I have never done a blog before, so here goes:
This post and the next will be talking about Katherine Dunham, one of the most influential dance artists in the young history of Modern Dance.
I have been interested in Dunham ever since I was younger. I think mostly because my mother was very into her work as well. My family comes from Cuba, and Dunham spent many years over in that area studying local and native dance and then fused it with ballet and modern dance techniques.
I feel like I have a strong connection to her work, and why not take the opportunity to study about her some more. "In 1930, she [Dunham] founded an ensemble that visited more than 50 countries on 6 continents." I think she hasn't had the kind of recognition in the dance world that she should have. "Dunham's dual role as a sensuous performer and scholarly anthropologist..." I loved how Katherine Dunham was both a performer and anthropologist. She really took advantage of her knowledge in both worlds and combined them to make one amazing technique that enraptured audiences for years.
-Quotes in my post are from an obituary in the St. Louis Dispatch that marked her Centenial
LINKS:
"I certainly feel my career was a great career because it inspired so many many people, literally hundreds of people to follow a new kind of life and to realize that they could make out and advance their own professional and private and social lives." ~Katherine Dunham
It is refreshing to see that Dunham's personal success was determined by her ability to inspire others. It is very indicative of the type of work she produced. It was for the audience. It was meant to educate and enlighten. She wasn't afraid to explore and take risks. She was willing to travel and research to find how she could be affected by new surroundings and influences. Dunham will forever be known as the dance anthropologist. It is quite a fitting title because she presented her research through her works, which are somewhat still carried out today.
ReplyDeleteHello Melody,
ReplyDeleteSomehow your links didn't work and you have a fair amount of typos and grammatical errors in this blog. You want to avoid being casual n your address and writing. This is still scholarly research and all of your skills in English composition need to apply.