Katherine Dunham
Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909- May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in American and European theater and directed her own dance company for many years. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance."
Youth;
Katherine was born on June 22, 1909. Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, was a descendant of slaves. Her mother, Fanny June Dunham, died when Dunham was three. She had an older brother, Albert Jr., who she had a close relationship with. After her father's remarriage a couple years later, the family moved to a dominantly white neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois, where her father ran a dry-cleaning …show more content…
In high school she joined the Terpsichorean Club and began to learn a kind of modern dance based on the ideas of Jaques-Dalcroze and Rudolf von Laban. While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children.
Adolescent;
When Dunham was a student at the University of Chicago, she took a leave and went to the Caribbean to study dance and ethnography. She later came back to graduate and submitted a thesis in anthropology. She didn’t meet the requirements for the degree and realised her calling was in performance.
At the height of her career in the 40’s and 50’s, Dunham was a celebrity all over Europe and Latin America, and was greatly popular in the United States where The Washington Post called her ‘dancer Katherine the Great.’ For 30 years she upheld the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-support American black dance troupe at the time. Over her long career, she choreographed more than ninety individual dances. She was one of founders of African-American modern dance, as well as a leader on the topic of dance …show more content…
Through her ballet teachers, she was exposed to Spanish, East Indian, Javanese and Balinese dance forms. When she was 21, she founded Ballet Nègres, one of the first ballet companies in the States. After a well-received performance, the group was disbanded. Encouraged to focus on modern dance instead of ballet, Dunham opened her first real dance school called the Negro Dance Group. It was a place for her to teach black dancers about their heritage.
When Dunham’s international tour ended in Vienna due to bad money management, she saved the day by organizing the company’s appearance on a German television special.
Educator and Writer;
Dunham opened and directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theater in New York City. It had an international enrollment of 350 students. The courses ranged from teaching dance to cultural studies. Schools inspired by it opened in Stockholm, Paris and Rome by dancers trained by Dunham.
Overwhelmed by personal issues she decided to live in Kyoto, Japan where she spent most of her time writing her autobiography, about her youth and a fictional work based on her African experiences. Occasionally publishing articles about different anthropological topics at universities and scholarly societies.
Social
Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909- May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in American and European theater and directed her own dance company for many years. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance."
Youth;
Katherine was born on June 22, 1909. Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, was a descendant of slaves. Her mother, Fanny June Dunham, died when Dunham was three. She had an older brother, Albert Jr., who she had a close relationship with. After her father's remarriage a couple years later, the family moved to a dominantly white neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois, where her father ran a dry-cleaning …show more content…
In high school she joined the Terpsichorean Club and began to learn a kind of modern dance based on the ideas of Jaques-Dalcroze and Rudolf von Laban. While still a high school student, she opened a private dance school for young black children.
Adolescent;
When Dunham was a student at the University of Chicago, she took a leave and went to the Caribbean to study dance and ethnography. She later came back to graduate and submitted a thesis in anthropology. She didn’t meet the requirements for the degree and realised her calling was in performance.
At the height of her career in the 40’s and 50’s, Dunham was a celebrity all over Europe and Latin America, and was greatly popular in the United States where The Washington Post called her ‘dancer Katherine the Great.’ For 30 years she upheld the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, the only self-support American black dance troupe at the time. Over her long career, she choreographed more than ninety individual dances. She was one of founders of African-American modern dance, as well as a leader on the topic of dance …show more content…
Through her ballet teachers, she was exposed to Spanish, East Indian, Javanese and Balinese dance forms. When she was 21, she founded Ballet Nègres, one of the first ballet companies in the States. After a well-received performance, the group was disbanded. Encouraged to focus on modern dance instead of ballet, Dunham opened her first real dance school called the Negro Dance Group. It was a place for her to teach black dancers about their heritage.
When Dunham’s international tour ended in Vienna due to bad money management, she saved the day by organizing the company’s appearance on a German television special.
Educator and Writer;
Dunham opened and directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance and Theater in New York City. It had an international enrollment of 350 students. The courses ranged from teaching dance to cultural studies. Schools inspired by it opened in Stockholm, Paris and Rome by dancers trained by Dunham.
Overwhelmed by personal issues she decided to live in Kyoto, Japan where she spent most of her time writing her autobiography, about her youth and a fictional work based on her African experiences. Occasionally publishing articles about different anthropological topics at universities and scholarly societies.
Social