Dunham << DUHN am >>, Katherine (1910?-2006), was an American dancer and choreographer (dance creator). Dunham became noted for her interpretations of the dances of Black people of the Caribbean region and the United States. She made extensive studies of dances of Jamaica. In the late 1930’s and early 1940’s, Dunham served as a dancer and choreographer in motion pictures and stage musicals. She organized her own dance company, touring the United States and Europe with ballets that were based on African and Caribbean ceremonial and folk dances. Dunham operated her own school of dance.
Dunham was born in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, on June 22, probably in 1909 or 1910. She studied anthropology at the University of Chicago both as an undergraduate and a graduate student. Dunham described her experiences in Jamaica in the book Journey to Accompong (1946). Her autobiography, A Touch of Innocence, was published in 1959. Dunham died on May 21, 2006.
