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. Last Name Dunham #5. 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. Dunham is credited with introducing international audiences to African aesthetics and establishing African dance as a true art form. Born in Glen Ellyn, IL #6. American dancer and choreographer (19092006). Katherine Dunham or the "Matriarch of Black Dance'' as many called her, was a revolutionary African American anthropologist and professional dancer. Katherine Dunham. [11], During her time in Chicago, Dunham enjoyed holding social gatherings and inviting visitors to her apartment. Alumnae include Eartha Kitt, Marlon Brando and Julie Belafonte. American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. 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. 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. Photo provided by Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Morris Library Special Collections Research Center. Born: June 22, 1909. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, creator of the Dunham Technique, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology through African American Dance Pedagogy." Question 2. 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. 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. [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. 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. She is best known for bringing African and Caribbean dance styles to the US [1]. 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. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Lyndon B. Johnson was in the audience for opening night. 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. Birth State: Alabama. She is known for her many innovations, one of her most known . [21] This style of participant observation research was not yet common within the discipline of anthropology. What are some fun facts about Katherine Dunham? 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. Radcliffe-Brown, Fred Eggan, and many others that she met in and around the University of Chicago. [20] She recorded her findings through ethnographic fieldnotes and by learning dance techniques, music and song, alongside her interlocutors. 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." With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. By Renata Sago. 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. 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. from the University of Chicago, she had acquired a vast knowledge of the dances and rituals of the Black peoples of tropical America. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. She was instrumental in getting respect for Black dancers on the concert dance stage and directed the first self-supported Black dance company. You can't learn about dances until you learn about people. Katherine was also an activist, author, educator, and anthropologist. 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]. The troupe performed a suite of West Indian dances in the first half of the program and a ballet entitled Tropic Death, with Talley Beatty, in the second half. A photographic exhibit honoring her achievements, entitled Kaiso! Another fact is that it was the sometime home of the pioneering black American dancer Katherine Dunham. [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. 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. She died a month before her 97th birthday.[53]. Her fieldwork inspired her innovative interpretations of dance in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. Example. In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. Dunham was always a formidable advocate for racial equality, boycotting segregated venues in the United States and using her performances to highlight discrimination. 52 Copy quote. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. She directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, and was artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. [18] to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree. The result of this trip was Dunham's Master's thesis entitled "The Dances of Haiti". [15] Dunham's relationship with Redfield in particular was highly influential. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. Katherine Dunham in 1956. used throughout the world choros, rite de passage, los Idies, and. She lectured every summer until her death at annual Masters' Seminars in St. Louis, which attracted dance students from around the world. [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. 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. 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. [50] Both Dunham and the prince denied the suggestion. 3 (1992): 24. "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology. 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. She choreographed for Broadway stage productions and operaincluding Aida (1963) for the New York Metropolitan Opera. In her biography, Joyce Aschenbrenner (2002), credits Ms Dunham as the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance", and describes her work as: "fundamentally . Banks, Ojeya Cruz. Katherine Dunham always had an interest in dance and anthropology so her main goal in life was to combine them. In the mid-1930s she conducted anthropological research on dance and incorporated her findings into her choreography, blending the rhythms and movements of . Throughout her distinguished career, Dunham earned numerous honorary doctorates, awards and honors. 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. In 1940, she formed the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, which became the premier facility for training dancers. For almost 30 years she maintained the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-supported American black dance troupe at that time. Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . [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. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. 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. By the time she received an M.A. 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. She was likely named after Catherine of Aragon. [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. Dunham is still taught at widely recognized dance institutions such as The American Dance Festival and The Ailey School. However, after her father remarried, Albert Sr. and his new wife, Annette Poindexter Dunham, took in Katherine and her brother. In 1963, Dunham became the first African-American to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera. Katherine Dunham. 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. [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,. In this post, she choreographed the Chicago production of Run Li'l Chil'lun, performed at the Goodman Theater.
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