Isadora Duncan's Influences

always been known for the risky and powerful movements which are often why dancers retire from the company. The dancer’s movements were often very intense and emotive, such as the “throws” across the stage in which the dancers would, almost violently, launch themselves across the stage in different forms (leaps, falls and flips to name a few). Another section where the movements were emotive is where the dancers were thrusting their hips in different positions to perhaps show sexuality in “self”.

The world of contemporary dance is one that is constantly developing and pushing the boundaries of what makes dance more than just movement. However, it is questionable that it would be in this diverse state if it was not for a few revolutionary choreographers. Along with Martha Grahame is could be argued that Merce Cunningham was a pioneering, revolutionary choreographer who questioned given standards and procedures creating the diverse contemporary style that we know today. Revolutionary can be defined as something radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure and principles (Dictionary.com, 2017). In order for something to be revolutionary it has to be in relation to something else, this is certainly true for Cunningham’s

When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.

At the end of the 19th century, ballet was the most prominent form of dance. However, to Isadora Duncan, "ballet was the old order that needed to be overthrown, an embodied symbol of all that was wrong with oversymbolized 19th century living" (Daly 26). Duncan believed that the over-technical, over-standardization of ballet was not what dance should be about. Her vision of dance was one of emotions, ideas, social betterment, and the complete involvement of the body, mind, and soul (26). With these ideas in mind, she began to create a new form of dance; what she referred to as the "new dance" (23), and what is now known as modern dance. In creating this new dance, she was inspired by composers such as

Isadora Duncan was credited with a "new" invention in dance: the manipulation of yards of material with spectacular lighting effects.

Whether we look at a romantic ballet like La Sylphide or a classical ballet such as Sleeping Beauty, audiences are constantly mesmerized by the gracefulness and weightlessness of the ballet dancers. They seem to defy the laws of physics, which is greatly possible due to the use of the pointe shoe. However, many masterworks that were created in the Romantic era did not solely rely on the pointe shoe to help convey messages. Instead, the choreography, dancers, scenic elements, subject matter, and music all helped shaped masterworks such as La Sylphide, Napoli, and Giselle. Similarly, in the Classical era, these elements all played a role in shaping famous ballets like La Bayadere, Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. But once we take a closer look at these ballets from the Classical era, we can see how much ballet evolved. Nevertheless, it is important to note that the Romantic era was the stepping stone for this pure art form that we have been able to preserve for more than 160 years.

As ballets were about telling stories or formulating movements, modern dance broke the rules and started to focus more on individual expressions. Loie Fuller (1862 – 1928), Doris Humphrey (1895-1958), and Ruth St. Denis (1877-1968) were pioneering women who took a stand and used their dance performance to speak up for women’s rights. Using dance, they significantly contributed to the Feminist movement in which they embraced self-expression and creativity so that women could be acknowledged in the dance field and in the society as a whole. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, they found for women’s rights by “taking dance to a new form, and creating dances to speak directly and intimately to the viewer” (Au 89). Loie Fuller, Doris Humphrey, and Ruth St. Denis demonstrated the transformation of dance with their innovation of costumes and stage lighting, incorporation of foreign cultures into performance, and creation of natural movements and individual expression that rejected the formal structures of ballet to deform a woman’s body, allowing women to be free from stereotype of a traditional woman.

Amalia Hernandez was born in 1917, and was the famous creator of Ballet Folklorico. Classical Ballet was Hernandez’s first passion, in which she started taking lessons as a young girl. Later in her life, she decided to specialize in Native American dance. Ballet Folklorico was first founded in 1952. The company was a huge success, and soon became the largest and most popular dance company in the entire world. More than 60 regions of Mexico were incorporated into her performances. Amalia Hernandez’s work and style incorporated many different cultures and themes. Many dances were fiesta themed and incorporated beautiful different colors and costumes. Fiesta theme performances were fun and different to watch. The vibrant colors and creativity made them unique and festive. A great deal of Mexican history was also incorporated in Hernandez’s work as well.

America grew up with dance, from the streets to the theatres in Broadway it has formed many different dance such as modern dance. Modern dance was born in the United States in the 20th century. Its recognitions prevailed when several dancers rebelled to two dances that were extensive at the moment, ballet and vaudeville. Its fundamental aim was to reveal about people. “Modern” referred to a new era of dance and much modernize dance techniques that aimed to recoup natural movement. Having outlined its difference between ballet, they always developed new themes incorporating, personal problems, plays, and poems. They wanted to be taken as a serious dancer rather than entertainers. Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis are considered the pillars of modern dance. In addition, an African American name Alvin Ailey was rapidly becoming a leading in 20th-century modern dance. known as an influential dancer in modern dance. Alvin revolutionizes modern dance by, modernizing modern dance, revolutionizing African-American participation in the 20th Century and promoted modern dance around the world.

She studied different types of dance and incorporated them into her own technique. “Called the matriarch of black dance her groundbreaking repertoire combine innovative interpretation of caribbean dances,traditional ballet, African rituals and African American rhythms to create the Dunham technique” (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 2). Dunham technique is continued to be taught at schools and companies all over the world. Her travels to other countries always inspired her choreography. “She is credited for bringing caribbean and African influences to a European-dominated world” (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 2). Dunham’s use of different world influences innovated dance and created more significant choreography. Dunham not only changed how she danced; she created an entirely new

Mrs. Farrell’s book is quite technical when it comes to the lengthy descriptions of the dances she rehearses and performs; from a dancer’s view these varied conclusions of the types of movements she was dancing is quite astonishing. In fact, it adds a whole new level to the imagination that can come alive in a person’s thoughts when they read an expressive book. Although the technical explanations will excited, astound, and reveal how much passion and deep meaning ballet had in Suzanne Farrell’s life, but a reader, who may not be involved in the arts will be unfamiliar with the ballet and musical terms in

A new performer starts with a very low wide stance with hands tucked under the arms, like short wings. He stands erect and crouches back down, like he’s stretching his legs. The right arms and right leg is extended while he spins a full turn clockwise; what is interesting is that the leg is leading the turn, but the extension is backward (i.e. he is facing away from the turn). The turn ends with a rotation of the extended arm and a very deep bow, head facing his knees. As he gets up, his left foot step forward and both his arms push upwards with palms up, like he is lifting something. He immediately follows with a clockwise pirouette of 2-1/4 turns, a counter-clockwise pirouette of 1-1/2 turns, and an ending pose with right leg bent and en pointe, arched back facing behind him, and arms extended forward (left hand palms-out fingers up, right hand palms-in fingers down). He proceeds to do more en pointe work that leans more toward classical ballet: a series of turned out wide steps with port de bras, a 2-1/2 turn pirouette (CCW), and a 2 turn en pointe spin (CW) with left leg extended forward and toes pointing. The initial low stance made me think he was going for a bird or a frog. But the subsequent movements made him more human than animal. Between the low confined stance and him playing in the rain is the lifting palms-up motion, which may represent displaying and then breaking of shackles. Alternately, the

-Bent-knee stance and the discussion about how this movement reflects cultural connection. How do the

Petipa’s production of Swan Lake is a beautiful example of the structure movements that dancers must perform; in the clip titled Odile entrance & Black Swan pas de deux, you see “The Black Swan” perfect posture and balance, dancing on en Pointe all the while managing to gracefully seduce the prince through her seductive movements and entrancing expressions. In contrast Modern dance focus is on the dancer expressing their inner most emotions and feelings through free flowing movements. The modern dancer uses their whole body more naturally and fluidly to convey what their current emotional state is, unlike classical ballet where the ballerina at all times keeps an upright posture, and performs with structured, angular lines. Martha Graham’s “Frontier” is a great example of the free movements of Modern dance; In this performance Martha Graham uses her whole body to move to the rhythmic sounds of the drums and music, you can clearly see that there is no confined structure in this performance, she is completely moving organically to how she is feeling and what she is trying to convey through her movements.

The movements were very specific and showed the story of the dance. The partners used many movements that contained many body