Dancer Born in Illinois #12. The original two-week engagement was extended by popular demand into a three-month run, after which the company embarked on an extensive tour of the United States and Canada. American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. Birth City: Decatur. Such visitors included ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, Robert Redfield, Bronisaw Malinowski, A.R. Dunham, Katherine Mary (1909-2006) - Routledge 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. [13] Under their tutelage, she showed great promise in her ethnographic studies of dance. 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. Claude Conyers, "Film Choreography by Katherine Dunham, 19391964," in Clark and Johnson. After he became her artistic collaborator, they became romantically involved. Dunham is still taught at widely recognized dance institutions such as The American Dance Festival and The Ailey School. She also choreographed and starred in dance sequences in such films as Carnival of Rhythm (1942), Stormy Weather (1943), and Casbah (1947). The Dunham troupe toured for two decades, stirring audiences around the globe with their dynamic and highly theatrical performances. teaches us about the impact Katherine Dunham left on the dance community & on the world. Dunham created Rara Tonga and Woman with a Cigar at this time, which became well known. Katherine Dunham in 1956. Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist [1]. Pratt, who was white, shared Dunham's interests in African-Caribbean cultures and was happy to put his talents in her service. [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. [18] to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree. In August she was awarded a bachelor's degree, a Ph.B., bachelor of philosophy, with her principal area of study being social anthropology. Katherine Dunham Fused Together Dance and Anthropology Born in 1512 to Sir Thomas Parr, lord of the manor of Kendal in Westmorland, and Maud Green, an heiress and courtier, Catherine belonged to a family of substantial influence in the north. Katherine Dunham. Katherine Dunham Helped Teach the World to Dance : NPR . She made world tours as a dancer, choreographer, and director of her own dance company. One of her fellow professors, with whom she collaborated, was architect Buckminster Fuller. At an early age, Dunham became interested in dance. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 May 21, 2006)[1] was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. 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. [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. Katherine Dunham. However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. While trying to help the young people in the community, Dunham was arrested. Katherine Dunham - Students | Britannica Kids | Homework Help 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. [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. 7 Katherine Dunham facts. 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. Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. The group performed Dunham's Negro Rhapsody at the Chicago Beaux Arts Ball. Early in 1936, she arrived in Haiti, where she remained for several months, the first of her many extended stays in that country through her life. [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. Dunham saved the day by arranging for the company to be paid to appear in a German television special, Karibische Rhythmen, after which they returned to the United States. Known for her many innovations, Dunham developed a dance pedagogy, later named the Dunham Technique, a style of movement and exercises based in traditional African dances, to support her choreography. Jobson, Ryan Cecil. [20] She also became friends with, among others, Dumarsais Estim, then a high-level politician, who became president of Haiti in 1949. Dance is an essential part of life that has always been with me. [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. 52 Copy quote. [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. 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. Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. Katherine Dunham was an American dancer and choreographer, credited to have brought the influence of Africa and the Caribbean into American dance . The program she created runs to this day at the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, revolutionizing lives with dance and culture. Katherine Dunham - Facts, Bio, Favorites, Info, Family - Sticky Facts She also danced professionally, owned a dance company, and operated a dance studio. She did this for many reasons. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, . for teaching dance that is still la'ag'ya , Shange , Veraruzana, nanigo. Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. Kaiso is an Afro-Caribbean term denoting praise. . Katherine Dunham: legendary dancer who founded the 1st American black She did not complete the other requirements for that degree, however, as she realized that her professional calling was performance and choreography. With choreography characterized by exotic sexuality, both became signature works in the Dunham repertory. 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. Each procession builds on the last and focuses on conditioning the body to prepare for specific exercises that come later. Jeff Dunham hails from Dallas, Texas. Episode 5 of Break the FACTS! In 1964, Dunham settled in East St. Louis, and took up the post of artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University in nearby Edwardsville. Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. Based on her research in Martinique, this three-part performance integrated elements of a Martinique fighting dance into American ballet. "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.". The living Dunham tradition has persisted. [54] After recovering crucial dance epistemologies relevant to people of the African diaspora during her ethnographic research, she applied anthropological knowledge toward developing her own dance pedagogy (Dunham Technique) that worked to reconcile with the legacy of colonization and racism and correct sociocultural injustices. 1. VV A. Clark and Sara E. Johnson, editors, Joliet Central High School Yearbook, 1928. 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 Katherine Dunham Museum: Saving the Legacy of a True Renaissance Woman Dancer, anthropologist, social worker, activist, author. 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. Early in 1947 Dunham choreographed the musical play Windy City, which premiered at the Great Northern Theater in Chicago. Most Popular #73650. Katherine Dunham: The Artist as Activist During World War II. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . Last Name Dunham #5. Vintage Dancers You Should Know: Katherine Dunham On graduating with a bachelors degree in anthropology she undertook field studies in the Caribbean and in Brazil. She is best known for bringing African and Caribbean dance styles to the US [1]. 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. Katherine Dunham - Wikipedia "Katherine Dunham's Dance as Public Anthropology." 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. After noticing that Katherine enjoyed working and socializing with people, her brother suggested that she study Anthropology. [6][10] While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children. A actor. Katherine Dunham Birthday & Fun Facts | Kidadl Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) brought African dance aesthetics to the United States, forever influencing modern and jazz dance. Black Joy, Black Power: Dancing the Legacy of Katherine Dunham From the solar system to the world economy to educational games, Fact Monster has the info kids are seeking. Dunham was exposed to sacred ritual dances performed by people on the islands of Haiti and Jamaica. Dunham's last appearance on Broadway was in 1962 in Bamboche!, which included a few former Dunham dancers in the cast and a contingent of dancers and drummers from the Royal Troupe of Morocco. [5] She had an older brother, Albert Jr., with whom she had a close relationship. 288 pages, Hardcover. Dunham Technique was created by Katherine Dunham, a legend in the worlds of dance and anthropology. 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. She arranged a fundraising cabaret for a Methodist Church, where she did her first public performance when she was 15 years old. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. Katherine Dunham, it includes photographs highlighting the many dimensions of Dunham's life and work. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th . ", Kraut, Anthea, "Between Primitivism and Diaspora: The Dance Performances of, This page was last edited on 12 February 2023, at 22:48. [59] She ultimately chose to continue her career in dance without her master's degree in anthropology. Stormy Weather is a 1943 American musical film produced and released by 20th Century Fox, adapted by Frederick J. Jackson, Ted Koehler and H.S. Who Was Katherine Dunham??? by Adrianne Hoopes - Prezi The following year, she moved to East St. Louis, where she opened the Performing Arts Training Center to help the underserved community. 2 (2012): 159168. It closed after only 38 performances. Dunham and Kitt collaborated again in the 1970s in an Equity Production of the musical Peg, based on the Irish play, Peg O' My Heart. After Mexico, Dunham began touring in Europe, where she was an immediate sensation. 2 (2020): 259271. The schools she created helped train such notables as Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins in the "Dunham technique." Death . She was likely named after Catherine of Aragon. He had been a promising philosophy professor at Howard University and a protg of Alfred North Whitehead. Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! In 1986 the American Anthropological Association gave her a Distinguished Service Award. Katherine Dunham Facts for Kids | KidzSearch.com Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." Katherine Dunham, was published in a limited, numbered edition of 130 copies by the Institute for the Study of Social Change. Time reported that, "she went on a 47-day hunger strike to protest the U.S.'s forced repatriation of Haitian refugees.