Performance of her choreography Nov. 8-9 opens History Museum exhibit
As I have been telling you for the past few months, your Missouri History Museum is busy putting together an extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime exhibit on dance icon Katherine Dunham. The exhibit will open Sunday, November 9, and on that weekend you will have the opportunity to witness a live celebration of Miss Dunham’s life and work presented by the internationally acclaimed Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. It is called “Katherine Dunham…She Lives!”
The ensemble will perform two shows, Saturday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. and Sunday Nov. 9 at 3 p.m. It is sponsored by Mary Strauss of Fabulous Fox Theatre fame with promotional support from the St. Louis American.
Tickets are available right now at your Missouri History Museum and online at www.mohistory.org or by calling (314) 361-9017. Tickets are priced $50 per person, $40 for MHM members and $20 for students.
These performances by the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble will kick off what is really a year-long celebration of the life and legacy of Katherine Dunham, whose work in dance is legendary and continues to influence dancers around the world.
It was Miss Dunham who as an anthropologist studied the dances of the Caribbean and particularly Haiti and then incorporated these incredible moves and methods of communications into the choreography she later would bring to the Broadway stage and the Hollywood Screen.
This is your chance to witness the power, majesty and grace of the work of Miss Dunham as The Cleo Parker Robinson dancers recreate the exciting pieces originally choreographed by the legend herself!
“Choros,” “Barrel House Blues” and “Ragtime” will be performed as originally choreographed by Miss Dunham. And there will be other pieces that are inspired by her legendary technique. These will include “Escapades,” which was created originally by Alvin Ailey.
It is one thing to talk about Katherine Dunham’s exciting choreography and quite another to see it performed. So it just makes sense to take advantage of this wonderful show performed by one of the most accomplished dance troupes in the United States today.
The Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble is known worldwide for its cross-cultural dance-arts and educational work rooted in African-American traditions. It is “dedicated to excellence in providing instruction, performances and community programs for intergenerational students, artists and audiences.”
In other words, it is an institution dedicated to the art of dance that its founders feel is not limited by age, race, ethnicity or politics.