Katherine was born on June 22, 1909, in a Chicago hospital and taken as an infant to her parents’ home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a village about 25 miles west of Chicago. Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, was a descendant of slave from West Africa and Madagascar. Her mother, Fanny June Dunham, who was of mixed French-Canadian and Native American heritage. Her mother died when she was just three years old. She had an older brother, Albert jr., she had a very close relationship with him. After her father got remarried a few years later, the family moved to a predominantly white neighborhood in Joliet, Illinois, where her father ran a dry-cleaning business. Katherine became interested in writing and dance at a young age. In 1921, she wrote a short story called “Come Back to Arizona” …show more content…
Instead, at 8:10 P.M. on the evening of March 18, the 82-year-old grande dame dancer had leaned forward in the bedroom of her redbrick home in East St. Louis, Illinois, and she took a small sip of homemade chicken soup. For Katherine, it was the end of a 47-day hunger strike she had prayed it would help change U.S. policy toward refugees from Haiti. Haiti whose rhythm and spirit inspired her art. She was now abandoning that tactic at the urging of deposed Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who asked her to return with him to Haiti as soon as the improving political climate their permits. “My purpose in this work has been fulfilled,” said Katherine. “This torch now passes to other hands.”
Contributions to History Katherine Dunham revolutionized American dance in the 1930’s she went to roots of black dance and rituals transforming them into significant artistic choreography which she spoke to all. She was a pioneer in the use of folk and ethnic choreography, and she was of the founders of the anthropological dance movement. She was known for her dancing and choreography.
Lessons that people can learn from Katherine’s
Kathleen Orr, popularly known as Kathy Orr is a meteorologist for the Fox 29 Weather Authority team on WTXF in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was born on October 19, 1965 and grew up in Westckave, Geddes, New York with her family. The information about her parents and her siblings are still unknown. As per bio obtained online, Kathy Orr is also an author. She has written a number of books like Seductive Deceiver, The drifter's revenge and many others. She graduated in Public Communications from S. I. Newhouse which is affiliated to Syracuse University.
The athlete I chose is Natasha Watley. She is a professional softball player and the first African-American female to play on the USA softball team in the Olympics. She’s a former collegiate 4-time First Team All-American who played for the UCLA Bruins, the USA Softball Women’s National Team, and for the USSSA Pride. She helped the Bruins will multiple championships and also holds numerous records and one of the few players to bat at least .400 with 300 hits, 200 runs, and 100 stolen bases. She’s also the career hits leader in the National Pro Fast pitch. She won the gold medal in the 2004 summer Olympics and a silver in the Beijing Olympics. She was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame in 2014.
Haskins, James. "Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade." Black Dance in America. N.p.: n.p., 1990. 130-37. Print.
Lana Lanetta was born and grew up in the quaint town of Ogre, Latvia. Coming from a blue-collar family, she marches to the beat of her own drum and has achieved the American dream and beyond. Don’t let her certification in gardening fool you, she is anything but a girly girl and She had no time to try to conform to anyone’s standards, early on she began to shape her own future, working her way up from a street janitor to becoming an adept artist. In her youth she was incredibly active, contributing to her amazing figure that she still maintains today, getting great aerobic workouts from soccer and gymnastics. Extracurricular activities aside, sewing has always been an enduring passion that has stayed near and dear to her heart. Despite her
On November 4, 1942 in Harlem, New York, Patricia Era Bath was born to parents Rupert and Gladys Bath. In her early years, Patricia was raised in Harlem, New York. Harlem was not the safest, place yet Pat called it home. In her hometown lots of reasons for worry were present, not only because of the challenges for blacks, but because of World War Two. Patricia grew up being much worse off than others in their society. At an early age she excelled in many activates including science, flute, and being able to speak French. She was also able to master the writings of Milton, Virgil, Plutarch, and John Locke. Being the person she is, she only saw excitement and opportunity in her “long run.”
Rachel Dein is a London Based artist, who studied Fine Arts at Middlesex University . She is most famously known for her tiles made of cement and plaster featuring molds of flowers. She currently runs and owns the Tactile Studio in North London to support herself and her three children. Before setting up her own studio, but after going to art school, she decided to take up an apprenticeship at The Royal Opera House and later branched out to other theaters to continue her prop making career including The English National Opera, The West End Theaters, London Transport Museum and Selfridges Christmas windows. Her time in prop making allowed her to explore her love of theatre, film, and opera while expanding her knowledge of 3d design. She also enjoys gardening, which is where she has gotten some of the materials for her craft.
Katherine Dunham, born on June 22, 1909 was an African American dancer. Her mother Fanny June Dunham died when she became sick and her father Albert Dunham Sr., left to work as a salesman. Dunham and her older brother Albert Jr., were raised by their loving aunt Lulu on the ghetto side of Chicago. At four years old, Dunham would go to the salon, her aunt’s workplace, and would always remember how much her mother loved music. It was not long before that when Katherine noticed how people would look at her aunt because of the color of her skin. It was why Lulu lost her job and had to move in with other relatives as her aunt could not afford their little apartment anymore. They moved several times with Dunham family members, where Katherine discovered
According to Katherine, “A creative person has to create. It doesn’t really matter what they create. If such a dance 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. (Katherine, Dunham, Dancing a life, 2002)”. It has been said that an idol is someone whom everyone looks up to because of the great things they accomplished throughout their life span. Acknowledged as an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, civil activist and writer. Katherine Dunham, not only normally known for the generous acts of kindness but also for the huge impact she had in incorporating different dance styles and creating them into her very own ballet pieces. An influential woman who supported African American culture and believed there shouldn’t be any divisions between people. Not completely another mother of modern dance but a women who greatly influenced modern dance to enhance it in many ways. Katherine is and was famous for her anthropology movement in the world of dance, her creativity and dedication.
In the dance world a staggering number of choreographers have made a lasting impact on the way dance is seen to its audience. Alonzo King’s exceptional oeuvre of work includes him in this great history of significant choreographers. He not only created the link between modern and ballet in the twentieth century, but he bridged the ...
Throughout her college career, Dunham continued to dance in various venues. In 1933, she opened the Negro Dance Group, her first dance...
What is it like to live a life with Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD)? Narcissism is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy. People with this disorder can be vindictive, selfish, cunning person. They do not care who is harmed or hurt. Abigail was the leader of all of the girls that were seen dancing and calling on evil spirits. Abigail would threaten the girls by saying if they said anything, she would kill or harm them severely. She wanted what she couldn’t have, so that made her psychologically unstable. Abigail William’s would be convicted in today’s court because she gave many threats to kill the girls who were with her the night they were dancing if they spoke up in court, her behavior caused harm to many even though she may not have physically done damage herself and due to previous court cases, some people diagnosed with Narcissism were found innocent due to their mental instability but others were guilty because they were mentally unstable. As it is shown, Narcissistic Personality Disorder causes her to be selfish, arrogant, dangerous, and obsess over the man she could not have, because Abigail threatened the girls she was with the night they were dancing, to not confess to anything in court.
Alvin Ailey played a large role in the diversification and cultural storytelling that can be seen in modern dance today. With the founding of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, his dance company stands strong as one of the most respected and prosperous dance companies because of its artistic representation of the beauty that is otherwise known as the African culture. His work absolutely changed the atmosphere of modern dance because he was able to provide the modern dance community with a wider variety of content that had otherwise not been popularized before. Not only did he draw his inspiration from the African culture, but he also amalgamated this with his personal experience growing up as a black child during times of segregation.
Kathrine knew that she was meant to do so much more than to sit around and let other people play the game, this thought of equality was instilled in her young by her father who said to her ‘"Cheerleaders cheer for other people, You want people to cheer for you. The game is on the field. Life is to participate, not to spectate."’(ESPN). This stuck with her through life, she was a fighter and when she knew it was time to run her race Kathrine remember this and it pushed her through even at her weakest, and most vulnerable of times. Men didn't understand that she or any women was much more than a housewife, Katherine throughout her life dealt with this conflict. Katherine when explaining how women were treated in that time said "Let me paint you a picture about the status quo for women when I was growing up, we have a box here, and a woman's job is to mind the house, her husband, take care of the kids and be feminine and domestic." (ESPN). This is so significant because you can see how women were oppressed by this statement and how she had used her strength and pushed through the oppression not only by word, but by force and you can see this when she was physically harmed during Boston. While running Boston as I just stated she was physically attacked by the
The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.
New Dance is described as a developing art form; this dance was articulated in the early 20th century. According to Chapter 8 in History of Dance book, “the new dance emerged as a response to the ballet that populated the variety shows and music halls, which had a rigid formula of steps and poses” (Kassing). The New Dance was a product of several strands that interlaced together dancers’ studies and backgrounds; these strands and others were woven together in a historical, political, and societal framework. For instance, one strand of New Dance consisted of the concepts, techniques, costumes, and stage settings from around the world. These strands influenced major dancers and choreographers, such as, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn.