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Katherine DunhemDancer, choreographer, teacher and anthropologist
Date of Birth: 22.06.1909
Country:  USA |
Content:
Biography of Katherine Dunham
Katherine Mary Dunham was born on June 22, 1909. From a young age, she showed an interest in dance, but it was not until she was a young woman that she began to pursue dance professionally. In the 1920s, she moved to Chicago and started taking dance lessons. Around the same time, she enrolled at the University of Chicago to study anthropology.
In Chicago, Dunham opened a dance studio called "Ballet Negre" with her fellow dancers. In the mid-1930s, she traveled to Haiti, where she spent over a year studying the roots of Afro-American dance culture. In 1936, she defended her dissertation on this subject in Chicago.
Throughout this time, Dunham continued to actively engage in ballet and dance, performing regularly and gaining popularity. She formed the "Negro Dance Group" with black dancers and presented theatrical productions in Chicago and New York, incorporating elements of African dance. Thanks to Dunham's efforts, "black" dance evolved into a recognized form of stage art.
On April 18, 1940, jazz dance as a distinct art form was born. On this day, the jazz musical "Tropics and Hot Jazz" premiered in New York, telling the story of jazz dance "from Haiti to Harlem." This production brought fame to Dunham and all those who performed with her on Broadway, and it played a significant role in popularizing jazz dance.
Dunham and her troupe actively toured countries and appeared in films. She had numerous talented and well-known friends and partners. In 1945, Dunham opened a school in New York where she experimented with the methodology and theory of teaching jazz dance. Among her students were Gregory Peck, Eartha Kitt, Marlon Brando, and others.
Dunham was also a prominent civil rights activist. In 1967, she retired from the stage and founded the Performing Arts Training Center in Illinois, which aimed to provide opportunities for underprivileged children. For her immense contributions to the development of performing arts, Dunham received numerous awards, and she was often referred to as the "Catherine the Great of the ballet stage" by journalists.
