Labanist Period Summary

Moving History/Dancing Cultures is a collection of dance related essays and articles by various authors. The book was published in 2001. The article “Searching for Nijinsky’s Sacre” was written by Millicent Hodson. Hodson is a well-known choreographer and lecturer. She has also reconstructed multiple ballets; her most famous being Le Sacre du Printemps, originally choreographed by Nijinsky. As the title suggests, Hodson’s article is about her extensive research of Nijinsky’s Sacre, and the importance of remembering, preserving, and recreating such revolutionary ballets.

After giving a brief introduction to her subject, Desmond quickly begins her analysis on the piece Radha choreographed by Ruth St. Denis. She states that St. Denis was one of the mothers of modern dance in America despite how her works are not as well remembered as others including Martha Graham’s. She depicts Radha by describing the dancing quality, patterns in choreography, lighting, set, and costume in detail. Desmond also recounts the social issues that are reflected in the piece including gender roles and race. The author’s main point in writing “Dancing Out the Difference: Cultural Imperialism and Ruth St. Denis’s Radha of 1906” was to introduce St. Denis and share her detailed analysis of St. Denis’ Radha.

Although Bausch’s dances show influences of both the German expressionist tradition and and the formalism of American dance of the sixties, she effectively disempowered both systems. In Bausch’s work, formal gestures become subjective as they accumulate the performers’ personal interpretations and new meanings with each

The 20th century saw a shift in dance as new forms were created and artists began entertaining audiences in new ways. The rise of Jazz music and the swing era allowed a couple of tap dancers, commonly known as the Nicholas Brothers, to gain fame. The Nicholas Brothers questioned what dance could be by pushing the human body to the limits the likes of which had not been seen before. Other innovations in their dance such as their vernacular style, informal training, and unique musicality directly opposed many of the virtues of classical ballet. Through my own interpretations of their work as well as through the use of primary and secondary sources it is clear to see that the Nicholas Brothers opposed classical ballet through their style, musicality,

In the first section, Desmond focuses on “movement style and meaning” (pg. 31). She explains how movement is learned through our communities. In some locations, some dances may be seen as proper because that is what they learned in their community, but if performed in another community, those people may see their dance as “improper.” Desmond provides the example of how in the nineteenth century the waltz was seen as “too sexually dangerous” when introduced in North America and Europe. Their reasoning

important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a

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

The 18th century was an age of brilliant dancers, and both dancers and choreographer felt that dance should convey some meaning to the viewer, which inspired the evolution ballet d'action, which unfolded a story purely in terms of movement.

Classical ballet has been a major part of society especially in France and Italy before it spread to other parts of the world such as Russia and it developed from the court dances which date back to as far back as the 16th century. This essay will discuss and focus on the way in which dance contributed to court balls during the 16th and 17th century, the role King Louis XIV had on ballet and his influence in the art of ballet and lastly it will discuss the decline of ballet in Western Europe and the reason as to why this decline had taken place.

“What I saw simply and irrevocably changed my life. I saw the dance as a vision of ineffable power. A man could, with dignity and towering majesty, dance… dance as Michelangelo’s visions dance and as the music of Bach dances.” These were the words spoken by José Limón as he witnessed his first dance program in the New York City in 1928. José Limón would come to be known as one of the most critical figures in the development of modern dance.

Over the past five centuries, dance has undergone tremendous change and evolved in to various different forms. Throughout the history of dance, styles including ballet or modern have changed in both technique and expression, and their popularity has constantly fluctuated. From the 16th century until present day, ballet specifically has fallen in and out of favor and gone through multiple periods of artistic scarcity to prosperity. One peak of its popularity was during the Romantic era when creativity and innovation were thriving among choreographers and dancers. Modern dance, which emerged from ballet as a way of rejecting classical aesthetics, also experienced times of dormancy and activeness since its origin at the turn of the 20th

De Mille felt that dance should behave in relation to the world around it; that dance should not be ambiguous and abstract, but accessible and understandable (Acocella). De Mille’s choreography followed a narrative form and featured overt aspects of American culture; consequently, her work carried the potential for easy consumption by an American audience. One critic wrote of her work, “…Full of fire, even funny, and entirely free of swans!” (Acocella). De Mille’s works was refreshing in that, unlike more classical, abstract ballet, it did not perpetuate the artistic traditions of another nation’s culture; instead, it paved the way for the creation of our own artistic traditions.

Modern dance has converted into the contemporary movements that teenagers and adults use to dance when they are in a certain event. But who were some of the pioneers that created this gestures? Throughout this essay I am going to talk about two of them, Martha Graham and Jose Limon who are the 20th century’s innovative artists in our dance culture. Her name is Martha Graham and is considered as “the mother of the modern dance”.

Just when social dancing was at its height, World War 2 put a stop to its popularity. Lack of attendance, plus the intricate rhythmic patterns of modern jazz music, which were too complex for social dancing, led to the closing of dance halls and ballrooms. With the demise of social dance, the growth of jazz dance as a professional dance form began. During the 1940’s, jazz dance was influenced by ballet and modern dance. By blending the classical technique of ballet with the natural bodily expression of modern dance, jazz developed a sophisticated artistic quality. Unlike early jazz dance, which was performed by talented entertainers without formal training, modern jazz dance was performed by professionals trained in ballet and modern dance.

Born in Austro-Hungary in 1879, Rudolf Laban developed a theory that provided a means to exploring and expanding one’s movement vocabulary. Although frequently used in choreographic processes, this toolset helps one explore different aspects of dance improvisation. Worldwide, his theory of analyzing movement has helped dancers grow more creative in their improvisation. When improvising, dancers often use varying levels of structure to control the direction of improvisation, and this particular structure based in Europe is used in almost every setting of dance in academia.