Katherine Dunham's Engagement In Dance

Influenced primarily by cultural roots and incredibly opportunity, Dunham had the luxury of studying in the West Indies as well as anthropological study of other cultural style dances. The West Indian experience changed forever the focus of Dunham’s life and caused a profound shift in her career. This initial fieldwork began a lifelong involvement with the people and dance of Haiti. And, importantly for the development of modern dance, her fieldwork began her investigations into a vocabulary of movement that would form the core of the Katherine Dunham Technique. Though many of Dunham’s primary influences lies within her multicultural experiences, Mark Turbyfill also seemed to play a large role in her future dance career, giving her private lessons despite his doubt in the opening of her student company (Kaiso! 187). Katherine Dunham has been list as an influence to “everyone from George Balanchine to Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse and Twyla Tharp. American dance, including ballet, modern dance, Hollywood and Broadway, would not be the same without her” (Aschenbrenner 226).

Ella Baker was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1903. She always had strong opinions, and “followed her own mind”. However, she was influenced by her grandmother growing up, and this contributed to her sense of social justice and racism. Her grandmother, who had once been a slave, told her granddaughter stories of her own years in slavery. Her grandmother had been whipped for refusing to marry

“Surely the day will come when color means nothing more than skin tone, when religion is seen uniquely as a way to speak one's soul, when birth places have the weight of a throw of the dice and all men are born free, when understanding breeds of love and brotherhood.” - Josephine Baker. Freda Josephine Baker was born June, 3 1906 at St.Louis, Missouri, United States. Josephine was a black entertainer women who is very silly and funky.When she performed in theatres she made sure both black and white people where there.

A brilliant woman once said, “I believe if the white and colored people could get together and be left alone, they would understand each other and consequently love each other” (Josephine Baker). Originally born Freda Josephine McDonald, Baker lived an oppressed early life as an African American girl with little to hardly any money. At the time, African Americans faced hardships due to the white supremacists that believed dark-colored people would not be of equal value to caucasians. Baker decided that she could overcome her persecution by moving to France and making herself into an idol. She was an independent and courageous woman who opened the doors for equality to many. Josephine Baker greatly impacted America due to her influence on women; therefore, leading to more women involved in education and working, her civil rights speeches that opened opportunities for equal races, as well as advocating for equality among men and women.

In “Showing What Is Possible,” Jacques D’Amboise reflects on an experience when a teacher helped him discover ballet. Madame Seda helped D’Amboise fulfill his talent. With ballet, he overcame the pressure to join a gang like his friends. D’Amboise was able to become a well-known ballet dancer with help from his teachers. When it was time to retire from dancing, he started the National Dance Institute. This project enabled D’Amboise to influence his own students around the world. An influential teacher can affect one’s future by challenging pupils to move past their comfort zones, teaching them to actively control their future, and setting up an environment where they can improve together.

Today I ran into Josephine Baker, the famous flapper in Harlem N.Y. She carried herself well,very poised and polished, however, she overflowed with eccentricity. Socially, people love her, she can act, dance, and sing. Josephine is Harlem’s most entertaining entertainer! Not to mention, Langston Hughes wrote a poem about her called “Negro Dancers”, he wasn’t fooling anybody with his metaphors and symbolism! I remember seeing her perform “The Chocolate Dandies” for the first time at the Colonial Theater on 1887 Broadway, 62nd St. New York! It was the year 1924, I was given a advertisement flier to attend one of the first, black musical performances! I was completely shocked because this was a life changing time for black people around the nation,

Alvin Ailey was an accomplished dancer and choreographer whose African-American heritage influenced his works in the 20th century. His successful dance career has gained international recognition and acclaim thus rendering a significant legacy. Ailey’s background as a dancer and choreographer had many strong influences from social, cultural, economic and political aspects during his early life. His African-American heritage has greatly influenced his works. Alvin was the founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (1958-), galvanized and stabilized an African American presence in theatrical dance. An outstanding performer, choreographer, company director, and mentor to scores of dance artists, Ailey oversaw the growth of his small, pick-up group of seven dancers into a large, carefully managed, internationally-renowned enterprise including several ensembles of dancers and a thriving school in New York City housed in the largest building devoted to dance in the United States. Along the way, Ailey changed the landscape of modern dance by developing new audiences for its performance through a consistent combination of exceptional artistry and wellcoordinated community outreach programs. In all, Ailey invigorated the art of dance with his distinctive creative imagination, his “blood memories” of cultural formations he witnessed as a child-- including the jook joint and the black church --and the strong survivalist ethic he learned as an African American man born in the

Debbie Allen was born to Vivian Ayers and Arthur Allen on January 16, 1950. At age three she started dancing and at age four she knew she wanted to be a professional dancer. Her parents divorced in 1957, and her mother was Debbie and her siblings were encouraged to be creative and independent. In 1960, Vivian Ayers took her children to Mexico. When they came back to Texas, Debbie auditioned for the Houston Ballet School but was denied because the color of her skin. A Russian teacher at the school saw Debbie perform and secretly enrolled her. When she was sixteen, she auditioned for the North Carolina School of the Arts but was rejected because her body was “unsuited” for ballet. While she was in high school she put her studies first and went

From kindergarten until high school, I was a member of the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance. Up to 5 days per week, I would be at the dance studio taking classes, rehearsing for shows, and helping out in the less advanced classes. Regardless of skill level, Jean never hesitated to speak the brutally honest truth about students’ performances and she never settled for anything less than perfection. Jean would often preach that she is only the instruction manual and she cannot make us good dancers, we had to do that for ourselves. However, it was not her critique or teaching alone that motivated dancers to perform well, it was her relentless work ethic and commitment to her studio. As a 70 year-old women, Jean held classes as much as 7 days per

(ella baker.org) She was (sv)inspired to join the movement by her grandmother (w-w)who often confessed the brutality of life under slavery. (2)She was very (adj)inspiring to her community and even joined several organizations benefiting African Americans. One organization Baker was a part of called the SNCC helped create a Freedom Summer (bc)because they wanted to bring national attention to Mississippi’s racism and unwillingness to register black voters. (Ellabaker) (ly)Simply, she is remembered today for her “Audacity to Dream

Baker was born in Virginia in 1913 and get along in sub urban North Carolina. According to Biography.com, “Baker was bring to a do to her mum, a dead slave. Her mum told Baker multiple stories close but no cigar her career, including a spanking she had introduced at the hands of her owner” (“Ella Baker Biography”). It is from top to bottom possible that Baker’s grandmother’s go through as a slavery animated her to perfect the African American groups. In 1927, Baker was the category valedictorian when she graduated Shaw University in Raleigh. Biography.com observes that “After she apt her length, Baker confused to New York City and helped fly the Young Negroes' Cooperative League, which allowed its members to mingle their cash flow to gain better deals on gospel and services.” Baker’s dignity and her cheerful, hard-working qualities obligated her accomplishment in her became adept in work. Since previously, Baker had directed her all such born day goal, which is the driving long arm of the law to espouse approach civic rights. Ella Baker showed her motivations and qualities to address oneself to a national what is coming to one hero in her early all one born day experience. Later, she

Ella Josephine Baker was a giant among civil rights activists. Spanning nearly half the twentieth century, her long and varied career enabled her to touch many lives and leave a unique imprint on the cultural, social, political and economical transitions of both African Americans and society as a whole, specifically during the tumultuous decade of the 1960s. In contrast to other leading activists of her day, Baker fervently believed that true leaders rose up from the poor masses to a position of power, and as such she often made special efforts to reach out to the poorest of working class people, as a “fundi”, a teacher and mentor, to bring them into the

De Lavallade has been dancing for over 60 years, and came into prominence in the early 40s and 50s. She spoke on the struggle of being a black female dancer and said, “People didn’t take dancing so seriously then, oh its just the dancers. We were ignored a great deal and we were able to be taught her craft.” Her cousin was the ballerina Janet Cooke and De Lavallade said she experienced more issues Cooke.

“Go within everyday and find the inner strength so that the world will not blow your candle out” (A Quote by Katherine Dunham 1). Once one of the most successful dancers in both American and European theater, Katherine Dunham, a dancer, anthropologist,social activist,and educator, continues to inspire people throughout the world. Named America’s irreplaceable Dance Treasure in 2000. Dunham remains a name heard regularly in dance schools across the world (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 4). She is known for always trying to make a difference and in the process she has become of the world’s greatest humanitarians (Osumare 5). Katherine Dunham’s work in African American rights in the dance world and her creation of new styles of dance makes her an important figure in American dance History.

Josephine baker a civil rights activist ,soldier ,and a vocal opponent of segregation and discrimination .the only women to address the audience during the march on Washington Josephine hoped for a land where minorities would not be judged by the color of their skin but the way they carry their character she wanted children to have the ability to go to school and learn "protect your self with the pen ....not the gun" stated Josephine . she was truly a phenomenal women who understood what the wanted and would not sit still until she achieved that goal she believed that every one had equal rights she fought for justice ,freedom and those who could not she bravely stood up for