notes on the history of modern dance

1. Modern Dance Notes

2. History
★ Formed in 20th century as a rebellion to ridged
ballet
★ modern dance technique
○ barefoot
○ uses mobility of spine
○ initiate movement from core
○ uses levels, including floor
★ Choreography based on concept
★ Choreographers had a desire to strip dance to
the essentials
★ No desire for the prettiness (ballet)
★ Based on the process of moving rather than the
product of the movement

3. ★ Influenced by the idea of the furture
★ Developed a “philosophy of dance”
based on spirituality
★ Advocated for the acceptance of “pure
dance” as an art form
★ Wore tunics like greek vase figures
which inspired her dances
★ Her technique used weaving and
whirling in natural movements
★ Corsets and modest clothes were
socially acceptable, Duncan wore
loose short clothes
Isadora Duncan 1st Gen

4. Ruth St. Denis
★ Founded Denishawn
School and Dance
Company with husband
Ted Shawn
★ Used improvised exotic
movement and elaborate
costumes to
communicate the
ritualistic dance of Asian
religion

5. Martha Graham 2nd gen
★ Invented method of breathing and
impulse control called contraction and
release
★ Believed movement started in the
contraction of a muscle and continued
in the flow of energy released from
the body as the muscle is relaxed
★ Her dancers are known for their hard
angular look
★ Because she was so unique her
techniques were known as “ugly”

6. Doris Humphrey
★ Instrumental in founding Juilliard Dance Theatre in
New York City
★ Known as primary innovator of the new modern
dance
★ Fall and recovery was a technique and theory the
foundation of her teaching method
○ Inspired by the German philosopher Fredrick
Nietzche’s theory of the split in every persons
psych:Apollonian (rational and intelectual)
Dionysian side (choatic and emotiona)
○ true essence of modern dance is what
happened in between these two extremes
called “arc between two deaths”

7. Merce Cunningham
★ Former student of Graham
★ Worked with composer John Cage
★ Embraced modernist ideology using
postmodern processes
★ Used chance processes by rolling di or
drawing cards right before performances,
each number resembling a different dance
★ His work known for being non-linear, non-
climatic, non-psychological abstract work
★ Designed for audience to determine its
meaning

8. Alwin Nikolais-Today
★ first works choreographed in 1960
★ known for crazy props and costumes
○ props that extend dancers bodies; costumes
that make dancers look headless; dancers
used as props, visual, and auditory design

9. Alwin Nikolais-Today

10. Alvin Ailey- Today
★ Trained on West Coast
★ First integrated company
★ Commonly danced about racial issues
★ Died in 1989, Judith Jamison ran
company after him

11. 3rd Gen - Post Modernism
Post modern movement was a
reaction to the 2nd Generation
modern dance philosophies.
★ desire to reduce movement to
it’s essentials.
★ No need for prettiness of ballet
or soul searching philosophy of
modern
★ Movement can be striped of
ornamentation with an interest
in pedestrian and gestural
Trisha Brown- “Walking on the Walls”
Yonvanne Rainer

12. Twyla Tharp
★ Went to Barnard University in NYC
★ Joined Paul Taylor Company in 1963
★ In 1966 she made her company
Twlya Tharp Dance
★ Choreographed broadway musical
“Movin’ Out” set to the music of Billy
Joel
○ “Movin’ Out” received 10 Tony
nominations

13. Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane
★ Zane was a photographer until
he met his lifelong partner,
jones, and began studying
dance with him
★ Bill T. Jones-Arnie Zane
Company made in 1982
★ Worked with people dying of a
disease to set a dance called
“Still Here”
★ Arnie Zane died of AIDS in
1988

14. Dance Today
Modern Dance has become very diverse. It has
consolidated to include all types of dance.
Many dancers train and work in multiple styles
and choreography has grown to include ethnic
dance, martial arts, and folk dance. The form
is unrestricted and is open to the imagination
of the choreographer.

15. Vocabulary
★ triplet: step that goes down, up, up
★ swing: pendulum like movement, fall and
catch
★ prance: exchanging of weight from one foot
to another, imitates animal (bambi)
★ chasse: to chase, step-together-step
★ initiation: the beginning of a movement with

16. Vocabulary
 Breath – movement that occurs when the
body is still and breath is the focus
 Head/tail – shortening of lengthening the
distance between the head and the
tailbone.
 Core/distal- movement from the center of
the body to the periphery or vice versa

17. Vocabulary
 Body half – moving one half of the body at
a time (right/left, upper/lower)
 Cross lateral – movement that occurs
across the body from one distal extreme to
the other (right foot to left hand)