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,…
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Bauhaus
In 1919 a young architect named Walter Gropius initiated one of the most modern art schools of the twentieth century in the city of Weimar…
Surrealism Overview
Soupault’s publication of Manifeste du Surréalism in 1924. Rising in the wake of the First World War, Surrealism revolted against a world that had become…
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…
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…
Futurism
Futurism emerged at the beginning of the twentieth century as a movement that explicitly conceptualized the process of literary and artistic experimentation as part of…
Graham, Martha (1894 – 1991)
In a career as dancer and choreographer that spanned the twentieth century, Martha Graham made major contributions to modernist choreography, dramaturgy, performance, costume design, and…
Maslow, Sophie (1911–2006)
Sophie Maslow, a prolific choreographer and significant contributor to American modern dance, was often characterized as a populist or people’s choreographer because she was inspired…
Appalachian Spring
Appalachian Spring was choreographer Martha Graham’s final piece of Americana in her series of choreography that began with the solo Frontier in 1935 (music by…
Vainonen, Vasily Ivanovich (1901–1964)
Dancer and choreographer Vasily Vainonen created several signature choreographic works of the Soviet ballet repertoire of the 1930s, including composer Boris Afasiev’s The Flames of…
Yakobson, Leonid (1904–1975)
A Russian dancer and choreographer, Leonid Veniaminovich Yakobson choreographed for the Kirov and Bolshoi ballets from 1930 to the early 1970s, during which time he…
Hoffman, Gertrude (1886–1966)
Gertrude Hoffman (Hoffmann) was an early twentieth-century Broadway dance director and performer, and the first woman to receive a dance direction—or choreographic—credit on Broadway. From…
Taylor, Paul (1930–)
American choreographer Paul Taylor has made important contributions to dance modernism and postmodernism. His early choreography aligned him ideologically with New York’s avant-garde, most particularly…
Dudley, Jane (1912–2001)
Jane Dudley, a key figure in the radical dance movement of the 1930s, was a choreographer who developed her own distinctive voice within the modern…
Shankar, Uday (1900–1977)
A legendary dancer often credited as the father of Indian modern dance, Uday Shankar was a visual artist and an astute choreographer with a keen…
Itō, Michio (1893–1961)
Michio Itō was a modern dancer and choreographer who worked in Europe, the United States, and Japan. After training at the Dalcroze Institute in Hellerau,…
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…
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…
Nagrin, Daniel (1917–2008)
Over his long career, Daniel Nagrin played many roles, on and off stage. A dancer, choreographer, writer, and teacher, he achieved his greatest prominence as…
Atkinson, Madge (1885–1970)
A dancer, choreographer, educator, and writer, Madge Atkinson worked during the second and third decades of the twentieth century on the development of the dance…
Nettleford, Rex (1933–2010)
In a dance career spanning over 40 years, Rex Nettleford was perhaps the most influential choreographer to shape Jamaican dance theatre as it is known…
Fosse, Bob (1927–1987)
Bob Fosse greatly influenced commercial screen dance and musical theatre stages in the latter part of the 20th century as a choreographer and director in…
Pomare, Eleo (1937–2008)
Eleo Pomare was a dancer, choreographer, educator, and social activist who spent more than five decades contributing to the development of modern dance. As a…
Beatty, Talley (1919–1995)
Talley Beatty, whose career began in the mid-1930s and extended six decades, was a leading modern dance artist. He was a prolific choreographer, exquisite dancer,…
Wiesenthal, Grete (1885–1970)
The Austrian dancer and choreographer Grete Wiesenthal was a transitional figure at the crossroads of ballet and modern dance. Initially trained and employed as a…