The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. 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.". Dunham is credited with introducing international audiences to African aesthetics and establishing African dance as a true art form. However, after her father remarried, Albert Sr. and his new wife, Annette Poindexter Dunham, took in Katherine and her brother. The program included courses in dance, drama, performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies, and Caribbean research. The PATC teaching staff was made up of former members of Dunham's touring company, as well as local residents. She also appeared in the Broadway musicals "Bal . April 30, 2019. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. 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! After this well-received performance in 1931, the group was disbanded. 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 1945, Dunham opened and directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theatre near Times Square in New York City. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Short Biography. But Dunham, who was Black and held a doctorate in anthropology, had hoped to spur a "cultural awakening on the East Side," she told . Photo provided by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Morris Library Special Collections Research Center. Occupation(s): 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 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. 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. Her work inspired many. for the developing one of the the world performed many of her. [26] This work was never produced in Joplin's lifetime, but since the 1970s, it has been successfully produced in many venues. "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." Receiving a post graduate academic fellowship, she went to the Caribbean to study the African diaspora, ethnography and local dance. On another occasion, in October 1944, after getting a rousing standing ovation in Louisville, Kentucky, she told the all-white audience that she and her company would not return because "your management will not allow people like you to sit next to people like us." She also continued refining and teaching the Dunham Technique to transmit that knowledge to succeeding generations of dance students. Nationality. Anna Kisselgoff, a dance critic for The New York Times, called Dunham "a major pioneer in Black theatrical dance ahead of her time." Dunhams writings, sometimes published under the pseudonym Kaye Dunn, include Katherine Dunhams Journey to Accompong (1946), an account of her anthropological studies in Jamaica; A Touch of Innocence (1959), an autobiography; Island Possessed (1969); and several articles for popular and scholarly journals. Dunham early became interested in dance. Video footage of Dunham technique classes show a strong emphasis on anatomical alignment, breath, and fluidity. ", Black writer Arthur Todd described her as "one of our national treasures". As this show continued its run at the Windsor Theater, Dunham booked her own company in the theater for a Sunday performance. [54] Her legacy within Anthropology and Dance Anthropology continues to shine with each new day. 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 fun factsaiken county sc register of deeds katherine dunham fun facts She was hailed for her smooth and fluent choreography and dominated a stage with what has been described as 'an unmitigating radiant force providing beauty with a feminine touch full of variety and nuance. The Dunham troupe toured for two decades, stirring audiences around the globe with their dynamic and highly theatrical performances. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. Dunham, Katherine Mary (1909-2006) By Das, Joanna Dee. Time reported that, "she went on a 47-day hunger strike to protest the U.S.'s forced repatriation of Haitian refugees. [4] In 1938, using materials collected ethnographic fieldwork, Dunham submitted a thesis, The Dances of Haiti: A Study of Their Material Aspect, Organization, Form, and Function,. [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. Genres Novels. Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance. All rights reserved. She did this for many reasons. (She later wrote Journey to Accompong, a book describing her experiences there.) 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 technique is a codified dance training technique developed by Katherine Dunham in the mid 20th century. Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . One example of this was studying how dance manifests within Haitian Vodou. This was the beginning of more than 20 years during which Dunham performed with her company almost exclusively outside the United States. 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. 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. The committee voted unanimously to award $2,400 (more than $40,000 in today's money) to support her fieldwork in the Caribbean. Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. He continued as her artistic collaborator until his death in 1986. 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. Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. 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. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. Katherine Dunham, pseudonym Kaye Dunn, (born June 22, 1909, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.died May 21, 2006, New York, New York), American dancer and choreographer who was a pioneer in the field of dance anthropology. 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]. Later in the year she opened a cabaret show in Las Vegas, during the first year that the city became a popular entertainment as well as gambling destination. The Washington Post called her "dancer Katherine the Great." They had particular success in Denmark and France. Tropics (choreographed 1937) and Le Jazz Hot (1938) were among the earliest of many works based on her research. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. New York City, U.S. 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. 6 Katherine Dunham facts. Interesting facts. Book. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of Black culture. [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. 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. Search input Search submit button. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. [16], After her research tour of the Caribbean in 1935, Dunham returned to Chicago in the late spring of 1936. Dancer, anthropologist, social worker, activist, author. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. [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. Initially scheduled for a single performance, the show was so popular that the troupe repeated it for another ten Sundays. Dancer, choreographer, composer and songwriter, educated at the University of Chicago. Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] [2] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. A fictional work based on her African experiences, Kasamance: A Fantasy, was published in 1974. Featuring lively Latin American and Caribbean dances, plantation dances, and American social dances, the show was an immediate success. At the age of 82, Dunham went on a hunger strike in . 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. The impresario Sol Hurok, manager of Dunham's troupe for a time, once had Ms. Dunham's legs insured for $250,000. She arranged a fundraising cabaret for a Methodist Church, where she did her first public performance when she was 15 years old. 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. (She later took a Ph.D. in anthropology.) 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. They were stranded without money because of bad management by their impresario. from the University of Chicago, she had acquired a vast knowledge of the dances and rituals of the Black peoples of tropical America. 7 Katherine Dunham facts. One of the most important dance artists of the twentieth century, dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) created works that thrilled audiences the world over. [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. Radcliffe-Brown, Edward Sapir, Melville Herskovits, Lloyd Warner and Bronisaw Malinowski. In 1978, an anthology of writings by and about her, also entitled Kaiso! She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." [20] She also became friends with, among others, Dumarsais Estim, then a high-level politician, who became president of Haiti in 1949. "[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. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. Dancers are frequently instructed to place weight on the balls of their feet, lengthen their lumbar and cervical spines, and breathe from the abdomen and not the chest. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. The next year the production was repeated with Katherine Dunham in the lead and with students from Dunham's Negro Dance Group in the ensemble. Katherine Dunham got an early bachelor's degree in anthropology as a student at the University of Chicago. Subsequently, Dunham undertook various choreographic commissions at several venues in the United States and in Europe. Katherine Dunham. . In 1986 the American Anthropological Association gave her a Distinguished Service Award. Dunham became interested in both writing and dance at a young age. The show created a minor controversy in the press. In the 1970s, scholars of Anthropology such as Dell Hymes and William S. Willis began to discuss Anthropology's participation in scientific colonialism. Dunham also studied ballet with Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page, who became prima ballerina of the Chicago Opera. Katherine Dunham. A continuation based on her experiences in Haiti, Island Possessed, was published in 1969. In 1937 she traveled with them to New York to take part in A Negro Dance Evening, organized by Edna Guy at the 92nd Street YMHA. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. He has released six stand-up specials and one album of Christmas songs. When she was not performing, Dunham and Pratt often visited Haiti for extended stays. USA. ", "Dunham's European success led to considerable imitation of her work in European revues it is safe to say that the perspectives of concert-theatrical dance in Europe were profoundly affected by the performances of the Dunham troupe. In September 1943, under the management of the impresario Sol Hurok, her troupe opened in Tropical Review at the Martin Beck Theater. The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. 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. 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. Katherine Dunham was a rebel among rebels. At the recommendation of her mentor Melville Herskovits, PhB'20a Northwestern University anthropologist and African studies expertDunham's calling cards read both "dancer" and . theatrical designers john pratt. 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". But what set her work even further apart from Martha Graham and Jos Limn was her fusion of that foundation with Afro-Caribbean styles. Although Dunham was offered another grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to pursue her academic studies, she chose dance. 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. It was a huge collection of writings by and about Katherine Dunham, so it naturally covered a lot of area. Katherine Dunham is credited Her dance troupe in venues around. 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. ", 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. [13] Under their tutelage, she showed great promise in her ethnographic studies of dance. [59] She ultimately chose to continue her career in dance without her master's degree in anthropology. [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. [21] This style of participant observation research was not yet common within the discipline of anthropology. 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. Both remained close friends of Dunham for many years, until her death. [50] Both Dunham and the prince denied the suggestion. [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. In particular, Dunham is a model for the artist as activist. Luminaries like Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Katherine Dunham began to shape and define what this new genre of dance would be. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! Named Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt, she was their only child. A dance choreographer. Barrelhouse. See "Selected Bibliography of Writings by Katherine Dunham" in Clark and Johnson. [4], Katherine Mary Dunham was born on 22 June 1909 in a Chicago hospital. 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. 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]. [60], However, this decision did not keep her from engaging with and highly influencing the discipline for the rest of her life and beyond. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) By Halifu Osumare Katherine Dunham was a world famous dancer, choreographer, author, anthropologist, social activist, and humanitarian. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. 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. forming a powerful personal. 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. "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology. Known for her many innovations, Dunham developed a dance pedagogy, later named the Dunham Technique, a style of movement and exercises based in traditional African dances, to support her choreography. The incident was widely discussed in the Brazilian press and became a hot political issue. ", Kraut, Anthea, "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:48. In 1938 she joined the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago and composed a ballet, LAgYa, based on Caribbean dance. Dance is an essential part of life that has always been with me. Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. She was instrumental in getting respect for Black dancers on the concert dance stage and directed the first self-supported Black dance company. Banks, Ojeya Cruz. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. Katherine Dunham in a photograph from around 1945. [1] The Dunham Technique is still taught today. 2 (2020): 259271. Katherine Dunham, June 22, Katherine Dunham was born to a French -Canadian woman and an African American man in the state of Chicago in America, Her birthday was 22nd June in the year 1909. . THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE. Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, family life, achievements and fun facts about him. Video. 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. She is a celebrity dancer. Kantherine Dunham passed away of natural causes on May 21, 2006, one month before her 97th birthday. Katherine Dunham. Never completing her required coursework for her graduate degree, she departed for Broadway and Hollywood. 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. [20] She recorded her findings through ethnographic fieldnotes and by learning dance techniques, music and song, alongside her interlocutors. In 1939, Dunham's company gave additional performances in Chicago and Cincinnati and then returned to New York. It was considered one of the best learning centers of its type at the time. Later Dunham established a second home in Senegal, and she occasionally returned there to scout for talented African musicians and dancers. She . While trying to help the young people in the community, Dunham was arrested. "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.". This led to a custody battle over Katherine and her brother, brought on by their maternal relatives. Katherine Dunham facts for kids. Kraut, Anthea. 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. From the beginning of their association, around 1938, Pratt designed the sets and every costume Dunham ever wore. 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. However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student at the University of Chicago. 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. 4 (December 2010): 640642. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. Anthropology News 33, no. American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. It closed after only 38 performances. Over her long career, she choreographed more than ninety individual dances. 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. Another fact is that it was the sometime home of the pioneering black American dancer Katherine Dunham. As a result, Dunham would later experience some diplomatic "difficulties" on her tours. In December 1951, a photo of Dunham dancing with Ismaili Muslim leader Prince Ali Khan at a private party he had hosted for her in Paris appeared in a popular magazine and fueled rumors that the two were romantically linked. However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student . The living Dunham tradition has persisted. Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. Dunham early became interested in dance. Dunham continued to develop dozens of new productions during this period, and the company met with enthusiastic audiences in every city. Even in retirement Dunham continued to choreograph: one of her major works was directing the premiere full, posthumous production Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha in 1972, a joint production of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Morehouse College chorus in Atlanta, conducted by Robert Shaw. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. 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. Birth Country: United States. Additionally, she was named one of the most influential African American anthropologists. Her the best movie is Casbah. Dunham Company member Dana McBroom-Manno was selected as a featured artist in the show, which played on the Music Fair Circuit. [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. Dunham, Katherine dnm . Jeff Dunham hails from Dallas, Texas. It was a venue for Dunham to teach young black dancers about their African heritage. and creative team that lasted. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy. Upon returning to Chicago, the company performed at the Goodman Theater and at the Abraham Lincoln Center. Through much study and time, she eventually became one of the founders of the field of dance anthropology. International dance icon Katherine Dunham (right,) also an anthropologist, founded an art museum in East St. Louis, IL. 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). 1. In 1967 she officially retired, after presenting a final show at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. June 22 Dancer #4. 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. 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. All You Need to Know About Dunham Technique. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Katherine Dunham's long and remarkable life spanned the fields of anthropology, dance, theater, and inner city social work.As an anthropologist, Dunham studied and lived among the peoples of Haiti and other Caribbean islands; as a dancer and choreographer she combined "primitive" Caribbean dances with . 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. 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. Kraft from the story by Jerry Horwin and Seymour B. Robinson, directed by Andrew L. Stone, produced by William LeBaron and starring Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Cab Calloway.The film is one of two Hollywood musicals with an African . Retrieved from the Library of Congress,
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