Katherine Dunham
Katherine Dunham
Katherine Mary Dunhamwas an American dancer, choreographer, author, educator, and social activist. 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. She has been called the "matriarch and queen mother of black dance."...
ProfessionDancer
Date of Birth22 June 1909
CityGlen Ellyn, IL
museums should-have people
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.
song thinking ed-sullivan
I don't think Ed Sullivan had anything to do with Carib Song.
partners producers knows
Frequently producers have partners that they never let the public know about.
husband eye knowing
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.
husband would-be rave
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.
productive-life years 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.
funny husband persons
I am happy to know that my husband regards me as a woman and a person.
inspirational knowing littles
In knowing how to overcome little things, a centimeter at a time, gradually when bigger things come, you're prepared.
dance hurt ifs
If you dance, you dance because you have to. Every dancer hurts, you know.
haiti costumes done
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.
american-dancer company considered greatest maybe number paris success three
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.
american-dancer education family grow influence knew older parents practiced prejudice racial realized town
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.
american-dancer theatre
You know, this isn't theatre like it used to be.
american-dancer aside chicago country few local master number people places students talent teachers
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.