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Figures and Styles: The Birth of Modern Dance: 

Figures and Styles: The Birth of Modern Dance Byron Boldrini and Alex Hess Presenting and Edited By: Laura Pratt and Dr. Kay Picart

Isadora Duncan: 

Isadora Duncan Where was Duncan born? What was her mother like? Her early attempts at expression led to a the wealth patrons of “salon society.”

Early Isadora: 

Early Isadora What did the salons indulge in? Who is Francois Delsarte?

Isadora Hits Europe: 

Isadora Hits Europe Using money from her salon interpretations, Isadora and her family traveled to Europe. What did you want in Europe? Who did she dance for? How did she dance?

Ruth St. Denis: 

Ruth St. Denis Born Ruth Denis in the late 1870’s, she was, at an early age, already devoted to expression through movement. From her first vaudeville performances, she distinguished herself as a talented and innovative dancer.

Adaptation: 

Adaptation Recasting the goddess Isis as Radha, the consort of Krishna, St. Denis appeared in _______, many of which that had been frequented by Isadora Duncan. ________ was in fashion and the dance of Radha had “just the right blend of sensuality and spirituality to appeal to a broad audience.”(200) Like Duncan, St. Denis had found a model for herself in a far off tradition. From her successes, St. Denis was able to found the _________________________________.

Denishawn School: 

Denishawn School Served as a magnet for a second generation of modern dancers. Martha Graham attended from 1916 – 1923.

Martha Graham : 

Martha Graham Born in 1894 in Pittsburgh, PA. After seeing Ruth St. Denis performed she decided she wanted to be a dancer. Her father did not approve of her career choice. Therefore she did not begin dancing to her early twenties, after his death. At the school Louis Horst encouraged Martha to go out on her own as a dancer and choreographer.

More Martha: 

More Martha Danse, Heretic, Lamentation, are a few of Graham's better known works Where did her themes come from? Central to her technique was __________, which began with a close observation of the act of breathing. (207) She treated her dancers as “her _______________.” She expected her dancers to pick up her movements the first time. Rehearsals were long and exhausting. Many of her best dancers left in search of creative freedom.

Modern Martha: 

Modern Martha In 1934 she started collaborating with composers like _________ and ___________. The next year she began experimenting with “enigmatic sets and props which became as much a part of her dances as the dancers themselves.” (207) In the late thirties she hired her first male dancers: _________ and ____________. With her new resources she started a series of “dance plays” often based on the travails of women in __________ mythology. What Asian dance forms did she borrow?

Slide11: 

Dancers from all over the world came to learn Graham’s style from her and her students. How many dances did she create? Martha’s style became so widely known in the public eye that modern dance almost became cliché: “The barefoot dancer in black expressing herself onstage while an audience of insiders tries bravely to figure out what it all means.” (208)

Discussion: 

Discussion Do you believe that innovators such as Duncan and Graham have advanced dance or merely provided an alternate path for artists to take?

Mikhail Fokine and Innovative Ballets: 

Mikhail Fokine and Innovative Ballets What did eh believe about the classical tradition from the Russians? He called for “a unified work of art whose performance would be uninterrupted even by pauses for leading dancers to acknowledge applause.” (208) He wanted ________ dancing that would make use of the whole body down to “the last muscle.”

More on Mikhail: 

More on Mikhail “He believed that all elements of production- “music, painting, and the plastic arts”- could be harmoniously blended to express a single, underlying theme.” (208) His first efforts to stage ballets with _______ themes and ______________ freedom of movement and costume provoked opposition.

George Balanchine: 

George Balanchine Began playing piano in silent movie theaters When did he enter the Imperial Ballet School? When did he compose his first ballet?

Bibliography: 

Bibliography Gerald Jonas. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power and Art of Movement. Harry Abrams, Inc. New York, 1992. Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen, eds. What is Dance? Oxford University Press, 1983. http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi&q= (Google Image Search)