...Martha Graham wasn’t just an ordinary dancer, but an extraordinary choreographer and artist. You would expect an artist to just draw with pen and paper, but Martha wasn’t a regular artist, she was different. She didn’t go by the rules of classical ballet, but created her own movements that showed internal feeling through movement. In addition to Martha’s creativity, she was also a critical modern dance figure in history and created a modern dance movement. Martha, full name of Martha Graham was born in Allegheny, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Friday May 11, 1894 and was talented from the start. Growing up with her Irish father, Dr. George Greenfield, Graham, who was also a nervous disorder doctor in addition to her father,born in the year of 1856. Was the one to encourage her, her whole life and was the one who told her to speak up. In addition to her father, her mother, Jane Beers Graham, was born 1870 also pushed her to do her best in everything, except dance which she later made a big impact in dance history. Martha grew up with three younger siblings Mary, Georgia, William and also Lizzie Prendergast, who might as well have been her sister because she supported and grew up with Martha (Dr.Graham saved Lizzie's life after being attacked by dogs. She...
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...Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer. Her style, the Graham technique, reshaped American dance and is still taught worldwide. She was the first dancer to perform at the White House, travel abroad essential Medal of Freedom as a cultural ambassador. She receive the highest civilian award of the US. Martha Graham was recognized as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. She created a movement language based upon the expressive capacity of the human body. It all began in 1926 when she started teaching a group of dancers who had been drawn to her creative work of dance. It than began the Martha Graham Studio. When official accreditation came to dance in 1980 with the formation of the National Association of Schools of...
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...through teaching. For me, the most fascinating style of modern dance today is the Graham Technique. This technique was discovered by Martha Graham when she began teaching and saw that she had many people wanting to learn this new and unique technique. Martha then established the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York City in 1926. To this day, this company is the “oldest continually performing dance company in the world” (Horosko). Graham’s contributions to the dance world are often compared to the influence that “Pablo Picasso had on the modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture” (Horosko). It is written that the Graham technique fundamentally reshaped American dance. The Graham technique is one of the most individual techniques in the world of dance because of its unique style, technique, and choreography....
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...* Isadora Duncan * Martha Graham ________________________________________________________________ Isadora Duncan was born May 26, 1877 in San Francisco. Her parents divorced when she was an infant. She was raised by her mother, a piano teacher with great appreciation for the arts. When Duncan was 6, she began to teach movement to children in her neighbourhood. By the time she was 10, her classes had become quite large. She left the public school so that she and her sister Elizabeth, could earn income from teaching. Duncan received tutelage from poet Ina Coolbrith. She performed to acclaim throughout Europe after being exiled from the United States for her pro-Soviet sympathies. Isadora Duncan lived in Chicago and New York before moving to Europe. There with Brother Raymond she studied Greek mythology and visual iconography, which would inform her sensibilities and style of movement as an artist. Duncan came to look at ancient rituals around dance, nature and the body as being central to her performance ideology. Barefoot and clad in sheaths inspired by Greek imagery and Italian Renaissance paintings, Duncan danced her own choreography in the homes of the financially elite before becoming a major success in Budapest, having a sold-out run of shows in 1902. She embarked on successful tours, becoming a European sensation honoured not only by audiences, but by artists who captured her image in painting, sculpture and poetry. Duncan's style was controversial for its time, as...
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...Martha Graham 1)How did the dancer or company manager you are studying get interested in the first place? Martha Graham got interested when she saw Ruth .St. Denis perform at Mason Opera House. | 2)How and where did they learn to dance? Martha learned at Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts. 3)What are they trying to express in their Dances? Martha Graham wanted an new method non-traditional technique with religious form. 4)Provide some information about their company if they started one or Danced in one. Denishawn School was Founded in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and her husband Ted Shawn. At Denishawn it was more then dancing, Ruth St. Denis and her husband Ted Shawn also offered other cultural dances such as Spanish and ( etc.) .Martha Graham company was founded in1926 and received an international claim from more than 50 counties 5)Why did you pick this person/company to study? What have you learned from them what is important to you? I picked Martha Graham because she is really inspiring and makes me want to be a dancer. I have learned things about Martha Graham for example the expression and energy she gives off to her audience and how she kept her dream and never gave up when her parent didn’t commit to her dancing. 6)When and where was the dancer born? 6) Martha Graham was born on May,11,1894 and in Allegheny, Pennsylvania 7)What Artistic movement does your artist fit into and why? Modern because Martha showed a relating to the present...
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...Martha Graham, whom is recognised as one of the utmost and greatest artists of the 20th century, revolutionised the art form of contemporary dance through movements which were established on the expressive dimensions of the human figure. The mother of contemporary dance achieved this by using her body in certain ways which were classified as athletic and dramatic, although raised controversy regarding every principle taught to ballet dancers. Outlined in this presentation will be a thorough analysis of Martha Graham’s work which challenged the concept of dance and made her one of the most significant pioneers of contemporary dance today. As well as her choreography throughout “Night Journey” and the symbolism involved which portrays her bravery...
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...Modern Dance was born in America during the turn of the 20th century when a number of choreographers and dancers rebelled against the two forms of dance that were prevalent at the time, ballet and vaudeville. They rejected what they interpreted as the rigid and imperialistic nature of ballet, and they wanted to be taken seriously as artists rather than be seen simply as entertainers. Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn are considered to be the pioneers of modern dance in America. Considered the founding mother of American modern dance, Isadora Duncan was largely self‐taught. She presented her first recitals in 1898, and by 1900 she was in Europe, where she would spend most of her remaining life and win the greatest acceptance. Duncan was truly revolutionary. She discarded the corset, slippers, and tutu of conventional ballet dress, adopting instead tunics that freed the body and revealed its movement. She used music by Chopin, Beethoven, Gluck, Wagner, and other first rank composers. She danced on concert stages and in opera houses. She spoke of her dancing not as entertainment but as art with a high moral purpose. Most of all, she insisted upon the essence of dance as movement. Her vocabulary was simple but performed with a musicality, dynamic subtlety, and charisma that made it powerfully expressive. In 1904, Duncan established her first school of dance just outside of Berlin, where she began to develop her theories of dance education and to assemble...
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...Aaron Copland and the American Sound Aaron Copland searched far and wide to find a sound he could call American. He wanted to break away from European traditions and create a sort of nationalistic music that really felt like the American spirit was within it. To understand his want and persistent need to find this sound, the elements that should be examined are his upbringing, formal training, connections in networking, and his outside influences of different musical styles. Copland was born the child of Jewish immigrants from Lithuania in Brooklyn, NY in the fall of 1900. He had many siblings, one of which taught him to play the piano. He continued his home studies until he was sixteen-years-old at which time he began to study in Manhattan with Rubin Goldmark. It was with this teacher he learned the ‘fundamentals of counterpoint and composition.’ He attended performances at many venues such as the New York Symphony and Brooklyn Academy of Music to immerse himself in contemporary classical music. This interest in the classical foundations of music fueled his inspiration to study in Europe at the age of 20 with Nadia Boulanger at the Summer School of Music for American Students at Fountainebleau, France. With Nadia he learned about composition and orchestration. Upon his arrival back in the U.S. in 1924, he became an active “pianist, lecturer, and activist in musical societies.” It was in approximately 1925 that his compositions became well known, with the premiere of Music...
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...Hello Ms Shaw and fellow students today I am talking about the events of Cathy Freeman’s life that made her famous. Cathy was born in the Queensland town of Mackay on the 16th of February 1973. She is the daughter of Norman and Cecelia Freeman and had 3 brothers and an older sister named Anne-Marie who died of cerebral palsy in 1990. Cathy Freeman took up athletics at the age of 2 years old and was coached by her step-father. Cathy exploded onto the athletics scene at an early age winning her first gold medal at the age of 16 at the Auckland commonwealth games in 1990 in the 4x100 m relay event. She was the first Aboriginal to win a gold medal at the commonwealth games as well as one of the youngest. At this time Nelson Mandela had walked to freedom after being released from jail. She went on to the world junior championships that same year in Bulgaria and came 5th in 200m and the 4x100m relay events. In 1992 Cathy competed in her first Olympic games in Spain in the 4x400m relay event and came 7th at the age of only 18. 1994 is the year that the US invaded Haiti due to the massive earthquake that affected the country. This was the year Cathy was also finally discovered by the world as a top competitor and athlete. In this year she was part of the world’s elite runners and competed in the Commonwealth games in Victoria, Canada. Cathy competed in the 200m and 400m events and won gold medals for both. This made her well known to the entire world as a top contender for the next Olympic...
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...cultural dancers. She was able to popularize her very own recitals in New York and Chicago. She herself performed on Broadway, reforming her work to fit a bigger stage. In her dances, Trinidadian religious rituals and “plantation dances” were reproduced on stage using the Cakewalk, which was one of the first African American dances to become popular among white audiences, the Juba, and Ballin the Jack, giving them a tribal twist. In 1963 to 1964 she worked at the Metropolitan Opera and was the first black choreographer to do so. Later she opened the Dunham School of Dance and Theater in New York which taught “basic principles of African movement”. Isolation of different parts of the body was a defining aspect of her style. Along with the Graham technique, the Dunham technique was a “lasting achievement of twentieth-century dance”. In 1965 her company made its last professional appearance, but Alvin Ailey’s company reperformed some of her productions. The difference between Dunham and other people who gave dance a new look is the fact that she was an African-American women. During the early decades of the 20th century segregation and racism were still issues although times were progressing. So, with the impact of African culture some racial barriers that could have existed may have broken. With the Black Power Movement, and even more specifically the Black Arts Movement, the majority of Americans were aware of the impact of Had she been the only Black American in theater, her...
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...The Perfect Modern Dancer Feet: The person who has amazing beautiful feet is Christina Ricuicci. In order to be able to get on a high releve, you must have flexible feet. Also as a dancer you are able to do more if your muscles in your feet are more flexible. Back: When you are dancing, you can make beautiful back extensions if you have back flexibility. Makayla Jacmacjian is one dancer who demonstrates the art of having a stretchy back. There are more tricks a dancer can do, and there are back extensions that you can hold better if you develop the proper back muscles. Hips: Having hip flexibility can benefit a dancer so much because they would be able to do more tricks, and it will make things like leaping, and kicking easier. You would be able to do more stretches than the average dancer can do and be able to make beautiful lines with your legs. Kalani Hickler is a dancer that has open hips and it is a tremendous advantage when she dancers. Core: Having a strong core is essential to dance because you have to have a strong core to be able to turn. There are a number of different kind of turn sequences but no matter how easy or difficult it may be having a good core is a must if you want to be able to turn. Sophia Lucia is able to do 64 solid pirouettes and she would not be able to do it without her core. Face: One of the biggest things about modern dance is being able to tell a story with your face. The dancer wants to portray a message to the audience and...
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...(1) What did you find most interesting about Martha Furnas's background? I found it very interesting that Martha went to school to become a physical therapist. I found it kind of ironic that she was the captain on all her sports teams and didn’t recognize her ability to lead a team. This was eye opening to me because obviously, Martha holds a lot of responsibility and authority in her position. It is a good reminder that we don’t have to have everything figured out right away. I know that there are numerous opportunities out there for me and that it is okay to fail once or twice while searching for my life path. It was very comforting for Martha to share her story to success and show us as a class that sometimes you are wrong about what you...
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...Presentation Summary Dunham’s technique was influenced by Afro-Caribbean dance and the African culture. She fused these cultures and rituals in with European Modern Ballet. Since she is seen bringing elements of African American culture to Modern Ballet, her work is considered primitive. Her technique consists of polyrhythmic dancing. Meaning that her movements consisted of two or more rhythms occurring at the same time and sometimes two or more different body parts doing different things simultaneously. In her classes she likes to have at least two sets of drummers, which would be drumming at different beats and rhythm. Her technique is also classified by having classical lines and a torso that was able to do both isolations and undulations within the movements. Isolations are very key to having strong fluid movements and undulating movements, for example are like up and down almost a wavelike motion. She believed this was needed to be able to have relaxed backs and move freely across that stage. These movements might be similar to those seen in jazz that is because Dunham’s Technique had great influence on jazz technique as well. Dunham believed that strength and stamina were needed to be able to perform her movements and steps. She felt that the female dancers should be able to perform the same steps as the male dancers. Dunham spent hours training at the barre performing exercises to strength core and back to have better alignment. The Dunham barre is one of the most...
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...The evolution of dance in the 1980’s ranged from various forms of dancing styles. This included Breaking Dancing, Moon Walking and Hip Hop just to name a few. During this period, Michael Jackson, also know as the king of pop made significant contributions to music and dance. This helped to make him a global figure in pop culture. His style of dancing was also a major social influence during this period, especially through the launch of music videos. The information discussed in this essay will review the significant social impact of dancing styles during the 1980’s. In the 1980’s music videos became a part of our culture and also impacted Hip Hop dance during this decade. As a result in 1981, MTV (Music Television) was created which was...
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...The Performing Arts and Inspiration Laura Rubio Arts/100 December 21, 2015 Kristin Hunt The Performing Arts and Inspiration There are many ways that someone can express their thoughts and feelings. There are different ways that this can be done like through theater, painting, dance and music. With these types of art history can be recorded, to make statements, or be done for simple enjoyment. I will discuss two styles of dance. Ballet origins trace back to the Italian Renaissance when it was developed as a court entertainment. It was then developed during the 15th and 16th centuries when it became formalized (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015). Ballet is an art of body movement, and it is what could be called a “Classical” or formal dance. The tradition for ballet is rested upon a set of prescribed movements and actions. Ballet is “the reduction of human gestures to bare essentials, which is heightened and developed into meaningful patterns” according to Anatole Chujoy in the dance encyclopedia. It then became a fluid succession of images; it has specialized codes of movement. Ballet also expresses the basic human desires and their experiences (Sporre, 2012). Ballet requires good posture, due to the different form moves that they use in ballet their lines have to be perfect. Their form also has to be perfect or otherwise they could injure themselves. Repetition is important in ballet because they do a lot of movements over and over in the dance. The inspiration for the work...
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