katherine dunham fun facts

8 Katherine Dunham facts. A photographic exhibit honoring her achievements, entitled Kaiso! - Pic Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images. 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. Decolonozing Anthropology: Katherine "the Great" Dunham Leverne Backstrom, president of the board of the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, still does. Pas de Deux from "L'Ag'Ya". Fighting for Katherine Dunham's Dream in East St. Louis However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student at the University of Chicago. 288 pages, Hardcover. It was not a success, closing after only eight performances. [54], Six decades before this new wave of anthropological discourse began, Katherine Dunham's work demonstrated anthropology being used as a force for challenging racist and colonial ideologies. He started doing stand-up comedy in the late 1980s. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." Alumnae include Eartha Kitt, Marlon Brando and Julie Belafonte. Katherine Dunham by:Miracle | Other Quiz - Quizizz [3] Dunham was an innovator in African-American modern dance as well as a leader in the field of dance anthropology, or ethnochoreology. Dunham Company member Dana McBroom-Manno was selected as a featured artist in the show, which played on the Music Fair Circuit. Transforming Anthropology 20, no. In September 1943, under the management of the impresario Sol Hurok, her troupe opened in Tropical Review at the Martin Beck Theater. 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. In the summer of 1941, after the national tour of Cabin in the Sky ended, they went to Mexico, where inter-racial marriages were less controversial than in the United States, and engaged in a commitment ceremony on 20 July, which thereafter they gave as the date of their wedding. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. 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. Text:. Her many original works include Lagya, Shango and Bal Negre. Dunham became interested in both writing and dance at a young age. There, her father ran a dry-cleaning business.[8]. (She later wrote Journey to Accompong, a book describing her experiences there.) Died On : May 21, 2006. Schools inspired by it were later opened in Stockholm, Paris, and Rome by dancers who had been trained by Dunham. While trying to help the young people in the community, Dunham was arrested. [20] She recorded her findings through ethnographic fieldnotes and by learning dance techniques, music and song, alongside her interlocutors. For almost 30 years she maintained the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-supported American black dance troupe at that time. 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. Katherine Dunham died on May 21 2006. One recurring theme that I really . In 1946, Dunham returned to Broadway for a revue entitled Bal Ngre, which received glowing notices from theater and dance critics. Katherine Dunham. Banks, Ojeya Cruz. "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." Such visitors included ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, Robert Redfield, Bronisaw Malinowski, A.R. In particular, Dunham is a model for the artist as activist. 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. Dunham, Katherine Mary (1909-2006) By Das, Joanna Dee. 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. She . Through much study and time, she eventually became one of the founders of the field of dance anthropology. Years later, after extensive studies and initiations in Haiti,[21] she became a mambo in the Vodun religion. In 1935, Dunham received grants to conduct fieldwork in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Haiti to study Afro-Caribbean dance and other rituals. 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. Katherine Dunham Fused Together Dance and Anthropology Both remained close friends of Dunham for many years, until her death. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham". [15] Dunham's relationship with Redfield in particular was highly influential. 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. Kantherine Dunham passed away of natural causes on May 21, 2006, one month before her 97th birthday. Katherine Dunham - Wikipedia The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance. He needn't have bothered. 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. 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. 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. Dunham technique is a codified dance training technique developed by Katherine Dunham in the mid 20th century. Two years later she formed an all-Black company, which began touring extensively by 1943. Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." Upon returning to Chicago, the company performed at the Goodman Theater and at the Abraham Lincoln Center. Dancer. 1910-2006. The restructuring of heavy industry had caused the loss of many working-class jobs, and unemployment was high in the city. She expressed a hope that time and the "war for tolerance and democracy" (this was during World War II) would bring a change. 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. Who Was Katherine Dunham??? by Adrianne Hoopes - Prezi "[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. As a graduate student in anthropology in the mid-1930s, she conducted dance research in the Caribbean. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. Gender: Female. Katherine Dunham in a photograph from around 1945. She also continued refining and teaching the Dunham Technique to transmit that knowledge to succeeding generations of dance students. Katherine Dunham. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. [13], Dunham officially joined the department in 1929 as an anthropology major,[13] while studying dances of the African diaspora. Katherine Mary Dunham was born in Chicago in 1909. Some Facts. [4], Katherine Mary Dunham was born on 22 June 1909 in a Chicago hospital. She was a woman far ahead of her time. 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. [16], After her research tour of the Caribbean in 1935, Dunham returned to Chicago in the late spring of 1936. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Members of Dunham's last New York Company auditioned to become members of the Met Ballet Company. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. Radcliffe-Brown, Edward Sapir, Melville Herskovits, Lloyd Warner and Bronisaw Malinowski. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. In 1976, Dunham was guest artist-in-residence and lecturer for Afro-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. Katherine Dunham Timeline | Articles and Essays | Selections from the Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . 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. About Modern Dance - Jacqueline Burgess Jacqueline Burgess Born in Glen Ellyn, IL #6. The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. 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. "Her mastery of body movement was considered 'phenomenal.' [54] Her legacy within Anthropology and Dance Anthropology continues to shine with each new day. Born in 1909 during the turn of the century Victorian era in the small town of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, she became one of the first dance anthropologists, started the first internationally-touring pre-dominantly black dance company . Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, was a descendant of slaves from West Africa and Madagascar. 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. The Dunham company's international tours ended in Vienna in 1960. She is a celebrity dancer. Her alumni included many future celebrities, such as Eartha Kitt. Name: Mae C. Jemison. Dunham created many all-black dance groups. 2 (2020): 259271. She did this for many reasons. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution". Katherine Dunham's Biography - The HistoryMakers London: Zed Books, 1999. See "Selected Bibliography of Writings by Katherine Dunham" in Clark and Johnson. Many of Dunham students who attended free public classes in East St. Louis Illinois speak highly about the influence of her open technique classes and artistic presence in the city. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Additionally, she was named one of the most influential African American anthropologists. 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. Born: June 22, 1909. She decided to live for a year in relative isolation in Kyoto, Japan, where she worked on writing memoirs of her youth. 47 Copy quote. April 30, 2019. [20] She also became friends with, among others, Dumarsais Estim, then a high-level politician, who became president of Haiti in 1949. Long, Richard A, and Joe Nash. THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE. If Cities Could Dance: East St. Louis. Katherine Dunham Helped Teach the World to Dance : NPR ..American Anthropologist.. 112, no. Named Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt, she was their only child. 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. Beda Schmid. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. One of the most significant dancers, artists, and anthropologic figures of the 20th century, Katherine Dunham defied racial and gender boundaries during a . While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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. In my mind, it's the most fascinating thing in the world to learn".[19]. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . During her studies, Dunham attended a lecture on anthropology, where she was introduced to the concept of dance as a cultural symbol. Jobson, Ryan Cecil. 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. By the time she received an M.A. Dunham, Katherine Mary (1909-2006) - Routledge However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. 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. 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. Each procession builds on the last and focuses on conditioning the body to prepare for specific exercises that come later. Over her long career, she choreographed more than ninety individual dances. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. In 1938 she joined the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago and composed a ballet, LAgYa, based on Caribbean dance. 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]. It was a venue for Dunham to teach young black dancers about their African heritage. Dunham's mother, Fanny June Dunham (ne Taylor), who was of mixed French-Canadian and Native American heritage. As I document in my book Katherine Dunham: Dance and the . They had particular success in Denmark and France. The school was managed in Dunham's absence by Syvilla Fort, one of her dancers, and thrived for about 10 years. 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. [60], However, this decision did not keep her from engaging with and highly influencing the discipline for the rest of her life and beyond. Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. [26] This work was never produced in Joplin's lifetime, but since the 1970s, it has been successfully produced in many venues. Anthropology News 33, no. Dunham was always a formidable advocate for racial equality, boycotting segregated venues in the United States and using her performances to highlight discrimination. 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. for teaching dance that is still la'ag'ya , Shange , Veraruzana, nanigo. About that time Dunham met and began to work with John Thomas Pratt, a Canadian who had become one of America's most renowned costume and theatrical set designers. The company returned to New York. Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! Katherine Dunham: The Artist as Activist During World War II. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Katherine-Dunham, The Kennedy Center - Biography of Katherine Dunham, Katherine Dunham - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Cruz Banks, Ojeya. 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. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. Claude Conyers, "Film Choreography by Katherine Dunham, 19391964," in Clark and Johnson. When she was not performing, Dunham and Pratt often visited Haiti for extended stays. Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of Black culture. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . He was only one of a number of international celebrities who were Dunham's friends. Katherine Dunham, it includes photographs highlighting the many dimensions of Dunham's life and work. You can't learn about dances until you learn about people. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees.

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