katherine dunham fun facts katherine dunham fun facts

Her work inspired many. 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. [13] Under their tutelage, she showed great promise in her ethnographic studies of dance. 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. 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. Katherine Dunham was a rebel among rebels. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. Katherine Dunham and John Pratt married in 1949 to adopt Marie-Christine, a French 14-month-old baby. Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. He was only one of a number of international celebrities who were Dunham's friends. Additionally, she was named one of the most influential African American anthropologists. ", 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.". [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. ", "Kaiso! Short Biography. When you have faith in something, it's your reason to be alive and to fight for it. 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. He lived on 5 January 1931 and passed away on 1 December 1989. She expressed a hope that time and the "war for tolerance and democracy" (this was during World War II) would bring a change. Search input Search submit button. [5] She had an older brother, Albert Jr., with whom she had a close relationship. 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. Born: June 22, 1909. ", "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. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. This initiative drew international publicity to the plight of the Haitian boat-people and U.S. discrimination against them. 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. Her dance company was provided with rent-free studio space for three years by an admirer and patron, Lee Shubert; it had an initial enrollment of 350 students. You dance because you have to. By the time she received an M.A. Katherine Dunham. 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. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology through African American Dance Pedagogy." 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 Facts that are Fun!!! She also created several other works of choreography, including The Emperor Jones (a response to the play by Eugene O'Neill) and Barrelhouse. "[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 was also consulted on costuming for the Egyptian and Ethiopian dress. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. As I document in my book Katherine Dunham: Dance and the . A actor. While in Haiti, she hasn't only studied Vodun rituals, but also participated and became a mambo, female high priest in the Vodun religion. Dunham became interested in both writing and dance at a young age. After the tour, in 1945, the Dunham company appeared in the short-lived Blue Holiday at the Belasco Theater in New York, and in the more successful Carib Song at the Adelphi Theatre. 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. 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. "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology." Example. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . [11], During her time in Chicago, Dunham enjoyed holding social gatherings and inviting visitors to her apartment. [60], However, this decision did not keep her from engaging with and highly influencing the discipline for the rest of her life and beyond. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . In 1947 it was expanded and granted a charter as the Katherine Dunham School of Cultural Arts. 30 seconds. 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". 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. The Washington Post called her "dancer Katherine the Great." The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. Choreographer. 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. [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. Here are some interesting facts about Alvin Ailey for you: Facts about Alvin Ailey 1: the popular modern dance He continued as her artistic collaborator until his death in 1986. 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. 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. Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." She was likely named after Catherine of Aragon. She wanted to know not only how people danced but why they dance. "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." If Cities Could Dance: East St. Louis. Her father was given a number of important positions at court . ZURICH Othella Dallas lay on the hardwood . 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. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. The company soon embarked on a tour of venues in South America, Europe, and North Africa. Birth Year: 1956. 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. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. 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. 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. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. Dunham is still taught at widely recognized dance institutions such as The American Dance Festival and The Ailey School. ", 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. Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham". She was the recipient of a Kennedy Center Honors Award, the Plaque d'Honneur Haitian-American Chamber of Commerce Award, and a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. 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. She also choreographed and appeared in Broadway musicals, operas and the film Cabin in the Sky. 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. ", 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. Katherine Dunham, was published in a limited, numbered edition of 130 copies by the Institute for the Study of Social Change. This was the beginning of more than 20 years during which Dunham performed with her company almost exclusively outside the United States. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. - Pic Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images. She returned to graduate school and submitted a master's thesis to the anthropology faculty. From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. 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. When she was not performing, Dunham and Pratt often visited Haiti for extended stays. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. 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. Beda Schmid. 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. As celebrities, their voices can have a profound influence on popular culture. 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. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. Using some ballet vernacular, Dunham incorporates these principles into a set of class exercises she labeled as "processions". 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. [15] Dunham's relationship with Redfield in particular was highly influential. 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. [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. Barrelhouse. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. 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. [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. 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 Katherine Dunham died on May 21 2006. The following year, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Dunham to be technical cultural advisera sort of cultural ambassadorto the government of Senegal in West Africa. Transforming Anthropology 20, no. In the 1970s, scholars of Anthropology such as Dell Hymes and William S. Willis began to discuss Anthropology's participation in scientific colonialism. He had been a promising philosophy professor at Howard University and a protg of Alfred North Whitehead. After Mexico, Dunham began touring in Europe, where she was an immediate sensation. . 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. 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. Katherine Dunham was an American dancer and choreographer, credited to have brought the influence of Africa and the Caribbean into American dance . Radcliffe-Brown, Fred Eggan, and many others that she met in and around the University of Chicago. most important pedagogues original work which includes :Batuada. 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. The Katherine Dunham Fund buys and adapts for use as a museum an English Regency-style townhouse on Pennsylvania Avenue at Tenth Street in East Saint Louis. [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]. She choreographed for Broadway stage productions and operaincluding Aida (1963) for the New York Metropolitan Opera. 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. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. She did not complete the other requirements for that degree, however, as she realized that her professional calling was performance and choreography. 6 Katherine Dunham facts. Katherine Dunham. In 1946, Dunham returned to Broadway for a revue entitled Bal Ngre, which received glowing notices from theater and dance critics. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Then she traveled to Martinique and to Trinidad and Tobago for short stays, primarily to do an investigation of Shango, the African god who was still considered an important presence in West Indian religious culture. Interesting facts. 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. The result of this trip was Dunham's Master's thesis entitled "The Dances of Haiti". Tune in & learn about the inception of. Some Facts. used throughout the world choros, rite de passage, los Idies, and. She . The program she created runs to this day at the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, revolutionizing lives with dance and culture. After he became her artistic collaborator, they became romantically involved. At the time, the South Side of Chicago was experiencing the effects of the Great Migration were Black southerners attempted to escape the Jim Crow South and poverty. 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. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. As a student, she studied under anthropologists such as A.R. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy." The Katherine Dunham Company toured throughout North America in the mid-1940s, performing as well in the racially segregated South. 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. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy. After running it as a tourist spot, with Vodun dancing as entertainment, in the early 1960s, she sold it to a French entrepreneur in the early 1970s. In 1939, Dunham's company gave additional performances in Chicago and Cincinnati and then returned to New York. 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] The Dunham Technique is still taught today. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, .