Johnson 's gift for numbers allowed her to accelerate through her education. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. She is a celebrity dancer. [14] Redfield, Herskovits, and Sapir's contributions to cultural anthropology, exposed Dunham to topics and ideas that inspired her creatively and professionally. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Dunham married Jordis McCoo, a black postal worker, in 1931, but he did not share her interests and they gradually drifted apart, finally divorcing in 1938. In 1935, Dunham received grants to conduct fieldwork in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Haiti to study Afro-Caribbean dance and other rituals. Another fact is that it was the sometime home of the pioneering black American dancer Katherine Dunham. 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. 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. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. [14] For example, she was highly influenced both by Sapir's viewpoint on culture being made up of rituals, beliefs, customs and artforms, and by Herkovits' and Redfield's studies highlighting links between African and African American cultural expression. Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. American Anthropologist 122, no. As celebrities, their voices can have a profound influence on popular culture. 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. Video. Example. ", 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. Tune in & learn about the inception of. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. [16], After her research tour of the Caribbean in 1935, Dunham returned to Chicago in the late spring of 1936. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. [9] In high school she joined the Terpsichorean Club and began to learn a kind of modern dance based on the ideas of Europeans [mile Jaques-Dalcroze] and [Rudolf von Laban]. This was the beginning of more than 20 years during which Dunham performed with her company almost exclusively outside the United States. 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. 1. 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. In 19341936, Dunham performed as a guest artist with the ballet company of the Chicago Opera. After noticing that Katherine enjoyed working and socializing with people, her brother suggested that she study Anthropology. Her mother, Fanny June Dunham, who, according to Dunham's memoir, possessed Indian, French Canadian, English and probably African ancestry, died when Dunham was four years old. Deren is now considered to be a pioneer of independent American filmmaking. Banks, Ojeya Cruz. Many of her students, trained in her studios in Chicago and New York City, became prominent in the field of modern dance. Additionally, she was named one of the most influential African American anthropologists. Please scroll down to enjoy more supporting materials. This led to a custody battle over Katherine and her brother, brought on by their maternal relatives. The program included courses in dance, drama, performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies, and Caribbean research. Born in 1909 #28. 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. (Below are 10 Katherine Dunham quotes on positivity. Early in 1936, she arrived in Haiti, where she remained for several months, the first of her many extended stays in that country through her life. If Cities Could Dance: East St. Louis. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. In 1967 she officially retired, after presenting a final show at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. 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. Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. Pas de Deux from "L'Ag'Ya". From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy." She was one of the first researchers in anthropology to use her research of Afro-Haitian dance and culture for remedying racist misrepresentation of African culture in the miseducation of Black Americans. She returned to graduate school and submitted a master's thesis to the anthropology faculty. Years later, after extensive studies and initiations in Haiti,[21] she became a mambo in the Vodun religion. "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,". The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. (She later took a Ph.D. in anthropology.) Katherine Dunham. 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. [18] to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree. Facts About Katherine Dunham. [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. informed by new methods of america's most highly regarded. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 May 21, 2006)[1] was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Birth Country: United States. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution". As a graduate student in anthropology in the mid-1930s, she conducted dance research in the Caribbean. In 1976, Dunham was guest artist-in-residence and lecturer for Afro-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. She choreographed for Broadway stage productions and operaincluding Aida (1963) for the New York Metropolitan Opera. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." Our site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids . Birth Year: 1956. Katherine Dunham PhB'36. In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. Charm Dance from "L'Ag'Ya". 288 pages, Hardcover. Updates? "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. She died a month before her 97th birthday.[53]. "In introducing authentic African dance-movements to her company and audiences, Dunhamperhaps more than any other choreographer of the timeexploded the possibilities of modern dance expression.". Dunham herself was quietly involved in both the Voodoo and Orisa communities of the Caribbean and the United States, in particular with the Lucumi tradition. The first work, entitled A Touch of Innocence: Memoirs of Childhood, was published in 1959. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. Members of Dunham's last New York Company auditioned to become members of the Met Ballet Company. [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). 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. 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. Katherine Dunham and John Pratt married in 1949 to adopt Marie-Christine, a French 14-month-old baby. 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. The company returned to New York. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Washington Post called her "dancer Katherine the Great." When you have faith in something, it's your reason to be alive and to fight for it. 52 Copy quote. Katherine Dunham was born on the 22nd of June, 1909 in Chicago before she was taken by her parents to their hometown at Glen Ellyn in Illinois. Barrelhouse. She also danced professionally, owned a dance company, and operated a dance studio. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. She was likely named after Catherine of Aragon. [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. Her alumni included many future celebrities, such as Eartha Kitt. 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. [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. [6][10] While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children. 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. USA. All rights reserved. [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]. 4 (December 2010): 640642. In 1963 Dunham was commissioned to choreograph Aida at New York's Metropolitan Opera Company, with Leontyne Price in the title role. Initially scheduled for a single performance, the show was so popular that the troupe repeated it for another ten Sundays. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. As an African American woman, she broke barriers of race and gender, most notably as the founder of an important dance company that toured the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia for several decades. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . 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. The Met Ballet Company dancers studied Dunham Technique at Dunham's 42nd Street dance studio for the entire summer leading up to the season opening of Aida. Birthday : June 22, 1909. 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. Name: Mae C. Jemison. 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. 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." While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. forming a powerful personal. This gained international headlines and the embarrassed local police officials quickly released her. ", Black writer Arthur Todd described her as "one of our national treasures". Through her ballet teachers, she was also exposed to Spanish, East Indian, Javanese, and Balinese dance forms.[23]. [7] The family moved to a predominantly white neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. Early in 1947 Dunham choreographed the musical play Windy City, which premiered at the Great Northern Theater in Chicago. Dunham's mother, Fanny June Dunham (ne Taylor), who was of mixed French-Canadian and Native American heritage. From the 40s to the 60s, Dunham and her dance troupe toured to 57 countries of the world. 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. 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. The living Dunham tradition has persisted. [1] She is best known for bringing African and Caribbean dance styles to the US. 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]. The result of this trip was Dunham's Master's thesis entitled "The Dances of Haiti". American dancer and choreographer (19092006). In 2000 she was named one of the first one hundred of "America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures" by the Dance Heritage Coalition. In recognition of her stance, President Aristide later awarded her a medal of Haiti's highest honor. Katherine Dunham. Its premiere performance on December 9, 1950, at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile,[39][40] generated considerable public interest in the early months of 1951.
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