Exploring the genres of

Modern, Post-Modern, and

Dance-Theatre
Chapter 6 from Learning About Dance textbook by Nora Ambrosio
 noun; a form of contemporary theatrical and
concert dance employing a special technique for
developing the use of the entire body in
movements expressive of abstract ideas. www.Dictionary.com

 Modern dance started as a revolt against ballet.

 It throws out the idea of turn out and rigorous
ballet technique. There are several different
modern dance techniques.
 It began in the late 1800’s/early 1900’s.
 It usually tells a story or has a theme.
 It uses the elements of time, space, and energy
differently than ballet.
 The movements are unique and innovative.
 Isadora Duncan is credited
with being the “Mother of
Modern Dance,” but Loie
Fuller and Maude Allen
were also creating dances
that were new and different.
 Loie Fuller used light and
colored fabric to create visual
spectacles. Loie Fuller courtesy of missmeadowsvintagepearls.blogspot.com

 Maude Allen was known for

her dramatic dances and
extensive knowledge of
music.
 All three women found fame
in Europe, not the U.S.,
during the early 20th century.
 Loie Fuller’s Serpentine

Maude Allen courtesy of swedenburg.blogspot.com

  She felt that pointe shoes,
ballet costumes, and the
ballet vocabulary were too
confining.
 She decided to dance in a
way that more natural.
 She based her movement off
of movement she observed
in nature – swaying,
hopping, running, skipping.
 She believed the solar plexus
(the center of the body) is
where all movement should
begin.
 She was inspired by Ancient
Greece. She wore tunics and
bare feet when she danced.

Isadora Duncan courtesy of jadoreisadora.blogspot.com

 Isadora initially gained fame in
Europe. United States found her
movement to be too progressive.
 Late in her career, in the 1920’s,
she finally found fame with
United States audiences. She
paved the way for future Modern
Dance choreographers.
 She loved music by Beethoven,
Chopin, Schubert, and Wagner.
 She opened several schools in
Europe. She spent a majority of Isadora Duncan surrounded by her Isadorables courtesy of dollhousebettie.com
her time in Russia, Germany, and
Greece.
 She adopted six of her students.
They are referred to as the
“Isadorables.”
 After Duncan’s death, the
“Isadorables” continued to teach
the Duncan technique. They are
the reason her technique still
survives today. Isadora Duncan courtesy of theworldbyus.com
  Isadora Duncan had 2
children.
 Her children died in an
automobile accident. Their
deaths inspired one of her
most famous pieces,
Mother. This piece showed
the sorrow and heartbreak
Isadora Duncan courtesy of http://www.duncandancers.com/about.html

that she felt when her

The dancer’s children died.
body is simply  Isadora died in 1927 when
her scarf became entwined
the luminous with the wheel of the car
manifestation in which she was riding.
of the soul.  Isadora Duncan
~Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan courtesy of nndb.com
  Ted Shawn and Ruth St.
Denis married and formed
the Denishawn school.
 The Denishawn school
educated the whole dancer –
mind, body, and spirit.
 St. Denis and Shawn focused
on imitating dances different
cultures. They were
particularly inspired by
Asian cultures. Their dances
were not authentic.
A Tribute to Ruth St.  The Pioneers of Modern
Denis and Ted Shawn Dance were pupils of the
Denishawn school – Martha
Ted Shawn Graham, Charles Weidman,
and Doris Humphrey.

Denishawn School courtesy of asecretforest.typepad.com Ted Shaw and Ruth St. Denis courtesy of he.wikipedia.org
  Martha Graham was a
student of the Denishawn
school.
 Her technique is based on
the concepts of contraction
and release.
 The Martha Graham Dance
Company is still in existence
today. Graham technique is
taught worldwide.
 She was named one of Time
Magazines 100 most
influential people of the 20th
Century.
 She was inspired by
psychology, Ancient Greece,
Native American Legends,
and American Pioneers.

A Tribute to Martha Graham

Martha Graham courtesy of reclusland.com, topics.nytimes.com, en.nkfu.com, louisvilleorchestra.org
 Their technique is based off of
the concepts of fall and Humphrey
recovery. Technique
 Their dancers were very
proficient at balance and
working with and against Lynchtown
gravity. Excerpt
 Humphrey choreographed
using the ideas of “musical
visualization,” where the dance
is a visual representation of the
patterns and rhythms in the
music.
 She focused on group dynamics
and using breath to guide
movement phrases.
 Weidman’s dances were often
comical. He also choreographed
serious works about social
issues.
Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman courtesy of tumblr.com, wird.com.ua,
 Sokolow was a former
Graham dancer.
 She created dances that
reflected life during her time.
 She was born of Russian
Jewish descent.
 One of her most famous
dances, Dreams, was about
the survivors of the
Holocaust.
 Steps of Silence is an anti-war
statement.
 Rooms is about the isolation
and depression that comes
from being “just another face
in the crowd” of a big city.

Anna Sokolow courtesy of forward.com, tonyaplank.com, annasokolow.org, nytimes.com

  Limon was a student of
Humphrey and Weidman.
 His technique is very close
to that of Humphrey –
focusing on fall and
recovery and weight.
 Humphrey became artistic
director of his dance
company in the 1950’s.
 Limon’s Mexican-
American heritage
influenced a lot of his
José Limon Bio work.
 His works are considered
Modern Dance Classics.
José Limon courtesy of en.wikipedia.org, kids.britannica.com, exploredance.com
 Post-Modern Dance

 In the 1950’s
choreographers felt
confined by the
rigorous technique of
Graham, Limon,
Humphrey, etc.
 Their choreography
focused on the
movement rather than
the storyline.
 Their movement came
to be known as
Post Modern Dance courtesy of carpedancem.wordpress.com

“abstract.”
  Cunningham was the first
choreographer to step out
of the traditional modern
dance box.
 He believed in dances that
showed “movement for
movement’s sake.”
 He often used chance or
indeterminacy as tools for
his choreography.
 He collaborated with
avant-garde musicians
including John Cage.
Merce Cunningham courtesy of mercecunningham.org, pbs.org, nytimes.com, tumblr.com Interview with Merce Cunningham
Chance Theory
 Nikolais’ dancers
often appeared as
objects on stage rather
than people.
 He was one of the first
to use the idea of
dance bags.
 He was concerned
with “motion not
emotion.”

Alwin Nikolais’ Noumenon Alwin Nikolais courtesy of bearnstowjournal.org, nypl.org, danceheritage.org, flickr.com
  Taylor danced in Martha
Graham’s and Merce
Cunningham’s companies.
 His early work included
very pedestrian
movement.
 In 1957 he stood still for
the whole dance.
 He is known for his very
athletic and dynamic
dance style.
 He created works with
narratives as well as
works that were just
movement.
Promethean Fire
Paul Taylor courtesy of dancestlouis.org, ephemeralarchives.wordpress.com, ovationtv.com, thelodownny.com About Paul Taylor
 In the 1960’s and 1970’s a new
wave of choreographers
stripped dance down to its
simplest form.
 They focused on basic
movements such as walking,
running, skipping, and hopping
– pedestrian movement. It was
movement without technique.
 Many choreographers worked
only with untrained dancers.
 Their dances were performed at
the Judson Church in New
York. Sometimes they were
performed at train stations, on
rooftops, or on the sidewalk.
 The works had a strong basis in Yvonne Rainer’s Trio A
improvisation.
Judson Dance Theatre courtesy of looseleafreport.com,
Trisha Brown’s Man Walking
intermedia.vancouverartinthesixties.com, tumblr.com Down the Side of a Building
  Ailey did not follow the
post-modern movement.
 He focused on creating
dances that were accessible
to the general audience.
 His dances included
technique and form.
 His signature piece
“Revelations” is still
performed around the world.
It celebrated its 50th
anniversary in 2010.
 “Revelations” is set to Negro
Spirituals and celebrates the
religious heritage of African-
Americans.
Alvin Ailey courtesy of students.cis.uab.edu,
blackpast.org,
Revelations’ 50th anniversary
cuckookachooanartsreview.blogspot.com,
myhero.com, theepochtimes.com
 Similarities Differences
•Both presented dances that displayed •Some post-modern dances were plotless
innovative movement. and devoid of narrative; many traditional
modern dances had strong narrative lines.
•Both utilized themes that were social, •Traditional modern dances employed
political, and global. trained dancers; some post-modern
choreographers used untrained dancers.
•Both utilized the elements of space, time •Traditional modern dances often utilized
and energy in a way that was different from costumes; post-modern dances were often
ballet. presented in everyday street clothes
•Traditional modern dance was often
presented in theatres. Post-modern dance
was presented in a number of different
places.
 Contemporary
 This style of dance incorporates lyrical, modern,
ballet and jazz. Contemporary dance is all about
connecting the mind and the body through dance
movements. It is typically done barefoot and there
is a heavy emphasis on strong controlled legwork.
This style often allows the dancer creative
freedom, and can be danced to a variety of
different music.
 Ballet
 Ballet is often referred to as the backbone of
dance. The fundamentals used in ballet are often
used throughout all other styles of dance as
well. There are three main classifications:
classical ballet, neoclassical ballet and
contemporary ballet. This style of dance is used
to tell a story. It relies heavily on technique and
requires an enormous about of diligence and
dedication to perfect. Ballet is typically danced
to classical music and is done wearing slippers
or pointe shoes.
 Jazz
 This type of dance is very fun and energetic. It is
typically paired with upbeat music such as hip-
hop or show tunes to add a theatrical flare. Jazz
dancers often have more freedom to express their
own individual personality through their dance
performances. These dances usually have quick
footsteps, lots of leaps and turns and unique
moves.
 Tap
 Tap dance is probably best known for the type of
shoes the dancers wear. Tap dancers wear special
shoes with metal taps on the soles that allows them
to create their own drum like rhythmic patterns
and sound while they dance. Although a majority
of the focus in this dance is on the feet, jazz
dancers use their upper bodies and arms a lot to
blend the movements of their routine.
 Hip-hop
 Hip-hop is a style of dance that evolved from
hip-hop culture and is typically danced to of
course, hip hop music. Breakdancing is the most
well known type of hip-hop dance, but other
styles include krumping, popping and locking.
This style of dance is probably the most different
from the other forms. It is generally very
energetic and allows the dancer to have freedom
of movement within the routine and incorporate
their personalities.
 Ballroom
 Ballroom dances are done with a partner,
almost always a man and a woman. For this
reason, it is known as the social dance, because
of the interaction between the two dance
partners. There are several popular types of
ballroom dances including the Cha Cha,
foxtrot, jive, lindy hop, mambo, paso doble,
quickstep, rumba, samba, tango, Vietnamese
waltz, and the waltz.