katherine dunham fun facts

Written by

Her mother, Fanny June Dunham, who, according to Dunham's memoir, possessed Indian, French Canadian, English and probably African ancestry, died when Dunham was four years old. First Name Katherine #37. She returned to the United States in 1936 informed by new methods of movement and expression, which she incorporated into techniques that transformed the world of dance. Years later, after extensive studies and initiations in Haiti,[21] she became a mambo in the Vodun religion. teaches us about the impact Katherine Dunham left on the dance community & on the world. The Katherine Dunham Company became an incubator for many well known performers, including Archie Savage, Talley Beatty, Janet Collins, Lenwood Morris, Vanoye Aikens, Lucille Ellis, Pearl Reynolds, Camille Yarbrough, Lavinia Williams, and Tommy Gomez. Dunham, Katherine dnm . Radcliffe-Brown, Edward Sapir, Melville Herskovits, Lloyd Warner and Bronisaw Malinowski. She established the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities in East St. Louis to preserve Haitian and African instruments and artifacts from her personal collection. [54] Her legacy within Anthropology and Dance Anthropology continues to shine with each new day. In 1986 the American Anthropological Association gave her a Distinguished Service Award. Time reported that, "she went on a 47-day hunger strike to protest the U.S.'s forced repatriation of Haitian refugees. Featuring lively Latin American and Caribbean dances, plantation dances, and American social dances, the show was an immediate success. Dunham ended her fast only after exiled Haitian president Jean-Bertrand Aristide and Jesse Jackson came to her and personally requested that she stop risking her life for this cause. While a student at the University of Chicago, Dunham also performed as a dancer, ran a dance school, and earned an early bachelor's degree in anthropology. It was a venue for Dunham to teach young black dancers about their African heritage. Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist [1]. . Dunham early became interested in dance. Dance is an essential part of life that has always been with me. Katherine Dunham or the "Matriarch of Black Dance'' as many called her, was a revolutionary African American anthropologist and professional dancer. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. One example of this was studying how dance manifests within Haitian Vodou. "Kaiso! Although it was well received by the audience, local censors feared that the revealing costumes and provocative dances might compromise public morals. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in African-American and European theater of the 20th . Katherine Dunham, the dancer, choreographer, teacher and anthropologist whose pioneering work introduced much of the black heritage in dance to the stage, died Sunday at her home in Manhattan. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, creator of the Dunham Technique, author, educator, anthropologist, and social activist. Long, Richard A, and Joe Nash. One recurring theme that I really . Our site is COPPA and kidSAFE-certified, so you can rest assured it's a safe place for kids . Her mother passed away when Katherine was only 3 years old. Katherine Mary Dunham was born in Chicago in 1909. Then she traveled to Martinique and to Trinidad and Tobago for short stays, primarily to do an investigation of Shango, the African god who was still considered an important presence in West Indian religious culture. The troupe performed a suite of West Indian dances in the first half of the program and a ballet entitled Tropic Death, with Talley Beatty, in the second half. 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). "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy." Birthday : June 22, 1909. 2023 The HistoryMakers. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). 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. When you have faith in something, it's your reason to be alive and to fight for it. USA. Example. [ ] Katherine Dunham was born on June 22, 1909 (age 96) in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. Claude Conyers, "Film Choreography by Katherine Dunham, 19391964," in Clark and Johnson. Additionally, she was named one of the most influential African American anthropologists. "Katherine Dunham: Decolonizing Anthropology Through African American Dance Pedagogy. [18] to the Department of Anthropology in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree. Short Biography. Occupation(s): Episode 5 of Break the FACTS! Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200003840/. The Katherine Dunham Museum is located at 1005 Pennsylvania Avenue, East St. Louis, Illinois. Born in Glen Ellyn, IL #6. Harrison, Faye V. "Decolonizing Anthropology Moving Further Toward and Anthropology for Liberation." In 2000 Katherine Dunham was named America's irreplaceable Dance Treasure. In her biography, Joyce Aschenbrenner (2002), credits Ms Dunham as the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance", and describes her work as: "fundamentally . [5] She had an older brother, Albert Jr., with whom she had a close relationship. Named Marie-Christine Dunham Pratt, she was their only child. Writings by and about Katherine Dunham" , Katherine Dunham, 2005. A key reason for this choice was because she knew that through dance, her work would be able to be accessed by a wider array of audiences; more so than if she continued to limit her work within academia. She was instrumental in getting respect for Black dancers on the concert dance stage and directed the first self-supported Black dance company. Othella Dallas, 93, still teaches Katherine Dunham technique, which she learned from Dunham herself. Also Known For : . Not only did Dunham shed light on the cultural value of black dance, but she clearly contributed to changing perceptions of blacks in America by showing society that as a black woman, she could be an intelligent scholar, a beautiful dancer, and a skilled choreographer. ", "Dunham's European success led to considerable imitation of her work in European revues it is safe to say that the perspectives of concert-theatrical dance in Europe were profoundly affected by the performances of the Dunham troupe. She made national headlines by staging a hunger strike to protest the U.S. governments repatriation policy for Haitian immigrants. Katherine Dunham is credited Her dance troupe in venues around. Dunham is credited with introducing international audiences to African aesthetics and establishing African dance as a true art form. Tune in & learn about the inception of. 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. Glory Van Scott and Jean-Lon Destin were among other former Dunham dancers who remained her lifelong friends. Dunham early became interested in dance. Dunham's background as an anthropologist gave the dances of the opera a new authenticity. The first work, entitled A Touch of Innocence: Memoirs of Childhood, was published in 1959. Childhood & Early Life. Much of the literature calls upon researchers to go beyond bureaucratic protocols to protect communities from harm, but rather use their research to benefit communities that they work with. Two years later she formed an all-Black company, which began touring extensively by 1943. Here are 10 facts about her fascinating life. Through her ballet teachers, she was also exposed to Spanish, East Indian, Javanese, and Balinese dance forms.[23]. It closed after only 38 performances. Tropics (choreographed 1937) and Le Jazz Hot (1938) were among the earliest of many works based on her research. [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. Katherine Dunham. By 1957, Dunham was under severe personal strain, which was affecting her health. While in Haiti, Dunham investigated Vodun rituals and made extensive research notes, particularly on the dance movements of the participants. [20] She also became friends with, among others, Dumarsais Estim, then a high-level politician, who became president of Haiti in 1949. 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. Dana McBroom-Manno still teaches Dunham Technique in New York City and is a Master of Dunham Technique. In my mind, it's the most fascinating thing in the world to learn".[19]. Other movies she performed in as a dancer during this period included the Abbott and Costello comedy Pardon My Sarong (1942) and the black musical Stormy Weather (1943), which featured a stellar range of actors, musicians and dancers.[24]. New York City, U.S. In 1963, Dunham became the first African-American to choreograph for the Metropolitan Opera. Actress: Star Spangled Rhythm. This gained international headlines and the embarrassed local police officials quickly released her. ", "Kaiso! From the 40s to the 60s, Dunham and her dance troupe toured to 57 countries of the world. She made world tours as a dancer, choreographer, and director of her own dance company. A continuation based on her experiences in Haiti, Island Possessed, was published in 1969. He needn't have bothered. Dunham was both a popular entertainer and a serious artist intent on tracing the roots of Black culture. This was followed by television spectaculars filmed in London, Buenos Aires, Toronto, Sydney, and Mexico City. She died a month before her 97th birthday.[53]. In 1940, she formed the Katherine Dunham Dance Company, which became the premier facility for training dancers. Dunham was born in Chicago on June 22, 1909. 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. 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. Some Facts. Choreographer. Birth Country: United States. Her fieldwork inspired her innovative interpretations of dance in the Caribbean, South America, and Africa. [15] He showed her the connection between dance and social life giving her the momentum to explore a new area of anthropology, which she later termed "Dance Anthropology". On one of these visits, during the late 1940s, she purchased a large property of more than seven hectares (approximately 17.3 acres) in the Carrefours suburban area of Port-au-Prince, known as Habitation Leclerc. 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. Such visitors included ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax, novelist and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, Robert Redfield, Bronisaw Malinowski, A.R. [52], On May 21, 2006, Dunham died in her sleep from natural causes in New York City. Back in the United States she formed an all-black dance troupe, which in 1940 performed her Tropics and Le Jazz . One of her fellow professors, with whom she collaborated, was architect Buckminster Fuller. Alvin Ailey later produced a tribute for her in 198788 at Carnegie Hall with his American Dance Theater, entitled The Magic of Katherine Dunham. In 1928, while still an undergraduate, Dunham began to study ballet with Ludmilla Speranzeva, a Russian dancer who had settled in Chicago, after having come to the United States with the Franco-Russian vaudeville troupe Le Thtre de la Chauve-Souris, directed by impresario Nikita Balieff. Katherine Dunham was a rebel among rebels. Kaiso is an Afro-Caribbean term denoting praise. She . [15] It was in a lecture by Redfield that she learned about the relationship between dance and culture, pointing out that Black Americans had retained much of their African heritage in dances. Using some ballet vernacular, Dunham incorporates these principles into a set of class exercises she labeled as "processions". If Cities Could Dance: East St. Louis. 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. 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. Katherine Dunham was an American dancer and choreographer, credited to have brought the influence of Africa and the Caribbean into American dance . Her legacy was far-reaching, both in dance and her cultural and social work. The schools she created helped train such notables as Alvin Ailey and Jerome Robbins in the "Dunham technique." Death . Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 - May 21, 2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Katherine Dunham, a world-renowned dancer and choreographer, had big plans for East St. Louis in 1977. Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) brought African dance aesthetics to the United States, forever influencing modern and jazz dance. Intrigued by this theory, Dunham began to study African roots of dance and, in 1935, she traveled to the Caribbean for field research. American dancer and choreographer (19092006). Dunham created many all-black dance groups. Jeff Dunham hails from Dallas, Texas. Katherine Dunham died on May 21 2006. Despite 13 knee surgeries, Ms. Dunham danced professionally for more than . ", While in Europe, she also influenced hat styles on the continent as well as spring fashion collections, featuring the Dunham line and Caribbean Rhapsody, and the Chiroteque Franaise made a bronze cast of her feet for a museum of important personalities.". [15] Dunham's relationship with Redfield in particular was highly influential. There she met John Pratt, an artist and designer and they got married in 1941 until his death in 1986. Katherine Dunham was born on the 22nd of June, 1909 in Chicago before she was taken by her parents to their hometown at Glen Ellyn in Illinois. In 1966, she served as a State Department representative for the United States to the first ever World Festival of Negro Arts in Dakar, Senegal. 4 (December 2010): 640642. Transforming Anthropology 20, no. As I document in my book Katherine Dunham: Dance and the . This led to a custody battle over Katherine and her brother, brought on by their maternal relatives. She choreographed for Broadway stage productions and operaincluding Aida (1963) for the New York Metropolitan Opera. This meant neither of the children were able to settle into a home for a few years. Katherine Mary Dunham, 22 Jun 1909 - 21 May 2006 Exhibition Label Born Glen Ellyn, Illinois One of the founders of the anthropological dance movement, Katherine Dunham distilled Caribbean and African dance elements into modern American choreography. [50] Both Dunham and the prince denied the suggestion. [8], Despite her choosing dance, Dunham often voiced recognition of her debt to the discipline: "without [anthropology] I don't know what I would have done.In anthropology, I learned how to feel about myself in relation to other people. Dunham continued to develop dozens of new productions during this period, and the company met with enthusiastic audiences in every city. Others who attended her school included James Dean, Gregory Peck, Jose Ferrer, Jennifer Jones, Shelley Winters, Sidney Poitier, Shirley MacLaine and Warren Beatty. ", Black writer Arthur Todd described her as "one of our national treasures". These exercises prepare the dancers for African social and spiritual dances[31] that are practiced later in the class including the Mahi,[32] Yonvalou,[33] and Congo Paillette. In 1937 she traveled with them to New York to take part in A Negro Dance Evening, organized by Edna Guy at the 92nd Street YMHA. [13], Dunham officially joined the department in 1929 as an anthropology major,[13] while studying dances of the African diaspora. Unlike other modern dance creators who eschewed classical ballet, Dunham embraced it as a foundation for her technique. Example. With Dunham in the sultry role of temptress Georgia Brown, the show ran for 20 weeks in New York. They had particular success in Denmark and France. All rights reserved. Dunham also created the well-known Dunham Technique [1]. Question 2. Katherine Dunham facts for kids. 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. and creative team that lasted. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance." There is also a strong emphasis on training dancers in the practices of engaging with polyrhythms by simultaneously moving their upper and lower bodies according to different rhythmic patterns. Born in 1909 #28. She had incurred the displeasure of departmental officials when her company performed Southland, a ballet that dramatized the lynching of a black man in the racist American South. London: Zed Books, 1999. He was the founder of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. Dunham technique is also inviting to the influence of cultural movement languages outside of dance including karate and capoeira.[36]. 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 was born on June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small . Text:. 30 seconds. However, fully aware of her passion for both dance performance, as well as anthropological research, she felt she had to choose between the two. "[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. Katherine Dunham Quotes On Positivity. The family moved to Joliet, Illinois when her father remarried. In the mid-1930s she conducted anthropological research on dance and incorporated her findings into her choreography, blending the rhythms and movements of . Fighting, Alive, Have Faith. By the time she received an M.A. She did this for many reasons. . Her dance company was provided with rent-free studio space for three years by an admirer and patron, Lee Shubert; it had an initial enrollment of 350 students. In 1987 she received the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award, and was also inducted into the. She directed the Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, and was artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University. Died: May 21, 2006. She wrote that he "opened the floodgates of anthropology" for her. Over the years Katherine Dunham has received scores of special awards, including more than a dozen honorary doctorates from various American universities. When she was not performing, Dunham and Pratt often visited Haiti for extended stays. She lectured every summer until her death at annual Masters' Seminars in St. Louis, which attracted dance students from around the world. It was not a success, closing after only eight performances. ZURICH Othella Dallas lay on the hardwood . Beda Schmid. Here are some interesting facts about Alvin Ailey for you: Facts about Alvin Ailey 1: the popular modern dance Katherine Dunham. As an African American woman, she broke barriers of race and gender, most notably as the founder of an important dance company that toured the United States, Latin America, Europe, Asia, and Australia for several decades. ", Examples include: The Ballet in film "Stormy Weather" (Stone 1943) and "Mambo" (Rossen 1954). [15], In 1935, Dunham was awarded travel fellowships from the Julius Rosenwald and Guggenheim foundations to conduct ethnographic fieldwork in Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Trinidad studying the dance forms of the Caribbean. used throughout the world choros, rite de passage, los Idies, and. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 May 21, 2006)[1] was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham was active in human rights causes, and in 1992 she staged a 47-day hunger strike to highlight the plight of Haitian refugees. Dunham passed away on Sunday, May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. Birth Year: 1956. During these years, the Dunham company appeared in some 33 countries in Europe, North Africa, South America, Australia, and East Asia. In 1967 she officially retired, after presenting a final show at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. [16], After her research tour of the Caribbean in 1935, Dunham returned to Chicago in the late spring of 1936. Later in the year she opened a cabaret show in Las Vegas, during the first year that the city became a popular entertainment as well as gambling destination. As a dancer and choreographer, Katherine Dunham (1910-2002) wowed audiences in the 1930s and 1940s when she combined classical ballet with African rhythms to create an exciting new dance style. ((Photographer unknown, Courtesy of Missouri History Museum Photograph and Prints collection. Katherine Dunham: The Artist as Activist During World War II. Dancer, anthropologist, social worker, activist, author. [14] For example, she was highly influenced both by Sapir's viewpoint on culture being made up of rituals, beliefs, customs and artforms, and by Herkovits' and Redfield's studies highlighting links between African and African American cultural expression. Cruz Banks, Ojeya. However, she did not seriously pursue a career in the profession until she was a student at the University of Chicago. In 1992, at age 83, Dunham went on a highly publicized hunger strike to protest the discriminatory U.S. foreign policy against Haitian boat-people. There, he ran a dry cleaning business in a place mostly occupied by white people. Please scroll down to enjoy more supporting materials. Kantherine Dunham passed away of natural causes on May 21, 2006, one month before her 97th birthday. While trying to help the young people in the community, Dunham was arrested. Transforming Anthropology 20 (2012): 159168. Her father was given a number of important positions at court . Educate, entertain, and engage with Factmonster. Dancer. She also developed the Dunham Technique, a method of movement to support her dance works. Upon returning to Chicago, the company performed at the Goodman Theater and at the Abraham Lincoln Center. She majored in anthropology at the University of Chicago, and after learning that much of Black . She was born on June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a small suburb of Chicago, to Albert Millard Dunham, a tailor and dry cleaner, and his wife, Fanny June Dunham. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers in American and European theater of the 20th century, and directed her own dance company for many years. Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. A carriage house on the grounds is to . A fictional work based on her African experiences, Kasamance: A Fantasy, was published in 1974. Her dance career was interrupted in 1935 when she received funding from the Rosenwald Foundation which allowed her to travel to Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, and Haiti for eighteen months to explore each country's respective dance cultures. This won international acclaim and is now taught as a modern dance style in many dance schools. Receiving a post graduate academic fellowship, she went to the Caribbean to study the African diaspora, ethnography and local dance. Name: Mae C. Jemison. The Dunham company's international tours ended in Vienna in 1960. She describes this during an interview in 2002: "My problemmy strong drive at that time was to remain in this academic position that anthropology gave me, and at the same time continue with this strong drive for motionrhythmic motion". [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. In the 1970s, scholars of Anthropology such as Dell Hymes and William S. Willis began to discuss Anthropology's participation in scientific colonialism. By Renata Sago. She taught dance lessons to help pay for her education at the University of Chicago. You dance because you have to. Barrelhouse. 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. Her popular books are Island Possessed (1969), Touch of Innocence (1959), Dances of Haiti (1983), Kaiso! She is known for her many innovations, one of her most known . 8 Katherine Dunham facts. After Mexico, Dunham began touring in Europe, where she was an immediate sensation. The 1940s and 1950s saw the successors to the pioneers, give rise to such new stylistic variations through the work of artistic giants such as Jos Limn and Merce Cunningham. She built her own dance empire and was hailed as the queen of black dance. [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. theatrical designers john pratt. Last Name Dunham #5. Born Katherine Coleman in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia . Katherine Dunham Facts that are Fun!!! As a student, she studied under anthropologists such as A.R. In the mid-1950s, Dunham and her company appeared in three films: Mambo (1954), made in Italy; Die Grosse Starparade (1954), made in Germany; and Msica en la Noche (1955), made in Mexico City. Alumnae include Eartha Kitt, Marlon Brando and Julie Belafonte. Its premiere performance on December 9, 1950, at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile,[39][40] generated considerable public interest in the early months of 1951. In August she was awarded a bachelor's degree, a Ph.B., bachelor of philosophy, with her principal area of study being social anthropology. Kraft from the story by Jerry Horwin and Seymour B. Robinson, directed by Andrew L. Stone, produced by William LeBaron and starring Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Cab Calloway.The film is one of two Hollywood musicals with an African . [41] The State Department was dismayed by the negative view of American society that the ballet presented to foreign audiences. Katherine Dunham. Fun facts. After he became her artistic collaborator, they became romantically involved. The committee voted unanimously to award $2,400 (more than $40,000 in today's money) to support her fieldwork in the Caribbean. 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. Katherine Dunham, was mounted at the Women's Center on the campus. - Pic Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images. 288 pages, Hardcover. In 1931, at the age of 21, Dunham formed a group called Ballets Ngres, one of the first black ballet companies in the United States. Updates? Marlon Brando frequently dropped in to play the bongo drums, and jazz musician Charles Mingus held regular jam sessions with the drummers. The company soon embarked on a tour of venues in South America, Europe, and North Africa. "[35] Dunham explains that while she admired the narrative quality of ballet technique, she wanted to develop a movement vocabulary that captured the essence of the Afro-Caribbean dancers she worked with during her travels. 52 Copy quote. Later Dunham established a second home in Senegal, and she occasionally returned there to scout for talented African musicians and dancers. She was a woman far ahead of her time. A actor. Katherine Dunham, pseudonym Kaye Dunn, (born June 22, 1909, Glen Ellyn, Illinois, U.S.died May 21, 2006, New York, New York), American dancer and choreographer who was a pioneer in the field of dance anthropology. 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. The program she created runs to this day at the Katherine Dunham Centers for Arts and Humanities, revolutionizing lives with dance and culture. Another fact is that it was the sometime home of the pioneering black American dancer Katherine Dunham. Many of Dunham students who attended free public classes in East St. Louis Illinois speak highly about the influence of her open technique classes and artistic presence in the city. Katherine Dunham (born June 22, 1909) [1] [2] was an American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. Dunham accepted a position at Southern Illinois University in East St. Louis in the 1960s. She also appeared in the Broadway musicals "Bal . However, after her father remarried, Albert Sr. and his new wife, Annette Poindexter Dunham, took in Katherine and her brother. Katherine Johnson graduated from college at age 18. Called the Matriarch of Black Dance, her groundbreaking repertoire combined innovative interpretations of Caribbean dances, traditional ballet, African rituals and African American rhythms to create the Dunham Technique, which she performed with her dance troupe in venues around the world.

Best Restaurants North Shore Chicago, Wpgc Radio Personalities, Frisco Cat Tree Replacement Parts, Articles K