Research Paper On Isadora Duncan

Influenced primarily by cultural roots and incredibly opportunity, Dunham had the luxury of studying in the West Indies as well as anthropological study of other cultural style dances. The West Indian experience changed forever the focus of Dunham’s life and caused a profound shift in her career. This initial fieldwork began a lifelong involvement with the people and dance of Haiti. And, importantly for the development of modern dance, her fieldwork began her investigations into a vocabulary of movement that would form the core of the Katherine Dunham Technique. Though many of Dunham’s primary influences lies within her multicultural experiences, Mark Turbyfill also seemed to play a large role in her future dance career, giving her private lessons despite his doubt in the opening of her student company (Kaiso! 187). Katherine Dunham has been list as an influence to “everyone from George Balanchine to Jerome Robbins, Alvin Ailey, Bob Fosse and Twyla Tharp. American dance, including ballet, modern dance, Hollywood and Broadway, would not be the same without her” (Aschenbrenner 226).

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.

Question 1 2 out of 2 points A pas de deux is a dance for _________. Selected Answer: two Question 2 2 out of 2 points _______________ are what link one movement phrase to another, allowing a dance to flow smoothly from section to section. Selected Answer: Transitions Question 3 0 out of 2 points During the Medieval period in Europe, the

Martha Graham Martha Graham was one of the most influential figures in American modern dance, and her techniques and styles are still practiced today. She became widely known throughout all ages and decades. Her first debut was in the 1920's. As time went on, she became more experienced and wiser in the modern dance field. Martha Graham, whose style was considered controversial, became one of the finest choreographers and dancers in the dance world.

She took her love of dance to the next level although looked at differently because she's black she didn't care. "Something that my mother instilled in me, as a biracial women herself, and me being biracial, was that the world was going to view me as a black women no matter what I decided to do" (Copeland). Misty loved watching ballet productions, she grew up watching them which is what lit her passion for dance. One of Misty's favorite and most important roles that she got at her hometown studio was the "Firebird", it was her favorite production to watch as a child (Laczo). "I understand there's a lack of diversity as well in that space, but my experience was that it was incredibly inviting" (Copeland). Misty had taken a trip to the New York Ballet Theatre that summer and loved it, she knew from that moment on that she was going to be a professional ballet dancer. When it came time to apply for college Misty had put her dream aside and focused more on her studies, then after graduation she realized those few years without dancing were years wasted. Misty then applied at many ballet studios across the country. Misty was accepted into many schools but her top two choices were the New York Ballet Academy and the American Ballet Theatre, two of the most prestigious ballet academies in the country. Misty chose to attend the ABT Studios in the fall, she chose to study how the ABT dancers danced before she was a part of the actual production

When she discovered ballet,however, Misty Copeland was living in a shabby motel room,struggling with her five sibling for a place to sleep on the floor.A true prodigy,she was dancing on pointe within three months of taking her first dance class and performing in just over a year a feat unheard of for any classical

Growing up Katherine Dunham never thought about dance. Dunham was one of the first African-American women to attend the University of Chicago and planned to earn a degree and become a working woman, however while she was attending university Dunham began taking classes with Ludmilla Speranza, a former dancer of the Moscow Theatre, and so her love affair with dance began.

Twyla Tharp was born on July 1, 1941 in Portland, Indiana. She began taking dance in 1950 when she was nine years old. Her family moved to Rialto, California where she began taking lessons at the Vera Lynn School of Dance as a high school student. For college, Tharp attended Pamona College in California. She then transferred to Barnard College in New York City. She graduated from there in 1963 with a degree in art history. While in New York she studied under Richard Thomas, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham. In 1966, she formed her own company, Twyla Tharp Dance. In that company, she traveled around the world performing original works.

Besides Isadora Duncan, there were other pioneers of modern dance such as Alvin Ailey who was born in Rogers, Texas on January 5, 1931 to Alvin Ailey Sr. and Lula Elizabeth Ailey. It wasn’t until he moved to Los Angeles at age 12 that he was exposed to dance. He fell in love with dance after witnessing a series of performances, specifically by the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and the Ballet Musse de Monte Carlo, being inspired by a series of dance performances. He then began taking dances lesson with another pioneer of modern dance, Lester Horton, who had founded the first racially integrated dance company in the United States. It was Horton who also became Alvin’s mentor at the beginning and throughout his career in dance. However, when

When I look at Misty Copeland I see an athletic, inspirational African American woman. She has broken major barriers in the dance world by being the first African American principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre. Her determination inspires me in many ways. Being a dancer, there are multiple times where you did not receive the opportunity you was hoping for; however, Misty Copeland did not give up. She kept working to become the best she could possibly be. Misty Copeland inspires me because she showed me that young African American females can make it far in the dance world if they put their minds to it. Despite many dancers feeling the will not go far because of numerous racial stereotypes in the ballet world, Misty Copeland shows many

The first and probably most important thing to mention about the world renowned dancer, Misty Copeland, is her ability to overcome her difficult childhood. In order to start, her day and place

Misty Copeland was born September 10th 1982 in Kansas City, Missouri. She was the fourth of six kids and mixed of ethnic heritage. Copeland’s mother had many successful, and unsuccessful boyfriends and marriages, Copeland’s family settled in San Pedro, California where Misty’s mother’s fourth relationship turned wild and he became emotionally and physically abusive.

Her teacher saw Copeland’s ability and encouraged her to take ballet classes. She took classes at a local dance club Copeland and was shortly moved to pointe. Copeland was thriving at dance, but her family life was difficult. She moved in with her dance teacher where she was able to train and perform. Copeland was offered many opportunities to perform in “The Chocolate Nutcracker,” and charity events.

Each one of their lives they've been depended upon to work harder and expected not succeed in life. Misty Copeland is a modern-day hero. Only one in every hundred ballerinas become professional ballerinas; a smaller percentage are black. Considering her background, her gift set her apart the competition. She grew up in California going from house to house as her mother, Cylvia DelaCerna, went from husband to husband. Most professional ballerinas start dancing as early as possible. Ms. Copeland started dancing when she was thirteen. While her mother worked ten to fourteen hours a day, Over the course of five years, Misty Copeland became California's Best Dancer. American Ballet Theatre was watching Misty Copeland since she was just a girl, offering her many offers to train at their camp. She turned them down for five years until she signed to ABT at eight years old, the youngest to ever sign with the company. For her bones to heal, she would need to induce her stunted puberty by taking birth control. Puberty made her once slender body start to become curvey. Her new curves made her feel very insecure. She started to binge eat and then wake “up guilty and ashamed.” ABT started to take notice to the less confident and curvy Misty. A friend of hers introduced her to many successful African American women, in an attempt to spark the motivation that she once had. It worked! As she began to embrace her African

Duncan adamantly rejected ballet; she saw it as a form of dance that was rigid and unexpressive. The foundation of ballet consists of five still poses, but Duncan believed that in dance, the dancers body should be a "luminous fluid…a luminous moving cloud" (Duncan 51). She did not think that dance should be comprised of a string of still positions. This was what ballet was to her: rigid, still, unnatural. There was too much focus on technique in ballet. Duncan felt that dance was more than technique; it was about emotions, discovering the soul, and using those powers to compel movement. She saw a strong connection between dance and spirit, and this connection had been lost in ballet (Terry 31).