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US Choreographer to Receive Award in Cuba

US Choreographer to Receive Award in Cuba
Havana, Jul 15 (Prensa Latina) Outstanding US choreographer, dancer and professor Katherine Dunham will receive the International Fernando Ortiz Award Friday, given by the Cuban foundation every year.


A Fernando Ortiz Foundation spokesperson told Prensa Latina of the remarkable work done by the US dancer and professor, who is widely known for her research into African dancing and folkloric expression.



Professor Dunham was born in Illinois, US, in 1909, and studied Social Anthropology in the University of Chicago. She founded the Black Ballet Company in 1931, in which she was one of the most outstanding teachers.



She went to different Latin American and Caribbean countries to conduct in-depth research.



In Havana, she met Fernando Ortiz, who mentioned her later in his book "Africania" on Cuban folk music in 1950.



Her shows in Broadway were recognized for their colour, professionalism and extraordinary contributions to modern dance, with Afro-American and Caribbean elements.



Now 96 years old, Dunham still teaches, and is considered one of the greatest figures of contemporary dance.



Created in 1997 in recognition of creators and institutions that have produced outstanding research on popular culture, the International Fernando Ortiz Award has been granted to many Cuban and foreign personalities.
 
 

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