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Katherine Dunham: Dancing a Life
by Joyce Aschenbrenner
University of Illinois Press, c2002.
Call number: GV1785.D82 A73 2002
Available in the New Book Area until Feb. 15

This remarkable African-American woman, born in 1909, overcame racial and sexual prejudice to become a published writer, professional dancer, and choreographer. She loved dancing from an early age, even producing and starring in a revue for her local church. She studied Anthropology at the University of Chicago and used her field experience as inspiration for her dance. She seriously considered a career in Anthropology but left academe to become a professional dancer. She choreographed and danced in Broadway musicals and motion pictures in the 1930's and 1940's and formed her own dance troupe. Later in life she became an acclaimed teacher who used her cultural experiences in Africa and the Caribbean as inspiration for her dance style.

Book review by Patty Gianulis, SWC Librarian