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History Of Modern Black Dance in America

History Of Modern Black Dance in America

Richardg234 - May 01, 2025
History Of Modern Black Dance in America; What is Dance? I went looking for a broad definition of dance and could not find one, so I did some research and came up with a broad definition: Dance is an ordered sequence of movements with visual and rhythmic patterns (with or without music) which is usually expressed through certain social norms within a given society. In my opinion, dance have to be linked with certain social norms, not just the movement of the hands and feet as Webster points out. In Africa and other ethnic societies, dance expresses the way people live their lives, it tells a story. This essay is also an attempt to tell a story about Modern Black Dance in America.

The essay will discuss how the influence of Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham help shape the development of Modern Black Dance in America. As stated before, like any other social craft, Modern Black Dance must be examined within the sociocultural and economic conditions which gave rise to it’s development. The essay should not be viewed as some kind of academic discourse, but rather an opinion based on some degree of historical research and fact. Readers are welcome to agree or disagree with my conclusions.

As stated above, two central figures laid the ground work for the development of Modern Black Dance. These two ladies were not just great performers, but Cultural Anthropologist, scientist, educators and social activist. They viewed African Dance and Modern Black Dance as an endless cycle of historical investigation. Katherine Dunham stated in an interview that some people go through their entire life just existing from day to day, but that she can only exist where consciousness is foremost in the minds of the people.

She along with Pearl Primus spent their entire life sharing their research and knowledge of dance. The essay also discusses several dance companies who were directly or indirectly influenced by Pearl Primus and Katherine Dunham: The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Dallas Contemporary Dance Theater and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. These particular dance companies were highlighted because they are internationally known and have won many distinguish awards. I hope you will enjoy the essay and come away with the idea that dance is more than just movement of the feet and body, but it is an expression of the way people live their lives, enjoy comrades.

Katherine Dunham March 30, 2011Posted in: Art and Music Unlike Primus, Katherine spent her early years studying Classical Ballet in Chicago. After attending a lecture by Robert Redfield, a professor of anthropology who specialized in American Indian and African cultures, she discovered that much of Black Culture in Modern American had begun in Africa. Like Primus, she spent her whole life studying ethic and African Culture and sharing her knowledge threw dance. Printed below is a time line of her life which can be found at the library of congress. Katherine Dunham Collection Special Presentation: Katherine Dunham Timeline

A studio photograph of Katherine Dunham in the 1920s. Courtesy of the Missouri Historical Society, Katherine Mary Dunham is born on 22 June 1909 in a Chicago hospital. Her father, Albert Millard Dunham, is black; her mother, Fanny June Dunham, is a woman of French-Canadian and American Indian heritage. Shortly after her birth, her parents take the infant Katherine to their home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a village about fifteen miles west of Chicago. She spends her early years there in the company of her brother, Albert Jr., who is six years older than she. They become devoted to each other.

In 1913, Fanny June Dunham, who was twenty years older than her husband, dies. Katherine and Albert Jr. are sent to live with their father’s sister, Lulu, on the South Side of Chicago. In 1915, Albert Sr. marries Annette Poindexter, and the children go to live with their father and stepmother in Joliet, Illinois. Their stepmother becomes a benevolent influence, but their father is a strict disciplinarian who lays down hard rules of behavior and dispenses physical punishment for infractions. Dunham’s short story, “Come Back to Arizona,” written when she was twelve years old, appears in volume 2 (August 1921) of The Brownies’ Book, a periodical edited by W.E.B. Du Bois. 1922/>
In high school, Katherine Dunham joins the Terpsichorean Club and begins to learn a kind of free-style modern dance based on ideas of Jaques-Dalcroze and Rudolf von Laban. At fourteen, to help raise money for her church, she organizes a “cabaret party.” She is the producer, director, and star of the entertainment.

1928/>
In Chicago, Dunham begins to study ballet with Ludmilla Speranzeva, who had come to America with a Franco-Russian vaudeville troupe known as the Chauve-Souris. Speranzeva, one of the first ballet teachers to accept black dancers as students, introduces Dunham to the Spanish dancers La Argentina, Quill Monroe, and Vicente Escudero. Dunham also studies ballet with Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page and, through Vera Mirova, is exposed to East Indian, Javanese, and Balinese dance forms. Having attended a junior college in Joliet, Illinois, Katherine Dunham follows her brother Albert to the University of Chicago. She attends a lecture by Robert Redfield, a professor of anthropology who specialized in American Indian and African cultures. From him she learns that much of black culture in modern America had begun in Africa. She decides to major in anthropology and to focus on dances of the African diaspora. In the course of her studies, she attends classes taught by Redfield, A. R. Radcliffe-Browne, Edward Sapir, Lloyd Warner, and others. 1930 Katherine Dunham forms a dance company, Ballet Nègre, one of the first Negro ballet companies in America.

Pearl Primus Pioneer of African dance in the United States Primus’ sojourn to West Africa has proven invaluable to students of African dance. She learned more about African dance, its function and meaning than had any other American before her. She was able to codify the technical details of many of the African dances through the notation system she evolved and was also able to view and to salvage some “still existent gems of dances before they faded into general decadence” (Primus, from the Schomburg Library: Primus File, 1949). She has been unselfish in sharing the knowledge she has gained with others. The significance of Primus’ African research and choreography lies in her presentation of a dance history which embraces ethnic unity, the establishment of an articulate foundation for influencing future practitioners of African dance, the presentation of African dance forms into a disciplined expression, and the enrichment of American theater through the performance of African dance. Walking With Pearl… Africa Diaries Richardg, March 31, 2011

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History/>
Founded in 1969, the Dance Theatre of Harlem made its official debut on January 8, 1971, at the New York Guggenheim Museum with three chamber ballets by Mitchell. During the same season the company's repertory was supplemented with several ballets by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins. Its European debut was at the Spoleto Festival. In 1981 the Dance Theatre of Harlem became the first black company to appear at Covent Garden. In 1992, the company toured to South Africa in the "Dancing Through Barriers" tour that gave birth to the outreach program of the same name that still continues to operate. In 1999, the year of the company's 30th anniversary, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Mitchell were inducted into the National Museum of Dance and the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York. In February 2009 Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrated its 40th anniversary. In 2009, Virginia Johnson was named Artistic Director, with Arthur Mitchell becoming Artistic Director Emeritus.Young dancers from the Dance Theatre of Harlem perform during a dinner held at the White House on February 6, 2006. President George W. Bush and Laura Bush are in attendance.

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Outreach work/>
The Dance Theatre of Harlem School offers training to more than 1,000 young people annually with its community program called Dancing Through Barriers, open to any child who wants to study dance. The company's Dancing Through Barriers Ensemble does outreach throughout the US. It accepts pre-school children up to senior citizens. The school offers specializations in children's movement, European ballet, choreography, and musicology. The Dance Theatre of Harlem now has a Pre-Professional Residence program at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., for dancers aged 8 to 18. If accepted, the students meet every Saturday, October through April, and work with DTH resident choreographer Robert Garland. The program includes four levels from beginner to advanced for both ladies and gentleman of the DC metro area. In April, the program culminates with a performance on the Kennedy Center's Concert Hall stage as a part of the Millenum Stage series. Having ceased performing in 2004 due to budgetary constraints, the Dance Theatre of Harlem has announced that it will resume performances in 2012-2013.

1955 – 1969> />
Arthur Mitchell In 1955 a miracle happened. Arthur Mitchell, an African-American ballet dancer selected by George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, joined the New York City Ballet. This historic occurrence in pre-civil rights America set the stage for many firsts by Mitchell, which changed the face and future of dance forever. Through roles choreographed by Balanchine specifically for Mitchell, such as the pas de deux in Agon and the role of Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, he honed his craft to become a principal dancer with NYCB for 15 years.

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The Birth of Dance Theatre of Harlem In 1969, shortly after the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem. Nurtured by the optimism and idealism of the Civil Rights Era, the school began with classes taught in a garage on 152nd Street in Harlem, the community in New York City in which Arthur Mitche

ll grew up. The school's curriculum was designed to give the children of Harlem the same opportunities Mitchell had as a teenager. Dance Theatre of Harlem flourished and the nucleus of a professional company was born. />
One of the benchmarks of the school became the "Open House Series", which opens the doors of Dance Theatre of Harlem to showcase the activities of the professional Company, DTH Ensemble, students from the school as well as guest artists from all disciplines. These informal studio performances are a community concert series that continues today, offering quality entertainment at nominal ticket prices to families living in Harlem and the New York Metropolitan area.

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1970 - 1979 A Decade of Triumph for Dance Theatre of Harlem Almost immediately, Arthur Mitchell and Karel Shook began an education-outreach program, which was eventually called Arts Exposure, giving lecture-demonstrations and small performances at public schools, colleges and universities to give the dancers experience in performing. In 1971, at the Guggenheim Museum in New York City a neoclassical ballet company named "Dance Theatre of Harlem" made its debut. Later that year, George Balanchine invited Arthur Mitchell to co-choreograph Concerto for Jazz Band and Orchestra in an exciting collaboration between New York City Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem.

By 1979, DTH had toured internationally, had three successful Broadway seasons, received critical acclaim for a public television Great Performances – Dance in America special, expanded its repertory to 46 ballets and formed a choral and percussion ensemble. In the course of this lively decade, what begun as a modest performing company became a major force and established itself as something very unique and deeply needed on the scene of contemporary dance. What started out as a natural resource became a national and international resource; a moving, innovative force in dance, theatre and education.

1980 - 1989 Dance Theatre of Harlem, a World-Class Neoclassical Ballet Company In the 1980's, spectacular productions and rave reviews from the performances of Firebird, Creole Giselle ,Scheherazade, Bugaku, Agon, and Dougla to name a few, have carved a niche for Dance Theatre of Harlem. The repertory is grounded in neoclassical technique, which enables DTH artists to dance all styles. The verve in which the company performed, incorporating brilliant costuming and elaborate set designs is an indication to audiences that DTH is a major "tour de force" in dance. As the signature of this decade, Dance Theatre of Harlem was the first American ballet company to perform in Russia as a part of a cultural exchange initiative sponsored mutually by the United States and Russia (formerly the Soviet Union.) One of the highlights of this groundbreaking tour was the company's induction into the Kirov Museum.

1990 - 1999 Timeline Thirty Years of Dance Theatre of Harlem During the 90's, Dance Theatre of Harlem continued its mission to be an organization that is artistic, educational and socially aware. As in the beginning, DTH continued to challenge widely held stereotypes, while bridging the gaps created by extreme cultural and economic disparity worldwide. DTH's historic tour to South Africa in 1992 known as the Dancing Through Barriers tour gave birth to the Dancing Through Barriers® program, wherein the company's reputation as a traveling university was formally institutionalized. Since that time, the DTB® program has become a cornerstone in Dance Theatre of Harlem's educational programming.

In 1999, Dance Theatre of Harlem celebrated its 30th Anniversary with a New York City season, and educational activities, including the company's world renowned Firebird, performed with live music for New York City Public School students. For some of the students, this event was their first time in a theater, especially with a live orchestra. As an addition to the crowning achievement of the 30th anniversary and Arthur Mitchell’s 50th year in performing arts, Dance Theatre of Harlem and Mitchell were inducted into the National Museum of Dance and the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney - Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York.

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2000 – Present Dance Theatre of Harlem: Using the Arts to Ignite the Mind Eager to continue to shape the spirit of dance into the new millennium, in 2000, Dance Theatre of Harlem performed to sold-out houses in China, giving the country its first performances of Firebird and conducted extensive outreach and educational activities in Mandarin Chinese. That same year, the company returned to the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, which marked DTH’s first performance on its stage in 25 years. At home or abroad, DTH is met with sold-out performances and accolades. After successfully returning to the UK in 2002 and 2004, DTH celebrated its 35th Anniversary with an extensive U.S. tour, followed by performances in Greece prior to the opening of the 2004 summer Olympics.

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In late 2004, the professional company went on hiatus; in keeping with the DTH philosophy of “using the arts to ignite the mind” the DTH Ensemble, the performing arm of the school, continues to thrill audiences with lecture-demonstrations at schools, colleges, universities and dance festivals. Most recently, the Ensemble was invited to perform for the President and First Lady of the United States at the White House and is the only performing arts group invited to dance in the elegant rotunda at the New York State Supreme Court for the annual African American History Month celebration.

Dance Theater of Harlem - "Dougla" | Ballet Across America at the Kennedy Center
Brief History Of Black Dance/Alvin Ailey – March 30, 2011Posted in: Art and Music Alvin Ailey Biography ( 1931 – 1989 )/>
My Forward I have reprinted Ailey’s biography which was taken from the encyclopedia of World Biography. There is no need for me to do any additional research concerning Alvin’s life, because there are many good biographies already written. I have one important thing to point out. The encyclopedia makes no mention of the fact that Alvin was a proud gay man who died from HIV. Another Biographer claimed that he died from a blood dyscrasia. By 1989, everyone knew that HIV and Aids was a major disease that was killing many gay men in our community. I think Ailey hid his disease because he did not want to embarrass his family and friends. But I think it is time for biographers to stop hiding the fact that he was a proud black gay man and prolific dance choreographer. It is no secret that a certain percentage of black male dancers are gay. I have even dated a few myself. If you would like to read more about Alvin’s life, I have listed several reading which might interest you. Reprinted from Encyclopedia of World Biography

Alvin Ailey Jr. was born to Alvin and Lula Elizabeth Ailey on January 5, 1931, in Rogers, Texas. He was an only child, and his father, a laborer, left the family when Alvin Jr. was less than one year old. At the age of six, Alvin Jr. moved with his mother to Navasota, Texas. As he recalled in an interview in the New York Daily News Magazine, “There was the white school up on the hill, and the black Baptist church, and the segregated [only members of one race allowed] theaters and neighborhoods. Like most of my generation, I grew up feeling like an outsider, like someone who didn’t matter.” In 1942 Ailey and his mother moved to Los Angeles, California, where his mother found work in an aircraft factory. Ailey became interested in athletics and joined his high school gymnastics team and played football. An admirer of dancers Gene Kelly (1912–1996) and Fred Astaire (1899–1987), he also took tap dancing lessons at a neighbor’s home. His interest in dance grew when a friend took him to visit the modern dance school run by Lester Horton, whose dance company (a group of dancers who perform together) was the first in America to admit members of all races. Unsure of what opportunities would be available for him as a dancer, however, Ailey left Horton’s school after one month. After graduating from high school in 1948, Ailey considered becoming a teacher. He entered the University of California in Los Angeles to study languages. When Horton offered him a scholarship in 1949 Ailey returned to the dance school. He left again after one year, however, this time to attend San Francisco State College.

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Judith Jamison Judith Jamison is a dance legend. Artistic director of the renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater for more than 20 years, Jamison, 67, will step away from that role (but not the company, she stresses) this summer. Established by Ailey in 1958, the New York-based company has thrived under Jamison’s leadership, performing for millions of people in more than 70 countries, and in the United States, everywhere from Bill Clinton’s inauguration to TV’s So You Think You Can Dance. The troupe will be in Vancouver this weekend. Jamison, who started with the Ailey Company in 1965 and quickly became its star dancer, can point to countless career highlights. The Globe’s Marsha Lederman spoke with her about a few of them.
I think we should start with the seminal 1971 work, Cry.

Yeah, that was seminal, to say the least. That’s the one that put me in box-office territory, where concert modern dancers didn’t have box-office pull, but all of a sudden I did the dance and people would call the box office to ask if I was doing it. I didn’t have all the details when I performed it, about it being dedicated to all black women, especially our mothers. It was dedicated to Mr. Ailey’s mother; it was a birthday present for her. Thank God I did not know all that when I first did the piece. I had never done it from beginning to end. I finally did it in the actual performance and halfway through I thought my legs didn’t exist, because it’s very difficult to do./>
Why do you say thank God you didn’t know? Because that’s like the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s dedicated to all black women, especially our mothers? I think that’s a fairly heavy message that Mr. Ailey was sending, and fortunately he did not tell me that, and so when I went onstage I was infusing it with whatever feeling I was feeling. And also just literally physically trying to get through it/>
Dayton Contemporary Dance Company March 22, 2011Posted in: Art and Music DCDC is true to my heart because I have personally known some of the dancers and have done commission art work for them. I have also included them here because they have been around for over 30 years and have won many awards from all over the world.

Dayton Contemporary Dance Company Artistic Director: Debbie Blunden-DiggsFounder: Jeraldyne Blunden A brief Biography

/> Throughout her life Jeraldyne Blunden received numerous awards and commendations including the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Fellowship Award in 1994. Mrs. Blunden has also been the recipient of the Dance/USA 2000 Honors Award (posthumously), the Katherine Dunham Achievement Award (1998), the Dance Magazine Award (1998), the National Black Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award (1998), Dance Women Living Legend Honors (1997) and the Regional Dance America Northeast Award (1991). Mrs. Blunden was also awarded honorary Doctorate Degrees from the University of Dayton and Wright State University. On November 22, 1999 Jeraldyne Blunden passed away at the age of 58. Mrs. Blunden leaves a living legacy in the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the hundreds of lives she touched through her Dayton Contemporary Dance Company: Las Desenamoradas/> 2008 Season Video Presentation vision and dreams. This particular dance group is true to my heart because I was asked to produce a painting to commemorate their 30 year anniversary. I also included this particular group in my essay because they have performed all over the world and is considered one of the leading Black Dance companies in America DCDC HISTORY/> MISSION

Rooted in the African American experience, DCDC’s mission is to deliver contemporary dance of the highest quality to the broadest possible audience. DCDC reaches this audience with local performances, through national and international touring, and through the company’s educational programs in the Miami Valley and on tour. Have you heard the News?

DCDC is here to stay. DCDC’s art survives and carries on, bolstered by its electric vibe, global art, and community grass roots services. DCDC is many things to many people. For some, it is world-renowned; for others very young, a role model to be found in a DCDC dancer. Yet for choreographers of color, DCDC is a refuge of creative freedom while for the volunteer, a chance to perform good work for the benefit of thousands. That’s why this 42nd DCDC season is named No Boundaries. The name applies not only to the kind of DCDC art this season promises, but also to the entire ethic that permeates otory of Black Dance, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (Pt.2)

richardg – March 22, 2011Posted in: Art and Music/> Performance | Dayton Contemporary Dance Second Company | TEDxDayton
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