Modern DanceFranky Hang and Alisa O’Brien
Brief History
• Life is movement
• Spiritual/ritual
• Universal
• Greek/Roman - no women
Brief History
• Entertainment/social
• Royal courts
• Romantic/Ballet
• Russian Ballet
Basics
• 1920s-1930s
• Stressed artistic individualism
• Flourished despite Great Depression
Basics
• America and Germany - no dance companies
• Hard to define
• An attitude
Influences
• Greek dance - Universe -> cosmic dance
• Roman pantomime
• Ballet
Defining Characteristics
Ballet Modern dance
• Angular • Asymmetrical • Unglamorous• Expressive
• Rounded• Symmetrical• Graceful• Structured
Similarities
• Music often composed after choreography
• American
• Choreographer worked alone
• Study with established figures -> break away -> found own companies
Isadora Duncan (1877 – 1927)
• Free spirited/eccentric
• Feminist
• Socialist
Isadora Duncan
• Augustin Daly Company
• Isadora Duncan Dance Company
Isadora Duncan
“Isadorables”
Isadora Duncan
• Scandalous love life
• Financial woes
• Dramatic death
Characteristics
• Italian music
• Renaissance paintings
• Greek myth • The sea
Characteristics
• Simple tunics/robes• Bare feet• Loose hair
• Bare stage
• Improvised speeches
Characteristics
• Variations in basic movements
• Movement comes from solar plexus
Isadora Duncan Dancershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq2GgIMM060
Martha Graham (1894 – 1991)
• Danced & choreographed for over 70 years
• First dancer to perform at White House
• Received many awards
Martha Graham
• Presbyterian family
• Denishawn School
• Expressive needs
Characteristics
• Sharp, angular, and direct movements
• Contraction/release
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr8OqS7glxk
Characteristics
• Truth
• Themes:• - Desires vs. Tradition - History - Mythology - Literature
Merce Cunningham (1919-2009)
• Avant – Garde
• Cornish School
• Worked with Martha Graham
• Mondays with Merce
Characteristics
• Theory of dance and music
• Unstructured
• Chance/indeterminacy
• Stage -> open field
“Chance can reveal to a choreographer ways of combining movements that the rational, conscious mind might not otherwise have thought of on its own.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11Ev9uKlKNM
Public/Critic Reaction
• Uncomfortable
• Eventually gained a wide and enthusiastic audience
• “If my daughter dressed like Miss Duncan, I would lock her up in the attic!”
• Martha Graham: “Ugly dances”
• Recognized as an art by 1950s
• Began to fade over the years
• Influenced African American dance
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