Art Question

Part 1 :

1. According to your text, why is it so difficult to define “Modern Dance”?
2. What did Modern “revolt” against?
3. (Loie Fuller video) What were Fuller’s contributions to dance?
4. According to your text, what inspired Isadora Duncan’s dance?
5. Where did Duncan believe all movement “generated” from?
6. According to the “Who Was Isadora?” videos, what does the solar plexus “house”?
7. Using the same videos and supported by the text, in what ways was Isadora a “revolutionary”? From your understanding, how did she “break boundaries for women, dancers, and humanity”?
8. Isadora is quoted as saying, “A dancer, if she is good, can give the people something they will carry with them forever. They can never forget it, and it has changed them though they may not know it.” What are your thoughts about this quote?
9. Text – Who were the two dancers who created the Denishawn school? What was their educational purpose for creating it?
10. By today’s standards, the dances that Denishawn performed might be classified as appropriation. What value did the author attribute to these performances even though they were not authentic?
11. (Ruth St. Denis Videos) Do you agree or disagree with St. Denis’ elaboration on her statement, “The great mission of the dancer is to contribute to the betterment of mankind.”? Why?
12. (Video) St. Denis believed automation was an example of “man in flight from himself”. Since automation was the forerunner to our current technology, do you agree or disagree? Why?
13. What was a stated goal of Ted Shawn in starting his all-male company? (Ted Shawn videos) What were most of the dancers doing before joining the company?

PArt 2 :

From the text:

1. On what movement idea was Martha Graham’s technique based?
2. What was the emphasis of Hawkins technique?
3. What concept was the Humphrey-Weidman technique built around?
4. What is Limon’s Technique known for?
5. What were the themes the “pioneers” were interested in exploring?

From “Cave of the Heart” video:

1. What did Graham say “Cave of the Heart” was about?
2. How did you see this exemplified? Be specific.
3. What thoughts did this piece of art provoke in you? What were your overall impressions?

From the text:

1. What is “music visualization”?
2. List the characteristics of Doris Humphrey’s work.
3. What was unique about the work of Charles Weidman?

“Water Study” video

1. Write a short paragraph about your reactions/response to “Water Study”. Include the details about this work found in the text. How did you see the use of breath in this piece? What feelings/thoughts did this piece bring to mind?

“Lynchtown” video

1. What was the theme of this work? How did you see it exemplified?
2. What was your reaction to the piece?

Anna Sokolow videos

1. What were the themes of Sokolow’s work? (What did the works “comment” on?)
2. In a previous chapter we discussed dance being an ephemeral art. How does the narrator who is working on setting this piece in the first video, ”Anna Sokolow’s Steps of Silence Intro”, demonstrate/talk about this concept? (She does not use the word ephemeral)
3. What was your personal reaction to the excerpt from “Steps of Silence”?

Part 3 :

Post-Modern Questions

1. 1) Like the forerunners and pioneers rejected the strictness of ballet, the postmodern choreographers rejected the emphasis of their teachers. What became the focus for the first “postmodern” generation of dancers?
2. 2) What does the term “avant garde” mean?
3. 3) Using your text and the videos about Merce Cunningham, give examples of why the following

terms are given to him.

1. Dance Maker
2. Collaborator
3. Chance Taker
4. Innovator
5. Film Producer
6. Teacher (what made him unique)

1. 4) What was your overall reaction to Cunningham’s choreography? Include the titles of the pieceswhen adding detail to your thoughts. (Prove you watched the videos)
2. 5) Write a two-sentence reaction to each of Alwin Nikolais’ works. Tie in information aboutNikolais gained through the reading and the information given in Noumenon video
3. 6) Do Paul Taylor assignment

PArt4 :

As we move into studying Modern dance, start to ask yourself to move passed “I like or dislike [what I am seeing]” I want you to focus on what the pieces make you feel. Modern dance is not concerned with being “pretty” or in entertaining the audience. If you have not watched a lot of modern, you may find it “weird” or “not to your taste”; that is okay. However, Modern dance choreographers are often trying to convey a message.

Why does the piece make you uncomfortable?

What did it make you think about?

Did the choreographer convey the intended message (if you know it)?

These are the types of questions you need to be asking yourself and writing about.