Katherine Duncan Influence On Modern Dance

Modern Dance started in the 20th century in Germany and the United states as a way to rebel against rigid formalism, artifice, and superficiality from ballet. Modern dance resembled modern art and music being experimental. Pioneers of Modern dance like “Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, and Ruth St. Denis in the United States, Rudolf von Landon and Mary Wigman in Germany” they all wanted to create an awareness to their audiences of inner and outer realities. Isadora Duncan started “free dance” where she would perform in a simple tunic like the Greek vase figures that inspired a lot of her work. Her work would use natural flowing movements she said “ from the solar plexus.She aimed to idealize abstractly the emotions induced by the music that was her motivating source” .
In high school Katherine joined Terpsichorean club. Their she began to learn the free movement style that modern dance had to offer. Her parents wished for her to have a job teaching like her brother Albert Dunham Jr. Katherine went to the University of Chicago where she became one of the first African American woman to attend the school and get a bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees in anthropology. During her years at the University she began to study ballet with Ludmilla Speranza who had came to America from Franco- Russian Vaudeville troupe Known as the Chauve-Souris. Ludmilla was one of the only teachers that accepted black students, as Katharine teacher she introduced her to spanish dancer La Argentina. Katherine also studied with Ruth Page, Mark Turbyfill, and through Vera Mirova she was introduced to east Indian styles and Balinese dance