Moved by dancer

AS a longtime Dunham fan, I have read many articles on Katherine Dunham; in fact, I have even written a few! [“Enduring, Like Her Effect,” March 26] Anne-Marie O’Connor’s article was comprehensive, informative, humanistic and very insightful. The book she mentioned, “Kaiso!: Writings by and About Katherine Dunham,” is published by Wisconsin University Press. It includes excerpts from “Minefields,” Miss Dunham’s complete but yet unpublished memoir.

Thanks for a truly wonderful feature on a living legend.

MELONY MCGANT

New York

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THE article on Katherine Dunham was very interesting, but I think you were remiss in not mentioning the composer of “Cabin in the Sky,” Vernon Duke, as well as the lyricist John Latouche. No matter how brilliant the choreography of Balanchine or how talented Dunham is, without the music, there is no dance.

NATASHA SELFRIDGE

Monte Nido

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AS I read your story on Katherine Dunham, I was reminded of an adventure I had in the ‘60s when she was a guest teacher at the local college of the town where I lived in southern Illinois. At the time, I was a young teenager and my ballet teacher suggested that I experience the dance style of this woman who was renowned in the world of modern dance. It must have been amusing for the celebrated teacher to see this little, inhibited white girl awkwardly traveling across the floor, accompanied by the bongo beat, trying desperately to execute the rhythmic hip gyrations that were the trademark of the Dunham style. I went on to become a professional dancer but will never forget the visual in my mind from that class: my Southern-bred mother, observing with appreciation from an audience of black women, all watching in support of their aspiring daughters. Surely Katherine Dunham is aware of her legacy in dance history, but she may not know the mark she has left on the many who were so fortunate to briefly cross her path.

SARA JANE GOULD

Sherman Oaks

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THE article written about Miss Katherine Dunham fairly jumps off the page -- almost as though the words are choreographed, and have gone beyond the spoken word.

How gifted Ms. O’Connor is to have achieved making the words sound as though they have been beautifully, musically scored -- which completely captured my attention. Her written visual sense gives us the feeling of being a part of the article, living in its pages. What a pleasure to read, and enjoy, seeing that she truly understands some part of the genius and brilliance of the beautiful artist Katherine Dunham!

GLORY VAN SCOTT

New York

Van Scott is a former member of the Dunham dance troupe.