What Is Modern Dance?

danceadvantage | Jun 21, 2008 | 0

This is not an easy question to answer, even for dancers and choreographers.  The beginnings of Modern Dance in the United States (Germany had a somewhat parallel dance movement) are traced to the early 20th century to a group of dancers often labeled the forerunners of modern dance.  Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Dennis, and her husband and partner Ted Shawn, each made significant contributions to a new type of concert dance in America.  Their dance reflected and challenged the art, philosophy, and issues of their time, explored the cultures of other places and times, made new advances in theatrical lighting and spectacle, and discarded the costumes and artificiality of ballet. They were exploring and expressing themselves in a way that had never been seen before, and they were guiding others to do the same.

From this small family tree, emerged another generation of dancers.  This group, considered the founders of modern dance, broke whatever rules had been laid down by their predecessors.  Instead of borrowing movement from other cultures, they created movement based on the experiences of their own era.  They were interested in presenting the inner self and all of its complex emotions on the concert stage. These founders, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Lester Horton, among others, also created their own techniques which they taught in independent dance schools and universities.  Their work established modern dance as a legitimate art form.

Dancers in the founder's companies such as Merce Cunningham, Jose Limon, Alvin Ailey, Paul Taylor and Anna Sokolow continued to redefine not only modern dance but, dance in general.  Each contributed something different but this third generation was noted for a more minimalistic approach to dance in which movement became more pedestrian and stripped-down.  Some, like Merce Cunningham, explored chance elements in their choreography, allowing a roll of dice to determine a dances' structure.  Others, like Alvin Ailey, brought ethnic, social, and political issues to the forefront.

In the 1960s and 70s, the work of these earlier artists ushered in the postmodern dance movement.  Dance artists were leaving the theatrical stage altogether and performing dance in public parks, on buildings, in museums, and on busy streets.  Choreographers explored improvisation as legitimate performance and often presented performers with no dance training in their work.  Audiences were asked to accept everyday movement like dressing, walking, and playing as dance.  It was a direct upheaval of the concepts and codification that Modern dance artists had fought to develop.

Yet, as those who had gone before have done, each generation of dancers seeks new terminology, concepts, and techniques that broaden the definition of dance.  This legacy continues in an environment that draws from the techniques of modernism and the spirit of exploration in postmodernism.  Today's contemporary dance artists are likely to have experiences in many techniques.  They study traditions in modern dance, but also other movement disciplines like ballet, jazz, african, yoga, gymnastics, martial arts, etc.  Choreography for today's modern dancer is often a more collaborative process which explores improvisation, contact improvisation, and body mapping.  Therefore, the movement you'll see in a technique class or on stage reflects this diversity.  Of course, it also makes the question, "What is Modern Dance?" even more difficult.

Understanding the history of Modern Dance helps us to come to our own conclusions about this constantly transforming art form.  Forming an appreciation for the art form requires that we experience modern dance by taking class from a variety of teachers, watching choreography and performances, and exploring many types of movement, all the while, keeping an open mind in regard to our own definitions of dance. We still may not be able to define modern dance but it will be a journey of discovery, which is as close as I can come to answering our question... "What is Modern Dance?"

Print Email Link

• Share
  • add to facebook
  • add to del.icio.us
  • add to digg
  • add to yahoo
  • related at technorati

Modern, Enthusiast, Performance, student (all tags)