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Celebrating Black History Month

© Karen Dito

The landscape of American dance would not be what it is today without African influences and the work of African-American choreographers. This is a topic worthy of research for the dance enthusiast, especially those who acknowledge that there is more to American dance than ballet companies whose repertory is based on the classics and works with a Euro-centric attitude.

Katherine Dunham is not only a dance pioneer but also a celebrated anthropologist who extensively studied the peoples of the West Indies. She created her own technique using ideas from the dances of Haiti. It is also noteworthy that she performed in the 1943 film Stormy Weather with her entire company and many other great Black performers such as Lena Horne, Bill Robinson, the Nicholas Brothers, and Cab Calloway. When studio executives told Ms. Dunham that only her ‘light-skinned’ dancers were welcome to perform in Stormy Weather, she told them it was all or nothing. Executives relented and Katherine Dunham made history. Please see my article on Katherine Dunham for more information on this fascinating woman.

Arthur Mitchell, artistic director and founder of Dance Theatre of Harlem, is another person who made positive changes in American dance for people of color. Mitchell was enjoying a career as a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet when he decided to start his own company in 1968. He felt that there were not enough opportunities in the world of classical ballet for African-Americans and thus Dance Theatre of Harlem was born. Thirty-two years later, DTH is still going strong, with its international touring company and educational programs which continue to serve the people of Harlem. To learn more about Dance Theatre of Harlem, please go to:

http://www.dancetheatreofharlem.com/inde...

For many dance lovers, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is synonymous with exciting, contemporary modern dance. Ailey’s signature piece, Revelations, has been performed throughout the world to critical acclaim since its first performance in the early 1960’s. This incredible piece is a stirring tribute to the Black spiritual music of Ailey’s childhood. I first saw this piece on video (which is not the best place to see dance) and was literally speechless at its end. Find a way to see this piece if you haven’t already. Ailey also commissioned works from notable Black choreographers such as Talley Beatty, Donald McKayle, and Bill T. Jones. Judith Jamison, an elegant and athletic dancer who joined Ailey’s company in 1965, performed the solo created just for her entitled Cry as a birthday present to his mother in 1971. Cry is a tribute to the African-American woman and has been passed down to other Ailey women after Ms. Jamison retired as a dancer. At the time of Ailey’s death in 1988, Judith Jamison was named artistic director of the company by Ailey’s wishes. She has continued to make the company an important force in American dance with her own choreography and many educational programs still thriving at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. Jamison also paid homage to Ailey with her 1993 work, Hymn. For more on Alvin Ailey and Judith Jamison, please go to:

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