Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Martha graham most influential dances
Martha graham most influential dances
Martha graham assignment modern dance
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Martha graham most influential dances
Martha Graham has had a large impact on modern dance throughout the years and even after her death. She took the conventional dances of her time and revolutionized them. Martha Graham and her techniques have greatly affected modern dance by introducing new and innovative concepts. As Alma Guillermoprieto figured out, Graham was “the first creator of modern dance to devise a truly universal dance technique out of the movements she developed in her choreography” (qtd. in Terry). This statement shows that Martha Graham and her techniques’ affects were universal through dance.
To start, a technique that Martha Graham created that is the main center point of all her techniques is to focus on breathing. She questioned a lot about what happened in her body as she breathed, and then noticed that there are many different ways that the body can breathe (Kessel 29). According to Kessel "Martha believed that by connecting breath and movement, her dancing could become more meaningful and expressive" (30). Kessel’s point is that Martha Graham’s technique to focus on breathing was so important because she believed that it could make her dancing more emotional, which is one of her main reasons for creating her techniques.
Another technique of Martha Graham’s most basic and widely used technique, is her use of contraction and release. Contraction is when the dancer inhales and release is where the dancer exhales. Kessel sates “During exhalation, the deep muscles of the torso contract, forcing the air out of the lungs. During inhalation, the same muscles release as fresh air rushes back in" (30). Basically Kessel talks about the scientific view of contraction and release, which are considered intensified movements of inhalation and exhalation. ...
... middle of paper ...
...ess. Web. 08 May 2014.
"Graham, Martha." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013. Student Edition. Web. 8 May 2014.
Kessel, Kristin. Martha Graham. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2006. Print.
Kisselgoff, Anna. "Martha Graham Dies at 96; A Revolutionary in Dance." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Apr. 1991. Web. 15 May 2014.
Marcel, Emily. "Terese Capucilli: Plunging Deep into Graham Technique." Dance Magazine 1 July 2009: 52-53. Student Edition. Web. 6 May 2014. .
"Martha Graham About the Dancer." American Masters. PBS. 16 Sept. 2005. PBS. Web. 08 May 2014.
Terry, Walter. "Martha Graham (American Dancer)." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 May 2006. Web. 14 May 2014.
...re of different dance cultures within the vocabulary of their scope, then the results would be so astounding as to give that dancer an unspoken quality distinguishing them from among their peers. Movement knowledge is cultural knowledge and remembering that each culture is beautiful and different in its own way can help create a dancer that will resonate with any audience member.
Haskins, James. "Geoffrey Holder and Carmen De Lavallade." Black Dance in America. N.p.: n.p., 1990. 130-37. Print.
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
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.
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 to 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.
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.
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.
By the late 1950s, Graham had reached star status among both the intelligentsia and the public. In 1932, the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation awarded Graham an unprecedented fellowship in dance (Phillips 65).
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
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
Jonas, Gerald. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Abrams, 1992. Print.