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Evolution of dance - 1950 to 2019 essay
Evolution of dance - 1950 to 2019 essay
Evolution of dance - 1950 to 2019 essay
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Martha Graham is a one of the many 20th century important dancer and she’s also the mother of modern dance. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 11 1894. Her teen years she studied dance in Los Angeles. Where she studied was at Denishawn. In 1926 she then had her own dance company in New York City. Martha still was dancing when she was 60 and she also choreographed. In the Autobiography by Victoria Phillips Martha Graham saids this about her Autobiography, “I am not out to make a preach about my life. Some of it has been wonderful and I’ve been very, very fortunate some of it I regret. The things which are, perhaps, too private to ever reveal—one refuses to reveal.” (Phillips 65).
She was influenced by her father George Graham. He was a doctor who was a specialist in nervous disorders. He had an idea about the body which was the body could express its inner senses. This idea was very fascinating to his daughter Martha (“Martha Graham Bio”). When she was 17 she saw a performance called Ruth St. Denis at the opera house in Los Angeles. She also was a Presbyterian and because of this her parents would not allow her to study dance (“Martha Graham”). The first years were spent in Allegheny, which she described as dark, grimy, and excessively puritanical in its attitudes—so much so that dancing was viewed as sinful and forbidden to her (Needham). After her father died she went she went to Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts which was a junior college. This is where she spent her 8 years or more where she was a student but she was also an instructor (“Martha Graham Bio”).
She got to work with Ted Shawn which was where she improved her dance techniques and also where she began dancing as a professional. Ted Shawn p...
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...ed to cry but just couldn’t. However, when she saw Graham’s performance of “Lamentation” it made her able to release the sorrow and tension she had for her son. This is a great example of how her works help people. In 1944 her other performance Appalachian Spring premiered at the Library of Congress, while the score by Aaron Copland which was originally titled “Ballet for Martha” this won the Pulitzer Prize the following year (Phillips 65). Many critics however, said her dances were “ugly” but she still gained the respect from other people through the years (“Martha Graham Bio”). In 1937 she was the very first modern dancer to perform at the White House. By the late 1950s, Graham had reached star status among both the intelligentsia and the public. In 1932, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation had awarded Graham an unprecedented fellowship in dance (Phillips 65).
Margaret (Peggy) O’Neal (who preffered to be called Margaret) was born in 1799 in Washington DC. She was the daughter of William O’Neal, who owned a thriving boarding house and tavern called the Franklin House in that same town. It was frequented by senators, congressmen, and all politicians. She was the oldest of six children, growing up in the midst of our nation’s emerging political scene. She was always a favorite of the visitors to the Franklin House. She was sent to one of the best schools in Washington DC, where she studied English and French grammar, needlework and music. She also had quite a talent for dance, and was sent to private lessons, becoming a very good dancer. At the age of twelve, she danced for the First Lady Dolley Madison. Visitors of the Franklin House also commented on her piano playing skills.
Katherine Dunham died on May 21, 2006. (Katherine) “As artist, educator, anthropologist, and activist, Katherine Dunham transformed the field of the twentieth-century dance” (Das
Her goal was to move, not dance. She challenged the notions of what a quote on quote “female dancer” was and could do. Dance to her was an exploration, a celebration of life, and religious calling that required an absolute devotion (pg. 11, Freedman). She considered her dancers “acrobats of God”. An example of a dance which symbolized the “essentialized” body was Martha Graham’s Lamentation, choreographed in 1930, which served as an expression of what person’s grief, with Graham as the solo dancer in the piece. The costume, a tube-like stretchy piece of fabric, only allowed her face, hands, and feet to be seen, and, as Graham stated, “The garment that is worn is just a tube of material, but it is as though you were stretching inside your own skin.” In the beginning of the piece, she started out by sitting on a bench with her legs wide spread and arms held tight. Her head was going back and forth as if she was feeling sadness or maybe replaying thoughts in her head. By the way she was holding her hands so tight and close to her body, it symbolized the deep pain within her––the essence of her piece was grief, and she danced it from inside out. Russel Freedman, the author of Martha Graham A Dancers Life, stated, “She did not dance about grief, but sought “the thing itself”- the very embodiment of grief (p. 61).” Graham, dancing with strength and power, was encapsulated with her movement and was completely surrendered
Lotta Crabtree was born in New York in 1847, where she spent her first few years living, before moving to Southern California. With her parents Mary Ann Crabtree a upholsterer, furniture industry, and John Ashworth Crabtree a bookseller. Her Family was attracted by the gold rush and they moved so that they could be closer to it. Her father was the first to leave in search for gold in 1851 and Lotta and her mother moved soon after. In 1852 Lotta and her mother moved to California San Francisco for the race for gold. They weren't the richest family so they moved in with their friends that had been living there.Marry encouraged her daughter Lotta to begin dancing right away and enrolled her in dance classes at a very young age. Lotta Crabtree loved acting and performing for people while she was only a 6 year old girl. The Gold rush attracted lots of people to San francisco and that gave her a chance to perform in front of a huge audience. She danced for them and they threw nuggets and coins at her for her amazing dancing. People were throwing money at her like it was nothing and she was only 6 years old. She earned about 400 dollars per show which is an astonishing amount. Her mother collected her earnings and stored them away.This was only the beginning of Lotta Crabtree’s dancing and theater career.
Katherine Dunham led a rich and full life not only as a dancer, but as someone who studied the people she loved, wrote extensively, and stood for causes that meant so much to her. Her legacy lives on not only in the great anthropological studies she did or the important political and social stances she took, but in the modern dance of today. Modern dance, or dance in general for that matter, wouldn’t be what it is today without her studies and influence.
This elusive sound is notable in one of Copland’s most well-known works, Appalachian Spring. Written for choreographer Martha Graham, this ballet tells the story of the small
Not great at sports, Alvin excelled in the less common athletics of gymnastics, especially the floor exercise (36). Being an African-American male, this was hard for Ailey and he struggled fitting in with his peers. Alvin Ailey had little experience with dance or the theater and it wasn’t until he moved to Los Angeles that his eyes were opened to the world of theatrics by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carolos and the performance of Katherine Dunham’s black dance company (DeFrantz 43). Ailey pursued 1940s dancing styles such as tap, but experimented and settled on modern dance when a school friend, Carmen de Lavallade, convinced him to join Lester Horton’s lively theatrical, Hollywood Studio in 1949 (43). As Ailey’s mentor, Horton proved to be a major role model and helped mold Alvin’s technique and
Her lasting career was not given to her easily, therefore, creating an inspiring story full of hardships and success. Ever since she was a little girl, her dream was to become a successful and famous dancer. In New York City, when she was trying to fulfill her dream, she was unable to find a job in the theatre department. Instead of being discouraged, she decided to make something good come from it. She choreographed her own routines, created her own costumes, and organized solo recitals for audiences to enjoy. This event led her to the biggest adventure in her life that would later impact the world. She was invited to return back to London to pursue her education in the performing arts, so that she could further improve her talents that would make up her entire career.
She was a very shy kid, so her mother enrolled her in dance lessons. Eleanor took ballet and acrobatic lessons. Surprisingly enough, she didn’t take tap lessons until a bit later in her life, around the mid-1920’s.
During this time her mother passed away and she started living with her aunt due to the abuse from her stepfather. Forced to live on the streets at times, she would try to listen to the radio every chance she got and would sneak into movie theaters to absorb the popular music of the day. Listening to singers such as Louis Armstrong, Conne Boswell, and Bing Crosby. She continued to dance with her friends for pennies and would enter multiple amateur contests in Harlem on a
St. Denis's professional career began in 1892. In New York City, she worked as a skirt dancer in dime museums and vaudeville houses. "Dime museums featured "leg dancers" (female dancers whose legs were visible under their short skirts) in brief dance routines."# In that type of atmosphere, St. Denis was worked to the bone and forced to perform her routine at least ten times a day. However, in 1898, David Belasco noticed the young Ruth during one of her vaudeville performances. Belasco was a very successful and well known Broadway producer and director. He hired Ruth to perform as a dancer in his company. He was also responsible for giving her the stage name "St. Denis." The popularity of Ruth St. Denis exploded in the United States and Europe as she toured with his production of "Zaza." During her touring, she was introduced to many influential artists, such as Japanese Dancer Sado Yacco and English actress Sarah Bernhardt.
According to Katherine, “A creative person has to create. It doesn’t really matter what they create. If such a dance wanted to go out and build the cactus gardens where he could, in Mexico, let him do that, but something that is creative has to go on. (Katherine, Dunham, Dancing a life, 2002)”. It has been said that an idol is someone whom everyone looks up to because of the great things they accomplished throughout their life span. Acknowledged as an African American dancer, choreographer, anthropologist, civil activist and writer. Katherine Dunham, not only normally known for the generous acts of kindness but also for the huge impact she had in incorporating different dance styles and creating them into her very own ballet pieces. An influential woman who supported African American culture and believed there shouldn’t be any divisions between people. Not completely another mother of modern dance but a women who greatly influenced modern dance to enhance it in many ways. Katherine is and was famous for her anthropology movement in the world of dance, her creativity and dedication.
Overall, Isadora Duncan was an amazing and revolutionary person. She discovered intense emotions and a strong spirituality within herself, within her soul. She transformed her discoveries into a dance in order to share it with the world.
The fine art of modern dance is like many other fields in that it is based on the actions and deeds of those who were pioneers in the field. These pioneers helped to mold modern dance into what it is today. Of the many people who are partially responsible for this accomplishment is Isadora Duncan. Duncan, often referred to as the “mother of modern dance,” inspired many other dancers to the extent that the art of dance would not be the same today without her many contributions.
Trisha Brown is considered to be one of the most pivotal choreographers of the 1960’s as her work and practice shifted away from historically considered “appropriate” movement for choreography. This ideology references the modern era of choreographers, moving away from the aesthetics of Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham who worked with codified techniques, virtuosity and expressionism, whereas Brown saw dance as being of greater importance to the physical and mental process of the performer. Born in Aberdeen, Washington and studying dance at Mills College in California, Brown took improvisational workshops with Anna Halprin, discovering the concept of task orientated work. This knowledge would become central to her later experiments and work. She then shifted her life to New York to study composition with Robert Dunn to further her knowledge of movement and choreography. Physical research that was undertaken in these classes became publically presented programs, eventually leading to the evolvement of Judson Dance Theatre. In the late 1960’s, Brown constructed experiments to play with the dynamics and stability of gravity, using props such as ropes and harnesses to extend the dancers past their physical limitations. These experiments went on to become a working method for the work she created throughout her career and with her company which she founded in the 1970’s.