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Dance Appreciation

Dawn Davis Loring, MFA Julie L. Pentz, MFA

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Davis Loring, Dawn, 1970- author. | Pentz, Julie L., 1978- author. Title: Dance appreciation / Dawn Davis Loring, Julie L. Pentz. Description: Champaign, IL : Human Kinetics, [2022] | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020025907 (print) | LCCN 2020025908 (ebook) | ISBN 9781492592587 (paperback) | ISBN 9781492592594 (epub) | ISBN 9781492592600 (pdf) Subjects: LCSH: Dance--Study and teaching (Higher) | Women dancers. Classification: LCC GV1589 .D388 2022 (print) | LCC GV1589 (ebook) | DDC 792.8--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025907 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020025908 ISBN: 978-1-4925-9258-7 (print) Copyright © 2022 by Human Kinetics, Inc. Human Kinetics supports copyright. Copyright fuels scientific and artistic endeavor, encourages authors to create new works, and promotes free speech. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this work and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without written permission from the publisher. You are supporting authors and allowing Human Kinetics to continue to publish works that increase the knowledge, enhance the performance, and improve the lives of people all over the world. The online learning content that accompanies this product is delivered on HKPropel, HKPropel.HumanKinetics.com. You agree that you will not use HKPropel if you do not accept the site’s Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions, which detail approved uses of the online content. To report suspected copyright infringement of content published by Human Kinetics, contact us at [email protected]. To request permission to legally reuse content published by Human Kinetics, please refer to the information at https://US.HumanKinetics.com/pages/permissions-information. The web addresses cited in this text were current as of July 2020, unless otherwise noted. Acquisitions Editor: Bethany J. Bentley; Developmental Editor: Melissa J. Zavala; Copyeditor: Amy Pavelich; Proofreader: Chernow Editorial Services, Inc.; Indexer: Andrea J. Hepner; Permissions Manager: Dalene Reeder; Graphic Designer: Julie L. Denzer; Cover Designer: Keri Evans; Cover Design Specialist: Susan Rothermel Allan; Photograph (cover): Chris Hardy Photography; Photographs (interior): © Human Kinetics, unless otherwise noted; Photo Asset Manager: Laura Fitch; Photo Production Manager: Jason Allen; Senior Art Manager: Kelly Hendren; Printer: Premier Print Group

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Contents Preface Acknowledgments

Part I    Exploring Dance

  1

What Is Dance, and Who Dances? Dance Categories Dance Processes Dance Literacy Accessing Dance Through Other Arts Summary

  2

Why Do People Dance? Dance as Imitation Dance as Expression Dance as Form Summary

  3

Elements of Dance Moving Bodies Elements of Dance Principles of Dance Composition Summary

Part II    Selected Dance Genres and Styles

  4

Social Dance Origins of Social Dance Evolution of Social Dance in the 20th Century Summary

  5

Ballet

What Is Ballet? Primary Ballet Principles Dancers and Training Origins of Ballet Future Directions Summary

  6

Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance What Is Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance? Primary Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance Principles Dancers and Training Development of Modern Dance Future Directions of Contemporary Modern Dance—21st-Century Voices Summary

  7

Jazz Dance Origins of Jazz Dance Primary Principles of Jazz Dance Training and Performing Major Influencers in Jazz Dance Female Voices in Jazz Dance—The Next Generation Summary

  8

Tap Dance Origins of Tap Dance Tap Dance in the 20th Century and Beyond Styles of Tap Dance Tap Dance Masters Summary

  9

Hip-Hop Origins of Hip-Hop Dance Journey Into the Mainstream Styles of Hip-Hop Commercial Hip-Hop Dance and the Turn of the Century A New Millennium and New Directions Summary

10

Aerial and Site-Specific Dance Site-Specific Dance Aerial Dance Summary

Part III    Connecting With Dance

11

Dance Production Front of House Administration Backstage Postproduction Summary

12

Viewing and Responding to Dance Performances Viewing Dance Responding to Dance Summary

13

Global Connections in Dance Approaching Dance Around the World Connected by Common Goals Sharing Dance Globally Sharing Dance Through Social Media Summary Glossary References Index About the Authors

Preface Appreciating dance as

an art form and a lifetime physical activity will open untold doors for you to discover more about yourself, the world, and the role of dance in creating an enriching and inspiring life. This text teaches you how to engage with dance, and it helps you to develop your skills for appreciating dance through the eyes of dancers, dancemakers, and professionals in dancerelated careers. The goal is to help you find a connection to dance so you may view it as relevant and vital in your life, no matter your primary course of study or eventual career path. This book is designed and written for university and high school dance students who are new to dance, experienced and returning to the art form, or interested in dance as an observer, consumer, or supporter. For many of you, Dance Appreciation may be your first introduction to the dance world. The purpose of this book is to familiarize you with a broad range of dance genres, forms, and styles and encourage you to build a relationship with dance as an art form, connecting with other academic and artistic disciplines and to your own life experience. This book provides an up-to-date survey of the dance field that takes into account the influence of the Internet and social media on the dissemination of dance knowledge. Along with examining various dance forms, this book will explore human motivation to dance and analyze the elements that comprise the art and practice of dance. Readers will learn about the components of a successful dance production and the staff who work to create dance performances. Threaded throughout the chapters are spotlights on careers in the dance field and the contribution of a range of practitioners. These Spotlight elements provide real-life insight into dance-related or dance-adjacent career paths. The accompanying HKPropel Access provides extended learning activities, individual and group projects, handouts, timelines, further reading suggestions, video recommendations, and more.

Dance Appreciation is divided into three parts. Part I, Exploring Dance, provides a foundational understanding of who dances and why and introduces the elements of dance and movement principles. Part II, Selected Dance Genres and Styles, introduces Western dance genres, from classical concert dance forms to hip-hop to aerial and site-specific dance, highlighting notable artists and events. Part III, Connecting With Dance, delves into aspects of dance performance and production and presents approaches for viewing and responding to dance performances, exploring global interactions, and understanding the roles of the Internet and social media in the development and transmission of new dance forms and styles. Ultimately, the investigation of dance through the lens of a camera, through the words of a dance critic, or through the eyes of someone on the other side of the globe will encourage the further pursuit of connections and interrelatedness. Each chapter contains special features to enhance the text, such as critical-thinking activities, Spotlights, questions for discussion, and more. We hope that in reading this book you find a connection with dance, a connection that inspires you to seek out more dance knowledge and experiences. Dance is for everyone of any age from any background. Learning to study and appreciate dance is a gift you can carry with you for a lifetime.

Acknowledgments Special thanks to my coauthor and colleague, Julie L. Pentz, who made writing this book so enjoyable, and to my family—my partner, Steven Austin; my son, Blackstone Loring; and my mother, Judith Davis, for their unwavering support and patience. We’d like to express our gratitude for all the people we interviewed for the Spotlight features in each chapter. Thanks to Tamara Adira and Arte y Pasión, Pam Gensenleiter Barta, Rosalinda “Chayito” Champion, Grace Rose Khalsa, and Richmond Ballet for helping to secure interviews and photos for our chapter Spotlight features. And a very large thanks to my colleagues in dance, photography, publishing, and academia: AJ Abrams, Cinnamon Parsons Balkman, Carol Feille D’Avila, Cindy Gratz, Mary Kennedy, Jose Luis Medina, Rachael Morgan-Musquiz, Margaret Posnick, Nancy Smith, Mariel Wolfson, and Loren Zeisler—I really appreciate your wise counsel and encouragement. —Dawn Davis Loring Special thanks to my co-author Dawn Davis Loring for collaborating with me in writing this book. To Susan Gingrasso, who believed in me and continues to inspire me to become a better writer. To my family – my husband Neil Dunn and my sons Jack and Max Dunn whose love and ongoing support of me carries me through. To my many teachers who have shaped me as a dance educator: Robyn Schroth, Erica Helm, Karen Follett, Alan Arnett, Sharon Butcher, and Elizabeth Bergmann. Many thanks to Carmen Macharaschwili and the Association of College and University Educators. And to all of my past, present, and future students and student athletes who, without your desire to learn, would not have made it possible for me to write this book. —Julie L. Pentz

We would like to thank HK and all of their editors and staff who helped us undertake this book: Acquisitions Editor Bethany Bentley for her kind guidance; Melissa Zavala, who helped us to shape the book; Susi Huls, who assisted with the development of ancillary materials; Julie Denzer, for her wonderful graphic design; and Dalene Reeder, for her tireless help securing permissions.

Part I Exploring Dance The first section

of Dance Appreciation provides a foundational understanding of dance and explores who dances, the motivations for dancing and introduces the elements of dance and movement principles. What Is Dance, And Who Dances? provides a framework for the book, introducing the scope of Western dance genres and styles that will be discussed and how dance helps to build identity for dancing peoples. Additionally, the first chapter introduces dance processes underpinning the National Dance Standards, and discusses the importance of both fostering dance literacy and building connections with other artistic disciplines. Why Do People Dance? discusses the range of motivations for dancing and how humans, both ancient and modern, and both amateur and professional, seek to respond to society and their environment through dance. Part I concludes with Elements of Dance, which pays homage to pioneering dance educators who first categorized and explained the components of time, space, and energy, and how the human body shapes them to create dance. This first section of the book gives readers a critical conceptual framework and prepares them for the survey of Western dance genres and styles in Part II.

1 What Is Dance, and Who Dances?

Key Terms microcosm heirlooms dance literacy function

design ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Dance is for everyone, whether as a performer or a viewer. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Categorize multiple dance genres. Analyze the four dance processes. Develop an understanding of dance literacy and how it supports describing, interpreting, analyzing, and evaluating a dance experience. Everybody has a

body. It is the instrument accompanying each individual throughout life, the raw material humans use to communicate our thoughts, desires, and beliefs. Minute by minute, our bodies negotiate space in relation to others, helping us to build self-identity and interact with the culture we inhabit. Dance, in its most basic form—movement in space and time—exists everywhere humans reside. All human societies engage in dance in order to foster group identity, connect with the past, and create a legacy for future generations. No matter one’s age or ability, all humans can participate meaningfully in the art of dance, whether as a performer or as a viewer. Dancers use movement to express emotion, tell a story, communicate behavioral expectations, exercise, and even to challenge social norms. Indeed, dance is a microcosm, or a smaller version of the larger world (in this case, culture) it represents, reinforcing shared values and social structures to dancers and

observers alike. Observers can glean knowledge about an unfamiliar culture’s belief system by paying attention to who dances, how and why they dance, what they wear while dancing, and what musical accompaniment they choose.

Dance Categories Dance can be classified into four categories: 1. Dance for the stage (or nontraditional performance venues) is concert dance. 2. Dance for recreation is performed in a social setting, including online communities. 3. Dance for commerce entertains and sells products. 4. Dance for self-care and spiritual practice is a medium for selfimprovement and communion. Genres, forms, and styles of dance exist within the four categories and often overlap or blend, depending on context and practice. This book examines established genres, forms, and styles, as well as innovative, newer forms of dance, including the following: Social and popular dance, or dance performed in social gatherings or in clubs, is constantly evolving, inspired in part by popular music and cultural changes. In the 1910s, raucous animal dances, such as the grizzly bear or the fox trot, dominated the social dance scene, as ragtime and jazz music also gained popularity. Later in the 20th century, the mod from the 1960s was inspired by the current fashion industry and did not require a partner, and in the 1990s, voguing emerged from the movement of runway models. Today’s popular social dances, such as the floss, circulate often via social media. This dance became popular when a young man named Russell Horning, also known as Backpack Kid, performed it to Katy Perry’s song “Swish Swish,” and the video went viral. Ballet began more than 400 years ago in European royal courts, and performances were limited to elite audiences. When ballet performances moved from the courts into theaters, ballet technique began spanning the globe. Currently, this art form is featured on the concert stage and is taught to new generations in classes for young children through the collegiate level.

Modern dance emerged almost simultaneously in Europe and North America. German choreographer Mary Wigman explored musical scores with interpretive dance while the American dancer Isadora Duncan experimented with dance that was freed from the strictures of ballet technique and costume. Future modern dance pioneer Martha Graham began by studying with Denishawn (Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn’s dance school and company) and later created her own modern dance technique that used contraction and release as the core of her movement design and focused thematic attention on self-expression. Each successive generation of maverick choreographers creates its own expression of this style of dance. Jazz dance originated in North America and can trace its roots back to African dance. Jazz professionals, such as Gus Giordano, Luigi, Matt Mattox, and Bob Fosse, introduced the style, as it is known today, into the mainstream. Each choreographer innovated and transformed dance onstage by blending Broadway-style dance with social, popular, and concert dance. Although the roots of tap dance can be traced back to Africa and Ireland, tap dance is an American dance form. There are five established styles of tap dance: hoofing, musical theater tap, soft-shoe, rhythm tap, and funk tap. The contributions of tap dance masters, such as Sandman Sims, Buster Brown, Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, and Gregory Hines, continue to inspire all styles of tap dance today. The relatively new dance form of hip-hop originated in the 1970s and includes b-boying (the element of dancing), the rapper (the MC), the artwork (graffiti), and the music (the DJ). Older styles include breaking, popping, and locking, and newer forms include krumping and Memphis jookin’. Dance crews practice their improvisational dance skills to perform in battles to determine the best group of dancers. Some crews have begun combining hip-hop with other dance styles such as ballet and bharatanatyam dance from India to create exciting

new technique hybrids. Like jazz and tap dance, hip-hop dance is often utilized by businesses for commercial purposes. Site-specific dance, or dance made for a particular location, is the intersection of movement and a particular environment chosen to alter one’s perception of dance and its surroundings. Site-specific dance takes place outside of a theater or studio space—it can happen on the sides of buildings, as in the case of aerial dance, or in parks, in bodies of water, or on mountaintops. Global dance comes in many forms that are driven by religion, culture, and traditions. The dances of other countries can be heirlooms, handed down from one generation to the next, or created to suit current needs for expression. Kpanlogo is a West African style of dance created by Ghanaian youth to celebrate the country’s independence from Great Britain. On the other side of the world, the popular Mexican traditional folk dance jarabe tapatío (known as the Mexican hat dance) represents Latin American culture both domestically and internationally. In Haiti, religious followers use dance to communicate with the spiritual world.

SPOTLIGHT How Dances Build Identity Teresa Champion, matriarch of four generations of flamenco dancers in San Antonio, is credited with bringing the art form to the Alamo city in the 1950s and has nurtured the development of dancers at her academy ever since its founding in 1972. The family received national attention following a cameo in John Wayne’s 1960 movie The Alamo, and their daughter, Rosalinda “Chayito” Champion, is an accomplished Flamenco vocalist who grew up performing with her mother and her father, the Flamenco guitarist Willie “El Curro” Champion. Chayito acknowledges how interwoven dance and her family life are, recalling how her mother’s vigorous dancing in the kitchen meant that dinner was ready. Her family’s participation in regular juergas, or informal jam sessions, allows musicians and dancers alike to experiment with

new ideas and celebrate their shared heritage. For Chayito, Flamenco “tells a feeling rather than a story,” and for the Champion family, Flamenco dance has strengthened the bonds between youth and elders, as well as allowed them to communicate their Spanish heritage from Southern Andalusia to modern audiences in the Americas through movement.

Organized fitness dance is a relatively new form of dance practice that combines the art of dance and the enjoyment of movement. With its principles of exercise science, it creates dance with the goals of achieving cardiovascular fitness and muscle tone through rhythmic movement. Innovators, such as Judi Sheppard Missett, the creator of Jazzercise, and Alberto “Beto” Pérez, the creator of Zumba, developed classes to fulfill a need for dance-based exercise focusing on cultivating healthy bodies and overall wellness rather than technical achievement. Inspired by the success of these pioneers, others have created exercise systems, such as the Bar Method, based on ballet training, and LaBlast, based on ballroom dance movement.

Dance Processes The National Arts Standards defines four processes involved with dancing: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Creating Presenting, performing, or producing Responding Connecting or interconnecting

A choreographer’s artistic process of making dances includes creating, crafting and manipulating movement, along with one or more foundational techniques, to develop dances for performance. Dancers train in order to develop their bodies to perform physical feats and often use improvisation to explore new movement possibilities and to facilitate self-expression. Both dancers and dancemakers develop dances, presenting or producing them on a stage, or even performing them outside of a traditional theater, also known as site-specific performances. The dance viewer, or audience, must also be considered in the dance processes. Responding to dance and gaining an appreciation of dance often begins as an audience member. Audiences can also contribute their own experiences with dance when offering critical feedback. For example, trained dancers may focus on their technique level of performance, while student athletes may connect their own workout activities to what they see being performed on the concert stage. Both perspectives are valuable but emerge from different approaches to dance based on life experience. These different approaches create a dialogue for audience members that encourages the act of connecting and interconnecting with viewers and performers alike. By participating in analysis—either within the dance field, alongside other art forms, or within the community— viewers are encouraged to interact with dance on a deeper level.

Dance Literacy Dance literacy is the ability to view dance knowledgeably, and express one’s conclusions and opinions in spoken and written forms. Becoming literate in dance involves acquiring the knowledge of movement concepts, understanding the contributions of dancers and choreographers to the field, comparing approaches to the moving body around the world, and developing a critical eye when viewing and discussing dance works in performance. Students already possess many of the skills necessary for understanding dance—the same methods used for informally discussing music, film, or sporting events can be applied to the act of viewing dance. Most viewers are able to describe, or share the particulars of, the action in a film or a sporting event to a peer to create a mental picture for another not in attendance. The ability to interpret physical action is similar, as we often ponder and discuss the motivation of others, based on their actions. Analysis involves breaking down the dance experience to answer exactly how an artist achieved a particular effect or feeling in the audience. All audiences are able to evaluate a performance by answering for themselves: Did the artists accomplish what they set out to accomplish? Did all of the elements in the performance, from the dance’s title to the music and costume and movement choices, support the theme of the dance? Dance teachers ask similar questions when evaluating student work. At the high school, college, or university levels, dance technique can be evaluated through the use of rubrics. Assessment rubrics examine areas, such as alignment, musicality, and performance quality, and they can be tailored for a particular technique. For example, in a tap dance technique course, a student will be assessed for musicality and rhythmic accuracy. In an aerial dance course, a student is evaluated for attention to safety issues, expressiveness, and strength-building, while a student studying choreography is assessed on design principles, such as balance, unity, and form.

Accessing Dance Through Other Arts Dance shares some common principles and vocabulary with media arts, music, theater, and visual arts. Outwardly, each discipline’s artistic process and product may look different, but all artists grapple with similar concepts in order to create a work. The common phrase form follows function indicates that the outward form, or overall shape and look of a dance, which combines aesthetic elements, such as unity and balance, is a direct result of the function of the dance, or the reason the artist created the dance. The design of a dance, as in visual and media arts, is how the movement phrases are put together to make a whole dance. Music, theater, and dance all discuss rhythm as it pertains to each field—the pacing of a scene, the tempo of a movement in a symphony, and the musicality of a dancer all speak to the passage of time and how the performer shapes and alters it. Finding similarities across artistic disciplines can help dance audiences to connect with a dance work and create a bridge of understanding with the art form.

SPOTLIGHT Creating Legacy Through Access to Dance Nela Niemann, the founder and director of the Blue Ridge Studio for the Performing Arts, began dancing at the age of seven. As a child, Niemann’s training focused primarily on ballet, and she later trained at the Washington School of Ballet in Washington, D.C. She attended American University and Radford University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Her studies at Radford University were also heavily focused on dance, and she studied with Frano Jelincic and Dagmar Kessle before graduating. Niemann’s reach as a teacher extends to Europe where she was the director of the dance program at the Zaragoza Air Base in Spain. After returning to the United States, Niemann opened the Blue Ridge Studio for the Performing Arts in 1991. The opening of her studio is important, not only to the area of northern Virginia she serves, but to dance training throughout the United States.

She estimates that more than 3,500 students have benefited from her dance training, and by the year 2021, her school will have been in operation for 30 years. Blue Ridge Studio is a nonprofit organization where no student is turned away.

In 2008, Niemann attended the Dance Studio Life conference, a national conference held in Arizona. While hundreds of studio owners attended, she was the only attendee from a nonprofit dance studio. Attendees were in awe of Niemann and admired what she had established and the longevity of her organization. When asked about her success, Niemann smiles and laughs, admitting she’s not sure. She will be the first to acknowledge the many aspects and areas of her business that are challenging to wrap her mind around. Social media did not exist when she opened her school, but today a social media presence is crucial to the success of any business. Niemann appreciates her instructors’ involvement assisting with the studio’s social media and she carefully chooses instructors who can bring multiple talents to the studio. Niemann is a masterful teacher who, over the years, has relied on her technical ballet training and experience to support other areas of dance, including tap dance and African dance styles. She will not hesitate to step into a dance class as a student determined to continue her own education in order to help influence new generations of dancers. Niemann often has

donated her paycheck back to the organization in order to offer more scholarships to young dancers. Her willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of the nonprofit dance school is a testament to her dedication to the longevity and growth of the school. With that in mind, it should be no surprise that Niemann’s successful school maintains a loyal clientele and her legacy as a dance educator continues to impact the next generation of dancers. The Blue Ridge Studio of Performing Arts’ mission statement speaks to why a nonprofit organization is important and influential in the dance world: “The Blue Ridge Studio is a non-profit organization, dedicated to the concept that all children deserve the opportunity to explore the world of dance, regardless of their ability to pay tuition. The abilities and talents that children possess are as unique as the children themselves. Our primary goal is to help our students discover and cherish their natural gifts. By encouraging self-discipline and a strong work ethic, we teach our students how to reach their goals with poise and confidence”(Blue Ridge Studio, paragraph 3).

Summary This chapter introduced you to dance as an expression of one’s identity and how dance can both shape the lives of the dancer and influence the audience. All styles of dance can either be performed or viewed in performance, enjoyed in a social setting, used commercially or as a wellness or communication medium. Dancers, choreographers, and audience members use the processes of creating, performing, responding and connecting while engaging in the practice of dance-making and the assessment of dance. Achieving dance literacy helps a student view dance knowledgeably, and express one’s conclusions and opinions in spoken and written form. All art forms share some concepts and vocabulary, and dance can be accessed through the lens of music, theater, and media or visual arts.

Critical Thinking Why is dance literacy important? Traditionally, students are more often exposed to music or visual arts appreciation courses than dance appreciation courses. Why might this be? How can dance literacy add to a student’s overall literacy in the arts? What can dance literacy add that is unique?

Discussion Questions 1. How has your idea of dance expanded after reading this chapter? Explain and provide examples. 2. How has dance affected your identity or the identity of your friends? Is dance a part of your life as a practitioner or a spectator? Why or why not? 3. What tools can audiences use to connect with dance?

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2 Why Do People Dance?

Key Terms framework imitation expression nonverbal communication mimicry

aesthetic group identity ritual hierarchy dance exercise movement therapies somatic vignette virtuosity chance choreography ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Motivations to dance can vary from person to person and from culture to culture. People dance to imitate the natural world, express identity and emotion, celebrate milestones, and experience the moving body, among other reasons. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Explain various reasons people dance. Classify artists and movement practitioners according to their motivations for dancing. Compare ancient or older approaches to dance with current approaches.

Examine dance created for the sake of moving. Each dancing person

has a reason for dancing, a motivation for moving their body. For some, a favorite song sparks the need to move, and this dance might have an audience of just one—or none! Others grow up surrounded by the dances of friends and family, or as a member of a larger cultural sphere, making movement an accepted way of expressing one’s self or place in the community. Over the ages, people have danced for many reasons: to celebrate a good harvest or wedding, to ask for rain, to express ideas and emotions or one’s faith, to prepare the body for battle, to gain the strength and agility of animals, to relieve stress, or simply to have fun. Many cultures dance and most cultures express an appreciation for gracefulness, balance, and rhythmic sensibilities. A useful structure, or framework, for understanding and categorizing the many possible motivations for dancing is to view dance as a way to communicate via three categories: 1. Imitation is the attempt to copy or mimic movement from the natural world. 2. Expression is the way of making internal emotions visible through movement choices. 3. Form is the practice of celebrating movement for its own sake (Copeland and Cohen 1983). Most, if not all, reasons for dancing fall into one of these three categories.

Dance as Imitation Early humans strove to survive their environment and pass on critical knowledge to their progeny. Recognizing seasonal changes and habits of surrounding flora and fauna could have meant the difference between life and death, and observant early humans surely noticed that when threatened, some creatures responded with a physical display. A fluffing of feathers or a posture on hind legs made smaller animals look bigger and distracted the aggressors from pursuing their goal of a meal. It is likely that by faithfully imitating this behavior, humans secured survival for another day. Passing on bodily movement and sharing it as a form of nonverbal communication in a preverbal society (Burgoon, Buller, and Woodall 1994) was one way humans obtained a measure of power within an uncertain world. Over millennia, people have embellished movements and created dances meant to channel the physical power and prowess of animals. Although there is ample evidence of dance seen in cave paintings and in the relics of prehistory, the actual dances themselves are not preserved. However, Native American and Aboriginal animal dances are some of the closest cousins to primal dances, or the oldest human dances. Witnessing a Native American dancer perform the eagle dance, with arms outstretched like wings gliding on air wearing a costume built from real bird feathers, aptly demonstrates the powerful physical and spiritual connection forged between humans and the animals they imitate. Vestiges of our reliance on imitating the movement of animals remains in popular animal dances, such as the turkey trot, the grizzly bear, and the bunny hug, from the early 20th century. These dances also mimic animal behavior, but with the intention of entertainment and social interaction. Amid the ever-changing hubbub of popular social dances, the modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan brought a more expansive sensibility to the concept of dance as imitation by claiming Nature to be her primary teacher. She credited the movements of animals, the blooming of flowers, and the forces of wind and water shaping the earth as primal activity and designated

her body as the conduit. Duncan believed that “the movement of all nature runs also through us, is transmitted to us through the dancer” (Cohen 1974, 125). Her movement vocabulary consisted of foundational dance movements like running, skipping, and reaching, and she freed the body from the strictures of late 19th century ballet technique and the restrictions of corsets and shoes, to spawn a new genre of dance based on a new way of moving—modern dance. This technique will be discussed in further detail in chapter 6, Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance.

Contemporary/modern dance company Pilobolus performing Shadowland. rune hellestad/Corbis via Getty Images

Examples of dance as imitation in the current century bring mimicry, the practice of imitating movement, full circle. Dogs follow the cues of their trainers in choreographed routines featured on social media, and budding scientists utilize choreographed movement for groups of amateur dancers to illustrate complex processes in “Dance Your PhD” competitions, sponsored by the journal Science. Native American dancers continue the tradition of handing down dances honoring natural phenomena at powwow celebrations throughout the United States, and some dance companies produce dances that imitate natural forms and humancreated objects.

Dance company Pilobolus shapes the bodies of their dancers in unique ways to resemble animals as well as fantastical creatures composed of multiple arms and legs. Pilobolus is named after a mushroom spore that launches itself and securely sticks to the surface it lands upon, and the moniker aptly describes the beginnings of the company, which sprang from the minds of several Dartmouth College students in 1971. None happened to be dancers at the time, but all were athletically inclined and inspired by their dance teacher to create choreography. Unlike many companies run by a single artistic director, Pilobolus has always worked as a collective. The company’s dances have appeared on late night talk shows, on the MTV Video Music Awards, in TED Talks, and in a multitude of print advertisements. Pilobolus’ breakout television appearance during the 79th Academy Awards in 2007 allowed the dance company to impress audiences worldwide with representations of movies made for that year. From behind a screen that filled the stage, dancers used shadow play and coordinated silhouettes of their bodies to create a high heel for The Devil Wears Prada, squatting penguins for Happy Feet, and a plane surrounded by snakes for Snakes on a Plane, which hilariously swallowed the host, Ellen DeGeneres.

Choreographer Pina Bausch performing in her piece, Café Müller (premiered 1978).

ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT/AFP via Getty Images

Dance as Expression Rather than reflecting movement in the surrounding environment, dance can act as a conduit between the mind of the dancer and the audience, sharing thoughts, desires, dreams, and feelings in an outward expression of the interior emotional and artistic, or aesthetic, landscape of a single dancer or group of dancers. The wide range of expressive dances manifests in two occasionally overlapping categories: an expression of group identity, or the shared connections and experiences of a set of people, and a singular expression of the self.

Expressing Group Identity Humans of antiquity expressed themselves collectively, performing dances of celebration, healing, supplication to the gods, or leaders; dances to prepare for war or momentous events; dances to express societal norms and acceptable behaviors and dances to reinforce power structures or challenge the status quo. Besides an awareness of one’s own role in the dance as spectator or performer or both, the choreographic tool of repetition as part of a ritual enhances the meaningfulness of group dances. A ritual can be a solemn ceremony with set and unchanging expectations or a repeatable practice that is handed down and perhaps changed, generation to generation.

Celebration Dances All societies that dance have at least one type of celebratory dance that is performed either at a special time of the year or to mark a particular milestone. For many societies, a handful of life events or transitions such as weddings, births, and deaths are marked by celebratory dancing, while others celebrate a great many more, including holidays, successes, courtship, and rites of passage for youths entering adulthood. It is thought that early communities also celebrated successful hunts, seasonal changes, and favorable weather with dances. Some celebrations are enormous. The city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil celebrates Carnival, a multi-day festival in February that marks

the feasting period immediately before Lent (the Christian fasting period of 40 days) with dance. Extravagantly costumed dancers from tight-knit groups belonging to competitive “Samba Schools” perform the vigorous dance of coordinated hips and quick footwork in a massive, organized parade for judges. Carnival draws thousands of spectators each year to revel in food, drink, and dancing, and the winning schools receive bragging rights and are able to attract the most talented dancers to try again the next year. Other celebrations might include only family and close friends. Most Western wedding receptions that include dance as part of the celebration, feature a symbolic first dance for the newly married couple, followed by partner changes to include parents and finally inlaws to signify a blending of the two families. The Grand March, a feature of weddings in portions of Central Texas, was likely borrowed from the promenade or procession performed at the beginning of Victorian-era formal balls. Current versions attribute the stages of a relationship and the interweaving of the two families to the figures created by the long line of dancers. After interweaving the families, the dancers follow each other in single file and follow a curving, changing pathway, signifying the twists and turns of life. After this, the dancing couples form a bridge together with arms stretched overhead and others pass under it to signify the strong bond the couple is creating. The entire wedding party participates, along with guests, to celebrate the marriage and enact a symbolic dance representing the course of their married life and to indicate the support of the surrounding community for the newly wedded couple.

Preparation Dances Preparation dances are designed to teach and reinforce acceptable behavior for those not yet fully accepted into a society as a full or adult member, or to prepare soldiers for the physical rigors of battle. Shared dances prepare youth for the expectations of the society they will soon join as a fully adult member. The Ewe of Ghana attach specific meaning to movements of the sowu, the dance of life, and the dance itself is the text used to communicate expectations for a youth’s rite of passage (Vissicaro 2004).

Similarly, ancient Greeks from Sparta developed the pyrrhic dance and members of Maori tribes in New Zealand performed the haka to strengthen the bodies of warriors and soldiers and create a cohesive and focused group that would strike fear into their opponents during battles. Unlike the haka, which is still danced today and can be found in various forms on social media, scholars have scant sources to examine when attempting to piece together what the pyrrhic dance and other dances of antiquity might have looked like in practice. A dance historian can look at pottery, statuary, and other artwork to gather a few clues; however, while a few contemporaneous descriptions of the dancing exist, unfortunately there are no definitive sources describing ancient dance from a dancer’s point of view. The haka, a stamping dance performed with legs apart and knees deeply bent, is accompanied by chanting, chest-slapping, hand and arm gestures, and intimidating facial expressions. It is still danced today and remains a primarily male group dance symbolizing fellowship and strength against the specters of death, disease, or misfortune. The All-Blacks, a New Zealand-based rugby team, uses the haka to intimidate other teams on the field, and a brief search of YouTube will uncover funerals, weddings, and many other events marked by males and females dancing and chanting the haka.

Dances of Power and Political Action Dance reinforces the social order or the power structure within a society. Ballet can be traced back to 1581, with the production of Le Ballet-Comique de la Reine, a spectacle commissioned by Catherine de’ Medici that integrated poetry, scenic design, music, and dance to celebrate a royal wedding. The roots of ballet schooling stretch back almost 400 years to the court of King Louis XIV, whose love of dance and pageantry birthed the creation of the Académie Royale de la Danse in 1661. Besides utilizing dance to honor his powerful reign, the king fashioned a series of levels of importance, or a hierarchy, of royal approval, designed to keep fractious members of his court occupied with dancing rather than idle and seeking his overthrow. Courtiers eager to please the king and maintain their social standing hired dance masters to help them improve their abilities, and the formality of the entire system of dance became codified as ballet.

However, contemporary audiences would not recognize it as the ballet known today to feature pointe shoes and tutus; rather, dancers performed in their fanciest clothing. A female dancer would typically wear heeled shoes and a heavy dress with a cage-like structure of hoops underneath called a pannier that would hold the dress in the desired shape, along with a corset to shape the torso. She would wear her best jewelry, gloves, a large wig, and perhaps even a hat on top. A male dancer would wear heeled shoes and stockings, fitted trousers, vest, and coat, and most likely a wig. Before the creation of the academy, dancing was essentially a parade of fine clothing and highly mannered movement, and the acquisition of the goods and comportment needed to make a positive impression on the king and the rest of the court kept the dancing courtiers forever jockeying for a prime position.

Rugby team, the New Zealand All Blacks performing a Haka dance, honoring traditional Ma-ori culture. Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Conversely, dance can be used to protest the current social order or accepted social norms. Shortly after the April 2013 collapse of a crumbling garment factory building in Bangladesh that killed over 1,100 workers inside, German choreographer Helena Waldmann created the dance/theater work Made in Bangladesh, which utilized

Indian kathak dance movements, to protest both the exploitation of garment factory workers and arts workers, whom the choreographer identified as connected by low wages and difficult working conditions. The piece featured actual garment factory workers alongside dancers, spoken text, and the rhythms of industrial sewing machines aligned with traditional kathak music. Waldmann hoped that her dance would raise the world’s consciousness of issues garment workers face and that supporters of workers’ rights would push for better working conditions and better wages. Sometimes protests can take the form of viral videos, shared by users all over the world. Online one can find hundreds of examples of dancers using movement to protest important political issues, whether local or worldwide in scope. A quick search reveals many examples, including an unknown protesting woman who posted video of herself dancing in a Tehran metro car to oppose strict laws against dancing publicly; climate activists staging disco dance protests; a gathering of dancers in South America to denounce violence against women; and dancers taking to the streets in the United States to protest racism. Whether spontaneous or planned, the deliberate sharing of protest dances indicates the intent to use movement to organize support, not just sharing spontaneous dancing that occasionally springs up during protest events.

Dancing for Wellness The practice of dancing can rid the body and mind of stress and bring forth a feeling of improved health and wellness. On the surface, the brisk tarantella (tarantula) dance from Italy offers a cure for the spider bite: sweating out the poison. The obscured beginning of this dance, often attributed to ancient Roman satyr dances, also has been linked with curing housewives of malaise and stress, giving them a way to express ugly feelings without social judgment. Today, people relieve stress and receive the healthful benefits of aerobic exercise through dance exercise hybrids like Zumba, which was created entirely by accident. Alberto “Beto” Pérez, exercise instructor and creator of Zumba, forgot to bring his music for class and instead substituted salsa music and Latin dance moves. The class loved the change and urged him to develop the idea, and Pérez has since

created an internationally-beloved method for combining Latin dance, jazz, country and western dance, and hip-hop dance into small, repeatable combination blocks that are easy to learn and enjoyable to perform. Zumba is in nearly 200 countries and millions of people dance it each day to socialize, reduce stress, and live healthier lives. Zumba and other dance-related exercise regimens such as Pilates and The Bar Method can also improve one’s stamina, and strength.

SPOTLIGHT Tracy Sadler Machalek, Dance Fitness Instructor Dance fitness instructor, Tracy Sadler Machalek (pronounced MAHALL-EK), believes that fusion is the future of dance. By blending her experience as a dancer and performer with multiple dancebased fitness regimens, she is able to entice her clients to experience the joy of movement and feel like they are dancing in an exercise class. Machalek asserts that dance gets people “out of their heads and into their bodies, allowing them to become present in their experience and get rid of stress.” As a teacher, the act of finding connections among the different dance-as-fitness techniques has proven to be rewarding and popular with her students. Machalek has juggled multiple techniques during her performing career as well, ranging from hip-hop to jazz, folklórico to modern dance, and ballet to drill team dance. She believes that “dance is a language” and she wants to “learn as many dance languages as possible.” This eclecticism pervades her approach to teaching dance fitness classes, as she is certified in Zumba, yoga, and The Bar Method and has added LaBlast certification in ballroom dance fitness. Machalek celebrated her first decade teaching dance fitness classes and has been actively fusing styles in recent years. She teaches classes at various gyms, yoga studios, fitness centers, and corporate wellness programs in western Pennsylvania, and she credits her dance fitness classes

as a fitting replacement for performing as well as for increasing the longevity of her career in the dance field.

Machalek combines yoga practice with Pilates into yogalates, as both techniques work with breath and because “they complement each other and lift each other into a fuller expression and cultivate a centered and focused mind.” Where Pilates focuses on strength in the abdomen, or the core of the body, yoga helps with finding balance, flexibility, and length. Besides assisting clients in fulfilling their fitness goals, her class has convinced fellow yoga practitioners to consider incorporating Pilates concepts into their own practice. Another of Machalek’s blended classes is ballet fitness, which blends the fitness aspect of maintaining activity level at a consistent rate with elements of Zena Rommett’s Floor-Barre, ballet work performed lying on the floor, with the lengthening and strengthening aspects of a typical ballet class. The secret ingredient that makes Machalek’s classes unique is that she never loses sight of the expressive aspects of dance, allowing the music to move her clients, realizing the human need for rhythm, movement, and joyous self-expression. In response to the training, Machalek’s clients (a broad cross section of people spanning all ages and movement capabilities and often consisting of multigenerational families) have become more comfortable being physically expressive, gained the health benefits of cross-training, and enjoyed the boosted confidence

derived from mastering challenging rhythms and movement sequences. Machalek feels her classes “reach out to a larger audience and invites them into dance from a fitness perspective,” thereby making dance more accessible to populations that might be hesitant to take a regular dance class. For her, it is all about making people feel better about themselves and getting them to try something new. She plans to continue challenging herself to create and develop more fusion class formats and she has established a YouTube channel to share her discoveries with clients, teachers, and dancers alike. On the other hand, dance therapists train in the use of dance as a curative activity to assist people seeking a holistic therapy that integrates the body and the mind in the quest for healing and balance. Marian Chace (1896-1970) is widely credited with creating the foundation for movement-assisted therapy in the 1960s and was instrumental in the creation of the American Dance Therapy Association, the certifying body for practitioners. Chace studied dance with Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn of the Denishawn dance company in the 1920s, but ultimately rejected the costume-heavy exoticism of their aesthetic in favor of using dance as a way of expressing emotion after studying dance with first-generation modern dance choreographers Martha Graham and Mary Wigman. Influenced by the work of Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung, who was a proponent of using art as therapy, Chace opted to focus on dance as a method for understanding the self rather than as a vehicle for transmitting technique alone. Her fervent belief was that the body holds onto psychological trauma, and a therapist trained in both dance and analytical therapy could help the patient achieve healing through movement. Adjacent to the practice of dance therapy are movement therapies such as Pilates, Alexander Technique, Rolf Movement Integration, Aston-Patterning, and Feldenkrais Method among many others. All are somatic bodywork methods highlighting the mindbody connection developed by their creators to solve movement issues within their own bodies or in the bodies of their students.

Dancers use these modalities to recover from injury, build strength, and improve performance and expressiveness. Some dancers train to become practitioners in these methods in order to supplement their income or move their career in a new direction.

Dancing and Spirituality Although not typically associated with Western religious practices, many peoples have utilized dance as part of their spiritual practice to request favors or give thanks to their gods, and to allow spirits to communicate through their human bodies. Yoruban dancers in West Africa invite the goddess Osun, a deity responsible for taking care of illness and bestowing children on her followers, to possess them briefly while dancing. Similar to allowing the music to carry one away while dancing in a nightclub or the feeling of fully inhabiting a character or role during a dance performance, Yoruban dancers associate the feeling that Westerners describe as being “in the zone” with spiritual communion or possession while they are dancing with, and perhaps being a vessel for, their chosen gods or goddesses. The movements that Osun prefers are calm and flowing, and dancers might not show a definite outward indication of possession by the goddess, but Yoruban followers of Osun consider dance to be a conversation with the goddess. The Whirling Dervishes of Turkey, also known as the Mevlevi, are the only people allowed to perform the dance ritual. Wearing white, long sleeve shirts and white flowing overskirts, the men slowly spin themselves into an altered state of consciousness in order to commune with their god. They turn one hand upward to symbolize receiving knowledge from the spiritual realm and turn the other hand downward to share knowledge with the earthly realm as they slowly perform thousands of turns as part of the ritual dance. The Mevlevi do not claim to be possessed by their deity; rather, they share wisdom that comes from their experience and from the longevity and resilience of the dance/spiritual practice that dates back to the 13th century. Their dance is on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, an honor the Mevlevi received in 2005. This designation indicates that a particular piece of a country’s cultural heritage—in this case this dance ritual —should

be protected so that it might be handed down from generation to generation.

Self-Expression In the beginning of the 20th century, Isadora Duncan’s embrace of bare feet and flowing Grecian-style draperies, along with a renunciation of binding corsetry and rigid body positions, inspired audience members and other artists to consider and explore their own capacity for self-expression, a relatively new idea at the time, that honored and shared the inner feelings of dancers. Martha Graham and other early modern dancers of the 1930s expanded on the concept of self-expression and created new ways of moving based on personal experience and aesthetic preference rather than reliance upon codified steps from a centuries-old ballet tradition. Graham situated her emotional core within the abdominal core of the body, initiating movement primarily through the contraction and release of the abdomen, a movement that was not intended to appear beautiful or effortless; rather, the intent was to express internal conflict. On film, the seriousness of modern dance was sometimes lampooned, as in the overwrought dramatics of the “Faust” performance in The Band Wagon (1953), choreographed by Michael Kidd (1915-2007), and in the “Swinging the Muses” number in Down to Earth (1947), choreographed by Jack Cole (1911-1974). On the Broadway stage, however, Agnes de Mille (1905-1993), niece of film director Cecil B. DeMille, deftly combined ballet and modern dance movement sensibilities for the stage (and later for the film) production of Oklahoma!, inspiring other stage and film choreographers to use expressive movement to advance the plot and reveal the characters’ inner feelings. Self-expression was a hallmark of early modern dance and continues to drive innovations in contemporary dance forms. The epic scale of dance/theater work produced by German choreographer Pina Bausch (1940-2009) was in direct contrast to her personal and intimate choreographic methods. Developed through a process of asking questions of her dancers and watching them solve problems, Bausch used their experiences as material for portions of her evening-long works. Her dancers always portrayed

people, and the foibles, strengths, and fears of her characters were laid bare on the stage. Dancers in her company performed tasks and spoke, and they often danced barefooted in floor-length evening gowns and suits. Movement repetition underscored uneasy relationships between men and women, and poignant solos allowed audiences to feel a brief sense of personal connection with Bausch’s dancers until the scene shifted to focus on the next vignette, or short, dramatic scene. Choreographers working in contemporary dance today have been inspired by one or all three of these dance pioneers.

Dance as Form Dancers also perform movement simply for the enjoyment of moving or to highlight precise timing or shaping that bodies can make in space, without overtly attempting to imitate nature or communicate with an audience. Examples of movement for its own sake are all around: small children dance joyfully and artlessly, exploring the capacity of muscle and bone; military drill groups perform daring precision routines, throwing and catching sabers over the heads of their marching cohorts; and countless teenagers dance in front of mirrors to their favorite song, being moved by the beat. Choreographer George Balanchine, who created dances for New York City Ballet between 1948 and his death in 1983, explored the limits of technical virtuosity, or highly refined dance ability, in his dances. His method was a blend of ballet movements and elements of jazz dance often performed at lightning speeds, maintaining a close connection to the complexities of his chosen music. He did not encourage the expression of emotion in his dancers, instead relying on the music/movement relationship to reveal his intent. Many of his dances contained no storyline, and some pieces were performed in practice clothes (black leotards and pink tights for the women and black tights and white fitted shirts for the men) to emphasize the lines and shapes of the movement. In pieces like Agon (1957) for 12 dancers, his stripped-down neoclassical style left little room for individual interpretation, instead focusing the audience’s attention on watching interactions among various groupings of dancers. Merce Cunningham, a pioneer of postmodern dance in the mid20th century, questioned the need for a relationship between the music and movement at all. He and his collaborators (composers, costume designers, set designers) often worked independently, and the music, dance, costumes, and environment for the stage combined sometimes for the first time at the performance. Cunningham’s dancers would rehearse the highly detailed and complex choreography to a stopwatch in order to coincide with the beginning and end of the music. Any connections observed between movement and sound were purely by chance. Cunningham’s

chance choreography procedures often involved creating a set of movement possibilities and allowing a roll of the dice or a flip of a coin to determine the order of movements when he was creating a dance piece. In this way, Cunningham freed his work from the constraints of his own imagination and from his own movement preferences. His 1968 piece entitled Rainforest was a collaboration with avant-garde artist Andy Warhol and composer David Tudor. During the 18-minute piece, dancers shared the stage with heliumfilled Mylar pillows and sounds reminiscent of birds chirping. Just like the bulk of Cunningham’s dance pieces, Rainforest, at its core, celebrated movement as a source of wonder. Charles “Lil Buck” Riley, dancer and former street performer, prefers improvisatory dance and makes a practice of physically interpreting music by using regional Memphis jookin’ dance as a starting point for his intensely personalized style. It combines elements of popping and locking from hip-hop dance and flexing (or bone breaking) from Jamaican Bruk Up dance with elements of ballet. His fluid, yet tightly controlled dancing, features improbable flexibility, combined with elegant glides, turns on the tips of sneakers, and waves of motion emanating from torso to fingertips and toes. Lil Buck describes himself as “… a vessel for sound. Whenever I hear a sound, my body just takes over. It’s no longer me” (Kourlas 2013, 20).

SPOTLIGHT Spreading the Joy of Dancing All Over the World Matt Harding claims to travel the world “dancing badly with people,” and is an unlikely ambassador for dance. Known for performing a comical jig for his friends, his cohort convinced him to film himself dancing during his travels to other continents. Stitching together video from various locations inspired him to invite others to dance with him, and financial support from the Stride Gum company allowed Harding to create his first montage in 2005, featuring dancers performing his dance all over the world.

Subsequent films in 2006, 2008, and 2012 feature hundreds of people dancing his dance in front of popular landmarks from over 100 countries. What began as a lark transformed into an inspiring cultural connection between a self-proclaimed non-dancer and many dancers around the world. His latest projects can be seen on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Lil Buck has filmmaker Spike Jonze to thank for his sudden worldwide notoriety. Jonze uploaded onto YouTube an interpretive performance of the dancer’s collaboration with cellist Yo Yo Ma playing “The Dying Swan,” a song long associated with ballerina Anna Pavlova’s solo. For Lil Buck, this lucky break led to further collaborations with dance notables, such as Mikhail Baryshnikov and Madonna, and a wider audience for the further development of Memphis jookin’. For dance, the online experience has created a space for increased visibility, previously unimaginable collaborations, teachable moments, and additional opportunities for human connection through the art of movement.

Summary The framework for identifying and understanding human motivations for dancing—imitation, expression, and form—provides a scaffold for previous knowledge and a window into common classifications of movement designed even for an audience of one. Dance as imitation recognizes the human impulse to control our environment by borrowing ideas from the natural world. Dance as expression, whether for the self or with a group, becomes a way of expressing identity through celebrations and rituals and of exerting power over one’s own health, or over the behavior of others. Finally, dance as form is a celebration of dance for its own sake.

Critical Thinking Dance philosophers and writers Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen define dance as “any movement designed to be looked at.” Traditionally, this definition requires that dance be recognized as such by both the viewer and the dancer. However, the advent of stealth dancing (performing a dance behind an unwitting person) and flash mobs (dancers who separate themselves from crowds of onlookers) plus the ability to film dance at any moment no longer requires witnesses to be aware of the act of dance surrounding them. Have you been around dance that springs up spontaneously? How did the dancing make you feel? Do you think that dance requires an audience and why or why not?

Discussion Questions 1. Compare and contrast how Native American dancers use imitation in their dances with the imitative dances contemporary PhD candidates create to explain scientific concepts and processes. Identify similarities and differences in their approaches.

2. Discuss why dancers or choreographers would use the choreographic tool of repetition in their dance and infer what effects repetition can have on audience members. 3. Describe and note the significance of any preparation dances you have experienced or witnessed. 4. Share examples of dance used as an instrument of protest that you have experienced or witnessed. What were the protesters’ issues and motivations, and what was your response to the protest? 5. Why might the philosophies of dance as expression and dance as form be at odds with each other? As you answer, make sure you can name at least three differences between them. For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

3 Elements of Dance

Key Terms musculoskeletal structure hinge joints ball and socket joints musicality rhythm

dance phrase tempo meter (duple and triple) accent syncopation positive and negative space locomotor movements non-locomotor movements pathway floor pattern linear curvilinear facings planes (vertical, horizontal, and sagittal) dynamics form ENDURING UNDERSTANDING The elements of dance are time, space, and energy and how the body responds, either alone or along with other dancers, is the embodiment of these elements. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Examine the expressive capacity of the moving body.

Summarize the contributions of eminent dance teachers to the developing field of dance education. Distinguish between the elements of dance. Discuss the principles of dance composition. Identify choreographic devices in recorded dances. Dance, when broken

down to its primary elements, is composed of movement performed in time and space. These building blocks of dance have been clarified and discussed by teachers, authors, and movement theorists, such as Margaret H’Doubler, Alma Hawkins, and Irmgard Bartenieff, who helped dance students and budding choreographers develop an appreciation for the elements of dance, the fundamentals of movement, and an appreciation for the impact the study of dance as an artistic and academic discipline could have on their lives. The efforts of these early teachers created a space for dance to exist in academia along with methodologies for the analysis and study of movement. Margaret H’Doubler (1889-1992) was a pioneer in dance education, who first championed dance as an educational pursuit worthy of inclusion in the realm of academia, eventually creating the first college-level dance classes in 1917, and then a major in dance within the Athletics Department at the University of Wisconsin in 1926. Her student, Alma Hawkins (1919-1998), went on to found the first autonomous dance department in the United States at the University of California, Los Angeles in 1962. Hawkins expanded the vision of dance’s place in the university to include dance as a performing art and advocated for the inclusion of world dance forms into the program. Hawkins’ written work defines central principles key to the creative nature of dance in relation to the teacher,

choreographer, and performer. Dancer Irmgard Bartenieff (19001981) studied with pioneering movement theorist Rudolf von Laban in Germany in the mid-1920s, but was forced to leave in 1936 during the rise of the Nazi party. She was the first to bring his effort-shape theories to the United States and continued studying with him in London after the war. Her augmented system of Laban principles became known as Bartenieff Fundamentals, developed to help students experience and understand the interrelationships between parts of the body and their functions. Her focus remained on the therapeutic applications of his work, and in 1978, she founded the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS) in New York in order to further develop her physical and dance therapy ideas using the Laban Movement Analysis framework. This chapter will introduce the body as a site of dance; elements and related concepts as they pertain to time, space, and energy; followed by the principles of form and composition and descriptions of a selection of choreographic tools used to create dances.

Moving Bodies Our bodies have a multitude of ways they can move, which are based on our musculoskeletal structure, the way our muscles and bones are organized. Dancers focus on achieving proper alignment in order to use the body efficiently and to prevent injury. Each and every body is unique, but bodies move in some typical ways, depending on how the different joints move. Two types of joints in the human skeletal system are hinge joints and ball and socket joints. Hinge joints, like our elbows and knees, open and close on one plane with very little lateral, or side-to-side, action. Ball and socket joints, like our hips and shoulders, allow for lateral movement, opening and closing movement, as well as circular movement. Dancers use the articulation of their joints and the placement of body parts to create both curvy and straight shapes and to move confidently through space. Dancers train their bodies to perform with optimal strength and flexibility and often use imagery to achieve a particular alignment goal or for expressive effect. For example, an image of balloons floating inside the body encourages the dancer to initiate movement from deeper within the body (Franklin 2012) and can also produce an intention of lightness. Additionally, dancers use their bodies to create interactive groupings and spatial relationships onstage, guiding the focus of the audience by giving cues to the beginning and the end of a dance according to their location in the performance space.

SPOTLIGHT K. Brooke Jerome, K-5 Public School Dance Teacher K. Brooke Jerome is a professional dance educator with Shelby County Schools in Memphis, Tennessee. She received a bachelor of fine arts in K-12 dance education from the University of Southern Mississippi, where she was awarded an Outstanding Dance Educator Award. At her school, she encourages kindergarten through fifth grade students to develop an

appreciation for dance by introducing them to ballet, jazz, modern dance, musical theater, and tap dance styles. As head of the afterschool drama club, she also produces a full musical each year, and her K-5 students have performed Madagascar: A Musical Adventure Jr. and Disney’s The Lion King Jr.

Her classes are in high demand and Ms. Jerome credits the success of her program in part to the commitment from her district and school administrators, who dedicated studio space with a dance floor, mirrors, and barres for her classes. Her approach to student learning is decidedly collaborative, as she facilitates integrated lessons with deep connections to core academic subjects, and her colleagues report that students who take dance successfully transfer these connections into their homerooms. Ms. Jerome asserts that dance teaches the whole student, attending to the mind, the body, and the spirit, and that dance students become more nimble communicators and are inspired to treat their bodies with care because they have the opportunity to learn about themselves and reflect on their experiences. Her studio also provides a place for students to excel who otherwise have difficulties in traditional classroom settings. For Ms. Jerome, dance is ideal for differentiating lessons. “One can have a lesson plan that is easily tailored for 25 different learners, all going on at the same time, and each student can focus on what they need.” She begins each year with a study of

how the body works, followed by the basic elements of dance (energy, space, and time). This foundational knowledge follows through the remainder of students’ experience in dance class as they move through dance and its connection to history, language arts, science, and mathematics. Ms. Jerome’s teaching philosophy echoes the words of choreographer Alvin Ailey: “Dance is for everybody. I believe that dance came from the people, and it should always be delivered back to the people.”

Elements of Dance As previously mentioned, the primary elements of dance are time, space, and energy. Time relates to how long a dance is or how the choreography uses time as a prominent factor in a dance. Dancers often approach time as it relates to music; however, dance can occur in silence or to spoken word and other types of accompaniment. The use of space in a dance is considered the design of the movements and choreography, and also pertains to its location onstage. Energy refers to the dynamic quality of the movement within a dance.

Time Humans mark increments of time by tracking the passage of hours, days, weeks, months, and years using clocks and calendars as reference points. The steadiness of these measures gives a sense of predictable comfort when going about daily life. When studying dance, students are encouraged early on to associate the timing of movements with specific counts in the accompanying music, which provides a steady and reliable rhythm for learning particular exercises. This practice helps dancers both listen and respond sensitively to the music, a skill known as musicality. Later in their training, however, dancers are exposed to irregular, or unexpected, time structures in music and are introduced to the use of sounds or silence as accompaniment for dance. In these situations, dancers might be called upon to follow cues in a soundscape, ignore the music and follow another timing, or self-pace to the rhythm of their own breathing. These approaches are useful skills to master in order to be a flexible performer with the ability to meet the challenge of dancing within time.

Rhythm Even before birth, humans experience the steady pulse of our mother’s heartbeat and the cadence of her breath. Each beat of the heart as it pumps blood around the body and each inhale and exhale of the lungs forms a simple rhythm, or a regular pattern of repeated movement. This consistent timing could be a driving force for

continued action, or it could make the dancing become monotonous and stagnant for the viewer. Dancers and choreographers manipulate the timing of movements in order to respond to music or other accompaniment, to provide variety within dance phrases or to indicate theme within a dance work. If a dancer doesn’t follow a consistent, or regular pulse in the movement, the timing can instead appear irregular, and the change in rhythm can make the dancing appear exciting and unpredictable. One method of using an irregular rhythm is by the use of breath. When breath is a motivator, a dance phrase, or a collection of movements with a recognizable beginning, middle, and end, exists within the timing of one or more rounds of inhalations and exhalations, following the natural rhythm of a body exerting itself in motion. Variation of timing is assured, as the phrase doesn’t depend on a regular pulse. Another way to refer to the timing of a dance phrase, or how fast or slow it appears, is tempo.

Meter, Accent, and Syncopation When dancing to musical accompaniment, often the music sets the tempo of the dance phrase(s), and the consistent pattern of time value is known as meter. Most music for dance is expressed in either duple meter (having two beats per measure) or triple meter (having three beats per measure). Duple meter songs resemble marches and are counted 1-2, 1-2 …, while triple meter songs resemble waltzes and are counted 1-2-3, 1-2-3.… A large portion of popular songs are in duple meter, and this forms the basis for counts the dance instructor uses during dance class. To provide signposts for organizing a dance phrase to music, the teacher will count the music in eights (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) and repeat that counting structure until the end of the movement combination. Although counting in eights is typical, it is by no means the only way music is counted for dance, as some composers use alternative meters or even irregular meters that alternate during a song. Using an accent, or a stress on a particular count (in bold), (1-2, 1-2, 1-2) or (1-2-3, 1-2-3) produces a dynamic feel to the dance phrase, and varying the accent (1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3) or (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) yields unexpected surprises for both viewer and

performer. Movement that accents the weaker beat or an off-beat in a musical phrase is known as syncopation. Highly skilled and sensitive dancers who are able to alternate smoothly between stated counts within the choreography and an ever-so-slight hesitation in the phrasing of their dancing are said to have exceptional musicality.

Other Types of Accompaniment Music and dance are not required to have a close relationship and dance phrases can follow the ebb and flow of the music or exist alongside the music with no relationship whatsoever to the meter of the music. Conversely, the accompaniment might consist of sounds without a musical pulse or silence. In that case, the dance piece has an internal rhythm dependent upon the performers as they dance. Dance can also be performed to spoken word text or poetry (either live or prerecorded). Both types of utterances depend upon the speaker’s cadence and often provide a loose time structure for dance phrases performed at the same time. The dancing might mirror the meter of the poetry or the choreographer might use particular words as time “signposts” for the dancers to follow in order to stay “on time” within the dance so that they reach the ending at the desired spot.

Space All dances take up space, and how a dance uses space often refers to the relationship between the space the dancers’ bodies occupy and the space around them, known as positive and negative space. When dancers occupy space in a particular shape, they are considered to be occupying positive space. The space all around them and even between them is called negative space. How a choreographer uses these two contrasting ideas to shape space is one of the elements that gives each dance its own unique look. The design of the movement and groupings of dancers, either symmetrical or asymmetrical, contributes to the balance of the dance. Most dances use a combination of locomotor and nonlocomotor movements within the choreography of the dance. The methods of shaping space are categorized according to whether they move around within the performance space or tend to stay in

place. Locomotor movements (examples: walking, jumping, skipping, sliding, leaping, turning) are basic movements that travel around the performing space, most often on a stage. Nonlocomotor movements (examples: twisting, reaching, melting, swaying, rising) are basic movements that do not travel around the performing space.

Dancers Morgan Gill and Julie Spector from the Texas A&M University Dance Program performing in concert. Courtesy of Jose Luis Medina.

Pathways and Patterns Dances shape space onstage by bringing attention to particular areas of the performing space itself. Pursuing a particular pathway, or direction, or a specific floor pattern, or line of motion, indicates the importance of the direction the dancing travels or the shapes made on the floor by the dancers. The range used within a dance piece can be small, just taking up a portion of the stage, or encompassing the entire stage, and the distance separating the audience from the dance can also be impactful to the audience. Dances happening at a closer depth can encourage familiarity or highlight humor or smaller gestural details. Dances happening farther away may create more of an emotional as well as physical

distance. The width of a dance can affect how an audience watches a dance by creating the need to change the focus from one side of the stage to the other, or allowing audiences to freely scan the stage space.

Position, Level, and Facing The orientation, or position, of the movements also shape the space the dance exists within. Movement can range from linear, or straight line shapes, to curvilinear, or curved line shapes, and can be performed at different levels: on the floor, standing, in the air, and facing directions other than the audience. While most dances are created for an audience to view, not all dances automatically face the audience, and changing the level or the facings, or directional orientations, can add visual interest to a dance phrase. Additionally, the plane a movement exists on highlights either the dimensionality or the flatness of the movement. The three pure planes humans inhabit are vertical, horizontal, and sagittal, though we are still threedimensional beings and do not purely exist in any one plane (figure 3.1). Movement existing primarily in the vertical plane focuses more on length and height. Imagine standing in a doorway and stretching arms and legs into an X shape; this plane is also called the “doorway plane.” Movement in the horizontal plane is primarily focused on movement perpendicular to standing, which is why it is often referred to as the “table plane.” Movement in the sagittal plane focuses more on depth, which is why it is known as the “wheel plane.”

Rudolf von Laban is seated in front of an example of Labanotation, used to record dances. ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Figure 3.1    Vertical, horizontal, and sagittal planes. Reprinted by permission from D.H. Krasnow, M.V. Wilmerding, A. Sugano, and K. Laws, “Dance Training and Technique,” in Dance Wellness, edited by M.V. Wilmerding and D.H.

Krasnow (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2017), 19.

Energy Dancers use energy to express movement through time and within space. Energy powers the dance engine and the subtle or obvious shifts and variations of effort, or the changing force and intensity expended by a dancer, is often referred to as dynamics. A dancer who is sensitive to split-second changes in dynamics is said to have good attack. According to Valerie Preston-Dunlop (1995, 269), attack is “a dynamic point of view; the performer sets about, positively, to execute the movement with the qualities it should have.” Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), the former dancer and movement theorist who will be more throroughly discussed in chapter 6, Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance, formulated a system to describe movement dynamics in order to better understand, discuss, and categorize movement qualities. His work has been expanded to a field of study called Laban Movement Analysis and includes four categories of effort: 1. Time indicates how the dancers exert themselves, either sudden or sustained. 2. Space indicates how the dancer uses space, either direct or indirect. 3. Weight (or Force) Effort indicates how much exertion can be seen in the movement, either strong or light. 4. Flow indicates the continuity of the dancer’s movement, either free or bound.

Eight Effort Actions By combining the time, space, and weight categories, Laban created eight categories of movement, called Effort Actions (table 3.1). Float (indirect, light, and sustained) and punch (direct, strong, and sudden) respectively contain all of the Indulging and all of the Fighting Elements, while glide, wring, flick, slash, dab, and press contain a combination of Indulging and Fighting Elements (Bartenieff 1980, 58).

Laban’s work has been expanded by Irmgard Bartenieff, among many others, and remains a vital, unique categorization system. It was created specifically for movement and dance and students, dancers, choreographers, and teachers of all types of dance benefit from the common vocabulary, unbiased descriptive language, and flexibility of the framework. This framework remains a commonly used method of describing, analyzing, and discussing how the body uses energy to create dance.

Stillness The opposite of expending visible energy through effort actions is the practice of stillness. Choreographers use stillness as a stark contrast to visible movement or to draw the attention, or focus, of the audience. Of course it is impossible to be completely still because humans are surrounded by and infused with movement. We live on a rotating planet and underfoot, tectonic plates shift, and the cells in our bodies continuously regenerate. However, dancers can use the practice of appreciating stillness as a way to sensitize themselves to movement processes surrounding them. Contact improvisation, a dance practice created by postmodern choreographer Steve Paxton in the early 1970s, focuses on touch and sharing weight while moving with a partner or in a group in an improvisational fashion. Instrumental to the development and instruction of the technique, dancer and teacher Nancy Stark Smith led dancers in The Stand, also known as The Small Dance, to remind contact improvisation practitioners about the body’s constant negotiation with gravity. With eyes shut, dancers stand still and enhance their sensitivity to the subtle shifts of weight required to remain standing upright.

Table 3.1   Laban Effort Actions and Correlation with the Elements of Time, Space, and Weight/Force Laban Effort Action

Time

Space

Weight/Force

Punch

Sudden

Direct

Strong

Dab

Sudden

Direct

Light

Flick

Sudden

Indirect

Light

Laban Effort Action

Time

Space

Weight/Force

Slash

Sudden

Indirect

Strong

Press

Sustained

Direct

Strong

Glide

Sustained

Direct

Light

Float

Sustained

Indirect

Light

Wring

Sustained

Indirect

Strong

Principles of Dance Composition Choreographers draw upon varying types of inspiration to make dances: a song, a concept, a movement, or a costume can inspire dancemakers to create a dance piece. In order to translate what they see in their mind’s eye to an audience member, choreographers must decide on what form the dance will take. Form is the visible combination of aesthetic elements, known as the principles of composition. Choreographers incorporate form to create a dance that expresses the content. In The Shape of Content, author Ben Shahn succinctly describes how form operates to shape art—in his case, visual art. With a few tiny alterations, his method also works for dance. The italicized comments in brackets illustrate how it can be translated for dance. “Form is based, first, upon a supposition, a theme.” “Form is, second, a marshalling of materials, the inert [bodily] matter in which the theme is to be cast [expressed].” “Form is, third, a setting of boundaries, of limits, the whole extent of an idea, but no more, an outer shape of idea.” “Form is, next, the relating of inner shapes [movement] to the outer limits, the initial establishing of harmonies.” “Form is, further, the abolishing of excessive content, of content that falls outside the true limits of the theme” (Shahn 1960).

Swing dancer at the Cotton Club in Harlem. Marvi Lacar/Getty Images

Unity is the primary goal of any type of art, and it is also true of dance. Alma Hawkins (1988) asserted that “the unified dance gives evidence of developing out of a strong, clear purpose” and this purposefulness is at the heart of any artistic creation. It is the vision that choreographers wish to impart to an audience, the cumulative reason for the dance piece. The principles of composition coexist and interrelate in the service of unity. These principles, or rules, of composition for dance—variety, balance, harmony, transition, repetition, and climax—intermingle within a dance. It is important to realize that these principles of composition can be broken and the resulting dance piece can be very successful; however, it is advisable to initially understand the principles and how they work before pushing the envelope of discovery.

Variety and Balance The eye is drawn to contrast, or variety, in movement, and it is a movement’s newness that gives the dance an essential vitality and freshness. However, continuous movement variety without any repetition whatsoever can be overwhelming for the senses and allows little time for audiences to contemplate and make connections. Achieving an equilibrium between the proportions of

new material and familiar material can create a sense of balance for the viewer and can give the eye and the mind an opportunity to briefly rest and re-engage with the dance. In the original Nutcracker ballet (1954), choreographer George Balanchine created “The Waltz of the Flowers,” a continuous unfolding of different configurations and groupings for the dancing flowers, creating the sense of being in a whirlwind of petals. However, what could be perceived as chaotic is tempered by the repetition of movement phrases by smaller groups of flowers. After one group kneels, the next kneels, followed by the next, and the eye is given the opportunity to savor the familiarity of repeated movement.

Harmony and Transition Similar to other art forms, harmony is achieved when all parts come together seamlessly and create a unified moment of wholeness. Continuous harmony might lead to boredom, but change, or transition, leads viewers to a new place to consider ideas in the context of what came before. Most movies focus on a time of transition for the characters. Similarly, transition in dances expresses the juxtaposition of the familiar with the new. One method to highlight these opposing forces is to present the dance in two parts, a “before” and an “after” or “this” compared to “that.” Doris Humphrey’s Two Ecstatic Themes combined dual solos, Circular Descent and Pointed Ascent, two radically different dance pieces, that when performed together, speak to the ideal of harmony and the inevitability of change. The dancer, having performed a series of sweeping upper back arches taking her to the floor level, transitions, along with the music, to sharp, angular, and rhythmically complicated arm and leg thrusts to return to standing.

SPOTLIGHT Jacques d’Amboise: A Pioneering Teacher Jacques d’Amboise (1934-) began his career as a ballet dancer with Balanchine’s New York City Ballet and has appeared in Hollywood musicals, most notably Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954). While still performing with NYCB in 1975, he

asked to use studio space to teach dance classes for boys in public school. The fledgling program was so successful that he founded the National Dance Institute (NDI) the following year with a grant from the Ford Foundation. NDI trains teachers in their method and has insisted on live accompaniment for classes to actively connect dancers with music and rhythm. The institute, which has striven to be inclusive, now sponsors the NDI DREAM Project, which combines children of all abilities together in classes and performances. Over 40 years later, d’Amboise’s organization, which serves primarily underprivileged youth, has grown to assist 6,500 students in 40 New York City public elementary schools and sponsors almost 200 performance opportunities annually. NDI has inspired associate programs in 10 states and also participates in international cultural exchange programs with China, Mexico, Italy, and Bali, to name a few. In 2011, NDI finally gained a brick-andmortar home in Harlem, and they have been able to expand their onsite class offerings, teacher training workshops and professional development opportunities. Although he had an astonishing career as a performer, d’Amboise used his retirement from dance to teach and inspire countless schoolchildren and train over 1,500 dance teachers.

Repetition and Climax Repetition is the lifeblood of dancing. Students repeat and perfect movements in class, professionals repeat movements from muscle memory in rehearsal, and audiences use repetition to organize the meaning of dances for themselves. The act of repeating a movement can create an indelible image, create tension in the audience, or set up a humorous nonverbal punch line. It can also become monotonous and lulling for audiences as they find themselves stuck in time. The climax, can be the apex of a dance phrase or the ending of the entire dance. Dance-theater choreographer Pina Bausch created movement vignettes, often featuring a climactic ending, within the larger scale of her evening-long piece. An evocative example can be found in Bausch’s Cafe Müller (1978), during which

an embracing couple are repeatedly interrupted by another performer, who systematically separates the couple and places them into another pose, of the man carrying the woman. The man then drops her onto the floor and they again embrace and are placed into the same carrying pose over and over at an increasing tempo until, at the climax of the vignette, they end up again embracing as the interrupter leaves and the dance continues.

CHOREOGRAPHIC TOOLS Modern Tools Theme and variations—A theme is a structured movement sequence with enough engaging variety so that within the variations, the underlying theme is still recognizable. The variations have their own personality, but follow the same underlying timing and order. Motif and development—A motif is a movement idea that can be developed, or manipulated, in many ways, including repeating a movement or phrase exactly (repetition), performing a movement idea backwards, from the end to the beginning (retrograde), increasing or decreasing the size of the movement, varying the rhythm or the movement quality, inverting the movement, or performing it with the opposite half of the body (for example, performing a series of leg movements with the arms instead),

portraying, or embodying, characters by taking on their physical characteristics, such as how they walk, stand, or move (characterization), repeating the exact movement or short fragment of a phrase, but spaced out in time, like an echo (canon), removing a movement from its original meaning and condensing it to aspects of its original essence rather than presenting it literally (abstraction), and creating movement that evokes a specific metaphor, idea, emotion, or vision (imagery).

Postmodern Tools Chance—This tool uses structures and operations designed to remove the influence of the choreographer from creation of the movement by incorporating an element of serendipity. Merce Cunningham introduced this choreographic tool in the 1950s to create movement sequences that were free from his own personal preferences. Because of his methods, a choreographer can consider any movement as valid and interesting, and any point on stage is equally as important as any other. Accumulation—Similar to the progressive lengthening of the list of presents mentioned in the carol, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” an accumulation is a lengthy combination of movements that continues to add one movement at the end of the string. Trisha Brown created accumulation in the 1970s to challenge her formidable memory skills. Minimalism—This concept uses smaller or less-complicated movements in choreography. It also values simplicity in all aspects of performance so that the focus of a dance is clear. Pedestrian movement—Using everyday movement that any person can perform, such as walking, running, or standing in a line, has served to increase the possible movement vocabulary available to choreographers. Task-oriented movements—These are movements related to accomplishing an everyday task as part of choreography. This addition to movement choices for choreographers has served to increase creative possibilities. Contact improvisation—Created by Steve Paxton, this dance form focuses on weight-sharing and maintaining a single point of contact through the use of improvisation. It can be used to generate choreography for partnering sequences within a dance. Improvisational structures—In order to create a larger pool of movement choices for dance-making, a choreographer can create a movement improvisation with a structure open to individual dancer interpretation. These

structures can also be incorporated into a dance to give the audience a sense of immediacy and unpredictability. H’Doubler (1940, 144) compared the composition of a dance to the “… spinning of a spider web. In the process, structure is made possible by the medium’s being fastened to supporting units (principles of composition).” Her compositional framework and belief in the primacy of inner experience as the engine for dance-making provided a foundation for pioneering modern choreographers to use when creating their own choreographic theories. In other words, H’Doubler gave her students room to find their own paths.

Summary The primary components of dance are time, space, and energy, and dancers make use of the expressive capacity of the moving body to shape and perform dances. The discipline has found a home in academia and dance practitioners have utilized existing philosophical and pedagogical frameworks borrowed from the fine arts disciplines, along with discoveries made by movement researchers specializing in dance. Choreographers use their understanding of the principles of composition, along with choreography tools created by early modern and postmodern dance pioneers, to create dances with form and purpose.

Critical Thinking Must dance have a theme? Consider Ben Shahn’s definition of form in your discussion.

Discussion Questions 1. Where is the best home for dance in a college or university: with physical education, theater, or music departments? Or do you have another suggestion? Explain your choice. 2. If you were to make a dance based on one of the three elements of dance, which element appeals to you the most and why? Briefly describe the dance idea in your response. 3. Consider the principles of composition and your experiences with dance. Describe a dance you have seen that makes use of one or more of these principles. For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

Part II Selected Dance Genres and Styles After an introduction

to the foundations of dance, Part II takes readers on a survey of Western dance genres and styles. Chapters introduce social dance, ballet, modern and contemporary modern dance, jazz, tap, hip-hop, aerial, and site dance, and highlight notable artists and events. Interspersed throughout the chapters are Spotlights on the role of technology in the lives of dancers, interviews with professionals featuring career options in the field, and historical nuggets that reveal connections and crossovers between the genres and styles. Read in order, the chapters give a rough timeline of the development of dance in the United States and point to future directions, broadening the scope of study for readers and setting the stage for Part III.

4 Social Dance

Key Terms social dance secular dance chassé ragtime music animal dances speakeasy

night club cabaret swingout street dance ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Social dance is a reflection of what is happening in a society and is closely connected to values, relationships, and culture. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify the origins of social dance. Recall social dance styles across the decades. Compare current social dances. Examine the importance of social dance to U.S. culture. Social dance is

a broad, umbrella term that refers to all dances that are danced in social settings. This genre can include popular dances, folk dance, and regional dances, among others, in locations, such as ballrooms, discos, nightclubs, and in the town square. Social dance is entertaining and often inspired by popular music, events and societal changes, and it may be competitive or express cultural identity. Social dance differs from other types of dance because it requires interaction and participation, and quite often, dancing in the social realm includes improvisation and self-expression. One could

argue that every human on the planet knows how to dance socially and, with advancements in technology, it is easier than ever before to connect with social dances as they emerge and evolve. Although social dance has a long history, this chapter will primarily focus on popular social dances created and shared in the 20th and 21st centuries.

Origins of Social Dance Dance as a group activity can be traced back to prehistoric times, and many social dances performed today have centuries-old roots or have spanned millennia. For example, influences in social dances performed today were also present in ancient Greek dance forms. Artwork on Grecian pottery shows dancers performing in processional lines and in circles, and this structure echoes throughout the ages in both sacred and non-religious secular dance forms. Repeated bans on dancing during the Middle Ages in Europe brought about a rupture that further divided sacred and secular dances, a break which assisted in the creation of a rich tapestry of folk dance traditions. During the Renaissance, peasants and royalty influenced each other’s dances, one occurring in the town square and the other inhabiting stately ballrooms, where ballet was developed in the courts of kings and queens. As social dance became more accessible in the 19th century, it emerged as a popular activity and form of entertainment in the United States. Some of the most popular social dances of this time gave rise to what modern eyes would recognize as ballroom dance, or, more informally, square dance. The quadrille was a brisk, jaunty dance utilizing steps similar to ballet dance, such as chassé. The quadrille is described as a square dance, often placing dancers in lines and square formations while performing. Chassé is a ballet movement that contains one or more quick gliding steps that are executed in a galloping motion. The waltz, although introduced to European ballrooms about a century earlier, was still considered somewhat scandalous in the United States in the 19th century because it required partners to maintain an intimate closeness. The waltz is a ballroom partner dance that is danced in triple time and has turns and glides with step-step-close in the movement phrases. It inspired other closed-partner dances such as the gallop and the polka. The polka is a series of small gallops performed with a bouncy movement quality and danced to a brisk tempo. The cakewalk was first introduced to the American social dance scene around the 1890s through minstrel shows, but the beginnings

of this dance can be traced back to enslaved people forced into labor on plantations. It was inspired by formal ballroom dancing, but what made the cakewalk unique was that it made fun of the formal style of ballroom dancing. The cakewalk can be described as a high knee strut, but it also has a strong improvisational feel to the progression of the dance, which was classified as comedic gesture. Although originally danced primarily by men, the eventual inclusion of women created more improvisational options.

Evolution of Social Dance in the 20th Century The vaudeville circuit (1880s-1930s), traveling variety shows performing in smaller community theaters, helped to spread popular social dances around the United States. Composed of comedy skits, pet tricks, singers, magicians, and dance acts, these itinerant entertainers inspired the nation to dance. Young people, craving ways to express themselves in a way that reflected their own experience, embraced ragtime music and its astonishing syncopation during the end of the 19th century and considered traditional ballroom dances to be old-fashioned and dated. Younger generations have long used social dance to rebel against their parents, and often youth-created dances are labeled as provocative. Just as the waltz shocked generations of parents before the 20th century, the bawdiness of animal dances and the abandon of the Charleston would prompt concern for new generations of parents, who by that time, considered the waltz socially acceptable. This cycle repeats itself throughout the 20th century: As the times change, so do the dances. This section traces the development of social dances popular in the 20th century and beyond (see table 4.1 for an overview of social dance).

Table 4.1   Origins and Influences of Social Dances in the 20th Century and Beyond Social dance

Origins and influences

1900s Cakewalk

This dance was created by enslaved people prior to the American Civil War.

Waltz

This dance was popular throughout Europe and the United States in the 19th century.

1910s Animal dances

Inspired by ragtime music in the early 1900s, these dances imitated animals. Examples include the bunny hop, grizzly bear, and turkey trot.

Castle walk

This dance originated in 1912 by popular dance couple Vernon and Irene Castle, in New York.

Social dance

Origins and influences

Tango

This dance originated in Buenos Aires and quickly spread northward. It is a passionate partner dance that was influenced by European, African, and Native American cultures.

1920s The black bottom

Popular with flappers during the 1920s, this dance originated in New Orleans with jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton.

The Charleston

African Americans who were living in or near Charleston, South Carolina, created this dance, a series of steps and kicks, which became popular in the 1920s.

1930s Swing

This dance originated in Harlem, New York, in the 1930s. The jitterbug and Lindy hop are examples of swing. The jitterbug was inspired by the song “Call of the Jitter Bug” by jazz singer Cab Calloway, and was popular in the 1930s. The Lindy hop, danced to popular jazz music of the time, got its name while being danced at a dance marathon.

1940s The rumba

This is an Afro-Cuban dance, but its musical rhythms can be traced back to African rhythms.

The shag

Considered swing dance, the African American community danced the shag in the late 1930s. It was most popular in the 1940s and was very popular in South Carolina.

1950s Mambo

This is a Latin dance from Cuba and Mexico. In the United States, it took over the ballrooms, and other dances such as salsa emerged from it.

1960s The twist

Inspired by rock ’n’ roll music, this dance involved twisting the hips and was considered suggestive.

Jerk

This dance is similar to the monkey, but the arms move as if the dancer is conducting a musical band.

Pony

A dance made popular by recording artist Chubby Checker and his song “Pony Time,” the feet do a step and a ball change while the arms move with ease to the music.

Mashed potato

In this popular dance, the lower body twists the ball of the foot as if it is mashing something on the floor, while the upper body moves with the lower body movement.

1970s Disco

Disco dancing has roots that can be traced back to the Latin styles and the African Diaspora. Those early influences contributed to the emergence of dances, such as the hustle, the cha-cha, disco finger, and the sprinkler.

Y.M.C.A.

This dance closed out the 1970s with the Village People performing on the hit show American Bandstand, in 1979.

1980s

Social dance

Origins and influences

The moonwalk

This dance was made famous in 1983 by pop singer Michael Jackson. The moonwalk was performed by tap dancing star Bill Bailey in 1943, who called it the backslide, and Cab Calloway performed a version of it in the 1930s, calling it the buzz.

1990s Voguing

This style of dance was made popular again in the early 1990s by recording artist Madonna, but its origins can be traced back to 1920s Harlem ballrooms.

Country and western, country line dance

This style of dancing regained popularity in the 1990s. Its roots can be traced across the globe to Europe and Africa. North American folk dances, such as the Virginia reel, inspired country line and square dances.

2000s The cupid shuffle

This dance was inspired by and created for the hip-hop song “Cupid Shuffle” by DJ Casper. This artist is also responsible for the cha-cha slide.

2010s The floss

Russel Horning, also known as Backpack Kid, made the floss popular through his unique style when he danced to Katy Perry’s song “Swish Swish.”

1910s In the early 20th century, animal dances, such as the grizzly bear and the turkey trot, emerged and dominated the American social dance scene. These dances, along with the duck waddle, and the bunny hop mimicked animal movement. Many are still popular today including the bunny hop, which is often taught in physical education classes. The waltz remained popular well into the 20th century. Strictly a partner dance, it is performed in a closed, square position. The hesitation waltz was a particular favorite that supported the classical international standard of the waltz but applied a hesitation in the step. This kind of hesitation could be interpreted as a pause or a visual attempt to hold back the movement with one’s partner. Vernon and Irene Castle introduced this style of waltz to the public, and their work would eventually shape the dancing style and career of legendary entertainer, Fred Astaire. The pair created their own dance, the Castle walk, a tandem step that has been described as having a smooth quality from being danced on the balls of the feet. Concurrently, the tango emerged from the streets of Buenos Aires in Argentina and Europe, and today two kinds of tango are danced: the Argentinian tango and the Spanish tango. The passionate tango

was often considered inappropriate and seductive in some segments of society. It was a favorite dance of European immigrants and the working classes and it became extremely popular before WWI, resurging in the 1930s. Danced in a snug closed position, dancers alternate long, gliding steps with intricate footwork and sensuous pauses. It is important to note that this dance has influences from many styles of dance that include African, European, and Native American cultures.

1920s Following the end of World War I in 1918, and particularly during the era of Prohibition (1920-1933) when liquor sales were outlawed, many more people were dancing and, besides ballrooms, there was a variety of venues a person could go to in order to dance, like speakeasies, nightclubs, and cabarets. A speakeasy was a place where a person could find liquor during Prohibition. The name comes from both the practice of speaking about the location in hushed tones and because those who were at a speakeasy intentionally kept their voices soft so as not to alert their neighbors to their illegal activities. A nightclub can be described as an entertainment location that is open only at night and often serves drinks while its patrons enjoy dancing and music. A cabaret is a location in which all forms of entertainment take place: dance and music, and drama and song.

Ladies’ solo Charleston champion Miss Hardie, who danced the Charleston for a record seven hours, circa 1925. KA Atwell/American Stock/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Shortly after women won the right to vote, a dance called the Charleston emerged and remained popular during the ‘Roaring 1920s’, the age of the “Flappers.” This dance was named after the city of Charleston in South Carolina, and the movement of the dance was inspired directly from a musical tune called “The Charleston” by composer and pianist James P. Johnson. The dance is energetic and bouncy with swinging arms and steps and touches. The Charleston is versatile because it can be danced solo, with a partner, or in a large group, but the dance was often banned because some considered its kicking motions obscene. Also popular was the black bottom, inspired by jazz music. The origins of this dance can be traced back to African Americans residing in the South. The movement of the black bottom uses the Charleston as its foundation, but added stomps, slaps to the backside, and side-to-side sways.

Those who loved to dance wanted to do the shim sham shimmy, so they adapted the dance to be performed without tap shoes. The shim sham shimmy was originally a tap dance created by Leonard Reed and Willie Bryant and is known as a tap dancer’s anthem. Dancers quickly adopted it in the 1920s. This social dance simplified the original to include simple stomps and brushes of the feet, allowing anyone to enjoy the dance.

1930s The 1930s saw an explosion of swing dances, including the Lindy hop and the jitterbug, and all were on display in the public ballrooms of Harlem, New York, such as the Savoy Ballroom. Swing is a musical and dance style that remained popular from the 1920s to the 1940s, and the term swing dance references a variety of dance styles, which have come to include East or West Coast swing, country swing, hand jive, rock ’n’ roll styles, and boogie woogie styles. The Lindy hop was closely related to the swing style because the Lindy hop could be danced solo or with a partner. This style has a loose structure with a heavy improvisational element, and dancers at the Savoy Ballroom developed it into a remarkably acrobatic style. The basic Lindy hop step includes a syncopated box step followed by a swingout, the signature open position of the dance, connected by clasped hands. The Lindy hop was influenced by many other styles including the Charleston, as well as the emerging styles of jazz dance and tap dance. Because this dance is also very socially driven, it has often been referred to as a street dance style, meaning that it’s done outside the formal dance halls or dance studios. The jitterbug is related to the Lindy hop and remained popular throughout the 1940s. The name of the dance is said to come from the “jitters,” defined as a nervous feeling, and the movement associated with the dance was fast paced and athletic, with parts of the dance resembling shaking or trembling. The song “Call of the Jitter Bug” by Cab Calloway refers to this popular dance.

1940s

Swing dance continued to be popular into the 1940s, particularly at dance halls during World War II. However, the deployment of soldiers to all parts of the world inspired the adoption of dances that originated outside the United States. Rumba is a ballroom dance that relied heavily on big band music mixed with Afro-Cuban music, such as cha-cha and the conga. Rumba, created in the early 1930s, is considered a Latin style and is associated with recording artist Don Azpiazú and his song “El Manisero,” translated as the peanut vendor. Rumba is unique because it gained popularity in many parts of the world including North America, Latin America, and Europe. The dance is a box step, or jazz square, danced with a partner to a slow, quick-quick rhythm. The shag also dates back to the 1930s but continued to be popular into the 1940s as young people embraced the traditional ballroom setting with a modern twist. They were able to accomplish this with the shag because it was danced to the tempo of swing music, but its uniqueness came from merging partner dancing with side-by-side solo dancing and quick footwork.

1950s The popular dance scene shifted dramatically in the 1950s, led by the emergence of rock ’n’ roll music. Often associated with recording artist Elvis Presley, the music style blended popular blues and jazz music, along with the spiritual styles of gospel music and the downhome style of country and western music. With the new sound came new dances, inspired by the dancing of rock ’n’ roll performers. Elvis Presley’s career emerged in the 1950s, and he was a controversial figure. His performances included moving his hips, earning him the moniker, “Elvis the Pelvis.” Some parents considered his dancing style lewd, and the outcry prompted the producers of the hit variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show, to film him only from the waist up. By today’s standards, youth would most likely find his movement inoffensive and only mildly suggestive. Influences from outside the United States also affected popular dances of the decade. Inspired by Cuban mambo music, mambo dance developed in both Cuba and Mexico. The improvisational aspects of mambo music encouraged dancers to develop a freestyle

approach to the dance. Mambo is often associated with salsa dancing, a Latin style that moves in a similar way and is more commonly performed in clubs today.

1960s As rock ’n’ roll increased in popularity, social dance styles continued to evolve and be led by the younger generation. The twist was introduced at the beginning of the 1960s by popular recording artist, Chubby Checker, who appeared to a national audience on The Dick Clark Show, an evening television program airing on the weekend that featured emerging and popular musical artists. While performing the twist, the feet are hip- and shoulder-width apart, and as the hips move and twist, the torso and legs rotate in opposition. The twist is a solo dance but can be danced together in a group.

SPOTLIGHT American Bandstand American Bandstand was a long-running American television program, aired from 1952-1989, that featured music and dance from the most popular recording artists of the time. The show’s host was industry superstar, Dick Clark, and was filmed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It wasn’t until later, in 1964, that the show was moved to Los Angeles, California. For decades, this program was an outlet for rising and established musical artists to be introduced to the American population at large. When first conceptualized, this was a show that would feature musical films and have short special guest appearances throughout the broadcast. It is extraordinary to consider that American Bandstand created a template that would later inspire Music Television (MTV). The show brought music and dance into the homes of millions across the United States on weekday afternoons (later moved to Saturday afternoons) and this was the outlet that introduced popular dances to a mass audience. In the world that we live in today, we consider the Internet and social media platforms, such as YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat, as the primary way to share dance with our

peers. Beginning with the 1950s through the end of the 1980s, American Bandstand was a prominent platform that promoted sharing and spreading of social dances. This American television show can claim some responsibility for the successful careers of Elvis Presley, dancer John Travolta, and the Jackson 5, which then featured the budding artist Michael Jackson, who would later become known as the “King of Pop.” American Bandstand never moved away from its original purpose —to invest in musical artists and their dances and showcase them on network television, for all of the American public to enjoy. Following the emergence of the twist, young dancers created a plethora of new dances, such as the jerk, the pony, the mashed potato, and the monkey. The mod style of dancing, which began in London, was also gaining popularity during this decade. While the mod style is considered to be primarily influenced by fashion and social trends, those influences trickled into the social dance styles of the time. The mod style of dancing is best described as dancing together, but separated. While the twist was initially surrounded by controversy, the mod style of dance could be considered tamer to the older generation. The mod style had a moderate tempo and used isolations of the body parts. For mod dancers, clothing fabrics were bright and bold or stark black and white, and the fitted clothing and platform boots placed restrictions on the vigor of the dancing.

1970s When the 1970s are mentioned, disco is the first image of dancing to come to mind. John Travolta’s disco finger performed in the film Saturday Night Fever (1977) has been forever embedded into the identity of dance during this decade. In the scene, Travolta, who wears a white suit with black accents, appears on a dance floor with multi-colored panes of light. Disco is a musical era that found its rightful place in the nightclubs, which were renamed discos. Just as popular dance found a home in ballrooms or nightclubs of earlier time periods, the disco was an environment in the 1970s that entertained people and allowed them to socialize, and dancers

embraced the music and dance as one entity. The hustle is another popular dance of the 1970s that was introduced to the general public in Saturday Night Fever. This dance is considered a partner dance and later evolved into a line dance. The hustle has Latin roots and influences of mambo, salsa, and swing dance. The dance that accompanies the novelty song “Y.M.C.A.,” was released in 1978 by the American recording group Village People and is still popular to this day at wedding receptions and other events. In 2009, “Y.M.C.A.” was placed into the Guinness World Records, (a reference book that notates the achievements that are world records in both the areas of human achievement and natural world achievements) when 44,000 people danced to the original lineup of Village People’s live performance of “Y.M.C.A.” at the 2008 Sun Bowl game held in El Paso, Texas. In 2020, the song was placed in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its long-standing impact on American culture.

Salsa dancers performing onstage. PM Images/Stone/Getty Images

1980s The moonwalk is a dance that is best known from the music video Billie Jean by Michael Jackson that was featured on MTV in the early part of the decade. Jackson moves backward, sliding his feet across the floor space, popping his heels one at a time, up off of the floor, while his other foot remains flat on the floor. The motion is an illusion because although it looks as if Jackson is moving forward or floating, he is not. While the moonwalk is associated with Michael Jackson and the 1980s, this dance’s circuitous lineage can be traced back to the 1930s and particularly to Cab Calloway, the recording artist who wrote the song “Jitterbug.” Calloway performed this same kind of

movement in his performances, but he referred to the dance as the buzz. The movement was described exactly the same way, and it can be seen in subsequent films and television shows, performed by a wide range of dancers. The 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis, featuring Judy Garland, contains a dance scene in which a similar movement was performed in “Under the Bamboo Tree” with Garland and Margaret O’Brien, and during this decade, a tapper Bill Bailey began performing a similar move he called the backslide. In the 1950s, Dick Van Dyke, a leading entertainer of the time, often included movement in his act. He, too, can be found performing a similar moonwalk move. The moonwalk appeared again in the 1960s in a Here’s Lucy television episode, and then again when jazz dance master performer, choreographer, filmmaker, and teacher, Bob Fosse included it in his performance in the role of the “Snake” in the film The Little Prince (1974). Despite these iterations, it was Michael Jackson’s video on MTV that gave this popular dance its notoriety, and the dance is still performed today by many artists on stage, in film, and in clubs.

1990s Similarly, Vogue or Voguing is associated with recording sensation Madonna and her hit song “Vogue” (released in 1990), even though the dance style had already been gaining popularity in the late 1980s. Its roots trace back to the Harlem ballroom scene and the rock ’n’ roll and mod styles of dance. Voguing was made popular by runway models and later found its way into nightclubs and drag queen shows. The look of this dance is best described as poses that are sharp and angular and exhibit strength and panache. Three documented styles of vogue are the old way (pre-1990), the new way (1990-1994), and vogue fem (1995). The old way was very angular with lined spacing. The movements themselves were fluid without quick starts and stops. A storyline always was attached to this style of voguing, with a strong emphasis on competition. The dance-off often ended with one dancer using dance movements to push the dueling dancer off the dance floor until the secondary dancer was no longer able to perform dance moves. The new way was inspired by Madonna’s MTV video for her song “Vogue” and is

the most widely known style of voguing. Its style included many quick hand and arm motions resulting in making shapes around the performer’s face. The most commonly used voguing move was making a box around one’s face, sliding the arms and hands in very straight lines to arrive at a box-like pose. After 1994, voguing began to evolve and become influenced by other dance styles, leading to vogue fem, which incorporated traditional styles of dance such as classical ballet, a variety of modern dance styles, and jazz dance. Considered a softer style, it included specific movements and movement categories such as the duck walk, catwalk, hands, floor work, and ending with turns. Janet Jackson, the sister of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is credited for popularizing the running man in the music video for her song “Rhythm Nation.” This dance looks like running in place—one foot slides backward, while the other foot is lifted to then push downward to execute the same movement on the other side. Musical artists, such as MC Hammer, continued to expand the step in the 1990s. Country and western dance and country line dancing, also known as cowboy dancing, gained popularity during this decade. Europeans and Africans brought this style of dance to the early American frontier. Country and western dancing is often associated with Texas and Oklahoma, but it is danced across the United States. The most widely known country and western dance is the two-step, related to the polka, which traces back to Czech culture and Germany. A variation of the two-step includes a step on one foot followed by a shuffle led by the other foot. As the hit song “Macarena” hit the airwaves, it was accompanied by a dance using a pattern of simple arm movements. The dance became hugely popular and continues to be popular today, being performed not only at nightclubs but also at celebrations, such as weddings and school dances.

2000s In 2007, popular musical artist Cupid released the song “Cupid Shuffle” from his studio album Time for a Change. The music video for it transformed this song into a leading social dance of the new

millennium. The cupid shuffle has a line dance feel to it, but like the cha-cha slide from several years prior, it includes directions for performing the dance within the lyrics of the song. At the same time, American rapper, Soulja Boy Tell’em released his debut single “Crank That” (Soulja Boy), and the song accompanied the newly created Soulja Boy dance which is credited to the artist and his friends. The dance uses mime to express pedestrian movement, such as riding a motorcycle. The dancer twists the wrists, as if revving up a bike. The body leans back away from the extended arms and an added bounce contributes to the image of driving a motorcycle.

2010s and Beyond Several popular dances from this decade also included mimetic elements. The shopping cart is performed just as it sounds: The dancer pretends to push a shopping cart and reach for products. In the q-tip, the dancer pretends to use a cotton-swab in the ear while bouncing along to music. The song “Wobble,” which was released in January 2012, has an associated dance than can be simply described as grooving. The song lyrics prompt dancers to begin adding a wobbling quality to their movement while still grooving with the music. During this decade, dancers experienced the rise of social media along with the ubiquity of phone cameras to capture photos and videos of dancers performing informally. In 2017, the hype gained instant popularity and continues to be popular today thanks to the video game Fortnite. The dance came from the song “Shoot” by musical artist BlocBoy JB, which he performed in his accompanying music video. The dance is executed by hopping on one leg while kicking the other leg forward. The upper body movement uses a fist and punches over the head in a forward motion. Variations to this movement include changing the arm positions.

SHARING DANCE ONLINE Before the advent of the Internet and subsequently social media, the primary ways to share a dance were either in-person,

watching televised dance, or by watching a film or video of a dance. With its launch to the world on August 1st, 1981, MTV showcased music videos hosted by Video Jockeys (VJs). Perhaps the most well-known music video to premiere on MTV was Thriller by Michael Jackson, featuring a memorable dance scene performed by zombie dancers. Remarkably, the 1983 song has maintained its popularity for nearly 40 years, and the thriller dance is still considered vital and exciting. MTV continues to feature music videos but on a much smaller scale. Technological advancements in the mid 2000s fundamentally changed the way dances were created and shared. The creation of social media platforms like Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005), and Twitter (2006) soon added video capability, exponentially increasing video resources for dancers, students, and audience members. The YouTube platform in particular is a resource that has become invaluable to the dance community. Everything from how to do the Lindy hop to the floss can be found online, and dance teachers can locate an example of most dances on demand to show students. While YouTube is a helpful source for sharing, it must be used with caution. Anyone can post an instructional dance video, regardless of their training, or lack of training, and these instructional videos can be inaccurate. Nowadays, the process for making dances can be compressed into hours rather than days or months, and the product can be shared with anyone. Video and photography capabilities are contained within a smartphone device, and the development of a multitude of apps designed to capture, edit, and share dances allows dancers to foster communication with fans by posting on Instagram or TikTok. Dance companies can easily share promotional clips with possible audiences all over the world. In the coming decades, the addition of new apps and new social media platforms will continue to provide improved access to dance, create connections between audiences and dancers, and lead to even more collaborations and the creation of new dances.

Summary Social dance is performed with and for others as a social activity. Both improvisation and interaction are hallmarks of all popular social dances. While social dance always is changing with the times, the immediacy of sharing experiences through social media and the constant access to technology and information on a global scale makes it possible for new dances to be created and shared faster than ever before.

Critical Thinking Based on your new knowledge about the progression of social dance in the 20th and 21st centuries, what were the most impactful years of social dance to American society at large? What evidence do you have to support your choices?

Discussion Questions 1. What social dances have you experienced in your lifetime? 2. Compare the social dance of the 1950s to today’s social dance styles that you are exposed to. Explore similarities and differences in the movements of both 1950s and present-day dances. 3. What might social media look like in the next decade? How will this affect social dance of the current time? For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

5 Ballet

Key Terms tutus en pointe dance anthropologist codified technique corset pannier turnout

line ballet pantomime libretto character dances variations spotting en travesti balletomanes National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) corps de ballet hiplet ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Ballet began as a celebration of etiquette and spectacle in the European royal courts during the Renaissance and is a foundational technique that has given rise to popular studio dance forms. It has remained a relevant and vital art form grounded in tradition. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Summarize the primary principles of ballet. Distinguish between ballet training methods and schools.

Compare key eras, techniques, and major figures in the history of ballet. Examine the development of ballet in the United States. Discover connections between preserving and expanding the art of ballet dance. Ballet holds a

significant role in the development of dance in Europe and the Western hemisphere. Many dance genres either trace their history back to ballet or exist in direct opposition to the ballet aesthetic. Danced over 400 years ago initially as a physical representation of courtly, or formal, behavior, ballet has grown beyond the bounds of royal ballrooms into public theaters. Its costumes have evolved from bulky and restrictive clothing of the Renaissance to leotards and tights, tutus, pointe shoes, and costumes that look like modern-day street clothes. The technique has progressed from stately patterned walking to brilliant feats of physical prowess, and dancers have evolved from trained amateurs to dedicated professionals. Ballet has long held fast to tradition, but the art form is currently experiencing revolutionary change in order to keep up with changing attitudes toward positive body image and inclusiveness. Ballet dancers are no longer expected to be young, fair-skinned, and slight in build. In recent years, Misty Copeland (American Ballet Theatre) and others, such as Michaela DePrince (Dutch National Ballet), and Dara Holmes (Joffrey Ballet), have been breaking through barriers that previously excluded many dancers from performing ballet at the highest levels based on skin color and body type. Ballet companies are beginning to feature a more diverse roster of dancers and have been commissioning work by contemporary modern choreographers since the 1970s. Some ballet companies feature males wearing pointe shoes. For example, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo,

breaking barriers for over 40 years, presents men dressed as ballerinas, dancing en pointe, or on the tips of the toes, and performing comical, but faithful, renditions of popular classical ballet solos like The Dying Swan (Fokine, 1905) and traditional ballets like Giselle (Coralli and Perrot, 1841). This dance genre has an exciting future ahead as dancers and choreographers continue to balance tradition with the vanguard.

What Is Ballet? Ballet is a dance genre that developed within European royal courts and it set the foundation for many styles of dance performed in the Western hemisphere. Because of this status, ballet has long held the honor of sitting on top of a dance hierarchy, and its principles have been used as a yardstick by which to judge the value of other dance forms, although more recently, scholars have challenged this privilege. In the 1970s, dance anthropologist Joann Kealiinohomoku (1930-2015) suggested that ballet, like other dance forms around the world, should be considered an “ethnic” dance (Dils and Albright 2001), one that can be analyzed in order to create a better understanding of the values, attitudes toward interpersonal relationships, and ideals of beauty that are key to understanding Western culture. In fact, this is the work of a dance anthropologist —understanding human behavior and value systems by studying how people dance along with the dances they produce and consume. In this way, ballet can be used as a tool for understanding other cultures rather than as a method of aesthetic judgment. Ballet, like the other techniques that will be covered in this text, has identifiable principles that distinguish it from other genres.

Primary Ballet Principles Ballet dance technique has a long and rich history and a codified technique, or a compiled and systematized set of movements. Ballet is based on principles of erect posture, a relationship with gravity that favors lightness over heaviness, turned-out legs and feet, balance and symmetry of both sides of the body, a preference for line, and a strong relationship between the music and the movement. In order to master the art of dancing ballet, a student must attend to these principles while making the dancing appear effortless.

SPOTLIGHT Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins: Interweaving Ballet, Broadway, and Film Agnes de Mille (1905-1993), niece of famous film director Cecil B. DeMille, really wanted to be a famous ballet dancer, but success in that technique eluded her. She studied modern dance with powerhouse choreographer Martha Graham (1894-1991) and the two became quite close, but her talents as a dancer would not shape de Mille’s life as strongly as would her choreographic prowess. In 1942, she was offered the opportunity to choreograph a ballet on the Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, an offshoot of the original Ballets Russes. The cowboy-inspired piece entitled Rodeo that she fashioned on the sometimes bewildered ballet dancers brought her to the attention of Broadway lyricist and composer team Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein, who were working on their newest musical, Oklahoma! De Mille’s involvement in the Broadway musical Oklahoma! (1943) led to the creation of the first production to successfully integrate dance into a show as a driver of the plot rather than just as diversions or showcases for a particular star’s talents. De Mille’s choreography successfully combined ballet storytelling with technique drawn from both ballet and modern dance techniques, and she insisted on using real ballet dancers in the musical, raising technique and pantomiming expectations of the performers. Her Dream Ballet, a

brilliant convention that switched out singing leads with their silent dancing leads, allowed for an extended exploration of the hopes and fears of the young heroine, Laurey. In her dream, and in the guise of making a simple choice between which man she would accompany to the dance, she worked through her choices of life partners and how her life might proceed should she make the wrong choice. In one dance, de Mille changed the perception of what dance could contribute to the stage—a unified and thematically integrated production. Her contribution can also be seen in the filmed version of Oklahoma!, which premiered in 1955. The success of Oklahoma! inspired Broadway producers to pursue more collaborations with ballet choreographers. Dancemaker Jerome Robbins (1918-1998) successfully shuttled between choreographing for Ballet Theatre (the precursor to American Ballet Theatre), Balanchine’s New York City Ballet, and choreographing for Broadway (and subsequent film adaptations of hit shows) throughout his long career. His raucous and timely ballet Fancy Free (1944) about the antics of three soldiers on leave in New York City was subsequently made into a Hollywood musical entitled On The Town (1949) starring Gene Kelly (19121996). It led to offers to choreograph for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The King and I (1951), a musical partly based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who was invited to teach English to the children and wives of the King of Siam (modern-day Thailand) in the early 1860s. Robbins blended movements and theatrical conventions inspired by the region, along with elements of jazz dance, in the play-within-a-play dance entitled The Small House of Uncle Thomas, a version of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s abolitionist novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852). In 1957, a production of his own devising, West Side Story, was based on Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet. Insisting on hiring performers who could sing, dance, and act, also known as triple-threats, star in his show, Robbins (and cochoreographer Peter Gennaro) ensured that dance would be an integral part of the storytelling. Along with his collaborators, composer Leonard Bernstein and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Robbins created a tightly dance-driven plot that used movement

to reveal character motivation and to amplify turning point decisions critical to plot development. The dance entitled Cool utilized a fusion of ballet and jazz elements, along with popular social dances of the time period, to express the explosive emotions of a group of teenagers corroborating their stories after witnessing a murder. They begin the piece much like hot popcorn exploding in all directions, and end the dance moving as one group following the decision to “be cool” around the police, who they know will be seeking them out for information. Both choreographers drew upon their knowledge of the expressive possibilities of ballet, particularly when mixed with emerging classical jazz dance and modern/contemporary dance forms. They brought ballet to both the Broadway stage and to Hollywood musicals in a way that made the form feel accessible and vital to viewers, exposing ballet to a broader audience and raising the bar for choreographers working in popular entertainment.

Posture and Alignment Ballet dancers stand with upright spines, tailbones pointing down and heads erect with shoulders relaxed, arms held slightly away from the body with the hands curving gently. Imagine wearing a snug, laced-up corset around the torso and a pannier (or a series of side hoops) fastened around the waist to secure the dress in a particular shape, and think how the firm support of the corset might encourage one to maintain a lengthened, upright posture and how the rigid shape of the dress might keep the arms slightly away from the body. In this way, a ballet dancer’s posture and alignment is directly inherited from clothing in fashion during the Renaissance. Although many 20th- and 21st-century ballets also feature a flexible spine and increased comfort dancing floor work, or movement that makes use of the dancer interacting with the floor, the primary stance of a ballet dancer is elongated and lifted.

Defiance of Gravity

The focus of traditional ballet movement is always “up,” and dancers train so that the effort to stay aloft is masked by the appearance of ease. Dancers must attain tremendous strength in order to perform ballet in an effortless manner. Performed successfully, leaps appear to hang in the air and landings from jumps and leaps are quiet, thanks to coordination between the foot, the crease of the ankle, and the bend of the knee when landing. Ballerinas rise onto the tips of their pointe shoes and appear to float as they bourrée, taking tiny steps en pointe across the stage, and perform spinning turns with heels lifted off the ground.

Turnout Ballet has always been performed in a turned out position with the toes pointed away from each other, but the 180-degree turnout seen today is a more recent development. In the early days of ballet, turning the feet outward allowed for a more graceful carriage of the body and easier direction changes as one moved across the ballroom floor, creating intricate pathways best viewed from above. As ballet moved into theaters, dances evolved toward presentational movement facing the seated audience, and the dancer’s turnout increased to facilitate moving side-to-side. Contemporary ballet choreographers often use a combination of turned out and parallel foot positioning when creating choreography, depending on the thematic needs of the work.

Balance, Line, and Symmetry Ballet is often associated with holding balances on a single foot, and two of the most common positions are called arabesque (with one leg extended behind the dancer in a long line) and attitude (with one leg bent behind or in front of the dancer). The technique is also concerned with a pleasing and balanced design of the body, also known as line, or how the body parts are arranged in relation with each other, giving an impression of extended length. Often symmetry, or similar shaping on each side of the body, can be used to achieve a pleasing, balanced design.

Musicality

Ballet choreography typically has a strong relationship to its accompanying music. Dancers take class to music in a tempo designed specifically for each type of exercise, and performers must develop the ability to hear and respond to cues within the orchestration, referred to as a dancer’s musicality. Quite often, dancers are the physical representation of the music and must possess a sensitivity to the music and be able to express specific movements in the choreography along with the music.

Pantomime and Storytelling Ballet choreography often tells a story, and in order to communicate actions and conversations between characters, choreographers have developed a system of ballet pantomime movements to help the audience understand the plot and changing dynamics of relationships onstage. An audience member attuned to the silent language of ballet pantomime is able to understand conversations between performers and can more easily link the action in the ballet to the libretto, or the story of the ballet, often included in the program.

Character Dance Unlike earlier ballets that featured royalty or gods from Greek and Roman mythology, ballets from the Romantic period (1820s-1870s) often tell the stories of villagers and townspeople, and many classical ballets (late 1800s), such as The Nutcracker, feature solos with movements that evoke the aesthetic values of other countries or realms in short dances like the Spanish Dance or the Russian trepak. The dances performed in a story ballet that are outside of the ballet vocabulary are likely to be character dances, derived from European folk dances, which students attending any of the major ballet schools will study alongside ballet and partnering classes. Character dances are typically performed in heeled character shoes or in fitted leather boots and in costumes resembling folk dance attire.

BALLET TERMINOLOGY

adagio—A slow and sustained exercise focusing on balance and control. arabesque—A balanced pose with one leg extended behind the dancer. attitude—A balanced pose on one leg with the other leg bent at the knee, either to the front or the back of the dancer. barre—The horizontal rod used to assist balance during class. battement tendu—Standing on one leg while stretching the other leg all the way through the toes on the floor. bourrée—A series of tiny steps performed on the tips of pointe shoes. épaulement —“Shouldering,” the use of a twisting torso as an expressive tool. five feet positions—The basic standing positions of the feet and legs. fouetté—Multiple turns performed on one leg with the other leg propelling with a whipping motion. grand allegro—Vigorous movement combinations including leaps and turns that travel across the floor. grand battement—A large, controlled brushing kick with a straight leg. grand pas de deux—A “dance for two” with the following structure: The couple dances an entrance and an adagio together, followed by a solo for each, and a coda, or conclusion, where they again dance together. petit allegro—An exercise combination consisting of small jumps. pirouette—A turn on one leg with the other leg bent at the knee. plié—Standing on two feet while bending the knees, a grand plié is the deepest, lowest bending. port de bras—Graceful arm movements, “carriage of the arms.” relevé—A rising motion accomplished by lifting the heels.

révérence—A short combination at the end of class, used to cool down, thank the instructor, and acknowledge the accompanist with a bow or a curtsy and a short round of applause. variations—Versions of particular solos by famous past choreographers to either follow exactly or to use for inspiration.

Dancers and Training Typically, dancers begin studying ballet in early childhood. For girls, developing the strength to dance en pointe is a goal to be reached by age 12 in order to progress on a pre-professional track. Because fewer boys than girls pursue ballet, the aforementioned age guidelines are less strict for boys, and some male dancers who begin taking dance as teenagers are able to dance professionally as adults, often due to athletic ability that can directly transfer to partnering work, or dancing that often involves the male lifting or supporting the female.

Basics of Ballet Class Amateur and professional dancers alike take class to refine their movements and improve their performance. Ballet technique class follows a similar pattern, and students begin class with exercises performed standing at the barre, the horizontal rod used to assist balance. The first exercises include plié (bending the knees), battement tendu (stretching the leg through the toes on the floor), relevé (rising by lifting the heels), and port de bras (graceful arm movements), and the barre work continues on to warm up feet, ankles, legs, and hips, ending with grand battement, a large, controlled kick. Following a brief set of stretching exercises to promote flexibility, dancers move to the center of the studio and continue exercises away from the barre, including the adagio (slow and sustained exercise focusing on balance and control), petit allegro (small jumps, focusing on speed and precision), and a grand allegro combination (a vigorous movement series that travels around the floor). Usually time is spent practicing turns, including pirouettes (a turn on one leg) or traveling turns across the floor. Class concludes with a révérence, a short combination at the end of class, used to cool down, thank the instructor, and acknowledge the accompanist with a bow or a curtsy and a short round of applause.

Class and Performance Attire

Typical practice clothing for ballet are pink tights, black leotard and pink soft ballet shoes for girls, and black tights, white shirt and black ballet shoes for boys. Girls are expected to have their hair styled in a bun and jewelry is discouraged. For pointe class, partnering class, and performances, women wear soft ballet shoes or pointe shoes and either a flat tutu skirt for classical ballets, or longer tulle skirts for Romantic period ballets, and men wear thick tights and long-sleeved, hip-length jackets. Contemporary ballets created after the mid-20th century often dispense with traditional outfits, and dancers wear fullbody unitards or modified street clothes.

Ballet Methods and Schools As ballet developed during the 18th and 19th centuries and moved beyond the French and Italian courts and theaters, the technique began to vary as national schools refined and codified their particular version of ballet into a recognizable technique. Most pre-professional schools follow one of the systems in the next section and are attached to a professional company or national company, where the dancers hope to perform after their pre-professional training. Because ballet began in France, movements are still taught in the original French, and a dancer can take ballet class anywhere and be able to understand the directions and exercises. However, the dancer would notice broad stylistic differences and distinctions in the approach to teaching at each school.

Eddie Shellman and members of the Dance Theatre of Harlem prepare for a production of George Balanchine’s ballet, The Four Temperaments. Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

The French School As the first ballet school dating back to the mid-1600s, the French school codified the technique and named a substantial number of the steps and other terminology. Ballet masters trained at this school, including Marius Petipa (1819-1910), relocated worldwide, and modified the technique to suit their own choreography. The French school is concerned with elegance and placement, and instructors focus on the carriage of the arms (port de bras) and the movement of the upper spine when the shoulders are moved in opposition to each other, forward and back, also known as épaulement, or “shouldering.”

Bournonville (Denmark) August Bournonville’s father Antoine studied dance with JeanGeorges Noverre (1727-1810) in Vienna and Paris, and eventually settled in Copenhagen, Denmark, at the Royal Danish Theatre and trained August (1805-1879), in the old French style. August Bournonville combined his father’s teachings with the newer French Romantic style he learned while performing in Paris and returned to

Denmark to oversee the Royal Danish Theatre for the next 40 years. Bournonville’s school prizes powerful legs to achieve high jumps, batterie (beats of the feet while in the air), and a sturdy grand plié (a bending of the legs, lowering the body close to the ground).

Cecchetti (Italy) Italian dancer, ballet master, and teacher, Enrico Cecchetti (18501928) relocated to St. Petersburg, Russia, to teach at the Imperial Ballet school alongside choreographer Marius Petipa. Following his time in Russia, he worked with the original Ballets Russes and ballerina Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) and established a school in London in the 1920s. His method focuses on proper placement to avoid injury and set specific standards for teachers and graded examinations for students. The Cecchetti method is taught all over the world today.

Royal Academy of Dance (England) The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) traces its roots to 1920, when representatives of the five schools from Denmark, Italy, France, Russia, and England, were gathered together to combine their teaching expertise into a system for training pre-professionals and amateurs in the United Kingdom. The representatives and their association of teachers gained a royal charter in 1935. RAD certifications require students to exhibit both proper form and knowledge of terminology, and this system, although based in London, is in use worldwide.

Vaganova Method (Soviet Russia) The Vaganova method is as influential as the French School and is woven throughout the fabric of many international ballet schools, including the Bolshoi Ballet Academy, which offers its own training certification in New York, following the Vaganova method. This method was named after Agrippina Vaganova (1879-1951), a Russian ballerina and teacher who documented the Imperial Ballet School system in 1934. Her book, Basic Principles of Russian Classical Dance (1948) explains the principles of her codified syllabus. Vaganova training also contains elements of the French

school’s port de bras and the Italian school’s strength, along with powerful leaps and high leg extensions.

Balanchine (USA) Following his time with the Ballets Russes, choreographer George Balanchine (1904-1983) accepted ballet supporter Lincoln Kirstein’s invitation in the 1930s to create a ballet company and school in New York City, now known as New York City Ballet and the School of American Ballet. Balanchine insisted on founding a school first so he could train students to dance in his recognizable style, favoring quick footwork, musicality, and extreme flexibility.

Choreographers and Making Dances Nowadays, ballet choreographers have unlimited movement palettes to choose from and are able to blend ballet steps and contemporary dance movements to create original ballets. They use choreographic principles to manipulate and vary movements and can choose to include elements like ballet pantomime and character dance, along with their own particular style and method of grouping dancers in formations along with the music. However, a rich trove of traditional role-based choreography has been handed down from dancer to dancer and dancemaker to dancemaker over the centuries, should a choreographer choose to revive Romantic period or classical ballets. Just as directors have scripts and conductors have scores to follow, ballet choreographers have libretti and variations, or versions of particular solos by famous past choreographers, to either follow exactly or to use for inspiration. For example, in traditional versions of The Sleeping Beauty that use the original choreography of Marius Petipa, the Bluebird pas de deux includes a particularly challenging series of multiple brisé volé (a flying, beaten jump) steps for the male dancer at a particular point in the score. There might be some leeway regarding transitional steps between bravura feats within the variation, but the multiple brisé volé must be placed in that spot. When passing down traditional works, choreographers are responsible for sharing traditional interpretations with the dancer, as best they can to preserve the canon. In order to help bequeath something as slippery as choreographic intent, dancemakers and

dancers share the specifics of major roles both by one-on-one coaching and by the use of dance notation.

Dance Notation Dance teachers and choreographers realized they would need written help when teaching, preserving, and reviving ballet choreography. The first published system of ballet notation, was developed by Pierre Beauchamps (1636-1705) and subsequently published by and initially named after Raoul Feuillet (c. 1660-1710) in the text, Choreographie, ou l’art de décrire la danse, in 1700. The graceful and curving designs of the notation are easy to follow and demonstrate the deliberate and balanced use of space and pattern. The Beauchamps-Feuillet system worked well for a century, but was unable to keep up with the rapidly developing collection of steps. The system became completely outdated once ballet moved into theatrical spaces and choreography was no longer viewed from galleries above large royal ballrooms. Dance notation, or recording a dance on paper, is a notoriously difficult process because movement exists in three-dimensional space and often with music of a particular time signature. It was not until the early 20th century that a successful system of notation emerged, but it did not come from a ballet master, rather a movement theorist who revolutionized and codified aspects of the newly emerged modern dance. Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958), the creator of Labanotation, will feature more prominently in chapter 6, Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance, but his system has helped preserve ballets for many dance organizations. Labanotation is noted on a vertical staff that is read from the bottom up and each staff contains detailed information about the direction of movement, which body part is used and which level, and how long the movement takes in time. Reading notated dances requires extensive training, and many companies have hired dance notators to both record dances and assist with re-creating older works.

Origins of Ballet The first recorded ballet was the Le Ballet-Comique de la Reine, staged by Balthasar de Beaujoyeulx (died c. 1587) in France in 1581, to celebrate the marriage of queen Catherine de’ Medici’s sister. Queen Catherine de’ Medici (1519-1589) descended from the wealthy Italian de’ Medici family, who supported the work of the Renaissance artists Michelangelo, Donatello, and Leonardo da Vinci, and she brought her love of the arts, elaborately costumed spectacles, and ceremonies with her to France upon her own marriage. What made this court entertainment different from other spectacular extravaganzas that came before was that it sought to use dance and music as a representation of the divine order of the universe and to celebrate humanity’s newfound understanding of its place within a methodical and decorous universe (Homans 2010). The Renaissance also birthed a new form of dance—ballet. The first ballet dancers were courtiers, recruited to perform for the king and other inhabitants of the palace. Costumes often consisted of one’s fanciest ball gown, jewels, heeled shoes, wigs, and for men, fitted trousers and suit coats. It was not until King Louis XIV (16381715), a talented dancer himself, created the Académie Royale de la Dance in 1661, that ballet began to be codified, written down, and systematically taught to an ever-increasing group of professional dancers. Pierre Beauchamps, the first director of the academy, is credited with creating the five positions of the feet, and Feuillet’s published collection of notated dances provided ballet masters an easy-to-follow guide for training and court performances.

Ballet’s Transition From the Renaissance Into The Enlightenment By the time ballet master Jean-Georges Noverre wrote his famous Lettres sur la danse, et sur les ballets in 1760, the Paris Opéra had long since established a school to train professional dancers (actually it was established in 1713, just two years before the death of King Louis XIV), and ballets were no longer housed in the royal court; instead they were performed in theaters. In Noverre’s opinion,

the development of ballet was stuck in a place of decadence and artifice, with heavy costumes, heeled shoes, masks, and wigs that unreasonably hampered dancers. In his view, ballets were venues for virtuosic displays of physicality rather than conduits for realistic emotion and story, and Noverre insisted instead that dancers be able to use pantomime to express emotions and ideas, free from bulky costuming. Influenced by French Enlightenment ideals, he reasoned that rather than existing as a collection of diverting pieces with no connecting structure, a logical narrative thread and unifying theme should connect dances. His most successful dance incorporating his proposed reforms was the production of Jason et Médée (1763), based on the Greek myth. The two most famous dancers of the era benefited greatly from the reforms Noverre championed.

Marie Versus Marie Marie Sallé (1707-1756) came from a theatrical family and studied with Claude Balon (1671-1744), himself a student of master teacher Pierre Beauchamps. Sallé grew up as a performer and became known for her expressive mime and delicate dancing, particularly in her self-choreographed piece Pygmalion (1733), which caused a sensation when she appeared in a simple draped Grecian-style dress and soft slippers with her hair unbound. Rather than serve as a platform for her favorite steps, her dance told the story of a beloved statue coming to life, and audiences responded to her believable portrayal. For much of Sallé’s career, she and the technically brilliant Marie Ann de Cupis de Camargo (1710-1770) were cast as rivals or as foils for one other. Where Sallé was considered noble and mysterious, de Camargo was described as fiery and earthy. Audiences chose sides and debated the merits of their favorite dancer long after both retired from performing. Like her one-time rival, de Camargo also felt constrained by voluminous skirts and shortened hers to just above the ankles so the audience could admire her vivacious footwork.

Portrait of early ballet dancer Marie Camargo, painted by Nicolas Lancret (1690-1743). DEA / G. DAGLI ORTI/De Agostini via Getty Images

Beginnings of Romantic Period Ballet Ballet faced difficult transitions in its formative years, including moving from the royal European courts into theaters and surmounting the chaos created by multiple wars and revolutions. The development of ballet moved from country to country in Europe, as political situations allowed and as talented dancers relocated, and almost all ballets created before the late 1700s are entirely lost. Shortly before the French Revolution began in 1789, the comic ballet La Fille Mal Gardée by Jean Dauberval (1742-1816), a student of Noverre, premiered in France. Considered one of the oldest surviving ballets, it is still in the repertory of many international ballet companies, and it featured realistic characters rather than gods or goddesses, a defining trait of ballets of the Romantic period. In the barest of plots, the girl’s mother, who wanted her to marry a wealthy suitor, thwarts the marriage plans of the two lovers. Undaunted, the lovers conspired to change the mother’s mind about the match, and love prevails. Dauberval survived the French Revolution and produced the refreshingly different ballet in London two years later; it

was well received all over Europe and in Russia, and it continues to entertain audiences in the 21st century.

Marie Taglioni, Pointe Shoes, and Romantic Period Ballets Marie Taglioni (1804-1884) is widely credited with creating the first pointe shoes around 1830, an innovation that defines the look of ballet up to the present day. Her father, Filippo Taglioni (1777-1871), a famous choreographer and ballet master in Vienna, trained her to have exceedingly strong legs. He created the ballet La Sylphide in 1832 to showcase her talent for dancing en pointe for brief periods of time in soft slippers with reinforced toes. The sylph she portrayed floated on the tips of her toes without the aid of a harness and ropes to hoist her into the air, and audiences responded with wonder and delight. The diaphanous skirt of her white costume completed the ethereal illusion: Paired with a fitted bodice, the costume allowed audiences to see the torso and waistline more clearly, and the lightweight skirt allowed unprecedented freedom of movement for the dancer. Interestingly, her body did not have the typical physique for dancers of the time, and she strove to hide her rounded shoulders and stooped posture by instead focusing the audience’s attention on her airy lightness, undergirded by immense strength. It is no understatement to say that the introduction of pointe shoes changed the dance form. Not all ballerinas were able to replicate Taglioni’s strength, and many sought help from determined cobblers to develop a stronger shoe to support a dancer balancing on the tips of her toes. By the time the ballet Giselle premiered in 1841, choreographed by Jules Perrot (1810-1892) and Jean Coralli (17791854) with Italian dancer Carlotta Grisi (1819-1899) in the lead role, ballet dancers were expected to dance en pointe at least part of the time. In fact, Grisi may be the first ballerina to wear a “blocked” slipper with strong toe reinforcement and a flat platform on the toe. Giselle is one of the most performed ballets of the Romantic period, and the story of a scorned lover dying and selflessly protecting the man who abandoned her for a more prudent match, continues to move audiences in the 21st century.

In 1845, Jules Perrot created the dance, Pas de Quatre, featuring four of the greatest ballerinas of the time: Taglioni, Grisi, Lucile Grahn (1819-1907), and Fanny Cerrito (1817-1909). Choreographed to highlight the strengths of each dancer, and performed in age order, the piece stands as a prime example of the Romantic style and represents an important historical moment in ballet as the audience experienced the rare treat of much-beloved performers dancing together in long white tutus.

Carlo Blasis and Perfecting Ballet Technique Once Italian dancer Carlo Blasis (1797-1878) retired from performing, he began a thorough analysis of ballet movement as a teacher at the dance academy at La Scala in Milan and published a seminal book on ballet technique in 1820 entitled An Elementary Treatise Upon the Theory and Practice of the Art of Dancing. His teaching produced many strong dancers, and Blasis invented the ballet position called attitude, inspired by sculptor Giambologna’s statue of Mercury, located in Florence. The Italian dancers Blasis trained, including Enrico Cecchetti (1850-1928), Virginia Zucchi (1847-1930), and Pierina Legnani (1863-1923), were formidable technicians, and they amazed audiences with their secret weapon— spotting. The use of spotting, or focusing on a point and whipping the head around to regain focus and achieve equilibrium, keeps dancers from becoming dizzy after performing multiple turns. Legnani became famous for her multiple fouettés, a whipping turn performed en pointe. Decades of development with Italian shoemakers had strengthened the pointe shoe, flattening the tip and creating a supportive “box” around the toes, and the Italian ballerinas made the most of the improved technology. Additionally, Virginia Zucchi is credited with shortening her skirts above the knees and creating a dress that looks more like the modern flat platter tutu.

Classical Ballet and Petipa’s Legacy The ever-moving locus of ballet relocated to St. Petersburg, Russia, during the 19th century when Marius Petipa (1818-1910) began working with composer Piotr Ilich Tchaikovsky. Before relocating to Russia, Petipa danced and choreographed in Spain and France and

had even traveled to the United States. He settled in St. Petersburg in 1847 and assisted Jules Perrot before being named ballet master in 1862. Together, Petipa and Tchaikovsky created the classical ballets The Sleeping Beauty (1890), including the sublimely difficult Bluebird Variation, initially danced by Enrico Cecchetti, Cinderella (1893), along with choreography by Lev Ivanov (1834-1901), and Swan Lake (1895) also with Lev Ivanov— all still part of the repertory of major ballet companies. Petipa’s greatest legacy is unification: He blended Italian technical brilliance with French ballet style and Russian national folk dance to create a fully realized experience for the audience. In an evening-length work, the music, costume, pantomime, and sets transported audiences to exotic locations, and the superb choreography included a grand pas de deux as the centerpiece of the ballet. In this grand dance for two, the couple performed a formal entrance, followed by an adagio dance together, variations (solos) for each, and a coda, or ending, that summarized the suite of dances.

Modernist Ballet in the 20th Century By the dawn of the 20th century, ballet had spread beyond Europe and Russia, but had not yet taken hold professionally or permanently in the United States. Between 1909 and 1929, the Ballets Russes, headed by producer and impresario Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929), changed the template for how a dance company is organized, modernized the look of ballet, and inspired artistic collaboration on a worldwide scale. Before the founding of the artistic powerhouse known as the Ballets Russes (1909-1929), most ballet companies were still connected to royal courts or major theaters and occasionally, the larger companies would organize tours to other European countries or abroad to the Americas. Individual artists with international reputations like Anna Pavlova toured extensively outside her native Russia, and she inspired many future dancers and dance companies throughout the world. The Ballets Russes was a nimble and relatively small arts collective that answered to no singular country. Instead, the company combined the talents of famous visual artists and scenic designers, vanguard composers, brilliant ballet choreographers, and

dancers from several countries. In the short span of 20 years, the Ballets Russes not only influenced the art world and fashion and design and created seminal dance works, but the group created enthusiastic audiences for dance, audiences that considered dance as an avant-garde art form, worthy of deep respect and veneration. The Ballets Russes steered dance concerts, once again, toward artistic unity by collaborating with a roster of acclaimed visual artists and designers, including León Bakst, Alexandre Benois, Henri Matisse, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, and Coco Chanel and composers Igor Stravinsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, and Sergei Prokofiev. Dancers included Russian-born Pavlova, an international star in her own right when she joined in 1909 for their first season. She inspired audiences and countless dancers with her fragile and expressive signature solo, The Dying Swan, created for her between 1905-1907 by choreographer Michel Fokine (1880-1942). Fokine’s plans for reanimating ballet included allowing more expressiveness in the technique and choreographed pieces with more movement in the upper body and trunk, preferring a slightly twisting upper torso (épaulement). His groundbreaking piece, Les Sylphides, a plotless ballet included in the premiere 1909 season of the Ballets Russes, featured a group of dancers in long white tutus and a solo male. It indeed was inspired by the earlier ballet La Sylphide and shares a similar costume for the female dancers. Like Noverre, who argued for realism in movement and in costume two centuries before him, Fokine railed against technical tricks for their own sake, preferring the movement to serve the theme or the music/movement relationship. He believed that costumes should reflect the dress of the time period and setting, and he even supported barefoot dancing in ballet if pointe shoes were not artistically appropriate. Untethered from old ballet regimes and traditions, the Ballets Russes collaborators enjoyed unprecedented artistic freedom to pursue projects of personal interest, and most of the time, audiences flocked to performances. Dancer and choreographer, Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950), took the ideals of artistic freedom even further to create the first truly modernist ballets, including The Afternoon of a Faun (1912) and The

Rite of Spring (1913), both of which celebrated freedom from older ballet traditions and incorporated a questioning of the foundations and assumptions of one’s art form, in his case, dance. Nijinsky was a mesmerizing dancer in his own right and immortalized dancing roles, such as the tragic puppet in Petrouchka (1911), and as the ghost of the Rose, in Le Spectre de la Rose (1911), involving his improbably large leap through an open window at the end of the dance. However, neither of his most famous ballets featured tutus or pointe work, and The Rite of Spring elicited a scene at its premiere in Paris. Angry audience-members rioted, feeling cheated because the dancers performed turned-in movement dressed in long, shapeless tunics to a challenging, discordant score. Table 5.1 provides a comparison of general distinguishing features of ballet’s various conceptions across the ages: the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, the Romantic period, classical, modernist, neoclassical, and contemporary. Notice the changing focus on featured dancers, usual themes for ballets, costume and footwear improvements or alterations, featured movements or additions to the technique, and changes in the structure of dance companies. Of course, not all ballets developed during each time period conformed to the following descriptions; rather, the table is reflective of general trends. Included is a ballet indicative of each time period.

Ballet in the United States The untimely death of Diaghilev led to the collapse of the landmark dance collective in 1929, but its members, including the two perpetually touring and squabbling companies that also bore the Ballets Russes name, helped to create worldwide audiences for ballet and an eventual foundation for ballet companies to thrive in the United States. But it was a rocky start. Ballets Russes dancer Mikhail Mordkin (1880-1944) founded his own company, and the remnants of that venture found both a willing dance partner and an enthusiastic patron in heiress Lucia Chase (1907-1986). In 1940, she helped to found and direct the American Ballet Theatre, a company that is dedicated to producing ballets with a distinctly American voice. The fledgling company attracted Ballets Russes choreographers Michel Fokine and Bronislava Nijinska (1891-1972), Nijinsky’s sister, and American choreographers Agnes de Mille (1905-1993) and Jerome Robbins (1918-1998), who would both raise the choreographic bar for Broadway and Hollywood musicals. American dancer and Ballets Russes alum Ruth Page (1899-1991) returned to the United States, settling in Chicago, and created a home for dance in the Midwest. Adolph Bolm (1884-1951) resettled on the West Coast and helped form the nascent San Francisco Opera Ballet, considered to be the oldest U.S. ballet company, in 1933. Many other dancers settled throughout the country and began ballet schools, inspiring the next generation of dancers. George Balanchine, one of the last choreographers to work with the original Ballets Russes, emigrated to New York City in 1933 at the invitation of dance lover Lincoln Kirstein (1907-1996) and founded the School of American Ballet shortly afterward, and New York City Ballet premiered in 1948. For Balanchine, establishing a school was the key to providing the foundation for a lasting presence of professional ballet in the United States, and the school provided him a continuous stream of dancers trained in his style.

The Mid-20th Century Dance Boom and Neoclassical Ballet

By the mid-1960s, Kirstein, Balanchine, and New York City Ballet had accomplished the challenging task of building audiences for ballet and had established its version of The Nutcracker (1954), originally choreographed by Marius Petipa in Russia during the late 1890s, as the definitive American Christmas holiday experience, inspiring thousands of future dancers and productions. George Balanchine created his own style of ballet, inspired partly by jazz music and jazz dance, that infused the centuries-old technique with jutting hips, flexed feet, speedy footwork, and innovative partnering. His preference for extremely thin dancers influenced body preferences for the national dance community, and his dense choreography and casting choices challenged viewers. His starkly clean style, defined as neoclassical, rebelled against the pervasiveness of emotionality in ballets inherited from the Romantic period, and many of his ballets, such as Serenade (1935), The Four Temperaments (1946), Agon (1957), and Jewels (1967), were purposefully plotless and emotionally spare. Balanchine’s strong vision led the artistic course of New York City Ballet until his death in 1983. The foundation and visibility provided by the success of both the American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet inspired the creation of ballet companies across the country. Robert Joffrey (1930-1988) rejected the hierarchical structure of ballet companies and flattened his organization into an ensemble group, the Joffrey Ballet, currently located in Chicago. He boldly mixed ballet technique with modern dance and fused ballet with rock ’n’ roll music in his own work Astarte (1967), later commissioning modern dance choreographers Twyla Tharp (1941-) and Alvin Ailey (1931-1989), to make work for his ballet company. Arthur Mitchell (1934-2018), who was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet in his early years, founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1971, inspired to create a dance company that would feature African American dancers after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Mitchell was no stranger to controversy, as his performance in a duet with Diana Adams in Balanchine’s Agon highlighted the unusual pairing of a white and an African American dancer on the stage at its premiere nearly a decade before. Mitchell’s choice was to found a company

that fostered opportunities for dancers of color and promoted integration, and Balanchine shared some of his works with his former protégé, so that Mitchell could fulfill his dream of racial equality onstage. The rapidly expanding ecosystem of ballet also welcomed a new type of company, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, or “the Trocks,” as it is more familiarly known, in 1974. Created by a group of ballet lovers with both a deep appreciation for ballet history and a wicked sense of humor, the company produced brilliantly danced comedic versions of classical ballets danced entirely by men. The tradition of dancers performing en travesti, or in the clothing of the opposite sex, dates back to the earliest days of theatrical ballet, when female dancers would dance male roles due to both a lack of professional male dancers and the keen interest of balletomanes, or intense ballet fans, in viewing the shapely legs of female dancers performing in fitted trousers. With a very light touch, the Trocks question the primacy of the female ballerina and prove that, with the proper training, males also can dance en pointe.

Russian Defections During the Cold War in the middle of the 20th century, several Russian-born dancers became frustrated with the restrictive policies of the Communist government. At this time, ballet dancers in the Soviet Union were supported by dance companies attached to staterun theaters, and a dancer could count on a lifetime of excellent training and performances in a major theater. However, many dancers from the Soviet Union wanted the freedom to live and perform as they wished, and several high-profile performers defected from the Soviet Union and sought asylum in the West. The effect of the very public introduction of stellar performers into the dance community at large was to set in motion a re-energizing of ballet worldwide. The first defection, in 1961, was Rudolf Nureyev (19381993), then a 23-year-old principal dancer with the Kirov Ballet. Already famous at home, he was allowed the limited ability to perform abroad, and during a tour to Paris, he chose to defect and not return to Russia. Shortly afterward, Nureyev began dancing with celebrated English ballerina Margot Fonteyn (1919-1991) at The

Royal Ballet in London to great acclaim. His passionate performing style, coupled with his dramatic escape from Russian authorities, brought international attention to ballet, and his partnership with Fonteyn, nearly 20 years his senior, rejuvenated her career at an age when many ballet dancers retire from the stage. Polar opposites, he powerful and sexy, and she refined and elegant, their explosive partnership exuded glamour and intrigue both onstage and in their personal lives, and they created headlines both for virtuosic performances and for their tumultuous lives offstage. Fonteyn continued dancing until her official retirement in 1979 at the age of 60.

Rudolf Nureyev taking company class at American Ballet Theatre. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Following Nureyev, Mikhail Baryshnikov defected in 1974, introducing a dancer to the United States who is often referred to as the one of the greatest performers of the 20th century. Baryshnikov has also proven to be one of the most versatile dancers, freelancing with American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet, and stunning audiences with his technical prowess and expressivity while

collaborating with diverse choreographers, including Balanchine, Robbins, Ailey, and Tharp. His legacy as an explosive performer is bolstered by his performance in dance movie The Turning Point (1977), in which he performs ballet in his prime, and White Nights (1985), in which he performs alongside tap dance legend, Gregory Hines. Baryshnikov served as Artistic Director of American Ballet Theatre from 1980-1989, immediately following the retirement of founder Lucia Chase. Later in his long-performing career, he switched from ballet to modern/contemporary dance technique, performing with modern dance choreographer Mark Morris and the White Oak Project, which also staged revivals of postmodern dance classics from the 1960s in the early 2000s. Baryshnikov heads the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, a complex that houses performing venues for dance and hosts artist residencies for emerging choreographers.

Preservation and Contemporary Ballet Throughout the last few decades of the 20th century, additional regional ballet companies sprang up nationwide and were initially nurtured by consistent government funding through the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), founded in 1965, and through a network of state- and city-funding sources and through private granting agencies like the Ford Foundation. Colleges and universities actively supported ballet programs, and more newspapers reviewed dance performances. However, at the end of the 20th century, traditional ballet companies struggled to weather significant challenges. The 1990s brought political battles over NEA funding, and the dance community did not exit the decade unscathed. Dependable funding faltered and as newspapers moved to a free online model, coverage for dance began to decline, particularly after economic downturns in the early and mid-2000s. Decisions made to retrench and survive also brought about conservative artistic choices and an artistic lull. Many ballet companies, dependent on annual revenue from productions of The Nutcracker to support the rest of the performing season, produced seasons heavy with story ballets and light on original work. The art form, in the United States at least, seemed to be taking a breath,

reassessing missions and attending to the preservation of seminal dances of the century (Homans 2010). Meanwhile, a ballet and modern dance hybrid was emerging from successful experiments in the 1970s, and this merger came to be called contemporary ballet. The melding combined ballet vocabulary and line with the suppleness of a flexible torso. Dancers still performed en pointe, but in costumes resembling street clothes as well as tutus and to popular music as well as classical music. Partnering was not required to follow traditional gendered roles— men lifting and presenting women. Indeed, choreographer Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (1995) re-imagined the classic ballet instead with male swans. His dancers performed in soft shoes, and the expressive movement contained both ballet and modern/contemporary dance elements, nontraditional partnering, and a 21st-century spin on love. The last quarter of the century saw the founding of more contemporary ballet groups, including Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Ballet BC, and Smuin Ballet, requiring dancers to be proficient in both ballet and modern/contemporary dance techniques. Additionally, traditional ballet companies began to regularly commission work from artists who are comfortable with making dances that challenge the limits of their dancers and blur the lines between the two techniques. Two such choreographers are Alexei Ratmansky (1968-) and Crystal Pite (1970-). Ratmansky trained at the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and danced with companies including the Royal Danish Ballet. He began choreographing as a freelance artist internationally before being named the Artistic Director of the Bolshoi Ballet, serving in that role until American Ballet Theatre invited him to be an Artist in Residence in 2009. Although his work hews more to traditional ballet, particularly since he has chosen to restage and reconstruct classical ballets, such as The Sleeping Beauty and Swan Lake, his choreography is comfortable with floor work and lyricism. Crystal Pite danced with William Forsythe’s Frankfurt Ballet and directs her own Vancouver-based company, Kidd Pivot. She has created work for Nederlands Dans Theater, Frankfurt Ballet, Paris Opéra, and The Royal Ballet. Her work is fully contemporary, often eschewing pointe shoes for soft ballet slippers,

and dispensing with using the corps de ballet, or a large group of dancers, as scenic design. Instead, her large groupings intensify the choreographic action with sheer numbers. Pite’s dance Flight Pattern (2017), set on The Royal Ballet, illustrates her aesthetic in a dance about displaced people.

Future Directions Ballet may be poised for a rebirth in this century. The dance form, which has previously been viewed as a rarified activity for a small, select audience, has seen increased popular visibility in the 21st century. Savvy ballet dancers have been using Instagram accounts to connect with audience members, ballet companies have been utilizing websites and YouTube video-sharing services to attract audiences, and Hollywood has been releasing several dozen films about ballet over the past two decades. A small selection includes Center Stage (2000), Billy Elliot (2000), The Company (2003), Ballets Russes (2005), Mao’s Last Dancer (2009), Black Swan (2010), First Position (2011), A Ballerina’s Tale (2015), and The White Crow (2018). Ballet companies have weathered difficult economic realities, sought out alternative sources of funding, and engaged in unprecedented creative partnerships. A recent exciting partnership between Houston Ballet and The Australian Ballet, former home for Houston Ballet’s Artistic Director, Stanton Welch, brought about a coproduction of the ballet Sylvia, first choreographed in 1876, that will share the extensive scenic design, video projection technology, and moving set pieces, designed for both the specifications of Houston’s Wortham Center and the Arts Centre Melbourne. The performance premiered to great acclaim and premiered in Australia in August 2019. Shared projects like this might be an excellent way to continue producing new and challenging works while sharing costs. Perhaps the most exciting changes since the 2010s have been the increase in dancers of color, the pervasiveness of social media as a vehicle for ballet, and the blending of ballet with other dance forms, such as hiplet, a combination of ballet, hip-hop, and urban dance styles created by Homer Hans Bryant, performed almost entirely en pointe. Developed in the studio in the 1990s, the technique gained worldwide visibility in 2016 when Bryant’s Instagram posting went viral. It remains to be seen whether hiplet will have the staying power to attract new audiences to ballet, but it is a

very real possibility considering the online exposure through YouTube and other social media sharing platforms.

SPOTLIGHT Cody Beaton, Richmond Ballet Cody Beaton has been dancing with Richmond Ballet for almost a decade and has performed the lead roles of Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker. She has performed in George Balanchine’s The Four Temperaments and Mozartiana and in José Limón’s The Moor’s Pavane. She began dance classes at the age of six at The Conservatory Dance Theatre (now Austin City Ballet) and performed in ballets danced by children, such as La Bayadère and The Wizard of Oz. Following high school, Beaton danced for the Colorado Ballet’s Studio Company and began her career at Richmond Ballet first as a trainee and then as an apprentice, before being invited to join the professional company. As a professional dancer, she takes class almost every day and rehearses many hours each week to prepare for shows during the season.

Beaton credits the hard work to helping her build a strong work ethic. For her, dancing with a partner and “giving them so much trust that you feel invincible” is not something she ever imagined feeling when she was younger. She values learning new things

daily and enjoys her workday with fellow dancers, “exploring movement and pushing my body to its physical limits,” although she notes that it is important to take care of her body in order to reduce the risk of soreness and injury. She loves performing and losing herself in the character; she learns a great many things about herself when she allows the character to overtake her. Beaton has three pieces of advice for aspiring dancers: “Never give up. It’s not an easy career path, it’s riddled with rejection, and you get corrections daily. It can be hard to push through sometimes, but it is definitely worth it.” “Learn as much as you can! I have been given so many opportunities because I made sure I knew all the parts. You want to be the one they can rely on if something happens to another dancer.” “Balance your career with your personal life. Otherwise your happiness and stress level will always correlate with what roles you are given or whether a run of something went well. Sometimes, you have to leave ballet at the studio.” The meteoric rise of African American dancer Misty Copeland personifies the resilience of ballet to move with and embody the times. Copeland, often described as a prodigy, came late to dance training at the ripe age of 13, and only two years later was dancing en pointe, an almost unheard-of feat for any dancer. She joined American Ballet Theatre as a member of the corps de ballet in 2001 and was named to the roster of principal dancers in 2015, a first for the company. She also was the first African American performer to dance the Odette/Odile lead in Swan Lake. For her part, Copeland embraces her role as a bridge between dreams and possibility, actively communicating with fans through social media platforms, such as Instagram (where she has nearly two million followers), and she utilizes these personalized connections to help grow audiences for dance, reaching out to invite them into her world (Shamsian 2018).

Summary Originally a royal court entertainment, ballet has developed into a codified and varied dance technique that shares and reinforces the values of its creators and communicates the aspirations of its dancers and choreographers. Over the years, its practitioners have expanded the technique, changed its costume, and moved the dance form from ballroom to theater. The pendulum of ballet fashion has swung between virtuosity and expression multiple times. However, ballet has remained relevant for over 400 years by simultaneously moving forward with the times while remaining solidly tethered to tradition.

Critical Thinking One of the oldest Western dance forms, ballet has a rich history and tradition, yet technique, like language, must be a living, evolving entity. How does one strike a balance between maintaining the legacy for future generations and pushing the boundaries of the current definition of ballet technique?

Discussion Questions 1. If you consider ballet as a world dance form, what can ballet tell us about Western values? 2. Which of the primary ballet principles is the most indicative of ballet for you and why? 3. If you could go back in time and watch a ballet dancer from any era perform, who would you choose and why? 4. Where are you located on the continuum of technical prowess versus expression? Do you prefer technique or expression in a dancer and why? Can you cite an example of a ballet dancer who exhibits your preference?

5. How can companies and choreographers make ballet more inclusive for dancers and audience members? For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

6 Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance

Key Terms pedestrian movement dynamic alignment core/center breath

parallel position improvisation sequential/simultaneous symmetrical/asymmetrical rolldowns high curves chest lifts triplets weight transfer initiation shaping eurythmics solar plexus effort-shape/Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) music visualizations fall and recovery movement abstraction contraction and release contact improvisation accumulation ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Initially created in revolt against ballet, modern dance with its most recent incarnation, contemporary modern dance, has matured as an art form, allowing individuals to express the

body’s relationship to time, space, and energy and create uniquely personal techniques. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Compare modern and contemporary modern dance to ballet. Summarize the primary principles of modern and contemporary modern dance. Identify key techniques and major figures in dance history. Illustrate the relationship between the art form and college dance programs. Discuss the role of choreographers in preserving classic modern dance choreography. The beginning of

the 20th century marks a period of great change and a time of questioning the usefulness of age-old traditions as artists faced radical social changes, the staggering rate of scientific discovery, and the advent of new technologies. By the end of the 19th century, ballet was so mired in restrictive traditions that many proponents felt the art form had lost its soul. It took an iconoclast from outside the ballet realm to challenge the technique of kings, a spirited young woman from California, Isadora Duncan, who imagined another way of moving that would honor both the body and the mind of the dancer. Alternatively called expressive dance, free dance, or barefoot dance at its earliest inception, eventually the

moniker modern dance seemed the most fitting and served to distance the technique from the aesthetics of ballet. In fact, early modern dance was the polar opposite of ballet: Feet were bare, and turnout was eschewed; the costume consisted of Grecian-style draped garments rather than a corseted torso; and the movement consisted of running, skipping, leaping, and reaching, all movements that anyone could perform. Rather than alienating established ballet dancers and choreographers, Duncan’s exuberant and unfettered dancing inspired them to innovate and push their own technique’s boundaries. Although modern dance experienced many changes in its first century, it remains an expression of the joy to be found in a moving body. Rebellious modern dance pioneers created techniques in direct opposition to ballet dance tradition. Table 6.1 presents the differences in how dancers of traditional ballet and modern dance approached the creation of dance technique and, in particular, dancers’ relationship to gravity. Modern dancers avoided tutus and danced in bare feet. Rather than adhere to ballet’s hierarchical structure, modern dance companies instead welcomed a wider range of body types and abilities.

Table 6.1   Comparing Modern Dance With Ballet Traditional ballet

Modern dance

Technique

Turnout Emphasis on legs Tall spine, verticality Codified steps Ethereal

Parallel Emphasis on torso Flexible spine Reinvented vocabulary Deliberate use of breath

Relationship to gravity

Lightness Effortlessness Uses the air more

Groundedness Strength Uses the floor more

Dance attire

Pointe shoes Tutus

Bare feet Street clothes

Dancers and companies

Specific type of body/training to perform Position in company: hierarchy

Any type of body can perform, specific technique not always necessary Position in company: ensemble

Themes

Expression of beauty Stories and narrative Self-sacrifice

Expression of internal experience Social themes and imagery Self

Performance

Traditional ballet

Modern dance

Strong music/movement relationship No speaking

Relationship with music not necessary Can speak

What Is Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance? As an ever-changing dance form, modern and contemporary modern dance seeks to use the body to express either the inner landscape of emotion, thematic ideas, or the act of moving in time and space. It is a difficult dance form to define because of its infinite variety and ability to encompass all other genres of dance, and it can be an intensely personal type of dance. John Martin, dance critic and early supporter of modern dance, perhaps said it best when he claimed that the art form embraces individualism rather than tradition and he defined it “… not as a system; it is a point of view” (Preston-Dunlop 1995, 18). The story of modern, postmodern, and contemporary modern dance is a story of rebellion. Each generation of dancers inherits the technique and assumptions of the previous generation, continuing to question inherited boundaries placed on the dance form. And just like the sheathing of a series of nesting dolls, modern dance expands, each iteration encompassing a larger set of possibilities than the last. The three terms create a useful historical framework, and this chapter will use them to denote three time periods to be explored: modern dance (1900s-1950s), postmodern dance (1950s1970s), and contemporary modern dance (1970s-present). Early modern dance is distinguished by an insistence on primary technique principles diametrically opposed to ballet principles. Choreographers working with postmodern dance principles developed methods to strip away theatricality and virtuosity required by the preceding generation, enlarging movement possibilities to include pedestrian movement, or everyday movement that is unembellished. Contemporary modern dance choreographers endeavor to expand the dance form further by combining ballet and modern concepts and pedestrian movement and including text and theatrical and multimedia elements in their choreography.

Isadora Duncan dancing barefoot and corset-less in a Grecian-style tunic. ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images

Primary Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance Principles Unlike ballet’s codified set of basic movements and collective terminology that is shared by all teachers and choreographers, modern and contemporary modern dance styles are individualized and tend to be named after their creator. Some basic movement concepts are threaded throughout the techniques, but one might best think of the collection of techniques as a patchwork quilt, sharing some colors and patterns, and having no unifying pattern, but sharing an overarching structure. Some of the identifiable principles that distinguish modern and contemporary modern dance from other techniques are dynamic alignment, spinal flexibility, effort and acceptance of gravity, use of breath, parallel position of feet, improvisation, and the primacy of oppositional concepts in the development of technique.

Dynamic Alignment and Spinal Flexibility Dancers utilize dynamic alignment, making adjustments as needed, imagining a through line in the body from the top of the head to the soles of the feet and a strong central core in the pelvis that keeps the dancer grounded and stable. Although dancers can exhibit a lengthened spine, flexibility of the spine in all directions is a hallmark of modern and contemporary modern dance technique. Stabilization comes from a strong inner core, or center, around which all movements are supported.

Effort and Acceptance of Gravity Unlike ballet, modern and contemporary modern dance doesn’t attempt to hide the effort required to perform movements, and the default mode is the acceptance of gravity’s partnership with the body rather than a denial of gravity altogether. Strength and lightness of movements exist on opposite ends of a continuum, indicating the amount of effort used for each motion. Dancers commonly interact with the floor and can easily move between floor work, dance

phrases occurring at the floor level, and standing movement phrases.

Breath The use of breath is a key component of modern and contemporary modern dance. Dancers do not always attempt to hide the evidence of breathing and often use exhalation to assist in the execution of a vigorous movement. Breathing is a smaller-scale example of expanding and contracting, a common pairing of oppositional technique concepts. Breath can also be used in performance as a cue to begin or end a movement phrase or dance.

Bare Feet and Parallel Position Modern and contemporary modern dance is most often performed in bare feet. Many exercises are performed with the feet in a parallel position, and because pointing the feet is not necessary in all exercises, the exercise may use a flexed foot instead.

Improvisation Improvisation is at the core of all modern and contemporary modern dance concepts and choreography. All artists who devise a technique use improvisation, or the practice of unplanned creation, in order to fashion a unique movement style, or technique, that best suits their own abilities and interests. Improvisation is also used in the creation of movement ideas to use in choreography, and some artists allow dancers to improvise portions of dances in performance. It is a rich tool for investigating movement ideas, and the practice of improvisation permits the artist to engage in a free flow of ideas without judgment. Modern and contemporary modern dance techniques often teach movement concepts in pairs, like Graham’s contraction and release and Humphrey’s fall and recovery, both discussed later in this chapter. By presenting a concept with its oppositional partner, students can immediately experience the sensation of moving while negotiating subtle gradations in between the two extremes. The pairing can be experienced by different body parts and becomes refined from sensation into choreographed motion as the student’s

technical ability improves. Other examples of oppositional concepts are sequential/simultaneous, or the movement that unfolds from a source versus movement that springs forth fully formed, and symmetrical/asymmetrical, or a shape or grouping that is balanced on both sides of an imaginary axis versus a shape or grouping that is not balanced on both sides of an imaginary axis.

Dancers and Training Modern and contemporary modern dance class can be extremely varied, but the basic structure is intended to warm the muscles, provide challenging movement sequences, and floor work for students and professionals to use as training. Class does not typically include barre work; instead, dancers take class in the middle of the studio, performing warm-up exercises and movement combinations before traveling across the floor. The warm-up exercises include many of the same types of movements as in ballet class, except other names replace the French ballet terminology. Pliés can be called knee bends, tendus are called brushes, and a relevé is called a rise. In the early days of modern dance, every effort was made to distinguish the new technique from ballet, but in recent years, the technique has embraced elements of ballet training eschewed by early modern dance pioneers. Spinal flexibility is attained with rolldowns, which curve the spine toward the floor, side leans, high curves, an upper body hovering action, and chest lifts. A sensitivity to music is gained by performing triplets, locomotor movements that resemble waltzing steps. Classes use recorded music or live music accompaniment, and students explore a range of movement ideas, including: weight transfer, the shifting of weight between the legs; initiation, or beginning movement using impetus from different parts of the body; shaping the body into linear or curvilinear shapes; and exploring different movement qualities, just to name a few. Warm-up exercises often contain pieces of the final, larger movement combination, performed toward the end of class, followed by a short cool down phrase and applause to honor everyone in the studio.

SPOTLIGHT An Interview with Elizabeth Bergmann: What Is the Difference Between Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance?

The term modern dance describes expressive dance that departed from ballet technique in the early 20th century, but it has proved to be an inadequate name for a style of dance that has gone through radical changes in its short life span. Since the middle of the 20th century, this form of dance gained the moniker postmodern dance in order to more correctly express its expanded form. As this dance form continues to evolve and partner with other dance styles and techniques, the catch-all phrase contemporary modern dance is used for a type of dance that can’t keep a name. Elizabeth Bergmann differentiates between modern dance and contemporary modern dance and identifies the direction she sees contemporary modern dance heading.

Elizabeth Bergmann studied the Graham, Limón, and Horton techniques, alongside ballet and graduated from The Juilliard School and the University of Michigan. In addition to chairing the dance department at the University of Michigan and teaching at other schools nationwide, including the Florida International University at Miami, California State University, Long Beach, and Shenandoah University at Winchester, Ms. Bergmann was the dance director at Harvard University, before retiring in 2011 and relocating to Sarasota, Florida. Having been a Fulbright scholar to Trinidad, she continues her creative relationship with Trinidad and Tobago, choreographs for the Sarasota Ballet’s Studio Company,

and performs a one-woman show, entitled “Coming to Myself,” combining her poetry and movement. In her long career, she has taught luminaries, such as Christine Dakin, former director of the Martha Graham Dance Company, along with Madonna and Natalie Portman. Her creative work has been rewarded with grants from the Interlochen Center for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and her work has been shown nationally and internationally. Although she agreed with the historical framework used in this chapter and the three time periods used (modern dance 1900s1950s, postmodern dance 1950s-1970s, and contemporary modern dance 1970s-present), Bergmann made sure to separate contemporary modern dance from contemporary ballet to reduce possible confusion. “Contemporary ballet, and some examples of what I am talking about are seen in the choreography of Jiří Kylián, Jorma Elo, and Alonzo King, primarily utilize ballet for training and still use pointe shoes in work that is very sculptural, but choreographically, it benefits greatly from dance-making techniques introduced by modern dance choreographers. Companies specializing in contemporary ballet might have modern and contemporary modern dance pieces set on them, but they don’t tend to practice that particular technique instead of ballet.” Bergmann sees a distinct difference between classical modern dance technique and choreography, as evidenced by the work of José Limón and Martha Graham, and contemporary modern dance, created by choreographers Crystal Pite, Kate Weir, and Larry Keigwin. “While teachers and choreographers still use the floor and approach space in a different way from ballet, contemporary modern dance training is more eclectic in approach, melding physical theater and performance art and a variety of other dance styles into the technique. Certainly the audience enjoys the eclecticism.” Bergmann looks forward to seeing more work from a diverse array of artists, including tapper Michelle Dorrance, and she enjoys seeing dance move off the stage and out into the world and hopes to see more dance on film.

Bergmann suggests moving beyond the labels of modern or ballet dance: “Perhaps someday it could just be called dance.”

Class and Performance Attire Class attire for modern and contemporary modern dance classes is decidedly less formal than ballet class. Although dancers may wear tights and leotards or yoga pants, outfits can also include fitted Tshirts or tank tops and knit pants, and feet are usually bare. Typically, dancers will not wear shorts, as floor work is easier with a layer of fabric between the skin and the floor. Hair is pulled back away from the face and secured, but a bun is not usually required. Jewelry is discouraged for the safety of all dancers. Performance attire can range from unitards to costumes resembling street clothes to costumes that hide the outline of the dancer, and all costuming is designed around the movement requirements and theme of the piece.

Studying Dance Modern and contemporary modern dance instruction is often first encountered in a university setting, and it was universities that first welcomed the technique into music, theater, or physical education programs. Teachers College at Columbia University developed programs focusing on exercise and self-expression starting in 1913, and this experimental work inspired Martha Hill (1900-1995), who would later be a tireless advocate for the emerging modern dance form at Bennington College in Vermont, and educator Margaret H’Doubler (1889-1982), who would soon establish the first major in dance at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1926. Other women’s colleges and larger universities followed suit in the 1930s, and today, students can major or minor in dance at many institutions nationwide. Additionally, most university degree programs require students to take non-major classes or electives in the arts, potentially exposing a wide range of people to dance at the post-secondary school level. In the primary and secondary school level, some fine arts programs in private schools offer modern and contemporary dance, and some K-12 public school districts now include dance

training as part of the curriculum, often offered as an alternative option to physical education classes. Another place to access modern and contemporary modern dance training is in a professional dance studio or by attending a summer dance training camp or an annual dance festival like the American Dance Festival (ADF) in North Carolina or Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts. Larger cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago serve as dance hubs where one can take classes in a particular founder’s technique, enroll in classes with teachers from blended backgrounds, or experience classes in hybrid techniques. In smaller cities and communities, online research helps in locating studios offering professional or adult classes. Finding out where dance professionals in the area take class will lead beginning students to a good source for study. Nationally, established companies and schools offer many summer dance camps. The oldest dance camp in the United States is the Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp, located in Colorado, which was founded in 1913.

Making and Preserving Dances These days, modern and contemporary modern dance choreographers often combine ballet and modern dance movement vocabularies when making dances, and the variety in the work is highly individualized. Choreographic tools are drawn from all eras of the dance form’s development, and some choreographers choose to add text and multimedia elements like film and projection to their pieces. Because of the individualistic nature of the dance form, modern and contemporary modern dance companies, unlike ballet companies, do not have a shared body of dances to present or restage, and therefore, all work produced is original in theme and content. Each company is responsible for preserving its own works through notes, video, and dance notation. Similar to ballet, dances are typically handed down dancer to dancer. Although a rich trove of classic modern dance works could be licensed from established companies, younger companies interested in reviving these works would need specific training in the technique and the resources for licensing and coaching to be able to present

classic dances. However, college dance programs tend to have the infrastructure and support to revive classic works, and dancing them is a powerful learning experience that links students with the legacy left by previous generations of dancers and choreographers. The following section features a selection of pioneers from each generation of modern dancers, linked together by training, influence, and contribution to the art form.

Development of Modern Dance Although modern dance appeared in early 20th century Germany and the United States, it is important to look at the context surrounding its rise in popularity. The second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century brought great changes to the U.S. populace. More people were living and working in cities than ever before, and more people, particularly white-collar workers, were leading sedentary, or less active, lifestyles, alarming public health officials tasked with combating the spread of diseases. The physical culture movement of this era extolled the benefits of regular exercise, including dance, along with gymnastic exercise and sports as activities that would benefit the general public health. Theories championing the expressive use of the body and the expressive potential of tapping into one’s internal feelings percolated through popular thought. As you will see in the modern dance lineage represented in figure 6.1, the legacy of artists and thinkers from the 19th and early 20th centuries ripples outward through successive generations of dance artists.

Delsarte (1811-1871), Dalcroze (1865-1950), and Freud (1856-1939) The work of theorist and teacher, François Delsarte, who coached performers to express emotions by assuming related body poses, and Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, a Swiss composer who began teaching musical concepts through movement around 1910, which he called eurythmics, inspired early German and American dance pioneers alike to seek out a more individualized way of moving that could be self expressive. The work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who helped to liberate the repressed unconscious thoughts of his patients through therapy, gave a voice to the stirrings of the era.

Dancers Rodney Bell, bottom, and Sonsheree Giles with Axis Dance Company, based in Oakland, California. Axis brings together dancers of all abilities in performance. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

Figure 6.1    Modern and contemporary modern dance family relationships. Created by Steven Marius Austin.

Dance in the United States in the late 19th century was in transition. Ballet was in decline, but social dances were extremely popular. Without the strong support of stable dance institutions, most dance as entertainment existed in dance halls and on the vaudeville circuit, a variety-show style of entertainment dependent upon on a rotating roster of itinerant entertainers. This system didn’t support the creation of dance audiences, as it barely supported the performers.

Loie Fuller (1862-1928) Former skirt dancer and actress Loie Fuller relocated her act to Paris in 1892 in search of more opportunities, astonishing artists, writers, and scientists alike with the spectacle of her Serpentine Dance— voluminous swaths of fabric, manipulated with thin, flexible poles. Her dancing evoked images of butterfly wings, flowers, and fire, which were lighted by patented inventions of her own devising. Fuller sponsored European performances by young iconoclast Isadora Duncan (1877-1927), who would go on to inspire artists and thinkers in Europe and beyond with her radical ideas and reverence of the Hellenic ideals of ancient Grecian art and statuary.

Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) Around the turn of the 20th century, Isadora Duncan rejected many aspects of her early dance training, in particular, ballet technique, because she found the movements stiff, the costumes restrictive, and the lack of personal expression stifling. The dancing she practiced instead used nature as its guiding force and inspiration; gravity was a force to be acknowledged, and one’s breath could propel the body’s movements. Rather than focusing on maintaining balanced poses or executing a complicated series of movements, Duncan’s technique valued the use of the solar plexus, or the point just below the center of the ribcage, as the creative engine for her dancing. The steps she used in her dances consisted of movements anyone could do, such as running, skipping, twisting and reaching, and they were performed with the intent to transport audiences to an

idealized place of high Western culture—Greece. Duncan didn’t seem to name her pieces and whenever possible, she performed in front of a softly curtained background. Her dances, although choreographed, were designed to look partly improvised, and they had a strong connection to the accompanying piano music—quite often the work of composer Frédéric Chopin. Her lack of corset and unshod feet shocked audiences used to seeing women covered in clothing from neck to feet, and her costuming choices gave her dancing a sense of abandon and freedom that appealed even to professional ballet dancers searching for a way to foster the expression of the wildness of the self into their own work. She inspired members of the Ballets Russes collective, in particular, ballerina Anna Pavlova and choreographers Michel Fokine and Vaslav Nijinsky. Duncan was far more interested in being a revolutionary than the archivist of her own technique, so although she founded several schools, her lineage continues through the fortitude of those she inspired, and her primary legacy lies in the questioning of established tradition.

Rudolf von Laban (1879-1958) Considering the role of dance as a vehicle for self-expression was a powerful idea that influenced a young Rudolf von Laban, the Austrian choreographer turned movement theorist, who is often regarded as a catalyst for the development of modern dance in Germany. Through his work in the 1910s and 1920s, Laban gave the fledgling dance form a sense of structure, formulating his ideas into a system for notating his own dances, now collectively called Labanotation. This complex notation system documents the actual pathway of a movement, along with indicating its dynamic intention and spatial configuration, using an assortment of shaded symbols on a staff that is read from bottom to top. Successful mastery of the system takes intensive training, and graduates are able to both record choreography and revive older notated dance repertory. Laban’s forced emigration from Germany to England just before the beginning of World War II, provided him with an additional opportunity to develop his theories into a method for classifying movement, called effort-shape. Now known as Laban Movement

Analysis (LMA), the framework, initially used to maximize the efficiency of wartime factory workers, encompasses a system of eight Effort Actions (punch, dab, flick, slash, press, glide, float, wring), based on categories denoting relationships to time (sustained or quick), use of space (direct or indirect), and the use of weight (strong or light). (See table 3.1 in chapter 3, Elements of Dance.) The categories are extremely useful for describing and analyzing movement, and the terms provide specific language and concepts for choreographers to use when communicating with dancers or audiences about movement ideas. The system can also be used as a creative framework for exploring basic movement concepts in dance and composition classes.

Mary Wigman (1886-1973) Laban’s student Mary Wigman, a latecomer to dance at the age of 27, began combining his movement theories with her own experiments in creating a nontraditional movement vocabulary infused with an attention to the body and its relationship to gravity, breath and self-expression, also known as expressionist dance. Her best-known piece, the brooding and masked solo, Witch Dance (1913), is a prime example of this new type of dance, similar in concept to Duncan’s free dance, but less tinged with idealism. Like Laban, Wigman’s career was sidetracked by the rise of nationalist forces in Germany, but she remained in Germany and inspired expatriate and first-generation modern dancer, Hanya Holm, who would carry Wigman’s ideas to the United States in the 1930s. Another Laban student, Kurt Jooss (1901-1979), also fled Germany for England a year following the production of his most famous work, an anti-war statement entitled The Green Table (1932). However, he returned to Germany following World War II to teach, inspiring a young Pina Bausch, who would expand his work to combine dance and theater.

Denishawn The immediate precursor to the first generation of modern dancers is the Denishawn dance company, the brainchild of briefly married partners Ruth St. Denis (1879-1968) and Ted Shawn (1891-1972).

The intriguing story of St. Denis’ transformation from skirt dancer on the vaudeville circuit to exotic dancing goddess and matron of modern dance begins with an advertisement for Egyptian Deities cigarettes. The image of an enthroned goddess inspired St. Denis to dedicate herself to fashioning dances honoring goddesses and deities based on her impressions of Indian, Egyptian, Spanish, and Javanese dance forms. Her solos, such as Radha and Incense (both 1906), brought her international acclaim and also an ardent admirer of her work, Ted Shawn, whom she married in 1914. Together they founded the Denishawn School the following year in Los Angeles and helmed one of the most influential dance companies of the 1920s, providing mentorship for the development of the first generation of modern dancers, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and Edna Guy. Following the breakup of the Denishawn company, Ted Shawn purchased a parcel of land in western Massachusetts, where he founded Jacob’s Pillow, the nation’s oldest dance festival, held in rustic theaters on the estate each summer. The festival supports a wide variety of dance forms, and their archives are a treasure trove for aspiring dance historians and researchers.

First-Generation Choreographers—Early Modern Dance Several dancers within the Denishawn company grew restless with the company’s artistic vision, which preferred solo works, spectacular costuming, and exotic themes. Artists from the first generation of modern dancers sought to express an inner voice and push the boundaries of dance as an art form through exploring new ways of moving. Unlike their predecessors Duncan and Denishawn, who saw dance as an expression of beauty and grace, this new generation saw dance as an art form that could also encompass inner turmoil, struggle, and protest as well, and both movement and costume needn’t be elaborate, but could be spare and unadorned, focusing more attention on the theme of the dance. Although Doris Humphrey and St. Denis created lyrically beautiful music visualizations that strove to use movement as a visual representation of the music, such as in Soaring (1920), a quartet of dancers interacting with a

large swath of silk, Humphrey ultimately separated from the Denishawn company after relocating to New York City to pursue her own vision of the expressive possibilities of modern dance. First-generation modern dancers benefited from the support of writer and dance critic John Martin (1893-1985), who embraced the new dance and helped explain it to an uncertain public. His articles in the New York Times and in widely published books advocated for concert dance and gave a voice to dance artists for many decades. Additional support by educator Martha Hill, the head of dance at Bennington College in Vermont, who hired pioneering modern dancers to teach and produce work in the program during the 1930s, helped to cement acceptance of the fledgling dance form into college campuses. Hill later founded a summer dance festival that is currently housed in North Carolina. The American Dance Festival, or ADF, showcases dance performances, hosts summer workshops, and advocates for the preservation of U.S. dance heritage.

Doris Humphrey (1895-1958) and Charles Weidman (1901-1975) Doris Humphrey and fellow Denishawn dancer Charles Weidman formed a creative partnership lasting two decades, and both created socially aware work during the early years of their company, coinciding with the crash of 1929 and the era following it, known as the Great Depression. Weidman’s work ranged from the insistently hovering mob in Lynch Town (1936) to the delightfully comical Flickers (1941), dedicated to the early years of film. During the 1930s and 1940s, the movement investigations of Humphrey yielded a technique based on the opposing forces of fall and recovery. Humphrey believed that the body constantly moves in between the “arc between two deaths,” a successive pattern of almost-attained equilibrium, punctuated by a fall, a collapse, a rebound, and a suspension, using the breath as impetus (Humphrey 1959, 106). This constant tension between the body and gravity suffused her technique and inspired her choreography, as seen in New Dance (1935), a large group piece about social harmony, whose strong connection with the music also underscored the theme of unity. Worsening arthritis forced Humphrey to retire from performing early,

and she dedicated herself to teaching and developing her theories about choreography, shared in her groundbreaking book, The Art of Making Dances (1959), which describes the craft of making dances, considers the use of the stage space to create meaning, engages in movement abstraction, or creating movements that stand for ideas, and encourages critical self-evaluation. The book was used as a guide for rule-breakers in the following generation and is still used in the 21st century as one method among many for teaching choreography to students. Humphrey mentored dancer José Limón, whose company adopted her methods and technique.

Martha Graham (1894-1991) Perhaps the most well-known modern dancer of the 20th century, Martha Graham also danced with Denishawn and she, too, parted ways to pursue her own vision of dance. Graham began training quite late, at the age of 21. She was never entirely happy in the Denishawn company, and left for New York to open her own studio in the mid-1920s. The technique she developed did not seek to represent beauty or grace in the dancing body, rather its angularity and starkness. Graham believed that the source of all human emotion, positive or negative, resided in the abdomen. She developed her technique to explore the contrasting ideas of contraction and release, a percussive tightening of the core, followed by a release of tension. Her early work expanded on the rebelliousness of her predecessors: Feet were bare and flexed, and gravity became an interactive partner, but unlike Duncan and Denishawn, her work often probed the darker corners of the psyche, a theme she explored for most of her long career. The group piece, Heretic (1929) pitted the individual against an unyielding group and her solo, Lamentation (1930), performed inside a tube of stretchy fabric embodied grief in all of its emotional contortions. On the positive end of the spectrum, her spacious odes to Americana ideals, as seen in the solo Frontier (1935) and the group piece Appalachian Spring (1944), expressing hopefulness and determination. By far, her most prolific source of inspiration was Greek tragedy, and Graham visited the well many times, portraying the human frailty and regret of Medea after killing her children in the solo Cave of the Heart (1946)

and exploring the impossibility of Oedipus and Jocasta escaping their terrible fate in Night Journey (1947). Graham’s early company consisted of only women until the 1940s, when she began inviting men into her company. One of them, Erick Hawkins, would change her life and the course of her work before going his own way; another, Paul Taylor, would leave to pursue his eclectic choreographic interests; and a third, Merce Cunningham, would not only reject her aesthetic entirely, but would help usher in a radical reevaluation of the young technique.

Edna Guy (1907-1982) and Hemsley Winfield (1907-1934) African American modern dancers struggled for acceptance of the new technique in the 1930s, and they also struggled for equality in an American society that continued to separate the races and did not recognize or value their contributions to concert dance. Edna Guy danced with Denishawn in California before relocating to New York City and briefly joining forces with Hemsley Winfield, who, inspired by German expressionist dance and the vitality of the 1920s Harlem Renaissance, an awakening of African American artists, authors, and philosophers, created the first African American modern dance company in 1931. Winfield’s untimely death in 1934, along with a lack of critical support for African American modern dancers, hampered the development of a strong African American presence in the 1930s. However, Guy continued producing work for most of the decade and introduced Katherine Dunham’s Chicago-based company to the East Coast, forever altering Dunham’s fortunes.

Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) Katherine Dunham was indeed more fortunate than most firstgeneration African American modern dancers. She had solid training and a college education, and both would help her to succeed even during a time of segregation and overt racism. She studied ballet with Ruth Page (former Ballets Russes dancer) in Chicago and attended the University of Chicago, graduating in 1936. Her decision to travel to Haiti for dance fieldwork study firmly grounded her in the roots of African dance. Edna Guy’s invitation to perform in New York

City in 1937 brought both critical attention to the Dunham Company and important professional contacts that helped her relocate to the East Coast two years later, fostering her company’s appearances on Broadway. The entertaining vitality and authenticity of Dunham’s choreography and her made-for-camera beauty brought her to the attention of Hollywood, and she appeared in nine films, including Stormy Weather (1944). Dunham’s influence can be seen in the work of second-generation artists, such as Alvin Ailey, whose school still teaches Dunham technique, and in the work of Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder of Urban Bush Women.

Hanya Holm (1893-1992) German-born Hanya Holm studied at the Dalcroze Institute and danced with Mary Wigman’s company. Holm agreed to emigrate to New York City to found a branch of the Wigman school in the United States in 1931, and subsequently Holm was one of the “Big Four” (including Humphrey, Weidman, and Graham) invited to Bennington College in Vermont by Martha Hill beginning in 1934 to teach students and set new works during summer programs. It was at the Bennington summer program that she created her signature piece, Trend (1937), successfully combining German and American modern dance styles. Holm is best remembered as a teacher, expanding the ideas of both Laban and Wigman to create a deliberately neutral, unstylized technique that was taught at several national colleges and became part of the foundation for training subsequent generations of modern dancers, including a young Alwin Nikolais. Like Katherine Dunham and ballet choreographers George Balanchine, Agnes de Mille, and Jerome Robbins, Holm choreographed for several successful Broadway musicals, including Kiss Me Kate (1948), My Fair Lady (1956), and Camelot (1960).

Lester Horton (1906-1953) Inspired by the Denishawn company, Lester Horton relocated to Los Angeles from Indiana in 1928, and over the next few decades he developed a technique that drew inspiration from Native American and African dance forms, along with articulation of joints in the body, an undulating torso, and his signature move, the lateral T, an

asymmetrical shaping of the body in an off-center pose resembling the letter. His company was fully integrated, and this was unusual for the time period. Horton insisted on hiring African American, Mexican American, and Asian dancers for his company so that its composition accurately reflected the eclectic cultural makeup of Los Angeles. Because of the versatility of his technique, his dancers were able to move between musical theater dance, jazz, ballet, and modern concert dance forms, which attracted additional performance opportunities in films. Two of his surviving works are The Beloved (1948) and Salome (1950). Horton created audiences for modern dance on the West Coast but did not enjoy the same support as his cohorts on the opposite side of the country, and his untimely death in 1953 unfortunately dissolved the company. Many of his dancers, including Alvin Ailey, sought work and a more supportive climate for concert dance on the East Coast, and Ailey brought elements of his Horton training as a foundation for training his dancers.

Second-Generation Choreographers—Modern Dance Legacy and the Stirrings of Postmodern Dance Throughout the 1930s and early 1940s, the first generation developed distinct techniques and choreography while jealously guarding their dancers; many dancers made a career-long commitment to their mentors or continued the work of their predecessors by expanding the scope. As companies began to slowly integrate and second-generation dancers began to dance with multiple companies, choreographers José Limón and Alvin Ailey chose the path of expanding their mentors’ legacies. But as some came of age as artists, they chose to go in radically different directions. Unwilling to continue in Martha Graham’s theatrical vein, Erick Hawkins, Paul Taylor, and Merce Cunningham chose to forge their own paths. Anna Halprin abandoned her traditional training and, having moved to the West Coast, began experimenting with sitespecific dance, task-based movement, and therapeutic intent.

José Limón (1908-1972)

José Limón, originally from Mexico, danced with Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman for a decade before forming his own company. He took the unusual step of asking his mentor Humphrey to be the artistic director, and the troupe performed works by both choreographers, including his best known piece, The Moor’s Pavane (1949). The Limón technique includes aspects of Humphrey’s fall and recovery and developing fluid, sequential movement along with the use of breath as the impetus for movement. The company survived the loss of Limón in 1972, and under new leadership, expanded further to include dances by guest choreographers. This successful model of a repertory dance company featuring new works alongside established classics allows companies to honor their history while keeping their concerts fresh and remaining a vital force in the 21st century.

Alvin Ailey (1931-1989) Alvin Ailey relocated to New York following the death of his mentor, Lester Horton, and studied dance with Katherine Dunham and Martha Graham before forming his own company in 1958. Ailey’s ultimate goal was to create a fully integrated company of dancers and to broaden the appeal of modern dance. He was keen to keep the classics of early modern dance alive, and he arranged to present works by Ted Shawn, Dunham, and Limón alongside his own works, a practice his company continues into the 21st century. His most famous piece, Revelations (1960), is a suite of dances inspired by his youth in an African American churchgoing community in Texas. Performed to rousing choral spirituals, this masterwork of ensemble dancing is a theatrical blend of ceremony, humor, and pathos that is performed in each concert during the company’s tours. His bravura solo piece, Cry (1971), which he created for dancer Judith Jamison and dedicated to the memory of his mother, is a celebration of defiance, pain, and victory. Ailey’s legacy lives on in a multitude of choreographers and dancers, including Camille A. Brown and Kyle Abraham.

Erick Hawkins (1909-1994)

Initially a Harvard student studying Greek mythology and philosophy, Erick Hawkins became drawn to ballet, and he studied at George Balanchine’s newly established School of American Ballet, performing with Ballet Caravan and showing his own work at Bennington College in 1937, where he met Martha Graham. In the following year, he was the first male invited to perform with her allfemale group. It was most likely Hawkins who influenced Graham’s Greek cycle. They married in 1948, but it was a short-lived partnership, and he left the company in 1951 to create his own technique, one he hoped would lessen possible dance injuries. His interest in a freer flow of energy, diverging from Graham’s effortful and bound movements, came from his study of Zen concepts and from his readings on Isadora Duncan’s beliefs about natural movement. Hawkins choreography is inextricably tied to the music composed for it, which was performed onstage by his longtime partner Lucia Dlugoszewski. Some of his spare, contemplative dances, such as Trickster Coyote (1941) and Plains Daybreak (1979), were inspired by Native American dances and stories.

Paul Taylor (1930-2018) Paul Taylor danced with Graham’s company for several years and choreographed for his own company concurrently, starting in 1954. Taylor initially rode the postmodern revolt against traditional modern dance, creating works devoid of story and, as in Seven New Dances (1957), sometimes devoid of movement. However, he quickly returned to his roots of classical modern training with a balletic tinge for much of his long career as a choreographer. His vast repertory is extremely varied and impossible to characterize with any brevity, but much of his work deals with the extremes in human nature, both the light and the dark. The darkly humorous 3 Epitaphs (1956) features three odd characters completely clad in brown unitards with small mirrored sparkles on their covered heads. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Aureole (1962), which was performed to music by Handel, is a piece that revels in pedestrian and modern movement phrases. Many third-generation modern dancers performed with his company before striking out on their own, including Twyla Tharp. Even before his death in 2018, Taylor revamped the format and the name of his

company, now called Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, to reflect his vision of supporting the art form by preserving classical modern dance, including Taylor repertory, and supporting future choreographic voices.

Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) Merce Cunningham also danced with Graham as a young performer, and finding her technique at odds with his own movement inclinations, left the company in 1945. Cunningham and his lifelong partner and collaborator, John Cage (1912-1992), creator of the “prepared piano” technique of placing objects within the strings to accentuate the percussion aspects of the instrument, experimented with music as a stand-alone aspect of dance performance, occurring at the same time, but not inspiring movement or personal expression. Their study of Zen Buddhism further inspired choreographic and music explorations, particularly the Chinese text, the I Ching (translated as Book of Changes), which suggested tossing coins to produce random results. Faced with the prospect of removing their egos entirely from the process of creating dances and music, Cunningham and Cage created chance procedures, a philosophy they utilized in one form or other for the rest of their careers. Their collaborations with other artists, such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol, produced work that came together by chance in time for the concert, and Cunningham’s acceptance of movement for its own sake and the consideration of any point onstage as having the same importance as any other radically changed the relationship of artists with their audience. Rather than striving to express thematic ideas to the audience, both artist and audience could just share time together. Audiences were uncertain at first, but as their ideas spread to other artists and to other art forms, it became clearer that Cunningham and Cage’s philosophy was one of extreme inclusion rather than defiance of what had come before; transcendent in nature rather than transgressive. Cunningham’s ideas inspired the next generation of choreographers to question everything about the role of dance and dancers in the art-making community.

Anna Halprin (1920-)

When Anna Halprin, who studied with H’Doubler at the University of Wisconsin, left New York for California in the mid-1950s, she left behind many of the precepts of her dance education, preferring instead to explore dance as a communal and healing experience. She created the San Francisco Dancers’ Workshop, a place for collective creativity and conducted movement experiments on the deck behind her house, built for her by her architect husband. Halprin preferred outdoor performance locations and felt that dancers should attempt to go beyond their training in order to find their own way of moving. Her influence on students Trisha Brown and Yvonne Rainer would also help usher in the postmodern era of dance. Halprin’s continuing legacy will be elaborated more fully in chapter 10, Aerial and Site-Specific Dance.

Alwin Nikolais (1910-1993) As a young man, Alwin Nikolais was primarily interested in puppetry, music, and scenic design until he saw Mary Wigman dance. He then began studying with Hanya Holm, Wigman’s representative in New York, eventually assisting Holm in classes. Appointed director of the Henry Street Playhouse in 1948, Nikolais soon established a dance troupe with collaborator Murray Louis and began formulating his ideas about human bodies inhabiting a world of motion, light, and sound. His work left behind the self-expressive tendencies of his predecessors and instead entertained audiences with the movement possibilities of spectacular props, costumes, and multimedia effects, all danced to a score he composed, often using found sounds. The work was interdisciplinary, and it found a wider audience on television in the 1950s, touring overseas as a result of the exposure. Two of his most famous pieces are Kaleidoscope (1953) and Imago (1963), and one can see echoes of Nikolais in the work of the Pilobolus collective in the next generation.

Pina Bausch (1940-2009) German-born Pina Bausch began her dance studies with Kurt Jooss, himself a student of Laban. Following her time in New York, training at the prestigious Juilliard School with Limón, Taylor, and ballet choreographer Antony Tudor in the 1950s, Bausch returned to

Germany to join Jooss’ company in 1962, taking over direction of the company in 1969. Her interest in both theater and modern dance prompted her to create dances composed of layered theatrical vignettes featuring text and task-oriented movement, along with short dance sections connected loosely by a theme or an idea, and this work took the name of tanztheater (translated: dance theater). In 1973, she was offered the directorship of the Wuppertal Opera Ballet and began creating evening-length works on an epic scale, working improvisationally with her dancers. Her pieces are best known for exploring relationships between people and for moments of absurdity and poignancy surrounded by stage-bound environments, such as a field of carnations, pools of water, or mounds of leaves. Though she remained in Germany, the influence of her dance-theater works, such as Café Müller (1978) and Nur Du, translated as Only You (1996), still reverberate here in the United States.

Third-Generation Choreographers—Postmodern Dance and Transition The third generation of modern dancers came of age during the turbulent 1960s, and just as the art community was questioning the meaning and purpose of artistic traditions, the dance community questioned early modern dance traditions, including what could be considered dance, who could dance, and where dance could happen. The new generation completely broke with the practice of remaining with one choreographer during their performing career and sought to study with several of the masters, and in some cases, concurrently directed their own companies. One flashpoint dividing the old and the new was a choreography workshop taught by musician and dancer Robert Dunn in 1958 at the Merce Cunningham studios, which was attended by Yvonne Rainer, Steve Paxton, and Tricia Brown, among others. Conceived as a method of teaching John Cage’s radical music theories, Dunn’s experimentation encouraged the young choreographers to deconstruct all aspects of dance down to the minimum requirements, a body moving in time and space. For the group, the “body itself became the subject of the dance, rather than serving as an instrument for expressive metaphors” (Banes 1987, 19). They approached the Judson

Memorial Church to include dance in its arts programming. The location became a hub for rule-breaking dance concerts, and the loose collection of artists came to be known by the Judson moniker. Additionally, several choreographers formed an ad hoc improvisational movement troupe, The Grand Union, which performed from 1970-1976, and yet another combination of artists produced the semi-impromptu Happenings multimedia performance art events that were partly planned and partly improvisatory immersive experiences for audience members. Experimentation encouraged the dance community to expand the definition of dance to include pedestrian and task-oriented movement, to consider both trained and untrained dancers to be performers of equal value, and to seek out alternative spaces for hosting concerts, including lofts and warehouses. Choreographers made statements with their work rather than attempting to tell a story or entertain, and audiences and dance critics alike had mixed reactions to the fervent creativity of this time period.

Yvonne Rainer (1934-) Yvonne Rainer moved to New York as a young dancer and took class with Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, vastly preferring his philosophy. Robert Dunn’s choreography workshop taught at the Cunningham studio inspired the direction of her own work as well as several others mentioned in this section. Rainer is best known for her “No Manifesto” in which she details the excesses of modern dance in a list naming virtuosity, spectacle, style, heroism, and magic, among other theatrical elements, that she preferred be stripped away from the art form. In that same vein, she created the piece, Trio A (1966), a dance featuring pedestrian movement without any dynamic changes or interaction with the audience. Anyone could do the dance, which was a string of unrepeated movement lasting five minutes, which also called into question the need for trained dancers to perform dances. Rainer was also a founding member of both the Grand Union and Judson Dance Theater, and she turned to film for her later artistic work.

Steve Paxton (1939-)

Steve Paxton studied and performed with Limón and Cunningham and was also a member of Dunn’s choreography class, Judson Dance Theater, and the Grand Union collaboration, whose improvisational spirit inspired him to develop contact improvisation, a dance form based on weight-sharing and pedestrian movement. Dancers of any level or ability can practice this form together. It is not presentational nor does it mandate an end goal of performance or the creation of choreography, but it can be used for both. Practitioners maintain a point of contact and trade off the sharing of weight, either standing or on floor level, and use their bodies as support structures for the movements of their partner or of a larger group. In practice, it resembles the Brazilian dance/martial art form of capoeira somewhat, but without the self-defense aspect, and dancers play and create the dance spontaneously. The contact improvisation community remains active nationally and the Contact Quarterly journal, nearing 50 years in existence, continues to publish articles on contact improvisation and contemporary dance practice. Indeed, Paxton’s enduring dance form was the gateway for fourthgeneration dancer Bill T. Jones to discover dance as a calling and for Judith Smith of AXIS Dance Company to rediscover the potential of her injured body.

Trisha Brown (1936-2017) Trisha Brown studied with a wide variety of teachers, including Anna Halprin, Merce Cunningham, and Douglas Dunn, and was one of the founding members of Judson Dance Theater and the Grand Union. She formed her own company in the early 1970s, and her initial work expanded the possibilities for site-specific performance spaces outside of traditional theater spaces—“equipment pieces” performed on the sides of buildings and dances on rooftops. This aspect of her career will be further expanded in chapter 10, Aerial and SiteSpecific Dance. Brown created a choreographic technique she called accumulation, which required repetition of all parts of a movement phrase before the addition of a new movement, much like the repeated list in the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. She challenged herself as a performer in the piece Accumulation with Talking Plus Watermotor (1978) to perform an accumulation

interspersed with another piece of dance choreography while telling several distinct stories in small segments. In her later works, such as Glacial Decoy (1979) and Set and Reset (1983), she returned to the proscenium stage and collaborated with visual artists on costume design.

Twyla Tharp (1941-) Twyla Tharp trained with the American Ballet Theatre; Graham, Nikolais and Cunningham; and with jazz dance masters Luigi and Matt Mattox. She began her performing career with Paul Taylor’s company for a two-year stint and formed her own company in 1965. She soon bucked the prevailing postmodern trend toward minimalism and created dances packed with exuberant and eclectic dancing, leading to invitations to create dances for the Joffrey Ballet and other ballet companies. Deuce Coupe (1973), danced to music by The Beach Boys, is considered the first contemporary ballet, mixing ballet and modern dance styles in one piece. Tharp’s extensive body of work spans multiple media formats including television (“Baryshnikov by Tharp” [1984] on PBS, featuring the 1976 piece Push Comes to Shove), movies (Hair [1979], White Nights [1985]), and Broadway (Movin’ Out [2002]). When her company merged with American Ballet Theatre in 1988, it seems the barriers between modern dance and ballet techniques truly began to break down for the next generation, who consider themselves contemporary dancers and choreographers.

Garth Fagan (1940-) Originally from Jamaica, Garth Fagan also received an eclectic training from Limón, Ailey, and Graham beginning in 1960, and he performed with dancer and anthropologist Pearl Primus before joining the dance faculty at The College at Brockport SUNY in 1969. While there, he developed the Fagan technique, described as a blend of modern dance, Afro-Caribbean dance, and ballet. His troupe, originally drawn from disadvantaged students in nearby Rochester, NY, is in its fourth decade, and Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Limón and Ailey companies have performed his works. Fagan created the choreography for the 1997 Broadway show The

Lion King, sharing Afro-Caribbean dance with larger audiences and passing on the legacy begun by Pearl Primus, Edna Guy, Hemsley Winfield, and Katherine Dunham.

Pilobolus Pilobolus (named after a type of fungi with fast-moving and sticky spores) is a choreography collective created in 1971 by Dartmouth college-student athletes Robby Barnett, Martha Clarke, Lee Harris, Moses Pendleton, Michael Tracy, and Jonathan Wolken, along with their teacher Alison Chase. Spawned from experiments in choreography class, the ensemble used gymnastic skills, humorous sensibilities, and considerable improvisational skills to fashion sculptural work composed entirely of human bodies. During a time when dance companies were re-establishing identity and physicality following a period of intensely heady questioning, the group’s anthropomorphic creatures and boundless imagination presented dance as transformative and magical, and also as an activity that anyone could pursue. Upon seeing them, Murray Louis, creative partner of Alwin Nikolais, invited them to perform in New York, to great acclaim. Their long-lasting appeal lies in the accessibility of their imagery, their aesthetic playfulness, and the successful translation of the work to television, in particular, their appearance at the Academy Awards in 2007, which gave the group exposure to a mass audience.

Fourth-Generation Choreographers— Contemporary Modern Dance The fourth generation of choreographers, most of whom came of age in the late 1970s and early 1980s, found that much of the dance landscape had been stripped to its barest essentials—movement in space and time. The pendulum had swung far in the direction of extreme minimalism during the previous two decades and adding theatrical elements back in could be considered, strangely, avantgarde. Choreographers had a plethora of modern and postmodern techniques to mine for ideas, an expanded palette of music/sound choices for use, and dancers of any size, shape, and ability for creating dances. A flowering of creativity ensued as choreographers

rediscovered virtuosity and thematic substance and relished the freedom of infinite choreographic choices.

Mark Morris (1956-) Mark Morris performed Balkan folk dance as a teenager and upon moving to New York in 1976, he performed with several companies —ballet and modern alike—including Eliot Feld and Lar Lubovitch. Morris established his company in 1980, and audiences immediately responded to his intense musicality and choreographic playfulness. In 1988, he was invited to be the resident choreographer at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, where he created one of his signature works, L’Allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato (1988), a brightly costumed celebration of free dance. Morris also produced a re-tooling of The Nutcracker ballet called The Hard Nut (1990) before returning to the United States to work with ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, who began performing in modern and contemporary modern dance pieces in a partnership called White Oak Dance Project. Besides making work for his company, Morris also choreographs for ballet and opera companies, and he established the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn to support the next generation of choreographers.

Bill T. Jones (1952-) Bill T. Jones and his partner Arnie Zane (1948-1988) were introduced to Steve Paxton’s contact improvisation technique as young artists in the early 1970s and began making dances shortly afterward, forming their company in 1982. Zane was a photographer by training and Jones preferred to combine text and dance: Their work frankly acknowledged their relationship during a time when the general public did not accept homosexuality. Their dances explored identity and racial tensions and confronted issues of disease and death, particularly following the death of Zane, who succumbed to AIDS. Jones prefers to layer his pieces using text, dance, and theatrical aspects. Examples include Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land (1990), featuring actors reading Sojourner Truth’s, Ain’t I a Woman? speech and later works with multimedia aspects, like Still/Here (1994), which included filmed interviews with

terminal patients projected on live dancers. His company has featured dancers with a variety of sizes and technical abilities, depending on the needs of the project. Recently, Jones has been choreographing for Broadway shows, including Spring Awakening (2007), and producing new works including Story/Time (2012), a dance inspired by the stories of avant-garde musician John Cage. Jones’ dance company also supports an arts center, New York Live Arts, producing the work of up-and-coming choreographers.

Urban Bush Women The dance-theater group, Urban Bush Women, founded in 1984, is the brainchild of dancer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (1950-). Her extensive training began with Dunham technique from an original Dunham student, and Zollar also studied Haitian, Congolese, Cuban, and Brazilian dance forms. The writings of postmodern dancers, such as Trisha Brown and Steve Paxton, inspired her choreographic methods, and her studies with Dianne McIntyre of Sounds in Motion in New York helped her realize that her vision of a dance company, made up of all shapes and sizes, was possible (George-Graves 2010). For most of its history, the company has been composed of women of the African diaspora, but lately the group has had a few male dancers. The work of Urban Bush Women is to tell unheard stories, advocate for social change, and create community. The company uses personal narrative, African and contemporary dance, and text to accomplish Zollar’s goal of advocating for understanding. Their piece Hair and Other Stories (originally 2001), which explores body image, gender identity, and race through the lens of hair care, recently has been revamped to address the changing times.

AXIS Dance AXIS Dance was co-founded by Judith Smith in 1987, a decade following a car accident that ended her horse-riding career. She discovered dance through learning contact improvisation and has since been a champion for inclusive dance. The company produces dances for dancers with disabilities and commissioned work from Bill T. Jones, who created Fantasy in C Major for the company in 2000, beginning a series of choreographer collaborations, including Remy

Charlip (former Cunningham dancer), Victoria Marks (who worked with UK differently-abled dance groups), and Ann Carlson (sitespecific choreographer). Recent appearances on the television show So You Think You Can Dance have brought renewed attention to the troupe in recent years, and Smith retired from the directorship in 2017 to focus on advocacy, an ongoing issue for a company that challenges its audiences to consider all bodies able to dance. The diversity AXIS Dance promotes seeks to utilize each dancer’s particular quirks and movement vocabulary to radically expand not only the definition of dance, but to explore the possibilities that can arise from an all-inclusive, expanded movement vocabulary. Smith still dreams of the inclusion of dancers with disabilities in college dance programs (Bauer 2017), but the company now enjoys acceptance as a peer in the dance community.

Future Directions of Contemporary Modern Dance—21st-Century Voices Only time will give a better sense of patterns and trends, but the current direction of contemporary modern dance appears to be a continued blurring of lines between ballet and modern dance, along with an openness to creating hybrid styles that also borrow from hiphop and global dance styles. Both modern and contemporary modern dance styles are experiencing initiatives designed to preserve legacy works, and the refocused Paul Taylor American Modern Dance company is following in the footsteps of the Limón and Ailey companies to keep classic works in the public consciousness. With an eye toward the future, dance centers, like the ones established by Mark Morris and Bill T. Jones, are dedicated to the mentorship and development of the next generation, so that future rebels will have a platform and support for their work. Some of the current generation of choreographers have embraced contemporary dance as their defining term, mixing techniques and using technology to support their companies and reach new audiences in ways unimaginable only a few years ago. Kyle Abraham and Camille A. Brown stand on the shoulders of the previous generations of modern and contemporary dance choreographers, and their work honors the past while stretching into new territories. It will be very interesting to see where they go.

SPOTLIGHT Choreographer/Artistic Director Like the captain of a ship, the artistic director of a dance company is in charge of where the company is going, guiding the artistic vision. Once a direction is determined or identified, the artistic director chooses or hires dancers and plans the programming (selects the dance pieces) for concerts during the performing season, typically fall through spring or early summer. As soon as dance pieces or themes are chosen, the artistic director either

begins developing new dances or rehearsing repertory pieces, dances that have been performed during a previous season, and decides on theater venues or tour locations. The artistic director is the public face of the dance company and is generally involved in all aspects of running the company and producing performances, although the day-to-day running of the company can be shared with a managing director. To become an artistic director of a dance company, one must either rise through the ranks of an existing dance company, usually as a dancer first, before taking on administrative roles, or an artistic director may begin his or her own company. Robert Battle, current Artistic Director for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founded his own dance company in 2001 and was a resident choreographer with the Ailey company before being named to the post in 2011 by the previous Artistic Director, Judith Jamison. Although Battle never danced with the company, the combination of his ability to understand the needs of the 60-year-plus dance organization and the freshness of his choreography and leadership made him the perfect choice to replace retiring director Jamison. A gorgeous performer in her own right, Jamison danced with the Ailey company for 15 years, and the powerhouse 16-minute solo Cry was created specifically for her by Ailey. She took over artistic direction of the company upon Ailey’s untimely death in 1989, and much of the company’s national and international success can be attributed to her leadership. Robert Battle expanded the company’s repertory by commissioning work by hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris, ballet choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and contemporary choreographer Aszure Barton, and supports the work of emerging choreographers. Kyle Abraham (1977-), named as one of the “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2008, grew up dancing hip-hop and only pursued traditional training when cast in a musical during high school. He danced briefly with Bill T. Jones before starting his own company, Abraham.In.Motion, in 2006. His dancers hail from traditional and

contemporary ballet as well as modern and contemporary modern backgrounds. His movement style blends hip-hop and modern dance styles along with text and a vocabulary of gestural vernacular. Following the production of Pavement (2012), a gritty portrayal of urban anxiety and gang violence played out on a basketball court, he was awarded the prestigious MacArthur Genius Fellowship in 2013, allowing him to better support his company. In 2018, New York City Ballet invited Abraham to put a piece on the company—considered an honor for any choreographer, but of particular weight to one of only a few non-white choreographers in NYCB’s 70-year history. Around 2016, Abraham unexpectedly accepted a teaching position at the University of California, Los Angeles, and his company remained in New York. They currently use Skype to work out questions in rehearsal and re-group during residencies and performances (Schwab 2017), and the company handles its own day-to-day business. For Abraham, balancing the two aspects that feed his creativity—teaching and making work—are allowing him to guide future generations of dancers while making space for himself to pursue new directions. Camille A. Brown (1979-) studied at the Ailey school and danced with Ronald K. Brown/Evidence before founding her company in 2006, and her powerhouse choreography blends African dance, social dances, and the rhythms of tap and jazz with a solid modern and contemporary modern dance base, strongly connecting her eclectic style to its history. Her concert work seamlessly reappropriates and re-energizes historical dance and combines it with poetry and visual art to explore social justice issues, as in Mr. TOL. E. RAncE (2013), which takes an unflinching look at examples of modern minstrelsy. Brown also choreographed the Broadway shows Once on This Island (2017) and Choir Boy (2019) and the live television revival of Jesus Christ Superstar (2018). Her commissions to create work for the Ailey Company and for Urban Bush Women also keep her connected to her roots, and her online TED Talks and TED Educational videos, like the History of African-American Social Dance, keep her connected to audiences of the future.

Summary Although the dance form is barely over a hundred years old, modern and contemporary modern dance has been a highly mutable technique, encompassing a multitude of ideas and opinions under its large umbrella. Initially created by iconoclasts and later questioned by rebels, the art form stretched away from ballet technique at the beginning of the 20th century, but always remained tethered to it, circling back toward the end of the 20th century. Twenty-first century artists benefit from the expansion of the art form to include aspects of other techniques, dancers with varied backgrounds, an enlarged choreographic palette, technological advances, and broader performance vistas.

Critical Thinking Because modern and contemporary modern dance techniques were often initially created by a choreographer using her own dancing body, movement methods and choreography were tailored to her strengths and preferences. Imagine you are the creator of a new technique and discuss how you might share your work beyond your performing life and preserve your legacy beyond your lifetime.

Discussion Questions 1. Why are modern and contemporary modern dance movement concepts presented as opposites? 2. If you could go back in time and work with a modern and contemporary modern dance choreographer from any era, who would you choose and why? Would you consider the choreographer to be most interested in imitation, expression, or form and why? 3. What era of modern and contemporary modern dance appeals to you most and why?

4. Why has it been easier for modern and contemporary modern dance to be inclusive than ballet? In what ways could modern and contemporary modern dance be more inclusive? For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

7 Jazz Dance

Key Terms vernacular jazz dance authentic jazz dance theatrical jazz dance (also known as Broadway jazz and musical theater jazz dance)

Afro-Caribbean jazz dance concert jazz dance polyrhythmic isolations master teachers commercial jazz dance ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Jazz dance is an American dance form with African roots and has influenced the dance profession on stage, on screen, and in dance studios. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Discover and connect the influences of jazz dance to other styles of dance. Compare and contrast the styles of jazz dance. Identify artists who have influenced the jazz dance field on stage, film, and television. Discuss how 21st-century jazz dance artists are creating cultural change in the mainstream.

While the roots

of jazz dance can be traced back to African dance, it was the social dance styles overtaking ballrooms and dance clubs that are credited as some of the first jazz dance styles. The Charleston, jitterbug, and swing styles of music and dance influenced the development of codified jazz dance as we know it today. Jazz dance, along with other dances from the African diaspora, such as tap and hip hop dance, maintains a strong connection to music and to dances that bubble up through the dancing community. Jazz dance could be considered a hybrid of the ever-evolving popular social dance styles in American culture, also known as vernacular jazz dance; also composed of elements of African dance; and authentic jazz dance that retained close ties to music from the 1920s-1940s. Historically, the genre has been influenced by the background of its dancers and choreographers, and therefore gained elements from ballet, modern dance, global dance forms, and popular dance styles. The resulting styles of jazz dance—theatrical jazz (also known as Broadway jazz and musical theater jazz), Afro-Caribbean jazz, commercial and West Coast jazz, and concert jazz—remain the primary offshoots, but Latin jazz, lyrical jazz, pop jazz, and other associated styles continue to be added to the genre.

Origins of Jazz Dance The ingredients of jazz dance predate the 20th century and include a rich mixture of African dance and musical influences and African American dances and music during and after the abolition of slavery. In the 1920s, these influences, along with the addition of jazz music, early theatrical dance, and popular social dances, such as the turkey trot and the Charleston, coalesced into the earliest form of jazz dance, seen in black musical revues, such as Shuffle Along (1921) and Blackbirds of 1928. A key component of early jazz dance was the dancer’s ability to freely improvise to a musical form that also valued improvisation. By the 1940s, very few dancers continued to practice authentic jazz dance. Dancer, Alfred “Pepsi” Bethel (19182002) made a career out of collecting, performing, and teaching the old dances gathered from his experiences watching minstrel shows, performing social dances like the Lindy hop and touring Africa with the Department of State. Jazz dance changed after the 1940s as the dance form became a predominant style of dance on Broadway stages. Vital to the development and dissemination of jazz dance as it is known today were dancer and choreographer Jack Cole, ballet choreographer George Balanchine, and dancer and choreographer Katherine Dunham.

Jack Cole (1911-1974) Jack Cole is considered the originator of theatrical jazz dance used on Broadway stages and in many musical theater performances, and he incorporated his eclectic training into his choreography. Cole began as a modern dancer, performing with Denishawn, Ted Shawn’s company of men, and the Humphrey-Weidman company. However, Cole chose to perform his own compositions in New York’s burgeoning 1930s nightclub scene. He studied the Indian dance form bharatanatyam with Uday Shankar, as well as Spanish dance, AfroCaribbean dance forms, Lindy hop, and ballet with a Cecchetti ballet master. His distinctive style and choreography came to the attention of Hollywood and Broadway producers, who hired him to choreograph for movies, such as Gilda (1946), Gentlemen Prefer

Blondes (1953), and Some Like It Hot (1959), and for the stage, Kismet (1953), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), and Man of La Mancha (1965). Cole’s vibrant choreography “pulsates on the downbeat. It syncopates through body isolations, changes directions rapidly, and dots its sound score with bursting leaps” (Levine 2012, 5-6). Although he was instrumental in the development of jazz dance in the 1940s and 1950s, he is not as well known as the choreographers who followed and did not create a codified technique.

George Balanchine (1904-1983) and Katherine Dunham (1909-2006) George Balanchine was primarily a ballet choreographer who worked with the renowned Ballets Russes before relocating to the United States and founding New York City Ballet. Balanchine trained at the Russian Imperial Ballet School, where he had to choose between music and ballet as his primary focus. Although he opted for dance, his sensibilities remained highly attuned to music, and his choreography retained a close relationship with music. Fascinated and inspired by jazz when he first came to the United States, he agreed to choreograph for Broadway musicals including On Your Toes (1936) and Cabin in the Sky (1940), and he choreographed for a few movies in Hollywood, including On Your Toes (1939) and Star Spangled Rhythm (1942), while trying to gather support for a ballet company. His interest in jazz music and jazz dance filtered into his stage and screen choreography, and his work with Katherine Dunham and her dance company in Cabin in the Sky furthered the combination of balletic elements with dance from the Caribbean. An anthropologist and a dancer, Dunham had been actively fusing her training in modern dance and ballet with dances from Jamaica, Haiti, and Martinique. The Dunham technique features suppleness in the spine, a polyrhythmic approach, achieving multiple rhythmic actions in multiple body parts simultaneously, and the isolation of the limbs— all aspects that can be seen in jazz dance—and her style is also known as Afro-Caribbean jazz. The results of their successful, though brief, collaboration inspired dancers and choreographers on both coasts to further explore and develop jazz dance.

Primary Principles of Jazz Dance Although the development of jazz dance has resulted in multiple styles and a large lexicon of steps and movements, the styles can be connected through some basic elements threaded through the jazz aesthetic. What makes jazz dance look like jazz dance includes the use of syncopation in the movement, its relationship with gravity, articulated movement known as isolations, and the dynamic presentation of the dancing, meant to be shared with an audience.

Syncopation Jazz dancing as it is known today is closely tied to music, initially springing from jazz music. One of the hallmarks of jazz music is syncopation, or placing accents, or stress, off the regular beat of a song, producing unexpected and exciting rhythms in the dancing. Although jazz dancing parted ways with jazz music around the middle of the 20th century, the moniker stuck and followed the style of dance as it split into theatrical dance seen in movies, commercial dance, and musical theater and the concert stage. Jazz dancing can be identified by its prominent use of syncopation in choreography.

Tense Relationship to Gravity Jazz dance can be differentiated from ballet and modern dance due to its distinctive use of weight. Where ballet most often defies gravity and modern dance allows for a surrender to gravity, jazz maintains a space in between the two techniques, bent and ever coiled for attack, and returns to the same ready stance in between more vigorous dance phrases. The technique can be explosive or cool, but the underlying tension with gravity remains constant.

Isolations Moving one body part at a time, or isolations, is a key skill to cultivate when learning or performing jazz dance. Jazz dancers practice articulating head, shoulder, hip, and torso movements in class, and these movement isolations are often used as accents when dancing to syncopated music. The more facility dancers utilize

to isolate body parts, the more musicality they can exhibit in their dancing.

Dynamism Regardless of style, jazz dancing is about attack. Jazz dancing can be smooth, but it isn’t soft. The more dynamic the fluctuations of energy are in the dancing, the more exciting the performance is to watch. The form is highly presentational, and connecting with the audience is intentional.

Training and Performing Jazz dance is taught primarily in the private sector, in dance studios across the country, but dancers can also train in university programs, in public and private schools, and at summer intensives and conferences sponsored by well-known teachers and choreographers. Dance studios typically offer training to elementary and secondary school students and may offer a few adult classes. Private studios may or may not participate in national competitions, depending on their teaching philosophy. Those that compete pay fees to have their dances judged for possible prizes and awards in adjudicated performances, and the event may offer classes with master teachers, respected instructors in the field. Most of the classes offered are in popular jazz styles, but also include hip-hop and fusion jazz styles. Jazz dance in higher education can prove to be a difficult transition for dancers trained in competitive studio environments because jazz dance classes in college and university programs typically focus on modern and contemporary dance and ballet. If jazz dance is offered, it is not presented as a required technique, rather it is presented as Broadway dance or as one of several genres, including tap, to prepare students for dance they might encounter when pursuing musical-theater performance work. Currently, a handful of schools offer a jazz concentration or strong jazz dance programs, and offerings at K-12 public and private schools vary nationwide. Drill teams and dance teams also participate in regional competitions that include jazz dance categories, such as lyrical dance.

Jazz Dance Class and Technique Basics Jazz classes vary widely and often include movement favored by the teacher or typical of the style of jazz featured in class. Most classes begin the warm-up in the center of the studio. Many use the structure of a ballet barre, sequencing the exercises to gradually warm up the feet, knees, and hips, and focus on core strength and stretches once the body is fully warm. Teachers utilize isolations to encourage

articulations of the joints and syncopated rhythmic structures that follow the musical structure of the accompaniment, either prerecorded music or live percussion. Dancers perform skills across the floor, such as turns and locomotor-based combinations, as the class prepares to learn the final combination. The following list includes some steps encountered in a typical jazz class: Jazz hands—splayed fingers at the end of the wrist Jazz walks—stylized walks with bent knees and a low center of gravity Jazz square—four steps in the shape of a square that includes a step crossing one leg over the other Chassé ball change—a slide with one foot chasing the other (borrowed from ballet), followed by a rocking motion that changes weight from one foot to the other foot Grapevine—a series of steps to the side, alternately crossing and uncrossing the feet Hip rolls—an isolation of the hip in a rolling motion Dig—a step shared with tap dance featuring a lifted heel, providing space for hip movements, and increasing the ability to change weight from one foot to the other Pivot turn—an abrupt change of direction beginning with a step and following with a turn to face the opposite direction Jazz pirouette—a turn on one leg (the standing leg) with the other knee (of the working leg) lifted and the toe touching the inside of the knee of the standing leg; borrowed from ballet and performed in parallel rather than in a turned-out position Jazz pas de bourrée—a three-part step borrowed from ballet that includes a crossing of feet and two weight changes Layout—a weight change step that involves thrusting the leg and hip forward while throwing the upper body backward, effectively pulling the body off balance Leaps—a wide assortment with multiple names that include leaps with one leg leading, leaps facing the audience, leaps with one or both knees bent, or leaps with legs switching spots in mid-air

Performance Attire Jazz class attire consists of close-fitting clothing, such as leotards and tights, or stretchy shirts and pants, and jazz shoes or sneakers, most often in black. Performance attire varies depending on the style of the choreography and the theme of the dance. Performers wear a range of costuming, including fancier versions of class attire, costumes that resemble street clothes, or novelty costumes.

Major Influencers in Jazz Dance In the 1940s and 1950s, as theatrical jazz developed on Broadway and in Hollywood musicals, jazz became the technique of choice for musicals, and choreographers who were able to cross over from stage to screen wielded the most impact on the aesthetic direction of jazz dance. Respected Broadway choreographers like Jerome Robbins combined ballet elements with jazz for shows, such as West Side Story (1957), and his co-choreographer Peter Gennaro trained with Katherine Dunham, but Robbins used jazz as a primary element only in particular shows. Conversely, choreographer and film director Bob Fosse dedicated his artistic output in the pursuit of theatrical jazz. Master teachers Gus Giordano in Chicago and Luigi and Frank Hatchett in New York City codified the jazz technique and shared their own particular styles with generations of students, and Matt Mattox introduced the art of jazz dance to Europe.

Choreographer Bob Fosse rehearses dancers for a musical in 1965. Bettmann/Getty Images

Bob Fosse (1927-1987)

Born in Chicago, Bob Fosse began his formal dance training at a very young age, enrolling in tap dance and formal ballet dance classes, with aspirations to be a performer like Fred Astaire. However, the graceful style of ballet dance was difficult for him and, although he was a competent dancer, he didn’t excel at tap dance. He instead embraced elements of jazz dance in the early 1950s, turning his insecurities as a dancer into strengths by wearing hats and gloves because he was balding and didn’t like his hands. He incorporated turned-in feet and rolled-over shoulders into his technique, exaggerating his “faults” as a dancer. His idiosyncratic movement style also included slouched-over upper bodies, and isolated movements of body parts and was not only different than any other movement that was being created at the time, but challenging to perform. Fosse choreographed multiple hits on Broadway and a number of shows transferred to Hollywood musicals, including The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, and Sweet Charity. His groundbreaking films Cabaret (1972) and All That Jazz (1979) highlight both his dance-making prowess and his artistry as a film director. The 2019 FX network feature Fosse/Verdon captures his professional and personal relationship with Gwen Verdon, his one-time wife and muse who previously danced with Jack Cole.

Gus Giordano (1923-2008) Gus Giordano grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and started dancing at the age of five. He performed on Broadway and on television variety shows before relocating to the Chicago area in 1953 and founding the Giordano Dance School, where he refined and codified his style. Developing core strength is important to the Giordano style, as “all movement emanates from the strength and control of the musculature in and around the pelvis (“the center”)” (Guarino 2014, 105). Legs are turned in or parallel as much as turned out, and dancers are grounded, yet elegant. He laid the groundwork in all areas for jazz dance to develop, founding the first professional jazz dance company, Giordano Dance Chicago, in 1963, dedicated to presenting concert jazz dance onstage. His pioneering work on television brought jazz dance into local living rooms. Giordano taught dance on local television and won two Emmy Awards for his

performance work in the medium. He also supported Judi Sheppard Missett, the originator of Jazzercise, a popular combination of dance and exercise, and wrote an anthology on American jazz dance, compiling his knowledge of jazz terminology up to 1975. Giordano continued his impact in the jazz dance field by developing the Jazz Dance World Congress in 1990, and he invited other master teachers Matt Mattox, Luigi, Frank Hatchett, and Joe Tremaine, to participate and teach class. His company is still performing today, and his technique remains a foundational part of a jazz dancer’s training.

Luigi (1925-2015) Eugene Faccuito, professionally known as “Luigi,” began studying dance at the age of 21, a late age to begin for a professional. His ballet class experience shaped his views on training and inspired him to create Luigi’s Jazz Warm Up. After a car accident paralyzed the right side of his body, doctors told him that he would never walk again. He followed the traditionally prescribed physical therapies but was not progressing as he wanted. He took control of his therapy by creating his own stretches and using his body as a location to experiment with movement options. Not only did he gain the ability to walk again, he restarted his professional dance career and became a dancer and choreographer in Hollywood. Gene Kelly gave him the nickname “Luigi” and became a mentor to him. Luigi appeared in many Hollywood musicals, including An American in Paris (1951), Singin’ In The Rain (1952), and The Band Wagon (1953), three of the most-acclaimed musicals from the golden age of Hollywood. In 1956, Luigi made the move from west to east and settled in New York City, where he performed on Broadway and began teaching. Through teaching, his jazz style and warm up became fully developed and codified, using influences from ballet dance, movie musicals, and his work on Broadway to shape his technique. His style is considered to be sophisticated, balanced, and always in motion. His use of isolations of the body encouraged strength building while maintaining a mindful approach to safety.

JAZZ DANCE WORLD CONGRESS Established in 1990, the Jazz Dance World Congress, presented by Gus Giordano and Northwestern University, was founded on the principal that jazz dance should be appreciated and celebrated as an art form. The first meeting was created to feature jazz dancers and offer classes, and it later offered a choreography showcase concert. The Jazz Dance World Congress brings jazz dancers from all over the world to teach and feature their choreography in performance, and the events are now held in Mexico, Germany, and Japan. Recently, this event also began offering an international choreography competition. Even after Giordano’s death, this event continues to offer jazz dancers from all over the world an opportunity to perform and learn. Although the event is not offered every year, Gus Giordano’s legacy will continue to live on through his school, technique, and company.

Frank Hatchett (1935-2013) Frank Hatchett is best known as a teacher and choreographer and most importantly, the developer of the VOP style. The letters VOP do not represent an acronym; instead VOP is described as energy and was a term that Hatchett used to communicate encouragement to his students. Known as “The Doctor of Jazz,” Hatchett began his dance training at a young age in a local dance studio in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated from college while also pursuing a professional career in dance, and after graduation, Hatchett opened his own studio in Springfield, before relocating to New York City. Hatchett began developing a style of jazz dance that had African, East-Indian, and Caribbean influences. Like Giordano, Mattox, and Luigi, Hatchett codified his VOP style, publishing the book, Frank Hatchett’s Jazz Dance in 2000. Energy and the connection to music is what matters most in the VOP style. He traveled the world teaching through dance convention circuits, sharing his unique style with dancers of all ages. In support of this focus on dance education, Hatchett co-established what is now known as the Broadway Dance Center of Performing Arts with tap dancer Maurice Hines, in 1982.

BROADWAY DANCE CENTER (BDC) This popular studio is located in the heart of New York City, just west of Times Square. What makes this studio unique is it was the first dance training school where a student could drop into a single class. It wasn’t the traditional private sector dance studio that was strictly for young students with occasional adult classes. It connected all people to dance. BDC offers classes in all styles of dance for all ages. Professional dancers working on Broadway by night, take classes at BDC by day. Many established dance teachers got their start teaching at Broadway Dance Center, and the center flourished in the 1980s before facing financial challenges. Despite relocations of the studio, it continued to offer top-rated classes to the dance profession. In 2017, a second location of Broadway Dance Center opened with a focus on younger students. To date, BDC has over 300 classes weekly with more than 80 teachers and offers apprenticeships, work-study programs, and summer programs for younger students. In 2020, the cost for a single drop in class at Broadway Dance Center is $22, but a variety of class packages can be purchased.

Matt Mattox (1921-2013) Born in Oklahoma, Matt Mattox worked with Jack Cole, but his earliest influences were from the ballet dance classes he began taking after moving to California when he was a youth, where ballet dancer and Hollywood musical choreographer Eugene Loring mentored him. Mattox appeared in a number of movie musicals, such as The Band Wagon (1953) and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954), and on Broadway in Once Upon a Mattress (1960), and he was a frequent guest on television variety shows. Mattox relied on his strict ballet training and experience when developing his style, which closely follows the progression of a ballet class. In a ballet class, dancers begin with barre work and gradually move to the center of the studio and then travel throughout the studio; however, the Mattox class dispenses with the actual barre and begins in the center of the studio. The use of isolations is important

in the Matt Mattox style of jazz dance because they require strength and lead to increased control and coordination of the body and body parts. A polyrhythmic coordination of arms and legs is key to connecting the movements together and developing student growth in this style. Mattox spent the last part of his life in Europe introducing the continent to jazz dance and founding a dance company. He remains one of the most influential teachers of jazz dance in the United States. Table 7.1 summarizes the jazz dance styles discussed in this section.

Female Voices in Jazz Dance—The Next Generation At a glance, the beginnings of jazz dance appear as if the field were saturated by male dancers, but that is not the case. When jazz dance emerged in the middle of the 20th century, many famous female dancers were working on Broadway, in the classroom, and on film and television. These brilliant female dancers danced alongside the creators and masters of jazz dance, soon sharing their innovations as performers, choreographers, and teachers. Featured in the following sections are three of the leading voices in jazz dance today: Lynn Simonson, Sherry Zunker, and Mia Michaels.

Lynn Simonson (1943-) Lynn Simonson is considered an educator in the field of dance and is known internationally. She was classically trained in ballet technique but has strong musical influences that led her to jazz dance and her unique Simonson technique. She developed an early love of jazz music, and her parents were connected to the musical field: Her father was a violinist in the Seattle Symphony and her mother owned a local dance studio. Simonson went on to teach at her mother’s studio and then entered the professional dance world, acting and dancing in summer stock musicals. After graduating from high school, Lynn Simonson relocated to New York City where she continued her study of dance at American Ballet Theatre. She secured work at Radio City Music Hall as a dancer and while she performed, she continued her training, exploring many styles of modern dance and jazz dance. Her earliest jazz dance influencer was Luigi.

Table 7.1   Summary of Jazz Dance Styles Style

Description

Influences

Discussion

Style

Description

Influences

Gus Giordano jazz dance

A codified style of jazz dance, it often is executed in parallel position and focuses heavily on hinges and flat back actions throughout the exercises. Considered a classical style, Giordano style is based on developing strength and control in and around the pelvis. Exercises at a glance offer familiar terminology from the areas of ballet and modern dance, such as coupé, arabesque, and contraction.

Minette Buchman, his Describe the early dance teacher in characteristics of Gus St. Louis Giordano’s technique. Hayna Holm Katherine Dunham Alwin Nikolais Unnamed vocal teachers

Luigi jazz dance

A codified jazz dance style, its primary focus supports the use of isolations in the body. This style is always executed in parallel positions. The upper and lower parts of the body are always separated, arm positions are always strongly supported, and the movement never stops. This style embraces the concepts of barre work, but without the barre, instead focusing on activity in the center of the dance space.

The Cecchetti ballet method Bronislava Nijinska Michel Fokine Eugene Loring Sally Whalen Gene Kelly Fred Astaire Movie musicals

Describe what an isolation is in dance.

Frank Hatchett jazz dance

Using the VOP technique, this style is nonconforming to any style of dance. It is a full-body experience, with a strong emphasis on the body’s physical anatomy and the relationship of movement and music.

Katherine Dunham, African dance East-Indian dance Caribbean dance Martial arts Hip-hop Rhythm

Compare Frank Hatchett’s style of dance, known as VOP, to other dance styles. What are the similarities?

Matt Mattox jazz dance

Considered “modern jazz” by Mattox, this is a free style of jazz dance most popular in New York City. Inspired by his work with Jack Cole, it is a codified set of exercises that acknowledges strong foundations in ballet technique paired with isolated movement. This progressional technique is light and is executed in the center of the dance space.

Ballet dance Jack Cole Eugene Loring Broadway Movie musicals Tap dance Ballroom dance East-Indian dance

How are Matt Mattox’s and Jack Cole’s careers similar?

Vagonova ballet training Musical artists Miles Davis and John Coltrane Jamie Rogers Claude Thompson Luigi

Compare the Simonson technique to other somatic styles that you are familiar with. What are the similarities and differences?

Simonson Lynn Siomonson’s technique serves technique professional dancers who are actively performing. The technique is described as powerful and balanced. A Simonson class is a minimum of two hours, supporting the idea that only a fully warmed-up body can execute dance successfully. This technique led to the development of the Simonson Method of Teacher Training program.

Discussion

Choreographer, dancer, and dance anthropologist Katherine Dunham performing. Gjon Mili/The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images

Simonson was later invited to teach in Amsterdam and while there, she began developing the Simonson technique. Upon returning to the United States in the early 1970s, Simonson started her own company in 1972 in New York City. The Simonson technique has a foundation in injury prevention while embracing jazz music as support for the movement. Unlike other techniques, this technique class has a minimum of two hours, including a warm up with stretching components and a focus on specific body areas, such

as the core, upper body, lower body, and spinal alignment. The technique relies on ballet technique components, such as pliés and tendus, along with exciting jazz dance influences. Her technique also utilizes contractions from modern dance, somatic practice from yoga, and body-mind centering from the Alexander technique, to create an original and unique jazz dance experience. A Simonson Method Teacher Training opportunity keeps the integrity of the technique protected while allowing access for new teachers to share it with the next generation.

SPOTLIGHT Mary Ann Lamb (1959-) Mary Ann Lamb is an accomplished performer, actress, choreographer, director, and human-rights activist. But, most importantly for her, she was able to achieve success as a dance teacher by overcoming challenging obstacles. As a child, she was labeled as hyperactive, a label she struggled with throughout her youth. For her, dance class was a place for healing and growth, and above all, a place to work hard. Lamb’s professional dance career began at the age of 18, when she moved to New York City. Her brief stay of six months was a period of fear and doubt. Most dancers likely have a story about when a teacher, choreographer, director, or producer told them they would never make it in the profession, and Mary Ann Lamb is no exception.

She returned to her home in Las Vegas but eventually returned to New York, renewed with inspiration and positivity and ready to make the city her home. As a performer, Lamb danced in 11 Broadway shows. She played Young Claire in John Kander and Fred Ebb’s, The Visit, starring Chita Rivera. She danced in the films Rock of Ages (2012) and the Oscar award-winning movie, Chicago (2002). On Broadway, she played Mona Page in Curtains, starring David Hyde Pierce, and in the Paper Mill Playhouse production of Curtains, choreographed by JoAnn Hunter. Other Broadway credits include Contact; Seussical; Fosse; Chicago; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum; Jerome Robbins’ Broadway; Song and Dance; Goodbye Girl; Starlight Express; and Carrie. In addition to Broadway, Lamb has danced in eight productions at New York’s City Center in the prestigious Encore series. She played the lead role of Anna in the York Theater’s off-Broadway presentation of New Girl in Town; Lola in Sacramento Music Circus’s production of Damn Yankees; and Cerraine at Boston’s Huntington Theater in Lady From Maxims. Additionally, she danced in a variety of television roles, commercials, and films, including The In Crowd, Portrait of a Showgirl, and As the World Turns. In 2019, she was honored to dance with The Muppets in their latest adventure film, Letters to Santa. Lamb’s extensive dance career is featured in the PBS documentary Working Dancers II, and her vision of dance is shaped from working with fellow choreographers and directors Jerome Robbins, Graciela Daniele, Gwen Verdon, Ann Reinking, Kathleen Marshall, Susan Stroman, and Rob Marshall. When talking with Lamb, what stands out is her passion as a teacher and her encouragement of others. She did not begin teaching until her early 50s, and the decision to teach was a difficult one. Often, dance educators describe their first teaching experience being in a studio with a group of 30 dancers or less. Lamb’s first teaching experience was for the Showstopper National Convention in a ballroom space with 500 students. Despite the class being a success, she realized she would need more training as a teacher.

By studying the Lynn Simonson technique, it helped her to shape her classes. Lamb prioritized observing other teachers, in all areas of dance, which benefitted her teaching immensely. Lamb’s class is unique because she embeds her theater background into it. In Lamb’s words, “Dance is just acting with your body. Your choreography is your script, just like an actor.” When teaching technique class, she focuses on inspiring students to feel free to connect to their bodies, rather than emphasize the technique. Mary Ann Lamb has touched the lives of thousands of students and continues to do so today. She is active in academic programs, teaching part-time when her schedule allows, and she continues to dance professionally. From the stage of Broadway to the Hollywood screen, to a socially inspired performance at the 2019 Video Music Awards, with Taylor Swift’s live re-creation of the music video “You Need to Calm Down,” Mary Ann Lamb is an unstoppable force to this day. She feels fortunate that her career allows her to continue doing what she loves. She truly cares about the growth and development of young artists and shows it by paying it forward and helping students make their own marks in the dance field.

Sherry Zunker Sherry Zunker’s career began as a dancer in Giordano Dance Chicago. She was the artistic director of the professional company River North and had a solo role in Bob Fosse’s touring company Dancin’. These professional experiences led Zunker to the field of choreography where she has excelled. Most notably, in 2009, Zunker’s work was featured on the Jazz Dance World Congress stage, receiving a standing ovation at that year’s performance. She has created choreographic works in many sectors, including the concert stage and cruise lines, but more recently, she has taken a similar approach as Lynn Simonson did, and has begun focusing on what she calls “a therapeutic approach” to dance and dance training. In 2008, she founded her Mature Dance Project (MDP) and focused on retired professional dancers. Within this project, she offered

BeMoved classes, which kept in mind the age of all of the enrolled dancers. She wants her classes to be safe for the body while allowing the dancers to feel great, look great, and move with integrity, providing space for continued self-discovery in this stage of their lives.

Mia Michaels (1966-) Mia Michaels Melchiona, known in the professional world as Mia Michaels, trained in many styles of dance, including ballet, tap, and jazz dance, in Miami, Florida. Michaels is best known for her work on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance, but she also was responsible for staged concert choreography for her dance company RAW (Reality at Work) that was established in 1997. Her work extends into many sectors that include Broadway and Off Broadway; professional companies, such as Giordano Dance Chicago; the Las Vegas dance scene; touring shows, such as Cirque du Soleil; a number of dance competitions and conventions; and with well-known celebrities, such as Madonna, Celine Dion, and Prince. Michaels is a prime example of a freelance dance artist working in multiple sectors of both concert and commercial jazz dance. She is a teacher, choreographer, director, and writer for stage and film. In 2016, Michaels choreographed for the Radio City Rockettes and in 2020, she further extended her reach by providing choreography for the animated film The SpongeBob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge. Mia Michaels has benefited from jazz dance and its influencers, following in their footsteps and seeking out opportunities in all areas of the field.

Summary Early influences of jazz dance hold roots from Africa and many other parts of the world, including Latin and Caribbean cultures. Jazz dance also borrows from traditional styles of ballet and modern dance, with stage and vernacular jazz dance influences as well. Students can train in multiple codified jazz styles, developed by trained dancers and choreographers initially from the fields of ballet and modern dance, and later by jazz dance innovators, who were inspired by injury prevention.

Critical Thinking Based on the origins of jazz dance to its evolution and present-day activity, where do you believe the jazz dance field will be in the next century?

Discussion Questions 1. Select two or three styles of jazz dance discussed in this chapter and explain their similarities and differences. 2. Where have you experienced jazz dance as a viewer or performer? Some examples might include stage or concert, films, television, online, classes, or other areas. 3. Which person, style, or event do you think had the most influence on the field of jazz dance and why? For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

8 Tap Dance

Key Terms shim sham shimmy traditional tap soft-shoe hoofing rhythm tap

funk tap a capella articulation class acts ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Tap is a versatile American dance genre that can be viewed on stages and screens and is performed by dancers of all ages. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Discover the influences of tap dance. Compare and contrast the five styles of tap dance. Identify American artists who have influenced the tap dance field on stage and in film. Discuss how 21st-century tap dance artists are creating cultural change in the mainstream. Tap dance is

composed of unique and diverse styles and has many celebrated artists, whose careers span decades and can be viewed in film, on television, and on Broadway stages. What makes tap dance especially unique is how tap dancers utilize shoes to make sounds, and tap dancers often consider themselves both music makers and dancers. Tap dance uses the feet as its primary

source of movement, and rhythm is essential when performing in any style. There are many professional opportunities to perform for national and international companies, educate students of all ages on the skills of tap dance, and expand the knowledge of tap dance into disciplines and professions beyond the stage or screen.

Origins of Tap Dance Although the roots of tap dance can be traced back to Africa and Ireland, tap dance was created in the melting pot of the United States. Irish step dancing, which traveled to North America with various waves of immigration from Ireland, can be traced back to the 15th century, while African dance has been around for far longer, and is embedded within African culture by way of music, song, and dance, and is passed down from generation to generation. Those individuals who were uprooted from their homeland, transported to North America, and forced into slavery, brought their homeland’s heritage to North America. This heritage also included percussive instruments and traditional dances and songs. In the early 1600s, after Dutch traders forced enslaved Africans to North America, slave owners started to become uncomfortable with the music, instruments, and dancing the enslaved Africans exhibited, fearing they might revolt if they gathered in large numbers. With their musical instruments such as drums, bells, and tambourines taken away from them, the enslaved people began using their physical bodies to make sounds, leading to the earliest forms of tap dance. Tap dance as we know it today originated in the United States in the early 19th century. William Henry Lane, also known as Master Juba, is considered the first dancer to perform tap dance professionally in the United States, around 1845. His style can be described as a mix of Irish reel steps, clogging, and African rhythms. Master Juba performed in minstrel shows, a popular form of entertainment in the 19th century that declined in popularity during the Civil War because of the use of controversial, and now illegal, blackface portrayals. Following the Civil War, vaudeville variety shows emerged as a source of social entertainment, and tap dance had an integral part in the popularity of these shows. Vaudeville performances featured song and dance, magicians, and novelty acts such as trained animals, in small and large theaters across the country. Vaudeville introduced tap dance into mainstream culture, featuring African American performers such as Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, who later became the most highly paid African American film star of the early

20th century and is best known for performing with child star Shirley Temple in several 1930s films. Benjamin Franklin Keith, credited as “The Father of American Vaudeville,” was a savvy businessman who amassed and managed a chain of theaters that hosted variety shows in both the United States and Canada. Other producers took up the idea and created a network for touring performers that crisscrossed the country. This family-friendly form of entertainment created expectations for respectful audience behavior: Smoking was prohibited, talking was not permitted during any part of a performance act, and applause was the preferred choice to show respect to the performing artists. These early rules and regulations for audience behavior still remain in place in today’s theaters.

Bernard Woma and Saakumu Dance Troupe from Ghana, Africa, performing Bewaa, a popular recreational dance from the Dagara ethnic group of northern Ghana. Courtesy of Dagara Music Center.

Tap Dance in the 20th Century and Beyond Besides training audiences, the vaudeville circuit helped to spread the art of tap dance around the country. In 1917, a 10-year-old Leonard Reed (1907-2004) landed in Kansas City, Missouri, and began developing the tap Charleston, winning every contest that he entered. At age 15, Reed would frequent the Hoofers Club in Harlem, New York City, where he formed a partnership with Willie Bryant. They quickly became the sensational duo Reed & Bryant Brains as Well as Feet and included an opening number of soft-shoe tap style (to be described later in the chapter). The popular duo toured the vaudeville circuit, performing a dance that later became the shim sham shimmy. The dance embraced popular swing music and was similar to current line dances. While the dance has many variations, the basic rhythm of the step remains the same. Since it is widely known that hoofers steal, or trade steps, the dance was created to be easily learned by other tappers. However, the spirit of sharing encouraged multiple variations of the combination, which caused disagreement within the tap dance community about the shim sham shimmy’s origins, but Reed and Bryant are credited with sharing the shim sham shimmy with the tap community. The dance was performed at the end of an act, bringing dancers, musicians, and singers onstage for one final dance. Hollywood introduced tap dancers to an even broader audience through film. The addition of sound in 1929 helped tap dance to thrive during a time known as the Golden Age of Hollywood, from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s. The film industry featured talented dance partners Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, and solo dancers Gene Kelly and Eleanor Powell, in lavish musicals. In the second half of the 20th century, tap dance faced a rapid decline in popularity until it emerged again in the 1980s, when Broadway stage productions and popular films breathed new life into the tap dance field. Popular Broadway shows such as 42nd Street (1980) and The Tap Dance Kid (1983) introduced new stars, such as Savion Glover, and featured strong choreographic voices. Other touring shows paid

homage to the lives of established and under-appreciated tap artists and legends. In 2009, the Thank You, Gregory! tour traveled across the United States, celebrating and paying tribute to tapper Gregory Hines, who died in 2003. Written and choreographed by Tony Waag, a tap dancer from the American Tap Dance Foundation, this show featured Emmy Award winner Jason Samuels Smith and other leading dancers such as Chloé Arnold. Additional tributes were made during the show to legends Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Ruby Keeler, Eleanor Powell, Fred Astaire, Gingers Rogers, the Nicholas Brothers, Charles “Honi” Coles, and Brenda Bufalino. The end of the show featured the shim sham shimmy, and it allowed all tap dancers from the audience to join the cast on the stage. It was a time of celebration and building of community, just as Reed and Bryant had intended for the performance of this dance. The shim sham shimmy is a mainstay at tap performances, remaining present in the tap dance community today and is considered a tap dancer’s anthem.

TAP TERMINOLOGY buffalo—Jump shuffle jump with the beginning jumping leg placed in front of the opposite leg. Cincinnati—Brush heel shuffle heel step. cramp roll—Toe toe heel heel (four-count cramp roll). flap—Brush step, moving forward step. Irish—Shuffle hop step. Maxi Ford—Jump shuffle jump toe. shuffle—Brush forward brush back. time step—Stomp hop step flap step (single time step). wings—Both feet brush out to either side at the same time, brush (out) brush (in) step (double wing). Tap dance continues to influence the country and mainstream media outlets. The animated film Happy Feet (2006), about an awkward penguin who tap dances, helped to renew interest in tap dance, particularly since the tapping was provided by the fast-

moving feet of Savion Glover, who studied with some of the greatest tap dance hoofers in the business: Sammy Davis Jr., Gregory Hines, Buster Brown, Sandman Sims, Bunny Briggs, and Jimmy Slyde. Tap dancer Chloé Arnold has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, and Dancing With the Stars, and she continues to remain active. Arnold is best known for her company Chloé’s The Syncopated Ladies, exploding the Internet with the Beyoncé Tap Salute.

Styles of Tap Dance The dancing of tap dance masters and innovators, such as Sandman Sims, Buster Brown, Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, and Gregory Hines, continue to inspire the youngest and newest generations currently working in the field to connect to all of the styles of tap dance today. In the United States, there are five established styles of tap dance: traditional tap, soft-shoe, hoofing, rhythm tap, and funk tap. This section will describe the styles and provide examples of artists who typify or embody each style.

Traditional Tap Traditional tap is also called classical tap or Broadway tap. This style can be described as very upright, meaning the proper body alignment for traditional tap is similar to that of ballet dance: an elongated spine with a long neck, shoulders down, rib cage contained, and heels lifted off the ground. The women in this style often wear high-heeled shoes, while the men wear Oxford shoes, similar to dress shoes. Traditional tap is often coupled with a staged show, perhaps on Broadway, and therefore a story is attached to the tap dancing, and the movement assists with communicating the story. Costumes are often elaborate, using sequins and feathers, rhinestones, or period clothing. In this style, traditional tap dance steps that are almost always performed include time steps, wings, and basic tap steps such as Irish, buffalo, Maxi Ford, and leap shuffles. American tap dance shoes can come in several styles that include Oxford, Mary Jane, or sneaker styles. The Oxford style of shoe is a unisex shoe that is constructed using leather. Beginning tap dancers often use the Mary Jane style of shoe, which is constructed of shiny patent leather with a strap across the top. The sneaker style of shoe uses the style of a traditional sneaker, but adds a wooden sole to support the metal attached to the shoe. The sneaker style is considered more urban than the other tap dance shoe styles.

The various styles of tap shoes.

Fred Astaire (1899 – 1987) Fred Astaire is best known as the tap dancing star of many Hollywood musicals from the 1930s to 1950s era, with gorgeous female partners by his side. His leading partner was Ginger Rogers, and the dynamic pair made nine films together with their most memorable films considered to be Top Hat (1935) and Swing Time (1936). Other notable partnerships include Eleanor Powell, hoofer extraordinaire; Judy Garland, who is most recognized as Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (1939); and Audrey Hepburn, an icon of film and fashion style.

Eleanor Powell (1912-1982) Eleanor Powell, popular dancer and actor in the 1930s and 1940s, was famous for her fast turns while tap dancing up and down elaborately built stairs in Hollywood musical films. Powell was also a one-time dance partner of legendary Hollywood musical star Fred Astaire. Jennifer Lane, who was featured in the 1990s’ “Great Performances” episode of Tap Dance in America, dedicates her life to the study of Eleanor Powell’s career, and in particular her style of dance, deconstructing legendary performances of Powell’s. While high-heeled tap shoes often defined whether or not tap dancing was classified as the musical theater style, the U.S. Suffragist Movement began to lift women to the same status as men, and female performers on the Broadway stage could be seen wearing Oxford shoes.

The Syncopated Ladies The Syncopated Ladies, an all-female tap dance company based in Los Angeles, was founded by Chloé Arnold, a dancer with strong

connections to tap communities on the East Coast. This group of talented tap dancers, whose roots are connected to tap dance masters and hoofers, such as the Nicholas Brothers, Gregory Hines, and Dianne Walker, are taking tap dance down a path that embraces social media and the music industry. Their Beyoncé Formation tribute pushed the group into the mainstream community, and they received attention from major news outlets across the globe for their work. What is most striking about the tribute is that all of the women are wearing high-heeled tap shoes. Although they may identify as rhythm tappers or hoofers, their choice to perform in high-heeled tap shoes harkens back to musical theater tap dancing greats Ruby Keeler and Eleanor Powell.

Rhythm Tap Rhythm tap is a style of tap dance that utilizes syncopated rhythms and is often performed a capella. Syncopated tap dance rhythms can be described as sounds that are executed on the offbeat or off of the count of 1 and between count 1 and 2. A capella can be defined as without the accompaniment of instruments. John W. Bubbles (1902-1986) is considered to be the first tap dancer to showcase rhythm tap on the stage. The complex rhythms of rhythm tap are more like making music rather than dancing for entertainment. Tap dancer Gregory Hines returned rhythm tap to mainstream popularity in the 1980s, and he was featured in a number of films, documentaries, and televisions shows. Other groups such as Tap Dogs and the American Tap Dance Orchestra, led by artistic director Brenda Bufalino and featured on Tap Dance in America, at times showcases complex rhythms without a musical score and is an apt demonstration of rhythm tap. While the professional dance company STOMP is a musical company rather than a dance company, many consider it a group of tap dancers. STOMP’s use of props, such as brooms and trash cans, contribute to the sounds and rhythms performers make with their physical bodies.

The Syncopated Ladies perform onstage during Dizzy Feet Foundation’s Celebration Of Dance Gala at The Music Center in Los Angeles, California. Angela Weiss/Getty Images for Dizzy Feet Foundation

John W. Bubbles (1902-1986) John W. Bubbles, considered the father of rhythm tap, was the first tap dancer to drop his heels during his dancing, allowing him to accent the off beats of the music and he deviated from the standard use of music that was typically eight bars long. He began performing at the young age of 10, and in 1922, his dancing partner Ford Lee “Buck” Washington took their act to vaudeville, where they gained widespread acclaim. Their success continued as they performed in theaters across the United States, including the Apollo, the Cotton Club, and Radio City Music Hall. Bubbles also had a successful solo career on Broadway that included Lew Leslie’s Blackbirds of 1930, Ziegfeld Follies of 1931, and Porgy and Bess (1935). John W. Bubbles’ work has influenced rhythm tappers, both past and presentday.

Tap Dogs The touring company Tap Dogs entered the tap dance community in the mid-1990s with a show that featured industrial-influenced tap dance. Often categorized with STOMP, the difference between Tap Dogs and STOMP is how Tap Dogs identified as tap dancers and had metal taps on the bottoms of their shoes. Originally from Australia, Tap Dogs creator Dein Perry used the resources that he

grew up with—a variety of surfaces, such as wood, metal, and water that could be found at construction sites—to showcase the fast tap dancing skills of the Tap Dogs performers.

Soft-Shoe Soft-shoe is a classical tap style and described as soft, delicate, controlled, and can be powerful, while using slow and fast tempos. Traditionally, soft-shoe is performed in soft-soled shoes without metal taps. Soft-shoe tap dance is one of the most challenging, difficult, and stunning styles of tap dance. Beginning tap dancers should never be asked to train in the soft-shoe style of tap dance without introductory skill achievement in the other styles of tap dance. This style of tap utilizes traditional and basic tap dance steps and requires the dancer to articulate the sounds and the use of the foot and body without sound enhancement. Articulation in tap dancing is clearly separating the sounds the feet make with the tap shoes. Soft-shoe became popular in the late 1800s along the vaudeville circuit and was used by class acts. As tap dance modernized, soft-shoe tap dancing began using traditional tap dance shoes that had metal-bottomed soles, but this alteration in no way changed the spirit of soft-shoe dancing.

Class Acts Class acts are defined as the top acts of the tap dance field. At the beginning of the 20th century, African American performers started to dominate the performance landscape, executing thrilling dances on stages across the country. The class act that pioneered the field was duo Charles Johnson and Dora Babbige Dean, known as Johnson and Dean. They were always impeccably dressed, he in a top hat, cane, and tailcoat, and she in a glamorous formal dress and gloves. The Nicholas Brothers (Harold and Fayard Nicholas) were next to take over the mantle of the class act, with their most memorable dance display involving the pair jumping over each other’s heads and then landing in leg splits on the floor, all while wearing tuxedos. When Coles and Atkins took to the stage, their artistry as a class act reached an elite level. One of the greatest class acts of all time, Charles “Honi” Coles and Charles “Cholly”

Atkins were a unique duo act that highlighted their fresh style with grace as a focal point of their performances. Although they were not the first to use soft-shoe style in their act, they were the first partnership to dominate in the soft-shoe style, as they toured nationally and internationally with 1940s jazz and swing bands led by Cab Calloway and Count Basie. Coles was known for having the fastest feet in the tap dance field, and Atkins won a Tony Award for his choreography in the hit Broadway show Black and Blue (1989). The dance number Slow Soft Shoe is one of their most acclaimed pieces, and in the early 1990s, tap dance master Gregory Hines and Broadway choreographer Tommy Tune performed a classic softshoe piece created by Coles and Atkins in the PBS special Tap Dance in America.

Hoofing Hoofing is a tap dance style that focuses on the movement in its purest form, not for just entertainment value. The stance is extremely grounded, with the heels of the feet on the dance floor. Although classified as a style of tap dance, hoofing is considered as a musicmaking technique. The current types of shoes that are worn vary. Most often tap dancers use Oxford shoes, but some females who have been credited as hoofers tap dance in high-heeled shoes. Before the metal shoe technology existed, metal bottle caps were flattened and then nailed onto the bottom of Oxford shoes. While production value can highlighted when presenting hoofing, the technique is often done in a causal setting, utilizing improvisation as a driving force. When engaging in tap dance improvisation, dancers will often place themselves in a circle with live music accompaniment and trade times in the center of the circle, tap dancing, making musical rhythms, and challenging each other. The film Tap! (1989) starred tap dancing greats and masters Sammy Davis Jr. and Gregory Hines with supporting roles by Sandman Sims, Buster Brown, Bunny Briggs, Jimmy Slyde, and a young Savion Glover. Although this challenge scene is staged for film, it is an authentic representation of how real tappers will often spur each other on, always trying to one-up each other with a new spin on a tap dance step.

Funk Tap Funk tap emerged in the 1990s, driven by American pop music that was being played on the radio by solo musical artists, such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and boy bands, such as Back Street Boys and In Sync. These musicians were not tap dancing, but their music was being used in tap dance classes to inspire an altogether new style of tap dance. While funk tap is a rhythm tap with flavors of hoofing, it is established as its own tap style, invariably aligning to current popular music. The styles of rhythm tap and traditional tap, with the relaxed and community-oriented feel of hoofing, also have influenced funk tap’s stylistic choices. The evolution of tap dance is driven by tap dance teachers in their classes, by popular music that now includes hip-hop, and by current choreographers creating new and innovative tap dances to share with the world. One advantage that funk tap has over other styles in their early development is access to technology and more specifically, social media, where dancers can immediately share new music and movement ideas.

Table 8.1   Styles of Tap Dance Style

Description

Artists

Traditional tap

Also known as flash tap, musical theater or Broadway tap, and classical tap Upright style often associated with a story and elaborate costumes that support the story Metal-bottomed tap shoes: high-heeled tap shoes for females, Oxford tap shoes for males

Fred Astaire Leonard Reed The Nicholas Brothers Shirley Temple Ruby Keeler

Rhythm tap

Often uses syncopated rhythms that are not executed with music but rather a capella Originated in the early 1900s, but re-emerged with performances by Gregory Hines in the 1980s Is a popular style of tap dance that can be paired with body percussion groups, such as STOMP

Eleanor Powell Brenda Bufalino Dianne Walker Jennifer Lane Jason Samuel Smith Tap Dogs

Soft-shoe tap

A soft and gentle style that traditionally uses softsoled shoes without metal bottoms Can be executed at a slow or fast tempo and requires strong control of the feet and the entire body in order to be performed Is often associated with the traditional style of tap dance

Charles “Honi” Coles Charles “Cholly” Atkins Tommy Tune

Style

Description

Artists

Hoofing

Community-driven Body is grounded, knees must be bent, and the heels of the feet must be on the floor Is focused on musical sounds instead of entertainment value

Gregory Hines Buster Brown Sandman Sims Jimmy Slyde Bunny Briggs Savion Glover

Funk tap

Emerged in the early 1990s and driven by popular music Uses influences from rhythm, hoofing, and traditional tap styles to form its unique technique Has become globally popular through the use of social media and other web-based sources, such as YouTube

Chloé Arnold Jason Samuel Smith Savion Glover

Table 8.1 shows the five styles of tap dance as we know them today and how they relate to each other, with examples of dancers who perform that style.

Tap Dance Masters The definition of a master is an individual who has achieved a high level of skill, demonstrating a complete breadth of knowledge in one’s given field. Tap dance masters are credited with bringing tap dance to the master level in the dance community. These men and women could be found in jazz night clubs, on the Broadway stage, in popular Hollywood films, and in dance communities representing tap dance nationally and internationally. The following two sections celebrate the accomplishments of men and women in 20th- and 21st-century tap dance.

Men in Tap Throughout the 20th century, men most often held the leading role when tap dance was presented. They danced in all styles of tap, but remained close to their roots in hoofing and community-based tap dance.

SPOTLIGHT The Nicholas Brothers Fayard and Harold Nicholas were perhaps the greatest tap dancers captured on film. The duo was known as a “flash act,” dancers who astonished audiences with superhuman physical feats—in their case, an acrobatic tap dance number beyond belief. Born in 1914 and 1921, respectively, they were contemporaries of Gene Kelly and Jerome Robbins, yet were lesser known to audiences in part because they lived during the era of segregation. During much of the 20th century, Black performers and White performers were not allowed to perform on the same stage, stay in the same hotels and eat at the same restaurants on national tours, or perform in the same movies. The Nicholas Brothers were luckier than most because they were allowed to perform alongside White performers and achieved a measure of success denied to African American dancers of previous generations. However, in many films, their performances

were not central to the plot, and could be removed from the film when it was shown in southern theaters.

The Nicholas brothers grew up dancing in the vaudeville circuit and later performed at the famed Cotton Club in Harlem in the early 1930s, where they came to the attention of movie producer Samuel Goldwyn and were invited to appear in numerous movies, including a performance with Gene Kelly in The Pirate (1948). However, their most notable performance was in the movie Stormy Weather (1943), in a dance number called “Jumpin Jive,” accompanied by Cab Calloway and his orchestra. During the dance, the brothers wore tuxedos with tailcoats and performed their signature move: sinking down to the floor in the splits and rising up to standing, powered entirely by their legs. The finale took place on a larger than life–sized staircase, when the brothers leapfrogged over each other, landing in a split on each step, and ran back up the steps and slid down the center slides. The brothers continued performing on stage, in film, and on television until their deaths in the early 2000s. As Hollywood and Broadway become more diverse, current performers have more hope now for African American choreographers to come to the forefront of Hollywood musicals.

Sammy Davis Jr.(1925-1990)

Sammy Davis Jr. is best known as an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and skilled musician. He is often identified as a member of the Rat Pack, a group of recognizable entertainers, including Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, who were prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. They often frequented the Las Vegas casino scene and starred in nightclubs on the Las Vegas strip and in movies, such as the original Oceans 11 (1960). Although Sammy Davis Jr. might be best known as an actor and entertainer in film and on stage, he was an exceptional hoofer. In 1989, he starred alongside Gregory Hines in the feature film Tap!, which was Sammy Davis Jr.’s final film before his death in 1990. Prior to Davis’ death, Hines had the opportunity to salute his life and career at the Sammy Davis, Jr. 60th Anniversary Celebration television special.

James “Buster” Brown (1913-2002) James “Buster” Brown, often referred to as Buster Brown, was born in 1913 in Baltimore, Maryland. He is considered both a rhythm tap dancer and a hoofer, but he also performed soft-shoe routines with elegance and strength. His career is filled with feature films and dozens of stage performances. Early on, he appeared at the iconic Apollo Theater in New York City, and in 1960, Brown began hoofing. Six years later, he toured nationally and internationally with the legendary Duke Ellington Big Band, replacing his colleague, Bunny Briggs. In the 1980s, Brown began focusing on his jazz tap style of tap dance and teaching and performing on Broadway. While performing, he also found time to mentor the next generation of tap dancers in New York City, where he hosted tap dance jam sessions at the Swing 46 Jazz Club/NYC. In the early 2000s, Brown toured with the new generation of tap dancers, Savion Glover and Dianne Walker. In February 2002, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of performing arts from the University of Oklahoma and passed away shortly after in May, having hoofed and performed to the age of 88.

Howard “Sandman” Sims (1917-2003) Howard “Sandman” Sims, often referred to as Sandman Sims, began his career in vaudeville. His unusual name was given to him because of his act. He danced on a boxlike wooden surface

sprinkled with sand. This changed the sound of the metal taps on a wood surface and created a unique tap dance performance. Throughout his career, he was active in the New York City tap dance scene and could often be found at the Apollo Theater. As tap dance began to regain national attention in the 1980s, Sims was given the title of Cultural Ambassador for tap dance. He traveled nationally and internationally, representing the vibrant art of tap dance through performances, and he also was featured in the film Tap! (1989) and in the 1980s PBS Special Tap Dance in America. Sims’ most notable role was playing himself in an episode of The Cosby Show that same decade. He played the dance teacher of the youngest character at the time, Rudy, and Sims and Cosby shared a lighthearted, yet confrontational, challenge scene. It ended with Bill Cosby attempting to mimic and imitate his challenger’s amazing feats, but Cosby was unable to win the tap dance challenge issued by Sims.

Bunny Briggs (1922-2014) Bunny Briggs was born in 1922 and had a long career that began in New York City, where at the tender age of three, he would watch his aunt perform as a chorus showgirl. Briggs also witnessed Bill “Bojangles” Robinson perform at the peak of Robinson’s entertainment career. Briggs’ most striking quality was his beautifully round and sparkling eyes that shone while he was onstage. Similar to his tap dance colleague Buster Brown, he also toured with the Duke Ellington Big Band and was similarly awarded an honorary doctorate of performing arts from the University of Oklahoma in 2002. He danced in the 1989 Broadway revue of Black and Blue and like Buster Brown, appeared in Tap! and PBS’s Tap Dance in America.

James Titus Godbolt (1927-2008) James Titus Godbolt, also known as Jimmy Slyde or the “King of Slides” was born in 1927. His unique style was considered innovative and challenging. He would often entertain his audience by sliding on one leg, in tap dance shoes, across the performance stage. No other tap dancer to date has demonstrated the skill that Godbolt mastered while performing his signature slides in tap dance

routines. In his early career, legendary entertainer and performer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, rhythm tap dancer John W. Bubbles, and softshoe tap dance expert Charles “Honi” Coles inspired him. Godbolt did not begin formal tap dance lessons until the age of 12, but his formidable talent was soon recognized, and he toured the United States and Europe, performing with jazz musicians and teaching. While in Paris, Godbolt performed in the stage production Black and Blue (1985), and in 1989 he made his American appearance in the same show on Broadway, which led him to be nominated for a Tony Award. He remained in the United States, continuing to pursue his career as a tap dancer. In 1989, he had a featured role in the movie, Tap!, and was honored as a tap dance master in the PBS special Tap Dance In America. Similar to his tap dance colleague James “Buster” Brown, Godbolt held tap dance jam sessions in the 1990s at the New York City La Cave jazz nightclub, finding great satisfaction in mentoring the newest generation of tap dancers. In addition to being awarded an honorary doctorate of performing arts from the University of Oklahoma in 2002, he earned several other awards, including a National Heritage Fellowship in 1999 and multiple Choreographer Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Charles “Honi” Coles Award in 2001, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003, and the Dance Magazine Award in 2005.

Gregory Hines (1946-2003) The professional career of Gregory Hines followed a similar path to that of his mentor and idol, Sammy Davis Jr. Hines was an American entertainer, singer, dancer, actor, and choreographer who began dancing when he was two years old. By age five, he joined his older brother Maurice, and they became known as the Hines Brothers. They studied under some of the greatest tappers of their time—the Nicholas Brothers, and Howard “Sandman” Sims—and the young Hines brothers performed in nightclubs.

Tap dancer Gregory Hines performing onstage. Richard Blanshard/Getty Images

Gregory Hines has a long list of dance film credits, including The Cotton Club (1984) and most notably White Nights (1985), which also starred ballet sensation Mikhail Baryshnikov. In the scene “Duo Dance,” Baryshnikov and Hines demonstrate their primary skills of ballet and tap dance. No special dance shoes were worn, only streetwear. Both men exhibited the ease of jumping and landing softly, as well as the impressive footwork of a tap dancer, blurring the lines between the two techniques. The dance combined accents of soft-shoe tap dancing with a playful attitude that honored the talents of both men. Hines was also a recognized Broadway actor starring in shows such as Eubie! (1979), where he earned a Tony nomination, Comin’ Uptown (1980), and Sophisticated Ladies (1981). Like many of the other tap legends, he was included in the film Tap! (1989), and he hosted and starred in the 1989 PBS special Gregory Hines: Tap

Dance in America, a documentary celebrating the tap dance community. Prior to the PBS special, Gregory Hines successfully secured National Tap Dance Day as May 25th, which still celebrates all things tap dance nationally and internationally. In 1992, Hines starred in the hit Broadway show Jelly’s Last Jam, which won a number of Tony Awards. He continued to advocate for tap dance across the globe and actively mentor the next generation of tap dancers throughout his career. In February 2019, Gregory Hines received his highest honor, a USA Forever postage stamp by the U.S. Postal Service, celebrating Black History Month.

Women in Tap Throughout the lifetime of tap dance, women have been seen tap dancing in vaudeville, in Hollywood movie musicals, at jazz nightclubs, on the professional stage, and in dance studios as educators. They have played an integral part in the development, growth, and advancement in the tap dance field as partners, solo acts, all-female ensemble work, and teachers of the next generation of tap dancers.

Ruby Keeler (1909-1993) Ruby Keeler was the first actress considered as a tap dancing star on the silver screen, and she was a pioneer for women in tap dance. Keeler was born in Canada and first auditioned for a chorus girl role when she was 13 years old. In 1933, she starred alongside Dick Powell in the groundbreaking movie musical, 42nd Street, choreographed and directed by Busby Berkeley, and featuring a young Ginger Rogers. Keeler starred in the films Gold Diggers of 1933 and Dames (1934) and remained active until 1940, when she retired from show business. She revived her career with a return to Broadway in 1971, starring in the revival of No, No, Nanette, reuniting Keeler with director Busby Berkeley. She remained with the show for four years, both on Broadway and in touring casts, but retired once again, due to health issues. Ruby Keeler received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1992.

Brenda Bufalino (1937-)

Brenda Bufalino grew up at a time when vaudeville was waning and there was little professional work available for a young, aspiring tap dancer. She grew up in dark and smoky jazz clubs, exploring new rhythms and immersing herself in all areas of the jazz music scene. Bufalino is an esteemed teacher, choreographer, and performer best known as the founder and artistic director of the American Tap Dance Orchestra, located in New York City. She uses her skills as a choreographer, teacher, and performer to lead this legendary tap dance company through staged concerts and filmed projects, such as Tap Dance in America, and she teaches tap dancers of all ages. Legendary tap dancer Gregory Hines thought Brenda Bufalino was one of the greatest female dancers who ever lived. Hines credited Bufalino in Tap Dance in America as a strong female presence in the tap dance community and as a role model for young women entering the field of tap dance. She is also an author and holds multiple honors and awards including a number of National Endowment of the Arts Fellowships, a NYFA (New York Film Academy) Fellowship, the Flo-Bert Award for outstanding achievement, and The Tapestry Award for her contributions to the tap dance community. Bufalino, now in her eighties, continues to teach and mentor young women in the tap dance community. Her contributions have been invaluable to the inclusion and progress of women in the field of tap dance.

TAP DANCE AND FILM Fred Astaire’s career began on the stage, but it was his unique presence that influenced tap dance on film. Fred Astaire’s working methods, technical dance abilities, and impeccable rhythmic sense inspired audiences and dancers alike in a film career beginning in 1933 through his retirement in 1979. His dancing technique and the movement were first priorities in every dance scene and he preferred to be filmed in full figure. Although dubbing of the taps was often used in this time period, because of his strong technique and impeccable performance skills, Astaire often did not need to have his sounds dubbed. Astaire’s work ethic on film sets was a reflection of his perfectionism: He was relentless when it came to getting a scene to match his high

standards. Astaire’s uniqueness as a choreographer for his films was his desire for collaboration and input from others. This is rare in the field, but is believed to be one of the reasons why his work was so successfully mastered on film. While Astaire was often the lead choreographer for his solos and dances with his partners, he would offer joint credit to his collaborators, including choreographer Hermes Pan, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Astaire.

Dianne Walker (1951-) Dianne Walker is known in the tap dance community as “Lady Di.” Walker is another influential female tap dancer that continues to inspire young tappers, globally, having performed in main-stage concerts, in Broadway, in film, and on television. She is also an accomplished choreographer and teacher, influenced by many of the tap dance masters. Walker immersed herself in the world of jazz music and jazz clubs, frequenting the Rainbow Room in New York City and attending notable jazz festivals, such as The Chicago Jazz Festival, the prestigious Montreal Jazz Festival, and many others throughout Europe. Her Broadway credits include the musical Black and Blue and her television credits include work with the PBS production of Black and Blue, in which she was the only female to dance with the male-only “Hoofer Line” of tap greats. Walker was one of the featured female tappers in the PBS special Tap Dance in America, and in this special, she discussed the role of female hoofers with fellow female tap dancers Brenda Bufalino and Jennifer Lane. She continues to do work with PBS and was involved as a commentator for Juba!: Masters of Tap and Percussive Dance. Walker teaches in universities across the country and continues to serve as a director for the Leon Collins Dance School, Inc., in Brookline, Massachusetts. She has received grants and awards from the NEA and Jacob’s Pillow, including the prestigious Tapestry Award for excellence in teaching, the Savion Glover award, The Hoofers Award, The Humanitarian Award, and the Flo-Bert Award, celebrating her work in the tap dance field.

Chloé Arnold and The Syncopated Ladies Chloé Arnold and her sister and business partner, Maud, grew up in the Washington, DC, area and from an early age, studied tap with master teachers, such as Gregory Hines, The Nicholas Brothers, and legendary female tapper, Dianne Walker. Chloé also has performed with Savion Glover and Debbie Allen. Following in the footsteps of Dianne Walker, Chloé Arnold attended Columbia University in New York City, majoring in film. After a tap jam experience in 2003, she and her sister Maud founded The Syncopated Ladies, a company designed to raise the profile of women in the male-dominated tap world. The company values and supports the unification of female tap dancers across the globe and has re-energized how tap dance is perceived in popular culture. The ensemble’s choreographic work Formation, a tribute to Beyoncé, and the sharing of their viral video introduced The Syncopated Ladies to the world. They have been featured on Good Morning America, and their tribute to Prince was featured at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) awards ceremony. The Arnolds’ ensemble is now one of the leading all-female tap groups performing today.

SPOTLIGHT Tap To Togetherness Across Populations Since 2013, Tap To Togetherness Across Populations is a program that teaches adults, children, and families positive family interactions and child development skills using tap dance for engagement and connection. It provides resources for adults and families and collaborates with multiple populations, including parents-as-teachers programs, senior living communities with a specific focus on Parkinson’s and memory programs, long-term care facilities, and homeschool networks. Engaged activities support tap dance sessions for children ages birth to three and their families, including senior adults and older siblings. These sessions encourage family interaction, improve body movement coordination, facilitate adult and child listening skills and discipline, identify sensory needs, and encourage healthy

relationships within families and across populations. It is not “dance class,” but a comprehensive adult-child engagement activity. The program has been offered in many parts of the United States and has had an international reach in Ghana and Kuwait. In the sessions, families spend time dancing together while using smartphone technology, through the shared activity of tap dance.

College students interact with the program through its research and data collection and analysis protocols, all while participating in community-based service learning. Like the families who participate in Tap to Togetherness Across Populations, students have become more attached to their community and demonstrate awareness of their own actions and techniques, resulting from reflecting on their work with family participants and by viewing themselves during video analysis. The ultimate goal of the program is to bring many populations together for a shared activity of tap dance while researching, with the aim of continuing to making a difference in the lives of families. Chloé Arnold hopes to someday launch a worldwide tour of the The Syncopated Ladies that would give young and aspiring tap dancers across the globe access to classes and performances. This mission is already being fulfilled on a smaller scale with a special performance in Dubai and the launch of the Chloé & Maud

Foundation, supporting the education of young people and offering scholarship opportunities. In selected cities, up-and-coming tap dancers can engage in an intense The Syncopated Ladies Boot Camp, and the group continues to be present at the DC Tap Festival each year. This group likely will continue to effect change in the way female tap dancers are perceived while celebrating females in tap dance.

Summary Tap dance is an American style of dance whose origins and influence can be traced back to Ireland and Africa. Developed initially by enslaved Africans, the dance form continued to evolve after the Civil War in vaudeville performances and was a popular form of dance featured in Broadway and in Hollywood musicals of the 1930s-1950s. Both male and female tap dancers have contributed to the development and continuation of the art form, and social media has assisted with sharing tap dance worldwide.

Critical Thinking Based on the five established styles of tap dance, what are some potential styles of tap dance that you think could emerge in the next 20 years?

Discussion Questions 1. Explain the similarities and differences between the five styles of tap dance. 2. Where have you experienced tap dance as a viewer or performer? Some examples might include stage or concert, films, or formal classes. 3. Who do you believe is the most influential tap dancer and why? For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

9 Hip-Hop

Key Terms African diaspora b-boying/breakdancing or breaking break graffiti writing emcee/MCing deejaying/DJing

knowledge up-rocking moonwalking top-rock six step freezes locking popping freestyling krumping clowning Memphis jookin’ passinho cypher ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Hip-hop is a dance genre that originated in the United States and is one of the most popular dance styles in the world that expresses and represents one’s values. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Examine the origins of hip-hop. Compare and contrast the five pillars of hip-hop. Distinguish selected styles of hip-hop.

Identify American artists who have influenced hip-hop dance. Discuss social impacts that the hip-hop community has had and currently has on society. Many people mistakenly think of hip-hop as primarily a dance style, but to its practitioners, dance is just one aspect of hip-hop—a vibrant culture, a multidisciplinary fusion, and an art form that speaks to the experiences and challenges facing America’s youth. Hip-hop promotes peace and love, providing healing to those who have faced turbulent times in their lives. It is a source of pride and it is a lifestyle, whose recognizable elements include dance, music, fashion and spoken word. As with many other styles of dance included in this text, the roots of hip-hop trace back to Africa. Africa diaspora is a term used to describe people of African descent living outside Africa, primarily due to the slave trade in the 15th-19th centuries. Hip-hop dance style began with African American and Latino youth in New York City as a response to urban decay, social oppression, economic struggle, and the effects of gang culture. Hip-hop dance can also include elements of recent popular dances, urban street and funk dances, and breakdancing, more correctly referred to as breaking or b-boying.

Origins of Hip-Hop Dance Hip-Hop dance began in the early 1970s in New York City, in part as a resistance to disco music and dancing, and as a response to farreaching social issues plaguing large cities at the time. African American and Latino youth struggled to survive in an inner-city climate experiencing the effects of high unemployment, a lack of economic opportunities, and an environment that generated hopelessness. Amid this background, youth living in the Bronx created their own subculture that bound them together around music, movement, spoken word, and visual arts. Bronx resident Clive Campbell, also known as DJ Kool Herc, held dance parties that featured funk music instead of disco, and when he extended the break, or the brief, exciting, and most often percussion-heavy instrumental portion of a song, dancers responded with their most inspired dance moves. He perfected his technique using two record turntables and would shout out encouragement to the dancers, whom he called b-boys and b-girls, the b standing both for “break” and for “Bronx.” His friend Coke La Rock, considered the first emcee, or MC—master of ceremonies—grabbed a microphone and began calling out people’s names and reciting rhymes to excite the crowd. Breakdancers from the parties began practicing in the streets, using discarded pieces of linoleum and cardboard to protect themselves from the pavement and developed this new style of dancing, which remained mostly underground and underneath the radar of mainstream culture, until the late 1970s. Inspired by hip-hop pioneers DJ Kool Herc and Coke La Rock, Afrika Bambaataa began organizing block parties and other events designed to convince gang members to unite on behalf of supporting a new consciousness and celebrating their African heritage instead of fighting. Bambaataa’s efforts to inspire and organize his community coalesced into what is known as the Universal Zulu Nation, a group that helped to both name the dance form and spread the five pillars of hip-hop culture around the world, and sponsored the dance group, the Zulu Kings, made up of prominent b-boys and

b-girls, who are credited with creating some of the basic vocabulary of breakdancing.

The Five Pillars of Hip-Hop Hip-hop’s foundational technique is composed of the five pillars of hip-hop that support both the aesthetics and the lifestyle of hip-hop culture. Four supporting pillars—graffiti writing (visual art), emcee/MCing (storytelling, rapping), deejaying/DJing (musical accompaniment), b-boying (break dancing or breaking)—support the legacy, or the knowledge (the history and tenets to be passed on to the next generation), the fifth pillar of hip-hop.

A Congolese contestant competes during a hip hop dance contest in France. JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MAGNENET/AFP via Getty Images

Graffiti Writing Graffiti, the visual representation of hip-hop, is an artistic expression of paint on a surface that can be displayed anywhere with or without

permission. It is a powerful tool to express one’s views on current events, politics, or the signature name of the artist. It has existed for centuries, dating back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, but gained recognition in the late 1960s when artist Darryl McCray, known as Cornbread, and friends began to write his name throughout the city of Philadelphia, on walls, buses, and trains. The term tagging is associated with graffiti and refers to when graffiti is used illegally by defacing public property.

Emcee/MCing The MC, or master of ceremonies, is the person who uses a microphone to announce or host the performance. MCs initially excited the crowd by using call and response, and they shouted encouragement to the dancers and occasionally rhymed. As rhyming developed into rap, today MCs are often referred to as rappers. The pioneering MC Coke La Rock encouraged many aspiring artists to express themselves through rhyme, including the Furious Five and the Cold Crush Brothers.

Deejaying/DJing Deejaying is the musical accompaniment of the art form. The letters DJ stand for “disc jockey,” and a DJ is someone who mixes recorded music for a live audience. Some of the innovators and originators of this pillar include: Clive Campbell, known as DJ Kool Herc; Theodore Livingston, known as Grand Wizzard Theodore; and Joseph Saddler, known by his stage name, Grandmaster Flash. DJ Kool Herc is credited for hosting the first hip-hop party in 1973. Grand Wizzard Theodore is credited as the originator of the scratching technique. Grandmaster Flash developed the use of turntables as an instrument, mastering the techniques of mixing, cutting, and scratching and creating foundational techniques used by contemporary DJs. Grandmaster Flash was the first hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2007.

B-Boying B-boying, is the physical manifestation of the art form, or the dancing, and b-boys and b-girls (break boy or break girl), dance the style first consisting of top rocks, footwork, and power moves. The

media coined the term breakdance, but b-boy and b-girl are the terms DJ Kool Herc coined to designate the dancers when he called them out to dance to his break beats. Afrika Bambaataa’s Zulu Kings (the b-boy division of the multidisciplinary organization, The Universal Zulu Nation), and the Rock Steady Crew, both based in New York City, are some of the most notable dance crew pioneers of breakdancing, creating some of the most significant dance moves. Their contributions to the development of hip-hop dance will be discussed later in this chapter.

Knowledge The other four pillars of hip-hop must be in place to support knowledge, the most critical pillar. Knowledge is the information, including the history and tenets of hip-hop culture, that is the very heart of what is passed on to the next generation. It is the most important pillar because without knowledge, the other pillars cannot exist. KRS-One (Lawrence “Kris” Parker) is known as Teacha and is an individual who has acquired the most knowledge about the pillars of hip-hop. Aside from being part of the group Boogie Down Productions, he has published several books about hip-hop, and he started the “Stop the Violence” movement in 1988 in response to increasing violence he saw developing in the hip-hop community.

B-boy performing breakdance at New York City’s Roxy nightclub in 1981. David Corio / Redferns/Getty Images

West Coast Funk On the West Coast, Don “Campbellock” Campbell introduced television viewers in the 1970s to his funk dance technique, locking, along with his group, The Lockers, appearing on many comedy variety shows, and dance shows, including Soul Train, The Tonight Show, The Carol Burnett Show, and Saturday Night Live. Several dancers in his group went on to star in TV shows (Fred Berry in What’s Happening), choreograph for movies (Deney Terrio for Saturday Night Fever), and pursue aligned careers (Toni Basil, pop singer and dancer/choreographer). Sam “Boogaloo Sam” Solomon,

a Fresno, California, native, created two techniques: boogaloo, a fluid dance with the top half and the bottom half of the body often rotating in opposite directions, and popping, a style composed of sequentially-moving and often percussive set of jointed isolations. His crew the Electric Boogaloos included his brother, Timothy “Popping Pete” Solomon, Stephen “Skeeter Rabbit” Nichols, and other dancers who created specialized moves that were incorporated into the style. The group also performed on Soul Train and inspired dancers nationwide.

Journey Into the Mainstream Early hip-hop culture was formally introduced to mainstream audiences in the movie Wild Style (1982), featuring DJ Grandmaster Flash, graffiti artist Fab Five Freddy, the rhyming battle between the Cold Crush Brothers and the Fantastic Five, and the dance crew Rock Steady Crew. Early breakdance pioneers appeared in several films over the next few years, including Flashdance (1983), which featured Richard “Crazy Legs” Colón performing a backspin as a body double for the lead character. Breakin’ (1984) and its sequel, featured dancers Adolfo “Shabba-Doo” Quiñones, Michael “Boogaloo Shrimp” Chambers, and Vincent “Mr. Animation” Foster. The film Beat Street (1985) featured the New York City Breakers and Rock Steady Crew, along with cameo appearances from other oldschool hip-hop artists and pioneers. Almost from the beginning, the drive to earn bragging rights influenced some b-boy/breakdancer crews to trade turf battles for competitive dance battles. The crews would often challenge each other, formally or informally, to a competition to see which crew had the best moves. In fact, the look of the up-rocking style, a freestyling form, resembles a choreographed fight dance, and was partly inspired by martial arts films. The up-rock is often done facing someone and is considered part of the battle when a dancer is burning or dissing another person and can include punching and cutting motions, executed in different ways, depending on style preferences of the local area or city. Rock Steady Crew, originally founded in the Bronx in 1977 by b-boys Jimmy Dee and Jimmy Lee, is credited for creating the up-rocking style. Battle competitions continue to develop this style today and draw competitors and crews from all over the globe to participate, creating a sense of family and community pride for many youth. Just as the 1980s brought mainstream attention to the dancing, some b-boys and b-girls began focusing more attention on power moves requiring strength and acrobatic capability, like backspins, headspins, and the windmill. Other dancers began developing and diversifying dances connected to the highly danceable hip-hop songs

by incorporating popular social dances into the hip-hop technique, including the Kid ’n Play kickstep, happy feet, the skate, the Steve Martin, the prep, and BK bounce, which was created by dancer Emilio “Buddha Stretch” Austin (Durden 2019).

Styles of Hip-Hop As music videos played by MTV (premiering in 1981) included more dancing, more youth across the nation (and the world) emulated breakdancers and street dancers and clamored for dance classes to learn the styles and steps. Perhaps the most recognizable step, moonwalking (also known as backsliding), became notable after Michael Jackson performed this move during a live performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever in 1983. The dancer’s feet give the appearance of gliding or sliding backward, and the appearance of weightless floating was compared to walking on the moon. It can also be performed forward, sideways, in a circle, as well as backward. Prior to 1983, a version of the backslide was performed by one of the Lockers on the TV show Soul Train. However, it was band leader Cab Calloway who originated this movement in the 1930s, calling it the buzz, and tapper Bill Bailey perfected it in the 1940s, calling it the backslide. (see chapter 4 for more information). In the latter part of the 1980s, the umbrella term hip-hop dance began to extend over funk dances, popular social and party dances, and street dance, and elements of early breakdancing/b-boying were also folded into hip-hop, although the power moves remained the purview of more youthful dancers. The following section introduces a sampling of early styles of hip-hop dance: b-boying, locking, popping, and freestyling.

B-Boying B-boying (aka breakdancing or breaking) is the earliest of the hiphop dance styles and includes top-rock, a freestyling movement combination performed at the beginning of a dance or battle that showcases a dancer’s signature style. B-boy and b-girl dancers take great pride in developing their individual style of top-rock, and it can be done before the dancer goes to the floor to continue footwork, such as the six step, a series of steps performed around the body with one or more hands on the ground, creating a stable platform to support speedy weight changes. A six step usually creates

momentum before the dancer performs a power move such as a backspin, windmill (also known as the continuous backspin), or any floor trick requiring strength and control. Members of Rock Steady crew, Ken “Swift” Gabbert and Richard “Crazy Legs” Colón, along with Steffan “Mr. Wiggles” Clemente, who also performed with the Electric Boogaloos crew, are credited with creating foundational bboying moves such as freezes, or poses ending a combination used for eliciting applause or indicating readiness to relinquish the space to the other dancer waiting for his or her turn.

Locking Locking is a funk dance style of movement that includes freezing or locking movement into place. The style consists of abrupt stops, pacing steps, points, wrist twirls, and high-knee jumps or hops, called the Scooby Doo and the which-a-way. Locking can appear lighthearted and funny because the moves are usually exaggerated. Don “Campbellock” Campbell is credited as the inventor of locking. Dancers Shabba-Doo, Toni Basil, and Fred “Mr. Penguin” Berry, among others, joined Campbell to form a group called “The Lockers.”

Fever1 (left) and B-Girl Mega pose in New York City. Andrew Kent/Getty Images

Popping

Popping, also a funk dance style, is a flexing, tensing, and releasing of the muscles. This action produces a more pulsing, or robotic, movement, and popping is often also referred to as a hit. Created by Sam “Boogaloo Sam” Solomon, he was joined by his brother, Timothy “Popping Pete” Solomon and Steffan “Mr. Wiggles” Clemente (who also performed with Rock Steady Crew). Boogaloo Sam’s dancers and later proponents of the style, including Michael “Boogaloo Shrimp” Chambers and Vincent “Mr. Animation” Foster, have added their own stylistic take on the original idea, giving rise to further types, including waving, ticking, strobing, scarecrow, and tutting: Waving is having an undulating quality that travels sequentially through all parts of the body. There are many different ways to wave, and the movement often begins with arms, moving from fingertips to elbows, and then the shoulders carry the wave through to the other side of the body. This movement can also be reversed and smoothly repeated in other parts of the body. Ticking is a series of hits where the dancer breaks up larger movements into smaller units. Strobing is a popping movement, but the pops are executed at a double-time (quicker) pace, much like the broken frames of movement captured in a flashing strobe light. Scarecrow is a loose-limbed action, as if one were boneless and each joint swings loosely disconnected from the others. Tutting is a series of angular arm movements, inspired by figures in Egyptian artwork.

Freestyling Freestyling is primarily improvisational and can include a mix of hiphop dance styles. Emilio “Buddha Stretch” Austin and his friends danced both house and hip-hop, depending on what club they attended in Brooklyn, and began mixing old-school hip-hop dance with party dances and house dancing styles. His crew performed in many music videos in the 1990s. Buddha Stretch also choreographed with popular recording artists, including Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, and Will Smith. His crew, Elite Force,

continues to uphold the tenets of hip-hop today through performing, teaching, and judging competitions.

SPOTLIGHT Christopher “Zondaflex” Tyler, Hip-Hop Choreographer, Dancer, and Educator In his own words, “It’s always been dance” for him. Christopher “Zondaflex” Tyler is a musical artist, dancer, teacher, choreographer, director, and an inspirational speaker, who travels the country teaching and sharing his craft. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, Tyler is the founder of Zonda Dance, an interactive hip-hop dance and music school assembly program. His interactive assemblies encourage students to stay physically active, positive, and kind. He shares his comedic and musical skills with children of all ages and provides the kind of performance that excites and inspires them to lead a positive life. Tyler grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, playing sports as a kid. His mother was a backup singer for James Brown, so life on the stage was already embedded into his upbringing. When he was 10 years old, he saw the 1980s television show That’s Incredible! and knew that he wanted to be a performer. He recalls seeing neighborhood guys doing the dances he saw on television as the inspiration for what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. After moving to Los Angeles, California, to pur-sue a musical and dance career, he began performing for hit artists in the late 1990s and early 2000s. His music video credits include O-Ryan’s “Take it Slow,” Smooth’s “Hiccup,” MC Shan’s “It Don’t Mean a Thang,” and A-1 Swift’s “Don’t Cry.” He has appeared on MTV Movie & TV Awards as a dancer and in the film Class Act (1992) and has toured with several artists, including Nicole C. Mullen and Toby Mac, and the Pulse dance tour. Notably, Tyler has worked exclusively with choreographer Shane Sparks throughout his career. While he still enjoys performing, his passion for teaching guided him to his new professional focus. Tyler has gained great

success with his instructional hip-hop albums that can be used in the classroom, to teach the fundamentals of hip-hop. He credits the success of his venture to inspirational dance educators Al Gilbert and Joan “Ms. Puffie” Lather. Gilbert was a master tap teacher famous for his development of an instructional tap dance technique curriculum that is used by dance educators globally. Lather is credited for the same kind of instruction, but in the area of beginning dance, also known as pre-dance, for the youngest students. A highlight of Tyler’s career has been his time on tour performing and choreographing, but he now finds the greatest satisfaction when he is in the dance studio, teaching the next generation of hip-hop stars and encouraging them to dance their very best.

Commercial Hip-Hop Dance and the Turn of the Century The late 1980s also witnessed the rise of rap music as the focus shifted from the DJ to the MC and rap artists increasingly began producing danceable songs (Durden 2019). Rap artists Run-DMC collaborated with rock band Aerosmith to produce the crossover hit “Walk This Way.” It was a reimagining of Aerosmith’s hit single that included rap, opening the door for many other rap artists and beatbox artists such as Doug E. Fresh, who could mimic the sounds of any drum machine. Moving into the decade of the 1990s, club and party dances attached to songs as well as dances featured in music videos continued to be incorporated into the burgeoning hip-hop dance vocabulary, such as the Bankhead bounce, the Bart Simpson, the running man, the Reebok, the Roger Rabbit, the Cabbage Patch, and the Humpty dance. At the same time that hip-hop dance became more commercialized, rap music became more prominent, and the dancing became according to Andre “Thundakat” Abrams in a conversation with the author in June 2020 “less about the vitality of improvisation and developing a personal style and more about studio training and choreographed routines.” As the locus of rap music moved from the East Coast to the West Coast and then to the Southern states, more dances were created to fit the changing styles of danceable rap music, but the dances had pulled away from the original spirit of hip-hop dance.

A New Millennium and New Directions The new millennium brought a resurgence in hip-hop dance created for hip-hop music, inspired, as always, from the grassroots: Selfexpression at clubs and social gatherings, and dances like the Dougie, the tone wop, the Harlem shake, the Whip/Nae Nae, the dab, and the hype, continue to demonstrate the close relationship between the music and the dancing. Even so, the act of sharing dances immediately through social media has resulted in a more global conversation among dancers, and shows, such as America’s Best Dance Crew (2008-2016), spotlight some of the changes in the art form, such as large-crew choreography and slick production values. Competitions and conventions such as the B-boy Summit (held since 1995), Hip Hop International (held since 2002), and Monsters of Hip-Hop (2003), bring together hip-hop dancers and enthusiasts to connect through classes, participate in battles, and pass on the knowledge to the next generation. The reinvigorated influence of hip-hop has spawned the creation of dance styles that are part of the larger hip-hop family, such as krumping, an aggressively percussive style from Los Angeles, performed with intensity, and clowning, a more humorous style featuring clown costuming, created by Tommy the Clown. Both styles can be seen in the film Rize (2005). Memphis jookin’, a slithery, gliding style featuring turns on the tip of a tennis shoe, has most recently been popularized by street dancer Lil’ Buck on YouTube and social media. The ability to share dance widely on social media has increased hip-hop’s global influence as a reenergizer of older dance forms— when coupled with ballet, it formed hiplet, which is performed en pointe (read more in the Ballet chapter) —and as an instigator for the creation of new dances worldwide. The energy and the message behind hip-hop dance has inspired hybrid styles of dance, such as passinho, a cross between traditional Brazilian frevo dancing, a vivacious, bouncing dance often performed with a tiny umbrella, and hip-hop funk. Hip-hop has also entered the world of concert dance and musical theater dance. Choreographers working in concert

dance are actively merging classical and contemporary styles of dance, such as ballet, modern dance, and jazz, with hip-hop elements, and others are introducing hip-hop dance into concert dance stages. One such choreographer is Rennie Harris, the artistic director of the longest-running professional hip-hop dance company, Rennie Harris Puremovement.

SPOTLIGHT Rennie Harris Rennie Harris did not train to be a dancer in a studio. Instead, he learned his craft performing with a step dance crew and a popping crew in Philadelphia. Don Campbell’s performance group The Lockers inspired him when he saw one of their performances on the televised dance show, Soul Train. Harris had a successful commercial dance career, performing in opening acts for music concerts and working with legendary artists, such as Afrika Bambaataa and Madonna. In 1992, he founded his company, Rennie Harris Puremovement, and has since worked to preserve hip-hop culture, educate audiences about the history and practices of hip-hop dance, and provide inclusive opportunities for dancers. The company continues to tour, offer master class experiences, and stage choreographic works across the country on dance companies, such as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco!, and Colorado Ballet. In 2007, Harris founded a second company, RHAW (Rennie Harris Awe-Inspiring Works), in Philadelphia to train younger performers, and both companies are active nationally and internationally. Harris has taught at universities across the country and conducted numerous outreach programs throughout the world, for which he was awarded an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Bates College and a doctorate in the arts and humanities from Columbia College, celebrating his commitment to the field of hip-hop. For more than two decades, his Illadelph Legends Festival has brought together young dancers of all ages so that the five pillars of hip-hop can be properly passed on from the elders to the next generation.

Hip-Hop Training and Education Street-born, street-owned and developed, and later adapted for teaching in dance studios, learning hip-hop requires showing respect for the art form and earning and keeping the respect of fellow dancers. Most often, hip-hop dancers do not take formal studiobased classes; rather, they learn from others in crews that practice in available spaces in parks, on playgrounds, at community centers, and even on sidewalks. Crews are prone to have more male dancers than female dancers, and crews tend to have strong ties to their neighborhoods. Crews practice and prepare for battle competitions for bragging rights or even prize money. On the other hand, studio-trained dancers tend to take classes that are organized in a similar fashion to ballet and jazz classes with a warm-up and a combination of movements created to be performed to a particular song. When taking a studio hip-hop class, comfortable clothing is recommended, as are tennis shoes. Acrossthe-floor exercises and combinations often build on skills that will be worked on in more detail during the center combination. The combination might be done in smaller groups to allow the students to receive personal feedback on their dancing. The end of class might incorporate freestyling in a designated circular formation, also known as a cypher, surrounded by dancers, to encourage students to dance how they like best and to allow their personal style to be showcased. Another venue for study has emerged in college and university dance programs. Schools across the nation, including Salem State University, Columbia College Chicago, University of Southern California, Bard College, and the University of Arizona, have added hip-hop studies, both technique and lecture courses, to their dance programs in an effort to broaden the scope of dance studies available to students in academia. This advancement, coupled with the new hip-hop dance research archive, donated to the New York Public Library’s Jerome Robbins Dance Division by Michael Holman in 2016, have paved the way for increasing study and dialogue.

Since the foundation of hip-hop is love, peace, an enlivened spirit, and above all, truth, it is expected that hip-hop will continue to tell difficult truths and assist society as it grows to embrace the culture’s aspirations. The hip-hop that originated and evolved on the streets of New York City and Los Angeles carries with it the tradition of positive social change and self-expression.

Summary Hip-hop is a lifestyle that is meant to be a holistic, lived experience. Although hip-hop dance became a recognized dance technique in only a few decades, as it approaches the half-century mark, hip-hop continues to evolve, especially in the commercial market, and is influenced by cultural shifts, human rights issues, and the fight against discrimination. Supported by its foundational pillars and by artistic connection and collaboration, the style continues to follow and respond to trends that are socially and economically affecting youth culture while remaining close to and renewed by its source, a shared culture. Popular social hip-hop dances created in clubs or at parties, combined with styles created by hip-hop pioneers, continue to weave a rich tapestry of dances, energizing other techniques and promoting the creation of compelling hybrids and the blurring of boundaries.

Critical Thinking What styles of hip-hop do you feel most closely relate to your lived experience or movement style and why?

Discussion Questions 1. Name and describe the five pillars of hip-hop. Include one hip-hop artist who is closely connected to each pillar. 2. Describe the origins of hip-hop, including how and why it began. 3. Who do you believe is the most influential hip-hop dancer and why? For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

10 Aerial and Site-Specific Dance

Key Terms site-specific dance aerial dance tableaux site-adaptive dance riggers

ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Site-specific and aerial dance are genres that have evolved from the work of postmodern choreographers, the circus arts, and sports, such as rock climbing. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Identify site-specific dance pioneers and current practitioners. Examine the primary principles of aerial dance. Define common aerial dance movement vocabulary and equipment. During the late

1960s and early 1970s, as postmodern choreographers challenged traditional methods of creating dances, several artists rejected traditional theater spaces and explored alternative spaces for presenting dances, including outdoor parks and streets and indoor lofts and art museums, creating dance work tied to a specific location, a practice later termed site-specific dance. Early experiments with site-specific dance works were inspired by the rule-breaking dances of artists featured with Judson Dance Theater performances, the improvisatory and multidisciplinary performances called Happenings, and the collaborative performance group, The Grand Union (1970-1976), which included Judson artists Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton, among others, in work that blurred the lines between performing and everyday life. Influences from the West Coast, in particular from iconoclast Anna Halprin, encouraged Trisha Brown and Meredith Monk to explore task-oriented movement and create dances meant for specific locations.

The beginnings of aerial dance, or dance that is performed in the air utilizing equipment such as low-flying trapeze, harnesses, or long swaths of silk, share many of the same roots as site-specific dance. Both were inspired by postmodern dance experimentation, but aerial dance, which borrows from the circus arts and from the sport of rock climbing, has also developed into a codified technique that is taught in studios and in increasingly more university and high school dance programs. This chapter will explore the beginnings of both dance forms and will be split into two halves. The section on Site-Specific Dance will focus on pioneers and current practitioners, and the Aerial Dance section will focus on the dance as a codified technique, featuring pioneers and current practitioners.

Site-Specific Dance Site-specific dance is a performance in which the dancing is concerned with presentation in a location that is not a traditional theater space. In some cases, choreographers choose a particular location as their inspiration and develop a dance that celebrates the peculiarities and beauty of that site. In other instances, choreographers choose to produce their dance in a particular type of location that best houses the dance, for example, the dance must be performed in a river, but not necessarily in one particular river. Sometimes a dance is considered site-specific because it travels outside the theater, actively seeking out an audience out-of-doors. Choreographer and teacher Anna Halprin cited the urge to perform, along with the lack of funding, led her company to perform outside, which was “a place where you could have ready-made audiences” (Halprin and Kaplan 1995, 11). Regardless of the intention of the choreographer, the very act of presenting site specific work acts to intermingle the audience, the performers, and the location in a relationship unlike the one proscribed by traditional theaters.

Site Dance Pioneers Some of the pioneers of early site-specific dance hailed from the Judson Dance Theater performance group in New York, and these young choreographers also questioned the reliance on traditional theater spaces for performances. They were, in part, inspired by collaborations with artists from other disciplines —musicians such as Robert Dunn, who taught dance composition class using the theories of John Cage, and visual artists such as Robert Rauschenberg, who collaborated on dance and performance art projects. Several choreographers experimented with producing site-specific dances, as had visual artist Allan Kaprow, who produced Happenings, semiimprovisational events featuring multidisciplinary collaboration performed outside of traditional theater spaces. Wittingly or not, many of these pioneers also were following in the footsteps of iconoclast Anna Halprin.

Anna Halprin (1920-)

Anna Halprin studied with Margaret H’Doubler at the University of Wisconsin and performed on Broadway in a show choreographed by modern dancers Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. Halprin then settled in San Francisco in 1945 and began creating outdoor dance works on beaches, in the city, and in the woods around her home, anchored by an enormous deck designed by her architect husband. On this deck, Halprin held classes designed not to teach a particular technique, but to encourage dancers to use their own expressive experience and create authentic methods of moving for their own individual body. Halprin’s classes informed the choreographic processes used to make collaborative work for her performing company, San Francisco Dancers’ Workshop. Everinspired by the process of creating work and the therapeutic benefits of considering dance to be both a medium of personal growth and a healing art, Halprin’s aim is to allow audiences to identify with the performers as humans and not just as dancers. She consistently challenged and questioned the narrow role dancers occupied in society, preferring to consider her work a ritual rather than an entertainment. Halprin has returned to site-specific dance many times during her career, and her later works continue to focus on building community in the face of disease, aging, and loss, as in her work entitled Circle the Earth (1981). Her task-oriented movement and improvisationally-based performances inspired the next generation of dancers, the postmodernists, who questioned traditional methods of teaching technique and creating dances and the roles of performers and audiences within a performance.

Dancers perched on a wall performing Melt, a site-specific dance installation by Noémie Lafrance located under the Manhattan Bridge in Lower Manhattan. TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Trisha Brown (1936-2017) Trisha Brown studied with Anna Halprin at Mills College in California and moved to New York City in 1960. In 1962, she was one of the Judson Dance Theater founders and innovators and in 1970 started her own company. Concurrently, she performed with The Grand Union improvisational dance theater group, alongside Yvonne Rainer and Steve Paxton, among others. For the collection of choreographers “there were no answers, no goals, no expectations. Just two hours or so to look at some things, to try out some things” (Banes 1987, 215). Although one of Brown’s notable contributions to postmodern dance was the choreographic method of accumulation when constructing dances, her dances also explored previously unexplored performance spaces—the sides of buildings and rooftops —outside of a traditional theater. Brown’s equipment piece, Walking Down the Side of a Building (1969), during which a performer, tethered to the outside of a seven-story building, walked down the side of it from the top floor to the bottom, made the audience consider the implications of gravity on a body performing the simple

task of walking. The performance was inextricably tied to a particular kind of site, in this case, the exterior of a building. However, Brown, like many of the other pioneers who helped create the foundations for site dance performance, produced several additional site dances and continued primarily creating dances performed in traditional theater settings.

Meredith Monk (1942-) The work of performance artist Meredith Monk, who studied dance and choreography with Anna Halprin and Bessie Schönberg in California, challenges easy categorization. It is often large in scale and the elements of movement, song, and the chosen stage space are presented as meticulously layered, yet ambiguous, worlds. In addition to choreographing movement, Monk is a composer and filmmaker, whose early site dance Juice (1969) was produced at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The piece consisted of vignettes, or tableaux performed within the spirals of the central rotunda of the building. For the first portion of the piece, the viewing audience was seated and watched the action from below. The audience then was encouraged to explore the various tableaux of non-moving performers on the ramp. The other two portions of the performance took place weeks later at different locations, adding to the dislocation of the audience. It is this attention to space and scale, the “radical reorganization of space” (Banes 1987, 160) that is her contribution to site work. Monk’s later dance and performance art pieces have been produced in both theater and alternative venues, and her use of the performance space, along with her vocal and choral work, have added new dimensions to the possibilities of dance and theater performance.

Dancers Eiko & Koma in 1995. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Eiko (1952-) & Koma (1948-) Eiko & Koma are a married duo raised in Japan, who studied with butoh dance artists Tatsumi Hijikata, Kazuo Ohno, and Manja Chmiel, who danced with modern dance pioneer, Mary Wigman. They relocated to the United States in 1976 and began producing duets featuring extreme hypnotic slowness and struggle. The pair has presented a combination of site-specific and theater-based works throughout the course of their performing career together, all presenting the expansion of time as the defining element. The piece entitled River (1995) has been adapted to multiple locations, but the structure of the piece remains the same. The pair begin the piece in an upstream portion of a river at twilight and slowly move downstream throughout the course of the dance. Since Koma’s

temporary retirement due to an ankle injury, Eiko has embarked on a series of performances entitled A Body in Places, where she performed in train stations, in Fukushima, Japan, the location of the nuclear power plant affected by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and in Hong Kong among protesters (Kourlas 2016).

Site-Specific Dance Artists, The Next Generation Unlike the site-specific dance pioneers who established site dance as a novel choreographic possibility, the next generation is defined as choreographers whose creative work is primarily site-based. Rather than leaving the theater space in order to strip away theatrical elements, as the site dance pioneers did, these choreographers embrace theatrical elements and draw inspiration from their own eclectic movement practices. The artists discussed in the next sections are prime examples of choreographers who do one or more of the following: “attend to the history of a place, use the site as primary inspiration for the piece, draw attention to beauty created by a body’s interaction with a space, and [use the site] as a place to encourage community” (Kloetzel and Pavlik 2009, 19-20).

Joanna Haigood Joanna Haigood studied aerial dance with Terry Sendgraff, danced in New York and London, and began creating site-specific dances in the 1970s. Toward the end of the decade, she relocated to San Francisco and cofounded Zaccho Dance Theatre in 1980. In the mid1990s, she began incorporating aerial dance as part of her practice to utilize natural and architectural environments in her dances, some performed on clock towers, in grain elevators, and suspended in an airport terminal. Additionally, the company began producing the San Francisco Aerial Arts Festival in 2012, bringing together artists working with flying dance. Haigood has continued to present groundbased site dances as well, including a piece commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in Western Massachusetts, called Invisible Wings (1998). Her historical research for the project unearthed evidence that the Underground Railroad trail traveled through the grounds of what is now the oldest dance festival in the United States.

Ann Carlson (1954-) Ann Carlson was one of the first people to earn a graduate degree at the University of Arizona. She performed with Meredith Monk in the mid-1980s before leaving the company to create her own choreography. Carlson’s choreography is often referred to as performance art or dance theater, and she often creates work in a series, mostly site-specific pieces since 2001. The series Night Light (c. 2000) restaged historical photographs as precisely as possible to form living tableaux in the original locations. The walking tour performances occurred in multiple states including New York, Montana, Oregon, Illinois, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts over the span of four years.

Stephan Koplowitz (1956-) Stephan Koplowitz began exploring site-specific work while still a student at Wesleyan University. In 1987, Elise Bernhardt, founder of Dancing in the Streets, commissioned him to create a site work at New York’s Grand Central Station titled Fenestrations. Since that time, Koplowitz has created site works located at culturally significant places, such as the British Museum in London, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center, the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, and Union Station in Washington D.C. He prefers to use large numbers of dancers drawn from the community where the work is presented, and he has created and taught college classes in how to develop site-specific work. He defines true site-specific dance as work that “cannot be replicated anywhere else” (Kloetzel and Pavlik 2009, 75) and deftly identifies his own artistic endeavors that utilize the same types of locations, such as grand staircases, as site-adaptive dance (Kloetzel and Pavlik 2009, 75). Like artists who began engaging with nontraditional locations as a critical component for creating dances, some choreographers chose to explore dance on an entirely different plane. For these choreographers, taking to the skies provided alternative answers to postmodern questions about what constitutes a dance. They chose to pursue another relationship with gravity, which became aerial dance.

Aerial Dance The young art form of aerial dance occupies the crossroads of postmodern dance, gymnastics, rock climbing, and the circus arts, and it combines technique drawn from all four pursuits. By nature, aerial dance is site-specific because it is literally tied to the location where it will be performed, whether suspended onstage inside a theater or rigged in places dance had not gone before: on the sides of buildings in the cityscape, 3,000 feet up mountain cliffs, or suspended under bridges. The performers engage in a “process of fighting against, and working with, gravity over and over again” (Davies 2018, xiii) in a dance form that is turned on its side or even performed upside down. Dance artists use aerial apparatus, such as harnesses, lyra hoops, silks, trapeze and bungees, in their choreography, and often the act of ascending and descending the flying equipment is incorporated into the choreography. Since aerial dance is now taught as a codified technique, this part of the chapter will focus on the dance form’s principles, terminology, class and performance issues, pioneers, and current practitioners. Because of the broad variety of apparatus utilized in aerial dance, this chapter cannot cover all forms of suspension, so the main focus will be on dance performed in harness, on trapeze, and with silks.

Principles of Aerial Dance Aerial dance requires dancers to inhabit performing spaces at a higher altitude than floor-bound dance, and they must cope with gravity in an entirely different way. Jumps may last longer, spinning may be easier, much of the dance might happen upside down, which can be disorienting, and outdoor spaces require attention to weather concerns, flying insects and animals, and rough and unforgiving surfaces. Performers must focus on alignment and building strength in order for movement to appear effortless, and choreographers rely on their varied movement backgrounds and their dancers’ abilities to create choreography, most often through improvisation or development of movement through the use of play or trial and error. Most importantly, all practitioners must cultivate consistent

awareness of the dangers of fatigue and be engaged in safe practices and injury prevention at all times to avoid accidents.

SPOTLIGHT Elizabeth Streb: Daredevil Dance Like many of the site-specific and aerial choreographers highlighted in this chapter, the choreography of Elizabeth Streb (1950-) exists in the spaces between dance, gymnastics, aerial dance, rock climbing, and the circus arts, but Streb’s performances also highlight “extreme action,” or stunt work in her alternative approach to foiling gravity. Challenging to categorize, her work has a risky and dangerous quality within each performance, and high-velocity tasks are often accompanied by the amplified sounds of dancers straining with effort, the noise of landings, and the cacophony of equipment sounds. Often claimed by the field of dance as a choreographer, Streb sets her work apart from traditional repertory dance companies by actively demystifying her creative process and presenting performances styled as community gatherings rather than theatrical events. Additionally, Streb created a lexicon for all aspects of her creative working life, eschewing typical dance definitions and terminology. She calls her performers “action heroes” instead of dancers, and refers to herself as an “action architect” rather than a choreographer; her movement vocabulary is called “PopAction” rather than technique, and her facility is run as an experimental movement laboratory rather than as a collection of studios for teaching technique. Streb studied dance at The College at Brockport SUNY and performed with the companies of Molissa Fenley and Margaret Jenkins before forming the Streb Extreme Action Company in 1979. In the latter part of the next decade, she began working off the ground and explored the concept of momentum and using split-second timing to avoid collision or injury. Her dances include falling, climbing, and jumping as dancers fling themselves from trampolines, interact with swinging chunks of masonry, dodge spinning I-beams, and run inside a human-sized steel hamster

wheel, among other apparatus. In 2003, Streb established a facility to house her experiments in human endurance called SLAM (Streb Lab for Action Mechanics) in Brooklyn, and in 2012 SLAM was invited to produce movement events throughout London to celebrate the Olympics, called One Extraordinary Day. Moving forward, Streb’s company, known for highlighting the sounds of performer effort, has embraced spoken-word collaboration, a new direction for the group. Her performers teamed up with Anne Bogart’s theater group SITI Company on a piece entitled Falling & Loving (2019) that includes actors, spoken word, and the act of releasing flour, molasses, water, and feathers on the dancers while they dodge bowling balls (Kourlas 2019).

Alignment Proper alignment is the key to safely performing aerial dance. Unlike most dance studios, aerial facilities tend to not have mirrors to check alignment visually, so dancers must rely on developing a keen kinesthetic awareness, or the ability to sense where the body is in three-dimensional space. Aerial dancers must cultivate a strong inner sense of lengthening and be able to engage their core muscles and lower back to extend their spine and maintain a sense of a focal line from the center of the skull to the tailbone. Integrating the use of the shoulder girdle into the back and core is critical. Students of aerial dance can practice proper alignment from warm-up exercises performed both off and on the equipment.

Strength Most dance techniques are floor-bound and rely primarily on the legs and feet for locomotion and balance. Maintaining a strong upper body allows a dancer to perform partner work, such as lifts, or to support their own weight while performing floor work. In contrast, aerial dance relies on maintaining strength and flexibility throughout the entire body, particularly in the core and lower back, and a strong upper body is essential.

Expressiveness

Aerial dance of all types requires immense amounts of strength and stamina to perform, yet, much like ballet, the dancing can often appear effortless and smooth to the audience and allows for the full spectrum of emotions. The performer is engaged in expressive dancing, often to musical accompaniment, and the goal is to astonish the audience with the overall performance, not focus on tricks for their own sake. Additionally, the choreographer and performer do not intend for the audience to dwell on the dangerous aspects of the dance and gasp at every moment of flight, rather they want the audience to appreciate the artistry and design of dancing accentuated by the alternate relationship to gravity.

Improvisation Aerial dance draws movement vocabulary from a wide range of sources, including ballet and modern dance, the circus arts, and rock climbing. Dancers are continuously adding steps, positions, and in the case of silks work, they are developing complicated new drops, the sudden unrolling of a dancer from a wrapped position. Aerial dancers develop new vocabulary through improvisation with their chosen apparatus in rehearsal, and the new movements are incorporated into choreography. Some groups incorporate improvisation into performance, and improvisational training helps dancers cope with the unexpected during performances.

Injury Prevention and Safety Because of the precarious relationship with gravity and equipment requirements, aerial dance practice and performance can cause injuries ranging from minor scrapes and bruises to certain death. All practitioners stress the importance of hiring dependable riggers who are experts in designing, installing, and maintaining flying equipment, and double checking all equipment and rigging themselves to make sure it is in working order. Dancers must remain vigilantly aware because even momentary inattention to proper practices can cause injury. Attentively listening to one’s own body for signs of fatigue or illness is critical to short- and long-term success as an aerial dancer. Bruising from harnesses and sore muscles are to be expected, and

dancers must stay hydrated and use snacks to keep energy levels consistent.

Aerial Dance Classes Aerial dance classes are widely available in larger cities nationwide, and most are sponsored by a local aerial dance company. Additionally, some schools and university programs offer aerial classes as part of their dance program. A prime example is Washington & Lee University in Virginia. The school has a small student population, but it has thriving aerial classes taught by Jenefer Davies, the founder of W & L’s dance program in 2006. Aerial dance classes have a broad appeal to students who may not have formal dance class experience. In her words, “Aerial dance really draws from across the campus. I see men and athletes and people who are classics and science majors coming together” (Rizzuto 2019, 64).

MOVEMENT AND EQUIPMENT TERMINOLOGY Basic Aerial Movements inverted—A movement completed upside down, with the orientation of the head to the floor and the legs to the ceiling. L position—A standing position on the wall creating an L shape; legs are perpendicular to the floor and the body is bent at the waist so the head points to the ceiling. plank position—A standing position on the wall, with the body lengthened perpendicular to the floor while facing the ceiling. spin—A complete circle around the rope rigging. T position—A standing position on the wall, with the lengthened body perpendicular to the floor and facing the side of the body to the ceiling. turn—A complete half-circle around the rope rigging.

Basic Silks Movements

climbing—An unassisted method of ascending the fabric; wrapping one foot with fabric as a base and pressing the body and arms upward, and replacing the foot position higher on the silks. The process is repeated until the dancer is at the desired height. crochet—Wrapping arms or legs from the outside around the fabric and securing the fabric using a hand or foot. descent—An unassisted method of descending the fabric; securing the fabric with the feet lowering the body slowly to the floor. locks—Wrapping the fabric properly around the wrist, foot, or knee to create a base for climbing, standing, stretching, hanging, or posing.

Basic Aerial Equipment bungee—A thick elastic cord that tethers a dancer wearing a harness to a static location; the bungee allows the dancer to fly high into the air when jumping. carabiner—An aluminum or stainless steel mechanism used to connect dancers to equipment; has a gate closure that self-locks. climbing rope—A specially constructed rope used in aerial dance for performing while suspended in the air; a braided sheath covers it for protection. harness—A fabric frame that supports the pelvis of the dancer; it is often padded and adjustable and contains metal loops to connect dancers to equipment with a carabiner. lyra hoop—A metal apparatus shaped like a hula hoop that is suspended by a single point. rescue 8—A hardware piece used to secure the fabric for aerial silks work. silks—The strong and stretchy fabric used for aerial work; it can be in two long pieces or in one piece, called a hammock. single-point trapeze—A trapeze with both side ropes attached to a single point; usually hung so that the bar is low

to the ground. swivel—An aluminum or stainless steel mechanism that includes ball bearings designed to allow a dancer to spin without twisting the climbing rope or the silks. Aerial terminology is drawn from Aerial Dance: A Guide to Dance with Rope and Harness, by Jenefer Davies (in references). Silks terminology is drawn from Beginners Guide to Aerial Silk by Jill Franklin (in references).

For harness work, students should wear fitted leggings that at least cover the knee, but to the ankle is preferred. Fitted longsleeved shirts that are long-waisted with a leotard underneath are recommended, as multiple fitted layers are encouraged to provide padding for the harness, which can be uncomfortable. Complete skin coverage is important to protect the skin from the wall, the harness straps, and ropes. Billowy or baggy fabrics can get caught in the rigging or impede movement, so they are discouraged for beginners. Dancers are encouraged to wear socks that wick moisture, appropriate shoes, and a helmet to keep hair hidden. For silks work, students should wear fitted leggings to the ankle and a leotard or fitted shirt. Bare feet are required. Trapeze students are encouraged to wear fitted clothing and can wear socks. All types of aerial dance do not allow jewelry, zippers, or watches of any kind to be worn as they pose a danger to the dancer. Performance attire can vary; harness or trapeze dancers might wear either fitted or lightweight and flowing garments in order to catch any breezes, but dancers performing with silks wear fitted garments. Additionally, teachers encourage students to personally check their equipment each time before beginning class and before performances in order to familiarize themselves with the workings of the rigging and so that they can spot and correct any issues before using any aerial equipment.

Pioneers of Aerial Dance Just as early modern dance pioneers created completely new methods for moving bodies in space and time, aerial dance pioneers developed movement with a completely different relationship to

gravity than any other style or genre of dance. Additionally, aerial dance choreographers had to devise their own equipment, appropriate practice and performance spaces, and methods for training dancers. This spirited group of artists relished combining their love of dance with their love of climbing, trapeze, and gymnastic arts.

Terry Sendgraff (1933-2019) Terry Sendgraff is considered a founder of aerial dance, which she called Motivity, meaning the energy that produces motion. Her movement training combined modern dance, gymnastics, trampoline work, and high-flying trapeze and was influenced by Alwin Nikolais and also by teachers and collaborators who had worked with him. After relocating to California in the early 1970s, Sendgraff’s choreography included low-hung trapezes mounted with two points, like a swing. In 1978, she developed the single-point trapeze, which expanded movement possibilities for her improvisationally-based choreography, and her inspired classes in the technique encouraged many others to take up aerial dance. During her choreographic career, she founded Fly-by-Nite, a trapeze dance company, and the Motivity company in 1980. During her career, she created over 200 concerts, including her yearly birthday series and A Year of Sundays (1977-78), during which she performed aerial dances each Sunday. Sendgraff also explored other types of apparatus, including stilts, bungee cords, and harnesses and continued to choreograph, present work at aerial dance festivals, and teach until her retirement in 2005.

Nancy Smith Nancy Smith, based in Boulder, Colorado, studied dance at University of California, Los Angeles and Skinner Releasing Technique in Seattle before moving to Colorado in 1985. Inspired after a workshop with early aerial dancer and teacher Robert Davidson, who was also a student of Sendgraff, Smith founded the performing group, Frequent Flyers, in 1988, and 10 years later, her group founded the first aerial dance festival in order to bring together teachers, performers, and practitioners. Aerial Dance Festival hosts

local, national, and international faculty and produces a concert of aerial work from multiple performing groups. Alongside her creative work and her support of the broader aerial dance community, Smith has developed the Aerial Release Technique (A.R.T), based on her teaching methods, began the first aerial dance professional training program, partnered with the University of Colorado in Boulder to add an aerial emphasis to their masters program, and coauthored the first book on aerial dance in 2008.

Amelia Rudolph Amelia Rudolph, based in Oakland, California, studied dance and gymnastics before performing with floor-bound choreographers, such as Mark Morris in New York, and with aerial pioneer Terry Sendgraff in California. Inspired by trapeze work and the choreography of Joanna Haigood, along with a newfound interest in the sport of rock climbing, she began exploring the connections between dancing and the sport, founding BANDALOOP in 1991. Although their first performance was inside a rock climbing gym, her work and the art form of aerial dance rose to national prominence following their performance 3,000 feet in the air at Yosemite National Park in 2000 in a piece entitled Luminescent Flights. Since that time, the company has produced dances on international historical landmarks and has been designated as the chosen company to re-mount Trisha Brown’s seminal site-specific work, Man Walking Down the Side of a Building.

Members of the aerial dance company, BANDALOOP, rehearse for a performance on the side of a building on the Boston waterfront. Stan Grossfeld/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Jo Kreiter Jo Kreiter studied dance, gymnastics, contact improvisation, and Chinese pole acrobatics and danced with site-specific choreographer Joanna Haigood’s company Zaccho Dance Theatre for 14 years. Haigood and Sendgraff introduced Kreiter to aerial work, and Kreiter founded her own aerial company, Flyaway Productions, based in San Francisco, in 1996. Her choreography often tackles social justice issues particular to the San Francisco metro area, and she produces concerts both in and outside of traditional theater spaces. Her schooling in political science informs her choreography, and she prefers to focus on women’s strength and physicality, promoting feminine solidarity in locations, such as alleys, known for drug and sex trafficking, or alongside billboards promoting beauty ideals, spaces that can prove to be controversial. Her piece, The Wait Room (2019), focuses on women’s experiences visiting incarcerated loved ones and has been performed in several locations on both coasts.

Many other aerial dance groups have been founded nationwide since the turn of the 21st century, including Air Dance Bernasconi (1999), directed by Jayne Bernasconi in Baltimore; Aerial Dance Chicago (1999), directed by Chloe Jenson; Fly-by-Night (2000), directed by Julie Ludwick in New York; Blue Lapis Light (2005) in Austin, directed by Sally Jacques (featured in the Spotlight element); and UpSwing Aerial Dance Company (2005) in Oakland, directed by Cherie Carson, who took over Terry Sendgraff’s aerial dance business. It is interesting to note that, similar to the development of early modern dance, the aerial pioneers are all female.

SPOTLIGHT Sally Jacques and Blue Lapis Light Artistic director and choreographer Sally Jacques creates sitespecific aerial dances for her performance group, Blue Lapis Light, based in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2005, the company has performed in warehouses, within the shells of unfinished buildings, and on the sides of finished skyscrapers and federal buildings, under bridges on Ladybird Lake, and atop a grand colonnade on the terrace of the Long Center for the Performing Arts as well as toured across the country. In 2015, Blue Lapis Light celebrated the grand opening of a 3,000-square foot facility that provides a home for the dance company and a base for conducting classes in aerial silks and harness for children and adults.

Jacques is originally from the United Kingdom and studied ballet, modern dance, contact improvisation, and theater as well as t’ai chi and yoga, performing in Barcelona, Munich, Vienna, Costa Rica, and China. She did not begin her career as an aerial choreographer right away, but her earliest works were site-specific and explored social issues, such as homelessness and human rights (64 Beds, originally produced at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.) and the AIDS epidemic (Body Count, held at the Austin State Capitol and at Barton Springs Pool in Austin, Texas). In the late 1990s, she began experimenting with creating dances on purpose-built scaffolding in order to get her dancers off the ground and climbing between multiple levels and platforms. A performance featuring a rope strung across an emptied swimming pool altered Jacques’ direction further, allowing her to incorporate aerial elements into her work. She considers her evening-long piece Requiem (2006), inspired by the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, as the work that marked her company’s transition to aerial dance. At each location, Jacques spends time listening to the space and surrounding environment, inviting the story to unfold. She describes her dances as “prayers for the planet” and indeed, her site-specific work celebrates the ecstatic interplay of graceful choreography, transformational imagery, and the beauty of the full moon, a shooting star, and an occasional, unexpected

breeze. Jacques credits not only the skills and grace of her dancers, but the technical collaborators in lighting, sound, and rigging, for helping their productions to transcend the vast safety planning logistics, permitting, and insurance concerns in order to create dances that celebrate the beauty and dangerous uncertainty of the human experience and the art form. Readers can see more of Blue Lapis Light, on Episode 3, of the PBS-KLRU collaboration Arts in Context.

Summary Both site-specific and aerial dance are products of postmodern movement experimentation and continuously expanding definitions of dance and dancers. Practitioners of these relatively new forms of dance draw movement ideas from a wide range of possibilities, including gymnastics, rock climbing, and the circus arts, along with vocabulary from ballet and modern dance techniques. Newer generations of choreographers have been inspired to pursue sitespecific projects and aerial dance, and the art forms continue to develop and expand.

Critical Thinking Considering what you have learned about site-specific and aerial dance, how do you see these two forms developing in the future? What are some possible directions each could take?

Discussion Questions 1. How can a site-specific artist encourage the creation of community between the performance, the performers, and the community at large? 2. Discuss why safety is such an important element in aerial dance. 3. Describe some of the considerations dancers must negotiate when occupying horizontal space and compare/contrast these to your experiences negotiating vertical space. For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

Part III Connecting With Dance After learning about

the foundations of dance and specific dance styles, it is important to explore how dance performances are produced, how dance interacts with other art forms, and how movement connects people around the world. The following chapters, Dance Production, Viewing and Responding to Dance Performances, and Global Connections in Dance, provide a wider perspective of the dance field and demonstrate the power of dance to unite. Dance production is a complex undertaking that requires careful consideration in the areas of stagecraft, costumes, lights, and artistic content, and the most common format involves a team of artistic collaborators, technical staff, and administrators to create a successful dance performance for an audience. Chapter 11, Dance Production, divides the many roles into two realms: those who assist in ways that are visible to the public and those who work behind the scenes, while introducing readers to pertinent theatrical terminology. Viewing and responding to dance performances requires an interactive understanding between the audience and the performers, whether the dance is presented live or on video. Chapter 12, Viewing and Responding to Dance Performances, offers methods for reviewing, discussing, and giving constructive feedback on dance from the 20th century and beyond. Part III of this book concludes with exploring and highlighting the global connections dance creates throughout the world. Readers will discover dance styles from different continents. Chapter 13, Global Connections in Dance, offers snapshots of dance across the globe, explores how dance is shared virtually, and highlights special dance events that are connected to social challenges that all humans face.

11 Dance Production

Key Terms front of house backstage house house manager box office

executive director marketing artistic director technical director stage manager running crew fundraising board of directors advisory council lighting designer costume designs costume shop manager ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Dance production is a complex undertaking and requires careful consideration in the areas of stage, costumes, lights, and movement content. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Illustrate the process, personnel, and elements of a successful dance production. Classify the characteristics of the backstage aspects of a dance production.

Define the roles of the dance production staff. Examine the similarities and differences of for-profit and nonprofit organizations. Although dance performances

can occur anywhere, a dance production, or dance concert, typically involves dance performed on a stage with lights, costumes, and music, and the production may include scenery, props, and other technical elements. While there are many kinds of dance productions, the most common format involves one or more choreographers creating dances in one or more styles of dance, in a two-act dance concert. Most sectors within the dance community, including K-12, studios or dance companies in the private sector, and higher education, produce dance concerts in a theater using these elements. This chapter will separate the production elements and staffing into two main parts of the theater structure—the front of house and the backstage. The space between the two, where the audience sits during the production, is called the house. The space the performers and production crew occupy is referred to as backstage. The front of house involves the house manager, box office, and includes administrative personnel such as the executive director and marketing, and the boards of directors, who may have office space in other parts of the theater or offsite. The areas of the backstage include the production staff and crew and the choreographers and dancers and involve the artistic director, technical director, stage manager, running crew, lighting, sound, costumes, and dance floor surfaces. All of these areas operate as separate units while the production is being built. Collaboration occurs throughout the process, such as the box office and marketing crew gathering information from the artistic areas that will contribute to the promotion of the production. All areas merge together when production moves into the venue for production week. Meanwhile, on the artistic side, choreographers work with the dancers in rehearsal, and designers attend rehearsals or view films

of the choreography to design lights. It is not until the production moves into the the theater, that all of these areas begin working more fully together with the common goal of staging a successful production.

Front of House The term front of house refers to the work that happens in front of the stage and is considered a part of the development of the dance production. Ahead of the performance, the front of house team prepares to support the production by generating promotional materials for the production. Promotional materials can include posters, mailings, radio advertisements, local newspaper advertisements, table tents located at local businesses, and electronic blasts. During the performance, however, the front of house efforts focus heavily on the box office and house management. While the box office manages ticket sales, the house manager is responsible for the safety of all audience members.

House Manager The house manager is responsible for managing the front of house areas including the lobby and theater that the public has access to during performances. The house manager directs the flow of patrons in and out of the house, including attending to their safety and comfort, training and overseeing ushers, and coordinating with the box office manager, concessions, and the stage manager to ensure a seamless audience experience from the door of the lobby to their seats. During the show, house managers make sure that late patrons do not enter the theater during a dance piece and allow them to be seated in between performances. During intermission, the responsibility shifts to the patrons’ safety while occupying the lobby areas and for communication with the stage manager when the front of house is clear for the show’s second act to begin. After the show is over, the house manager is responsible for closing out the box office and working closely with the stage manager to be sure that the entire venue is clear of patrons and backstage occupants.

Box Office The box office is a necessary piece of the production so that patrons may pay for or pick up their tickets to the show in a timely manner before the production begins. While the box office itself is a space

where tickets can be purchased prior to or the day of the production, virtual box offices are now common for organizations, and many allow audience members to use their phones to show their ticket. This allows flexibility for the patrons to purchase tickets ahead of time for a production and helps reduce paper usage. The box office staff knows how many tickets have been sold compared to the number of audience members present before a show, and they can alert the house manager to coordinate a delay in the start of the show for a few minutes to accommodate a large number of late arrivals.

SPOTLIGHT Josie Bray Josie Bray is a musical theater producer, director, choreographer, teacher, politically active arts advocate, and parent. Her dance career typifies the experience of many dance professionals, particularly in the new millennium, as artists struggle with reduced funding sources. Very few practitioners in the field have been able to support themselves in the long-term by just performing or choreographing, and many artists reach into other disciplines for creative fulfillment and income. Some wish to include parenthood as well, and that creates yet another layer of complexity.

Bray posits that the complexity of an artist’s true experience is difficult to discern because artists are defined in the simplest way —bifurcating them into specific roles, “when the reality is that what allows us to work is often multiple income streams and there are few artists who do only one thing. I’d like to be represented in the fullness of who I am and the work that I do, which also includes mothering, teaching college part time, and a host of physical practices and my anti-oppression work … because for me, these things are all connected and make the whole of who I am and inform my creative practice.” Bray trained as both a modern dancer and a theater educator at Emerson College in Boston and she balances multiple jobs in the field and a family, crediting her partner’s ability to provide consistency and routine, which allows her to take opportunities when they arise and be able to work on multiple projects. She admits that “part of my ability to do all of these things is that I’m a go-getter, but partly the privilege of being able to do this life is that I have a partner with a steady income and a willingness to take on primary parenting duties, which provides a stable platform for our family.” Bray has found that parenting makes her very discerning about what projects to pursue, because she has to be clear about “what feeds me financially and what feeds me artistically—not all projects or jobs can do both.” Bray’s work explores how movement tells stories and how movement and theater intersect, and she fluidly moves between producing musical theater work, such as the musical entitled Trevor, which opened in Chicago in 2017 and is moving toward the goal of opening on Broadway, and choreographing for dance and theater projects. Although she has choreographed reimagined versions of Little Shop of Horrors with dancers portraying the evil plant with the Animus Ensemble in Boston, and assisted in a reimagined version of Ragtime, which opened on Broadway in 2009, she looked at the musical theater landscape in 2012 and decided to purchase the rights to Trevor and give creative input as a producer. A directing project brought her back to Boston from New York in 2011, and she has been pursuing dance-making on a smaller scale, receiving local funding to create

a movement and theater piece about healing from trauma, entitled Owning Dissonance, which includes an all-female, intergenerational cast. Her role as a teacher has taken her back to Emerson College in Boston, her alma mater, where she teaches a movement for actors course, along with Pilates and yoga classes at local studios. She recently completed a three-year teaching course in the Franklin Method, sharing functional anatomy and biomechanics with students through imagery, an experience that has “changed everything” about how she approaches dancing and teaching. Although not currently in between projects, Bray vividly remembers being in that phase and fully expects that it will happen again. “It is something that happens to almost everyone in the field and we don’t talk about it enough, but we should. You feel like you will never work again, but you have to trust in the longevity of your vision and that some projects may take a long time to flower.” Bray has learned to trust the multiple project streams and employment she pursues to provide enough to remain active in the field.

Administration Administrators in the arts, and specifically dance, are the individuals who work in the front of house, performing the many business functions of a production. Administration is also responsible for supporting the backstage work, such as the creative aspects of making dance, the technical aspects of a production, and the personnel management. Administration is also responsible for collaborating with other front of house areas, such as boards, to engage with and search for sources of funding support that can directly impact the production. Colleges and universities have specific degree programs that allow students to specialize in an arts administration degree, and a program such as that encompasses all of these areas.

Executive Director The executive director focuses on the business side of the production, and this role crosses both sides of the theater, front of house and backstage. This director focuses on budgets and projections for the production, providing support to the artistic sectors of the production. This person may manage the budget, oversee fundraising, and liaise with the board of directors. While this role could be perceived as a prominent one, it is also considered a supportive role, assisting the artist areas in any way, to allow their artistic vision to become real.

Marketing Marketing for a dance organization and specifically a production has changed with the development and growth of online resources and technology. Marketing today is directed to all forms of social media. A presence on social media is necessary and crucial for a production’s success. While some organizations make it a priority to fund the artists/dancers, it is also important to consider a full-time position for a social media specialist. This may be perceived as an unnecessary cost, but a position such as this could enliven, grow, and strengthen an organization. A social media specialist will first

develop a marketing strategy, making clear what will be implemented to successfully support the organization and its productions. Items that most often are highlighted are the organization’s values and dance training, relatable areas that an outsider could connect with, such as community engagement, a focus on diversity, and global aspects that, again, broaden the dance organization’s reach. Marketing, in its general terms, can include the filming of rehearsals to then be shared online as a way to keep people interested and motivated prior to the event. Other marketing pieces can include printed materials, such as posters and mailings, electronic blasts, and radio and television commercials. Attention to all of these sectors provides general visibility for the production.

Advisory Councils and Boards of Directors Some supporters want to give money, while others are in a position to donate services. To keep people involved, holding events, such as garden parties and backstage tours, and attending a rehearsal are often appealing to supporters. Other areas that support the development of dance can include boards of directors and advisory councils. When thinking about these areas of support, it is important to also mention the for-profit and nonprofit options, which have distinct differences between them. For-profit organizations have the primary goal of making a profit from the work that is being done, whereas nonprofit organizations are often community focused and work to secure funding to keep the organization moving forward. The board of directors is a group of people who are elected to a position or role and support the organization’s mission and goals. A board of directors can be found in both for-profit and nonprofit organizations. An advisory council is limited strictly to advising an organization’s board or leaders. This kind of council has no power to make decisions and is often seen as a supportive body to the group or organization. This kind of support for developing a dance organization is often found in nonprofit organizations.

Backstage The term backstage refers to the work that happens on and behind the stage and is a necessary area that must have a strong presence in order to have a successful production. The backstage team prepares to support the production ahead of the performance by training the crew with lighting operation and care, as well as how to care for and maintain the dance floor. The lighting crew must have technical lighting education, knowing the difference between lighting instruments and when each are needed, and how to change a gel. Gels are a plastic-like material that are placed in front of a lens that generates light. Gels change the color of the light and can produce lighting effects choreographers desire for dances. With the new LED technology, the need to have a crew member, or multiple crew members, change the colored gels is becoming a thing of the past, but older theaters may still have lighting instruments that require gel changers. During the production, crew members are assigned to specific areas. These roles include stage manager, assistant stage manager, and the running crew that are responsible for moving sets, scenery, props, and musical instruments, pulling the grand curtain, and mopping and drying the dance floor. Other crew members include the sound board operator and lighting board operator.

Dancers waiting in the wings to go onstage. VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images

Artistic Director The artistic director is responsible for the overall look and feel of the concert. They choose the pieces performed and the venue for the production, and they collaborate with designers (costume, lighting, production, sound) to create a unified production. The artistic director role is much clearer in classical ballet or single-choreographer dance productions featuring one performing company. Dance concerts with multiple choreographers or that feature work in multiple styles of dance require that the artistic director choose an appropriate order of dances to highlight variety within the show as a whole and to allow for dancers to change costumes between pieces and have a brief rest in between physically challenging dances.

Technical Director Like the house manager, the technical director is responsible for coordinating all aspects of the stage before, during, and after the performance and overseeing the backstage staff, which includes the stage or running crew, lighting designer, set and scenery designer, costume designer, lighting and sound board operators, stage manager, and assistant stage manager. The technical director is in charge of installing one of the top priorities for a dance production— the dance floor. A special surface, commonly called a “dance floor” or “Marley” is installed to cover the existing flooring material found in theaters. A Marley is a thin vinyl material, which is rolled flat and taped down onto the floor to provide the proper traction for dancing.

Stage Manager The stage manager reports directly to the technical director and is responsible for “calling” the lighting, music, and scene change cues for the dance performance so that the music and lights are turned on and off at the correct times, and so that any scene changes happen quickly and smoothly. The stage manager directs the actions of the crew, including stage hands, light and sound board operators, and fly persons who will raise and lower curtains, the scrim, or other items

that are hung for the production or dance show. The stage manager is also responsible for overseeing pre-show work, such as preparing the theater, checking the dance floor, and closing the theater once the production has ended. The stage manager is also responsible for any post-show tasks, such as clearing the space of any remaining performers and crew after the show is over. The stage manager is the last person to leave, locking all doors to the performance venue.

Running Crew The running crew or stage crew reports to the stage manager. Their responsibilities include mopping and drying the dance floor, setting out and striking, or removing, any props or scenery that are required for the production, and organizing and changing gels in the lighting instruments. If large scenery pieces are used for a production, a shift crew may be required. The shift crew shifts the stage scenery as needed. For example, if the main curtain is to be lowered or a suspended item needs to be lowered to the stage before, during, or at the end of a dance piece, a fly crew member is responsible for flying in and flying out the main curtain or the drop (background).

Lighting Lighting for dance is different from other productions. Specifically, side lighting is required to sculpt the dancers on stage. A master electrician is responsible for the light aspect on stage, which includes hanging, focusing, and repairing lighting instruments and patching the lighting board. This person may also have the role of lighting designer. The lighting designer works closely with the choreographers to design specific lights for the dance piece or scene. Once the production has moved into the venue for the production week, the lighting designer works alongside the choreographer, engaging in technical rehearsals. These rehearsals often involve walking through the dance pieces, while moving through each of the lighting cues, which allows for the dancers and choreographer to space the dance properly on the stage. Once this has been completed, the production then engages in dress rehearsal runs without stopping the flow of the show. The lighting designer makes adjustments to lights under consultation of the

choreographer, but also works closely with the stage manager, specifically in regard to the lighting cue calling of the dance. After the final dress rehearsal, the lighting designer’s work is complete; however, the lighting designer may be called upon to troubleshoot any challenges once the show has opened to the public.

Lighting Equipment and Instruments Specific stage lighting is necessary for any production, and many kinds of lighting instruments are used for productions. With advances in technology, lighting has become more complex and precise, supporting the creative art that is being displayed on the stage. The following is a list of terms and types of lighting instruments typically used for dance productions: Shutters are pieces of the lighting instrument that can partially or fully mask the light coming from the lamp. Gobo is an acronym for “goes before optics.” A gobo is a piece of metal that is inserted onto the lens of the lighting instrument that will then project texture or design into the stage space. Not all lighting instruments can support the use of a gobo. Fresnel lens spotlight is a smaller lighting instrument that offers options for different widths of beams of light. The light from this instrument is considered soft. Ellipsoidal reflector spotlight provides a sharp-edged light that could feature one area of the stage in a precise way. Plano-convex spotlight is similar to the Fresnel lens spotlight, providing a sharp-edged light, but it uses a different lens. Parabolic aluminized reflector offers a variety of light that includes narrow spotlights and the option to flood the space with light to different degrees. LED fixtures are considered new technology in the theater area. Colors can be mixed to create more options for stage lighting. What is most impactful about this new technology is it uses much less energy than older stage lighting. LED lights are designed to be long-lasting and are energy efficient, reducing energy costs in several areas, such as electric and cooling sources.

Svoboda lights, named after legendary designer Josef Svoboda, who was best known for his creative usage of light to produce dramatic scenes on stage, use as many as 10 lamps and output an extremely bright light. These lights are more frequently used in Europe than in the United States. Scoops and floodlights produce soft light without using lenses and are often combined with other lights to create effects on stage. Strip lights are used to provide general lighting on stage and often use gels to provide appealing light. Lighting tree is a pole placed in the wings of the stage space with lighting instruments hung on them, at different levels. Referred to as side light, it is considered the most appealing kind of light for dancers because it sculpts and shapes their bodies in a complimentary way. Shin busters are lighting instruments placed at the stages’ lowest level. If dancers are not attentive, they can run into these lights with their shins. Follow spots are operated manually during a production and are often used to highlight selected performers on stage. These lights are bright. Automated fixtures are the latest technology in which lighting instruments are automated. Components to automated fixtures include moving head, moving mirror, pan, tilt, color, zoom, gobo, intensity, and shutter. A lighting plot is an architectural design of all lighting instruments that are used during a production. This is considered the lighting blueprint for the stage. Figure 11.1 is an example of a lighting plot.

Board Operators When referring to boards, the operation of them involves the lighting board and the sound board, the two separate electronic boards that control specific aspects of the production. The lighting board controls all lights for the production and theater: the stage, house, and lobby lights. The sound board controls all of the sound for the production

itself, including any microphones used, and all sound communication for the backstage production staff. This includes the headsets worn by the stage manager, assistant stage manager, board operators, and house manager so that they can stay in constant communication during the production.

Lighting Board Operator The lighting board operator does not usually create the lighting design. This position is considered a crew member position. Traditionally, lighting cues are recorded into a lighting board, which operates like a computer. Once the cues are recorded into the lighting board, the stage manager is responsible for prompting the lighting board operator to execute the lighting cues, in real time, while the dance is happening. Advances in technology have made it possible to time a grouping of lighting cues based on the timing of the dance piece. It simply requires the lighting board operator to push one button at the beginning of the piece, and lights will change based on the timing the lighting designer programmed into the lighting board.

Sound Engineer A sound engineer runs the sound through the sound board and also may contribute music editing and mastering for the dance production. Often with dance, and specifically tap dance, sound can bring challenges. For example, the use of floor microphones can interfere with the sound the sound engineer has formatted. If a spoken word is included in a dance piece, it is important that these extra items do not interfere with the sound being played through the venue’s sound system.

Figure 11.1    Light plot. Reprinted by permission from G. Kassing, Discovering Dance (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2014), 243.

Costume Design Costuming for dance is unique because the type of movement and the technique used in the dance must be considered when creating costume design for dancers. For example, a jazz dance that has dancers doing a large amount of movement on the floor should not have a costume with rocks and sticks glued to it because these accessories might interfere with the dancing or injure the dancers. The costume designer’s role is to hear what the choreographer wishes to portray in the dance and design a costume that will allow for unfettered movement while still adhering to the choreographer’s envisioned look. A costume shop manager supervises the costume shop, including building costumes from the designs provided by the costume designer and conducting costume measurements and fittings. Additionally, the costume shop manager ensures that the tailor or seamstress completes costumes in a timely manner within the boundaries of the production’s costume budget.

Dance Stages Several kinds of stages are used for producing dance in a theater. The proscenium stage (figure 11.2) is the one most commonly used for dance, while the thrust and arena stages are growing in popularity. The proscenium stage is often in the shape of a square or rectangle with multiple entrances and exits on both sides of the stage, bounded by curtains, called legs, which are hung at different depths at the sides of the stage. A boxlike shape frames the stage, and the audience views the dance from directly in front of the stage. The proscenium stage can be traced back to the ancient Greeks who created theatrical events. A large curtain called the grand, or the main, masks the front of the stage. The curtain can be closed in two ways, either by lowering it vertically from above, also called “dropping,” or closing it in two pieces and pulling it together horizontally. A thrust stage, on the other hand, extends into the audience area, and is often shaped like an oval rather than a symmetrical square or round stage. The audience perspective is different at a thrust stage because the audience is placed on three sides of the stage, the front and right and left sides. The most unique quality of this stage is its ability to provide a more intimate experience for both the performers and the audience. The thrust stage also provides a special opportunity for choreographers; rather than the choreography being completely frontal facing, it provides multiple facings as choreographic options.

Ballet dancer Mariana Barabas at a costume fitting for her role in an upcoming production. Helene Pambrun/Paris Match via Getty Images

Arena stages, often referred to as theater in-the-round, are circular and can place the audience around the entire performance area. The stage’s floor is often raised above the ground to provide better views, or “sight lines” for the audience. An arena stage is not commonly used for concert dance, but dance groups occasionally perform in this setting. Arena stages provide a unique opportunity for dancers to express themselves in 360 degrees. Arena stages offer

exciting lighting options because their lighting plot is larger, making the production quality more like television or Hollywood.

Figure 11.2    Proscenium stage as seen from the audience’s point of view Reprinted by permission from G. Kassing, Discovering Dance (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2014), 239.

Raked stages, which exist in the oldest theaters, provide a less common dance experience. Raked stages are slanted, or built on a slight angle. Historically, these kinds of stages were considered very steep, but in modern times, the degree that a stage is raked is no more than five degrees. Raked stages were built in the time of Shakespearean theater, when theatres had an open area in front of the stage. They gave viewing opportunities to the entire audience, rather than just those who sat in the box seating or at the immediate front of the stage. It was the development and use of this stage that created the theater terms upstage, downstage, and center stage (see figure 11.3).

Postproduction Strike is a common word used in theater. To strike something means “to remove it from the stage.” In a dance production, a large strike activity takes place when the dance production closes. Unlike removing one item from the stage, everything in the theater must be removed at strike. This includes the dance floor, which must be rolled up and returned to storage, all lighting instruments are unmounted and returned to storage, drapes/curtains are removed from their hanging position, and any technical equipment such as sound systems, projection and screens, fog machines, and other special equipment, returned to storage. Following strike, costumes must be laundered and inventoried, and the theater must be cleaned. The cleaning of all of the theater areas must take place and include disposing of any trash or discarded programs in the house, backstage areas, dressing rooms, lobby, and restrooms. Additionally, any publications that advertise the production, including posters and other displays, should be taken down.

Figure 11.3    Stage directions from the performer’s point of view Reprinted by permission from G. Kassing, Discovering Dance (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2014), 253.

Summary In order for a production to be successful, many aspects must be considered, and the endeavor requires collaboration and coordination among the front of house, backstage, artistic, and administrative staff. While some dance productions are mounted on a minimalist level due to budgetary concerns or artistic choice, and in many cases, because staff take on multiple production roles, dance productions designed to be shown in a theater require attention to every aspect. It is important to recognize that all of the areas discussed in this chapter must work together in order to have a successful show or concert. Without marketing, there may not be an audience. Strong administrators and support areas, such as boards of directors and advisory councils, can provide financial and moral support to all areas of a production. Without the artistic vision of the directors and choreographers, a show would not exist. The crew in all areas, from lights to sound, running crew, and wardrobe and costuming, are responsible for making the artistic vision come to life on stage. And finally, it is the dancers, who execute the artistic vision that was created on stage.

Critical Thinking Considering the venues for dance and new technologies that support virtual experiences, what are some ways that a dance production can expand or change in the next century?

Discussion Questions 1. Compare and contrast the characteristics of a technical director and an artistic director. 2. List and explain the components that must be present for a successful dance production. 3. Brainstorm fundraising ideas that are specific to a dance production.

For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

12 Viewing and Responding to Dance Performances

Key Terms dance critique audience etiquette curtain call commercial dance

triple threat intercutting avant-garde metakinesis afterimages ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Viewing and responding to a performance requires an interaction and understanding between the audience and the performers.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES Understand the expectations for audiences viewing live dance. Differentiate key figures in the development of dance on film and televised dance. Compare philosophical approaches of key dance critics. Dissect the parts of a performance critique. It was not

very long ago that audiences could only view a dance performance live and in person. If you weren’t in the theater, you missed that performance and the experience could not be repeated or replicated. So it follows that the introduction of dance on film at the end of the 19th century was a revelation: The ability to watch and re-watch a performance that had already taken place must have

seemed like magic. Of course, photography had been capturing images of people since the 1830s, but one had to remain very still for the exposure. However, the medium of film didn’t require stillness. Instead, it celebrated movement, and as recording technology improved and expanded, audiences could watch dance at the movies and on television. Now, dance can be streamed online or shared on social media and our modern lives are filled with opportunities for connecting with dance performances, whether live, on film, or online. As audiences for dance in the United States grew, so too, did the response to dance performances, often in the form of a dance critique, an analysis and evaluation of the event. The 20th century saw the rise and fall of the dance critic, and the 21st century is coping with the repercussions of transitioning from the model of informed experts advising audiences on the merits of a performance to a model of the audience exerting its own opinion-making power. Society has yet to see the result of the changing role of the critic, as more and more opinions are created and shared on multiple online platforms. The focus of this chapter is on the intertwined relationship between dance, film, and the audience. First is a discussion of the relationship between audience and performers during live dance performances, and dance on film, including dancing in Hollywood movies, dance performances preserved on film, televised dance, and dance made specifically for the screen. The section Responding to Dance introduces dance critics who shaped the public’s perception of dance in the 20th century. The chapter concludes with guidelines for viewing dance, writing a dance review, and discussing methods for giving constructive feedback.

Viewing Dance Although dance can occur both inside and outside of a theatrical setting, the role of the audience during live performance is to witness and enjoy the performance and show appreciation at the end with applause. Most concert or dance producers rely on the audience to follow audience etiquette guidelines, or expectations for behavior, and will ask that phones be turned off and put away and that viewers refrain from filming or photographing the dancers. Talking is discouraged, as is eating or drinking. If you find yourself uncertain when to applaud, take your guide from the audience seated around you. For example, audiences viewing ballet performances tend to be quiet and occasionally applaud a particularly impressive feat, while audiences viewing hip-hop performances are more animated and are often encouraged to clap along with the beat of the music. At the end of most performances, the dancers return to the stage and bow to the audience. This is known as the curtain call, and the audience applauds while the dancers enter the stage and are sometimes presented a bouquet of flowers. Viewing live dance performance is very exciting—you are able to see the dancers in person and experience a once-in-a-lifetime performance that cannot be replicated, not even on film. The audience is encouraged to suspend its disbelief and enter the world created by the choreographer and inhabited by the performers and the audience. There might be live music, and the lighting will have been designed particularly for the performance occurring in that very space. Audience members bring their own personal points of view and perspectives through which they view the dancing. Most of all, their very presence at a dance performance supports the art form and gives it life beyond the performance. They might tell their friends and family about the show and the memories will linger with performance goers long after the show closes.

Dance on Film Like commercial dance for the stage, which also includes Broadway or Las Vegas shows, on cruise lines, or in theme parks,

commercial dance on film or television typically provides an abundant source of performing opportunities for dancers. Film has been embraced by dance-makers who want to translate staged musicals to film, by choreographers who hope to preserve their original works, by producers who are interested in sharing the magic of dance with television audiences, and by artists who wish to expand dance’s creative horizons. During the Great Depression, when steady performing work all but evaporated on the East Coast, some established Broadway stars and many aspiring dancers made their way to the West Coast where work in filmed musicals was plentiful. Broadway’s loss was Hollywood’s gain, and dance on film gained the talents of performers, such as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and later, choreographers, such as Agnes de Mille and Jerome Robbins. These pioneers led the way for subsequent generations of dance film choreographers, such as Bob Fosse, Rob and Kathleen Marshall, and Andy Blankenbuehler.

Fred Astaire (1899-1987) Fred Astaire was one of the dancers who came to Hollywood seeking more opportunity in the 1930s. He and his sister Adele had been dance partners on the vaudeville circuit, eventually starring in Broadway shows and performing overseas, where she met her husband and retired from the stage in 1932. Astaire relocated to California and was quickly paired with sassy starlet, Ginger Rogers, with whom he made nine films, including Swing Time (1936) and Shall We Dance (1937). Although director Busby Berkeley’s style of composing kaleidoscopic dances shot from overhead was popular at the time, Astaire soon declared that he would not allow himself to be filmed in parts, only in full figure.

Fred Astaire dancing on the walls (and ceiling) in the movie musical Royal Wedding (released 1951). Archive Photos/Getty Images

Astaire’s elegant and sophisticated movement style incorporated choreography that skillfully combined tap and ballroom dance with jazz and popular dance. His meticulously rehearsed dances were filmed in lush and spacious stages during rehearsals or performances, or in unusual spaces, such as in gymnasiums filled with exercise equipment, at outdoor parks (real and constructed) among trees and benches, and in cozy furnished rooms with plenty of props, chairs, and tables for interactions.

Gene Kelly (1912-1996) Gene Kelly also got his start on Broadway, and he began appearing in filmed musicals in the 1940s as Hollywood turned to Broadway for movie ideas. Kelly has often been compared with Astaire because Kelly’s dancing style was more athletic and physically daring;

however, like Astaire, his dancing also featured a blend of tap, jazz, and popular dance. Stanley Donen, a former dancer who later became a film director, collaborated with Kelly on two of his most famous films, An American in Paris (1951) and Singin’ in the Rain (1952), both filmed in color. Donen’s athletic camerawork complemented Kelly’s charmingly brawny movement style. Kelly’s audacious 17-minute “dream ballet” sequence at the end of An American in Paris, which initially was considered risky, became a hit with movie-going audiences and led to the duo making Singin’ in the Rain, considered by many to be the best musical on film. Set during the transition from silent to sound film in the late 1920s, the movie also showcases the talents of dancers Cyd Charisse and Donald O’Connor and featured young musical starlet Debbie Reynolds.

Agnes de Mille (1905-1993) Agnes de Mille’s Broadway dance triumph, Oklahoma! (1943), was not translated to film until 1955, and she was retained as the choreographer to re-create her dances for the camera, including the original “dream ballet,” choreographed for the 1943 Broadway production, which inspired many other dream ballet sequences in other productions. The original stage version was the first musical to integrate the dancing with the plot rather than presenting a series of unrelated performance numbers. By the time the film version of Oklahoma! premiered, Hollywood musicals had been using dance to further the plot and to add depth and motivation to the characters for a decade. The imagery in de Mille’s choreography—evoking men shambling on horseback, the optimism of young brides, and the lusty sleaziness of couples dancing in a bordello—is communicated through a blend of modern dance, ballet, and western popular dance. As the 1950s progressed, more and more successful musicals on Broadway again found their way to film, including Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, and The King and I (choreographed by Jerome Robbins).

Jerome Robbins (1918-1998)

Jerome Robbins, who also choreographed for George Balanchine’s company New York City Ballet, moved fluidly between the worlds of ballet, musical theater, and film, creating memorable choreography for Broadway shows and reimagining the dancing for the Hollywood versions of his hit musicals. One of his most influential musicals was West Side Story, a modern re-telling of Romeo and Juliet, except the conflict portrayed existed between rival gangs in New York City. Robbins insisted on the title of choreographer (and enlisted choreographer Peter Gennaro as co-choreographer), further advancing the role of dance as a central component of a musical, requiring performers to be talented actors, singers, and dancers— otherwise known as a “triple threat.” West Side Story was adapted to film in 1961 and Robbins codirected with Robert Wise. The explosive nature of the dancing, which combined the tautness and syncopation of jazz dance with the elevation and complexity of ballet, served to physicalize teenage angst and the roughness of the neighborhood. The choreography, along with the driving score by Leonard Bernstein, created a palpable tension throughout the film.

Bob Fosse (1927-1987) Where Jerome Robbins had promoted the status of the choreographer to working alongside the film director, Bob Fosse would go on to choreograph and direct his own Hollywood film projects. Fosse’s first break was on Broadway in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey. Spotted by a Hollywood talent scout, Fosse was soon invited to appear in the movie Kiss Me Kate in 1953, during which he choreographed a short but electrifying segment, and on the basis of his spectacular choreography, he was invited back to Broadway to choreograph The Pajama Game the following year. After a string of hit Broadway shows in the 1950s and 1960s, including Damn Yankees and Sweet Charity, Fosse returned to film as a director for Cabaret (1972), a musical unlike any other. Instead of separating the action outside the nightclub from the singing and dancing numbers inside, the songs and dances were interspersed with troubling events happening outside the cabaret. Fosse forged strong connections between the songs performed in the cabaret and

the action in the streets of pre-World War II Berlin through the use of intercutting, or rapidly splicing the action between two scenes happening in two different locations into one composite scene. In a particularly striking example, Leiderhosen-clad performers dance a bawdy folk dance on the cabaret stage, using slapstick for comedic effect. This dance is intercut with a gang beating up a man in an alleyway, juxtaposing the humor and playfulness of the dance with street violence. Fosse’s method of presenting dance onscreen in smaller segments instead of full figure was a radical departure from the norm and served Fosse’s style well, framing the idiosyncratic gestures of his minimalist dance technique. His movies inspired the next generation of choreographers and filmmakers, including Rob and Kathleen Marshall, a brother-sister team.

Rob Marshall (1960-) and Kathleen Marshall (1962-) Between them, the pair of siblings has choreographed many Broadway revival shows including Kiss Me Kate, Little Shop of Horrors, and Grease (Kathleen), and Damn Yankees and Cabaret (Rob). Rob Marshall ventured into film, directing and choreographing the new musical Mary Poppins Returns (2018) and Chicago (2002), a love letter to Fosse’s choreographic and storytelling style in a movie version of the Broadway show from 1975, featuring Fossestyle dance choreography and Fosse-inspired intercutting between multiple scenes and dance numbers.

Andy Blankenbuehler (1970-) Andy Blankenbuehler, like the Marshalls, inherited a rich Broadway tradition and similarly, his resume includes choreographing a combination of Broadway revival shows such as Annie (2012) and Cats (2016), Broadway shows adapted from movies, such as 9 to 5 (2009) and Bring It On (2012), and original shows including In the Heights (2008) and the blockbuster hit Hamilton (2015). In an informative video produced by the Wall Street Journal, the choreographer describes his process for choreographing Hamilton as creating images that are closely tethered to the show’s lyrics. He choreographed the televised musical version of Dirty Dancing (2017)

and the miniseries Fosse/Verdon (2019), and the 2020 release of Hamilton on the Disney+ streaming service brought a resurgence of interest in the show. There are many possible pathways for Blankenbuehler in the years to come: continuing to choreograph for Broadway, directing his own original film projects, and translating hit Broadway shows to film.

Dance on Television and for the Camera Rather than translating dance for the stage to the medium of film, some choreographers prefer to document and preserve their dances on film exactly as they appear on the stage. However, this process can be prohibitively expensive for a dance company to finance. During the early 1960s, television producer and dance aficionado Jac Venza realized that he could connect dance companies needing to preserve their dances with the facilities of commercial and public television stations, bringing concert dance into living rooms all over the United States (Mitoma, Zimmer, Stieber 2002). Venza paired with WGBH in Boston and WNET in New York to produce several series, including Dance in America, A Time to Dance, and Arts USA, documenting and preserving the dances of over 50 choreographers between 1976 and 2010. Now, fans of concert dance can stream ballet and contemporary dance concert performances by national and international dance companies on the service, MarqueeTV. Concert dance is not the only type of dance one can view on television: Dance appears in commercials, in music videos, and on the immensely popular dance competition shows, So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With the Stars, which attract millions of viewers each week. Watching dance on television or on film might remove the audience from experiencing the dancing live and in person, but participating companies are able to reach an even larger audience, one that might go see the live performance next time. For audiences, besides being able to rewatch a brilliant performance, they can more easily share their love of dance performance with others and as a result exponentially increase the potential viewership for dance. The seminal works of choreographers who became filmmakers/videographers themselves, such as Maya Deren, Bill T.

Jones, and Mitchell Rose, continue to push the limits of film and video technology as expressions of their own vision of dance as one that exists in its final form onscreen.

Maya Deren (1917-1961) Maya Deren’s seminal 1945 short film, A Study in Choreography for Camera, a black-and-white film, is a milestone in avant-garde, or experimental, film history. The brief film features dancer Talley Beatty transporting himself to multiple locations connected only by his dancing, tethered by a leap or a turn or a lowering leg. Deren was also a dancer, and her films utilize movement as a motivating force. Upon her unexpected death at the age of 44, she had only left behind a handful of finished films, but her legacy forever ties together dance and film.

SPOTLIGHT Lindsay Caddle LaPointe: Dance Videographer Lindsay Caddle LaPointe, dance videographer and editor, runs Linden Tree Productions, a dance video archiving and editing service that primarily caters to the video documentation needs of dance companies. She has worked with many clients, including choreographer Bebe Miller and the Boston Center for the Arts, and she has been the media supervisor and videographer for the Bates Dance Festival in Maine for nearly a decade. Besides being artistically rewarding, the nature of the work, and particularly the editing of dance videos, has made for a flexible work schedule, since she is also the mother of a young child.

LaPointe trained as a dancer at Roger Williams University and credits her upbringing with inspiring and fostering an interest in technology, especially computers and video cameras. She grew up with a video camera in the household and her mom always recorded her dance performances. In college, LaPointe edited music for dance concerts and discovered her love of video editing software programs, leading her to pursue a graduate degree in dance technology from Ohio State University. The dance program provided multiple opportunities to practice documenting dance, and specialized courses taught her critical skills, such as camera use and placement, and lighting. Working with live dancers and receiving mentorship and trust from professors in the program helped LaPointe to find her own way as a dance videographer. The experience of being a dancer behind the camera allows her to “know what it feels like to be on that stage and be able to follow movement and even anticipate it,” and LaPointe feels this sensitivity encourages choreographers to put their trust in her to capture their creative work. She employs a method she named “breathing with the dance” that calls upon her dance training to follow the movement of the dancing and avoid adding unnecessary camera movement that could alter the look of the choreography. She explains that “if the dancer comes to a stop, the camera comes to a stop. Don’t reframe. Just wait a second, take a breath, and continue following.”

For LaPointe, the rewards of the job far outweigh the challenges, but she acknowledges the difficulty in keeping up with rapid changes in technology, both in the hardware and software, and that both equipment maintenance and logistics can be tricky. She recounts the benefits of being able to see a lot of dance and helping artists to build a body of dance work. LaPointe feels a connection to the larger purpose of preserving dance and keeping live performance alive and vital on video. She takes great satisfaction from being true to the dance as it is presented, without remaking it through editing. After all, dance artists will use the videos to help them get grants to continue making work, and to reconstruct pieces. For those wanting to pursue a career making dances on film, whether it is for the purpose of creating a dance for film, making a documentary about dance, or preserving a performance, LaPointe recommends just getting behind a camera, because much like dance, people “have to do it to learn how to do it.” She got her start at the Bates Dance Festival by applying as an intern and learning through doing. LaPointe recommends checking out filmfreeway.com as a resource for any beginning dance filmmaker to find dance film festivals that can showcase their work. She now trains interns in Maine by giving them a camera and a tripod and trusting them to find their own way through engaged practice.

Bill T. Jones (1952-) Modern dance choreographer Bill T. Jones collaborated with Riverbed Media on a groundbreaking work entitled Ghostcatching (1999). Jones previously had used film in the 1980s and in his work Still/Here (1994) to create a multimedia experience for audiences that introduced the stories of people facing a fatal diagnosis. Taking technological collaboration even further, Ghostcatching made use of motion-capture technology in its infancy to create an eight-minute film of his outline interacting among the movement lines left behind by his dancing in a piece that separates the live dancing body from the dance. Jones has continued to create live dances, candidly acknowledging the irony of the bodily aspect of dance “being

transformed through the medium of technology into a poetic parallel virtual incarnation” (Mitoma, Zimmer, Stieber 2002, 107).

Mitchell Rose (1951-) Mitchell Rose also began his artistic career as a dancer and choreographer before turning to film. He currently teaches dance filmmaking at Ohio State University and has created many humorous short films that feature dance. His most recent works, Exquisite Corps (2016) and And So Say All of Us (2018) feature 40+ famous choreographers performing small solo snippets of a larger dance that travels from location to location, connected by a movement through line in the spirit of Maya Deren’s work, and the red shirts or sweaters worn by the dancers. Both films exist on video-sharing sites and have gone viral, exposing many others to the possibilities of dance as an art form connecting humans.

Members of the Pennsylvania Ballet perform in front the cameras on an episode of the PBS television series ‘Dance in America’, 1976 Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Throughout the last half-century, filmmaking technology has changed from using enormously heavy and expensive equipment and real film, to mobile phone–sized cameras and digital output. Motion-capture technology can now change the look of the dancer or remove the dancer entirely, and the ability to share video

immediately through social media has disrupted traditional venues for distributing dance films to audiences. It is impossible to know what technological changes are around the corner, but it is certain that technology will not be able to supersede the human element in dance.

Responding to Dance Just as audience members tense up during a suspenseful car chase or jump during a frightening scene in the movie theater, dance audiences can find themselves physically responding to the dancing they are viewing. Dance critic and writer John Martin referred to this phenomenon of muscular and kinesthetic empathy to movement as metakinesis, or “transference of an aesthetic and emotional concept from the consciousness of one individual to that of another” (Copeland and Cohen 1983, 23), and as most live dance fans will agree, there is a peculiar thrill of watching a performance in real time; anything can happen and once it does, it is gone. Except for the occasions when dance is recorded on film or video, live dance has proved to be the most ephemeral, or fleeting, of the arts. Dance critics have played an important role in educating audiences about dance history and aesthetics, providing context and perspective, advocating for the art form, and giving guidance and feedback to emerging and mature artists in the dance field. Although dance criticism, of a sort, has been practiced since Théophile Gautier (1811-1872), author of the libretto for the ballet Giselle in 1842, began writing about dance performances, dance criticism did not become a viable professional pursuit until the late 1920s. Since that time, newspaper publications and magazines hired dance critics to work alongside theater, music, and visual arts critics. Among the many gifted dance critics, the following four shaped dance criticism of the 20th century.

John Martin (1893-1985) The first full-time dance critic for the New York Times, John Martin, took an immediate liking to modern dance, the nascent art form that had been developing since the turn of the 20th century. His subsequent reviews and articles in the New York Times, beginning in 1927 and continuing until his retirement in 1962, along with lectures and books, helped audiences to understand what artists, such as Martha Graham, were trying to communicate. He actively advocated for the acceptance of modern dance, and for most of his career, was

able to build and educate audiences for dance in New York and beyond.

Edwin Denby (1903-1983) Long considered to be one of the best dance critics by both his peers and emerging critics, former dancer and poet Edwin Denby began writing about dance for a music journal in the mid-1930s and temporarily replaced dance critic Walter Terry at the New York Herald Tribune during World War II. Although he didn’t hold a steady post as a dance reviewer, he contributed pieces to Dance Magazine, among other publications, and sporadically published his poems. Denby wrote sensitively and passionately about the work of many choreographers, but his admiration of ballet choreographer George Balanchine shone through his image-laden reviews of both the neoclassical plotless and story ballets. For Denby, the critic’s role was clear: “It seems to me that it is not the critic’s historic function to have the right opinions, but to have interesting ones” (Cornfield 1998, 197).

Deborah Jowitt (1934-) Dancer Deborah Jowitt began writing for The Village Voice in 1967, while still performing and choreographing in her own dances and collaborating with other dance artists. Until 2011, her descriptive style and generous attitude toward all forms of dance was designed to give audience members the feeling that they were in the audience experiencing the performance. For Jowitt, description is not about just the surface, but it “hints at what lurks within a work. It links images through imaginative wordplay” (Dils and Cooper-Albright 2001, 9).

Arlene Croce (1934-) Arlene Croce wrote primarily for The New Yorker magazine between 1973-1998 and for her self-established publication, the Ballet Review (1965-2019). Concerned with afterimages, the lingering impression left on the eye after the dancing event speeds by, as the subject of her criticism, Croce’s evocative prose attempted to remake for her readers the afterimages she gained from performances. She

infamously refused to review Bill T. Jones’ dance piece Still/Here in 1994 because she labeled the piece “victim art” (Croce, 2000, 710). In the same piece, she mentioned the expendability of art critics, an oddly prescient preview of the current state of dance criticism.

SPOTLIGHT Interview with Ann Daly, Dance Writer and Historian What does a dance writer/historian do? How does one make a living? A dance writer, broadly speaking, can write features, news, profiles, blogs; practice criticism; and write history. Traditionally, one did this for mass media outlets like newspapers, magazines, and maybe radio. Those outlets, as we know, are dwindling. Instead, social media are taking up the slack. And you can write books, as well, with traditional trade publishers, academic publishers, or self publishing online.

How does one train to be a dance writer/historian? As with any profession, one gets the best and most advanced education possible—in terms of both subject matter and writing skills. See as much dance as you can. Write as much as you

can. Take dance classes. Happily, there are many excellent master’s and doctoral programs from which to choose.

What do you think the criteria are for being a dance historian? A good dance historian has to go deep (into the history and discourse of dance) and wide (into cultural context, other arts histories, and cultural theory). You have to know how to ask the right questions, think critically, and be relentlessly curious. Imaginative empathy, that’s what it takes, to try to inhabit another time and space.

What is your favorite writing experience and why? I have had the good fortune to engage with many different types of dance writing—features, profiles, criticism, a history book— because I started life as a daily newspaper feature writer and then became an academic. I did love writing the book on Isadora Duncan [Done Into Dance], which began as my dissertation. As a writer, I love non-narrative structure, and I really enjoyed coming up with the structure for that book: Each chapter took up a different theoretical kind of “body” through which to understand her dance practice. It was a fulfilling challenge to weave together all my research into that structure.

What is your background and where did you train? I majored in journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. After seeing my first ballet in freshman year, I decided that’s what I wanted to write about. Not only did I “get it,” but I thought it would be the ultimate writerly challenge: to put into words that which is nonverbal. There was no dance program at my college. Instead, I took art history as my minor, which I loved, and it was a rigorous introduction to nonverbal observation and analysis. I also started writing about art and dance for the college newspaper. And taking modern dance classes at a local company. I did everything I could to learn about dance, dance history, and dance writing. After working as a feature writer at The Pittsburgh Press for several years, I really wanted to continue my education as a

dance writer, so I enrolled at New York University to get my master’s and doctorate in performance studies. Besides studying dance criticism and history with Marcia B. Siegel and Deborah Jowitt, I discovered and began my work in cultural criticism and feminist theory.

What was your first big break as a dance writer? When I graduated college, I signed on as a feature writer at The Pittsburgh Press, where I had done an internship. When the art writer transferred to the news department, I asked for that beat. It was great training, and I still love writing about art today. I would say that my “first big break” came in graduate school, at New York University, studying with the brilliant dance critic Marcia B. Siegel. When she was unable to accept a review assignment, she would suggest me instead. That’s how I got my foot in the door.

Who was/is the biggest influence for you as a writer? Has that changed over time? Mrs. Abitabilo, my honors English teacher in high school, who scrawled across the top of one of my assignments, a book review: “Have you considered a career in journalism?” Mrs. Parker, my honors English teacher in college, who taught me the writerly virtue and rigor of clarity. Marcia B. Siegel, who could see all the depths and nooks and crannies of a dance and enable the reader to see them too. Edwin Denby, the great poet of dance criticism.

Dance Criticism Challenges Since the advent of free online newspaper access in the early years of the 21st century, dance criticism has been facing multiple challenges both in print and online. As newspapers faced decreased paying readership and struggled to find ways to recoup lost revenue, print newspapers became smaller and included fewer pages, often reducing or cutting sections without large readerships, including Arts sections. The newfound ability to track online engagement with

particular pages encouraged online sites to diminish the profile of their dance coverage, significantly reducing online coverage as well. Even Dance Magazine, a well-known industry magazine publishing since 1927, moved reviews from print to the online presence and then cut them entirely in 2013. Significantly reduced opportunities for dance writers to hone their critical craft has created a dire situation of extreme scarcity of coverage for dance events overall. Besides using print and online coverage to advocate for dance and educate the audience, press coverage has the additional purpose of providing legitimacy for dance companies and solo artists who apply for grant funding to help pay for upcoming concerts and performance projects. Few dance critic voices remain, and the large majority are freelance writers, save for a few publications, including several based in New York and Washington D.C. The newer writers include Gia Kourlas at the New York Times and Sarah Kaufman at the Washington Post. Joan Acocella, former dance critic for the New Yorker magazine, generously gives audience members credit for already knowing how to watch dance, asserting that “so much of life is spent in the difficult task of trying to understand things to see through them to what’s on the other side. But the truths of dance are not on the other side. They are in the very bones of the dance, which our bones know how to read, if we let them” (Dils and CooperAlbright 2001, 16).

Guidelines for Writing a Dance Review Students may not realize they already possess the skills to review dance concerts—skills they have honed on their own time in the company of friends or even family. Imagine having a discussion after watching a movie and identifying small, meaningful moments and how they contribute to the theme or describing parts of the movie and interpreting a scene or the actor’s motivation. An evaluation of the movie is especially important, as it may determine whether you consider the movie entertaining or successful, or not. These are the same skills needed when watching and reviewing dance concerts. Take a notepad and pen with you and take notes during the performance. Write down images and phrases that come to mind in the moment. Read the program to glean as much information as

possible and save it to reference later. You don’t have to talk about every piece, nor do you have to mention every aspect of the performance. Separate your thoughts into the four sections of a review: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation.

Description A description should describe WHAT happened in the dance piece and what the dance looked like. Note how many dancers were in the piece, who they were, and what they were wearing. Mention if the dancers held or manipulated any props or danced on or under any structures other than the floor, and mention the type of movement used, for example, balletic movement or pedestrian movement. Describe the music used; the lighting before, during, and at the end of the dance; and the overall environment and atmosphere of the dance piece. Describe the overall structure of the dance: How many parts did the dance have, and how did the parts relate to each other? Perhaps the dance had two distinct sections that were very different from each other. Did you notice mostly locomotor movement— running, jumping, sliding—or was the movement mostly nonlocomotor—reaching, melting, falling, swaying? Once you feel you have a good, comprehensive sense of the piece, the next step is to analyze the parts.

Analysis An analysis breaks down the dance into the primary elements of time, space, energy, and form and discusses HOW the elements were used in the dance. Think of how TIME was expressed in the piece. Was the pacing, or tempo, fast or slow and did the music and movement relate so closely that the driving force of the piece was music? Or did the movement and music have a looser relationship? Think of how the dancers used SPACE: Were movements large or small and did they seem close to the audience or far away? Consider the level of movement: Did it occur on the floor or in the air, or was it mostly on the standing level? Did the dancers create pathways on the floor or was the dancing performed in place? Perhaps they faced an unexpected direction or the dancers remained close to each other or focused their attention on the

audience, rather than each other. What does the movement look like? Is it sharp and jagged or soft and flowing? Describe the ENERGY level and changes in energy. The Laban Movement Analysis terminology can be useful for describing movement with precise language and chapter 3 contains a discussion of the categories. Report the unexpected and unique as well as the expected and familiar. Did the dancers only use their arms or was the movement all off-balance? Were the dancers portraying people or animals or ideas and how did they use their bodies to achieve this effect? Was the movement curvy or straight, alone or connected, large or small?

Interpretation The interpretation is entirely up to the audience. This step answers the WHY question. If you put the analyzed pieces back together, what did the dance mean to you and why? What connections or relationships did you see between the performers and each other or between the movement and the music? Locate and describe any imagery or movement that evokes a picture of something for you. Is the theme obvious or is the situation presented as an event you could recognize or relate to? How would you describe your mood after watching the dance and what contributed to your reaction?

Evaluation The evaluation answers the question Did the dance do what it set out to do? Most audience members will have a response to a dance, and personal opinions are one step, but it is important to stretch further and explain how the dance succeeded or fell short of its goal. Many choreographers place clues in the title, music choice, choreographic tools utilized, or costume color that can help a reviewer connect the piece together or compare it to others. Sometimes a choreographer will discuss the inspiration for a dance in the program notes or provide a quotation to give the audience a sense of why the dance was created. Some choreographers seek to explore movement and design without attempting to communicate a specific message. Were you able to enjoy the movement journey and appreciate movement for its own sake? Occasionally, the

dancer’s performance can greatly affect the piece in a positive or negative way. The evaluation can be a place to discuss live performance aspects and identify areas of improvement, or what you might like to see next.

Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process Although dance critiques are a useful exercise for writers in honing their craft, offering a critical perspective to a beginning choreographer is challenging, as one does not want to share nonconstructive, or poorly considered criticism; it doesn’t serve a positive purpose and can inhibit another student’s creativity. Inconsiderate criticism is offered before it is requested, can be purposefully unkind, or attempts to remake the work of another. To avoid inconsiderate criticism, dance students and choreography teachers grapple with finding effective methods of communicating about choreography in ways that can improve the product and not alienate the creator. As part of the ongoing learning process, dance teachers, professionals, and choreography students engage in sharing feedback about dance pieces. Because dance exists on our bodies, it can be difficult to separate the dancer from the dance and it can also be challenging to give and receive constructive feedback. Liz Lerman, modern dance choreographer and founder of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, a multigenerational dance company based in Washington, D.C. (1976-2011), created a feedback method called the Critical Response Process to reduce anxiety about showing unfinished and finished work. This method is designed to help artists make dances more of what they intended by creating a safe space to share a dialogue about the dance piece. The process has four steps for the artist and the responder (the audience): 1. Responders provide statements of meaning that describe what was meaningful or striking about the work. 2. The artist asks specific questions of the responders. 3. Responders ask neutral questions about the work, without offering opinions to the artist.

4. The artist either can ask for responders’ opinions or choose not to elicit opinions.

Contemporary/modern company in rehearsal.

dance

choreographer

Mary Lou Foy/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Liz

Lerman

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Summary The intertwined relationship between dance, film, and the audience can be analyzed by studying the actions of viewers and responders. Early Hollywood embraced dance, and as each new medium developed, including television and online presence, dance was preserved on film and viewed by new audiences worldwide. Dance critics respond to performances with critiques and help the public to better understand and appreciate dance. Also benefiting from constructive feedback processes are artists and audiences, who can share in the creative process in order to better connect with each other.

Critical Thinking Reflect on your experiences watching dance. Which types do you prefer to watch live and which on video and why? Reflect on your experiences responding to dance. Do you spend most of your effort describing, analyzing, interpreting, or evaluating dance and why?

Discussion Questions 1. Do you agree or disagree with Fred Astaire that dance should be presented full-bodied onscreen and why? Can you think of examples to illustrate your position? 2. How has the advent of instantly shareable video changed your relationship to dance? 3. What is the role of the critic today? Do you think we need critics? Why or why not? 4. In what other contexts could you use Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process?

For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

13 Global Connections in Dance

Key Terms ghost dance powwows grass dance

jingle dress dance folk dance kpanlogo lion dance butoh capoeira ginga roda vodou bharatanatyam devadasis Lakhaon Kaol Robam Boran ENDURING UNDERSTANDING Globally, dance inspires, excites, and energizes those who connect with others through movement. LEARNING OBJECTIVES Discover connections between dance styles from different countries. Discuss how dance technology and social media have influenced and supported dance globally.

Describe national and global events designed to connect dancers. Dance exists nearly

everywhere on planet Earth, and humans have practiced it since prehistory. Humans dance to express themselves individually and collectively in order to tell stories, share their traditions and history, understand society and the world around them, and entertain and celebrate. Dance connects humans with their senses, their emotive capacity, and their embodied selves. Dance is represented in visual art of all types, it can be heard through the sounds of the feet connecting with the floor, and dance is a manifestation of the movement that suffuses and surrounds everyone on our planet. Dance expresses the human condition, and dancing allows us to both demonstrate our cultural uniqueness and find commonalities with other communities. Although dances from other parts of the world may not look familiar, some of the reasons that humans dance are universal, bonding the individual to the community and connecting communities with each other. Often the movement knowledge is entrusted to specially trained groups or hereditary lineages that pass on the dance from generation to generation, but anyone with a body can dance.

Approaching Dance Around the World When studying dances from other nations, it is important to approach the dances within the context of the culture they represent. Dance researcher Deidre Sklar asserts, “movement embodies cultural knowledge … not just as visual spectacle but as kinesthetic, conceptual, and emotional experience that depends upon cultural learning” (Dils and Cooper-Albright 2001, 32). Like most dance practitioners and advocates, Sklar considers dance to be an art form that activates the brain and the emotions as well as the body. However, she also encourages students of dance to research the culture surrounding the dance in order to better understand and contextualize dance that may look unfamiliar to the viewer. Additionally, she highlights dance as a conduit capable of transmitting important cultural knowledge. Successful communication requires two willing participants in order to make successful connections. If students of dance allow themselves to watch, feel, experience, and learn without making value judgments, the world of dance has a great deal to share.

Connected by Common Goals The sheer multitude of dances performed around the world preclude comprehensive coverage in a single chapter, but we can offer brief snapshots of dance that might speak to your heritage or culture, while others may inspire you to further explore dance from a particular region or country. This chapter will present a sampling of dances that are connected by common goals across the globe. Choosing the motivation of expression, we will focus on a selection of dances from different parts of the world that seek to share their heritage, engage in celebration, challenge power structures, express spirituality, and embody political power.

Sharing Heritage Humans use dance to bond with others and to share experiences and a collective identity, a heritage that can be passed on to the next generation. Interwoven with dance is the clothing or costumes that represent the region and the music and underlying rhythms bolstering the dance. The dances in this section hail from North America, particularly the Great Plains in the United States, and from the Russian Steppes.

North America: Native American Dance Before colonization, Plains Indians had dance rituals for every facet of life, such as welcoming strangers, curing illness, sacrificing, celebrating, and communicating with the natural world. As European settlers moved westward in the 1800s, Native Americans were displaced from their lands and relocated to reservations. In 1886, a Paiute prophet named Wovoka shared a vision with the Lakota Sioux that if they performed the ghost dance along with other Plains tribes, it would bring about a return to their former life. White authorities feared an uprising and suppressed and prohibited the new religious movement and the practice of dancing. The ensuing conflict led to tragedy at Wounded Knee Creek in 1890 when the U.S. Army shot 300 Lakota men, women, and children. The U.S. government continued to suppress Native American dancing until the

1930s, by which time, many surviving tribes had merged resources to ensure survival.

Native American Jingle Dress dancer. NinaHenry/iStock/Getty Images

Powwows evolved from gatherings designed to salvage Plains culture, and the events featured ceremonial dances and dances for competition. Today’s powwows highlight multiple styles of dances during multiday events. In dances accompanied by drums and singers, men compete in the grass dance, which focuses on symmetrical movement by making the fringe on costumes sway continuously and the men’s fancy dance, which is a highly athletic

dance of jumps and spins, complete with large bustles of brightly colored feathers. Women compete in the jingle dress dance, which is performed in a zigzag pattern to reflect the journey of life, and wear dresses adorned with hundreds of metal jingles. Women also compete in the fancy shawl dance, which includes a fringed shawl and beaded high moccasins. The dance involves kicks, twirls, and fast movement. Although some tribe members have issues with commercialization and competitions, others consider powwows as a way to educate others about the heritage of Native Americans. Regardless, Native American powwow dances inspire pride in a shared heritage, whether to a particular tribe or to the Pan-Native American community. Locating a nearby powwow takes only a quick search since more than 1,000 powwows occur all across the United States and Canada.

Russia: Folk Dances Folk dances, or dances created by the citizens of a particular country or region, celebrate a shared heritage. Folk dances are typically secular in nature and are usually performed in traditional dress. Russian folk dances emerged in the 10th century and eventually filtered into ballet technique as character dances. A repository for heirloom dances, the Moiseyev Dance Company has acted as emissaries for promoting Russian culture during tours, and the company even began visiting the United States in 1958 during the height of the Cold War. Founded in 1936 by dancer Igor Moiseyev (1906-2007), a former member of the Bolshoi Ballet, his ensemble served as a model for other countries wanting to form their own troupes intent on sharing their own rich history of folk dance. Known for acrobatic speed and patterned designs using lines/chains and circles, the group has strong dancers but no star system. Moiseyev choreography combines authentic folk dance steps with theatrical effects, and the dancers, trained primarily in ballet technique, perform dances from all the former U.S.S.R. countries. Although Moiseyev did not consider the company to be a museum for dances, the collection of hundreds of dances is a testament to the act of dance preservation.

Celebration People use dance to mark important transitions in life, such as births, marriage, and death. In addition, dances are created to commemorate cultural shifts and can be part of annual celebrations. The dances in this section are from Ghana, on the African continent, and from China, on the Asian continent.

Ghana: Kpanlogo Africa is large and its culture of dance, music, and storytelling is vast. In the West African country of Ghana, the populace are proud of their dance heritage and consider dance to be intrinsically combined with music, song, and story. One such dance was created as a form of celebration and to inspire the entire nation. On March 6, 1957, Ghana peacefully gained independence from British colonialism. In celebration of this accomplishment, the youth of Ghana created kpanlogo, a recreational form of dance and music whose name means “storytelling” in the Ga culture. The highly individualized form began with one person telling a story and the partner composing a dance to represent the story. Despite its celebratory form, some government representatives viewed the dance as racy and suggestive, so a compromise was made to earn approval by the first president of Ghana. The youthful creators of the dance agreed to tame the dancing slightly in order to get the Ghanaian government’s support of this dance. To this day, kpanlogo is fully integrated into the Ghanaian culture. Kpanlogo is constantly evolving as a social dance, and variations of it continue to be created and shared widely. The dance is used for celebrations, including when Ghana qualified for the FIFA World Cup. Ghanaians have been known to get out of their cars and dance kpanlogo in the streets and on the sidewalks to celebrate national victory.

China: Lion Dance Each Lunar New Year, celebrated in late January or early February, citizens of China (and Chinese communities worldwide) celebrate the transition between the years by watching performances of lion dancers. The lion dance dates back several thousand years, possibly to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). There are several origin

stories, and the dance commemorates a creature offering protection to a human. Although lions are not indigenous to China, the animal is revered as a creature that chases away evil spirits and brings good fortune, so lion dancers are also engaged for business openings, and other auspicious events, such as weddings. Lion dancers are typically male and trained as Kung Fu practitioners because the dance requires tremendous strength and balance. Typically, two dancers perform the lion dance: The head dancer needs to have strong arms and shoulders to carry and manipulate the head, made of bamboo and decorations, and the tail dancer needs to have a robust back and strong legs since this dancer remains bent over during much of the dance. The elaborate head puppet has a moveable mouth, eyes, and ears, and any new costume must go through a dotting ceremony to “bring it to life” so that it will be able to fulfill its duty to protect. Lion dancing can be separated into two categories, northern and southern. In the northern style, the dancers imitate dog movements and the dancing tends to be acrobatic, with one dancer lifting the other onto his shoulders or both dancers performing the dance on tall poles. The northern lion is shaggy and has four legs and a golden head. Northern lions often appear in pairs: Lions with red bows are male, and lions with green bows are female. The southern lion imitates the movement of a cat, and the head features enormous eyes, a mirror on the forehead, and a single horn in the center of the head. Sometimes the back dancer is covered by a long drape. Musicians who take their cues from the movement accompany the dancers, and performers are often given money by shop owners wishing to receive good fortune themselves. The practice of performing the dance annually honors this ancient culture and keeps the present connected to the past.

Challenging Power Structures Dancing can also be used to express dissent and resistance to power and cultural norms. The dance forms discussed in the following section are from the island country of Japan, Brazil on the South American continent, and Angola on the African continent. Both dances were created to withstand the impact of the dominant culture surrounding them and to articulate divergent opinion and action.

Japan: Butoh The Japanese form, butoh, is also known as the “dance of the dark soul.” It was created in reaction to Japan’s strict societal codes in the 1950s and post-WWII fears of Western influence. Butoh promoted artistic freedom from tradition: The dancing is provocative, grotesque, and powerful. Using physical distortion to subvert beauty, butoh emphasizes imbalance as a reaction against traditional aesthetic principles of harmony and flow. Dancers, often with faces painted white, perform extremely slow movement along with exaggerated facial expressions. Dancer Tatsumi Hijikata (19291986) originated butoh as a way to work beyond the bounds of endurance, and his vision of the dance was violent and confrontational. He inspired Kazuo Ohno (1906-2010), whose softened approach brought a poetic beauty to the improvisational form. Butoh gained worldwide attention around 1985, and the form has evolved to include humor and lyricism. To date, companies both inside Japan and all over the world practice butoh, including Sankai Juku, Eiko & Koma, and Dairakudakan.

Member of the Butoh dance company, Sankai Juku, during a production of Ushio Amagatsu’s Kinkan Shonen. robbie jack/Corbis via Getty Images

Brazil and Angola: Capoeira Capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian dance that is also known as a game and a martial art, is said to have been brought to Brazil by Angolan-born

enslaved people who developed the dance with other enslaved people already living in Brazil. Although dancers jogar, or play, capoeira, no one wins a game. Dancers spend a lot of time inverted (upside-down), and the technique requires speed, flexibility, and strength to master the flowing movement, demonstrated by the ginga, or rocking motion, foundational to the technique. Capoeira is usually performed in the middle of a circle of people, called the roda, and was initially practiced as a martial art for self-defense against authorities. It was a form of passive resistance performed inside a circle of protection, the active training hidden by a veneer of play. Practitioners could claim to be dancing or playing a game rather than training to fight. Capoeira was outlawed in the 19th century, but restrictions began to relax in the 1920s. In recent years, academies have provided a safe space to practice and helped to codify the technique, which is practiced around the world today.

Capoeira performance including dancer and musicians in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Expressing Spirituality Humans have used dance to worship and communicate with the spiritual realm since before recorded history. Although not typically part of European and Western religious practice, honoring the gods with an offering of dance or calling on spirits to commune with

mortals is a component of many types of sacred dance throughout the world. The following section introduces bharatanatyam, a dance that began in the temples of India, and vodou, a religious possession dance still practiced in Haiti.

India: Bharatanatyam The roots of bharatanatyam originated in the Hindu temples of southern India more than 2,000 years ago. Dancer-priestesses, called devadasis, honored temple deities with song, dance (dasi attam), and music. The devadasis served the deities and remained unmarried. Traditions degraded over the years, and the devotional dance left the temples and entered the royal courts as entertainment. Dancers gradually became royal concubines and the art form fell into disrepute, becoming known as nautch dancing. In 1932, the name of the dance was officially changed to bharatanatyam, and Rukmini Devi, a respected woman from the upper caste, learned the form, giving it dignity and permanence when she established a school for training dancers. The famous dancer Balasaraswati introduced bharatanatyam to the far corners of the world. The technique blends two styles of movement: The abstract dance sequences stress virtuosity and rhythmic improvisation, and the expressive dance sequences seek to interpret classical poetry through mime. The dancer plays all of the characters in the story with the accompaniment of music and song. Although the dance is now separated from the temples, bharatanatyam retains vivid storytelling about the activities, adventures, and foibles of Hindu gods and goddesses. Once the exclusive purview of women, the technique is now open to study and performance by men.

Haiti: Vodou Dancer and anthropologist, Katherine Dunham (see more about her chapter 6, Modern and Contemporary Modern Dance), studied forms of Haitian dance in the 1930s and introduced Broadway and Hollywood audiences to dances from the Caribbean as rituals with African roots. While in Haiti, she studied local dances and the vodun religion, derived from West Africa, becoming a priestess and returning to live and continue research in Haiti later in life. Dunham’s

fellow dance colleague, performer and researcher Pearl Primus, also spent time researching dance in the West Indies, as well as in Africa, to build connections with her heritage. Haitian vodou is a combination of religious practices originating in Benin, Nigeria, and Angola and is regarded as a healing religion. The act of inviting deities or spirits to possess a dancer while in trance allows the spirit to communicate with the gathered community and is considered a high honor. This relationship with the spirits is a sacred act and the dancer remains under the protection of the spirit during the experience. Each spirit is enticed by a particular dance and dancers who are possessed exhibit particular traits: For example, the dancer experiencing Petro spirit possession looks hostile and the Rada possession appears fluid and calm (Beaman 2018). Once slavery ended in Haiti, adherents of vodou were freed to practice as they wished, but dance remains challenged by poverty, disease, and the chaos wrought by earthquakes and hurricanes.

Embodying Political Power Court dances, or dances that celebrated political power through the artistry of dance, are remnants of a not-too-distant past, along with the political systems they supported. Dance at court was utilized to entertain and to display the power and wealth of the monarch, who could support artists and dance productions. Ballet is a prime example of a court dance supported by a monarch, in this instance, French king Louis XIV during the mid-1600s, that eventually separated from the political power exerted by the king. Ballet transferred from palace ballrooms into theaters, and in so doing, it became more widely known because more people were able to appreciate the art form. Other forms of court dance remained closely tied to their realm beyond the 1600s and are still performed today, even though their transition to the public space was more abrupt. This section discusses Cambodian dance, an art form that nearly died out.

Cambodia: Lakhaon Kaol The survival of Cambodian dance is an inspiring story of determination. Believed to have emerged in the 13th century,

Lakhaon Kaol is an intricate, masked, all-male sacred dance form with 4,000 gestures in its movement vocabulary that was nearly lost when dancers were threatened with extinction in the 1970s. It is one of many court dances the Cambodian kings supported and even when the country was made a protectorate of France in the 1860s, the French did not interfere with sacred dances and court entertainment. A little over 100 years later, the Khmer Rouge ousted the king and took over the country in 1975. The communist leader Pol Pot oversaw several years of forced rural socialism and the population was made to relocate to collective farms or forced-labor projects. Between 1975 and 1979, around 90% of artists, writers, and intellectuals were disappeared into “The Killing Fields”—mass graves for the 1.7 million executed, resulting in the near-extinction of many revered dance forms, including Lakhaon Kaol. Before the Khmer Rouge, there were many performing dance troupes, and afterward only a handful of dancers survived, having shared the dance with others at refugee camps. This same story is true for dancers in the Royal Ballet of Cambodia, a troupe re-established in the 1990s that specializes in Robam Boran, a court dance performed by female dancers in elaborate brocaded costumes, jewelry, and spired headpieces. (Beaman 2018). Nearly 40 years on, dance is still struggling in Cambodia due to underfunding and a lack of suitable performance spaces, but the spirit of Cambodian court dance continues in the work of Sophiline Cheam Shapiro of Khmer Arts, based in Long Beach, CA, and Takhmao, Cambodia. Their performing group, Sophiline Arts Ensemble, produces Cambodian dance and music and tours worldwide. Shapiro’s dances combine her training in classical Cambodian court dance and modern and contemporary dance.

Sharing Dance Globally Today, sharing the art of dance globally is possible through the use of technology. Before the advent of the Internet, sharing dances, dance knowledge and history, or celebrating dance as an art form with people other than a person’s immediate circle of family, colleagues, and friends was difficult and expensive. Now, social media platforms connect people to dance all across the globe. Anyone at any time can create and instantly share dance. Live streaming of dance provides 24-hour access, whether it is the final performance at a national dance championship or a dance performance in a village in Africa. Dance is constantly being shared among people through performances, how-to videos, or the sudden pop-up flash mob that happens in a city center. Students can take online dance class and lecture courses and conduct online research of many aspects of dance history. Dance enthusiasts and practitioners across the nation and across the globe can participate in events and commemorations designed to celebrate and connect with others who love dance.

Sharing Dance Through Social Media Just as communication evolved from the telegraph, to the telephone, to newspaper print, and television, allowing greater reach and scope for dancers to connect to each other and with audiences, 21stcentury advances in communication, such as social media platforms, allow any dancer’s scope to be global. Although older platforms, such as LinkedIn (founded 2002), are useful for reaching out to professional collaborators and prospective employers, video and image-sharing platforms are on the rise and seem perfectly suited for dance. Instagram launched in 2010 as a photo and video-sharing media platform, and the use of hashtags connects dancers to events throughout the dance community. Instagram is also used as a way to promote a dancer’s career through gaining followers of photographs and videos. Professional dance companies post behind-the-scenesshots of the rehearsal process to connect with the community.

Video-Sharing Platforms Originally, Facebook (founded 2004) was created and designed to connect people, but for the current generation, Facebook has been replaced by other platforms for this purpose. However, one feature of Facebook that has been embraced by the dance community is the Facebook Live feature, which allows artists to live-stream their performances. This feature is also used for lecture and teaching events. YouTube (launched in 2005) is the number one video-sharing platform in the world and remains a rich repository of dance films, tutorials, interviews, and rare dance videos. YouTube’s uniqueness allows users to caption and add multi-language metadata to their uploads, enabling video to be compatible across borders. YouTube is a fantastic resource for dance, but it has a downside. In some cases, videos are not curated and vetted and are inaccurate. Before using YouTube, make sure you know what the style of dance looks like and make sure your videos come from trusted sources. Permission and copyright are other issues important to consider. The general understanding is that publicly displaying someone else’s work, of any

kind, is theft of intellectual property, but it happens often in online communities. YouTube has fair use exceptions that allow people to share portions of others’ work without permission. Often, sharing less than one minute of a video will allow the shared content to remain. However, in an age when it is possible to duplicate almost any digital media, dancers and dance enthusiasts must remain alert to how they are sharing artistic property online.

Global Dance Education With technology becoming available in most parts of the world, dance education extends its reach beyond borders and across oceans. Many believe that online education began with the University of Phoenix in the late 1980s, but distance learning began much earlier than that. In 1953, the University of Houston in Texas offered the first public television college course, airing classes in the evening so students could work during the day and watch the material at night. Shortly after the personal computer became available in 1975, the University of Phoenix launched its first exclusively online distance education degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Since then, online education has exploded for both K-12 education and higher education. In 2003, the Blackboard Learning Systems staff reported that 40,000 instructors were teaching 150,000 online courses to more than six million students, globally. This prompted traditional colleges and universities to expand their focus to distance education, and global enrollment courses have expanded remote learning even further. Just like distance learners from years ago, many online learners have full time employment while going to school and working on classes in the evening and on weekends is a popular option. Online dance courses are offered in many areas of dance, across the private sector (both for-profit and nonprofit dance studios), professional dance companies, higher education dance programs, and public and private school systems, and course topics include the dance sciences, such as anatomy, kinesiology, and movement analysis; assessment practices; choreography; history; administration; music for dancers; teaching methods; and research. In most online educational courses, enrolled students have the

flexibility to self pace and students have opportunities to earn certificates and credits toward their degrees through online education.

SPOTLIGHT Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation The Global Goodwill Ambassadors Foundation (GGA) is a nonprofit organization founded by current CEO Richard DiPilla. GGA has created a network of people who are actively doing and promoting humanitarian work for meaningful causes and serving those who are in need of it most. This organization comprises more than 1,200 Global Goodwill Ambassadors that represent 13 different countries throughout the world: India, the United States, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Pakistan, Kenya, Ghana, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Australia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. These individuals work in hundreds of different sectors, including dance and education.

The GGA provides a platform for dancers and dance educators to further their reach and connection with others across the globe. Now more than ever, dance programs of all kinds, in all sectors are being reduced or cut. Being a dance professional that serves as a Global Goodwill Ambassador provides an opportunity to educate, advocate, and make real change in the field of dance

through using social media, offering live events, and advocating at the highest political levels. GGA is unique for providing continuing education to all of its ambassadors. As of 2020, the GGA Learning Institute had 13 active courses to further the ambassadors’ education. Some of those courses include The Ethics of Emerging Technology; “I Choose Civility” Level 1 Civility Ambassador Course; International Humanitarian Law; Expanding Global Influence; AntiCyberbullying; and Cross-Cultural Diversity, Inclusion, and Sensitivity Training. These tools help dance professionals stay current with best practices in the field. Most young people, when asked, say they want to make a difference in the lives of others and becoming a dance professional can have a positive effect on so many lives. Throughout this text, we have seen how performance can change a viewer’s life direction or inspire a young student to become a teacher and to continue the sharing of dance. The GGA provides opportunities, training, advocacy, and support critical for the success of dance professionals and dance educators around the globe.

National and Global Dance Events Dance events are not limited to concert hall performances, student showcases, or private sector dance recitals. Events based around celebrating dance connect communities in unique ways. Often these events are created as a means to fundraise, bring awareness to a special cause, or highlight an important historical moment. Several dance events take place nationally, such as National Dance Day or #ThankADanceTeacherDay and contribute to the visibility of dance in daily life and to the dance education of others unfamiliar with dance history. Globally, spring International Dance Day celebrations acknowledge the experience of dance both live and online. The summertime Global Water Dances event uses dance to connect people with ecological issues, and Thrill the World in the fall encourages dancers to perform together and break a world record at the same time.

National Dance Day National Dance Day, as of 2019, is celebrated on the third Saturday in September, and across the United States, people are encouraged to celebrate the joy of dance. National Dance Day is not only for formally trained dancers; it is for movers of all kinds. Made official in 2010 by Nigel Lythgoe and Adam Shankman of the television series So You Think You Can Dance?, this initiative also is supported by Congresswoman Eleanor Holms Norton, who represents the District of Columbia. With the help of the Dizzy Feet Foundation, each year a dance routine and online tutorial is made available for all dancers to learn and perform. In 2018, Mandy Moore’s (choreographer for the film La La Land) work was featured, and dancers were encouraged to add their own choreography to the routine. The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., also hosts a multitude of events on National Dance Day that encourages dancers to come together and move. Stars from Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance? are involved in making the day of dance memorable, and the iconic Radio City Rockettes, seen in the annual Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade, also offer advice about finding creative and innovative ways to support and celebrate National Dance Day. Other engaging ways for people to participate in the celebration include hosting a dance movie marathon, checking out a dance book at their local library, or donating to a dance organization.

#ThankADanceTeacherDay Created by the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) in 2014, this social media–driven event is meant to celebrate dance teachers and dance education across the world. This event is held on the first Thursday in the month of May, and its primary platform is all social media sources through the use of hashtags. Students of all ages are encouraged to contact and honor dance teachers who made a difference in their lives.

International Dance Day Created in 1982, this global event is celebrated annually on April 29th, the birthday of Jean-Georges Noverre (1727-1810), the early ballet choreographer, writer, and staunch supporter of artistic

freedom of expression. The goals of the day are to increase the visibility of dance worldwide and to communicate the value of dance by sharing the enjoyment of the art form. The Dance Committee of the International Theatre Institute created the gala event, and each year a city is nominated to host it and a selected dance luminary provides the message for the year. International Dance Day is sponsored by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization), which designates important cultural sites and practices needing protection and support.

Global Water Dances The Global Water Dances initiative began at the international level, when a group of dancers, all certified by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS), based in New York City, came together at a conference in England in 2008. “Dance and the Environment,” the theme of the conference, inspired the group to create a dance event that would bring attention to the growing global water crisis. In June 2011, Global Water Dances held its first series of events, bringing together 57 international locations, to dance and move over the course of 24 hours. Anyone can participate in and host a Global Water Dances event: The only requirement is it must take place near a body of water and a local water issue must be shared during the event. With the assistance of social media, Global Water Dances are shared and broadcast across the globe. They bring together not only dancers but water conservation enthusiasts of all kinds who want to make a difference.

Thrill the World Thrill the World is an organization that supports, honors, and celebrates the career and artistry of musician and dancer Michael Jackson and his groundbreaking music video Thriller, released in 1983. The Thrill The World event happens the Saturday before every Halloween, and dancers dress like zombies to perform the Thriller music video choreography, joining in an attempt to break the world record for most people dancing at the same time around the globe. The choreography is freely available online, and while this event is centered around performing the Thriller dance, it can also have a

charitable focus. The creators of this event recommend that participants attach a fundraising component to their event, such as giving to local community charities or using their local event as a fundraiser for nonprofit dance organizations. Conceived in 2006, founder and director Ines Markeljevic launched Thrill The World officially in 2007 and continues to serve the organization on and off. The first performance occurred in Toronto, Canada, and the city continues to bring dance and zombies together every year as this global event has expanded to six continents. Markeljevic’s inspiration came from an article titled “Thriller at Dundas Square,” documenting a flash mob event celebrating the artistic work of Michael Jackson. As with many flash mob experiences, the event was shared on social media platforms as hundreds of fans came together the first year to celebrate dance. Thrill The World uses the same flash mob concept, but formalized the event as an annual, global gathering.

Summary Dance is embedded in human culture, meaning anyone can dance, with or without formal training. It is important when studying dance around the world to focus on both celebrating uniqueness and finding connections between dances from around the globe, based on similar motivations to move. It is now possible to access dance education online, share dances through social media, and celebrate dance on the national and international levels.

Critical Thinking Reflect on what you know about your heritage. How are you or how were your ancestors connected to dance?

Discussion Questions 1. Which global dance form interests you most and why? What type of dance do you want to learn more about? 2. How has the use of social media platforms influenced dance? 3. Explain one of the dance events discussed in this chapter and share impacts that you believe it has had on the global dance community. For chapter-specific application activities, visit HKPropel.

Glossary a capella—To dance without music. advisory council—A group of selected people who advise an organization in support the organization’s mission and goals but does not have authority within the organization. accented—Emphasized on particular counts. accumulation—Trisha Brown’s choreographic technique that features repetition of all parts of a movement phrase before the addition of a new movement, much like the repeated list in the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” aerial dance—Dance that is performed aloft, or in the air, using apparatus. aesthetic—Preference for particular types of artistic expression. African diaspora—A term used to describe people of African descent living outside Africa, primarily due to the slave trade in the 15th-19th centuries. Afro-Caribbean jazz dance—Attributed to Katherine Dunham, the style combines African and Caribbean dance elements and is typically performed to the music of the Caribbean. afterimages—The lingering impressions left on the eye after the dancing event speeds by. animal dances—Stylized dances that use animals and animal movements as inspiration to create new movement. Examples include the turkey trot and the bunny hop. articulation—Clear, pronounced, and separated sounds made by the feet. artistic director—The person who is responsible for the overall look of a production. audience etiquette—The expectations of audience behavior at performances.

authentic jazz dance—A style of dance inspired by jazz music of the 1920s-1940s, for example the Charleston and the Lindy hop. avant-garde—Artists ahead of their time; vanguards. backstage—The entire area behind the stage curtain. ballet pantomime—A system of nonverbal gestures used in story ballets to explain the actions and motivations of the characters. balletomanes—Intense ballet fans. ball and socket joints—Joints, such as the hip and the shoulder, that allow for a wide range of movement, including opening and closing, lateral movement, and rotation. b-boying/breakdancing or breaking—One of the five pillars of hiphop. B-boying is the physical manifestation of the art form, or the dancing, created by African American and Puerto Rican youth in New York City. B-boy and b-girl are terms given to a male or female who dances the style. bharatanatyam—Originally an Indian temple dance, the dance form is now a secular dance form, typically danced in traditional dress. board of directors—A group of people elected and tasked with maintaining the organization’s interests. box office—A location where production tickets are sold. break—The brief, exciting, and most often percussion-heavy instrumental portion of a song. breath—A key component of modern dance technique that uses inhalation and exhalation in the execution of vigorous movement. Breath can also be used in performance as a cue to begin or end. butoh—A Japanese dance created as a form of dissent. cabaret—A business establishment that serves food and drink. Patrons eat and drink while being entertained by music and dancing. capoeira—A form of dance, martial art, and play originally used by Angolan-born and Brazilian enslaved people to train in selfdefense. chance choreography—A choreographic tool Merce Cunningham created that made use of chance procedures to make dance

pieces. This method removed artists from infusing their works with personal preferences and self-expressive qualities. character dances—Contain elements of European folk dance or a dance with an international flavor, typically performed in character shoes and leather boots. chassé—A French term in dance that is footwork best described as step-together-step, but there are many variations of chassé. chest lift—A movement lifting the chest/solar plexus upward with the head reaching back. class acts— The top acts of the tap dance field, often glamorous and well-dressed. clowning—Invented by Thomas Johnson “Tommy the Clown.” It is a popular street dance style that is described as smooth and requires a clown wardrobe. codified technique—A compiled and systematized set of movements that can be used for dance training. commercial dance—Dance that is on stage, in film/video, or on television that makes up the primary employment opportunities for dancers. commercial jazz dance —Trendy, flashy dancing seen in commercials selling products on TV or in Las Vegas nightclubs. concert jazz dance—Jazz dance that is presented on the stage, but not in a musical theater setting. contact improvisation—Steve Paxton’s dance form that is based on weight-sharing and pedestrian movement around a single point of contact. contraction and release—Central to Martha Graham’s technique, a tightening of the muscles in the core and a curving of the lower back followed by the recovery, or the letting go of a contraction of the core. core/center—Strength in the abdomen and pelvis that keeps a dancer grounded and stable while moving. corps de ballet—The “body,” or the dancers that appear as a group rather than as soloists in a ballet production.

corset—An undergarment stiffened by thin strips of support, worn around the torso. costume design—The clothing that is created to reflect characters or support the theme of the production. costume shop manager—The person who supervises the costume shop, builds costumes from the designs provided by the costume designer, and conducts costume measurements and fittings. curtain call—The return of performers to the stage to bow after the end of a performance. curvilinear—Movement that does not follow straight lines and angles. cypher—A designated dance space in the shape of a circle. Dancers gather around and take turns showing their strongest and most original moves in the center. dance anthropologist—One who seeks to understand human behavior and value systems by studying how people dance. dance critique—The response to a dance event that includes a description, analysis, interpretation and evaluation; typically written by a dance critic. dance exercise—A blending of dance movements with exercise science principles that utilizes the strengths of each field for conducting organized group exercise classes. dance literacy—The awareness and understanding of dance’s aesthetic concepts, terminology, and physical techniques, and the ability to apply one’s knowledge of the art form. dance phrase—A collection of movements with a recognizable beginning, middle, and end. deejaying/DJing—One of the five pillars of hip-hop. The musical accompaniment of the hip-hop genre, often referred to as a DJ. design—The arrangement of movement phrases that make a whole dance. devadasis—Dancers/priestesses who served Hindu temples. dynamic alignment—Alignment that makes use of adjustments as needed. An imaginary through line in the body from the top of the

head to the soles of the feet and a strong central core in the pelvis that keeps the dancer grounded and stable. dynamics—The subtle or not-so-subtle shifts and variations of effort, or the changing force and intensity expended by a dancer. effort-shape/Laban Movement Analysis (LMA)—A framework of eight Effort Actions (punch, dab, flick, slash, press, glide, float, wring), based on categories denoting relationships to time (sustained or quick), use of space (direct or indirect), and the use of weight (strong or light). The categories are extremely useful for describing and analyzing movement, and the terms provide specific language and concepts for choreographers to use when communicating with dancers or audiences about movement ideas. emcee/MCing—One of the five pillars of hip-hop. The MC, or master of ceremonies is the person responsible for hyping up the crowd, using verbal storytelling and rapping. en pointe—Dance performed on the tips of the toes. en travesti— “In disguise,” refers to a dancer dressing in the clothes of the other sex and performing the part. eurythmics—Émile Jaques-Dalcroze’s method for teaching musical concepts through movement. executive director—A person who focuses on the business side of a company or production. expression—An outward depiction of internal feelings. facings—The directional orientations of a dance phrase that the dancer holds. fall and recovery—In Humphrey’s technique, a core concept of giving in to gravity followed by the rebound action. floor pattern—The line of motion or shape a dancer makes on the floor. folk dances—Dances created and developed by people of particular cultures or regions. form—The visible combination of aesthetic elements, also known as principles of composition (unity, variety, balance, harmony, transition, repetition, and climax).

framework—A structure of ideas that assists in the understanding of concepts. freestyling—Primarily an improvisational dance and can include a mix of hip-hop dance styles. freezes—Poses ending a combination used for eliciting applause or indicating readiness to relinquish the space to the other dancer waiting for his or her turn. front of house—Refers to the work that happens in the theater, or house, such as the seating, ushers, marketing, and box office and the area of the performance space that can be accessed by the public. function—The reason the dance piece was created. fundraising—Gathering funding to support a specific cause. funk tap—A newer urban and contemporary style of tap dance that relies on popular music for inspiration. ginga—A foundational rocking step used in capoeira. ghost dance—A dance practiced by Plains Indians with the goal of returning to their lives before colonization occurred. graffiti writing—One of the five pillars of hip-hop. As the visual representation of the hip-hop genre, graffiti is an artistic expression of paint on a surface that can be displayed anywhere with or without permission. grass dance—A traditional type of dance performed at powwows, typically by men. group identity—Shared preferences, characteristics, and bonding experiences of sets of people. heirloom—Precious artifacts (in this case, dances) that are handed down from one generation to the next. hierarchy—A classification of people, according to social rank, with the most privileged people at the top and those with less status at the bottom. high curves—Movements that are half of a rolldown, as far as the body can go without shifting the pelvis.

hinge joints—Joints, such as the elbow and the knee, that open and close with little lateral movement. hiplet—Pronounced HIP-LAY, a hybrid technique performed almost entirely en pointe that blends elements of ballet and hip-hop dance techniques. hoofing—A style of dance that has no influence from other styles. It is grounded using plié and heels that are firmly placed on the floor. Although classified as a style of tap dance, hoofing is also considered a way of life, a community. house—The area where the audience is seated in the theater during a production. house manager—The person who is responsible for managing the front of house areas that include the lobby and theater areas that the public has access to during performances. imitation—Replicating the movement or behavior of animals, natural processes, or other people. improvisation—The practice of unplanned creation of movement through structured experiences. initiation—Movement by different parts of the body as an impetus for full-body movement. intercutting—A film term that describes an editing process which intersperses small portions of two different scenes in order to juxtapose the two situations. isolations—Moving one body part or joint at a time, articulating head, shoulder, hip, and torso movements in jazz dance class, typically to syncopated music. jingle dress dance—A type of dance performed at powwows, typically by women. knowledge—The pillar supported by the other four pillars of hip-hop. The history and tenets of the art form to be passed on to the next generation. kpanlogo—A popular Ghanaian social dance created by youth to celebrate independence from Great Britain. krumping—An acronym for Kingdom Radically Uplifted Mighty Praise, created by Ceasare “Tight Eyez” Willis and Jo’Artis “Big

Mijo” Ratti, in California. It is a popular street dance that is described as aggressive. Lakhaon Kaol—An intricate, sacred Cambodian masked dance typically performed by men. libretto—The “book,” the story of the ballet. lighting designer—The person who creates the lighting for the production that aligns with the vision of the production and collaborates with other technical staff involved in the production. linear—Movement that follows straight lines and angles. line—A pleasing and balanced design of the body with limbs arranged in relation with each other to give a sense of increased length. lion dance—A Chinese dance of celebration featuring a lion that is said to bring good fortune to performers and spectators alike. locking—A funk dance style of movement that includes freezing or locking movement into place. locomotor movements—Movements that travel around the performance space. marketing—The promotion of the production. master teachers—Highly sought-after and respected instructors. Memphis jookin’—A slithery, gliding style of dance featuring turns on the tip of a tennis shoe. metakinesis —The transference of an aesthetic and emotional concept from the consciousness of one individual to that of another. meter (duple and triple)—The consistent pattern of time value. Duple meter has two beats per measure and triple meter has three beats per measure. microcosm—A smaller representation of a larger world. mimicry—The practice of imitating movement. moonwalking—Also known as a backslide. A step featuring a gliding or sliding backward movement that appears to look like weightless floating. movement abstraction—The creation of movements that stand for ideas, items, or emotions.

movement therapies—Therapeutic movement modalities created to solve movement difficulties in humans; utilized by dancers and other performers. musicality—The skill or ability of a dancer to both listen to and respond sensitively to the musical accompaniment. music visualizations—Dances first created by Ruth St. Denis and Doris Humphrey that use movement as a visual representation of the music. musculoskeletal structure—The bones, muscles, and connective tissue that hold the body together and allow for movement. National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)—A funding organization, created in 1965, designed to grant money to arts organizations to assist their operations. nightclub—A business establishment that offers nighttime entertainment that involves music and dancing. non-locomotor movements—Movements that are performed in one place. nonverbal communication—Communication without words, including facial expression, proximity to others, touch, and body movements, to express ideas or information. pannier—A stiff, cage-like undergarment, fastened around the waist, that held skirts away from the lower body in a particular shape. parallel position—A side-by-side positioning of the feet in modern/contemporary dance that does not use turnout. passinho—A hybrid dance style that is a cross between traditional Brazilian frevo dancing and hip-hop funk. pathway—The visible direction a dancer travels along. pedestrian movement—Everyday movement that anyone can accomplish without specialized training. planes (vertical, horizontal and sagittal)—The three planes of motion within three-dimensional movement (respectively, doorway, table, and wheel planes). polyrhythmic—Used to describe dancing that achieves multiple rhythmic actions in multiple body parts simultaneously.

popping—A funk dance style of flexing, tensing, and releasing of the muscles. This action produces a more pulsing, or robotic movement, and popping also is often referred to as a hit. positive and negative space—The relationship between the space the dancers’ bodies occupy along with the space around the dancers. The dancers are considered to be the positive space and the space around them is the negative space. powwows—Meetings, celebrations, or gatherings of the North American Native American community. ragtime music—A type of popular music with syncopated rhythms from the 1890s that evolved from African American musicians and is played on the piano. rhythm—In its simplest form, a regular pattern of repeated movement; rhythm can also be a complex sequence of movements interacting with long or short segments of time. rhythm tap—A tap dance style that focuses on the heavy use of syncopated rhythms. Founded by the father of rhythm tap John W. Bubbles, this style relies on the heels being lowered to the floor while executing the sounds. riggers—Experts in designing, installing, and maintaining flying equipment. ritual—A solemn ceremony with set and unchanging expectations or a repeatable practice that is handed down from generation to generation. Robam Boran—A sacred Cambodian temple dance typically performed by women. roda—A circular space capoeira dancers dance within, encircled by dancers. rolldowns—Warm-up movements that begin with the chin down, then slowly lowering the head to the floor while sequentially curving the vertebrae downward. running crew—Also referred to as the stage crew, the members of the technical crew that operate the technical aspects of the production such as lights, sound, sets, and scenery. secular dance—Dances that are not connected to religion

sequential/simultaneous—Movement that unfolds from a source versus movement that springs forth fully formed rather than in pieces. shaping—Creating linear, or straight, poses or movement or curvy shapes, with the body. shim sham shimmy—A 1920s tap step created by Leonard Reed that includes steps and breaks. Today it has many variations and is also known as a tap dancer’s anthem. site-adaptive dance—Dance that can be re-created in the same kind of location (e.g., staircases or rivers). site-specific dance—Dance that is connected to a particular location. six step—A series of steps performed around the body with one or two hands on the ground, creating a stable platform to support speedy weight changes. social dance—A broad, umbrella term that refers to all dances that are danced in social settings and can include popular dances, folk dance, and regional dances, among others, in locations, such as ballrooms, discos, nightclubs, and in the town square. soft-shoe—A style of tap dance that doesn’t require the traditional metal-bottomed tap dance shoes. The quality of the style is soft, gentle, and delicate, and partners Coles and Atkins made the style well known. solar plexus—The point just below the center of the ribcage; For Isadora Duncan, the impetus for movement in her technique. somatic—Used to describe a practice that uses the mind-body connection to examine the internal self and evaluate areas in the body that need attention and care. sound design—Having to do with the music or sound used in the production and may include work in the areas of audio editing, audio recording, and live music. speakeasy—An establishment that sold alcoholic beverages and was considered illicit. After the Prohibition ended in 1933, the speakeasy discontinued.

spotting—The act of focusing on a point and whipping the head around to regain focus while performing multiple turns, keeping dancers from becoming dizzy. stage manager—The person who manages all aspects of the stage for a production and reports directly to the technical director. street dance—A dance done outside the formal dance halls or dance studios. swingout—A signature open position of the Lindy hop dance. symmetrical/asymmetrical—A shape or grouping that is balanced on both sides of an imaginary axis versus a shape or grouping that is not balanced on both sides of an imaginary axis. syncopation—The use of movement to accent the weaker beat or an off-beat in a musical phrase. tableaux—Scenes of motionless or slow-motion performers. technical director—The person responsible for managing the entire technical and design crews during all aspects of a production. tempo—The quickness or slowness of a dance phrase. theatrical jazz dance (also known as Broadway jazz and musical theater jazz dance)—A combination of ballet and vernacular jazz created for the stage around 1940. Attributed to Jack Cole and can include elements of other types of jazz dance, global dances, and modern/contemporary dance. top-rock—Freestyling movement that can be done at the beginning of a dance before going to the floor that showcases a dancer’s signature style. traditional tap—Also known as classical tap, Broadway tap, or flash tap, involves upright tap dancing with acrobatics such as turns, jumps, and leaps. triple threat—A performer who can act, sing, and dance. triplets—Similar to a waltz step, these locomotor movements propel the dancer in space. turnout—A rotated position of the thigh sockets that results in the toes pointing away from each other.

tutus—Skirts worn for Romantic period or classical ballets; The Romantic period tutu is a flowing skirt of tulle ending at the knee, and the classical tutu is a flat platter of stiff tulle. up-rocking—A freestyling form, resembling a choreographed fight dance, partly inspired by martial arts films. variations—Versions of a particular solo created by past choreographers to either follow exactly or use for inspiration. vaudeville—An entertainment show circuit that featured traveling artist performances of all kinds. vernacular jazz dance—A constantly fluid and changing jazz dance that comes from popular social dances and music of the times. vignette—A short movement or theater sketch that expresses a scene, an idea, or an emotion. virtuosity—A dancer’s display of refined technical movement skills. vodou—An Afro-Haitian healing religion that uses dancing and drumming to communicate with spirits. weight transfer—The shifting of weight between the legs during locomotor activity.

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Stearns, M., and J. Stearns. 1994. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Da Capo. Vissicaro, P. 2004. Studying Dance Cultures Around the World: An Introduction to Multicultural Dance Education. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Chapter 2 American Dance Therapy Association. n.d. “Marian Chace Biography.” Accessed February 28, 2019. https://adta.org/marian-chace-biography. Amsen, E. 2019. “These Scientists Are Dancing Their Research” Forbes, March 15, 2019. www.forbes.com/sites/evaamsen/2019/03/15/these-scientists-aredancing-their-research/?mc_cid=a482d1c8a8&mc_eid=1efc9c9637 672651055f9b. Anderson, J. 1992. Ballet and Modern Dance: A Concise History. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Bland, A. 1976. A History of Ballet and Dance. New York: Praeger. Burgoon, J., D. Buller, and W.G. Woodall. 1994. Nonverbal Communication: The Unspoken Dialogue. Columbus, OH: Greyden Press. Capani, G. 2004. “Un Ritmo per L’Anima.” Filmed January 2004 in Lecce, Italy. Documentary, 43:00. www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6fB4oInT7A. Cohen, S.J. 1974. Dance as a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History From 1581 to the Present. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. Copeland, R. and M. Cohen, eds. 1983. What Is Dance? Readings in Theory and Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press. Daly, A. 1995. Done into Dance. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Science Magazine. 2019. “Dance Your PhD Contest.” Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed on February 28, 2019. de Mille, A. 1980. America Dances. New York: Macmillan. Dils, A., and A. Cooper-Albright, eds. 2001. Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Goellner, E.W. and J.S. Murphy, eds. 1995. Bodies of the Text: Dance as Theory, Literature as Dance. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Hanna, J.L. 1987. To Dance Is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hawkins, A.M. 1988. Creating Through Dance. Revised ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Johari, A. 2015. “Through Kathak, a German Choreographer Tells the Story of Bangladesh’s Exploited Garment Workers” Scroll.in, January 16, 2015. https://scroll.in/article/700726/through-kathak-a-german-choreographer-tells-thestory-of-bangladeshs-exploited-garment-workers. Jonas, G. 1992. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

Jowitt, D. 1988. Time and the Dancing Image. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Kourlas, G. 2013. “Lil Buck Talks About Jookin and His Show at Le Poisson Rouge.” Time Out New York, March 25, 2013. www.timeout.com/newyork/dance/lil-buck-talks-about-jookin-and-his-show-at-lepoisson-rouge-1. Memphis Jookin. n.d. “Memphis Jookin History.” Accessed February 28, 2019. www.memphisjookin.com. Momix. n.d. “All Works.” Accessed February 28, 2019. www.momix.com/works. Pilobolus. n.d. “About Pilobolus.” Accessed February 28, 2019. https://pilobolus.org/about. Preston-Dunlop, V. 1995. Dance Words. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers. Reynolds, N., and M. McCormick. 2003. No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Science Magazine. n.d. “Dance Your PhD Contest.” Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed February 28, 2019. www.sciencemag.org/projects/dance-your-phd/faq. Sennett, T. 1981. Hollywood Musicals. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Sommer, S. 2011. “Balletic Breakin’.” Dance Magazine, December 16, 2011. www.dancemagazine.com/balletic-breakin-2306888383.html. Sorell, W. 1951. The Dance Has Many Faces. Cleveland, OH: World Publishing. Sorell, W. 1967. The Dance Through the Ages. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. Soth, A. 2019. “When Dancing Plagues Struck Medieval Europe.” JSTOR Daily, January 10, 2019. https://daily.jstor.org/when-dancing-plagues-struck-medievaleurope/?mc_cid=3a0b39b23b&mc_eid=1efc9c9637. Stearns, M., and J. Stearns. 1994. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Da Capo. Vissicaro, P. 2004. Studying Dance Cultures Around the World: An Introduction to Multicultural Dance Education. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt. Weeks, L. 2015. “Dirty Dancing in the Early 1900s.” National Public Radio History Department, June 11, 2015. www.npr.org/sections/npr-historydept/2015/06/11/413522281/dirty-dancing-in-the-early-1900s.

Chapter 3 Bartenieff, I., and D. Lewis. 1980. Body Movement: Coping with the Environment. Langhorne, PA: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers. Blom, L., and L. Chaplin. 1982. The Intimate Act of Choreography. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press. Dell, C. 1977. A Primer for Movement Description Using Effort-Shape and Supplementary Concepts. rev. ed. New York: Dance Notation Bureau Press.

Franklin, E. 1996. Dance Imagery for Technique and Performance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Franklin, E. 2012. Dynamic Alignment Through Imagery. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Hawkins, A.M. 1988. Creating Through Dance. rev. ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. H’Doubler, M. 1925. The Dance and Its Place in Education. New York: Harcourt, Brace. H’Doubler, M. 1940. Dance: A Creative Art Experience. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. Humphrey, Doris. 1959. The Art of Making Dances. New York: Grove Press. Kraus, R., S. Chapman Hilsendager, and B. Dixon. 1997. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. National Dance Institute. 2019. “History.” Accessed October 11, 2019. http://nationaldance.org. Pavis, P. 2003. Analyzing Performance: Theatre, Dance, and Film. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press. Preston-Dunlop, V. 1980. A Handbook for Modern Educational Dance. 2nd ed. Boston: Macdonald and Evans. Preston-Dunlop, V. 1995. Dance Words. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers. Ross, J. 2000. Moving Lessons: Margaret H’Doubler and the Beginning of Dance in American Education. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. Shahn, B. 1960. The Shape of Content. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Smith-Autard, J. 1992. Dance Composition: A Practical Guide for Teachers. 2nd ed. London: A & C Black Publishers. Stahl, J. 2017. “What Jacques d’Amboise Believes Dance Can Give the World.” Dance Magazine, November 29, 2017. www.dancemagazine.com/jacquesdamboise-national-dance-institute-2513544007.html. Stuart, E. 2011. “Centerwork: Movin’ In.” Dance Magazine, March 22, 2011. www.dancemagazine.com/centerwork-movin-in-2306864088.html. Vissicaro, P. 2004. Studying Dance Cultures Around the World: An Introduction to Multicultural Dance Education. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Chapter 4 Austin, J. 2005. TV-a-Go-Go: Rock on TV From American Bandstand to American Idol. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. Barnes, R. 1996. Mods! Over 150 Photographs From the Early 60’s of the Original Mods! London: Plexus Publishing. Becquer, M., and J.J. Gatti. 1991. “Elements of Vogue.” Taylor & Francis 5:16-17, 65-81. https://doi.org/10.1080%2F09528829108576327.

Billboard. n.d. “V.I.C. Chart History (Hot 100).” Accessed February 14, 2012. www.billboard.com/music/V.I.C./chart-history/hot-100. Bobrow, M., J. Brownahan, C. Carvajal, L. Ewing, and C. Téten, director. 1998. DANCETIME DVD! 500 Years of Social Dance. Volume II: 20th Century. DVD. Kentfield, CA: Dancetime Publications. Bronson, F. 2003. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits. New York: Billboard Books. Burke, K., and D. Griffin. 2006. The Blue Moon Boys: A History of Elvis Presley’s Band. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. Chang, J. 2005. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop Generation. New York: St. Martian’s Press. Covach J., and A. Flory. 2012. “1964-1966 The Beatles and the British Invasion.” In What’s That Sound?: An Introduction to Rock and Its History, edited by J. Covach and A. Flory. New York: Norton. Dance Spirit. 2008. “Urban Legend.” Last modified November 6, 2008. www.dancespirit.com/urban-legend-2326035185.html. “Early History of Guinness World Records” https://web.archive.org/web/20070701200438/https://freespace.virgin.net/james.r obertson/history2/htm. Feldman, C.J. 2009 “Whose Modern World? Mod Culture in Britain.” In We Are the Mods: A Transnational History of a Youth Subculture (Mediated Youth), edited by C.J. Feldman. New York: Peter Lang, International Academic Publishers. Fletcher, B., ed. 2002. Tapworks: A Tap Dictionary and Reference Manual. Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Getlen, L. 2017. “This Fake Rocker Helped Create MTV.” New York Post, April 22, 2017. www.nypost.com/2017/04/22/how-a-fake-rocker-helped-create-mtv. Grove, George. The Digital Grove’s Dictionary. CD Sheet Music, 2005. Guinness World Records 2005. 2005. London: Guinness. Harris, J.A, A.M. Pittman, and M.S. Waller. 1998. Social Dance from Dance a While. 1st ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. Hess, M. 2007. Icons of Hip Hop: and Encyclopedia of the Movement, Music and Culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Hochman, S. 1989. “A Last Dance With Dick Clark.” Los Angeles Times, March 25, 1989. https://articles.latimes.com/1989-03-25/entertainment/ca-437_1_dickclark-productions. Huntington, C.S. 2007. Hip Hop Dance: Meanings and Messages. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. Martin, C. 2015. “Inside Eastern Europe’s Wild, Competitive Voguing Scene.” Vice, November 13, 2015. www.vice.com/en_us/article/avy9ag/voguing-europe-ewenspencer-clive-martin.

Jackson, M. 2008. Thriller 25th Anniversary: The Book, Celebrating the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Anniversary ed. Hinesburg, VT: Ml Publishing. Jordan S., and D. Allen. 1993. Parallel Lines: Media Representations of Dance. New Barnet, England: John Libbey. Jurgensen, J. 2008. “But Can You Dance To It?” Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2008. www.wsj.com/articles/SB120250458096854681. Maddison, P. 2018. “What Is ‘The Floss’ and Where Did It Come From?” Lad Bible, April 14, 2018. www.ladbible.com/entertainment/celebrity-what-is-the-floss-andwhere-did-it-come-from-20180413. Manning, F., and C.R. Millman. 2007. Frankie Manning: Ambassador of Lindy Hop. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press. Mansour, D. 2005. From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel. https://books.google.com/books? id=hK0rPUF85loC&pg=PA403#v=onepage&q&f=false. Miller, N. 1996. Swingin’ at the Savoy: The Memoir of a Jazz Dancer. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. Murray, A. 2000. Stomping the Blues. Boston: Da Capo. Nelson, T.L. 2009. One Thousand Novelty and Fad Dances. Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse. https://books.google.com/books?id=-_WrjuhM3sgC&pg=PA98. Patterson Wright, J. 1992. Social Dance: Steps to Success. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Rawlings, T. 2001. Mod: A Very British Phenomenon. London: Omnibus Press. Scheff, H., M.J. Sprague, S. McGreevy-Nichols, and M. Sprague. 2010. Exploring Dance Forms and Styles: A Guide to Concert, World, Social, and Historical Dance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Shell, N., and J.P. Nyemchek. 1999. Hustle. 1st ed. Pearl River, New York: Dance Associates. Shore, M., and D. Clark. 1985. The History of American Bandstand. New York; Ballantine Books. Stearns M., and J. Stearns. 1968. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Macmillan. Tannenbaum, R., and C. Marks. 2012. I Want My MTV: The Uncensored Story of the Music Video Revolution. New York: Plume. Stephenson, R. and J. Iaccarino. 1980. The Complete Book of Ballroom Dancing. New York: Doubleday. United States Polka Association. 1974. “History of the U.S.P.A.” Last modified April 2003. www.uspapolka.com/about-us. Waring, O. 2018. “How to Floss Dance, Who Created It and Why Is Everyone Doing It?” Metro (Associated News) UK Group, April 18, 2018. www.metro.co.uk/2018/04/18/floss-dance-created-everyone-7476359.

Wentworth, H., and S. Berg Flexner. 1975. Dictionary of American Slang. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company. Whelan, Z., and L. Porter. 2018. “The Floss Dance Craze Sweeps the Nation– Here’s How You Do It.” Lincolnshire Live. July 14, 2018. www.lincolnshirelive.co.uk/news/local-news/the-floss-dance-craze-sweeps1467833.

Chapter 5 American Ballet Theatre. n.d. “Misty Copeland.” Accessed May 30, 2019. www.abt.org/people/misty-copeland/?type=performer. Anderson, J. 1992. Ballet and Modern Dance: A Concise History. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Au, S. 1988. Ballet and Modern Dance. New York: Thames and Hudson. Bland, A. 1976. A History of Ballet and Dance. New York: Praeger. Clarke, M., and C. Crisp. 1981. The Ballet Goer’s Guide. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Cohen, S.J. 1974. Dance as a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History from 1581 to the Present. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. Dance Notation Bureau. n.d. “About the Dance Notation Bureau Library.” Accessed May 30, 2019. www.dancenotation.org/library/frame0.html. de Mille, A. 1963. The Book of the Dance. New York: Golden Press. de Mille, A. 1980. America Dances. New York: Macmillan. Dils, A., and A. Cooper-Albright, eds. 2001. Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Garafola, L. 1998. Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. New York: Da Capo. Garafola, L. 2005. Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Gaynor Minden, E. 2005. The Ballet Companion: A Dancer’s Guide to the Technique, Traditions, and Joys of Ballet. New York: Simon & Schuster. Grant, G. 1982. Technical Manual and Dictionary of Classical Ballet. 3rd ed. New York: Dover Publications. Homans, J. 2010. Apollo’s Angels: A History of Ballet. New York: Random House. Jonas, G. 1992. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Jowitt, D. 1988. Time and the Dancing Image. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Jowitt, D. 2004. Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theatre, His Dance. New York: Simon & Schuster. Kirstein, L., M. Stuart, and C. Dyer. 1982. The Classic Ballet. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Kourlas, G.. 2016. “Hiplet: An Implausible Hybrid Plants Itself on Pointe.” New York Times, September 2, 2016. www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/arts/dance/hiplet-animplausible-hybrid-plants-itself-on-pointe.html. Kraus, R., S. Chapman Hilsendager, and B. Dixon. 1997. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Looseleaf, V. 2007. “The Story of the Tutu.” Dance Magazine, October 2, 2007. www.dancemagazine.com/the-story-of-the-tutu-2306873745.html. McDonagh, D. 1978. How to Enjoy Ballet. Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company. Migel, P. 1972. The Ballerinas: From the Court of Louis XIV to Pavlova. New York: Macmillan. Percival, J. 1975. Nureyev: Aspects of the Dancer. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. Perron, W. 2014. “What Exactly Is Contemporary Ballet?” Dance Magazine, September 1, 2014. www.dancemagazine.com/what_exactly_is_contemporary_ballet2306944842.html. Preston-Dunlop, V. 1995. Dance Words. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers. Reynolds, N., and M. McCormick. 2003. No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Sennett, T. 1981. Hollywood Musicals. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Shamsian, J. 2018. “Misty Copeland Says Instagram Is Getting More People to Watch Ballet: ‘It Gives Them a View into My World.’ Insider, September 26, 2018. www.thisisinsider.com/misty-copeland-instagram-ballet-dance-audience-2018-9? mc_cid=0474082076&mc_eid=1efc9c9637. Simon & Schuster Book of the Ballet. 1979. New York: Simon & Schuster. Sorell, W. 1967. The Dance Through the Ages. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.

Chapter 6 Acocella, J. 1983. Mark Morris. New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. Ailey, A. 1995. Revelations. New York: Carol Publishing Group. American Dance Festival. 1990. “The Black Tradition in American Modern Dance.” Durham, NC: ADF. Anderson, J. 1992. Ballet and Modern Dance: A Concise History. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Asantewaa, E. 2015. “2015 Dance Magazine Awards.” Dance Magazine, November 30, 2015. www.dancemagazine.com/2015-dance-magazine-awards2306989119.html. Au, S. 1988. Ballet and Modern Dance. New York: Thames and Hudson. AXIS Dance. n.d. “About.” Accessed June 25, 2019. www.axisdance.org.

Banes, S. 1987. Terpsichore in Sneakers: Post-Modern Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Bauer, C. 2017. “Why Physically Integrated Dance Still Faces So Many Challenges.” Dance Magazine, November 17, 2017. www.dancemagazine.com/physically-integrated-dance-challenges2510092541.html. Bremser, M. 1999. Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. New York: Routledge. Burke, S. 2018. “The Choreographer Kyle Abraham Mixes Things Up at City Ballet.” New York Times, September 21, 2018. www.nytimes.com/2018/09/21/arts/the-choreographer-kyle-abraham-mixesthings-up-at-city-ballet.html. Camille A. Brown Dance. n.d. “About.” Accessed June 22, 2019. www.camilleabrown.org/camille. Cohen, S.J. 1974. Dance as a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History from 1581 to the Present. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company. Daly, A. 1995. Done into Dance. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Dance Notation Bureau. n.d. “About the Dance Notation Bureau Library.” About. Accessed May 30, 2019. www.dancenotation.org/library/frame0.html. DeFrantz, T., ed. 2002. Dancing Many Drums: Excavations in African American Dance. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. de Mille, A. 1956. Martha: The Life and Work of Martha Graham. New York: Random House. de Mille, A. 1963. The Book of the Dance. New York: Golden Press. de Mille, A. 1980. America Dances. New York: Macmillan. Dils, A., and A. Cooper-Albright, eds. 2001. Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Elson, R. “Man of the Moment: Kyle Abraham.” Dance Magazine, April 1, 2014. www.dancemagazine.com/man_of_the_moment-2306931202.html. Garafola, L. 2005. Legacies of Twentieth-Century Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. George-Graves, N. 2010. Urban Bush Women: Twenty Years of African American Dance Theater, Community Engagement, and Working It Out. Madison, The University of Wisconsin Press. Graham, M. 1991. Blood Memory. New York: Doubleday. Howard, T. 2018. “Don’t Dare Underestimate Camille A. Brown.” Dance Magazine, March 19, 2018. www.dancemagazine.com/camille-a-brown-2545071257.html. Howard, T. 2018. “How Kyle Abraham Feels About Being NYCB’s First Black Choreographer in More Than a Decade.” Dance Magazine, May 2, 2018. www.dancemagazine.com/kyle-abraham-new-york-city-ballet-2565312289.html. Jonas, G. 1992. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Harry N. Abrams.

Jones, B. 1995. Bill T. Jones: Last Night on Earth. New York: Pantheon Books. Jowitt, D. 1988. Time and the Dancing Image. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Kourlas, G. 2013. “Examining a Humor Born of Many Struggles.” New York Times, April 5, 2013. www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/arts/dance/camille-a-browns-mr-tole-rance-at-the-kitchen.html. Kraus, R., S. Chapman Hilsendager, and B. Dixon. 1997. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Kreemer, C. 1987. Further Steps: Fifteen Choreographers on Modern Dance. New York: Harper & Row. Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion. n.d. “About A.I.M.” About. Accessed June 22, 2019. www.abrahaminmotion.org. Love, P. 1997. Modern Dance Terminology. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. MacArthur Foundation Fellows. n.d. “Kyle Abraham.” Accessed June 26, 2019. www.macfound.org/fellows/882. Marshall, L. 2017. “The Company Working to Make Dance More Inclusive.” The Atlantic, December 12, 2017. www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2017/12/the-company-working-tomake-dance-more-inclusive/545813. Mazo, J. 1977. Prime Movers: The Makers of Modern Dance in America. New York: William Morrow and Company. McDonagh, D. 1970. The Rise and Fall and Rise of Modern Dance. New York: Outerbridge & Dienstfrey. Morrison Brown, J., N. Mindlin, and C. Woodford, eds. 1998. The Vision of Modern Dance: In the Words of Its Creators, 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Novack, C. 1990. Sharing the Dance: Contact Improvisation and American Culture. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. Preston-Dunlop, V. 1995. Dance Words. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers. Ramsay, M. 1991. The Grand Union (1970-1976): An Improvisational Performance Group. New York: Peter Lang. Reynolds, N., and M. McCormick. 2003. No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Schwab, K. 2017. “Abraham.In.Motion: Passion, Purpose & a Quirky New Setup.” July 26, 2017. www.dancemagazine.com/abraham-in-motion-2465882005.html. Shelton, S. 1981. Divine Dancer: A Biography of Ruth St. Denis. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. Siegel, M. 1979. The Shapes of Change: Images of American Dance. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Siegel, M. 1987. Days on Earth: The Dance of Doris Humphrey. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Sorell, W. 1967. The Dance Through the Ages. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. Sucato, S. 2008. “25 to Watch.” Dance Magazine, December 22, 2008. www.dancemagazine.com/25-to-watch-2306867489.html. Tharp, T. 1992. Push Comes to Shove: An Autobiography. New York: Bantam Books. Thirteen Media With Impact. n.d. “Great Performances: Free to Dance.” Great Performances. Accessed June 22, 2019. www.thirteen.org/freetodance/index.html. Urban Bush Women. 2019. “About UBW.” Accessed June 23, 2019. www.urbanbushwomen.org/about-ubw. Wingenroth, L. 2016. “Beyond Ability.” Dance Magazine, January 31, 2016. www.dancemagazine.com/beyond-ability-2307010660.html.

Chapter 7 Broadway Dance Center. N.d. “About Us.” Accessed December 29,, 2019. www.broadwaydancecenter.com/about-us. Dance Magazine. 2019. “Teacher’s Wisdom: Sherry Zunker.” Dance Magazine, February 24, 2010. www.dancemagazine.com/teachers-wisdom-sherry-zunker2306877215.html. de Mille, A. 1980. America Dances. New York: Macmillan. Driver, I. 2000. A Century of Dance: A Hundred Years of Musical Movement, From Waltz to Hip Hop. Great Britain: Hamlyn. Frich, E., and M. Mattox. 1983. The Matt Mattox Book of Jazz Dance. New York: Sterling Publishing. Giordano, G. 1992. Jazz Dance Class: Beginning thru Advanced. Trenton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Gottfried, M., and B. Fosse. 1998. All His Jazz: the Life and Death of Bob Fosse. Boston: Da Capo. Guarino, L., and W. Oliver, eds. 2015. Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches. Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida. Gus Giordano. 2020. “Gus Timeline.” Gus Timeline. Accessed June 17, 2020. https://guslegacy.org/timeline. Hatchett, F., N.M. Gitlin, and B. Shields. 2000. Frank Hatchett’s Jazz Dance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Jonas, G. 1992. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Kraus, R., S. Chapman Hilsendager, and B. Dixon. 1997. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Library of Congress. n.d. “Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection: Cabin in the Sky.” Notes on Dunham’s Works. Accessed June 16, 2020. www.loc.gov/collections/katherine-dunham/articles-and-essays/notes-ondunhams-work/cabin-in-the-sky. Luigi, Kriegel, L. Person Kriegel, and F.J. Roach. 1997. Luigi’s Jazz Warm Up and Introduction to Jazz Style and Technique. Trenton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Long, R.E. 2001. Broadway: The Golden Years. New York: Continuum. Reynolds, N., and M. McCormick. 2003. No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Sennett, T. 1981. Hollywood Musicals. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Stearns, M., and J. Stearns. 1979. Jazz Dance: The Story of American Vernacular Dance. New York: Schirmer. The Verdon Fosse Legacy LLC. n.d. “Bob Fosse Chronology.” Accessed June 18, 2020. http://verdonfosse.com/bob-fosse-chronology. Thirteen Media With Impact. n.d. “Great Performances: Free to Dance.” Great Performances. Accessed June 22, 2019. www.thirteen.org/freetodance/index.html.

Chapter 8 Fletcher, B., ed. 2002. Tapworks: A Tap Dictionary and Reference Manual. Hightstown, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Frank, R.E., ed. 1994. Tap! The Greatest Tap Dance Stars and Their Stories, 1900-1955. Boston: Da Capo. Gray, A. 1998. The Souls of Your Feet: A Tap Dance Guidebook for Rhythm Explorers. Austin, TX: Grand Weaver’s Publishing. Kassing, G., ed. 2017. History of Dance. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Knowles, M. 2002. Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company. Lewis, L. 2013. Beginning Tap Dance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Parents as Teachers. n.d. “About.” About Parents and Teachers. Accessed February 7, 2019. https://parentsasteachers.org. Pentz, J.L. 2017. “Tap to Togetherness: An Innovative Family Relationship Program Reaches Ghana, Africa.” Childhood Education, 93:5, 394-400. https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2017.1367232. Pentz, J.L., AlQadfan, F., Al-Khaldi, H. and Schroeder, J. 2018. “Tap(ping) to Togetherness: Family Engagement Reinforced Through Tap Dance in Kuwait City, Kuwait.” Childhood Education, 94:6, 66-71. https:/doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2018.1540203. Pentz, J.L., and J. Schroeder. 2017. “Tap to Togetherness: Engaging and Enhancing Family Relationships Through Community-Based Tap Dance.” Dance Education in Practice, 3:3, 7-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/23734833.2017.1348703.

Chapter 9 Academic Entertainment. n.d. “Interactive Hip Hop Dance and Music Assembly.” Accessed May 5 2020. www.academicentertainment.com/zondakidsdance. Banes, S. 1994. Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Barone, J. 2016. “New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Acquires Its First Hip-Hop Archive.” New York Times, September 20, 2016. www.nytimes.com/2016/10/01/arts/dance/new-york-public-library-acquires-hiphop-archive.html?referringSource=articleShare. Beat Street, directed by Stan Lathan (1984; Beverly Hills, CA: Orion Pictures), DVD. Bouey, J. 2020. “Are College Dance Curriculums Too White?” Dance Magazine, April 20, 2020. www.dancemagazine.com/are-college-curriculums-too-white-2645575057.html? rebelltitem=1 - rebelltitem1. Breakin’, directed by Joel Silberg (1984; Beverly Hills CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment), DVD. Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo, directed by Sam Firstenberg (1984; Beverly Hills, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment), DVD. Carneiro, J. 2014. “The Passinho Dance Craze That Grew out of Rio’s Favelas.” BBC, October 10, 2014. www.bbc.com/culture/article/20130520-fancy-footworkin-rios-favelas. Chang, J. 2008. Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop. New York: Basic Books. DancePlug. n.d. “Christopher Zondaflex Tyler.” Accessed May 5, 2020. www.danceplug.com/christopher-zondaflex-tyler. Durden, M. 2019. Beginning Hip-Hop Dance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Flashdance, directed by Adrian Lyne (1983: Los Angeles, CA: Paramount Pictures), DVD. Kajihama, M. 2004. “Old School Dictionary: Poppin’, Lockin’, Breakin’.” Filmed 2004 in Japan. Produced by Adhip. Documentary, 75:00. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBOZMXBMlZs. Kassing, G. 2017. History of Dance. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Kourlas, G. 2016. “Hiplet: An Implausible Hybrid Plants Itself on Pointe.” New York Times, September 2, 2016. www.nytimes.com/2016/09/04/arts/dance/hiplet-animplausible-hybrid-plants-itself-on-pointe.html. KRS-One. 2009. The Gospel of Hip-Hop: First Instrument. New York City: powerHouse Books. MusicWorks Unlimited. n.d. “Joan ‘Ms. Puffie’ Lather.” Accessed May 5, 2020. https://musicworksunlimited.com/collections/joan-ms-puffie-lather.

Que. 2008. “New School Dictionary.” Filmed 2008 in United States. Produced by Adhip. Documentary, 93:00. www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yX6H5o1OyU. Rennie Harris. n.d. “About Rennie.” Accessed June 7, 2020. https://rennieharrisinc.com/about. Rize, directed by David LaChapelle (2005; Santa Monica, CA: Lions Gate Entertainment), DVD. Rizzuto, R. 2019. “College Dance Curriculums Are Finally Catching Up to 2019.” Dance Magazine, June 28, 2019. www.dancemagazine.com/college-dance2638991600.html?rebelltitem=2 - rebelltitem2. Rosen, A. “Hop the History of Hip-Hop Has Led to a Struggle for Integration into Collegiate Dance Programs.” Paper presented at the Goucher Symposium, Goucher College, Baltimore, MD, May 2020. https://blogs.goucher.edu/symposium/files/2020/05/Rosen-How-the-History-ofHip-Hop-Dance-Has-Led-to-a-Struggle-for-Integration-into-Collegiate-DancePrograms-Goucher-Symposium-2020.pdf. Wheeler, D., and R. Bascuñán, dir. Hip-Hop Evolution. Seasons 1-4. Aired September 4, 2016-January 17, 2020, on Netflix. www.netflix.com/title/80141782. Wild Style: 25th Anniversary Edition, directed by Charlie Ahearn (2007; Burbank, CA: Rhino Entertainment Company), DVD.

Chapter 10 Anderson, J. 1992. Ballet & Modern Dance: A Concise History. 2nd ed. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Anna Halprin. n.d. “Biography.” Accessed September 12, 2019. www.annahalprin.org/biography. Au, S. 1988. Ballet and Modern Dance. London: Thames and Hudson. Bandaloop. n.d. “A History of Flight.” Accessed October 30, 2019. www.bandaloop.org/history. Banes, S. 1987. Terpsichore in Sneakers: Post-Modern Dance. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Banes, S. 1994. Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism. Hanover, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Bernasconi, J., and N. Smith. 2008. Aerial Dance. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Blue Lapis Light. n.d. “Mission.” Accessed December 1, 2019. www.bluelapislight.org/about. Blumenthal, A., and A. Moffitt. 2019. “Terry Sendgraff: We See You Flying!” In Dance, November 1, 2019. https://dancersgroup.org/2019/11/terry-sendgraff-wesee-you-flying. Bremser, M. 1999. Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. New York: Routledge. Cunningham, C. 2007. “Flying Lessons.” Dance Magazine, January 22, 2007. www.dancemagazine.com/flying-lessons-2306890531.html.

Dancing in the Streets. n.d. “Mission & History.” Accessed December 18, 2019. www.dancinginthestreets.org/mission--history. Davies, J. 2018. Aerial Dance: A Guide to Dance with Rope and Harness. New York: Routledge. Eiko Otake. n.d. “About.” Accessed December 24, 2019. www.eikootake.org/about. Elizabeth Streb. n.d. “Bio.” Biographical Information. Accessed December 1, 2019. https://streb.org/elizabeth-streb. Flyaway Productions. n.d. “About.” Accessed December 10, 2019. https://flyawayproductions.com/about. Foster, S. 1986. Reading Dancing: Bodies and Subjects in Contemporary American Dance. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Franklin, J. 2017. Beginners Guide to Aerial Silk. Coppell, TX: Aerial Physique. Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance. n.d. “Faculty Bios.” Accessed November 11, 2019. https://frequentflyers.org/faculty-bios. Goldberg, R. 1988. Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. Guadagnino, K. 2019. “The Pioneers of Postmodern Dance, 60 Years Later.” New York Times, March 20, 2019. www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/tmagazine/postmodern-dance.html?searchResultPosition=1. Halprin, A. and Kaplan, R. 1995. Moving Toward Life: Five Decades of Transformational Dance. Middletown:Wesleyan University Press. Harris, W. “Dance: On a Tour of Tableaus, You Move, They Don’t.” New York Times, May 14, 2000. www.nytimes.com/2000/05/14/arts/dance-on-a-tour-oftableaus-you-move-they-don-t.html?searchResultPosition=2. Hupp Ramsay, M. 1991. The Grand Union (1970-1976): An Improvisational Performance Group. New York: Peter Lang. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive. n.d. “Women in Dance: Ann Carlson.” Themes and Essays. Accessed December 19, 2019. https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/themes-essays/women-in-dance/anncarlson/. Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive. n.d. “Women in Dance: Joanna Haigood.” Themes and Essays. Accessed December 10, 2019. https://danceinteractive.jacobspillow.org/themes-essays/women-in-dance/joannahaigood/. Jowitt, D. 1988. Time and the Dancing Image. Los Angeles: University of California Press. Kloetzel, M. and Pavlik, C. 2009. Choreographers and the Lure of Alternative Spaces. Gainesville: University Press of Florida.Kourlas, G. 2016. “Eiko Steps Away From One Dance Partner, to Take on Many More.” New York Times, Feb 14, 2016. www.nytimes.com/2016/02/14/arts/dance/eiko-long-part-of-a-danceduo-turns-to-solo-work.html.

Kourlas, G. 2019. “What Happens When Extreme Action Meets Elusive Language?” New York Times, September 20, 2019. www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/arts/dance/elizabeth-streb-anne-bogart.html? searchResultPosition=1. Kraus, R., S. Chapman Hilsendager, and B. Dixon. 1997. History of the Dance in Art and Education. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Kreemer, C. 1987. Further Steps: Fifteen Choreographers on Modern Dance. New York: Harper & Row. Macaulay, A. 2017. “Trisha Brown, Choreographer and Pillar of American Postmodern Dance, Dies at 80.” New York Times, March 20, 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/arts/dance/trisha-brown-dead-modern-dancechoreographer.html?searchResultPosition=1. Meredith Monk. n.d. “Biography.” About. Accessed December 5, 2019. www.meredithmonk.org/about/biography/. Morrison Brown, J., N. Mindlin, and C. Woodford, eds.. 1998. The Vision of Modern Dance: In the Words of Its Creators, 2nd Edition. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Book Company. Novack, C. 1990. Sharing the Dance: Contact Improvisation and American Culture. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press. Perron, W. 2014. “Come Join the Future of Dance Education.” Dance Magazine, September 28, 2014. www.dancemagazine.com/come-join-the-future-of-danceeducation-2306946752.html. Reynolds, N., and M. McCormick. 2003. No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Rizzuto, R. 2019. “At Washington & Lee Jenefer Davies Recruits Dancers with Ropes and Harnesses.” Dance Teacher, November 7, 2019. www.danceteacher.com/at-washington-lee-jenefer-davies-recruits-dancers-with-ropes-andharnesses-2641217007.html. Seibert, B. 2017. “Anna Halprin’s California Visions Get a New York Stage.” New York Times, March 24, 2017. www.nytimes.com/2017/03/24/arts/dance/annahalprins-california-visions-get-a-new-york-stage.html. Seibert, B. 2019. “Outside Prison Walls: Waiting, Spinning, Flying.” New York Times, September 19, 2019. www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/arts/dance/waitroom-flyaway-prison.html?searchResultPosition=1. Sendgraff, T. 2018. Can You See Me Flying?: Memoir of an Aerial Dance Pioneer. Lexington, KY: Moffitt Magic. Solomon, D. 2001. “Air Ballet.” New York Times, August 5, 2001. www.nytimes.com/2001/08/05/magazine/air-ballet.html?searchResultPosition=1. Stephan Koplowitz. n.d. “Site-Specific Bio.” About. Accessed November 22, 2019. www.skoplowitz.com/sitebio. Suzanne, N. 2019 “Flying High Above the Texas Sky: Aerial Dance Takes Off in the Lone Star State.” Arts and Culture Texas, June 12, 2019.

http://artsandculturetx.com/flying-high-above-the-texas-sky-aerial-dance-takesoff-in-the-lone-star-state/? fbclid=IwAR2bjTmdoCW2aLQpE7tY5TNnluQfBqFDJVRxbVmqN4Ax_1foyNU2P_ YikSI. Terry Sendgraff. n.d. “About Terry.” About. Accessed October 30, 2019. www.terrysendgraff.com/about.html. Trisha Brown Dance Company. n.d. “Trisha Brown/Biography.” Biographical Information. Accessed December 5, 2019. https://trishabrowncompany.org/trishabrown/biography/. Zaccho Dance Theatre. n.d. “About Zaccho Dance Theatre.” About. Accessed December 1, 2019. www.zaccho.org/?zdt_about.

Chapter 11 Baumol, W.J., and W.G. Bowen. 2006. Performing Arts: The Economic Dilemma: A Study of Problems Common to Theater, Opera, Music and Dance. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate. Burt, R. 2017. Ungoverning Dance: Contemporary European Theatre Dance and the Commons. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Carroll, E.A., D. Lottridge, C. Latulipe, V. Singh, and M. Word. 2012. “Bodies in Critique.” Proceedings of the ACM 2012 Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work: CSCW 12, February, 705–14. https://doi.org/10.1145/2145204.2145311. Hanna, J.L. 1996. To Dance Is Human: A Theory of Nonverbal Communication. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Kassing, G. 2017. History of Dance An Interactive Arts Approach. 2nd ed. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Zaggelidou, E., E. Tsamourtzis, A. Malkogeorgos, and G. Zaggelidis. 2013. “The Effect of Marketing on Dance Activity.” Journal of Physical Education and Sport, 13, (2): 220-230.

Chapter 12 Acocella, J. 1992. “What Critics Do.” Dance Ink. Summer 1992. https://web.archive.org/web/20050410190330/http://www.danceview.org/writers/A cocella/whatcriticsdo.htm. Anderson, J. 1987. Choreography Observed. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press. Banes, S. 1994. Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism. Hanover, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Cappelle, L. 2019. “Five Major Dance Critics Stepped Down Last Season: What Does That Mean for the Future of the Field?” Dance Magazine, August 8, 2019. www.dancemagazine.com/5-major-dance-critics-put-down-the-pen2639651464.html.

Copeland, R., and M. Cohen, eds. 1983. What Is Dance? Readings in Theory and Criticism. New York: Oxford University Press. Cornfield, R., ed. 1998. Edwin Denby: Dance Writings and Poetry. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Croce, A. 1977. Afterimages. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Croce, A. 1987. Sight Lines. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Croce, A. 2000. Writing in the Dark, Dancing in the New Yorker. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Denby, E. 1949. Looking at the Dance. New York: Pellegrini and Cudahy. Dils, A., and A. Cooper-Albright, eds. 2001. Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Jowitt, D. 2004. Jerome Robbins: His Life, His Theater, His Dance. New York: Simon and Schuster. Kislan, R. 1995. The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater. New York: Applause Books. Kraus, R., S. Chapman Hilsendager, and B. Dixon. 1997. History of the Dance in Art and Education. 3rd ed. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Liz Lerman. n.d. “Critical Response Process.” Accessed September 5, 2019. https://lizlerman.com/critical-response-process. Long, R. 2001. Broadway: The Golden Years. New York: Continuum. Macaulay, A. 2019. “She’s Been Writing About Dance for 55 Years. She’s Not Done Yet.” New York Times, March 12, 2019. www.nytimes.com/2019/03/12/arts/dance/deborah-jowitt-14th-street-y.html. Mainwaring, M. “The Death of the American Critic.” The Atlantic, August 6, 2015. www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/08/american-dancecritic/399908. Mitoma, J., E. Zimmer, and D. Stieber. 2002. Envisioning Dance on Film and Video. New York: Routledge. Pavis, P. 2003. Analyzing Performance: Theater, Dance, and Film. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press. Preston-Dunlop, V. 1995. Dance Words. Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers. Reynolds, N., and M. McCormick. 2003. No Fixed Points: Dance in the Twentieth Century. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Sennett, T. 1981. Hollywood Musicals. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Singer, T. 2011. “Doing Dance Criticism.” Dance Magazine, January 31, 2011. www.dancemagazine.com/doing-dance-criticism-2306864023.html. Terry, W. 1946. “The Major Functions of a Dance Critic Summarized, Discussed.” The New York Herald Tribune, September 1, 1946. The New Yorker. n.d. “About Joan Acocella.” Accessed September 29, 2019. www.newyorker.com/contributors/joan-acocella.

Wall Street Journal YouTube Channel. “Choreographing ‘Hamilton’: The Meaning Behind the Moves.” May 24, 2016. www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmYTsOrnWP0.

Chapter 13 Anderson, J. 2007. “Igor Moiseyev, 101, Choreographer Dies.” New York Times, November 3, 2007. www.nytimes.com/2007/11/03/arts/dance/03moiseyev.html. Beaman, P. 2018. World Dance Cultures: From Ritual to Spectacle. New York, NY: Routledge.“Bernard Woma.” Bernard Woma Dagara Music Center. Accessed June, 7, 2020. http://www.dagaramusic.org/bernard-woma/. Boryga, J. 2015. “Celebrating the Chinese Lion Dance.” February 13, 2015. New York Times, https://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/02/13/celebrating-the-chinese-lion-dance/? referringSource=articleShare. Dils, A., and A. Cooper-Albright, eds. 2001. Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press. Free to Dance. n.d. “Katherine Dunham: Biography Essay.” Accessed June 19, 2020. www.thirteen.org/freetodance/biographies/dunham.html. “Global Goodwill Ambassadors. n.d.” GGA Membership_Mission, Accessed August 23, 2020 www.globalgoodwillambassadors.org. Global Water Dances. n.d. “About Us Accessed August 23, 2019.” http://globalwaterdances.org/about. Gowder, P. 2018. “2019 Pow Wow Calendar—Find a Native American Pow Wow Near You.” Native American Pow Wows. Last updated July 4, 2018. www.powwows.com/2019-pow-wow-calendar-find-native-american-event-near. International Day of Dance. n.d. “About the International Dance Day.” Accessed August 23, 2019 www.international-dance-day.org/internationaldanceday.html. Jonas, G. 1992. Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement. New York: Harry N. Abrams. Kassing, G. 2017. History of Dance: An Interactive Arts Approach. 2nd ed. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics. Khmer Arts. n.d. “About.” Accessed June 20, 2020. http://khmerarts.org/about. National Dance Education Organization. n.d. “NDEO Mission and Vision.” Accessed August 23, 2019. www.ndeo.org/content.aspx? page_id=22&club_id=893257&module_id=51379. New World Encyclopedia. n.d. “Lion Dance.” Entry About Lion Dance. Accessed June 20, 2020. www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lion_dance O’Mahoney, J. 2007. “Return of the Monkey King.” Guardian, March 26, 2007. www.theguardian.com/stage/2007/mar/26/dance.cambodia. O’Neill, M. 2012. “How To Optimize Your YouTube Videos for A Global Audience.” Adweek, February 27, 2012. www.adweek.com/digital/how-to-optimize-youryoutube-videos-for-a-global-audience.

Potter, J. 2014. “The History of LinkedIn.” The Linked In Man (blog). August 7, 2014. https://thelinkedinman.com/history-linkedin. PowWows. 2020. “History of the Powwow: Origin & Background—Native American.” Last modified February 27, 2020. www.powwows.com/history-of-thepowwow. South African History Online. 2019. “Gold Coast (Ghana) Gains Independence.” Last modified September 30, 2019. www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/gold-coastghana-gains-independence. ThisWorldMusic. n.d. “Great Grooves #6: Kpanlogo.” Accessed August 23, 2019. https://thisworldmusic.com/kpanlogo-african-drumming-dance-ghana. Thrill the World. 2020. “Leadership Team.” Accessed June 20, 2020. https://thrilltheworld.com/about-us. UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. n.d. “Royal Ballet of Cambodia.” Accessed June 19, 2020. https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/royal-ballet-of-cambodia-00060. Vissicaro, P. 2004. Studying Dance Cultures Around the World: An Introduction to Multicultural Dance Education. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Index Note: The italicized f, p, and t following page numbers refer to figures, photos, and tables, respectively.

A Aboriginal dances  10 Abraham, Kyle  80 Abraham.In.Motion  80 academia  22 Académie Royale de la Danse  13, 52 Academy Awards  11, 78 a capella  99 accent  24 accompaniments  23-24 accumulation  30, 77 Acocella, Joan  154 Adams, Andre “Thundakat”  116 administration  134, 136 advisory council  136 aerial dance  120, 124 attire  125, 127 classes  125, 127 companies  128 equipment  126 movement terminology  126 pioneers  127-129 principles of  124-125 Aerial Dance Festival  127 Aerial Release Technique (A.R.T.)  127 aesthetic  7, 12 African American dancers  58, 61, 73, 96, 101, 103 African culture  96 African dance  5, 84, 96 African diaspora  110 Afro-Brazilian dance  161 Afro-Caribbean dance  78

Afro-Caribbean jazz  84, 85 afterimages  152 Agon (Balanchine)  17, 58 Ailey, Alvin  58, 74-75, 80 alignment  48, 125 American Ballet Theater  57, 58, 61, 78 American Bandstand  41 American Dance Festival  68, 72 American Dance Therapy Association  16 American in Paris, An  148 American Tap Dance Orchestra  100, 106 America’s Best Dance Crew  116 analysis process  6, 154-155 ancient Greeks  13, 36, 141 Angola  161 animal dances  10, 11, 38 antiquity  10, 12, 13 apex  29 arena stages  141-142 Argentinian tango  39 Arnold, Chloé  98, 106-107 articulation  101 artistic directors  80, 134, 137-138 arts  6-7 assessment rubrics  6 Astaire, Fred  39, 99, 106, 147-148 asymmetry  66 Atkins, Charles “Cholly”  101 attire  50, 68, 86, 125, 127 audiences connecting with dance  6, 7 etiquette  146 of live performances  146-147 participation by  4, 6 Austin, Emilio “Buddha Stretch”  115 authentic jazz dance  84 avant-garde  149 AXIS Dance  79 Azpiazú, Don  40

B

backslide  42, 113 backstage  134, 137 Bailey, Bill  42 balance  29, 48 Balanchine, George  17, 29, 51, 57, 58, 85 ball and socket joints  22 ballet  4 across the ages  56t-57t attire  46, 50, 54 on Broadway  47 choreographing  51-52 class basics  49-50 classical  55 contemporary  59-60, 67 dance notation of  52 diversity in  46 in film  47 future directions  60-61 methods  50-51 modern dance versus  64t modernist  55-56 neoclassical  58 origins  13, 46, 52-59 preservation of  59-60 primary principles in  46, 48-49 schools for  50-51 terminology in  49 training in  49 in United States  56-57 Ballet-Comique de la Reine, Le  13, 52 ballet fitness  15 balletomanes  58 ballet pantomime  48 Ballet Russes  55 ballroom dance  6, 36 Bambaataa, Afrika  110, 112 BANDALOOP  127, 128p Band Wagon, The (Kidd)  17 Barabas, Mariana  141p bare feet  66, 127 Bar Method, The  6

Bartenieff, Irmgard  22 Bartenieff Fundamentals  22 Baryshnikov, Mikhail  59, 105 Battle, Robert  80 Bausch, Pina  11p, 17, 29, 31, 76 b-boying  110, 111-112, 113-114 Beaton, Cody  61 Beat Street  113 Beauchamps, Pierre  52 Bell, Rodney  69p Bennington College  68 Bergmann, Elizabeth  67 Bethel, Alfred “Pepsi”  84 Beyoncé tribute  99, 107 B-Girl Mega  114p bharatanatyam  5, 162-163 Black and Blue  101, 104, 106 Blackboard Learning Systems  164 black bottom  39-40 Blankenbuehler, Andy  149 Blasis, Carlo  54 Blue Lapis Light  129 Blue Ridge Studio for the Performing Arts  7 board of directors  136 board operators  139 Bolshoi Ballet  51, 60 boogaloo  112 Bourne, Matthew  60 Bournonville, August  51 box office  134, 136 Bray, Josie  135 Brazil  161, 162 break  110 breakdancing  111-112 Breakin’  113 breaking  110, 113 breath  24, 66 Briggs, Bunny  104 Broadway choreographers  47, 74, 78, 79, 81, 85, 98, 148, 149 Broadway Dance Center  89 Broadway jazz  84

Broadway performers  98, 100, 101, 105, 106, 147-148 Broadway tap  98 Brown, Camille A.  80-81 Brown, James “Buster”  103-104 Brown, Trisha  77, 121-122 Bruk Up  18 Bryant, Homer Hans  60 Bryant, Willie  40, 97 Bubbles, John W.  99, 100 Buddha Stretch  115 Bufalino, Brenda  105-106 butoh  161 buzz, the  42, 113

C Cabaret  148 cabarets  39 Café Müller  11p, 31 Cage, John  75 cakewalk  36 Calloway, Cab  42, 113 Camargo, Marie  53p Cambodia  163 Campbell, Clive  110, 111 Campbell, Don “Campbellock”  112, 114 capoeira  77, 161-162 Carlson, Ann  123 Carnival  12-13 Castle, Irene  38 Castle, Vernon  38 Castle walk  39 Cecchetti, Enrico  51, 54, 55 celebration dances  12-13, 160 center  66 Cerrito, Fanny  54 Chace, Marian  16 Champion, Teresa  5 chance choreography  17, 30 character dances  48-49 Charleston  39 chassé  36

Checker, Chubby  40 chest lifts  66 China  160 choreography artistic process  6 of ballet  51-52 tools  30 class acts  101 classical ballet  55 classical tap  98 climax  29, 31 clothes. See attire clowning  116 codified technique  46 Coke La Rock  110, 111 Cole, Jack  17, 84 Coles, Charles “Honi”  101 college programs  22, 68, 86, 117, 125, 136 Columbia University  68 commercial dance  4, 147 commercial jazz dance  93 communication  10 composition  27-31 concert dance  4, 149 concert jazz  84, 88 contact improvisation  27, 30, 77 contemporary ballet  59-60, 67 contemporary modern dance attire  68 choreographers  78-79 description  65 future directions  79-81 making dances  68-69 modern dance versus  67 preserving dances  68-69 principles  65-66 relationships in  70f training  66, 68 contraction and release  66, 73 Copeland, Misty  61 Coralli, Jean  54

core  66 corps de ballet  60 corset  48 costume designs  141 costume shop manager  141 country and western dance  43 country line dancing  43 cowboy dancing  43 Critical Response Process  155 critics. See dance critics Croce, Arlene  152, 154 cultural changes  4 cultural heritage  16, 158-160 culture  46, 158 Cunningham, Merce  17, 75 cupid shuffle  43 curtain call  146 curvilinear  25 cypher  117

D Dalcroze, Émile  69 Daly, Ann  153 d’Amboise, Jacques  29 dance accessing through arts  6-7 categories  4-6 elements  23 on film  47, 106, 147-149 hybrid styles  5, 15, 60, 79, 116 inclusive  79 in late 19th century  70 as microcosm  4 motivation for  10 preserving  52, 59-60, 68-69, 79, 149, 160 processes  6 purposefulness  28 responding to  152-155 dance anthropologists  46 dance-based exercise  6 dance camps  68

dance competition  86, 113, 149 dance composition  27-31 dance critics  146, 152-154 dance critique  146 challenges  154 critical response process  155 writing guidelines  154-155 dance education college programs  22, 68, 86, 117, 125, 136 K-12 schools  23, 68, 86 online  164-165 in studios  68, 85, 86 dance exercise  15 dance floors  138 dance historians  153 dance literacy  6 Dance Magazine  154 dance-making  6, 51-52, 68-69, 73 dance notation  52 dance phrases  24 dance production  134 dance stages  141-142, 142f dance studios  68, 85, 86 dance theater  76, 121, 123 Dance Theater of Harlem  58, 78 dance videographers  150 dance writers  153 Dauberval, Jean  54 Davis, Sammy Jr.  103 Dean, Dora Babbige  101 de Beaujoyeulx, Balthasar  52 deejaying/DJing  110, 111 deities  16 Delsarte, François  69 de’ Medici, Catherine  13, 52 de Mille, Agnes  17, 47, 148 Denby, Edwin  152 Denishawn  4, 16, 72 Denmark  51 Deren, Maya  149-150 design  7

Deuce Coupe (Tharp)  77 devadasis  162 Devi, Rukmini  162 Diaghilev, Serge  55 Dick Clark Show  41 directional orientations  25 disco  41 diversity  46, 79 Dizzy Feet Foundation  165 DJing  110, 111 DJ Kool Herc  110, 112 Donen, Stanley  148 Down to Earth (Cole)  17 Dream Ballet (de Mille)  47 dress rehearsals  138 Duke Ellington Big Band  104 Duncan, Isadora  4, 10, 16, 64, 65p, 71 Dunham, Katherine  73, 85, 91p, 163 Dunn, Robert  76 duple meter  24 Dying Swan, The (Fokine)  46, 55 dynamic alignment  66 dynamics  26, 85

E early humans  10, 12 eclecticism  67 effort  27, 66 Effort Actions  27t, 71 effort-shape  71 Eiko & Koma  122-123 Electric Boogaloos  112 elements  23 emcee/MCing  110, 111 endings  29 energy  23, 26-27 England  51 Enlightenment, the  52-53 en pointe  46, 49 en travesti  58 eurythmics  69

evaluation process  6, 155. See also dance critique Ewe of Ghana  13 executive director  134, 136 exercise  6, 15 expression  10, 12-17, 125

F Faccuito, Eugene (“Luigi”)  88 Facebook  164 facings  25 Fagan, Garth  78 fall and recovery  66, 72, 74 feedback methods  155 festivals  12, 68, 72, 106, 107, 123 Feuillet, Raoul  52 Fever1  114p Fighting Elements  27 Fille Mal Gardée, La (Dauberval)  54 film  47, 106, 147-149 fitness dance  6, 15 Flamenco  5 Flashdance  113 flash mobs  166 Flight Pattern (Pite)  60 floor patterns  25 floss  4, 38t flow  27 Flyaway Productions  128 Fly-by-Nite  127 Fokine, Michel  55, 57 folk dances  159 Fonteyn, Margot  58, 59 force  27 form  7, 17-18, 28 Formation (The Syncopated Ladies)  99, 107 for-profit organizations  136 Fosse, Bob  87-88, 148-149 frameworks  10, 27 France  51 freestyling  115 freezes  114

French Revolution  54 French school  51 Frequent Flyers  127 Freud, Sigmund  69 front of house  134, 136 Fuller, Loie  70-71 function  7 fundraising  136 funk dance styles  110, 112-114 funk tap  101-102

G Garland, Judy  42, 99 Gautier, Théophile  152 genres  4-6 Ghana  160 Ghostcatching (Jones)  151 ghost dance  159 Giles, Sonsheree  69p Gill, Morgan  25p ginga  161 Giordano, Gus  88 Giordano Dance Chicago  88 Giselle  54 global dance  5 approach to studying  158 celebrations  12-13, 160 challenging power structures  161-162 cultural contexts  158 education  164-165 embodying political power  163 events  165-166 heritage and  16, 158-160 sharing  116, 163-165 social media and  164 spiritual practices  162-163 Global Goodwill Ambassadors  165 Global Water Dances  166 Glover, Savion  98 Godbolt, James Titus  104 Golden Age of Hollywood  97

graffiti writing  110-111 Graham, Martha  4, 16-17, 73 Grahn, Lucile  54 Grand March  13 Grandmaster Flash  111, 113 Grand Union, The  76-77, 120 Grand Wizzard Theodore  111 grass dance  159 gravity, relationships with  27, 48, 66, 85, 124 Great Depression  72 Green Table, The (Jooss)  72 Grisi, Carlotta  54 group identity  4, 12-14 Guiness World Records  41 Guy, Edna  73

H Haigood, Joanna  123 Haiti  5, 163 haka dance  13, 14p Halprin, Anna  76, 120-121 Hamilton  149 Happenings  76, 120 Happy Feet  98 Harding, Matt  18 Harlem Renaissance  73 harmony  29 Harris, Rennie  116 Hatchett, Frank  88-89 Hawkins, Alma  22, 28 Hawkins, Erick  75 H’Doubler, Margaret  22, 31, 68 health  14-16 heirlooms  5 hierarchy  13 high curves  66 Hijikata, Tatsumi  161 Hill, Martha  68, 72 Hindu  162 Hines, Gregory  98, 100, 104-105 hinge joints  22

hip-hop  5 commercial  115-116 five pillars  110-113 into mainstream  113 new directions in  116 origins  110 styles  113-115 training  117 hiplet  60, 61, 116 history  10, 12, 13 Hollywood. See film Holm, Hanya  74 Holman, Michael  117 hoofing  101 horizontal plane  26f Horning, Russell (Backpack Kid)  4 Horton, Lester  74 house  134 house manager  134 human body  22 Humphrey, Doris  29, 72-73 hustle  41 hybrid styles  5, 15, 60, 79, 116 hype dance  43

I identity  4, 5 imitation  10-11 improvisation  30, 66, 125 India  162 Indulging Elements  27 Industrial Revolution  69 initiation  68 injury prevention  125 Instagram  164 intercutting  149 International Dance Day  166 interpretation  155 Irish dancing  96 isolations  85 Italy  51

Ivanov, Lev  55

J Jackson, Janet  43 Jackson, Michael  41, 42, 44, 113, 166 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival  68, 72, 123 Jacques, Sally  129 Jamaican Bruk Up  18 Japan  123, 161 jarabe tapatío  5 Jason et Médée (Noverre)  53 jazz dance  5 attire  86 classes  86 female voices in  89, 91-93 major influencers in  86-89 origins  84-85 principles of  85 styles  84, 90t techniques  86 training  85-86 Jazz Dance World Congress  88 Jazzercise  6 jazz music  4 Jazz Warm Up  88 Jerome, K. Brooke  23 jingle dress dance  159 jitterbug  40, 42 Joffrey, Robert  58 Johnson, Charles  101 Johnson, James P.  39 joints  22 Jones, Bill T.  78-79, 151 Jonze, Spike  18 Jookin’. See Memphis jookin’ Jooss, Kurt  71 Jowitt, Deborah  152 Judson Dance Theater  76, 77, 120, 121 Juice (Monk)  122 Jung, Carl  16

K Kealiinohomoku, Joann  46 Keeler, Ruby  105 Keith, Benjamin Franklin  96 Kelly, Gene  148 Kidd, Michael  17 knowledge  6, 111, 112 Koma (of Eiko & Koma)  122-123 Koplowitz, Stephan  123 kpanlogo  5, 97p, 160 Kreiter, Jo  128 KRS-One  112 krumping  116

L Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies (LIMS)  22, 166 Laban Movement Analysis (LMA)  22, 27, 71 Labanotation  26p, 52, 71 LaBlast  6 “Lady Di” (Dianne Walker)  106 Lakhaon Kaol  163 L’Allegro, il penseroso ed il moderato (Morris)  78 Lamb, Mary Ann  92 Lane, William Henry (Master Juba)  96 LaPointe, Lindsay Caddle  150 Latin American culture  5, 110 Latin styles  40 legacy  7 Legnani, Pierina  54 Lerman, Liz  155, 156p Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo  46, 58 level  25 libretto  48 lighting  138 lighting board operators  139 lighting designer  138 lighting equipment  137, 138-139 light plot  139, 140f Lil Buck  17-18, 116 Limón, José  74 Lindy Hop  40

line  48 linear  25 LinkedIn  164 lion dance  160 live performances  146-147 Livingston, Theodore  111 Lockers, The  112, 114 locking  112, 114 locomotor movements  24 Louis XIV  13, 52 Luigi  88 Luminescent Flights (Rudolph)  127 Lythgoe, Nigel  165

M Ma, Yo Yo  18 “Macarena”  43 Made in Bangladesh (Waldmann)  14 Madonna  42, 43 mambo dance  40 Maori culture  13, 14p Markeljevic, Ines  166 marketing  134, 136 Marley  138 MarqueeTV  149 Marshall, Kathleen  149 Marshall, Rob  149 Martin, John  65, 72, 152 Master Juba  96 master teachers  86 Mattox, Matt  89 Mature Dance Project (MDP)  93 McCray, Darryl (Cornbread)  111 MCing  110, 111 media arts  6 Melt  121p Memphis jookin’  5, 17, 18, 116 metakinesis  152 meter  24 Mevlevi  16 Michaels, Mia  93

microcosm  4 Middle Ages  36 mimetic elements  43 mimicry  11 minimalism  30, 77, 78 Missett, Judi Sheppard  6 Mitchell, Arthur  58 modern dance  4-5. See also contemporary modern dance; postmodern dance attire  68 ballet versus  64t classes  68 contemporary modern dance versus  67 dance-making  68-69 description  65 development  64, 69-72 first-generation choreographers  72-74 fourth-generation choreographers  78-79 future directions of  79-81 preservation of  68-69 principles  65-66 relationships in  70f second-generation choreographers  74-76 self-expression and  16, 17 studying  68 third-generation choreographers  76-78 time periods  65 training  66, 68 modernist ballet  55-56 mod style  41 Moisseyev Dance Company  160 Monk, Meredith  122 Monte-Carlo ballet  137p moonwalk  42, 113 Moor’s Pavane, The (Limón)  74 Morris, Mark  78 motif  30 motion-capture technology  151 Motivity  127 movement abstraction  73 movement therapies  16 movement vocabulary  10

movies. See film MTV (music television)  41, 44, 113 musculoskeletal structure  22 music  4, 6, 7 musicality  23, 48 musical theater  84 music visualizations  72

N National Arts Standards  6 National Dance Day  165-166 National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)  166 national dance events  165-166 National Dance Institute  29 National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)  59 National Tap Dance Day  105 Native Americans  10, 11, 158-159 Nature  10 42nd Street  97, 105 negative space  24 neoclassical ballet  58 New York City Ballet  17, 51, 57, 58 New Yorker  152, 154 New York’s Grand Central Station  123 New York Times  152, 154 New Zealand All Blacks  13, 14p Nicholas, Fayard  101, 103 Nicholas, Harold  101, 103 Niemann, Nela  7 nightclubs  39 Night Light (Carlson)  123 Nijinsky, Vaslav  55-56 Nikolais, Alwin  76, 127 “No Manifesto” (Rainer)  77 non-locomotor movements  25 nonprofit organizations  7, 136 nonverbal communication  10 North America  158-159 Noverre, Jean-Georges  51, 52, 53, 166 Nureyev, Rudolf  58, 59p Nutcracker, The  29, 48, 58, 60

O Ohno, Kazuo  161 Oklahoma!  17, 47, 148 online dance education  164 online video sharing  14, 44, 164 oppositional concepts  66 orientation  25 Osun  16

P pannier  48 pantomime  48 parallel position  66 Paris Opéra  52 Parker, Lawrence “Kris”  112 Pas de Quatre (Perrot)  54 passinho  116 pathways  25 patterns  25 Paul Taylor American Modern Dance  79 Pavlova, Anna  51, 55, 71 Paxton, Steve  27, 77 pedestrian movement  30, 65 Pérez, Alberto “Beto”  6, 15, 16 performance art  120, 122, 123 performances, viewing live  146-147 Perrot, Jules  54 Perry, Dein  100 Perry, Katy  4 Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School & Camp  68 Petipa, Marius  51, 55 Petrouchka (Nijinsky)  56 Pilates  15 Pilobolus  11, 12p, 78 Pite, Crystal  60 planes of movement  25, 26f pointe shoes  54 political action  13-14 political power  163 polka  36 polyrhythmic approach  85, 89

popping  112, 114-115 popular dance  4 popular music  4, 101 position  25 positive space  24 postmodern dance  17, 65, 67, 76-78 postproduction  142 posture  48 Powell, Eleanor  99 power  13-14 power structures  161, 163 powwows  159 preparation dances  13 “prepared piano” technique  75 preservation  52, 59-60, 68-69, 79, 149, 160 Presley, Elvis  40 Preston-Dunlop, Valerie  26 primal dances  10 principles of composition  28 Prohibition  39 promotional materials  134 proscenium stages  141, 142f protests  14, 161 Pygmalion (Sallé)  53 pyrrhic dance  13

Q quadrille  36

R ragtime  4, 37 Rainer, Yvonne  77 Rainforest (Cunningham)  17 raked stages  142 rappers  111, 115-116 Ratmansky, Alexei  60 Rat Pack  103 recreation  4, 6 Reed, Leonard  40, 97 rehearsals  138 religious practices  4, 16, 162-163

Renaissance, the  36, 48, 52 repetition  12, 29 Revelations (Ailey)  74 rhythm  7, 24 rhythm tap  99-100 Richmond Ballet  61 riggers  125 Riley, Charles “Lil Buck”  17-18 Rio de Janeiro  12 Rite of Spring, The (Nijinsky)  55, 56 rites of passage  13 ritual  12, 16, 158 River (Eiko & Koma)  123 “Roaring 1920s”  39 Robam Boran  163 Robbins, Jerome  47, 148 Robinson, Bill “Bojangles”  96 rock ‘n’ roll  40 Rock Steady Crew  113 roda  161 Rogers, Ginger  99, 147 rolldowns  66 Roman satyr dances  15 Romantic period  48, 53-54 Rose, Mitchell  151-152 Royal Academy of Dance  51 royal courts  4, 13-14, 52 Royal Danish Theater  51 Rudolph, Amelia  127 rumba  40 running crew  134, 138 running man  43 Russia  51, 58, 159-160 Russian trepak  48

S Saddler, Joseph  111 Sadler Machalek, Tracy  15 safety  125 sagittal plane  26f San Francisco Dancers’ Workshop  76, 121

Saturday Night Fever  41 scarecrow  115 School of American Ballet  51, 57 secular dance  36 self-care  4 self-expression  16-17 Sendgraff, Terry  127 sequential  66 Serpentine Dance  70 Shadowland  12p shag  40 Shahn, Ben  28 Shankman, Adam  165 shaping  68 shared values  4 Shawn, Ted  4, 16, 72 shim sham shimmy  40, 97, 98 Simonson, Lynn  89, 91 Simonson technique  91 Sims, Howard “Sandman”  104 simultaneous  66 Singin’ in the Rain  148 site-adaptive dance  123 site-specific dance  5, 6, 120-123 six step  113 skeletal system  22 Sklar, Deidre  158 SLAM (Streb Lab for Action Mechanics)  124 Sleeping Beauty, The  51, 55, 60 Slyde, Jimmy  104 “Small Dance”  27 Smith, Judith  79 Smith, Nancy  127 Smith, Nancy Stark  27 social dance  4 by decade  38-43 evolution of  36-37, 37t-38t hip-hop techniques  113 origins  36 sharing online  44 social issues  14, 79, 81, 110, 128, 129

social media  4, 7, 41, 44, 136, 164 social media specialists  136 social norms  12, 14, 161 social order  13, 14 soft-shoe  101 solar plexus  71 Solomon, Sam “Boogaloo”  112, 114 somatic bodywork  16 Soulja Boy  43 Soul Train  112, 113 sound boards  138 sound engineers  139 sowu  13 So You Think You Can Dance  93, 165, 166 space  23, 24-26, 27 Spanish Dance  48 Spanish tango  39 speakeasies  39 Spector, Julie  25p Spectre de la Rose, Le (Nijinsky)  56 spinal flexibility  66 spiritual practice  4, 16, 162-163 sports teams  13 spotting  54 square dance  36 St. Denis, Ruth  4, 16, 72 stage directions  142f stage managers  134, 138 stages  141-142, 142f stage venues  4 “Stand, The”  27 Still/Here  79, 151, 152 stillness  27 STOMP  100 storytelling  48 Streb, Elizabeth  124 street dance  40 strength  125 strike  142 strobing  115 student assessment  6

styles  4-6 Swan Lake  55, 60, 61 swing dance  40 swingout  40 Sylphide, La (Taglioni)  54, 55 Sylphides, Les (Fokine)  55 Sylvia  60 symmetry  48, 66 Syncopated Ladies, The   98, 99, 100p, 106-107 syncopation  24, 85

T tableaux  122 tagging  111 Taglioni, Filippo  54 Taglioni, Marie  54 tango  39 Tap!  101, 103 tap dance  5 Broadway shows  97-98 film and  97, 98, 99, 106 masters  102-107 origins  96 styles  98-102, 102t terminology in  98 20th century and beyond  40, 97-98 Tap Dance in America  99, 101, 104, 105, 106 Tap Dogs  101 tap shoes  98-99, 101 Tap to Togetherness Across Populations  107 tarantella (tarantula) dance  14 task-oriented movements  30, 76, 77, 120, 121 Taylor, Paul  75 Tchaikovsky, Piotr Ilich  55 Teacha  112 teachers, masters  86 technical director  134, 138 technical rehearsals  138 technology  44, 151-152, 164 television  149-152 tempo  24

#ThankADanceTeacherDay  166 Thank You, Gregory!  98 Tharp, Twyla  77-78 theater  7, 134 theater in-the-round  141 theatrical jazz dance  84 theme  30, 53 Thriller  44, 166 Thrill the World  166 thrust stages  141 ticket sales  134, 136 ticking  114 time  23-24, 27 top-rock  113 traditional tap  98-99 transition  29 Travolta, John  41 Trend (Holm)  74 triple meter  24 triple threat  148 triplets  66 Trocks, the  58 Tudor, David  17 turnout  48 tutting  115 tutus  46 twist  40, 41 Two Ecstatic Themes (Humphrey)  29 two-step  43 Tyler, Christopher “Zondaflex”  115

U UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization)  16, 166 unity  28 Universal Zulu Nation  110 University of Phoenix  164 University of Wisconsin  22, 68 up-rocking  113 Urban Bush Women  79

V

Vaganova, Agrippina  51 Vaganova method  51 variations  30, 51 variety  29 vaudeville  36, 96 Venza, Jac  149 Verdon, Gwen  88 vernacular jazz dance  84 vertical plane  25, 26f video-sharing platforms  164 video technology  44, 60 viewers. See audiences vignette  17, 122 Village People  41 Village Voice  152 viral videos  14 virtuosity  17 visual arts  6 vodou  162, 163 Voguing  42-43 von Laban, Rudolf  26p, 27, 52, 71 VOP style  88

W Wait Room, The (Kreiter)  128 Waldmann, Helena  14 Walker, Dianne  106 Walking Down the Side of a Building (Brown)  122 waltz  36, 38, 39 “Waltz of the Flowers, The”  29 Washington & Lee University  125 waving  114 weddings  13 weight  27 weight transfer  68 Weldman, Charles  72-73 wellness  14-16 West Coast funk  112-113 Western weddings  13 West Side Story  47, 148 Whirling Dervishes of Turkey  16

White Oak Dance Project  78 Wigman, Mary  4, 16, 71-72 Wild Style  113 Winfield, Hemsley  73 Witch Dance (Wigman)  71 wobbling  43

Y “Y.M.C.A.”  41 yoga  15 Yoruba dancers  16 Yosemite National Park  127 YouTube  44, 164

Z Zaccho Dance Theatre  123 Zane, Arnie  78 Zen Buddhism  75 Zollar, Jawole Willa Jo  79 Zonda Dance  115 Zucchi, Virginia  54 Zulu Kings  110, 112 Zumba  6, 15-16 Zunker, Sherry  93

About the Authors

Dawn Davis Loring has been writing about dance for over 20 years and has published articles and reviews in the Boston Globe, Dancing Times magazine (UK), the Austin Chronicle, and the Journal of Dance Education, among others. She directed the dance and theatre group Mosaic Dance Body for over a decade and has taught dance and served as dance administrator in Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, and London. Dawn has been a lecturer at Suffolk University, Bridgewater State University, University of Texas at San Antonio (USTA), and Northwest Vista College in the areas of technique, choreography, dance appreciation, and world dance. Dawn received a BA in dance from the University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in performance and choreography from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Julie L. Pentz is a professor of dance at Kansas State University, where she teaches dance appreciation, tap, jazz, teaching methods, and other courses. She serves on the executive board of directors of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and is also serving as a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United States of America. Her credits include guest appearances at the Percussive Arts Society International Conference, the International Jazz World Congress, and Teatro Libero in Rome. She has also performed in Taiwan, Spain, Ghana, and Kuwait. Julie has a BFA in dance education from Shenandoah University and an MFA in theater arts with a dance emphasis from the University of Arizona. Julie is founder and director of Tap to Togetherness, a community-based initiative focused on building family relations and enhancing child development through tap dance.