[8], Despite her choosing dance, Dunham often voiced recognition of her debt to the discipline: "without [anthropology] I don't know what I would have done.In anthropology, I learned how to feel about myself in relation to other people. Dunham used Habitation Leclerc as a private retreat for many years, frequently bringing members of her dance company to recuperate from the stress of touring and to work on developing new dance productions. Died: May 21, 2006. 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. Kantherine Dunham passed away of natural causes on May 21, 2006, one month before her 97th birthday. 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. Beautiful, Justice, Black. In this post, she choreographed the Chicago production of Run Li'l Chil'lun, performed at the Goodman Theater. [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. Childhood & Early Life. Question 2. [61][62][63][64] During this time, in addition to Dunham, numerous Black women such as Zora Neal Hurston, Caroline Bond Day, Irene Diggs, and Erna Brodber were also working to transform the discipline into an anthropology of liberation: employing critical and creative cultural production.[54]. Video footage of Dunham technique classes show a strong emphasis on anatomical alignment, breath, and fluidity. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution". 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. 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. In 1940, she formed the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, which became the premier facility for training dancers. What are some fun facts about 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. until hia death in the 1986. [11], During her time in Chicago, Dunham enjoyed holding social gatherings and inviting visitors to her apartment. However, after her father remarried, Albert Sr. and his new wife, Annette Poindexter Dunham, took in Katherine and her brother. 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. 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'. Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of Black culture. Katherine Dunham in 1956. This led to a custody battle over Katherine and her brother, brought on by their maternal relatives. Updates? Here are some interesting facts about Alvin Ailey for you: Facts about Alvin Ailey 1: the popular modern dance International dance icon Katherine Dunham (right,) also an anthropologist, founded an art museum in East St. Louis, IL. Katherine returnedto to the usa in 1931 miss Dunham met one of. Dunham created many all-black dance groups. 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. 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. "[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. She majored in anthropology at the University of Chicago, and after learning that much of Black . After the national tour of Cabin in the Sky, the Dunham company stayed in Los Angeles, where they appeared in the Warner Brothers short film Carnival of Rhythm (1941). 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. for the developing one of the the world performed many of her. The program included courses in dance, drama, performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies, and Caribbean research. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. The impresario Sol Hurok, manager of Dunham's troupe for a time, once had Ms. Dunham's legs insured for $250,000. [54] Her legacy within Anthropology and Dance Anthropology continues to shine with each new day. 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. As a graduate student in anthropology in the mid-1930s, she conducted dance research in the Caribbean. 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. Dunham continued to develop dozens of new productions during this period, and the company met with enthusiastic audiences in every city. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. Anna Kisselgoff, a dance critic for The New York Times, called Dunham "a major pioneer in Black theatrical dance ahead of her time." 8 Katherine Dunham facts. Birth State: Alabama. [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. [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. 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. 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. Dunham's background as an anthropologist gave the dances of the opera a new authenticity. [5] She had an older brother, Albert Jr., with whom she had a close relationship. In 1987 she received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, and was also inducted into the. 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. 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. They had particular success in Denmark and France. Early in 1947 Dunham choreographed the musical play Windy City, which premiered at the Great Northern Theater in Chicago. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. Katherine Mary Dunham (also known as Kaye Dunn, June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. By Renata Sago. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. . Her work inspired many. Years later, after extensive studies and initiations in Haiti,[21] she became a mambo in the Vodun religion. The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. Katherine Dunham got an early bachelor's degree in anthropology as a student at the University of Chicago. 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. He has released six stand-up specials and one album of Christmas songs. Dunham created Rara Tonga and Woman with a Cigar at this time, which became well known. A actor. 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. - Pic Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. Katherine Dunham on dance anthropology. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. Dunham was born in Chicago on June 22, 1909. Not only did Dunham shed light on the cultural value of black dance, but she clearly contributed to changing perceptions of blacks in America by showing society that as a black woman, she could be an intelligent scholar, a beautiful dancer, and a skilled choreographer. 1910-2006. In 1976, Dunham was guest artist-in-residence and lecturer for Afro-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. The company soon embarked on a tour of venues in South America, Europe, and North Africa. After Mexico, Dunham began touring in Europe, where she was an immediate sensation. Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist [1]. In the mid-1930s she conducted anthropological research on dance and incorporated her findings into her choreography, blending the rhythms and movements of . 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. She was born on June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small . Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. Receiving a post graduate academic fellowship, she went to the Caribbean to study the African diaspora, ethnography and local dance. 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. The company was located on the property that formerly belonged to the Isadora Duncan Dance in Caravan Hill but subsequently moved to W 43rd Street. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. In 1947 it was expanded and granted a charter as the Katherine Dunham School of Cultural Arts. 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". Video. Name: Mae C. Jemison. [41] The State Department was dismayed by the negative view of American society that the ballet presented to foreign audiences. One of her fellow professors, with whom she collaborated, was architect Buckminster Fuller. After this well-received performance in 1931, the group was disbanded. International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, First Pan-African World Festival of Negro Arts, National Museum of Dance's Mr. & Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame, "Katherine Dunham | African American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist", "Timeline: The Katherine Dunham Collection at the Library of Congress (Performing Arts Encyclopedia, The Library of Congress)", "Special Presentation: Katherine Dunham Timeline". From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. As a dancer and choreographer, Katherine Dunham (1910-2002) wowed audiences in the 1930s and 1940s when she combined classical ballet with African rhythms to create an exciting new dance style. Dance is an essential part of life that has always been with me. For almost 30 years she maintained the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-supported American black dance troupe at that time. With Dunham in the sultry role of temptress Georgia Brown, the show ran for 20 weeks in New York. (She later took a Ph.D. in anthropology.) Dunham is a ventriloquist comedian and uses seven different puppets in his act, known by his fans as the "suitcase posse." His first Comedy Central Presents special premiered in 2003. Some Facts. In the 1970s, scholars of Anthropology such as Dell Hymes and William S. Willis began to discuss Anthropology's participation in scientific colonialism. Example. She also continued refining and teaching the Dunham Technique to transmit that knowledge to succeeding generations of dance students. It closed after only 38 performances. Another fact is that it was the sometime home of the pioneering black American dancer Katherine Dunham. Choreographer. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy." Born: June 22, 1909. 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 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. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) By Halifu Osumare Katherine Dunham was a world famous dancer, choreographer, author, anthropologist, social activist, and humanitarian. 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. : Writings by and About Katherine Dunham. [3] Dunham was an innovator in African-American modern dance as well as a leader in the field of dance anthropology, or ethnochoreology. Using some ballet vernacular, Dunham incorporates these principles into a set of class exercises she labeled as "processions". 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. teaches us about the impact Katherine Dunham left on the dance community & on the world. Please scroll down to enjoy more supporting materials. Initially scheduled for a single performance, the show was so popular that the troupe repeated it for another ten Sundays. By the time she received an M.A. "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of Josephine Baker, Zora Neale Hurston, and Katherine Dunham". Birth Country: United States. Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. While Dunham was recognized as "unofficially" representing American cultural life in her foreign tours, she was given very little assistance of any kind by the U.S. State Department. He started doing stand-up comedy in the late 1980s. 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. [26] This work was never produced in Joplin's lifetime, but since the 1970s, it has been successfully produced in many venues. Jeff Dunham hails from Dallas, Texas. 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. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. 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. Katherine Dunham in a photograph from around 1945. In Boston, then a bastion of conservatism, the show was banned in 1944 after only one performance. The recipient of numerous awards, Dunham received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1983 and the National Medal of Arts in 1989. A dance choreographer. The Washington Post called her "dancer Katherine the Great." Katherine Dunham Biography, Life, Interesting Facts. As a choreographer, anthropologist, educator, and activist, Katherine Dunham transformed the field of dance in the twentieth century. Katherine Dunham and John Pratt married in 1949 to adopt Marie-Christine, a French 14-month-old baby. Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. Katherine Dunham was an American dancer and choreographer, credited to have brought the influence of Africa and the Caribbean into American dance . 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. 4 (December 2010): 640642. [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. "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." Upon returning to Chicago, the company performed at the Goodman Theater and at the Abraham Lincoln Center. 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. . Dunham technique is a codified dance training technique developed by Katherine Dunham in the mid 20th century. At the recommendation of her mentor Melville Herskovits, PhB'20a Northwestern University anthropologist and African studies expertDunham's calling cards read both "dancer" and . Katherine Dunham or the "Matriarch of Black Dance'' as many called her, was a revolutionary African American anthropologist and professional dancer. As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. You dance because you have to. 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. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. In 1978, an anthology of writings by and about her, also entitled Kaiso! Example. Also Known For : . Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. She made national headlines by staging a hunger strike to protest the U.S. governments repatriation policy for Haitian immigrants. 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. Although Dunham was offered another grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to pursue her academic studies, she chose dance. 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. In 1931, at the age of 21, Dunham formed a group called Ballets Ngres, one of the first black ballet companies in the United States. She . Numerous scholars describe Dunham as pivotal to the fields of Dance Education, Applied Anthropology, Humanistic Anthropology, African Diasporic Anthropology and Liberatory Anthropology. Childhood & Early Life. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. A photographic exhibit honoring her achievements, entitled Kaiso! During her studies, Dunham attended a lecture on anthropology, where she was introduced to the concept of dance as a cultural symbol. In 1928, while still an undergraduate, Dunham began to study ballet with Ludmilla Speranzeva, a Russian dancer who had settled in Chicago, after having come to the United States with the Franco-Russian vaudeville troupe Le Thtre de la Chauve-Souris, directed by impresario Nikita Balieff. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Birth Year: 1956. Our site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids . 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. Dunham ended her fast only after exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Jesse Jackson came to her and personally requested that she stop risking her life for this cause. However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student at the University of Chicago. Katherine Dunham. He lived on 5 January 1931 and passed away on 1 December 1989. 30 seconds. The company returned to New York. As I document in my book Katherine Dunham: Dance and the . During this time, she developed a warm friendship with the psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm, whom she had known in Europe. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. 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. 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]. New York City, U.S. Most Popular #73650. 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. Barrelhouse. Never completing her required coursework for her graduate degree, she departed for Broadway and Hollywood. 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. ZURICH Othella Dallas lay on the hardwood . Deren is now considered to be a pioneer of independent American filmmaking. . Glory Van Scott and Jean-Lon Destin were among other former Dunham dancers who remained her lifelong friends. 2023 The HistoryMakers. When you have faith in something, it's your reason to be alive and to fight for it. 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.". The prince was then married to actress Rita Hayworth, and Dunham was now legally married to John Pratt; a quiet ceremony in Las Vegas had taken place earlier in the year. "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." 1. 1. In 1967 she officially retired, after presenting a final show at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. Luminaries like Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Katherine Dunham began to shape and define what this new genre of dance would be. Dunham, Katherine Mary (1909-2006) By Das, Joanna Dee. She is a celebrity dancer. In 1963 Dunham was commissioned to choreograph Aida at New York's Metropolitan Opera Company, with Leontyne Price in the title role. [54] Her dance education, while offering cultural resources for dealing with the consequences and realities of living in a racist environment, also brought about feelings of hope and dignity for inspiring her students to contribute positively to their own communities, and spreading essential cultural and spiritual capital within the U.S.[54], Just like her colleague Zora Neale Hurston, Dunham's anthropology inspired the blurring of lines between creative disciplines and anthropology. Her the best movie is Casbah. Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. On one of these visits, during the late 1940s, she purchased a large property of more than seven hectares (approximately 17.3 acres) in the Carrefours suburban area of Port-au-Prince, known as Habitation Leclerc. [20] She also became friends with, among others, Dumarsais Estim, then a high-level politician, who became president of Haiti in 1949. [13] Under their tutelage, she showed great promise in her ethnographic studies of dance. Johnson 's gift for numbers allowed her to accelerate through her education. Dunham was always a formidable advocate for racial equality, boycotting segregated venues in the United States and using her performances to highlight discrimination.