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Merce Cunningham as a Pioneer of Modern Dance
In the age of conformity, Merce Cunningham has resisted the temptation to remain aligned with his peers. Cunningham has pioneered a new school of thought in dance, and has set the standard for future pioneers. He is passionate about what he does and it has been evident in his works as a dancer and a choreographer.
Cunningham was born on April 16, 1919, in Centralia, Washington. At the age of twelve, Cunningham became interested in dance and started informal instruction. Upon graduation from high school, Cunningham began his formal dance instruction at the Cornish School of Fine and Applied Arts. After two years at the Cornish School, he studied at Mills College and at Bennington College; this is where he was invited to join Martha Graham?s dance company in 1939. Graham was an incredible dancer who also choreographed during her career. While dancing for Graham, Cunningham began to make a name for himself in the dancing community. It was with Graham?s encouragement that Cunningham started to choreograph on his own. His decision to start choreographing can be looked at as one of the most important decisions in the history of dance.
With the encouragement of John Cage, a composer, Cunningham left Martha Graham?s Dance Company in 1945 to pursue a fulltime partnership with Cage. The two men would go on to have a very storied career. On the night of April 6, 1944, at the Humphrey Weidman Studio, Cunningham and Cage performed their first solo recital. In attendance that night was acclaimed dance critic, Edwin Denby. ?When he was actively reviewing, Edwin Denby was this country?s most respected critic of the dance?(Klosty 215). Cunningham?s first performance captured Denby from the very beginning with Cunningham?s amazing steps, runs, and knee bends and he described them as ?brilliant in lightness and speed.? Denby was also impressed by Cunningham?s gifts as a lyric dancer. Denby?s first review of Cunningham helped launch his career forward. Denby ended his review of Cunningham?s first solo performance by saying ?I have never seen a first solo recital that combined such taste, such technical finish, such originality of dance material, and so sure a manner of presentation.?
Before the 1940?s, expressionist was the leading form of modern dance. Cunningham on the other hand, was opposed to this ...
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...Merce Cunningham continues to be on the pioneering edge of dance. His innovative techniques continue to astound audiences around the world with his creativity and expertise. In every time period throughout history, there has always been a select few who have changed the times. Whether it is Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, or Merce Cunningham, society will always be indebted to these individuals for the contributions they have made in various aspects our lives.
Bibliography:
Anderson, Jack. ?Dance Review: Into Terra Incognita With Merce Cunningham.? New York Times 26 July 1999: E5.
?Cunningham, Merce.? Encarta Encyclopedia. 1998 ed.
?Cunningham, Merce.? Encyclopedia Britannica Online. [Accessed 31 August 1999].
?Dance.? Encyclopedia Britannica Online. [Accessed 31 August 1999].
Denby, Edwin. ?Review.? Merce Cunningham. Ed. James Klosty. New York City, NY: Saturday Review Press, 1976. 213.
Klosty, James. Introduction. Merce Cunningham. By Klosty. New York City, NY: Saturday Review Press, 1975. 11-17.
?Merce: biography.? Cunningham Dance Foundation. Online. Internet. 31 Aug. 1999. Available WWW:http://www.merce.org/merce_bio.html.
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.
Renowned choreographer Alonzo King is the Balanchine of a new style of dance, his style of dance, a style shying away from the expected and catapulting its audience into a state of wonderment. Alonzo King uses sharp lines intertwined with severe movements, all engaging a classical technique in order to create movements, unseen in the dance world. King’s impressive résumé includes having trained with a number of world-renowned ballet companies, and setting works on an even more substantial number of companies, along with establishing his own celebrated company: Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet in San Francisco, California. Alonzo King began dancing at a young age in Santa Barbara, California. He continued his training in New York at the Harkness School of Ballet, Alvin Ailey Dance School, and then the American Ballet Theatre School and School of American Ballet as a scholarship student.
Katherine Dunham not only significantly contributed to the rise of modern dance, but she was also a pioneer in the field of dance anthropology; and a staunch political and social activist. Dunham was born in Chicago, Illinois and primarily raised in nearby Joliet, Illinois. Dunham first became interested in dance when she was a teenager and trained with Ludmilla Speranzeva, formerly of the Moscow Theatre, Vera Mirova, Mark Turbyfill and Ruth Page in Chicago before and during her college education. She even started her own private dance school, Ballet Négre, in 1930, while at the University of Chicago where she first began to cultivate her own technique that would change modern dance.
of the book. Ed. Charles Bohner and Lyman Grant. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2006. Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
Ed. Mary McDonagh Murphy. New York: Harper Perennial, 2010. 104-09. Print.
His dancing is refreshingly youthful, fanciful and spritely. He connects and charms audiences with his straightforward and sincere performance. His commitment to his craft which combines acrobatic stunts and humor coupled with his tap dancing prowess touches the hearts of the audience. His charisma is featured by his warm smile coupled with his showmanship which makes him a loveable artist. Donald O’Connor is a singer, actor and jazz dance legend with an artistic dedication to his craft still has much to offer to dancers of
Martha Graham, a dancer and choreographer, established modern dance. She explored different types of music and emotions and body movements to achieve creating of the foundation. She was determined to make a new style because she wanted movements out express her emotions and show who she really was. Her moves were something no one had ever seen before, they were a whole new idea. Her moves had passion and emotion. When experimenting, she had encountered dance schools that had let her express herself freely. Martha had negative encounters with people who didn't support her career like her family.
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 ...
Martha Graham is one of the many important 20th century dancers and she’s also the mother of modern dance. She was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 11, 1894. In 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.
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
Stanley Corngold. New York: Bantam, 2004. Print.
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Toyota Motor Corporation has its headquarters in Aichi, Japan with over three hundred thousand employees worldwide. This company majors in manufacturing and selling automobiles ever since its spinoff in 1937 from Toyota Industries (Hino 130). This company is part of the Toyota Group; one of the biggest conglomerates in the globe, and includes company like the Hino motors, Lexus, and Daihatsu. Apart from manufacturing vehicles, this company also makes hybrid cars, electric vehicles, and robots among other auto items. Toyota is known for its unique management accounting concepts that utilize lean accounting philosophy, the just in time strategy, the kaizen and the kaiben approaches to manufacturing. To be in tune with this practice, Toyota has a unique management system known as the Toyota Production System, which is an integrated socio-technical system that is inclusive of its manageme...
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The legalization of marijuana is a controversial topic, but marijuana should be legalized because it has many positive effects and there is a lot of evidence to support why marijuana should be legalized in all states. Marijuana is a preparation of the cannabis plant and it can be used as a drug or as medicine. The primary component of cannabis is THC (Delta-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol). This drug has mind-altering and physiological side effects when consumed. Marijuana can be used for spiritual reasons or recreationally. It is the third most popular recreational drug used in America, referring to “About Marijuana.” According to government surveys, more than 14 million Americans, out of 25 million Americans who have smoked marijuana within the past year, use marijuana habitually. Although marijuana is illegal in most