ModDANCE: Dunham's Lineage

Katherine Dunham did not start dancing until her teens, and she had humble dance beginnings. In 1922 at her high school in Chicago, she joined a club where she was exposed to the techniques and ideas of Rudolf Laban and Jaques-Dalcroze and learned a free-style of modern dance movement. In 1928 Dunham began to study with Ludmilla Speranzeva, a dancer who came to America with a French/Russian Vaudeville group. She was one of the first ballet instructors to also accept black students. She exposes Katherine Dunham to movement styles of Spanish dancers (Argentina) while also giving a solid ballet background. She studies with Vera Mirova who teaches her movement styles of the Orient including Javanese, Indian, and Balinese. Dunham was also a student of Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page.

This is a picture of Ludmilla, Dunahm's ballet teacher...

Katherine Dunham was also greatly influenced by her field research trips to the Caribbean; she studied in Haiti, Cuba, and Jamaica to name a few. There she immersed herself in the culture and was able to learn the dances of the people.

Katherine Dunham

When she returned to the United States, she immediately began working on a movement vocabulary that fused the cultural movement traditions of the islands and those of modern and ballet. Because she had such a solid foundation in ballet and modern movement she was able to create a unique and innovative style, which eventually evolved into her own “Dunham Technique,” which is still taught today. I can say from personal experience, it kicks your butt.

Katherine Dunham