She was likely named after Catherine of Aragon. [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. Fun facts. Question 2. katherine dunham fun factsaiken county sc register of deeds katherine dunham fun facts 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. Katherine Dunham Quotes On Positivity. Her fieldwork inspired her innovative interpretations of dance in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. Among Dunham's closest friends and colleagues was Julie Robinson, formerly a performer with the Katherine Dunham Company, and her husband, singer and later political activist Harry Belafonte. Dunham's dance career first began in Chicago when she joined the Little Theater Company of Harper Avenue. In 1940, she formed the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, which became the premier facility for training dancers. "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." Dunham was always a formidable advocate for racial equality, boycotting segregated venues in the United States and using her performances to highlight discrimination. "[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. 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. Example. She expressed a hope that time and the "war for tolerance and democracy" (this was during World War II) would bring a change. [7] The family moved to a predominantly white neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois. Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . (She later took a Ph.D. in anthropology.) In 1947 it was expanded and granted a charter as the Katherine Dunham School of Cultural Arts. 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. Called the Matriarch of Black Dance, her groundbreaking repertoire combined innovative interpretations of Caribbean dances, traditional ballet, African rituals and African American rhythms to create the Dunham Technique, which she performed with her dance troupe in venues around the world. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. In 1948, she opened A Caribbean Rhapsody, first at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London, and then took it to the Thtre des Champs-lyses in Paris. - Pic Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images. from the University of Chicago, she had acquired a vast knowledge of the dances and rituals of the Black peoples of tropical America. 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." Tropics (choreographed 1937) and Le Jazz Hot (1938) were among the earliest of many works based on her research. until hia death in the 1986. Her father was of black ancestry, a descendant of slaves from West Africa and Madagascar, while her mother belonged to mixed French-Canadian and Native . In 1978, an anthology of writings by and about her, also entitled Kaiso! [41] The State Department was dismayed by the negative view of American society that the ballet presented to foreign audiences. However, after her father remarried, Albert Sr. and his new wife, Annette Poindexter Dunham, took in Katherine and her brother. In 1939, Dunham's company gave additional performances in Chicago and Cincinnati and then returned to New York. Chin, Elizabeth. Keep reading for more such interesting quotes at Kidadl!) [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. 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. Q. Katherine Mary Dun ham was an African-American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. She was the first American dancer to present indigenous forms on a concert stage, the first to sustain a black dance company. She created and performed in works for stage, clubs, and Hollywood films; she started a school and a technique that continue to flourish; she fought unstintingly for racial justice. Over her long career, she choreographed more than ninety individual dances. "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.". Dana McBroom-Manno still teaches Dunham Technique in New York City and is a Master of Dunham Technique. On February 22, 2022, Selkirk will offer a unique, one-lot auction titled, Divine Technique: Katherine Dunham Ephemera And Documents. . Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) is revered as one of the great pillars of American dance history. Please scroll down to enjoy more supporting materials. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham". [10], After completing her studies at Joliet Junior College in 1928, Dunham moved to Chicago to join her brother Albert at the University of Chicago. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Transforming Anthropology 20, no. 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. Each procession builds on the last and focuses on conditioning the body to prepare for specific exercises that come later. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. Fun Facts. [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. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. 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. 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. This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. Corrections? 7 Katherine Dunham facts. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. She arranged a fundraising cabaret for a Methodist Church, where she did her first public performance when she was 15 years old. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. One of the most significant dancers, artists, and anthropologic figures of the 20th century, Katherine Dunham defied racial and gender boundaries during a . In Boston, then a bastion of conservatism, the show was banned in 1944 after only one performance. 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. Her legacy was far-reaching, both in dance and her cultural and social work. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! It was not a success, closing after only eight performances. Born in Glen Ellyn, IL #6. Video footage of Dunham technique classes show a strong emphasis on anatomical alignment, breath, and fluidity. [6] After her mother died, her father left the children with their aunt Lulu on Chicago's South Side. At the recommendation of her mentor Melville Herskovits, PhB'20a Northwestern University anthropologist and African studies expertDunham's calling cards read both "dancer" and . While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. 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 also continued refining and teaching the Dunham Technique to transmit that knowledge to succeeding generations of dance students. 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. ..American Anthropologist.. 112, no. 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. As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. This led to a custody battle over Katherine and her brother, brought on by their maternal relatives. [54] This wave continued throughout the 1990s with scholars publishing works (such as Decolonizing Anthropology: Moving Further in Anthropology for Liberation,[55] Decolonizing Methodologies,[56] and more recently, The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn[57]) that critique anthropology and the discipline's roles in colonial knowledge production and power structures. However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student at the University of Chicago. . 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. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. Some Facts. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Example. She wrote that he "opened the floodgates of anthropology" for her. It next moved to the West Coast for an extended run of performances there. Childhood & Early Life. Birthday : June 22, 1909. Charm Dance from "L'Ag'Ya". She wanted to know not only how people danced but why they dance. Katherine Dunham PhB'36. By the time she received an M.A. 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. Katherine Dunham. Kaiso is an Afro-Caribbean term denoting praise. 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 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. Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! 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. Although Dunham was offered another grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to pursue her academic studies, she chose dance. 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. Here are some interesting facts about Alvin Ailey for you: Facts about Alvin Ailey 1: the popular modern dance ", Kraut, Anthea, "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:48. Katherine Dunham and John Pratt married in 1949 to adopt Marie-Christine, a French 14-month-old baby. In 1992, at age 83, Dunham went on a highly publicized hunger strike to protest the discriminatory U.S. foreign policy against Haitian boat-people. 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. He lived on 5 January 1931 and passed away on 1 December 1989. The Katherine Dunham Museum is located at 1005 Pennsylvania Avenue, East St. Louis, Illinois. "Kaiso! June 22 Dancer #4. Katherine Mary Dunham (also known as Kaye Dunn, June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. American dancer and choreographer (19092006). 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. 2 (2012): 159168. The schools she created helped train such notables as Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins in the "Dunham technique." Death . 2023 The HistoryMakers. Barrelhouse. London: Zed Books, 1999. Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. 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. She was also consulted on costuming for the Egyptian and Ethiopian dress. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th . This won international acclaim and is now taught as a modern dance style in many dance schools. and creative team that lasted. In 1938 she joined the Federal Theatre Project in Chicago and composed a ballet, LAgYa, based on Caribbean dance. 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. The Dunham company's international tours ended in Vienna in 1960. However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. The 1940s and 1950s saw the successors to the pioneers, give rise to such new stylistic variations through the work of artistic giants such as Jos Limn and Merce Cunningham. ", Examples include: The Ballet in film "Stormy Weather" (Stone 1943) and "Mambo" (Rossen 1954). Here are 10 facts about her fascinating life. Intrigued by this theory, Dunham began to study African roots of dance and, in 1935, she traveled to the Caribbean for field research. Katherine Dunham. By Renata Sago. Katherine Dunham is credited Her dance troupe in venues around. 8 Katherine Dunham facts. 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. Other Interesting Katherine Dunham Facts And Trivia 'Come Back To Arizona', a short story Katherine Dunham penned when she was 12 years old, was published in 1921 in volume two of 'The Brownies' Book'. 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. 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. Dunham created Rara Tonga and Woman with a Cigar at this time, which became well known. Understanding that the fact was due to racial discrimination, she made sure the incident was publicized. Omissions? Name: Mae C. Jemison. Updates? 4 (December 2010): 640642. Radcliffe-Brown, Edward Sapir, Melville Herskovits, Lloyd Warner and Bronisaw Malinowski. The living Dunham tradition has persisted. 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. The critics acknowledged the historical research she did on dance in ancient Egypt, but they were not appreciative of her choreography as staged for this production.[25]. 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190264871.003.0001, "Dunham Technique: Fall and recovery with body roll", "Katherine Dunham on need for Dunham Technique", "The Negro Problem in a Class Society: 19511960 Brazil", "Katherine Dunham, Dance Icon, Dies at 96", "Candace Award Recipients 19821990, Page 1", "Katherine the Great: 2004 Lifetime Achievement Awardee Katherine Dunham", Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology, Katherine Dunham on her anthropological films, Guide to the Photograph Collection on Katherine Dunham, Katherine Dunham's oral history video excerpts, "Katherine Dunham on Overcoming 1940s Racism", Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, Recalling Choreographer and Activist Dunham, "How Katherine Dunham Revealed Black Dance to the World", Katherine Dunham, Dance Pioneer, Dies at 96, "On Stage and Backstage withTalented Katherine Dunham, Master Dance Designer", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Katherine_Dunham&oldid=1139015494, American people of French-Canadian descent, 20th-century African-American politicians, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox person with multiple spouses, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, In 1971 she received the Heritage Award from the, In 1983 she was a recipient of one of the highest artistic awards in the United States, the. Our site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids . Lyndon B. Johnson was in the audience for opening night. Through her ballet teachers, she was also exposed to Spanish, East Indian, Javanese, and Balinese dance forms.[23]. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. Her technique was "a way of life". [59] She ultimately chose to continue her career in dance without her master's degree in anthropology. Tune in & learn about the inception of. Beda Schmid. She felt it was necessary to use the knowledge she gained in her research to acknowledge that Africanist esthetics are significant to the cultural equation in American dance. [20] She recorded her findings through ethnographic fieldnotes and by learning dance techniques, music and song, alongside her interlocutors. Over the years Katherine Dunham has received scores of special awards, including more than a dozen honorary doctorates from various American universities. The program included courses in dance, drama, performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies, and Caribbean research. 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. Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. 1910-2006. [26] This work was never produced in Joplin's lifetime, but since the 1970s, it has been successfully produced in many venues. Her choreography and performances made use of a concept within Dance Anthropology called "research-to-performance". Katherine Dunham introduced African and Caribbean rhythms to modern dance. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. [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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. [18] to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. 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). It was considered one of the best learning centers of its type at the time. 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. Unlike other modern dance creators who eschewed classical ballet, Dunham embraced it as a foundation for her technique. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy. [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. Short Biography. Grow your vocab the fun way! Featuring lively Latin American and Caribbean dances, plantation dances, and American social dances, the show was an immediate success. Throughout her distinguished career, Dunham earned numerous honorary doctorates, awards and honors. [22] 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. She was instrumental in getting respect for Black dancers on the concert dance stage and directed the first self-supported Black dance company. Chin, Elizabeth. Radcliffe-Brown, Fred Eggan, and many others that she met in and around the University of Chicago. [34], According to Dunham, the development of her technique came out of a need for specialized dancers to support her choreographic visions and a greater yearning for technique that "said the things that [she] wanted to say. Birth Country: United States. Biography. She returned to graduate school and submitted a master's thesis to the anthropology faculty. 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 . Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist [1]. forming a powerful personal. Dunham Company member Dana McBroom-Manno was selected as a featured artist in the show, which played on the Music Fair Circuit. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) By Halifu Osumare Katherine Dunham was a world famous dancer, choreographer, author, anthropologist, social activist, and humanitarian.
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