Roxas, Johndelle O.

1-3 W
Modern Dance
Born in the early 20th century, modern dance is a dance style that focuses on a
dancer's own interpretations instead of structured steps, as in traditional ballet dancing.
Modern dancers reject the limitations of classical ballet and favor movements derived
from the expression of their inner feelings. During the 1900's, European dancers began
rebelling against the rigid rules of classical ballet. Turning against the structured
techniques, costumes and shoes of ballet, these dancers favored a more relaxed, free
style of dancing. Modern dance pioneers often danced in bare feet and revealing
costumes. In the United States, several dance pioneers paved the way for American
modern dance, including the legendary Martha Graham.

Characteristics of Modern Dance

Modern dance encourages dancers to use their emotions and moods to design their own
steps and routines. It is not unusual for dancers to invent new steps for their routines,
instead of following a structured code of technique, as in ballet

Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance (as opposed to
participation dance), primarily arising out of Germany and the United States in the late
19th and early 20th centuries.
The oversimplification of modern dance's history often leads to the erroneous
explanation that the art form emerged merely as a rejection of, or rebellion against
classical ballet. An in-depth analysis of the context of the emergence of modern dance
reveals that as early as the 1880s, a range of socioeconomic changes in both the United
States and Europe was initiating tremendous shifts in the dance world.
In America, increasing industrialization, the rise of a middle class (which had
more disposable income and free time), and the decline of Victorian social strictures led
to, among other changes, a new interest in health and physical fitness. "It was in this
atmosphere that a 'new dance' was emerging as much from a rejection of social
structures as from a dissatisfaction with ballet." During that same period, "the champions
of physical education helped to prepare the way for modern dance, and gymnastic
exercises served as technical starting points for young women who longed to
dance"and women's colleges were already offering "aesthetic dance" courses by the
end of the 1880s.
Concurrently, dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allen, and Loie Fuller
were pioneering new forms and practices in what is now called aesthetic or free dance
for performance. These dancers disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary, the
particular, limited set of movements that were considered proper to ballet, and stopped
wearing corsets and pointe shoes in the search for greater freedom of movement. Emil

Rath, who wrote at length about this emerging artform at the time stated,
"Music and rhythmic bodily movement are twin sisters of art, as they have come
into existence simultaneously...today we see in the artistic work of Isadora Duncan,
Maud Allen, and others the use of a form of dancing which strives to portray in
movements what the music master expresses in his compositionsinterpretative
dancing."

American modern dance can be divided (roughly) into three periods or eras:

Early Modern Period(1880-1923)

New Dance, Free Dance, and Modern Romanticism could be other names for this
period. While artistic practice changed tremendously during this period, clearly distinct
modern dance techniques had not yet emerged. (Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St.
Denis, Ted Shawn, Eleanor Anderson).

Central Modern Period(1923-1946)

Many dance artists during this era searched for an American way of moving, and
created an American artform. They also developed clearly defined and recognizable
dance training systems. (Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Katherine Dunham, Charles
Weidman, Lester Horton).

Late Modern Period(1946-1957)

This period brought clarity of abstractionism, the rise of the avant-garde, and paved the
way for postmodernist dance. (Jos Limn, Pearl Primus, Merce Cunningham, Talley
Beatty, Erick Hawkins, Anna Sokolow, Anna Halprin, Paul Taylor).

History
From roughly 1914 forward, sociopolitical concerns added fuel to the continued
development of modernist dance in the United States and Germany. The First and
Second World Wars, the rise of fascism, the Great Depression (in the US), and the
evolution of other artforms each informed modern dance along the way. Moving into the
1960s, new ideas about dance began to emerge, again in large part as a response to
both earlier dance forms as much as to social changes. Eventually, postmodern dance
artists would reject the formalism of modern dance, and include elements such as
performance art, contact improvisation, release-technique, and improvisation.
The discussion that follows is by no means an exhaustive list of modern dance
artists in either the United States or Germany. As will become clear below, modern
dance has evolved with each subsequent generation of participating artists. Artistic

content has morphed and shifted from one choreographer to another, and so too have
styles and techniques. Artists such as Martha Graham and Lester Horton developed
techniques in the Central Modern Period that are still taught worldwide, and numerous
other types of modern dance exist todaymany of which are associated with renowned
schools and master teachers
Free dance
1877: Isadora Duncan was a predecessor of modern dance with her stress on the center
or torso, bare feet, loose hair, free-flowing costumes, and incorporation of humor into
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 abrupt movements. She 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 very well received there. She returned to Europe and died in
Paris in 1927.
1891: Loie Fuller (a burlesque skirt dancer) began experimenting with the effect that gas
lighting had on her silk costumes. Fuller developed a form of natural movement and
improvisation techniques that were used in conjunction with her revolutionary lighting
equipment and translucent silk costumes. She patented her apparatus and methods of
stage lighting that included the use of coloured gels and burning chemicals for
luminescence, and also patented her voluminous silk stage costumes.
1905: Ruth St. Denis, influenced by the actress Sarah Bernhardt and Japanese dancer
Sada Yacco, developed her translations of Indian culture and mythology. Her
performances quickly became popular and she toured extensively while researching
Oriental culture and arts.

Legacy of modern dance

The legacy of modern dance can be seen in lineage of 20th-century concert dance
forms. Although often producing divergent dance forms, many seminal dance artists
share a common heritage that can be traced back to free dance.

Postmodern dance

Postmodern dance developed in the 1960s in United States when society questioned
truths and ideologies in politics and art. This period was marked by social and cultural
experimentation in the arts. Choreographers no longer created specific 'schools' or
'styles'. The influences from different periods of dance became more vague and
fragmented. It is very common for postmodern dance to be performed to little or no
music at all.

Contemporary dance

Danceworks rehearsal of "Stone Soup" with semi-improvised music from composer Seth

Warren-Crow and Apple iLife sound clip "Tour Bus"

Contemporary dance emerged in the 1950s as the dance form that is combining the
modern dance elements and the classical ballet elements. It can use elements from
non-Western dance cultures, such as African dancing with bent knees as a
characteristic trait, and Butoh, Japanese contemporary dancing that developed in the
1950s. It is also derived from modern European themes like poetic and everyday
elements, broken lines, nonlinear movements, and repetition. Many contemporary
dancers are trained daily in classical ballet to keep up with the technicality of the
choreography given. These dancers tend to follow ideas of efficient bodily movement,
taking up space, and attention to detail. Contemporary dance today includes both
concert and commercial dance because of the lines being blurred by pop culture and
television shows. According to Treva Bedinghaus,"Modern dancers use dancing to
express their innermost emotions, often to get closer to their inner-selves. Before
attempting to choreograph a routine, the modern dancer decides which emotions to try
to convey to the audience. Many modern dancers choose a subject near and dear to
their hearts, such as a lost love or a personal failure. The dancer will choose music that
relates to the story they wish to tell, or choose to use no music at all, and then choose a
costume to reflect their chosen emotions."

Modern Dance can also be a medium of healing, many physical therapy organizations
have dance as a part of the therapy process. Any interpretive dance is known to be
helpful to the mind, soul, and body. Studies done around the world show that dance and
physical exercise help improve our wellbeing.

Sources:
http://dance.about.com/od/solodancestyles/p/Modern_Dance.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_dance