Dance is the universal language of the soul. Dance speaks of the truest inner feelings and life experiences of a dancer. Every dancer and/or choreographer will grow up to have a very distinctive style and set of unique techniques, dance values, and teaching methods to be followed. The dancer whom we will be analyzing in this paper is a pioneer of modern dance, Lester Horton. He was born on January 23rd, 1906 in Indianapolis, Indiana (Segal, 1998). He had moved to California to create dances and had developed a fresh and unique style of technique and choreography (Warren, 1977). He established the first permanent theater in America devoted to dance, and organized one of the first integrated modern dance companies (Yeoh, 2012). Lester Horton has a very distinctive and duo faceted dance style. Being in Horton’s dance classes differ from the choreographies he has created (Suggs, 1990). In this choreographic assignment, we had decided to merge both of his technique and elements of his dramatic choreographies. We focussed on Lester Horton’s dance movements, shapes from his basic technique and his theatrical choreographical elements which have been heavily influenced by Native American Folk Dance, Japanese arm movements, Javanese and Balinese upper body movements (Shelver, 2013). Throughout this paper, we will argue that our choreography has clearly depicted the style of Lester Horton through the inclusion of the three main elements of Horton’s style. His focus on ethnic inclusiveness which had spurred from Native, African, and Japanese body and arms movements, simple techniques which were used to build strong and versatile dancers, and dramatic and musical elements of choreography merged with those techniques to create a visually pleas... ... middle of paper ... ...astly pushing the chairs with force to the ground to depict extreme rage in respect to the accents of the music. Since we have used the music of beloved, we paid close attention to the musicality work that had to be done, therefore, minute, detailed, and emotional movements were used to depict the accents, such as jumps, sharp stretched of the feet and arms angularly, jittering the fingers, slamming of chairs, and quick falls to the floor. In conclusion, the structure of our own choreography has brought out the true essence of the duo-faceted style of Horton, as we brought together the basic foundation of style which has derived from world dance practices, along with techniques which allow the dancers to form a strong and versatile body to be able to perform his creative and intricate movements portrayed through narratives and theatrical aspects of dance and drama.
Haskins, James. "Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade." Black Dance in America. N.p.: n.p., 1990. 130-37. Print.
Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.
In the dance world a staggering number of choreographers have made a lasting impact on the way dance is seen to its audience. Alonzo King’s exceptional oeuvre of work includes him in this great history of significant choreographers. He not only created the link between modern and ballet in the twentieth century, but he bridged the ...
Alvin was born during the Great Depression to two working class parents in Rogers, Texas. His father abandoned the family when Alvin was a mere six months old, leaving him and his mother with the struggle of fending for themselves. The inability for Alvin’s mother to find work led to their move to California in 1942, where Alvin was introduced by a classmate to the most influential person that would be the foundation for his future successful career in modern dance, Lester Horton (DeFrantz 1). Alvin was captivated by Lester’s work, which focuses on building a strong body, and made the executive decision to start his dance training in 1949 when he was eighteen years old. Because Lester Horton’s dance company embraced diversity, and accepted dancers of all ethnicities and backgrounds, Alvin was given the opportunity to do something great with his
Merce Cunningham was known as a “leader of the American avant-garde whose constant innovation and artistic collaborations expanded the frontiers not only of dance, but also of contemporary visual and performing arts”. His passion and drive to succeed and push boundaries of dance and technology helped him throughout his career and in the building of his own dance establishment, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. He also worked closely with the composer John Cage, where together they created different, new music. He was one of the most daring choreographers of his time regarding the exploration of technology in dance. He had begun to look into dance film in the 70’s, and further started to choreograph new dances using a computer program named ‘Dance Forms’. He also further created a webcast series where the public were able to view his teaching in the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and could essentially sit in on the rehearsals
Ramsay, B. (2000). Dance theory, sociology, and aesthetics. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 125-131. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478286
New Dance is described as a developing art form; this dance was articulated in the early 20th century. According to Chapter 8 in History of Dance book, “the new dance emerged as a response to the ballet that populated the variety shows and music halls, which had a rigid formula of steps and poses” (Kassing). The New Dance was a product of several strands that interlaced together dancers’ studies and backgrounds; these strands and others were woven together in a historical, political, and societal framework. For instance, one strand of New Dance consisted of the concepts, techniques, costumes, and stage settings from around the world. These strands influenced major dancers and choreographers, such as, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn.
I had the pleasure of being in Western Kentucky University Dance Department’s concert, An Evening of Dance. The performance took place on April 29th through May 2nd in Russel Miller Theatre. It consisted of many works from faculty and guest artists. I felt like the concert was a success and that the choreography was all unique in its own way. I enjoyed the pieces that I performed, and the ones that my fellow company members were in. Through the analysis of “Petrichor”, I found that each production and chorographic element plays a large part in the successful outcome of a dance and emotional responses can be evoked by the simplest ideas.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
Born January 5th, 1931 in Texas, Alvin Ailey was an African-American dancer and choreographer. Leaving Texas to move to Los Angeles, he studied dance under modern choreographer Lester Horton, a teacher and choreographer of a modern dance school and company. He then moved on to pursue broadway, making his debut in Truman Capote’s House of Flowers in 1954, in New York (Alvin Ailey Biography n.d). It was here that he also had to opportunity to study dance with Martha Graham and in 1958 Ailey founded his own dance company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre (Alvin Ailey Biography n.d). Over the course of his career Ailey both choreographed and danced in his pieces until his death in 1989. Ailey’s pieces include influence of African culture, most evident in his piece Revelations (1960). Studying this particular piece of work over the course of five weeks I saw that it
Steve Paxton: Speaking of Dance – Conversations with Contemporary Masters of American Modern Dance. Academic Internet Video. Directed by Douglas Rosenberg. Oregon: Alexander Street Press, 1996.
Jonas, Gerald. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Abrams, 1992. Print.
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
The choreography for “The Green Table” cannot exactly be categorized as one thing or another. Jooss seems to employ two different types of dance: one being the traditional ballet, and the other being the modern technique. The use of traditional ballet can be seen in the dance of the soldiers with their light and graceful movements, particularly the one carrying the white flag. Contrary to this, the heavier, more central movements of dancers such as Death and the Partisan Woman illustrate modern dance technique similar to movements choreographed by Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey. The fact that Jooss utilizes both of these dance forms demonstrates his unique theories and adds a personal touch to this show. However, movement is not his only means of self-expression.