Unit 9 Modern

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Unit 9 Modern Contemporary

• 1900-Present

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Modern Dance

• Modern dance takes its influences from all other
  dance traditions.
• Modern dance is a combination of ballet,
  oriental, African, Native American, and all other
  styles.

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Ballet Versus Modern
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Ballet Modern

• Largely rounded and symmetrical movements.
• Stresses leaps.
• Bases line on toe work.
• Graceful.

• Emphasizes angularity and asymmetry
• Hugs the floor.
• Dancers are often barefoot.
• Earthy

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Mikhail Fokine Dancer/Choreographer 1880-1942
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Mikhail Fokine

• Fokine brought great innovation to Russian
  ballet.
• Developed the first artistic unity of production
  elements costumes, sets, music, dance and
  theme.
• Greatly influenced fashion and interior
  decoration.

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George Balanchine Dancer/Choreographer 1904-1983
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George Balanchine

• His work formed a bridge between classical and
  modern ballet.
• Was not particularly interested in ballet. His
  family was mostly composers and soldiers.
• His mother auditioned him and his sister. He
  passed, she didnt.
• Attended the Imperial Ballet School in Russia.

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George Balanchine

• Joined the Ballets Russes, a Russian dance group
  performing in France.
• Became the main choreographer.
• Moved to the U.S. and founded the School of
  American Ballet, and the American Ballet dance
  company.
• Founded the Ballet Society, which became the New
  York City Ballet.

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Martha Graham Dancer/Choreographer 1894-1991

• Most famous piece is Spring set to the music of
  Copeland.
• Pretext is a wedding on the American frontier.
• Has a very spare set.
• Is a combination of social criticism and artistic
  expression.
• The movements of each dancer expresses an
  individual and his/her emotions.

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Alvin Ailey Dancer/Choreographer 1931-1989
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Alvin Ailey

• Started his own dance company, the American Dance
  Theater, in 1958 featuring primarily African
  American dancers.
• The American Dance Theater popularized modern
  dance throughout the world with international
  tours sponsored by the U.S. State Department.
• Ailey's masterpiece Revelations, based on Ailey's
  experience growing up as an African American in
  the South, is among the best-known and most
  frequently seen of modern dance performances.

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Mikhail Baryshnikov Dancer/Choreographer b. 1948

• Born in Latvia, in the former U.S.S.R.
• Trained in Leningrad, won many international
  competitions.
• Was described by critics in the west as being
  the most perfect dancer ever seen.

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Baryshnikov

• Was recognized as a master of classical ballet,
  but also as an instrument for new (jazz) dance.
  
• Choreographers began inventing new forms just for
  him and his abilities.

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Baryshnikov

• Defected from the Soviet Union in 1974 and became
  an American citizen.
• Joined the American Ballet Theatre the same year.
• Joined the New York City Ballet to work with
  Balanchine in 1978.

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Baryshnikov

• In addition to dancing on stage, he has acted on
  film and television.
• He is noted for being a classical dancer, jazz
  dancer, choreographer, teacher and company
  director.
• He describes learning new dance styles as being
  like learning new languages.