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The World of Arts:
Evolution of modern and contemporary dance
Gwen Herat
There emerged a style of dance in the West since early 1960s that
were later to be known as modern and contemporary which a growing number
of choreographers such as Glen Taylor, Elliot Feld, Hans van Sanden,
Christopher Bruce etc evolved the styles.
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Dan Wagner and Elizabeth Walton have a classical turn out still
barefoot. |
They never did it together but on the contrary, done separately but
simultaneously. It was during the closing years of the twentieth century
that proved salvation of theatrical dance. They were derived from modern
and ancient techniques and the result was vibrant and alive, appealing
to a wide-reaching audience. But none of these choreographers
‘consciously’ set out to invent was not an alternate to ballet.
Different dance
They knew ballet was all immortal and searched for something that can
best express the feelings with a different dance form. It sounded very
lofty and the very idea excited them. These choreographers were guided
by its sincerity, integrity and conscience. Yet, they had diverse ideas.
No one was willing to commit to the other but they agreed on one thing -
no syllabus.
They wanted the freedom to dance and open out without restriction and
feel free to use their limbs as they wished unlike in classical ballet.
And they also realised that new aspirations are not arrived at by a
conscious loftiness.
Tetley, Feld, van Mansen and Bruce recognised that everything was not
right with the state of classical ballet and the contemporary techniques
evolved by Martha Graham had developed to grip the imagination of
audiences.
Techniques
This was in the process of being codified but later, her techniques
had reached the end of the road. It had nothing new to excite the
choreographers of the time. So, they began to formulate their respective
dance styles and this became the important period of renaissance in
Europe and the United States of America.
What these choreographers achieved independently moved and dazzled
the audiences because of direct human appeal. In keeping with the Graham
style, they looked beautiful and appealing.
Versatilities
There were versatilities though technical possibilities did not cover
a broader spectrum but was possible with classical and contemporary
techniques. There was a time that institutions like the Royal Ballet of
Britain and Denmark would never have entertained the idea of employing
the techniques of Graham. Yet, with time, the modern classicism of
Graham were accepted by many ballet companies around the world and still
very popular.
This assures the incredible human continuity in dancers who were
willing to stretch back on time and join hands with dancers all the way
back into the past.
This company is governed by the Contemporary Dance Trust and debuted
in 1967 at East Grinstead in October as the CD Group. The Place is its
London headquarters where most of the early performances took place. It
is modern orientated and enjoys a close connection with the Martha
Graham school and company. Their repertory has included the works of
Graham, Sokolow, Paul Taylor and Ailey. Its American debut was at
American Dance Festival in 1977.
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Dane Wagoner and Elizabeth Walton here are from the Paul Taylor
Company. Their barefoot dance is decisively ‘modern’ and not
balletic. |
Moder Movement
One thinks of Paul Taylor when one talks about Moder Movement. With
gusto and energy,
Taylor ‘discovered’ Moder Movement that became the rage in New York
and later around the dance scene, He was a young athlete and a champion
swimmer who started to dance when in college. He acquired dance
technique after graduation and became a leading dancer with the Martha
Graham Company.
His presence and magnetic college-boy charm earned him great
popularity. Calling himself ‘A Graham splinter’, Taylor became a great
choreographer under Graham influence and soon formed his own group of
dancers.
During this time dozens of modern dancers gave recitals displaying
new works they had created in their own studios and working with devoted
and dedicated colleagues. Not often did a troupe of this nature gave a
season or a performance on Broadway but Paul Taylor Company had the
distinction of mounting his works not only on Broadway but at the
Spoleto Festival as well as in London. All dancers of this time had
classical ballet training and were gifted with wonderful technique on
which to build their modern technique.
I met Matha Graham at the opening of her modern ballet, Maple Leaf
Rag where I was to meet Rudolf Nureyev by appointment but I missed him
for the second time.
I was virtually in tears and Graham saw it all written over my face.
She put her frail hand (she was ninety six at that time) and assured me
and said. ‘You will meet him next time! There was never going to be a
third time. Something told me so. When I returned for the New York City
Ballet, I wrote to Nureyev all about Maple Leaf Rag and how much Graham
adored him.
Nureyev wrote back to me. It was September, 1990, ‘I was sad to have
missed you in Paris and in New York too because I had to leave before
you arrived.
‘However I hope you will enjoy Matha Graham’s ballet in New York. Do
let me know all about it. She is perfect. She is faultless. You will see
it’.
A few months later I was shocked and sad when Graham died but not
before I had written about her Maple Leaf Rag.
Matha Graham was the icon who gave the world modern and contemporary
dance. |
