Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor was born on July 29th, 1930 in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, about a year after the stock market crashed that led to the Great Depression. Paul Taylor had a lonely childhood because he and his parents were often separated. He grew up around Washington D.C, and went to Syracuse University on a swimming scholarship, at the university he discovered dance through the library's books. Dance became his passion and he transferred to The Juilliard School ( a performing arts school) .
In the 1950’s Mr. Taylor started bringing modern dance to many American college campuses, small towns, and larger culture centers. In 1954 Mr. Taylor made his own small company of only 13 dancers. “Jack and the Beanstalk” is credit as it’s debut performance. The Paul Taylor Dance Company, as it was name, first performed in Europe in 1960 and toured South America. He joined The Martha Graham Dance Company after she saw the 22 year old who had won a dance scholarship to American Dance Festival. He had no training however, his athletic build and way of movement caught her eye. With The Martha Graham Dance Company he had seven seasons as a soloist and continued his work for his own company. Some great roles he danced in with the Martha Graham Dance Company include : Aegisthus in Altyemnesta in 1958, Hercules in Alcestics in 1960, Thesues in Phaedra in 1962. He was invited to the New York City Ballet where George Balanchine created a solo for him. Even though Mr. Taylor was invited to join the New York City Ballet he did like ballet, he said its to “fru fru” and strict for him.
In 1993 Paul Taylor established his second dance company, The Paul Taylor Dance Company 2, he established this company to “Ensure his works could be see...
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...ts learn the basics of modern dance, and Paul Taylor’s style to be able to choreograph their own dance, which they will also preform. Taylor’s fun-tensive class is a more advanced level, the students will get to meet dancers from The Paul Taylor Dance Company 2. They also watch videos and listen to lectures about Paul Taylor and the history of The Paul Taylor Dance Company as well as learn a choreographed dance and perform it for an audience.
Some dancer to go through Taylor’s school of dance are; Laura Dean, Twyla Tharp, Dan Wagoner, and Senta Drive. Today Mr. Taylor no longer dance but through these students and others like them his style of dance lives on .
Paul Taylor is currently 83 years old and remains the most sought-after choreographer working today. In 2012 he moved his company to New York City in Lincoln Center celebrating almost 60 years of dance.
...’s work. Although dancing Taylor’s choreography, Grossman was allowed the freedom to experiment and this factor allowed him to develop as a performer. Grossman has admitted that he had some fear in dancing in Taylor’s Company; however he has further added that in doing so his fears were gradually diffused and he in fact reached “a sense of peace or calm”.
After his training he apprenticed at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and performed with a number of companies, many of which were from Europe. Shortly after, he returned to California where he began his lines Ballet Company in San Francisco, California. King introduced his first season in 1982 by reviving a piece “Maya”, which he originally choreographed and set on the South Coast Contemporary Dance Theatre. From that point on, the company continued its growth and creation of a fresh spin on an incredibly old technique. In the dance world, a staggering number of choreographers have made a lasting impact on the way dance is seen to its audience.
Bob Fosse was born June 23, 1927, and died September 23, 1987. Born in Chicago USA. (Wikipedia, 2016, para.1) He grew up he had six siblings and had Norwegian and Irish parents. He was an American choreographer in musical theatre as well as a director, film director, screen writer, and actor. He has won the most Tonys ever for his choreography with eight Tony awards. Fosse's choreography changed how society saw dancing on film and stage with his style being nothing like anything anyone had ever seen before. His style was unique and edgy with unusual arm movements, poses, and gesture. "I thank god that I wasn't born perfect." Said Fosse. (Brainy Quote,
An example was through the performance when he had two people from the audience to join on the stage doing Corroboree dances.
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
As the first African-American to create a multicultural, international concert dance company, Alvin Ailey’s dance company has been dubbed the “cultural ambassador of the world” (Gorman 36). Through his Alvin Ailey Dance Company, he addressed the racism and injustice faced by ethnic minorities across the globe. Ailey clearly revolutionized African American participation in 20th century concert dance as well as revived interest in modern dance. As an extremely talented dancer and choreographer, Ailey’s success is attributed to his dedication and passion for expression through dance, but what is often overlooked is his resilience to the hardships he faced, the mentors he had, and the opportunities
Travis Tritt was born on February 9, 1963 to Georgia and James Tritt. Travis fell in love with music as a young boy. By the age of eight he had already taught himself how to play the guitar and by the age of 14 he was beginning to write his own songs. When Travis was younger his parents did not want him to follow his instincts; his mother wanted him to sing in the church, but he wanted to sing and write country music.
He started to experiment more with his dancing in films and later started to do his own choreography for films to help explain his characters. “Many people believe that he was the major influence in creating a new form of American dance, one that was different from the more formal and ballet styles of European dance. Kelly danced in a more energetic, athletic way.” (notablebiographies.com/Jo-Ki/Kelly-Gene.html). Gene was the first American-born to create and choreograph a ballet for the Opera Ballet in Paris.
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
I considered myself a performer, and after years training as a classical ballerina I expanded into stunting and tumbling. While on tour, I developed friendships and bonds with dancers strengthened by a mutual love for dance, a commonality over the pain our bodies endured daily, and conversations on bruised and broken toes.
... social dance. Many people in today’s society enjoy social; dancing. Chapter eleven dance concert, properly planning and establishing a dance concert is of the utmost importance. The partnership with the lighting designer usually takes priority over all other factors. One of the most important issues concerning customers has to do with mobility. The dancer must be able to move comfortably in the costume. The task of producing a dance concert is an overwhelming and tiring one. Chapter twelve dance in education and career in dance, many dance educators present the argument that teaching and learning dance as an art form is obviously absent from the American student education. There has always been and always will be people who have a love, desire, and passion to instruct and learn the art of dance, will ensure an important place for dance in higher education.
While a student in the dance program at Detroit High School for the Fine and Performing A...
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 produced “Xochitl” which was a dance he came up with for Graham (“Martha Graham Bio”).... ... middle of paper ... ...
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.