Lecture 10 Flashcards
what did paul taylor start as
swimmer and painter
when did paul taylor discover modern dance
university
whose company did paul taylor join in 1953
martha graham
besides martha grahams, who else’s company did paul taylor perform in
balanchine and cunningham
what style did paul taylor perform
ballet and modern dance
with which company did paul taylor spend most of his time
martha graham
how similar was the work paul taylor created compared to martha grahams
didnt even vaguely resemble it, she called him the naughty boy because he was so different
- wanted to do everything in his work to get away from his work
- tried to find ways to annoy her
costumes of paul taylor dancers
full body costumes, even covered their faces
did paul taylor respect martha graham
yes
during what era did paul taylor begin choreographing
an era of experimentation with minimalist movement
how was paul taylor similar to cunningham
experimented with post modern ideas like minimalist movements
paul taylor’s untitled duet
he and another dancer onstage, he stood and she sat on the stage, neither of them moving, for the 3 minute perfomance
did paul taylor follow along his trend of minimalist movement
no, he soon embraced movement wholeheartedly
what were the 3 categories of paul taylor’s choreographic characteristics
dancers are individuals
eclectic style
movement qualities
paul taylor choreography: dancers are individuals
- real people with unique personalities and talents
- used different heights to celebrate differences in his dances
- choreography took advantage of the unique talents of each dancer (shows what they do best)
what did paul taylor think was more important: the choreography or the company morale
company morale, the dancers wouldnt be performing well if they werent happy
4 kinds of works paul taylor created
abstract
serious
satirical
humorous
paul taylors abstract works
joyous celebrations of movement
- dancers smiling and happy onstage
- uplifting, playful, fun
ex of paul taylors abstract works
aureole
esplanade
paul taylors serious works
made social commentary
- had a theme
ex of paul taylors serious works
banquet of vultures
- his version of the green table
ex paul taylors satirical works
sea to shining sea
- ridiculed american icons like statue of liberty, kkk, superman
paul taylors humorous works
situational humor
(not the movement) so something like slipping on a banana
- playful
ex of paul taylors humorous works
trollies and cressida
- humorous version of shakespeares play
3 ways paul taylor described his movement
lyric, dance scribbling, flat
lyric style of paul taylors movement
long arms
dance scribbling style of paul taylors movement
emphasis on action rather than shape or line in space, dancer never stops moving
flat style of paul taylors movement
2d quality, like those on ancient greek vases
paul taylor was one of the first modern choreographers to have his works performed by
ballet companies
modern vs postmodern dance:
design and chance
m = design, performed the same each time and nothing left to chance pm = chance, cunninghams choreographic process left everything to chance
modern vs postmodern dance:
centering and dispersal
m = centering, always a central focus pm = breaks down hierarchy of events, all equally important
modern vs postmodern dance:
purpose and play
m = purpose, serious purpose pm = play, playing around with the movement, improvising
modern vs postmodern dance:
art object/finished work and process
m = art object/finished work, created rehearsed and performed a work in its finished form pm = process, work performed while still in progress, wanted some feedback on it
modern vs postmodern dance:
creation and deconstruction
m = creation pm = deconstruction = idea of pulling something apart, stripping it bare to its structure
modern vs postmodern dance:
narrative and anti narrrative
m = narrative, tells a story about something, linear pm = anti narrative, not the absence of narrative or abstract but rather playing around with narrative, may tell a story backwards
modern vs postmodern dance:
gender and androgynous
m = gender, distinct genders pm = androgynous, cant tell if male or female, may have same costumes
modern vs postmodern dance:
readerly and writerly
m = readerly, choreographer has very specific idea to be communicated to the audience, want the audience to read it the way it was written pm = writerly, there are multiple interpretations, all equally valid interpretations, depends on the audience, audience is writing the meaning of the work
who first used the term postmodern dance
yvonne rainer
- postmodern dancer/choreographer
how did rainer mean the term postmodern dance
purely in the chronological sense, everything that happened after modern dance
t or f: postmodern dance had an identifiable style in 1960s
false, didn’t. rather was a shared attitude and philosophy in rejecting what had come before
how many phases of postmodern dance
3
phases of postmodern dance
- breakaway period
- analytic/metaphoric pm dance
- return of content
breakaway period of pm dance
choreographers were breaking away from the modern dance aesthetic - making dance more accessible to everyone as they thought it had become too elitist
was cunninghams work and approach seen as too elitist by the pms
yes, it was highly technical (not everyone had access to the training in order to become one of his dancers), he only worked with highly trained dancers, he presented his work in theatres
3 questions posed by pm choreographers
- what is dance
- where should it be performed
- who should perform
what is dance questions posed by pm choreographers
they expanded the definition to include non dance forms
- dance could be anything
- pedestrian movement (things people do in their everyday lives - sitting, walking, playing a game, sports)
* if you moved it was called dancing
it was about the context not the content, if you said you were creating a dance then it is a dance
where should it be performed questions posed by pm choreographers
took dance out of the proscenium arch theatre and performed in a variety of different venues
- art galleries, museums, sidewalks, rooftops
- can be performed wherever someone wanted
who should perform questions posed by pm choreographers
rejected the notion that only highly trained dancers could perform
- used untrained dancers in their work
- wanted to make dance more participatory
created dance collectives rather than companies (number of choreographers who performed in each others works and presented them on the same evening
why did pm choreographers think modern dance had become an elitist art
- required years of highly specialized training
- not accessible to everyone
- dance companies were elitist and hierarchical (dancers only performed the works of the artistic directors of the company they were with)
- young choreographers were not given a chance to choreograph
what was the most well known dance collective
judson church group
judson church group
first dance recital held at judson memorial church theatre in NY
- became the centre for experimental dane in the 60s and 70s
- the bennington college for pm generation
by when did pm dance develop an identifiable style
1970s
- 2 at this time: analytic and metaphoric
analytic phase of pm dance
characterized by rejection of all the expressive elements of dance
what did analytic pm dance look like
no real music, sometimes total silence
- performers wore functional clothing
- movement was objective /analytical /unemotional /nonexpressive /intellectual (thinking what you were doing)
what did analytical pm dance place an emphasis on
deconstructing choreographic structure - the process of choreographing a dance would be revealed to the audience
what was something not yet explored prior to analytic pm dance
choreographic devices/tools
- repetition
- retrograde
repetition choreographic device/tool
repeating a movement over and over
retrograde choreographic device/tool
sometimes called reverse
- as if you were rewinding a videotape
what would asking for a movement in reverse mean today
doing it with the other side of the body
t or f: choreographic devices were revealed to the audience
true
what were invented and the accomplished or solved in pm analytic dances
rules, tasks and games
- set themselves tasks or challenges onstage and them accomplished them
ex of analytic pm choreographer
trisha brown
