Modern Dance History

Three Artists: Throughout this mass world of dance, there are many extraordinary choreographers, dancers, artists, and innovators that impact young artists. Sometimes we tend to forget the different eras of dance. For example, the early to mid twentieth century, 1960s-1980s, and of course the twenty-first century. It is important to understand the evolution of how modern dance evolved. It provides us a history and background, so we can grasp a better understanding on what it is we are learning or performing. In the earlier days, modern was just modern and then it molded into postmodern and finally, postmodern contemporary. Choreographers like Martha Graham, Alvin Ailey, and David Parsons have impacted the way modern has changed by their movement, …show more content…
One of those ways are all of them have collaborated with other people. Martha has worked with Isamu Noguchi who stages sets. He helped Martha collaborate on her solo piece, Frontier. Alvin Ailey has collaborated with musician, Duke Ellington and choreographer, Talley Beatty in his piece, “My People: First Negro Centennial”. David Parsons worked with his long last friend, Milton Nascimento to create Nascimento Novo. “It 's true that many artists prefer to create alone, but sometimes, some of the most interesting works can come from collaborations between two equally brilliant people” ("Martha Graham and Isamu Noguchi: A Brilliant Collaboration"). I believe that collaboration is entirely important because you get the opportunity to work with many talented dancers to create something special and unique. Secondly, discovering how the body creates dynamic movement is another similarity on these artists. Every one of them has gain artistry through their own experience. They found their own style and built that structure of it by collaborating with other artists and inspired by a new concept. They figured out their movement style in which all three of them created such interesting and dynamic shapes within the body. Thirdly, they all embark a creative mindset. Their creativity is truly remarkable to see because it shows as their choreography is being performed. Besides the choreography, …show more content…
Martha Graham embodies uniqueness because she molds Greek myths and tragedies into her style of modern dance. “By reading Graham 's original interpretations and analyzing the unique composition of her dance language and performances, I demonstrate how Graham chose ancient myths and tragedies as the raw material from which to portray women from a new perspective and in a new art form, theatrical dance” (Yaari). I have never heard of such an amazing concept and see that portray on stage. I feel that it brings something new on stage and it’s exciting to hear an idea that is innovating and narrative that Alvin Ailey and David Parsons did not showcase. During the 1960s, most of Alvin Ailey’s dancers were African American. They also had many African American guest artists come in to set pieces, which was unique because I felt that they got to explore their cultural background through movement. “Since its founding in 1958, the Ailey company perpetuated its identity as an icon of African American performance, populated by a cohort of African diaspora artists and committed to a performance ethic that explores an explicitly black corporeality” (DeFrantz). I believe that if you fuse your personal life with dance, there becomes a new artist that holds individuality. With that said, Alvin Ailey brought a style of individualism that Martha Graham and David Parson did not bring.