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