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91_HR0088
LRB9105844KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to honor people within the State
4 that have achieved significant milestones in their lives; and
5 WHEREAS, One such person is Katherine Dunham; born in
6 Joliet, Illinois in 1909, Katherine Dunham is a dancer; she
7 is an entertainer; she is an educator; through hard work, and
8 unbelieveable dedication to her craft, she has changed the
9 face of modern dance, and also has changed many lives as a
10 result; and
11 WHEREAS, In the 1930's Katherine Dunham taught ballet and
12 modern dance at the University of Chicago to pay for her
13 expenses; she joined Chicago's Federal Theatre Project in
14 1938 and composed her ballet, L'Ag'Ya; while working on her
15 Master's degree in Anthropology she made a trip to the
16 Caribbean and Brazil, where she encountered new dance
17 movements and rhythms that would influence her work; she
18 later moved to New York City and choreographed the Broadway
19 hit Cabin in the Sky; and
20 WHEREAS, In 1939 she married John Pratt, a painter and
21 costume and set designer; they had one adopted daughter,
22 Martinique; and
23 WHEREAS, Katherine Dunham is a professor emeritus and
24 artist-in-residence at Southern Illinois University in
25 Edwardsville; she is director of the East St. Louis
26 Performing Arts Center; she has been an advisor to the State
27 Department; she is a lecturer in college and university
28 settings; and
29 WHEREAS, She is a member of the Women's Honorable
30 Scientific Fraternity at the University of Chicago; she is a
31 member of the Royal Society of Anthropologists in London; in
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1 1978 the Katherine Dunham museum was established in East St.
2 Louis, displaying costumes that she has worn in performances,
3 items from her travels, paintings, sculptures, and musical
4 instruments; and
5 WHEREAS, Katherine Dunham received the Albert Schweitzer
6 Music Award in 1979, the Kennedy Center Honors Award in 1983,
7 and honorary degrees from USC, Dartmouth, Howard University,
8 and Washington University; in 1986 she received the Scripps
9 American Dance Festivals Award; and she has been inducted
10 into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame; therefore, be it
11 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
12 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13 we congratulate Katherine Dunham for a job well done; on the
14 occasion of Black History Month in the State of Illinois, she
15 stands as a role model and example of what hard work and love
16 of one's profession can become; and be it further
17 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to Katherine Dunham.