{"id":345,"date":"2012-03-27T17:27:40","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T21:27:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondthenotes.org\/blog\/?p=345"},"modified":"2012-04-01T14:16:03","modified_gmt":"2012-04-01T18:16:03","slug":"dance-after-the-heroic-age-the-second-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondthenotes.org\/blog\/dance-after-the-heroic-age-the-second-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"Dance After the Heroic Age: The Second Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\u00a0Guide:\u00a0Modern Dance in America<\/a><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, and Hanya Holm, know as the \u201cbig four\u201d choreographers of the \u201830s and \u201840s\u2014as well as composer\/critic Louis Horst\u2014established training programs for dancers (often the dancers in their own companies, who would perform their work) in or before the mid-\u201830s. They distilled and passed on a distinctive set of aesthetic frameworks and pedagogies connected to their personal styles.<\/p>\n

Many of the young dancer-choreographers of the next generation were very much under the influence of these masters, and went on to continue or react against this inheritance in a variety of ways.<\/p>\n

Some dancer-choreographers of the second generation, by contrast, chose to break away from many aspects of established dance conventions.\u00a0Merce Cunningham<\/a>\u00a0was perhaps the most influential.<\/p>\n

Dancers from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds also began to come to the forefront, and choreographers such as Lester Horton and Katherine Dunham began to search for authentic African-American dance styles.<\/p>\n

Here are just a few of the many notable choreographers of the second generation:<\/p>\n

\"Lester<\/a>

Lester Horton in his 1929 work "Pueblo Eagle Dance."<\/p><\/div>\n

Choreographer:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Anna Sokolow (1910-2000)
\nBackground:<\/strong> Studied first with Horst at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in 1928, and joined Graham\u2019s company in 1930. She quickly formed her own group, the Dance Unit.
\nCharacteristics:<\/strong> She often explored social and economic issues in Modern America as seen\u00a0from a Marxist standpoint. Satirical tone, tinged with bitterness. Feelings of aggression, despair, isolation. Took great inspiration from jazz and classical music.
\nRepresentative work(s):<\/strong>\u00a0Rooms<\/em>\u00a0(1955). Archival rehearsal footage of a solo excerpt from this dance. [YouTube]<\/a><\/p>\n

Choreographer:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Jose Lim\u00f3n\u00a0(1908-1972)
\nBackground:<\/strong>\u00a0Danced with Doris Humphrey’s group, who went on to direct the Jose\u00a0Lim\u00f3n Company after she was unable to perform due to arthritis.
\nCharacteristic themes and movement: <\/strong>Literary subjects, as well explorations of Latin heritage (Lim\u00f3n was Mexican-born), as well as social issues. Lyrical movement, commanding presence, power and charisma as a performer. Created a masculine dance vocabulary depicting noble “man of action” as a fresh alternative to stereotypes of male dancers in ballet.
\nRepresentative work(s):<\/strong>\u00a0The Moor’s Pavane<\/em>\u00a0(1949). Full video with the original dancers performing, including Limon. [YouTube]<\/a><\/p>\n

Choreographer:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Lester Horton (1906-1953)
\nBackground:<\/strong>\u00a0Established his company in Los Angeles, rather than New York. Alvin Ailey and Joyce Trisler were among his pupils.
\nCharacteristic themes and movement:<\/strong>\u00a0Influences from “exotic” cultures: American Indians, Aztecs, Haitains, and Africans. Created highly theatrical dances he called “choreodrama,” ranging in quality. Company was notable for interracial members at a time when dance groups were still predominantly segregated.
\nRepresentative work(s):<\/strong>\u00a0Salome<\/em>\u00a0(1934). No video available.<\/p>\n

\"Katherine<\/a>

Katherine Dunham<\/p><\/div>\n

Choreographer:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Katherine Dunham (1909-2006)
\nBackground:<\/strong>\u00a0Mixture of training in ballet and interpretive dance. First became active in Chicago. Researched dance in the West Indies (1936-7) as an anthropology student at University of Chicago.
\nCharacteristic themes and movement:<\/strong>\u00a0Lush, colorful dance numbers inspired by the styles she observed in Haiti and Martinique, as well as styles from Cuba, Mexico, and early African-American dance. Her works were acessible and popular on Broadway and in film.
\nRepresentative work(s):<\/strong>\u00a0Clip from film Stormy Weather <\/em>(1943), with Lena Horn. [YouTube]<\/a><\/p>\n

A few dancers of note I haven’t delved into here:<\/p>\n