Katherine Dunham
Dunham was a student of Ludmilla Speranzeva. She later founded one of the first all-black ballet companies “Ballet Négre”. In 1933 she ran her first school, the Negro Dance Group. While performing with her company, she was found by dance teacher Ms. Alfred. Ms. Alfred saw her talent. She gave her the money to go to the Caribbean in 1935. When Dunham returned, she brought back the Afro-Caribbean style of dancing. She mixed the Afro-Caribbean style with European styles to make the Dunham Technique. People of all races found her work to be inspiring. Katherine Dunham worked with George Balanchine for the production of “Cabin in the Sky” in 1940. In 1944 she founded the “Dunham School”. There, she taught the Dunham Technique and anthropology to students. The “Dunham School” was later named the “Katherine Dunham School of Arts and Research.” She later creates a new dance group called “Katherine Dunham Dance Group”. They toured 57 different countries for 2 decades. In 1971 Dunham won the “Dance Division Heritage Award”. She continued to perform her ballets and teach.