Dance Journal, Week 6 (Feb 23, 2010)

DNCE 320
Journal, Week 6
February 23, 2010

Manning, Susan Allene, and Melissa Benson. "Interrupted Continuities: Modern Dance in Germany." Moving History / Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Ed. Ann Dills and Ann Cooper Albright. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan UP, 2001. 218-227. Print.

This paper was prepared as part of a photography exhibition. While there are some photos within the paper, it is unclear if these are the ones that originally appeared at the exhibition. If they are the same photos, their placement is strange in that they don't appear with the text to which they presumably belong, but instead appear all together in the middle of the paper.

My prof wrote: "I agree, and can only assume these photos are from that exhibit."

The exhibition's purpose was to show the roots of modern dance. Modern dance arose in both Germany and the US independently before WWI, but much cross-pollination occurred. US dancers Isadore Duncan and Ruth St. Denis appeared in Germany and their popularity provided a catalyst for German expressionist dance which flourished until the Third Reich. Many German dancers emigrated from Germany to the US to escape the Nazis and this contributed to the development of modern dance in the US. Post WWII, modern dance nearly disappeared in Germany, but US modern dance propagated worldwide.

I found the discussion of modern dance's push-back against gender roles to be very interesting. With the demise of Victorianism at the turn of the 20th century, both male and female dancers were able to break free from rigidly-defined gender roles as portrayed in dance – the madonna/whore dichotomy for women and the Prince Charming role for men – and experiment with other roles and means of personal expression outside those roles.

My prof wrote: "Well put."

The paper lists many dancers and educators who had a hand in shaping modern dance in Germany, such as Dalcroze, Laban, Wigman, Gert, and others, and briefly discusses the artistic and political context for each. The political played a very important role in German dance, as during the Third Reich, dance became very politicized for the State's purposes, which, the paper asserts, drained modern German dance of its vigor.

After WWII, ballet came to dominate both East and West Germany. In the West, there were few alternatives to ballet, but in the East, modern dance was combined with the Soviet ballet tradition's methods of teaching. In the 60's, young dancers in the West, dissatisfied with ballet and the “hierarchies” of ballet companies, developed Tanztheater, a re-awakening of modern dance.

The paper discussed some prominent dancers and dance teachers within Germany at the time of writing (1985), including Kresnik, Bohner, and Bausch, and the differences between their artistic approaches. The paper closes with “Dance is the only West German art today in which female artists play a leading role. Why this is so remains a provocative question.” Perhaps modern dance in Germany is simply acknowledging its roots.


PRACTICE JOURNAL

I didn't get much practicing done over the weekend since I was out of town, but I did show some of my friends what we've been doing. I'm still not completely comfortable with the torso undulations, but I think they're getting better. I need more work in front of the mirror. I'm pretty comfortable with the rest of the dance, although I'm not sure I have the new additions right.

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