History And Background Of Modern Dance
Modern Dance
- Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance that includes dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious and social dance; and emerged mainly from Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
- It was thought to have developed as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet, and also as a way of expressing social concerns such as socioeconomic and cultural factors.
- In the late 19th century, modern dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allen, and Loie Fuller were pioneering new forms and practices, now called aesthetic or free dance.
- In the Central Modern Period (c. 1923–1946), choreographers Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Katherine Dunham, Charles Weidman, and Lester Horton sought to develop a uniquely American movement style and vocabulary, and to define and identify clearly Developed qualified dance training system.
- Modern dance has evolved with each subsequent generation of participating artists. The artistic material in the form of styles and techniques has been adapted and transferred from one choreographer to another.
- Performers such as Graham and Horton developed techniques in the Central Modern Period that are still taught around the world and many other types of modern dance exist today.
Background
- Modern dance is often thought to have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet, although historians have suggested that socioeconomic changes in both the United States and Europe helped to initiate change in the world of dance Is.
- Growing up in America, industrialization, the rise of a middle class (which had more disposable income and free time), and the decline of Victorian social restrictions, a new interest in health and physical fitness, among other changes.
- By the late 1880s women’s colleges began offering beauty dance “courses”. Emil Rath wrote extensively about what he called this emerging art figure at the time.
Free Dance
- Isadora Duncan (born in 1877) was a precursor to modern dance with its emphasis on the center or torso, bare feet, loose hair, free-flowing costumes and the inclusion of humor in emotional expression.
- She was inspired by classical Greek arts, folk dances, social dances, nature, natural forces and new American athleticism such as skipping, running, jumping, leaping and sudden movements.
- He thought that ballet was ugly and meaningless gymnastics. Although she returned to the United States at various points in her life, her work was not well received there. She returned to Europe and died in Nice in 1927.
Legacy Of Modern Dance
- The legacy of modern dance can be traced to the genealogy of 20th century concert dance forms. Although often creating separate dance forms, many of the original dance artists share a common heritage that can be traced back to free dance.
- postmodern dance
- Postmodern dance developed in the United States in the 1960s when society questioned truth and ideologies in politics and the arts.
- This period was marked by social and cultural experimentation in the arts. Choreographers no longer created specific ‘schools’ or ‘styles’. The influences of the different periods of dance became more vague and fragmented.
Contemporary Dance
- Contemporary dance emerged in the 1950s as a dance form that is a combination of modern dance elements and classical ballet elements.
- It may use elements from non-Western dance cultures, such as the African kneeling dance as a feature, and Butoh, the Japanese contemporary dance that developed in the 1950s.
- It includes modern European influences through the work of pioneers such as Isadora Duncan.
