The Purpose of Modern Dance

The Problemthings first and second generation modern dancers
Modern dance is one of the hardest genres to definewere trying to avoid.
by technique. Modern isn't necessarily fast or slow orAnna Sokolow, a second generation modern dancer,
done to specific music, or any music. It doesn'tfeels veer strongly that "...an art should be constantly
necessarily highlight specific physical skill or tell a story.changing; it cannot have fixed rules.
It isn't necessarily anything. And it can include"The trouble with the modern dance now is that it is
everything. This is fine and great from the view pointtrying to be respectable... We should not try to create
of many choreographers and dancers because ina tradition. The ballet has done that, and that's fine- for
theory it gives them endless possibilities to play with.the ballet. but not for us. Our strength lies in our lack of
tradition. Some say that the big change came in late
This identity crisis is understandable for an art form1920s, and now is the time for the modern dance to
whose only purpose seems to be not do what wasassimilate and solidify. That's all wrong, because it is like
done before. Studios and even colleges often don'tbuilding on still another tradition. Without change there
have time to get into the theory of Modern dance.can be no growth, and not enough change is going on
However, only those who take the time to learntoday." (Vision, p.108)
where modern dance came from with have what itThere were enough new dancers that wanted to
takes to give it a serious future.learn the new modern technique for what it was, and
Define the Purpose, Define the Genrenot explore now options, that they "won." Techniques
The heart of this problem has a lot to do with the factwere solidified and rules were made.
that modern's original purpose was very, very vague.We see that today some companies continue to
Something like, "Push the boundaries set by ballet!preserve the original technique and ideas of its
Break the assumed rules and find a new way tocreators. Kind'of like a living museum. Recently, the
move!" That is an inspiring place to start from, but aMartha Graham Dance Company announced
definition like "modern is movement that is different..."specifically that their new purpose is to preserve
doesn't give us much to work with.Graham's work.
As modern dance developed so did the purpose. EachSo, modern dance has gone through its own growing
era had its own twist on what the purpose of modernpains as it tries to decide whether the purpose is to
dance should be. And interestingly, each purpose has akeep true to the philosophy of always exploring and
surviving following today.changing or to preserve the new techniques we
The Original Purposegained. Some chose technique, some chose
The beginnings of modern, fortunately, are wellphilosophy, and some tried to do both. This three way
documented. We can read the thoughts of thesplit in the purpose made it even more difficult to give
founders to understand what the purpose of moderna clear definition of modern dance.
dance was for them. As we know, a strong purposeIn an effort to keep things straight, the dance world
was opposition to the rules of ballet. Doris Humphreycreated a new sub genre. Modern dance was now
talked about the very beginnings of modern dance:the techniques and rules created to preserve and
"This is not to say that the ballet form was bad, butimprove upon the originators' work. The dancers who
only that it was limited and suffered from arrestedwanted to keep the philosophy of modern and
development- a permanent sixteen, the the Sleepingcontinue to reinvent the movement were now referred
Beauty herself. So well established was the formulato as post-modernists.
over so many hundreds of years that, as the twentiethThe Post-Modern Agenda
century dawned with its flood of new ideas, there wasSo the next generation has tried to keep the
considerable resistance to any change from the lightphilosophy of the original modern dancers by continuing
love story and the fairy tale, and there still is."(The Artto work against the established techniques. Except
of making Dances Doris Humphrey, p.15-16)now, often the establish techniques are the modern
And as Hanya Holm put it, "You should not dancetechniques of the originators! So, how do you reinvent
academically. It has no departure, no breath, no life. Thea reinvention?
academician moves within a group of rules. Two plusCurrently post-modernism is in a new shift. Maybe
two are four. The artist learns rules so that he canthey've reached a point where, as Don McDonagh
break them. Two plus two are five. Both are right fromsaid, "There were seemingly no rules left to be broken...
a different point of view." (Visions, p 78)By the end of the seventies there was nowhere left
Ok, so they originally wanted an alternative to the rulesto go in stripping away traditional practices." (Vision, p.
and structure of ballet, but what did that mean? A199)
genre has to have definitions of what it is and not justThe Post-modern agenda is to continue to break the
what it isn't, right?rules, and because this has been done for a century
To Martha Graham modern technique was thenow, is running out of things to try. (Maybe this is has
beginning of getting closer to the heart of dance insomething to do with the reputation that modern has
general. Martha herself said, "The function of thenow of being hard to understand and sometimes just
dance is communication... Dance was no longerplain weird.)
performing its function of communication. ByMcDonagh continues...
communication is not meant to tell a story or to project"The generation of the eighties and nineties began to
an idea, but to communicate experience... This is thework with new, non-conventional forms of theatrical
reason for the appearance of the modern dance... Thepresentation... [They] continued to create works that
old forms could not give voice to the more fullydid not require dance training, but emphasized highly
awakened man." (Vision, p.50)skilled, gymnastic bodily control... Other choreographers
In "The Vision of Modern Dance: In the Words of Itsshaped tumbling and aerial acrobatics into specter
Creators" (edited by Jean Morrison Brown, Naomispectacles... The human voice reciting narrative or
Mindlin and Charles H. Woodford), they describe herdescriptive material at times became an
work this way:accompanying sound for dances." (p. 200)
"Martha Graham had also begun to develop a newPopular post-modern experiments have turned to test,
dance technique... For the first time American dancersnot only the definition of modern dance, but dance and
were creating new movements for new subjecteven art in general. Speech has been added, music
matter, and reflecting their own era rather than ataken away, and technique reduced to "pedestrian
previous one. Their movements evolved from themovement" (aka walking around the stage.)
meaning of the dance, rather than from previouslyMary Fulkerson, a self proclaimed post-modernist
learned steps developed by peoples of a differentexplains it this way. "Modern works seek to show, to
culture. In the process of finding new techniques tocommunicate something, to transcend real life.
express their art, these modern dance pioneers brokePost-modern works seek to be, to question textures
the existing rules; indeed, that was their intent, for theyand complexities of real life." ("Vision of Modern
were... anti-ballet, anti-the past." (Vision, p. 43-44)Dance", p. 209)
The founders didn't agree on everything, but they allIronically this statement sounds so similar to what the
agreed that the old rules of dance were too restrictingcreators of modern were saying nearly a century
and that the purpose of modern dance would be toearlier.
explore new possibilities in movement. In 1900's-1930's,Going Forward
modern dance was current and exciting because itGraham trained, Erick Hawkins had this to say, "More
reflected the change that everyone wanted. As thisthan ever in history, society needs the rich variety of
initial excitement wore off, the purpose of modernpowerful artists who don't ape science but who
dance began to shift.explore sensitivity and don't wipe out the senses."
The Purpose of the 3rd and 4th Generations(Erick Hawkins, p. 14)
Modern dance went through a subtle but interestingModern dance has come full circle: recognizing the
change between the 40's and 60's. The genre hadnorm, questioning and pushing boundaries, and then
been around long enough by now that the excitementbecoming the new norm as the specific techniques
of a new way to express ideas had calmed down.are accepted.
Now, instead of continuing to invent new techniquesThe goals of breaking the rules of ballet, and then of
people were excited about practicing the techniquesdance and art in general, have been accomplished by
that had been created. Dancers wanted to learn themany brave and passionate modern dancers. Now it is
"Graham technique" or "Limon technique" and perfecttime for modern to enter a new phase. It has matured
this new dance genre. Dancers also forgot about theinto its own genre and needs to embrace that. So
ballet boycott and started taking ballet class towhat is the purpose of modern dance now that the
strengthen their modern technique.rebellion has run its course?
"By the 1960s, technical proficiency had become anMartha Graham still has the answer. "The reality of the
end in itself for modern dancers, rather than thedance is its truth to our inner life. Therein lies its power
means to an end. Technique became set and strict,to move and communicate experience." (Vision, p.53)
codified in the style of the originator, with emphasis onThis is the purpose of modern dance that will endure:
greater and greater achievement. Only those teachingto put self expression first. It of course is not always
in the Laban-Wigman-Holm tradition includedsuccessful, but a dedication to communication is what
improvisation in their classes. Aspects of ballet werewill continue to distinguish modern from other dance
incorporated increasingly into modern dance classes,genres.
ballet barres were installed in modern dance studios,Modern has done us a great service as artists. By
and many modern dancers took ballet classesexploring everything that can be called dance,
regularly. Thus the wide philosophical gap between theeveryone has a chance to find a place that works for
two dance forms began to narrow." (Vision, p.137)them. The doors of free movement have been
The new purpose of modern dance was to take whatopened. Now it is time to take what we've learned
they already had and make it better. This meantover the last hundred years, and use it to express
creating "modern technique" and guidelines, the verywhat is in the human soul.