Katherine Dunham

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Katherine Dunham

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Katherine Dunham , 1909?-2006, American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist, b. Chicago. She studied anthropology at the Univ. of Chicago, where she received a B.A. and Ph.D. and began her research into dances of the Caribbean. In addition to teaching anthropology, from the late 1930s until the 1960s, she directed her own dance company, which toured the United States and worldwide. Her choreography combines Caribbean and African movements and rhythms with those of modern dance . In 1965, she accepted a position as adviser to the cultural ministry of Senegal. In 1967, she became director of the Performing Arts Training Center at the East St. Louis branch of Southern Illinois Univ., where she worked with inner-city youth groups.

Through her dance technique, which stressed the isolation of individual parts of the body, as well as her choreography, teaching, and appearances in different media, Dunham brought African and Caribbean dance to the attention of the public and exerted tremendous influence on the evolution of modern dance. She choreographed a number of dance revues including Bal Nègre (1946), Caribbean Rhapsody (1948), and Bamboche (1962). Dunham made her Broadway debut in the musical Cabin in the Sky (1940), choreographed and danced in several Hollywood musicals including Stormy Weather (1943), and also choreographed Aida (1963) at New York's Metropolitan Opera and The Magic of Katherine Dunham (1987) for the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Among her books are Journey to Accompong (1946), Island Possessed (1969), and Dances of Haiti (1984).

Bibliography: See her memoir, A Touch of Innocence (1959); biography by R. Beckford (1979); V. A. Clark and S. E. Johnson, ed., Kaiso!: Writings by and about Katherine Dunham (2006).

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Dunham, Katherine

The Oxford Companion to American Theatre | 2004 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Theatre 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Dunham, Katherine (1910–2006), dancer and choreographer. The Chicago‐born African‐American performer appeared in Cabin in the Sky (1940) and in Carib Song (1945), but she is best remembered by playgoers for dance‐revues she created and starred in, which featured black dancing from around the world: Tropical Revue (1943), Bal Negre (1946), and a titleless 1950 offering.

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Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Dunham, Katherine." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Nov. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Dunham, Katherine." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (November 11, 2009). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-DunhamKatherine.html

Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak. "Dunham, Katherine." The Oxford Companion to American Theatre. Oxford University Press. 2004. Retrieved November 11, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O149-DunhamKatherine.html

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Free Article Katherine Dunham celebrated at memorial services across the nation.
Magazine article from: Jet; 7/24/2006
Free Article PRESERVING THE LEGACY OF KATHERINE DUNHAM.(Review)
Magazine article from: Dance Magazine; 11/1/1999
Free Article The legendary Katherine Dunham: still dancing to her own tune.
Magazine article from: Ebony; 2/1/2006

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News Wire article from: US Fed News Service, Including US State News; 5/22/2006; 700+ words ; ...the following news release: Katherine Dunham, emerita University professor...1982. Miss Dunham founded the Katherine Dunham Center for Performing Arts at...Louis. Later, it was named the Katherine Dunham Dynamic Museum, 1005 Pennsylvania...
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