Modern Dance Flashcards
What is modern dance?
- the breakaway from Ballet
- free and relaxed dance form
- more about the personalities, emotions, and spirits of the dancer, rather than technical footwork
- music, or lack of, parallels the theme and choreography of the dance
How did Rudolf von Laban contribute to modern dance?
- dancer, choreographer, dance/movement theoretician
- believed dance should be available to everyone
What is the method that Rudolf von Laban created?
Labanotation: created a method to understand, observe, describe, and note all forms of movement
Describe the time of Labanotation.
- movement is sustained or sudden
- sustained: leisurely
- sudden: urgent
Describe the flow of Labanotation.
- movement is free or bound
- free: unrestricted
- bound: restricted
Describe the weight of Labanotation.
- movement is light or strong
- light: delicate, overcoming gravity
- strong: increasing force, pushing the body
Describe the space of Labanotation.
- movement is direct or indirect
- direct: single focus
- indirect: many foci, or shifts of attention
How did Isadora Duncan contribute to modern dance?
- mother of modern dance
- believed in free and natural movement
- many thought that she improvised and that she was wild and formless
- first person to bring modern dance to general audiences where it was accepted and acclaimed
Describe the performance, costumes, and music of Isadora Duncan.
Performance: free
Costumes: flowing
Music: symphonies
How did Martha Graham contribute to modern dance?
- many themes seen in her work and is considered one of the finest dance concert performers
- encouraged dancers to move as individuals, while staying within the standard for the given exercises and origins of the choreography
Describe the performance, costumes, and music of Martha Graham.
Performance: angular
Costume: traditional
Music: variety
Describe Martha Graham and her development of contraction and release.
- technique built on inhalation and exhalation
- in inhaling, the body has an aerial quality of release
- in exhaling, the body’s drive goes down and out in contraction
- appeared in the 1920’s and was based on her early training with Denishawn
- follows the ancient idea that anatomical changes within the body are dependant on the breath
How did Martha Graham’s teachings progress?
- Ballet barre and centre work helped to shape Graham’s teachings, eventually leading to standing falls and hip swings
- as dancer’s entered and exited Graham’s company: the movements, choreography, and visions of each piece changed (entirely women 1931, Erick Hawkins 1938, Merce Cunningham 1939)
- political insert- New School Performance
How did Doris Humphrey contribute to modern dance?
- built movement based on fall-recovery
- believed that movement was due to moments of balance and unbalance in the body
Describe Doris Humphrey and her development of fall-recovery.
- 3 components: the fall, the recovery, and the suspension at the peak of recovery
