The Golden Age of Mexican Modern Dance

2020 ◽  
pp. 199-221
Author(s):  
K. Mitchell Snow
Keyword(s):  
Golden Age ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
Modern Dancers ◽  
Jose Limon ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Universal Culture ◽  
Carlos Chavez

To help him shape the dance component of the new Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), Carlos Chávez invited the leading exponents of Mexico’s opposing camps of modern dancers to assist him, along with an array of painters, composers, and writers. As part of INBA’s charge to create a universal culture attractive to international audiences, and at a time the U.S. was promoting modern dance as part of its WWII propaganda efforts in the Americas, Chávez’s team created a modern-dance focused Academy of Mexican Dance. Chávez would soon appoint polymath artist Miguel Covarrubias to lead INBA’s dance department, ushering in a “golden age” for Mexican modern dance. INBA underwrote lavish productions by internationally recognized choreographer José Limón, it also extended similar support to its novice choreographers who mounted productions with scores by its leading composers and scenic designs by its most famous artists.

Schottelius, Renate (1921 – 1998)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Fortuna
Keyword(s):  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Martha Graham ◽  
Modern Dancers ◽  
Jose Limon ◽  
San Martín ◽  
Extensive Performance ◽  
Early Training ◽  
The U.S

German-born dancer and choreographer Renate Schottelius was a pioneer of modern dance in Argentina. Following early training in classical and modern dance in Berlin, she immigrated to Argentina in 1936, where she presented original work and in 1944 joined former Denishawn dancer Miriam Winslow’s company based in Buenos Aires. In 1953 Schottelius travelled to the United States, where she studied with Louis Horst, Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham, Agnes de Mille, José Limón, and Hanya Holm. Schottelius’s choreography synthesizes her roots in German Ausdruckstanz and the U.S. modern dance tradition, reflecting not only her personal artistic biography, but also the confluence of modernist styles circulating through Argentina by the mid-20th century. In addition to her artistic contributions, Schottelius was at the forefront of initiatives to support modern dance production in Argentina, most notably the Friends of Dance Association (1962–1972). Over the course of her extensive performance and teaching career Schottelius also worked internationally at the Royal Swedish Opera, the Cullberg Ballet, and the Boston Conservatory of Music, Dance, and Theatre. A keen teacher of dance technique and composition, she mentored many influential Argentine modern dancers, including Oscar Araiz and Ana María Stekelman. Schottelius acted as artistic advisor to the Contemporary Ballet of the General San Martín Municipal Theatre until her death in Buenos Aires in 1998.

St. Denis, Ruth (1878–1968)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uttara Asha Coorlawala
Keyword(s):  
East Asia ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Martha Graham ◽  
Ted Shawn ◽  
Classical Ballet ◽  
Modern Dancers ◽  
A Company ◽  
The U.S

Ruth St. Denis is considered one of the founders of modern dance, even though the genre had not been named as such during her most active years, which spanned from the turn of the century through the 1920s. Looking for an alternative to classical ballet and Broadway glitter, St. Denis created works inspired by images of Oriental dance and informed by her Delsarte training. In 1906 she created an impressionistic version of the Indian goddess in her solo Radha, and the success of the dance launched her solo career in Europe. There she toured extensively from 1906 to 1909 with a repertoire of Indian-themed works. After her return to the U.S., she added works based on other cultures, including Egypt and Japan, to her repertory. In 1914 she met Ted Shawn, and the two founded Denishawn, a company and school that expanded St. Denis’s repertory to include musical visualizations and widely disseminated her methods and ideas. In addition to extensive tours across the U.S., Denishawn toured South and East Asia in 1925–1926, where the company acquired more repertory from local dance celebrities who were willing to experiment with their own forms. St. Denis influenced her contemporaries in Europe and subsequent generations of modern dancers in the U.S. Indeed, the generation of the 1930s that named modern dance included many artists who had come from Denishawn, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman.

The Golden Age

2020 ◽  
pp. 106-130
Author(s):  
Craig Allen
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Golden Age ◽  
World Trade ◽  
World Trade Center ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Hunger Strike ◽  
Satellite Links ◽  
Trade Center ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Language Network

Period: 1976–1986. The most radiant period in Spanish- language television ensues when SIN’s satellite links provide the U.S. vast international programming. SIN is chief affiliate of Azcárraga Milmo’s multinational network he names “Univision.” Ignoring Fouce’s lawsuit, Anselmo consolidates control. Without competition, turning profits, and freed of Azcárraga’s grip, he pushes numerous initiatives, many unorthodox. His hunger strike in New York obtains a prized World Trade Center transmitting site. Using names of fictitious characters, his letters to the FCC win needed satellite relays. He launches the first Spanish-language network news. Headed by Gustavo Godoy, the newscast excels until Televisa, and its head Jacobo Zabludovsky, attempt its takeover. In the largest-ever mutiny in a U.S. newsroom, Godoy and dozens of news personnel resign. They force Televisa’s retreat. However, a ten-year “golden age” ends with the removal of Anselmo, Azcárraga, and others, and the demise of Spanish International.

Dancing a Sandunga in English

2020 ◽  
pp. 94-115
Author(s):  
K. Mitchell Snow
Keyword(s):  
Diego Rivera ◽  
Indirect Influence ◽  
Ballets Russes ◽  
International Attention ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Carlos Chavez

Carlos Chávez was determined to make a name for himself through his dance compositions, trading on the Indian conception of Mexico that permeated potential audiences beyond its borders. He parlayed the international attention his music received into a series of highly influential posts within Mexico’s cultural bureaucracy which gave him, at first, indirect influence and, eventually, full creative control over its state-sponsored theatrical dance. Failing in his efforts to see his ballets produced in his homeland or by the Ballets Russes, he traveled to the U.S., where he finally saw his third ballet, H.P., staged with designs by Diego Rivera. One Mexican critic who had traveled to the U.S for the ballet’s only performance complained about the anglicization of the work’s Mexican dance sources. Nonetheless, it demonstrated that the idea of a Mexican ballet was a viable one.

Dent, Nancy Lima (1919–2013)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyne Clare
Keyword(s):  
Modern Dance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Martha Graham ◽  
Dance Teacher ◽  
Dance Company ◽  
Katherine Dunham ◽  
Jose Limon ◽  
Critical Reviews

Nancy Lima Dent helped to establish modern dance in Toronto. She initially studied with Rita Warne and Boris Volkoff, and later was a student of modern dance luminaries Doris Humphrey, José Limon, Martha Graham, Charles Weidman, Pearl Primus, and Katherine Dunham. Starting in 1946, Dent worked as a performer and choreographer with the Toronto-based Neo Dance Theatre (renamed the New Dance Theatre in 1949). In 1960, Dent established her own dance company, the Nancy Lima Dent Dance Theatre. The company received positive critical reviews for their performances in prominent Toronto theaters including Hart House Theatre and the Centre Stage Theatre. Dent participated in three Canadian Ballet Festivals and she helped to found the Festival Evening of Modern Dance Festival in 1960. The festivals were well attended and critics noted that Dent’s choreography was especially engaging. In general, her choreographies highlighted personal expression, drew upon several modern dance techniques, and grappled with the political and ethical questions of her day. Dent was also a highly appreciated dance teacher who taught in various Ontarian cities for diverse types of students. She presented dance on television, and while recovering from an injury, she served as an effective administrator in various industries.

Horton, Lester (1906–1953)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Dinerman
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
York City ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
Social Commentary ◽  
Dance Theater ◽  
Theater Production ◽  
American Modern Dance ◽  
The U.S

Lester Horton, regarded as one of the founders of American modern dance, worked outside the established center of New York City, establishing a permanent dance theater in Los Angeles in 1946. The Lester Horton Dance Theater was a multidisciplinary arts school for children and adults, offering training in all aspects of theater production; both the school and company were multiracial, a rarity at that time. Horton’s broad choreographic range allowed him to work in films, nightclubs, and on the concert stage. His fascination with folklore, cultural history, and ethnic dance informed his diverse body of work, with themes ranging from the classics to melodrama, social commentary to satire. Working with his dancers, most notably Bella Lewitzky, he developed the Horton technique over two decades of classroom work, which is still taught today in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to Lewitzky, Horton’s influence continued through the careers of Alvin Ailey, Janet Collins, Carmen de Lavallade, James Mitchell, Joyce Trisler, and James Truitte.

Hoyer, Dore (1911–1967)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Eric Toepfer
Keyword(s):  
Weimar Republic ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
Contemporary Dance ◽  
Nazi Regime ◽  
Dance Culture ◽  
Modern Dancers

Dore Hoyer was perhaps the most innovative figure in German modern dance in the years between 1935 and 1965. This was a period in which political and historical circumstances in Germany severely marginalized the powerful and turbulent dance culture of the Weimar Republic and compelled modern dancers to work within a highly fragmented artistic environment in isolation from each other. Although Hoyer constantly sought opportunities to develop ensemble dance pieces, her artistic significance rests on her work as a solo dancer. She embodied the extraordinary capacity of an isolated soloist and modern dancer to transform oppressive constraints on dance and on bodily expressivity into intensely emotional, existential, and political experiences. Because of her, it is possible to see that the astonishingly imaginative Weimar dance culture did not come to an end with the advent of the Nazi regime in 1933, nor did the movement remain stagnant within a discouraging artistic atmosphere. Partly for this reason, later German dancers, including Susanne Linke and Arila Siegert, have recreated her solos as integral works in the contemporary dance repertoire.

scholarly journals “Feeling” in Modern Dance Print Media: Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Doran
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Regular Feature ◽  
Traditional Dance ◽  
Isadora Duncan ◽  
Modern Dancers ◽  
Style Of Writing ◽  
Loie Fuller

Between 1890 and 1920, modern dancers such as Isadora Duncan, Loïe Fuller, and Maud Allan presented a new performative aesthetic in dance. Breaking from the narrative storytelling that dominated nineteenth-century vaudeville and ballet, these dancers advanced non-narrative movement, thereby encouraging a new aesthetic engagement from the audience, namely, one that was rooted in notions of corporeal sensation rather than narrative telos or (melo)dramatic pathos. These new responses, this dissertation argues, are reflected in the new tactics for writing the dancing body, which at once render problematic the putative objectivity of journalistic criticism and reveal the limits of traditional dance criticism’s focus on intricate technique and plot line. This dissertation pursues its argument by studying over 300 print reviews of dances performed by Fuller, Duncan, and Allan between 1890 and 1920 culled from North-American archives and representing a spectrum of print media—from mainstream national media, such as The New York Times, to regional newspapers, to more specialized theatre magazines—to reveal compelling insight into hermeneutic entanglements of language and movement. Informed by the work of recent performance studies (e.g. Phelan; Schneider; Taylor), this dissertation approaches this body of dance reviews from an inverse perspective from that represented by traditional dance history scholarship. That is, instead of reading reviews as documentation in order to understand these dances, the study explores how reviewers perform criticism, thus framing our understanding of modern dance in specific ways. This dissertation engages with the correlation between media and performance as either documentary or performative, arguing that writing performance offers promises for both types of engagement with the live event. Collectively, these reviews reveal that dance criticism involved a metacritical reflection on the significance of the critical writing act itself, and advanced a style of synesthetic metaphor to describe novel kinesthetic experiences of spectatorship. Ultimately, the new tactics to modern dance criticism not only revealed a crisis in articulation but prompted a performative style of writing dance criticism that went in tandem with the development of the dance review genre itself, whose placement in popular print media was mounting to become a regular feature by the 1930s.

scholarly journals “Feeling” in Modern Dance Print Media: Loïe Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Doran
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Print Media ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
New York Times ◽  
Regular Feature ◽  
Traditional Dance ◽  
Isadora Duncan ◽  
Modern Dancers ◽  
Style Of Writing ◽  
Loie Fuller

Between 1890 and 1920, modern dancers such as Isadora Duncan, Loïe Fuller, and Maud Allan presented a new performative aesthetic in dance. Breaking from the narrative storytelling that dominated nineteenth-century vaudeville and ballet, these dancers advanced non-narrative movement, thereby encouraging a new aesthetic engagement from the audience, namely, one that was rooted in notions of corporeal sensation rather than narrative telos or (melo)dramatic pathos. These new responses, this dissertation argues, are reflected in the new tactics for writing the dancing body, which at once render problematic the putative objectivity of journalistic criticism and reveal the limits of traditional dance criticism’s focus on intricate technique and plot line. This dissertation pursues its argument by studying over 300 print reviews of dances performed by Fuller, Duncan, and Allan between 1890 and 1920 culled from North-American archives and representing a spectrum of print media—from mainstream national media, such as The New York Times, to regional newspapers, to more specialized theatre magazines—to reveal compelling insight into hermeneutic entanglements of language and movement. Informed by the work of recent performance studies (e.g. Phelan; Schneider; Taylor), this dissertation approaches this body of dance reviews from an inverse perspective from that represented by traditional dance history scholarship. That is, instead of reading reviews as documentation in order to understand these dances, the study explores how reviewers perform criticism, thus framing our understanding of modern dance in specific ways. This dissertation engages with the correlation between media and performance as either documentary or performative, arguing that writing performance offers promises for both types of engagement with the live event. Collectively, these reviews reveal that dance criticism involved a metacritical reflection on the significance of the critical writing act itself, and advanced a style of synesthetic metaphor to describe novel kinesthetic experiences of spectatorship. Ultimately, the new tactics to modern dance criticism not only revealed a crisis in articulation but prompted a performative style of writing dance criticism that went in tandem with the development of the dance review genre itself, whose placement in popular print media was mounting to become a regular feature by the 1930s.

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