Who is Katherine Dunham?
Katherine Dunham is a world recognized tour de’ force; compassion activist & humanitarian, a brilliant dancer, groundbreaking choreographer, genius scholar, master teacher, and fashion diva. Few people of her magnitude of actualization have walked the earth and shared their lives with us so generously.
Recipient of both the Kennedy Medal of Honor in 1983, and a National Medal of Honor in 1987 in recognition of life well spent in the arts, activism and scholarship. Dunham was the first to recognize academically that dance is a social system in her founding Dance Anthropology as a discipline. As an activist she kept herself deeply rooted in the community well into her 90s when she went on a hunger strike on behalf of Haitian Refugees.
Best known as a dancer and choreographer, The Katherine Dunham Dance Company, toured from 1943-1965 visiting six continents, showcasing African diaspora dance and Black excellence throughout the world. Her tremendous success on Broadway, in film and with her touring company evoked a cache that attracted luminaries and legends. She opened Katherine Dunham’s School of Dance in New York in 1945 and became a hub for prolific artists like Eartha Kitt, Alvine Ailey, James Dean, Lottie the Body, and so many more.
In 1967 Ms. Dunham relocated to East St. Louis, Illinois and established her Performing Arts Training Center; she did so to help the local community, giving youth like Warrington Hudlin a place to go, grow and share. In his interview with Cumbe’s Interim Program Director Mr. Hudlin talks extensively about the ripple effect being involved in Dunham’s PATC had on his life and career, from his university studies at Yale to it opening the door to Harry Belafonte taking him under his wing.
Even though recreational dancers may be intimidated by Dunham, it is inherently communal. It’s for everybody. The technique evolved in community with professionals, adults and youth. It is here to keep reminding us how dance from the African diaspora informs every aspect of culture and can enrich our lives personally and collectively.
“If Ms. Dunham were still alive and living in Brooklyn she would be teaching at Cumbe,”
- Aimee Meredith Cox, African-American Studies, Yale University