Katherine Dunham Essay

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Katherine dunham, also known as kaye dunham, was a great dancer with techniques he learned from many countries. She was born on June 22, 1909 in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. Sadly, she expired on May 21, 2006 at the age of 96. She is more famous for her modern feeling type of dance as well as her lead in the field of dance. Although she was a big dancer in her older days, she also started dancing when she was just an adolescence. But she had never thought about becoming a professional dancer. She loved t travel and dance. She traveled places to learn dance. With the dances/dance-styles she created her own dance called l’ag’ya. She then taught others her dance. But her legacy still lives on because she has many dance studios under her name across America. …show more content…
She once published a poem when she was younger. When she went to college she studied ballet. But she then won a scholarship to study anthropology in the caribbean. While she was there she went to Jamaica, Martinique, Trinidad, and Haiti. She studied their dance moves ad learned from their cultures. In 1930, she formed a dance crew called the negro dance group. During this time it was the harlem renaissance. Katherine and her group performed in broadways and shows in America. With this she led her group all the way to Hollywood.

She used her position as a black dancer to fight against racial war that was happening. She didn’t do some of the things she was told to do due to the racism that was happening. She has received many awards for her prestigious work in her dance career. Specifically, she earned The National Medal Of Arts, Heritage Award By The National Dance Association, etc.

Towards the end of her days she went on strikes. She had established a legacy. She had her dance studios around the country. She established her a few hospitals around. She was married but had no biological . she adopted a 14-month year old baby. She became widowed and settled down. She eventually died of natural causes but her legacy is still going on today as to why she has lots of dance studios