Modern Dance

The term Modern dance is colloquially (as opposed to dance history terminus) in the range of ballet schools, dance studios and dance training largely understood as an aesthetic differentiation from classical ballet and thus does largely what is now grouped correctly, the term " contemporary dance ".

As a dance historical term Modern Dance is a variant of stage dance, which has arisen in the U.S. from renewal efforts of classical ballet, but also from the influences of vaudeville, mime, silent film, avant-garde and exoticist currents since about 1900.

Modern Dance in Dance History

The Modern Dance can be similar to the European expressionist dance on student generation of François Delsarte traced. The famous solo dances by Ruth St. Denis and Isadora Duncan coined a new style that was less influenced by technical brilliance as of fundamental openness to foreign cultures or popular culture and put the physical expression to forefront.

Which emerged from the Denishawn School choreographer Martha Graham is the most important founder of modern dance, which is diametrically opposed to the classical ballet and at the same time claim to be stylistic uniformity. Both by Graham's artistic charisma and visibility as well as through her long life, the term initially directly associated with their person for a long time has become a synonym for moored in the presence of dance.

For decades, printed next to Martha Graham and a number of other choreographers the development of modern dance in the United States: Inter alia, to mention Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Lester Horton and José Limón. In particular, the latter two should be relevant by developing their own education systems have influence on the development of modern dance in the dance classes.

A large number of American dance companies including, inter alia, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Dance Theatre of Harlem had in the aftermath of the Martha Graham Dance Company under the label Modern Dance international touring success. Only through the efforts of new generations of choreographers since the 70s of the last century created terms such as Post Modern Dance, New Dance and Contemporary Dance, the model for which is now enshrined in most European languages ​​term Danse contemporaire, danza contemporanea and even contemporary dance in Germany. In 2007 was founded in Germany with the Iwanson Sixt Foundation for the first time a foundation for the modern contemporary dance.

Modern Dance in German-speaking

Even more than in the United States was the term modern dance paradigmatic for contemporary dance in Germany. Last but not least, the continuous touring activities of the Martha Graham Dance Company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Limón Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem and the other has helped the term modern dance far beyond experts but also to make known.

The German translation Modern Dance was able to prevail in the parlance never. Choreographer personalities in Germany, which ( in contrast to the strong movement of German dance theater ) by the American aesthetic of modern dance were inspired to use the almost programmatic term for themselves. Among them are Birgitta drummers and Jochen Ulrich, the Swedes Jessica Iwanson and Christina Caprioli, but also the Germany-based U.S. women Amanda Miller, Liz King, the brother and sister Christa and Jenny Coogan (now Palucca School ) and Jörg Wenzel, the Limón technique teaches.

Modern dance in dance studio

As a result of the popularization of modern dance on the stage, a large number arose in the field of artistic dance lessons as a counterpoint to traditional " ballet school " so-called " Modern Dance Center". As the choreographer of modern dance had always conceptually distinguished from the more popular and more like the musical dance attributed jazz dance, also developed by the modern (ie non-classical ) dance classes in two divisions: Jazz dance and modern dance. Also terminological and substantive compromises such as " Modern Jazz" are widely used in the classroom range of dance studios. From today's perspective is interesting to observe that the development of hip -hop dance that would previously have been well associated with the jazz dance, is in the perception of dance history, the conceptual successor of modern dance, which is the contemporary dance attributed.