Laban, Rudolf (1879–1958)
Rudolf Laban was one of the leaders of Ausdruckstanz (“expressionist dance”) in Germany. He worked as a dancer, choreographer, writer, educator, movement analyst, ballet master,…
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Dartington Hall (1925--)
Dartington Hall (near Totnes, Devon, England) is a country estate centered on a medieval courtyard and Great Hall. In 1925, the newly married Dorothy and…
Dadaism
Dada began in Zurich, Switzerland, in the midst of World War I. Several expatriate artists converged in the city to escape the brutal and seemingly…
Dance
Historically, modern dance scholarship has followed the contours of the field as defined by John Martin, the revered dance critic for The New York Times,…
Expressionism
Expressionism was one of the foremost modernist movements to emerge in Europe in the early years of the twentieth-century. It had a profound effect on…
Ausdruckstanz (1910–1950)
The term Ausdruckstanz became common usage after World War II to designate a widespread dance practice in the early and middle decades of the 20th…
Baxter, Ivy (1923–1993)
In the years pre-dating Jamaican independence, Ivy Baxter pioneered a new approach towards dance theatre as a community art form. Along with Beryl McBurnie and…
Wigman, Mary (1886–1973)
Mary Wigman was among the most important dancers and choreographers in Germany during the first half of the 20th century. As a modernist, she sought…
Monte Verità (1900–)
During the first two decades of the 20th century, Monte Verità, a hill on the west side of Ascona in southern Switzerland, was the site…
Physical Culture
The obsession with physical culture apparent throughout the tense and formative modernist movement extended well beyond sport, games, and purposive exercise through gymnastics, body building,…
Uthoff, Ernst (1904–1993)
Ernst Uthoff was a German-born dancer, choreographer, and company director who received his dance training from two pioneers of Tanztheater (dance-theater): Kurt Jooss and Sigurd…
Modern Dance and Education in the United States
The history of dance instruction in educational settings in the United States dates back to the early twentieth century. A number of female physical education…
Mass Dance
The early years of the twentieth century saw a proliferation of mass spectacles and events on a grand scale with thousands of participants, which frequently…
Burrowes, Leslie (1908–1985)
Dancer, choreographer, and teacher Leslie Burrowes was the first British recipient of the full certification of Mary Wigman’s Dresden School, which licenced her to teach…
Leeder, Sigurd (1902–1981)
In a career that spanned over sixty years, Sigurd Leeder made important contributions to the dance worlds in Germany, Great Britain, Chile, and Switzerland. His…
Expressionism
Expressionism was one of the foremost modernist movements to emerge in Europe in the early years of the twentieth-century. It had a profound effect on…
Dance and Writing
The centrality of dance to aesthetic modernism led to dance becoming a major preoccupation of modernist literature and a model for the generation of the…
Denby, Edwin (1903–1983)
Edwin Denby is best remembered as one of the preeminent critics of dance modernism, yet he was also an accomplished poet and an experienced dancer,…
Jooss, Kurt (1901–1979)
Kurt Jooss is often understood to be a founding figure in dance theater, both for his choreography Der grüne Tisch (The Green Table, 1932), which…
Kraus, Gertrud (1901–1977)
Gertrud Kraus, a Jewish dancer, choreographer, and teacher, was a prominent representative of Viennese Ausdruckstanz and later a key figure in establishing modern dance in…
Georgi, Yvonne (1903–1975)
Yvonne Georgi was a major figure in the evolution of modern dance in Germany. She amplified the scale of modern dance performances by expanding the…
Lifar, Serge (1905–1986)
A crucial figure in the rehabilitation of ballet at the Paris Opéra, Serge Lifar had a glamorous career as a dancer, choreographer, and intellectual in…
Holm, Hanya (1893–1992)
Hanya Holm, dancer, choreographer, and teacher, is widely considered one of the pioneers of American modern dance, and was one of the most influential figures…
Music and Dance
The histories of modernist music and dance are vast and inextricably related, so much so that it is as daunting to consider them in tandem…