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| modern dance | |
|---|---|
| Name | Modern dance |
| Country | United States |
| Year | Late 19th–early 20th century |
| Cultural origins | Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller |
| Notable dancers | Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Isadora Duncan, Doris Humphrey, Twyla Tharp |
| Other topics | Ballet, Contemporary dance, Jazz dance |
modern dance Modern dance emerged in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as a reaction against the conventions of Ballet and as an exploratory practice among artists associated with Expressionism, Futurism, Dada, and early Modernism (arts). It developed through choreographers and performers seeking new movement vocabularies distinct from Classical ballet, drawing on improvisation, grounded technique, and theatrical innovation in cities such as New York City, Berlin, Paris, and London. The form expanded through collaborations with composers, visual artists, and writers including figures linked to Stravinsky, John Cage, Isamu Noguchi, and T. S. Eliot.
Early catalysts included performers and teachers active in the salons and concert stages of Paris, Vienna, and Chicago who rejected the corseted silhouette and codified steps of Ballet. Pioneers in the United States such as Loie Fuller and Isadora Duncan experimented with fabric, improvisation, and Greek-inspired gesture, while European innovators linked to Ausdruckstanz—notably in Germany and Austria—advanced expressive, often political, solo and group forms. Institutionalization occurred through conservatories and concert seasons in New York City and San Francisco, where figures like Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn founded schools that bridged vaudeville and concert work. The interwar and postwar periods saw further codification and diversification with companies and festivals in London, Amsterdam, and Tokyo fostering international exchange.
Technique strands include approaches emphasizing contraction and release associated with Martha Graham, fall and recovery pedagogy developed by Doris Humphrey, and the chance procedures of Merce Cunningham. Other stylistic families encompass expressionist practices of Pina Bausch-adjacent artists, theatrical improvisation from Ruth St. Denis, athletic fusion in the work of Twyla Tharp, and floor-based anatomically informed methods taught at institutions like Julliard and Bennington College. Pedagogical lineages spread through studios, conservatories, and festivals led by companies such as Martha Graham Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and schools with curricula influenced by Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, and José Limón.
Key innovators include Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, Ted Shawn, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, José Limón, Hanya Holm, Merce Cunningham, Alwin Nikolais, Pina Bausch, Paul Taylor, Yvonne Rainer, Trisha Brown, and Twyla Tharp. Each advanced technique, repertory, or institutional structures: for example, Martha Graham established a codified technique and school; Merce Cunningham introduced indeterminacy and collaborations with John Cage; Pina Bausch developed dance-theatre hybrids performed by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.
Modern dance intersected with movements and patrons in Modernism (arts), Expressionism, Surrealism, and the avant-garde salons of Paris and Berlin. Collaborations involved composers and visual artists including Igor Stravinsky, John Cage, Isamu Noguchi, Robert Rauschenberg, and playwrights connected to Bertolt Brecht and T. S. Eliot. Political and social currents—such as feminism linked to activists in New York City and labor struggles evident in repertory staged at festivals and workers’ venues—shaped thematic content. Tours, residencies, and cultural diplomacy programs organized by institutions like the United States Department of State brought companies to festivals and theaters worldwide.
Prominent companies and institutions include Martha Graham Dance Company, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, José Limón Company, Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Educational centers and conservatories with strong modern lineages encompass Juilliard School, Bennington College, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, and the London Contemporary Dance School. Key festivals and presenting organizations include Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Sadler's Wells, Festival d'Avignon, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and national seasons produced by venues such as Lincoln Center.
Canonical works that shaped practice include Martha Graham's "Appalachian Spring", Merce Cunningham's "RainForest", Alvin Ailey's "Revelations", Pina Bausch's "Café Müller", José Limón's "The Moor's Pavane", and Paul Taylor's "Esplanade". These pieces exemplify thematic diversity—from Americana and ritual to abstraction and dance-theatre—and frequently involved collaborations with composers and designers such as Aaron Copland, John Cage, Isamu Noguchi, and Robert Rauschenberg.
The legacy persists in contemporary companies, hybrid choreographers, and academic programs that integrate modern techniques with Contemporary dance, Hip hop culture influences, and interdisciplinary arts initiatives supported by institutions like National Endowment for the Arts and university departments in New York University and University of California, Los Angeles. Ongoing reinterpretation of canonical works occurs alongside new choreographies by artists such as Wayne McGregor, Crystal Pite, Akram Khan, Wim Vandekeybus, and Ohad Naharin that reference historical lineages while deploying digital media, site-specific performance, and community-engaged projects.
Category:Dance