Donald McKayle
Encyclopedia
Donald McKayle is an African American
modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and 60s that focus on expressing the human condition and more specifically, the black experience in America. He was, "Among the first black men to break the racial barrier by means of modern dance,". His talents extend beyond the concert stage as McKayle has also performed and choreographed for Broadway
musicals, theatre, television, and film. He has worked with many choreographers such as Martha Graham
, Alvin Ailey
, Anna Sokolow
, and Merce Cunningham
. A Tony Award
and Emmy Award
nominee, McKayle is currently a Professor of Dance, Modern Technique and Choreography, at UC Irvine, in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Dance Department. He has served on the faculties of Connecticut College
, Sarah Lawrence College
, and Bennington College
.
McKayle was born in New York City on July 6, 1930 and grew up in a racially mixed, East Harlem community of African American, Puerto Rican, and Jewish immigrants. He was the second child of a middle class, immigrant family of Jamaican descent.
Growing up in an integrated neighborhood shaped McKayle's understanding of the social issues and racial prejudices in America during a time when racism and segregation was commonplace. McKayle was also influenced by his parents liberal and activist lifestyles. He was exposed to social dance and the exuberant social atmosphere of the West Indian parties his parents attended. McKayle's educational experience attending a public school outside of the Harlem community also hightened his social awareness. His political beliefs were influenced by his high school English teacher Louis Allen, also known as Abel Meeropol, author of the poem "Strange Fruit". And in high school McKayle joined the Frederick Douglass Society to learn more about African American history and heritage, a subject that was not taught in school.
But it was an inspiring performance by Pearl Primus sparked McKayle's interest in dance as a teenager. Despite his lack of formal dance training, McKayle auditioned and was granted a scholarship for the New Dance Group in 1947. McKayle was ambitious and eagerly took advantage of the company's formal training in modern, ballet, tap, Afro-Caribbean, Hindu, and Haitian dance forms. His instructors included modern dance pioneer Martha Graham
, Merce Cunningham
, Anna Sokolow and Karol Shook. His noted mentors are Sophie Maslow
, Jane Dudley
, William Bales, and his first teacher Jean Erdman. Other instructors include Mary Anthony, Pearl Primus, Jean-Leon Destine, Hadassah, and Paul Draper. In less than a year, McKayle was choreographing his own complete concert dance pieces.
At age 18 McKayle premiered his solo piece, Saturday's Child (1948), choreographed to the poetry of Countee Cullen. This piece depicted the reality of poverty and the suffering of the homeless. According to McKayle's autobiography, he was inducted into the Committee for the Negro in the Arts due to the repeated performance and high visibility of this piece. This organization was composed of Harlem Renaissance leaders like Langston Hughes, up and coming African American artists and performers such as Harry Belafonte. The Committee dedicated to changing the prejudices and widespread racism that made it difficult for African Americans in the performing arts industry.
The American dance classic, Games (1951) was McKayle's first major work responsible for launching his dance career. McKayle combines rhythms, chants, play songs and street games to create a childhood scene dedicated solely to playtime. Inspired by childhood memories, Games explores themes of poverty and discrimination in shaping the lives and attitudes of the youth.
Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959) is also considered a masterwork that incorporates Africanist movement, rhythms, and music. Prisoners of a chain gang move powerfully across the stage creating an expressive narrative through abstract movements of physical labor. McKayle alludes to African American dreams of freedom and equality through this image of bondage and slavery. The racial injustice and violence of the piece concludes as a chain gang member is shot and killed.
Creating choreography for celebrities led to his appearances in popular television shows like the Bill Cosby and the Ed Sullivan show. His work was broadcasted on every major TV network from 1951 to 1985. He has also choreographed for films including Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1970), The Great White Hope (1972), and The Minstrel Man (1976).
for his contributions to dance education. He is the first to receive the Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Research from the University of California, Irvine where he is currently an instructor and the artistic director of UCI's dance troupe.
Minstrel Man (CBS 1977)
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
modern dancer, choreographer, teacher, director and writer best known for creating socially conscious concert works during the 1950s and 60s that focus on expressing the human condition and more specifically, the black experience in America. He was, "Among the first black men to break the racial barrier by means of modern dance,". His talents extend beyond the concert stage as McKayle has also performed and choreographed for Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
musicals, theatre, television, and film. He has worked with many choreographers such as Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
, Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance...
, Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow
Anna Sokolow was a Jewish American dancer and choreographer.-Training:...
, and Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
. A Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominee, McKayle is currently a Professor of Dance, Modern Technique and Choreography, at UC Irvine, in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts Dance Department. He has served on the faculties of Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
, Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
, and Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
.
Early Life and Influences
McKayle was born in New York City on July 6, 1930 and grew up in a racially mixed, East Harlem community of African American, Puerto Rican, and Jewish immigrants. He was the second child of a middle class, immigrant family of Jamaican descent.
Growing up in an integrated neighborhood shaped McKayle's understanding of the social issues and racial prejudices in America during a time when racism and segregation was commonplace. McKayle was also influenced by his parents liberal and activist lifestyles. He was exposed to social dance and the exuberant social atmosphere of the West Indian parties his parents attended. McKayle's educational experience attending a public school outside of the Harlem community also hightened his social awareness. His political beliefs were influenced by his high school English teacher Louis Allen, also known as Abel Meeropol, author of the poem "Strange Fruit". And in high school McKayle joined the Frederick Douglass Society to learn more about African American history and heritage, a subject that was not taught in school.
But it was an inspiring performance by Pearl Primus sparked McKayle's interest in dance as a teenager. Despite his lack of formal dance training, McKayle auditioned and was granted a scholarship for the New Dance Group in 1947. McKayle was ambitious and eagerly took advantage of the company's formal training in modern, ballet, tap, Afro-Caribbean, Hindu, and Haitian dance forms. His instructors included modern dance pioneer Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
, Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Anna Sokolow and Karol Shook. His noted mentors are Sophie Maslow
Sophie Maslow
Sophie Maslow was an American choreographer, modern dancer and teacher, and founding member of New Dance Group. She was a first cousin of the American sculptor Leonard Baskin....
, Jane Dudley
Jane Dudley
For other people named Jane Dudley, see Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland and Lady Jane GreyJane Dudley was an American modern dancer, choreographer, and teacher.-Biography:...
, William Bales, and his first teacher Jean Erdman. Other instructors include Mary Anthony, Pearl Primus, Jean-Leon Destine, Hadassah, and Paul Draper. In less than a year, McKayle was choreographing his own complete concert dance pieces.
Early Choreography
McKayle's early works explores the universal human condition and reflect themes of unity and community through expressive and emotional movement.At age 18 McKayle premiered his solo piece, Saturday's Child (1948), choreographed to the poetry of Countee Cullen. This piece depicted the reality of poverty and the suffering of the homeless. According to McKayle's autobiography, he was inducted into the Committee for the Negro in the Arts due to the repeated performance and high visibility of this piece. This organization was composed of Harlem Renaissance leaders like Langston Hughes, up and coming African American artists and performers such as Harry Belafonte. The Committee dedicated to changing the prejudices and widespread racism that made it difficult for African Americans in the performing arts industry.
The American dance classic, Games (1951) was McKayle's first major work responsible for launching his dance career. McKayle combines rhythms, chants, play songs and street games to create a childhood scene dedicated solely to playtime. Inspired by childhood memories, Games explores themes of poverty and discrimination in shaping the lives and attitudes of the youth.
Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959) is also considered a masterwork that incorporates Africanist movement, rhythms, and music. Prisoners of a chain gang move powerfully across the stage creating an expressive narrative through abstract movements of physical labor. McKayle alludes to African American dreams of freedom and equality through this image of bondage and slavery. The racial injustice and violence of the piece concludes as a chain gang member is shot and killed.
Broadway/ TV/ Film
McKayle's early works attracted the interest of Broadway stars, audiences, and Hollywood films. Golden Boy (1964) was his first Broadway production followed by I'm Solomon (1969) and Dr. Jazz (1975). McKayle was the director and choreographer of Raisin (1974) and was awarded a Tony for the best musical. He was responsible for the entire concept, staging and choreography of Sophisticated Ladies (1981), which has won numerous awards.Creating choreography for celebrities led to his appearances in popular television shows like the Bill Cosby and the Ed Sullivan show. His work was broadcasted on every major TV network from 1951 to 1985. He has also choreographed for films including Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1970), The Great White Hope (1972), and The Minstrel Man (1976).
Awards
McKayle was awarded the Capezio Award in 1963 and the Samuel H. Scripps/ American Dance Festival Award for a lifetime achievement of modern dance in 1992. In 2004 he received the Heritage Award from the National Dance AssociationNational Dance Association
The , headquartered in Reston, VA, is an association within the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance...
for his contributions to dance education. He is the first to receive the Distinguished Faculty Lectureship Award for Research from the University of California, Irvine where he is currently an instructor and the artistic director of UCI's dance troupe.
Companies
McKayle formed and directed his own dance company, Donald McKayle and Dancers, from 1951 to 1969 and was the head of the Inner City Repertory Dance Company from 1970 to 1974. He maintains relationships with companies that are repositories of his work including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, the Cleveland San Jose Ballet, and the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Theatre. He has been a choreographer of the Limon Dance Company since 1995. He has also choreographed over 70 pieces for dance companies around the world in the U.S., Canada, Israel, Europe and South America.Selected Choreography
- Saturday's Child (1948)(1960)
- Creole Afternoon (1950)
- Games (1951)
- Her Name was Harriet (1952)
- Nocturne (1953)
- The Street (1954)
- Prelude to Action (1954)
- Four Excursions (1956)
- Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959)
- District Storyville (1962)
- Blood of the Lamb (1963)
- Reflections in the Park (1964)
- Incantation (1968)
Broadway choreography credits
- RedheadRedhead (musical)Redhead is a musical with music composed by Albert Hague and lyrics by Dorothy Fields, who with her brother, Herbert, along with Sidney Sheldon and David Shaw wrote the book/libretto...
, 1959 (Associate Choreographer) - Golden BoyGolden Boy (musical)Golden Boy is a musical with a book by Clifford Odets and William Gibson, lyrics by Lee Adams, and music by Charles Strouse.Based on the 1937 play of the same name by Odets, it focuses on Joe Wellington, a young man from Harlem who, despite his family's objections, turns to prizefighting as a means...
, 1964 (Tony Award nominee for Best Choreography) - A Time for Singing, 1965
- I'm Solomon, 1968
- RaisinRaisin (musical)Raisin is a musical theatre adaptation of the Lorraine Hansberry play A Raisin in the Sun, with songs by Judd Woldin and Robert Brittan, and a book by Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg....
, 1973 (Tony Award nominee for Best Choreography and Best Direction) - Doctor JazzDoctor JazzDoctor Jazz is a popular tune and song written by Joe "King" Oliver in 1926.Publisher Walter Melrose got his name on it as co-composer, as was often his practice. It enjoyed its initial popularity in the 1920s. It continues to be played by Dixieland jazz groups...
, 1975 (Tony Award nominee for Best Choreography) - Sophisticated LadiesSophisticated LadiesSophisticated Ladies is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington.After fifteen previews, the Broadway production, conceived by Donald McKayle, directed by Michael Smuin, and choreographed by McKayle, Smuin, Henry LeTang, Bruce Heath, and Mercedes Ellington, opened on March 1, 1981 at...
, 1981 (Tony Award nominee for Best Choreography) - It Ain't Nothin' But the BluesIt Ain't Nothin' But the BluesIt Ain't Nothin' But the Blues is a musical revue written by Charles Bevel, Lita Gaithers, Randal Myler, Ron Taylor, and Dan Wheetman. It was originally produced at The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, and later presented by the Crossroads Theatre, in association with San Diego Repertory...
, 1999
Selected Film and Television Choreography
- Ed Sullivan Show (CBS 1966/67)
- The Great White HopeThe Great White HopeThe Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
(1970) - Bedknobs and BroomsticksBedknobs and BroomsticksBedknobs and Broomsticks is a 1971 musical film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution Company which combines live action and animation and was released in North America on December 13, 1971...
(1970) - Charlie and the Angel (1972)
- The New Bill Cosby ShowThe New Bill Cosby ShowThe New Bill Cosby Show was a variety television series aired in the United States by CBS as part of its 1972-73 lineup.The New Bill Cosby Show was an attempt to exploit the widespread popularity of Bill Cosby, who had previously starred in an eponymous sitcom and the drama I Spy and who had been...
(1972) - Free to Be… You and MeFree to Be… You and MeFree to Be… You and Me, a project of the Ms. Foundation for Women, is a record album and illustrated book first released in November 1972 featuring songs and stories sung or told by celebrities of the day including Alan Alda, Rosey Grier, Cicely Tyson, Carol Channing, Michael Jackson, and Diana Ross...
(1974)
Minstrel Man (CBS 1977)
- The Jazz SingerThe Jazz Singer (1980 film)The Jazz Singer is a 1980 American musical remake of the 1927 classic The Jazz Singer. It starred Neil Diamond, Sir Laurence Olivier, and Lucie Arnaz and was co-directed by Richard Fleischer and Sidney J...
(1980)