Description
Marie Brooks. An Illustrated Handbill Designed by Shook for Marie Brooks’s Dance Research Theatre. 11 in x 8.5 in. A powerful self-published image in black ink on white paper of a costumed Marie Brooks dancing one of her famous Caribbean ethnic dances. The name of her fledgling company, Dance Research Theatre, announces her at 529 West 155th Street, New York, N.Y. 10032 281-7789. No date, probably circa 1970. The telephone number was corrected by hand, the last digit changed from a “7” to a “9”. Marie Brooks (1929- 2013) was born in Guadeloupe and discovered there by the legendary Katherine Dunham. Brooks was given a scholarship to study in the United States, with Dunham at the Katherine Dunham School. Brooks later joined the Dance Theater of Harlem as Artistic Director of the Dance Theater of Harlem Junior Company. Known for her own Marie Brooks Pan-Caribbean Theater, the Marie Brooks Dance Research Children’s Dance-Research Theatre was finally established as a nonprofit corporation in 1977. Karel Shook was the ballet master for the Dance Theater of Harlem. This rare surviving handbill has been folded and has some minor chipping around the edges. An extraordinary image of an extraordinary African-American woman, who dedicated her life to bringing dance and her ethnic heritage to children.
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