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Women’s History Month: Katherine Dunham

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Katherine Dunham, dancer, three-quarter length portrait, facing left, wearing dance costume. Photographer unknown. 1956.
Katherine Dunham, dancer, three-quarter length portrait, facing left, wearing dance costume. Photographer unknown. 1956.

Katherine Dunham was an American dancer-choreographer who was best known for incorporating African American, Caribbean, African, and South American movement styles and themes into her ballets. The Katherine Dunham Collection at the Library of Congress consists of moving image materials that document the extraordinary journey of a woman who changed the face of American modern dance.  Selected materials, including videos of dance technique and fieldwork, are available in The Katherine Dunham Collection in the Performing Arts Encyclopedia.

Comments (2)

  1. Thanks for posting information on the Katherine Dunham collection. Coincidentally, she was also my blog choice on this International
    Women’s Day. I am from Jamaica where dancers benefited significantly from her visits, and where she also learned much about African retention in dance from the Maroons.

    Yvonne
    http://lifelinesproverbsliving.blogspot.com/

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