1981

Picasso

three hours

After procrastinating for months, Pablo Picassofinished Guernicafor the 1937 World’s Fair. Known for breaking down boundaries between artistic mediums, Robert Rauschenberghad close working relationships with composer John Cage and choreographer Merce Cunningham.

Inspired also by the pursuit of pure movement as devoid as possible of emotional implications, Cunningham developed “choreography by chance,” a technique in which selected isolated movements are assigned sequence by such random methods as tossing a coin.

Cunningham drew inspiration from the practices and conversation of contemporary visual artists. Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns served as long-term artistic advisors to his company, while its designers included Richard Lippold, David Hare, Frank Stella and Andy Warhol.

. Maude Barrett

Cunningham Technique® was developed by Merce Cunningham to train dancers for his company. The technique emphasizes clarity of form, coordination of torso and legwork, rhythmic accuracy, spatial awareness and virtuosity. Phrases from Merce Cunningham’s choreography are often included in the class.

90 years (1919–2009)

Cunningham preferred the ambiguous nature of dance, which gave him an outlet for exploration of movement. During this time, Martha Graham saw Cunningham dance and invited him to join her company. In 1939, Cunningham moved to New York and danced as a soloist in the Martha Graham Dance Company for six years.

Merce Cunningham

6)Merce Cunningham “disclaimed traditional dance positions and ignored traditional staging”, meaning everything he did when it came to dancing was random like cages music. From the way he danced to the way his music matched the dance, everything lacked symmetry and were improvised.

Pioneers of contemporary dance include Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham because they broke the rules of the strict forms of ballet.

Top 5 Dancers of Contemporary Dance in the 20th Century.

• Isadora Duncan.
• Katherine Dunham.
• Charles Weidman.
• Eric Hawkins.
• Martha Graham.

Isadora Duncan

Modern dance began at the turn of the century; its pioneers were Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn in the United States, Rudolf von Laban and Mary Wigman in Germany.

Modern Dance offers dancers a chance to explore their creativity through movement. It also builds a lot of strength! From floor work, to jumps, to partnering and improvisation, a Modern Dancer uses his/her entire body and must learn to go from one level to another quickly and seamlessly.

Modern dance pioneers danced in bare feet and free flowing often revealing costumes….SIMILARITIES:

• Both presented dances that displayed innovative movement.
• Both utilized themes that were social, political and global.
• Both utilized the elements of space, time and energy in a way that was different from ballet.

Modern dance, theatrical dance that began to develop in the United States and Europe late in the 19th century, receiving its nomenclature and a widespread success in the 20th. It evolved as a protest against both the balletic and the interpretive dance traditions of the time.

Training is intense, requiring long hours that demand both physical and mental stamina. There is always the risk of injury and, in some cases, those injuries can end a career. Even without significant injury, dancing can take a tremendous toll on the body.

The Top 10 Types of Dance

1. Ballet. Tutus, pointe shoes and men in tights are what come to mind when someone mentions ballet.
2. Tap. Tap is best described as “musical feet”.
3. Jazz. Jazz is the most popular style of dance among dancers.
4. Modern.
5. Lyrical.
6. Hip Hop.
7. Contemporary.
8. Highland Dancing.

Easiest ballroom dances to learn

• Waltz.
• Foxtrot.
• Swing.
• Rumba.
• Cha Cha.