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History of dance essay
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Changes Through Modern Dance Isadora Duncan once said, “The dancer’s body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul”. Duncan was a strong, independent dancer that wanted to change and improve the original styles of dance. She was born on May 27th, 1878, in San Francisco and was married to a famous poet Sergei Yesenin. Her two children were tragically killed when they were drowned, trapped inside of a car that plunged into the Seine River. Isadora Duncan was a successful creator of modern dance, used her background lifestyle of dance to overcome the many tragedies in her life, and ultimately illuminated the world by impacting Modern dance with her diverse styles.
Isadora Duncan was one of the five founders of Modern dance. Modern dance is a free, expressive style of dance that started in the early 20th century. All five of these pioneers had a strong passion to share their love of dance with audiences and many others. When Isadora Duncan was six, she was already teaching many children in her neighborhood how to wave their arms. This small action lead to the start of her love for dance. Most of her dances were cultural and “extremely female” (“Duncan”,1998). Isadora encouraged all movement that was natural, expressive, and spontaneous and rejected popular theatrical dance for its superficiality (“Duncan”,1998).
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Not only did she grow up very poor, but she also suffered the loss of her children as well as her husband, poet Sergei Yesenin, who committed suicide. Finally, her own life tragically ended when she was riding in a sports car and her long scarf got caught on one of the wheels causing her to be strangled to death (“Duncan”,1998). Isadora Duncan used dance to distract her from the tough challenges she had to overcome. Isadora kept her passion for dance in her heart and thought about the ways that she could inspire others through the art of
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
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 ...
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 ...
Martha Graham following Mary Wigman choreographed to the “essentialized” body through using the breath, contractions, human emotion, and so on. Martha Graham believed the pulsation of life came from the breath (6). This breath represented the soul. Graham’s breath is controlled by the contraction and release upon which her choreography was based. Graham also went on to state, “Art is eternal for it reveals the inner landscape of a man” (4). Dancing from the inside of your soul out is what Graham wanted her dancers to do. In own opinion e access our soul through surrendering to the divine power of God, which starts by connecting to our breath. Isadora Duncan danced with a connectedness of her body and soul completely inspired by nature. Graham
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.
Alvin Ailey played a large role in the diversification and cultural storytelling that can be seen in modern dance today. With the founding of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, his dance company stands strong as one of the most respected and prosperous dance companies because of its artistic representation of the beauty that is otherwise known as the African culture. His work absolutely changed the atmosphere of modern dance because he was able to provide the modern dance community with a wider variety of content that had otherwise not been popularized before. Not only did he draw his inspiration from the African culture, but he also amalgamated this with his personal experience growing up as a black child during times of segregation.
Katherine Johnson is a memorable African American mathematician and an icon for young black girls around the world. Katherine Johnson loved math. Early in her career, she was called a “computer.” She helped NASA put an astronaut into orbit around Earth, and then she helped put a man on the moon.
Helen J. Stewart was from German/ English decent and was born on April 16, 1854 in Springfield, Illinois and died on March 6, 1926 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Helen attended the public schools in Sacramento county and attended Hesperian College in Woodland, California for about a year. Helen J. Stewart developed into a highly skilled rancher and a business woman. Understanding that someday the land in the Las Vegas Valley would become of value, she started buying land that was close to her ranch. By 1890, she was the biggest landowner in Lincoln County, which during that time included present-day Clark County. She was selected as the principal postmaster of Las Vegas in 1893. The name was spelled “Los Vegas” until 1903. The authentic spelling was designed to prevent confusion with Las Vegas, New Mexico. As the new town of Las Vegas started to develop and become settled with people, Helen J.
Throughout my years in school, I have studied a plethora of famous people; including dancers. One person in particular that stands out to me is Anna Pavlova. She was a famous Russian ballerina and choreographer. She was the first person to found a ballet company that toured around the world. Pavlova was born in St. Petersburg, Russia on February 12, 1881 and attended the Imperial ballet school. Anna is special because she isn’t like a lot of other well-known dancers. Unlike other dancers who made their way to fame with the power of money, Anna was raised in a poor family and worked hard to get what she wanted. She definitely left her mark on society’s ballet dancers and many are inspired by the way she first became interested in ballet.
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.
Ramsay, B. (2000). Dance theory, sociology, and aesthetics. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 125-131. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478286
In 1930 Martha Graham formed her own dance company dismissing the classical form of modern dance and and replaced it with sharp, angular and sexually charged aesthetics. Her inspiration usually came from greek mythology, history, art or social commentary. (Martha Graham’s Legacy in Modern Dance History, 2011) Graham’s philosophy was to reveal the mans inner core, "I wanted to begin," she said, "not with characters or ideas but with movement…. I wanted significant movement. I did not want it to be beautiful or fluid. I wanted it to be fraught with inner meaning, with excitement and surge.” (Martha Graham, n.d.).Martha Graham uses unique and symbolic contemporary to manipulate elements of the contemporary dance. Through her technique it helps to communicate the the mans inner core, one being Jocosta in Night Journey. Night Journey choreographed by Martha Graham in 1894 explores and portrays the strength and struggles of female characters. In Night Journey rather than telling the story of Oedipus, the main male character, as written by Sophocles, Graham focused on the female perspective of Jocasta, mother, Queen and wife of Oedipus.(Dodge, 2007). Graham focuses on Jocasta the main protagonist who finds out that she has married her son, Oedipus. The dance begins at the moment of Jocasta’s suicide as she stand motionless on stage holding a thin rope between her hands. Night Journey becomes even more complex following her memories that haunt her whig inevitably lead her to her death. Martha Graham has skilfully choreographed symbolic representations and motifs to convey Jocasta's emotions of desperation, grief, pain, love and loss while also conveying the impending doom that is to become of Jocasta. She also ...
Ballet has been an art form since the late fifteenth century, but society did not truly see the impact of ballet until the nineteenth century. Modern day thinkers possess the idea that ballet began with tutus and pointe shoes, but it wasn’t until the nineteenth century that this opinion was observed. Ballet has come a long way. It has survived the turmoil of many wars and has changed itself by accepting new ideas and impressing the audience with its unique stylistic views.
Isadora Duncan was born in California in 1877. As a child she studied ballet, and skirt dancing. Her mother was an accomplished pianist, and her music later inspired the genius of Duncan’s contributions to dance. Duncan began her professional career in Chicago in 1896, and joined a professional touring company; within the company she starred in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “The Geisha.” Duncan, however, soon left the company to begin performing solo dances at the homes of wealthy patrons. Influenced by Americanized Delsarte movement, the dances were not widely noticed by press. Duncan’s talents were appreciated by her family when she was young, but her revolutionary ideas on dance were not well accepted in America. Thus, Duncan moved to Europe to pursue her dance career; however, her funds were not sufficient to support her and her family.