Bill T. Jones: Categorization For Post-Modern Dance

Alvin Ailey was an accomplished dancer and choreographer whose African-American heritage influenced his works in the 20th century. His successful dance career has gained international recognition and acclaim thus rendering a significant legacy. Ailey’s background as a dancer and choreographer had many strong influences from social, cultural, economic and political aspects during his early life. His African-American heritage has greatly influenced his works. Alvin was the founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (1958-), galvanized and stabilized an African American presence in theatrical dance. An outstanding performer, choreographer, company director, and mentor to scores of dance artists, Ailey oversaw the growth of his small, pick-up group of seven dancers into a large, carefully managed, internationally-renowned enterprise including several ensembles of dancers and a thriving school in New York City housed in the largest building devoted to dance in the United States. Along the way, Ailey changed the landscape of modern dance by developing new audiences for its performance through a consistent combination of exceptional artistry and wellcoordinated community outreach programs. In all, Ailey invigorated the art of dance with his distinctive creative imagination, his “blood memories” of cultural formations he witnessed as a child-- including the jook joint and the black church --and the strong survivalist ethic he learned as an African American man born in the

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 Bill T. Jones featuring the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company performed at the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, California. The title of the piece was “Story / Time” and portrayed Mr. Jones sitting at a desk center stage throughout the show narrating personal stories as the nine dancers danced on the stage around him. The Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company was founded in 1983 by Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane in New York City. The company is well known, and has performed at various venues across the world. While their performances have ranged over a wide array of subject matters, the company’s ultimate mission is to encourage the collaboration of artists and

The melody sounds somber and serious and the energy of the dancers suddenly changes. A spoken word takes place and all of the dancer begin to tell their stories of pain and struggle through movements. The spoken word talks about the journey of men and women who overcame social injustice. In the dancer's movements you could clearly see how they correlated together. Movements were powerful and restraint at the same time giving the audience the idea of the women were pushing through something that was bearing them down. There was a lot of expansion in the chest, back, and arms followed by contractions in the body. As soon as the spoken word was finished the mood of the piece change again and the pianist began to play a upbeat tune that brought the dancers back in to a more positive and high spirit. A lot of polyrhythms take place as the dancers jump high and move their arms back and forth moving throughout the space. This happens in unison at first and then solos, trios, and duets happen in this section of the dance. The expression on their faces add charismatic charm to this piece. Their expressions continue to move them into different emotions and feelings that are relatable to everyday

On April 14, 2017, my friend and I visited for the first time Salt Lake City Community College dance company’s annual performance. The show was presented at the Grand Theater at the South City Campus of the college. The performance’s name “Moving Words” imply what the audience was about to experience. “Moving Words” consists of 18 different dances and each of those dances brought a unique feeling to the overall performance. I thought that the dancers and choreographers have done an amazing job. However, after seeing all the different dances there were two that stuck together with me, because of the ideas and the morals these dances introduced.

Arthur Mitchell, Bill T. Jones, Matthew Bourne, and AXIS are monumental choreographers/companies whose work serves as a way for culture to express themselves. Arthur Mitchell, born in Harlem in 1934, began the Dance Theatre of Harlem which provided opportunities for African-American dancers. Bill T. Jones, who struggled with his position as an African-American man, a gay man, and an HIV positive man, used dance to face these issues head on. Matthew Bourne reinvented classic performances to become modern retellings. AXIS, a company that began in Oakland, California in 1987, choreographs pieces for dancers with and without disabilities. These artists challenge our preconceived ideas about dance by taking on the issues of civil rights,

The music played a large role in determining the style of the pieces in the show by Koresh Dance Company. It set the theme and mood for the dances. Also, the choreography was dependent on the beats and variations in the music. This basis added to the themes of the dances as well.

Art has evolved and regenerated itself many times during our human existence. These differences are defined through changes in styles under various theories. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, a style known as Expressionism became popular. During this movement the artists were trying to use their artwork as a tool of expression toward life. It was mainly dominant in the nonrepresentational arts, such as abstract visual arts and music. It also was probably one of the most difficult movements to understand because the whole point of the piece lay within the artist. Not only was it a movement, it defined the act of art as a whole. From the beginning of time, each work of art, excluding replicas, show a way of expressing

Decidedly Jazz Danceworks is a Jazz dance company located in Calgary Alberta. This company offers classes and company positions to aspiring Jazz dancers all over Canada. It is a non competitive company that focuses on spreading the history and beauty of Jazz culture. They hire dancers to work in their company from all over the world and put on original performances every year. Many of the dancers currently working at the company have worked overseas and are globally recognised for their movement and vision. They even have a professional training program (which is like an apprenticeship) for aspiring dancers around the

Jazz dance originated from the African American vernacular dance from the late 1800’s when slaves needed an emotional and physical outlet (Guarnino and Oliver). The slave trade had begun and the slaves were allowed dance on the boats, as it was to keep the slaves fit for their journey to North America. The slave owners took interest in this type of dance (Guarnino and Oliver). They then integrated their European jigs with the music and movement of the African culture (Guarnino and Oliver). Africans primarily focused on the rhythms and the movement of the torso and the Europeans focused on the harmony and the folk dance (Guarnino and Oliver). Jazz dance is blended with tap and musical theatre. It has exciting body movements, percussion techniques, tap steps, and ballet. New forms of jazz dance evolved as different types of music were coming out such as the Charleston, swing, Caribbean reggae, and hip-hop (Guarnino and Oliver).

Feminism plays a large role in many dance styles in today's society. It is a key tool to use while teaching younger students as proved by the women showcased in the films provided as well as in the articles, “The lens in which I look through everything now is feminist theory and pedagogy” (Jennifer Bolt). Throughout the interview, Bolt touched on how she felt as if she had a loss of voice when it came to fighting for the dance program, it connects back to her learning about how women had to fight for their voice in society when she was just a girl. Claire Wooten explained how she tended to steer away from what she called “The F word” (Wooten) when directing her classes due to how announcing feminist theory right off the bat seemed to put people off. Wooten stated she directed her classes from an emancipatory standpoint, attempting to remove herself from the equation to heighten student experience and self-progression.

This online article starts by stating how often elderly should exercise and how dance would be a great way to add a great workout with varying degree of intensity while keeping thigs interesting. The article continues with the different types of dance like ballroom and chair aerobics and how to stay safe. They conclude with misconceptions of dance and how it doesn’t matter your age or ability, but to just go and enjoy what a dance class can do for you.

Jazz dance is a form of dancing that can be very well identified by the emphasis on offbeat rhythms and body parts moving in isolation. Jazz dance has various dance styles that are characterized by fast as well as slow, smooth as well as sharp, hidden as well as large movements.

Art has been a recurring part of history from the very beginning. As society changes so does the style of art. Each new style is known as a movement and one of the most prominent, long-lasting movements in recent centuries is known as Modernism. Modernism is characterized by its deviation from tradition. People who are a part of this movement found enjoyment in finding new mediums to use, creating art that revolves around feelings and emotions rather than reality. Abstract idealisms of modernism cause its viewers to need to think more critically about the art before them. In past movements, the meaning of the work was obvious as it was created to mimic reality.

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.

2. In the past, Bill T. Jones has worked and cofounded the American Dance Asylum. He was educated at the State University of New York, Binghamton, where he focused on studying both classical ballet and modern dance. At SUNY, Binghamton, he met and studied with Arnie Zane, who would later be both his life partner and cofounder of the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Dance Company.