As one of her biographers, Joyce Aschenbrenner, wrote: "anthropology became a life-way"[2] for Dunham. During her studies, Dunham attended a lecture on anthropology, where she was introduced to the concept of dance as a cultural symbol. While a student at the University of Chicago, she formed a dance group that performed in concert at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1934 and with the Chicago Civic Opera company in 193536. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance."[2]. Her work inspired many. Additionally, she was named one of the most influential African American anthropologists. 2 (2012): 159168. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. She did not complete the other requirements for that degree, however, as she realized that her professional calling was performance and choreography. [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. 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 first work, entitled A Touch of Innocence: Memoirs of Childhood, was published in 1959. Lyndon B. Johnson was in the audience for opening night. In 1967 she officially retired, after presenting a final show at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. [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. While in Haiti, she hasn't only studied Vodun rituals, but also participated and became a mambo, female high priest in the Vodun religion. [36] Her classes are described as a safe haven for many and some of her students even attribute their success in life to the structure and artistry of her technical institution. After he became her artistic collaborator, they became romantically involved. It opened in Chicago in 1933, with a black cast and with Page dancing the title role. She was one of the first researchers in anthropology to use her research of Afro-Haitian dance and culture for remedying racist misrepresentation of African culture in the miseducation of Black Americans. Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th . The result of this trip was Dunham's Master's thesis entitled "The Dances of Haiti". Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. Occupation(s): Pas de Deux from "L'Ag'Ya". The Katherine Dunham Museum is located at 1005 Pennsylvania Avenue, East St. Louis, Illinois. 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." Somewhat later, she assisted him, at considerable risk to her life, when he was persecuted for his progressive policies and sent in exile to Jamaica after a coup d'tat. As Wendy Perron wrote, "Jazz dance, 'fusion,' and the search for our cultural identity all have their antecedents in Dunham's work as a dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. Video. This won international acclaim and is now taught as a modern dance style in many dance schools. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. The recipient of numerous awards, Dunham received a Kennedy Center Honor in 1983 and the National Medal of Arts in 1989. 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. [6][10] While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children. Katherine was also an activist, author, educator, and anthropologist. 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. In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. katherine dunham fun factsaiken county sc register of deeds katherine dunham fun facts Dunham was born in Chicago on June 22, 1909. These experiences provided ample material for the numerous books, articles and short stories Dunham authored. Dunham also studied ballet with Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page, who became prima ballerina of the Chicago Opera. 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. The Katherine Dunham Company toured throughout North America in the mid-1940s, performing as well in the racially segregated South. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 May 21, 2006)[1] was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Katherine Dunham in 1956. It was a venue for Dunham to teach young black dancers about their African heritage. Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of Black culture. Text:. 8 Katherine Dunham facts. Keep reading for more such interesting quotes at Kidadl!) She is a celebrity dancer. While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. Best Known For: Mae C. Jemison is the . She also choreographed and appeared in Broadway musicals, operas and the film Cabin in the Sky. A actor. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Banks, Ojeya Cruz. Over her long career, she choreographed more than ninety individual dances. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. But what set her work even further apart from Martha Graham and Jos Limn was her fusion of that foundation with Afro-Caribbean styles. Fun facts. In this post, she choreographed the Chicago production of Run Li'l Chil'lun, performed at the Goodman Theater. There she met John Pratt, an artist and designer and they got married in 1941 until his death in 1986. Facts About Katherine Dunham. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. In September 1943, under the management of the impresario Sol Hurok, her troupe opened in Tropical Review at the Martin Beck Theater. Last Name Dunham #5. Two years later she formed an all-Black company, which began touring extensively by 1943. 2 (2020): 259271. Katherine Dunham PhB'36. [12] A dance choreographer. Her many original works include Lagya, Shango and Bal Negre. "My job", she said, "is to create a useful legacy. Tune in & learn about the inception of. Dunham early became interested in dance. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . "[48] During her protest, Dick Gregory led a non-stop vigil at her home, where many disparate personalities came to show their respect, such Debbie Allen, Jonathan Demme, and Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam. Omissions? This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. 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. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. [21] This style of participant observation research was not yet common within the discipline of anthropology. American dancer and choreographer (19092006). 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. Subsequently, Dunham undertook various choreographic commissions at several venues in the United States and in Europe. 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. 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. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . It closed after only 38 performances. In Boston, then a bastion of conservatism, the show was banned in 1944 after only one performance. 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. Genres Novels. For several years, Dunham's personal assistant and press promoter was Maya Deren, who later also became interested in Vodun and wrote The Divine Horseman: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti (1953). Her mother passed away when Katherine was only 3 years old. In 1967, Dunham opened the Performing Arts Training Center (PATC) in East St. Louis in an effort to use the arts to combat poverty and urban unrest. The restructuring of heavy industry had caused the loss of many working-class jobs, and unemployment was high in the city. 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. By 1957, Dunham was under severe personal strain, which was affecting her health. 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). You can't learn about dances until you learn about people. 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 choreography and performances made use of a concept within Dance Anthropology called "research-to-performance". "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology." [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. The schools she created helped train such notables as Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins in the "Dunham technique." Death . Example. . Dunham's mother, Fanny June Dunham (ne Taylor), who was of mixed French-Canadian and Native American heritage. The program included courses in dance, drama, performing arts, applied skills, humanities, cultural studies, and Caribbean research. Birth date: October 17, 1956. Birth Country: United States. Katherine Dunham always had an interest in dance and anthropology so her main goal in life was to combine them. Chin, Elizabeth. Throughout her distinguished career, Dunham earned numerous honorary doctorates, awards and honors. She majored in anthropology at the University of Chicago, and after learning that much of Black . Dunham is credited with introducing international audiences to African aesthetics and establishing African dance as a true art form. Katherine Dunham facts for kids. Dunham also created the well-known Dunham Technique [1]. At this time Dunham first became associated with designer John Pratt, whom she later married. [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. The following year, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Dunham to be technical cultural advisera sort of cultural ambassadorto the government of Senegal in West Africa. 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. [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. Charm Dance from "L'Ag'Ya". 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. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. Actress: Star Spangled Rhythm. 2023 The HistoryMakers. In addition, Dunham conducted special projects for African American high school students in Chicago; was artistic and technical director (196667) to the president of Senegal; and served as artist-in-residence, and later professor, at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, and director of Southern Illinoiss Performing Arts Training Centre and Dynamic Museum in East St. Louis, Illinois. He has released six stand-up specials and one album of Christmas songs. In 1950, while visiting Brazil, Dunham and her group were refused rooms at a first-class hotel in So Paulo, the Hotel Esplanada, frequented by many American businessmen. "The Case for Letting Anthropology Burn: Sociocultural Anthropology in 2019." 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. USA. In 1976, Dunham was guest artist-in-residence and lecturer for Afro-American studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In August she was awarded a bachelor's degree, a Ph.B., bachelor of philosophy, with her principal area of study being social anthropology. He needn't have bothered. She was a woman far ahead of her time. ", Examples include: The Ballet in film "Stormy Weather" (Stone 1943) and "Mambo" (Rossen 1954). In 1964, Dunham settled in East St. Louis, and took up the post of artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University in nearby Edwardsville. 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. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. Glory Van Scott and Jean-Lon Destin were among other former Dunham dancers who remained her lifelong friends. [49] In fact, that ceremony was not recognized as a legal marriage in the United States, a point of law that would come to trouble them some years later. Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. The highly respected Dance magazine did a feature cover story on Dunham in August 2000 entitled "One-Woman Revolution".