Question 2. Katherine Dunham - Dance [1] Dunham also created the Dunham Technique. 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. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. 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. First Name Katherine #37. She also created several other works of choreography, including The Emperor Jones (a response to the play by Eugene O'Neill) and Barrelhouse. 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. Dunham's mother, Fanny June Dunham (ne Taylor), who was of mixed French-Canadian and Native American heritage. [14] Redfield, Herskovits, and Sapir's contributions to cultural anthropology, exposed Dunham to topics and ideas that inspired her creatively and professionally. 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. 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. [15] Dunham's relationship with Redfield in particular was highly influential. "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." VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. On graduating with a bachelors degree in anthropology she undertook field studies in the Caribbean and in Brazil. Here are some interesting facts about Alvin Ailey for you: Facts about Alvin Ailey 1: the popular modern dance In Boston, then a bastion of conservatism, the show was banned in 1944 after only one performance. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. 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. 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. Such visitors included ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, Robert Redfield, Bronisaw Malinowski, A.R. Who Is Katherine Dunham? | GCU Blogs Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." During her studies, Dunham attended a lecture on anthropology, where she was introduced to the concept of dance as a cultural symbol. 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. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. 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. June 22 Dancer #4. ZURICH Othella Dallas lay on the hardwood . Katherine Dunham Birthday & Fun Facts | Kidadl Birth City: Decatur. [17] She was one of the first African-American women to attend this college and to earn these degrees. This initiative drew international publicity to the plight of the Haitian boat-people and U.S. discrimination against them. Katherine Dunham. Among her dancers selected were Marcia McBroom, Dana McBroom, Jean Kelly, and Jesse Oliver. 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. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . 35 Katherine Dunham Quotes | Kidadl 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. Short Biography. By the time she received an M.A. 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. With Dunham in the sultry role of temptress Georgia Brown, the show ran for 20 weeks in New York. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. used throughout the world choros, rite de passage, los Idies, and. Classes are led by Ruby Streate, director of dance and education and artistic director of the Katherine Dunham Children's Workshop. She also choreographed and starred in dance sequences in such films as Carnival of Rhythm (1942), Stormy Weather (1943), and Casbah (1947). A photographic exhibit honoring her achievements, entitled Kaiso! Katherine Dunham Timeline | Articles and Essays | Selections from the The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. 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. 30 seconds. Although Dunham was offered another grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to pursue her academic studies, she chose dance. After her company performed successfully, Dunham was chosen as dance director of the Chicago Negro Theater Unit of the Federal Theatre Project. ", Kraut, Anthea, "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:48. Katherine Dunham - Wikipedia Katherine returnedto to the usa in 1931 miss Dunham met one of. As I document in my book Katherine Dunham: Dance and the . Katherine Dunham: legendary dancer who founded the 1st American black The Katherine Dunham Museum: Saving the Legacy of a True Renaissance Woman She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." [6][10] While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children. Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. 10 Facts About Katherine Johnson - Mental Floss Katherine Dunham - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dancer Born in Illinois #12. In her biography, Joyce Aschenbrenner (2002), credits Ms Dunham as the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance", and describes her work as: "fundamentally . Her technique was "a way of life". 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. There, her father ran a dry-cleaning business.[8]. Dunham continued to develop dozens of new productions during this period, and the company met with enthusiastic audiences in every city. from the University of Chicago, she had acquired a vast knowledge of the dances and rituals of the Black peoples of tropical America. Never completing her required coursework for her graduate degree, she departed for Broadway and Hollywood. Her work inspired many. As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. One of the most significant dancers, artists, and anthropologic figures of the 20th century, Katherine Dunham defied racial and gender boundaries during a . London: Zed Books, 1999. and creative team that lasted. Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! 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. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. 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. It opened in Chicago in 1933, with a black cast and with Page dancing the title role. 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". Educate, entertain, and engage with Factmonster. Katherine Dunham, was published in a limited, numbered edition of 130 copies by the Institute for the Study of Social Change. She was also consulted on costuming for the Egyptian and Ethiopian dress. Dunham's background as an anthropologist gave the dances of the opera a new authenticity. "[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. "Her mastery of body movement was considered 'phenomenal.' Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Occupation(s): Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. Katherine Dunham. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Unlike other modern dance creators who eschewed classical ballet, Dunham embraced it as a foundation for her technique. Nationality. Born in Glen Ellyn, IL #6. Her father was a descendant of slaves from West Africa, and her mother was a mix of French-Canadian and Native-American heritage. Video. Katherine Dunham or the "Matriarch of Black Dance'' as many called her, was a revolutionary African American anthropologist and professional dancer. She returned to graduate school and submitted a master's thesis to the anthropology faculty. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. 10 Facts About Catherine Parr | History Hit In 19341936, Dunham performed as a guest artist with the ballet company of the Chicago Opera. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. All You Need to Know About Dunham Technique - Dance Spirit They were stranded without money because of bad management by their impresario. You can't learn about dances until you learn about people. This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. Using some ballet vernacular, Dunham incorporates these principles into a set of class exercises she labeled as "processions". Receiving a post graduate academic fellowship, she went to the Caribbean to study the African diaspora, ethnography and local dance. 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. There she met John Pratt, an artist and designer and they got married in 1941 until his death in 1986. 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'. Additionally, she worked closely with Vera Mirova who specialized in "Oriental" dance. Katherine Dunham - Bio, Age, Wiki, Facts and Family - in4fp.com She arranged a fundraising cabaret for a Methodist Church, where she did her first public performance when she was 15 years old. ", 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. Omissions? In 1987 she received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, and was also inducted into the. Katherine Dunham was an African-American dancer and choreographer, producer, author, scholar, anthropologist and Civil Rights activist. Born in 1909 #28. [3] She created many all-black dance groups. ", "Kaiso! Katherine Dunham Biography, Life, Interesting Facts