While the 20th century expressionist movement prompted dancers, as artists, to focus on individual expression rather than description or imitation, later movements attempted to abolish individual expression, order, form, and rules. Even later, movements meshed the two styles together, creating another style in it’s own right, as exemplified with Ratmansky’s works. Pina Bausch exemplifies the 20th century expressionist movement with intense, expressive movements while, later on, Merce Cunningham sought to break down this very notion of dance. Then, Alexei Ratmansky combines the two styles, forming an expressive, yet less traditional style of dance. Throughout the course of history, dance has changed it’s face to reflect the society at large …show more content…
“A Cunningham dance is a series of movement events, often layered with several different things doing on at the same time” (Bennahum, 91). One implication of this statement is that some of his pieces are deliberately broken down in organization, as a form of expression. “Cunningham liberated choreography from traditional principles of good composition, such as the idea that every dance has a well-defined beginning, middle, and end.” (Au, 155) This liberation is apparent in Cunningham’s RainForest, which features movements markedly different than Bausch’s dancers as well as a flow that starkly contrasts the organization apparent in Bausch’s piece. While the movements still look expressionistic on the surface, the apparent lack of cohesiveness distinguishes the piece. The piece is certainly less of a narrative than pieces seen in the past. “Looseing the choreographer’s conscious control over the dance, the choreography produced unexpected results […] Cunningham decided just before each performance which sections of a dance would be performed, in what order, and for what durations, posting the instructions backstage.” (Bennahum, Lecture on Merce Cunningham) This last minute organization, which some may argue is simply lack of planning altogether, demonstrates how Cunningham broke free from the previous conventions of …show more content…
“Alexei Ratmansky was born in St. Petersburg and trained at the Bolshoi Ballet School in Moscow. His performing career included positions as principal dancer with Ukrainian National Ballet, the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet” (Ballet Theatre Foundation). “Ballet has been the subject of much discussion regarding the need for new works of lasting significance in the classical technique. […] Many look to (Ratmansky) for a change in their aesthetic ability to envision different shapes and spaces within classicism.” (Bennahum, 113) In Ratmansky’s The Nutcracker, it’s clear that this piece has a beginning, middle, and end, however it’s also clear that the forms were expressive, controlled, and highly technical. The ballet dancers exhibit movements that are energetic, refreshing, and laden with intense control, all behind a backdrop of correspondingly expressive and intense music. The shift in dance style becomes a fusion of the two discussed earlier: it has the intensity and expressivity of Bausch’s time period while it also sometimes has the abandonment of a narrative as well as daring experiments with form from Cunningham’s
Unlike most of his contemporaries, Grossman’s dance movements vary from one production to another. In the 1975 production ‘Higher’ the dance movements were mainly using the whole body. The piece went for 15 minutes and was explicit in its design so that the audience could clearly see and understand the intended message/s. This piece received many awards and is what got Grossman noticed and brought into the dancing world.
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.
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
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.
When José Limón began to choreograph his own pieces, he brought to his work all the abandon of a twenty-year old trying to find out what his body could and could not do. It was a raw style that came quite simply out of the process of his own discovery of dance, before he learned the technical “craft” of dancing; that is, before he learned how to point his feet or straighten his legs in the air. He threw himself into everything he did, without worrying about his balance, shape, or what dancing was supposed to look like - and audiences were enchanted
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 ...
Steve Paxton: Speaking of Dance – Conversations with Contemporary Masters of American Modern Dance. Academic Internet Video. Directed by Douglas Rosenberg. Oregon: Alexander Street Press, 1996.
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.
Ramsay, B. (2000). Dance theory, sociology, and aesthetics. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 125-131. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478286
Contemporary 20th century choreographer Paul Taylor used the components of dance -space, time and energy to explore the struggle of an individual versus the conformity of the masses in his dance Esplanade. In addition, Taylor intertwined the principles of contrast, repetition, and resolution throughout Esplanade to portray the emotion, which accompanied this isolation. This esplanade (a long, open, level area usually by the sea) represented the journey of an independent women’s movement against the societal norm of heterosexual couples within the masses.
The work ‘Ghost Dances’ by Christopher Bruce was viewed on 26th August, 2011 to the Year 12 Dance class. The individual interpretation of the social/political or world issue/ comment the piece is attempting to make. Using direct examples from the performance, the use the choreographer has made of the movement and the non-movement components have been identified. Also the effectiveness of this piece has been evaluated.
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
Expressionism can be described as a movement in the fine arts that emphasized the expression of inner experience rather than solely realistic portrayal, seeking to depict not objective reality, but the subjective emotions and responses that objects and events arouse in the artist. Several characteristics of expressionism are distortion, exaggeration, primitivism, and fantasy. “The Green Table,” a ballet by Kurt Jooss, is an ideal example of expressionism because it depicts the choreographer’s personal interpretation of war through the use of movement, music and lighting.
Jonas, Gerald. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Abrams, 1992. Print.