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Katherine Dunham. Katherine Mary Dunham (June 22, 1909 – May 21, 2006) [1] was an American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, and social activist. Dunham had one of the most successful dance careers 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."
History. Founded in Chicago, it grew out of Ballet Nègre, a student troupe founded in 1930 by Katherine Dunham (1909–2006), which later became the Negro Dance Group . The company had successful runs on Broadway and in other major American cities. In a New York Times review on February 19, 1940, dance critic John Martin wrote of Dunham: "Her ...
American. Occupation (s) Dancer. Choreographer. Years active. 1948-1986. Known for. The Charles Moore Dance Theatre. Charles Moore (May 22, 1928 – January 23, 1986) was an African-American dancer, choreographer, teacher and founder of The Charles Moore Dance Theatre in Brooklyn, New York.
Katherine Dunham. The “matriarch” of Black dance, Katherine Dunham, was a dancer and choreographer and the first to open a Black dance company in the 1930s that performed all over the world ...
New Dance Group. Pearl Eileen Primus (November 29, 1919 – October 29, 1994) was an American dancer, choreographer and anthropologist. Primus played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the need to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance.
The last Black woman to direct and choreograph was Katherine Dunham, who served in both roles for her dance company in a three-act dance on Broadway in 1955.. Brown has choreographed for major ...
The first professional African American dance company, Hampton Creative Dance Group, was created in 1928. Soon after in 1931, Katherine Dunham created Ballet Negre, later renamed Chicago Dance Group. Dunham also choreographed a show entitled Rites de Passage in 1943, which detailed the story of her life in Haiti.
Katherine Dunham was a significant contributor to the involvement of Black women in ballet. In 1931, Dunham helped establish Ballet Négre, which was one of the first Black ballet companies in the United States. Though the group quickly disbanded, it was an important precursor to the establishment of other Black ballet companies.