HISTORY OF MODERN DANCE
CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN DANCE
Movement driven by emotion
Low center of gravity
Dancers embrace the ground
LINEAGE
EXPRESSIONIST DANCE
“Ausdrucktanz”
Europe, late 1800’s - early 1900’s
Movement as expression
FRANÇOIS DELSARTE
Musician and teacher
Developed “Delsarte” acting style• Focus on human interaction,
gesture as expression• Known worldwide by 1890’s
Inspired dancers:• Isadora Duncan, Ruth St.
Denis, Ted Shawn
EMILE JAQUES-DALCROZE
Musician, composer
Developed eurythmics
Founded school in 1910• Taught the Dalcroze
Method
RUDOLF VAN LABAN
Dance artist, theorist
Created Labanotation
Established schools throughout
Europe
MARY WIGMAN
Student of Dalcroze and
Laban
Challenged tradition
Dark pieces
Expansion and contraction
The Witch: http
://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/
b/b0/Mary_Wigman_Witch_Dance.ogv
FREE DANCE
America, late 1890’s – early 1900’s
Spread to Hungary, Russia, Eastern Europe
Rebellion against ballet
LOIE FULLER
Child actress, burlesque dancer
Developed her own natural
movement and improvisation
The first modern dancer
Innovative lighting
and costume design
ISADORA DUNCAN
Created her own philosophy of
dance• Natural movement as
connection between emotion and movement
Greek and Freedom influences
Performed to mix reviews
RUTH ST. DENIS & TED SHAWN
Ruth- studied Delsarte’s
method
Eastern influences
Opened Denishawn School• Taught Martha Grhama,
Doris Humphrey, Charles Wiedman
Established Jacob’s Pillow
MODERN DANCE
1923: Graham leaves Denishawn to work
as a solo artist
1928: Humphrey and Weidman set up their
own school
1933: Shawn founds all male dance group
MARTHA GRAHAM
“Picasso” of dance
Student of Denishawn
The Martha Graham Center of
Contemporary Dance
Contraction and release
Long career
DORIS HUMPHREY& CHARLES WIEDMAN
Students of Denishawn
Humphrey-Weidman
Company
“Fall and recovery”
Unique American style
MERCE CUNNINGHAM
Student of Martha Graham
Merce Cunningham Dance
Company• Used Yì Jīng to
choreograph• Non-representative
dance
Legacy Plan
ALVIN AILEY
African American Modern
Dance
Alvin Ailey American Dance
Theater
“A ballet bottom,” and a
“modern top”
REACTION
1927: Newspapers begin regularly assigning
dance critics
Universities and colleges accepted modern
dance
Audiences often felt confused, but
mesmerized
INFLUENCE
Post-modern dance
Contemporary
Improvisation, Contact
Improvisation