Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- The collection consists of materials related to American dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham, who was one of the first dance anthropologists and creator of the Katherine Dunham Technique, a modern dance style that combines Caribbean folk movement with ballet. Items in the collection consist mostly of programs for various performances put on by Dunham in the 1940s and 1950s, in addition to two photographs of Dunham.
- Extent:
- 0.21 linear feet (1 box)
- Language:
- The collection is in English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Collection on Katherine Dunham (MS 298). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection consists of materials related to American dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham, who was one of the first dance anthropologists and creator of the Katherine Dunham Technique, a modern dance style that combines Caribbean folk movement with ballet. Items in the collection consist mostly of programs for various performances put on by Dunham in the 1940s and 1950s, in addition to two photographs of Dunham.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) was an American dancer, choreographer, and activist known for her work in the field of dance anthropology, as well as founding her own dance company and school.
Dunham attended the University of Chicago, where she studied dances of the African diaspora in the Caribbean as part of her degree work in social anthropology. She earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology in 1936, and was pursuing a masters degree in her work before deciding to dedicate herself fully to dance and performing. Her work in the field though, was foundational in the development of Dance Anthropology as a field of study within the anthropological landscape.
Dunham first formed a dance troupe in 1930 as a student dancer called Ballet Nègre, which later became the Negro Dance Group and then the Katherine Dunham Company. The group, which toured extensively internationally, was one of the first African-American modern dance companies and the only self-supported American black dance troupe during that period.
In 1946, Dunham opened and directed The Katherine Dunham School of Arts and Research in New York City, where she developed and taught the Katherine Dunham Technique combining modern dance, Caribbean folk movement, and ballet. In 1967 she opened the Performing Arts Training Center (PATC) in East St. Louis, Illinois to bolster community development in the economically depressed black community there. Her later life was focused on activism within this community, as well as in support of the country and peoples of Haiti.
- Acquisition information:
- Purchased in 2024.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Jessica Geiser, Collections Management Librarian, 2024.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged chronologically.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.
- Preferred citation:
-
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Collection on Katherine Dunham (MS 298). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.
- Location of this collection:
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University of California, Riverside - Special Collections and University ArchivesP.O. Box 5900Riverside, CA 92517-5900, US
- Contact:
- (951) 827-3233