Davis, Chuck

Davis, Chuck

(Charles Rudolph Davis), 1937–2017), American dancer, choreographer, and proponent of African dance, b. Raleigh, N.C. After serving in the navy, Davis studied with Martha GrahamGraham, Martha,
1894–1991, American dancer, choreographer, and teacher, b. Pittsburgh. Her family moved from Allegheny, Pa., to Santa Barbara, Calif., when she was 14.
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, Alvin AileyAiley, Alvin, Jr.
, 1931–89, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Rogers, Tex. Ailey studied in Los Angeles with Lester Horton, whose strong, dramatic style and views about multiracial casting influenced his choreography and artistic direction.
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, Katherine DunhamDunham, Katherine
, 1909?–2006, American dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist, b. Chicago. She studied anthropology at the Univ. of Chicago, where she received a B.A. and Ph.D. and began her research into dances of the Caribbean.
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, and others. He joined the Nigerian drummer Babatunde OlatunjiOlatunji, Babatunde,
1927–2003, Nigerian drummer, b. Ajido. Educated in the United States, he graduated from Atlanta's Morehouse College in 1954 and studied at New York Univ.
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's dance troupe in 1963 and formed the Chuck Davis Dance Company in 1968. In 1977 he founded DanceAfrica, a festival celebrating the dance and folkoric traditions of Africa and the African diaspora, and served as its artistic director (emeritus after 2015). He also founded the African American Dance Ensemble in Durham, N.C., in 1983.