History of Modern Dance

Modern dance is a term usually referring to 20th century concert dance, although it has also
been applied to a category of 20th century ballroom dances. Modern dance refused classical
ballets stress on feet as the primary catalyst for the dance movements. It instead put stress
on torso employing such elements as contact-release, floor work, fall and recovery, and
improvisation. It is usually performed in bare feet, often with non-traditional costuming.
The system of natural expressive gestures developed by French actor Francois Delsarte
known as Eurhythmics a system for teaching rhythm through body movements created
by Swiss music educator, Emile Jacques Dalcroze. Early modern dancers looked beyond
the dominant tradition of Western theatrical dance (ballet) in order to give their dance a more
communicative power. They drew on archaic or exotic sources for inspiration. During the
same period, some ballet choreographers also looked to similar sources.

Timeline of Modern Dance

1903 history of modern dance cannot complete without Isadora Duncan, thus we start off
with that. In 1903, Isadora Duncan devised a dance technique, inspired by Friedrich
Nietzsches philosophy. Another thought process associated with this was the belief that the
dance which ancient Greeks did was the dance of the future. She proposed the concept of
dance as a high and spiritual art.
1905 another person who was going to be credited for what dance as we know it now was
Ruth St. Denis. She was greatly influenced by Sarah Bernhardt and Japanese artist Sada
Yacco.
1915 this was a major breakthrough in modern dance. Ruth St. Denis again took a big leap
ahead and founded with her husband Ted Shawn the Denishawn school dance company. It
was a perfect husband wife collaboration. Ruth took care of the creative department, while
her husband looked after teaching technique and composition.
1923 Martha Graham, a famous student of Denishawn got out of the school and started
working as solo artist.
1928 a couple of other students, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weldman established their
own dance school and company.
1933 again a significant event occurred when Shawn starts his own male dance group
called Ted Shawn and his Men.
1949 originally published in 1949, The Borzol Book of Modern Dance captured the
genesis of modern dance history. Margaret Lloyd comes up with a detailed, insightful and
witty overview of the dance since its inception.
1958 in March 1958, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater started along with a
performance by Alvin Ailey and his group of young, black modern dancers. It was held at the
92nd Street Y, at Lexington Avenue.

1960s Trisha Brown, at the age of 23, became one of the leaders of New Yorks Judson
Dance Theater. Judson theatre was a pioneering revolutionary movement that drastically
altered the face of modern dance in the year 1962. This was again a landmark in its history.
1970s this decade witnessed radical revolutionary and uplifting forms of dancing. It was
the period of mixed happenings. Even though to some extent modern dance was gaining
ground all over the world, the concept of indigenous modern dance companies still seemed to
be difficult position in Britain. Ballet dancing and other dance forms were becoming rapidly
popular though.
1980s till Now in this decade dance scene was flourishing with a number of dance schools,
especially ballet dance and new dance forms emerged. The dancers in this era were not
relegated to the tradition and conventions. These dancers started relying more on theatrical
and literary moves. The late 1980 and early 1990 that Michael Jackson shot to stardom with
his killer moves, especially his trademark moonwalk along his songs like Black or White, and
Dangerous.
Famous People related to Modern Dancing
1. Isadora Duncan born in San Francisco in 1877, was a predecessor to modern dance
with her stress on the torso movements, bare feet, loose hair, free-flowing costumes,
and incorporation of humor into emotional expressions.
2. Mary Wigman looked to Africa and the orient for inspiration. She presented both
solo and group works, often arranged in cycles. Along with other German dancers, she
made extensive use of masks.
3. Ruth St. Denis influenced by the actor Sarah Bernhardt and Japanese Sada Yacco,
developed her translation of Indian cultures and mythology. Her performance quickly
became popular and she toured extensively while researching oriental culture and arts.
4. Hanya Holmes student of wigman and instructor at the Wigman School in
Dresden, founded in New York Wigman School of Dance in 1931 (which she became
the Hanya Holm Studio in 1936) introducing Wigmans Technique, Labans theory of
spatial dynamics, and later her own dance techniques to American modern dance.
5. Loie Fuller dancer who began experimenting with the effect that gas lighting had
on her silk costumes. Fuller developed a form of a natural movement and
improvisation techniques that were used in conjunctions with her revolutionary
lighting equipment and translucent silk costumes.
6. Martha Graham is often regarded as the founding mother of modern 20th century
concert dance.