Katherine Dunham Biography

Katherine Dunham, Dancer
Attr: Phyllis Twachtman
Occup.Dancer
FromUSA
BornJune 22, 1909
DiedMay 21, 2006
Aged96 years
Katherine Dunham was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and also social activist. She was born upon June 22, 1909, in Chicago, Illinois, as well as died on May 21, 2006, in New York City City, New York City, at the age of 96.

Dunham was raised in Joliet, Illinois, where her moms and dads motivated her to pursue her passion for dance. She started studying ballet and later added modern-day dance to her repertoire. In 1931, Dunham finished from the University of Chicago with a level in sociology.

After college, Dunham moved to the West Indies to research dance as well as society. She loved the dancing as well as music of the Caribbean and also began integrating these impacts into her choreography. In 1936, Dunham formed her own dancing company and began doing throughout the United States as well as Europe.

Dunham's dancing style was a fusion of African, Caribbean, and European impacts, which she called "Dunham Technique". Her dances were known for their sensuality, athleticism, as well as storytelling. Dunham additionally used her performances to deal with social concerns, such as racism and also manifest destiny.

In addition to her dance occupation, Dunham was additionally an appreciated anthropologist. She performed comprehensive research study on the dance and culture of the Caribbean and Haiti, releasing numerous books as well as articles on the subject.

Dunham was additionally a vocal supporter for civil liberties and social justice. She used her system as a dancer and public figure to speak out against discrimination and also inequality. In the 1960s, Dunham ended up being associated with the civil liberties movement and also functioned carefully with Martin Luther King Jr. as well as other activists.

Dunham continued to dance and educate well right into her 80s. She obtained various honors as well as honors for her payments to dance and society, including the National Medal of Arts and also the Kennedy Center Honors.

Katherine Dunham was a trendsetter worldwide of dancing as well as a pioneer for social justice. Her heritage continues to inspire generations of dancers as well as protestors today.

Our collection contains 24 quotes who is written / told by Katherine, under the main topic Graduation.

Related authors: Martin Luther King Jr. (Minister), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete)

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24 Famous quotes by Katherine Dunham

Small: Haiti itself was also photographed, some of the streets, some of the mountains, rivers, streams, etc.
"Haiti itself was also photographed, some of the streets, some of the mountains, rivers, streams, etc. were photographed before talking with me about how I felt about Haiti. Then the camera went to our voodoo temple and saw a serious ceremony, a real ceremony"
Small: I dont think Ed Sullivan had anything to do with Carib Song
"I don't think Ed Sullivan had anything to do with Carib Song"
Small: A creative person has to create. It doesnt really matter what you create. If such a dancer wanted to go
"A creative person has to create. It doesn't really matter what you create. If such a dancer wanted to go out and build the cactus gardens where he could, in Mexico, let him do that, but something that is creative has to go on"
Small: We dont intend to always keep this necessarily African oriented. Originally I had hoped to have African
"We don't intend to always keep this necessarily African oriented. Originally I had hoped to have African American Indian of this area, and the Appalachian of this area, but at the same time, just as we have the Haitian room, we will always have room for another exhibit"
Small: I really think that aside from admiring my talent you really admire me as a person and as a woman
"I really think that aside from admiring my talent you really admire me as a person and as a woman"
Small: I certainly feel my career was a great career because it inspired so many many people, literally hundre
"I certainly feel my career was a great career because it inspired so many many people, literally hundreds of people to follow a new kind of life and to realize that they could make out and advance their own professional and private and social lives"
Small: Frequently producers have partners that they never let the public know about
"Frequently producers have partners that they never let the public know about"
Small: Aside from a few master teachers that we have had over the years, this has been a completely local tale
"Aside from a few master teachers that we have had over the years, this has been a completely local talent development. But people have started to come now from Chicago, we have a number of students from Chicago and different places of the country and even in the world"
Small: Without my husbands costumes I wouldnt have known how to accomplish what I saw in my own minds eyes for
"Without my husband's costumes I wouldn't have known how to accomplish what I saw in my own mind's eyes for choreography. And then seeing our choreography and knowing the background of it I am sure helped my husband a great deal with what he designed for us"
Small: I used to want the words She tried on my tombstone. Now I want She did it.
"I used to want the words "She tried" on my tombstone. Now I want "She did it.""
Small: For the kind of thing that we were showing, the budget was sufficient. As we were speaking of in Haiti,
"For the kind of thing that we were showing, the budget was sufficient. As we were speaking of in Haiti, we had not done that before in exactly this form and we had to have costumes for it"
Small: We have a group of friends of the museum who try to raise, if they can, periodically something to help
"We have a group of friends of the museum who try to raise, if they can, periodically something to help us. Of course, the main thing about a building like this is its upkeep. It needs central heating and it needs central air conditioning"
Small: The older I grow the more I see the influence of my family on my life. I didnt always see it. It was up
"The older I grow the more I see the influence of my family on my life. I didn't always see it. It was up to our parents to see that we had our education in a town that hadn't yet realized what racial prejudice was but actually knew and practiced it on occasion"
Small: I had certain physical limitations that made me change the choreography for myself or made me more inte
"I had certain physical limitations that made me change the choreography for myself or made me more interested in choreography only rather than dancing. I have never been a person who wanted to just dance. I have always been interested in developing for other people"
Small: Dont think you are going to go on forever because you are not and begin to plan something that will com
"Don't think you are going to go on forever because you are not and begin to plan something that will compensate as you reduce your capacities to leap or turn on this or that or the other, begin thinking of something else"
Small: My work has been much more Caribbean and eclectic. I am interested in people, and where they come from
"My work has been much more Caribbean and eclectic. I am interested in people, and where they come from happens to have fallen within an area of Africa"
Small: Black people should have recognition for themselves and their backgrounds and their relationships with
"Black people should have recognition for themselves and their backgrounds and their relationships with other people in the world and thus lose some of their alienation. This museum has certainly stood for that in this town"
Small: You know, this isnt theatre like it used to be
"You know, this isn't theatre like it used to be"
Small: Sometimes I have given my husband a manuscript to read that has turned out to have fantastic rave revie
"Sometimes I have given my husband a manuscript to read that has turned out to have fantastic rave reviews and he'll tell me it is no good. Well, if I didn't know him as well as I know him I would be terribly depressed"
Small: So many dancers paint. I used to paint. I started again recently. While I was dancing, I was very busy
"So many dancers paint. I used to paint. I started again recently. While I was dancing, I was very busy with my career. Start something else that makes use of your creative ability because if you don't you will die inside as a person"
Small: I could never live a nonproductive life and I feel that I have lived a productive life as far as I want
"I could never live a nonproductive life and I feel that I have lived a productive life as far as I want to in terms of this company that I have for so many years"
Small: I am happy to know that my husband regards me as a woman and a person
"I am happy to know that my husband regards me as a woman and a person"
Small: I have actually five honorary degrees
"I have actually five honorary degrees"
Small: We had maybe the greatest success of any company that I know of in Paris, and after two or three years
"We had maybe the greatest success of any company that I know of in Paris, and after two or three years I wanted to do this same number that we did for PBS, so we did it and Paris had always considered us their darlings"