| Summary: | Choreographer and educator Ferne Yangyeitie Caulker was born August 9, 1947, in Sierra Leone, Africa. She earned her B.S. degree in education from the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. Caulker studied with the National Dance Company of Ghana at the University of Ghana, Legon, before moving to the U.S. In 1969, Caulker founded Milwaukee's Ko-Thi Dance Company to develop and showcase African, Caribbean and African American music and dance. Caulker began teaching at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1971, creating the first courses there focusing on African, Caribbean and African American dance technique and history. In 1994, she was named a Fulbright Scholar. In 1999, Caulker was part of the Blue Ribbon Commission on the Arts in Education for the Wisconsin State Superintendent. In 2000, she was appointed to the National Endowment for the Arts dance panel. She also served on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Arts Board.
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