BRIEF HISTORY OF MODERN DANCE
By Wendy Oliver
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Co..
Early Modern Dance
• Modern dance in the US started
about the turn of the 20th c. as a
revolt against ballet and “show”
dance, or vaudeville.
• It is uniquely American,
although a similar, parallel
movement evolved in Germany.
• Modern dance is based on the
idea of free artistic expression
for the individual
Isadora Duncan
Differences Between Ballet and Modern Dance:
Movement
• Ballet conceived on grand
scale, with opera house in
mind
• Strives to defy gravity
• Looks to European
aristocracy for its traditions
• All ballet movement starts
and ends with the 5 positions
• Focus on arms and legs
• Modern dance usually
designed for smaller spaces
• May give into gravity or defy
it
• Looks within the individual
• Modern dance may use ballet
positions but has as many
additional positions as needed
by choreographer
• Focus on torso
More Differences
• Subject matter of ballet
typically draws on
European fairy tales
• Ballet tends to be about
“make believe” situations
• Ballet companies
structured as hierarchy:
corps de ballet, coryphees,
soloists, principals
• Ballet companies tend to
perform choreography by
many different people, and
are named after their
location (ie. Boston
Ballet)
• Modern dance draws on
non-European themes,
sometimes American or
Greek
• Modern dance may deal
with social concerns of
time
• Modern dance companies
usually smaller; usually all
dancers serve as soloists
• Modern companies often
perform mainly work of
the director, after whom
the company is named
(i.e.Trisha Brown Co.)
Forerunners of Modern Dance
• In the early 1900’s,
modern dance was
spearheaded by Isadora
Duncan, Loie Fuller,
Maude Allan, Ruth St.
Denis, and Ted Shawn.
• These artists all began
performing in the popular
theatres of the day, but
were drawn to making
more serious work.
• They emphasized creative
use of lights, costumes,
and décor.
Isadora Duncan
• The most famous of these was
Isadora Duncan, who had a
huge impact on dance and
society
• Was an early feminist; believed
marriage was too restrictive
• Thought dance should be
inspired by nature, and also
looked to ancient Greece
• Thought dance was an
expression of the spirit
• Danced barefoot in simple
tunics without a corset, with
bare legs
• Felt ballet was artificial
• Had a dramatic personal life
Loie Fuller was known for her lighting effects; she
used colored lights on voluminous silk costumes. She
invented new lighting equipment and traveled with
many technicians. Her style, with its natural forms,
wavy lines, and curlicues, influenced Art Nouveau,
Ruth St. Denis was inspired by the
Orient. She managed to be both
spiritual and financially
successful, touring the US and the
world.
Ted Shawn was St. Denis’ dance
partner and husband. Together, they
created a famous school in Los Angeles called
Denishawn, where hundreds of young dancers
were trained.
The Founders
• Just as the Forerunners revolted
against ballet & vaudeville, the
Founders rebelled against the
Forerunners in 1920s & 30s.
• Some of them studied at
Denishawn, and found the
dance too commercial.
• They wanted to establish the
freedom and independence of
modern dance.
• They called it “modern dance”
to distinguish it from
expressionist dance and ballet.
• The dance was severe rather
than pretty, and emphasized
integrity over commercial
success.
•
Martha Graham’s Appalachian Spring
Martha Graham
• Martha Graham studied at
Denishawn 1916-1923
• Founded her own school in NY
in 1927
• Created a technique based on
contraction and release
• Style stressed angularity &
extreme muscle tension to show
passion
• Known for creating works with
psychological themes,
exploring inner emotions
• Many of her works based on
Greek themes, such as
Clytemnestra, and Errand into
the Maze
Journey Into the Maze, based on Jason and the Minotaur
Doris Humphrey
• Went to Denishawn in
1915; left in 1928 to
create her own company
• Like Graham, felt
Denishawn technique was
artificial; wanted a more
serious dance form
• Created a technique based
on fall and recovery
• Wrote the classic text on
choreography, The Art of
Making Dances, in 1959.
The Post-War Generation
After WWII, in the late
1940s, modern dance came
into its own. Dancers were
less concerned with rebelling
and more interested in
building on current trends.
Modern dance became
established in higher
education, and became more
accepting of ballet. Black
artists began to be
recognized.
Alvin Ailey Co.
Alvin Ailey
Revelations
• Ailey created an all-Black dance
company in the late 1950s; it
became integrated in 1962.
• He wanted to create opportunities
for African-Am. to perform concert
dance.
• His style blends elements of
modern, ballet, jazz, and African,
and stresses Black themes.
• Despite his death in 1989, his
company and school are still going
strong and his work is known
around the world.
• His signature work, Revelations, is
based on spirituals and the African
American experience
Merce Cunningham
• Unlike others of the postwar
era, Cunningham was a rebel.
• Although he performed with
Graham in his youth, he formed
his own company in the 1950s,
where he invented a new
choreographic style.
• He believes that dance does not
need a story; the subject of
dance should be the dance
itself.
• Contrary to Graham’s approach,
he does not use characters or
emotion; dance, music, and
décor operate independently
• Uses chance operations to
determine order of movements.
Judson Dance Theatre
•Non-traditional audiences
•Dancers were sometimes untrained;
performed pedestrian movements
•Blended theatre, film, and dance
• A group of artists who followed
Cunningham’s path to create a
“dance revolution” in the 1960s
• The Judson Church in NYC
supported political causes & the
arts, and was the main
performing venue for this group
• The performance could happen
anywhere in the church—
sanctuary, choir loft,
gymnasium, meeting room;
performances were free
• Spirit of freedom and creativity:
what is art?
Yvonne Rainer
• Rainer believed that any
movement could be dance, and
that anyone could be a dancer
• Her famous Trio A is a series of
quirky movements performed
without emotional overtones.
No dramatic accents are used;
all movements flowed from one
to the next without pause.
• Trio A has been performed as a
solo, trio, or large group piece,
by people of various shapes and
sizes, in varying physical
conditions.
• This was the beginning of postmodern dance
Trisha Brown
•Her newer work
uses more traditional
theatre settings, but
still “formalist”
• A post-modern choreographer
concerned with form
• Very systematic and designoriented
• She invented the accumulation
technique
• One of her dances from the
1970s, Group Primary
Accumulation, had 4 dancers
lying on their backs, each on a
separate raft on a lake. Each
dancer accumulates 30
movements in 8 minutes,
rotating 45 degrees each on last
2 movements, until the dancer
has rotated 360 degrees.
Modern Dance since the 1980s
• Modern dance today offers a
broad range of approaches,
some narrative, some structural,
some mainly athletic
• Technical skills of varied types
are back in demand
• New kinds of dance include
aerial dance, integrated dance
(wheelchairs), and various
hybrids of modern & ballet,
modern and hip hop, and other
combinations
• Still emphasizes individual
expression
Elizabeth Streb/Ringside
• Choreographer Streb has a
ferocious desire to conquer
gravity
• Uses flying harnesses,
trampolines, aerial platforms,
walls, etc.
• A bit like the circus or
gymnastics, yet created with a
different purpose in mind
• “Why spend all your time on
the bottom of your feet? There
are many parts of the body.”
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane
• Often uses narrative or
theme to relay a message
• Creates full-length works
such as Last Supper at
Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The
Promised Land, which
examines race in the US.
• Works with dancers of
varied races, shapes, sizes,
and backgrounds
• Kept his partner Zane’s
name in the company
name after Zane died of
AIDS
Integrated Dance
"Who says you can dance only if you have two feet,"
she asks. "Dancing is an expression and an emotion,
and you can show it in many different ways."
Ms. Verdi-Fletcher founded, and is co-artistic
director of the Cleveland Ballet Dancing Wheels, a
dance company that combines dancers in
wheelchairs with dancers on foot. Since joining with
the Cleveland Ballet in 1990, the eight-member
company has given more than 1,000 performances.
They have danced before 125,000 people a year in
venues from Belgium to New York.
Cleveland Ballet Dancing Wheels
Ms. Verdi-Fletcher was born 41 years ago with
spina bifida, which left her paralyzed from below the
waist. Her parents feared she would not survive. She
underwent 10 surgeries and tried to get around on
crutches or with her legs in braces. But by age 12,
she had to use a wheelchair. All the while, Ms.
Verdi-Fletcher dreamed of dancing.
Cleveland Dancing Wheels
As she grew up, Ms. Verdi-Fletcher
found teachers and dance partners who
showed her how to perform in her
wheelchair. She learned to spin
gracefully and perform elegant moves.
In 1978, Ms. Verdi-Fletcher and
partner David Brewster decided to enter
a dance competition in Cleveland, but
they did not tell the organizers she was
in a wheelchair. She remembers the
hushed audience that watched,
spellbound, as they began to dance.
"They didn't know what to make of
somebody in a wheelchair, and I
remember one of the judges had his
mouth open," she said.
"At the end of the dance, my partner
did an acrobatic stunt on my chair while
I was sitting on it, and the audience
went wild. We had a standing ovation."
Buoyed by that reaction, Ms. VerdiFletcher formed Dancing Wheels in
1980, with Mr. Brewster as her partner
Integrated Dance
The National Integrated Dance Company of South Africa
There are currently many integrated dance companies around the world. Dancers using crutches &
wheelchairs team up with able-bodied dancers to perform many different kinds of modern dance. The
term “integrated” refers to dancers of differing physical abilities working together.
Rennie Harris
Rennie Harris fuses modern dance
with hip-hop; he brought his show
Rome and Jewels, loosely based on
Romeo and Juliet, to RI College in
2004, and also performed at Veteran’s
Memorial Auditorium in 2005.
Founded in 1992 by North Philadelphia native Rennie Harris , Rennie Harris
Puremovement (RHPM) was conceived with the vision for sharing an
appreciation for diversity and is dedicated to preserving and disseminating hiphop culture through workshops, classes, lecture-demonstrations, dance
residencies, mentoring programs and public performances. RHPM's work
encompasses rich and diverse African-American traditions of the past while
simultaneously presenting the voice of a new generation.
Liz Lerman
Liz Lerman works with dancers of mixed ages,
including people in their 70’s. In 1975 Liz
Lerman created “Woman of the Clear
Vision,”,a dance about her mother's death
featuring professional dancers and adults from
a Washington, DC senior center. Combining
the creative and community aspects of this
project with the dance classes she was teaching
throughout DC, Lerman established the Dance
Exchange, incorporated in 1976, which has
explored issues such as violence, education,
aging, healthcare, and community history.
In 2002, Lerman was awarded a MacArthur
“genius grant.”
Modern Dance continues to evolve…
Modern Dance Images: References
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http://www.cmnw.org/images/Bill T Jones_dancersandorion.jpg
www.upenn.edu/pennnews/current/2000/102600/calendar.html
http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/gif/9loie2.jpg
www.dancewritig.org/library/duncan/prelude/prelude04.jpg
http://www.fusionanamoly.net/loiefuller.jpg
http://www.streetswing.com/histomai2gif/1ruth1.gif
http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/gif/1shwn1.gif
http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/images/g-appset.gif
http://www.cameraobscuragallery.com/morgan_1.jpg
http://www.duke.edu/~saundra/graham.jpg
www.criticaldance.com/images/mgraham-medea.jpg
http://www.windhover.org/images/danceco/Doris_Humphrey.jpg
http://www.calperfs.berkeley.edu/presents/events/images/alvin_ailey.jpg
www.fordfound.org/about/images/2000_education1.jpg
http://www.ballet.co.uk/images/merce_c/av_loose_time_494.jpg
www.joyce.org/images/merce.jpg
http://www.israeldance.co.il/the_Judson_Dance_Theatre_rauch.jpg
http://www.israeldance.co.il/Trisha_Brown.jpg
http://exchange.state.gov/pac/images/5_part.jpg
http://www.asu.edu/asunews/arts/arts_images/jones020602.jpg
http://www.rialtocenter.org/rialtoseries/pics/AerialDanceL.jpg
http://wwwatlantaballet.com/images/michpiec.jpg
http://www.staller.sunysb.edu/0203/small/streb-2.jpg
http://www.theatlantic.com/ae/97dec/images/str
http://www.loisgreenfield.com/Media/media/x11btjones325.jpg
http://www.cultural events.ucr.edu/images/spren.jpg
http://www.skirball.com/press/images/LermanPR.jpg
www.s-t.com/daily/11-96/121-03-96/e08ae134.htm (Dancing Wheels)
httop://www.csjballet.org/dancing_wheels.asp
www.remixtheatre.co.za/tswaragano.htm (Nat. Integrated Dance Co. of S. Africa)