Childhood & Early Life. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. Claude Conyers, "Film Choreography by Katherine Dunham, 19391964," in Clark and Johnson. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. Years later, after extensive studies and initiations in Haiti,[21] she became a mambo in the Vodun religion. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. Dunham technique is a codified dance training technique developed by Katherine Dunham in the mid 20th century. Dunham also received a grant to work with Professor Melville Herskovits of Northwestern University, whose ideas about retention of African culture among African Americans served as a base for her research in the Caribbean. American Anthropologist 122, no. 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. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. First Name Katherine #37. One of her fellow professors, with whom she collaborated, was architect Buckminster Fuller. You dance because you have to. The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) is revered as one of the great pillars of American dance history. Actress: Star Spangled Rhythm. teaches us about the impact Katherine Dunham left on the dance community & on the world. Occupation(s): Many of her students, trained in her studios in Chicago and New York City, became prominent in the field of modern dance. She and her company frequently had difficulties finding adequate accommodations while on tour because in many regions of the country, black Americans were not allowed to stay at hotels. Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. Banks, Ojeya Cruz. On graduating with a bachelors degree in anthropology she undertook field studies in the Caribbean and in Brazil. [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. 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. Anna Kisselgoff, a dance critic for The New York Times, called Dunham "a major pioneer in Black theatrical dance ahead of her time." All You Need to Know About Dunham Technique. 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 1966, she served as a State Department representative for the United States to the first ever World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal. Kraut, Anthea. At the age of 82, Dunham went on a hunger strike in . Video footage of Dunham technique classes show a strong emphasis on anatomical alignment, breath, and fluidity. Subsequently, Dunham undertook various choreographic commissions at several venues in the United States and in Europe. . American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. A actor. Katherine Dunham died on May 21 2006. 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. They had particular success in Denmark and France. A dance choreographer. 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. One of the most significant dancers, artists, and anthropologic figures of the 20th century, Katherine Dunham defied racial and gender boundaries during a . 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. Dunham early became interested in dance. Radcliffe-Brown, Fred Eggan, and many others that she met in and around the University of Chicago. Digital Library. In her biography, Joyce Aschenbrenner (2002), credits Ms Dunham as the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance", and describes her work as: "fundamentally . Birthday : June 22, 1909. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . ", "Kaiso! As celebrities, their voices can have a profound influence on popular culture. In September 1943, under the management of the impresario Sol Hurok, her troupe opened in Tropical Review at the Martin Beck Theater. 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. [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 was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. 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. [15] Dunham's relationship with Redfield in particular was highly influential. Kaiso is an Afro-Caribbean term denoting praise. Birth State: Alabama. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. [51] The couple had officially adopted their foster daughter, a 14-month-old girl they had found as an infant in a Roman Catholic convent nursery in Fresnes, France. Her father was given a number of important positions at court . 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. 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. She was born on June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small . Fun Facts. If Cities Could Dance: East St. Louis. Pas de Deux from "L'Ag'Ya". 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.". One example of this was studying how dance manifests within Haitian Vodou. Others who attended her school included James Dean, Gregory Peck, Jose Ferrer, Jennifer Jones, Shelley Winters, Sidney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty. Dunham continued to develop dozens of new productions during this period, and the company met with enthusiastic audiences in every city. The incident was widely discussed in the Brazilian press and became a hot political issue. It was a huge collection of writings by and about Katherine Dunham, so it naturally covered a lot of area. Dunham and her company appeared in the Hollywood movie Casbah (1948) with Tony Martin, Yvonne De Carlo, and Peter Lorre, and in the Italian film Botta e Risposta, produced by Dino de Laurentiis. Also that year they appeared in the first ever, hour-long American spectacular televised by NBC, when television was first beginning to spread across America. ", Examples include: The Ballet in film "Stormy Weather" (Stone 1943) and "Mambo" (Rossen 1954). Among her dancers selected were Marcia McBroom, Dana McBroom, Jean Kelly, and Jesse Oliver. By 1957, Dunham was under severe personal strain, which was affecting her health. Artists are necessary to social justice movements; they are the ones who possess a gift to see beyond the bleak present and imagine a better future. Dancer, choreographer, composer and songwriter, educated at the University of Chicago. She graduated from Joliet Central High School in 1928, where she played baseball, tennis, basketball, and track; served as vice-president of the French Club, and was on the yearbook staff. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution". Our site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids . [18] to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree. This was the beginning of more than 20 years during which Dunham performed with her company almost exclusively outside the United States. In 1967, Dunham opened the Performing Arts Training Center (PATC) in East St. Louis in an effort to use the arts to combat poverty and urban unrest. ", 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. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. 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". Alumnae include Eartha Kitt, Marlon Brando and Julie Belafonte. Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of Black culture. 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. ", 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.