Modern Dance in Europe and America 2

Subject is not scheduled Not scheduled

Code	Completion	Credits	Range	Language Instruction	Semester
107MDEA2	exam	3	1 lecture hours (45 min) of instruction per week, 65 to 80 hours of self-study	English	summer

Subject guarantor

Name of lecturer(s)

The lecture expands the knowledge of the history of dance, it is a detailed introduction to the development of dance in the modern period, focuses on the newly constituted dance style of the so-called expressive dance (Ausdruckstanz) in Europe and modern dance in America, its artistic, cultural and social context, its origins, forms and main personalities, it also puts the events in the Czech lands into the international context. The aim of the study is to introduce students to the thought context and artistic manifestations of dance modernism in Western culture, important for understanding the current situation of dance art, its forms and artistic attitudes.

Thematic areas:

The Émile Jaques-Dalcroz school, its representatives, main characteristics and development, with emphasis on the work of Rosalie Chladek and Jarmila Kröschlová;
The Rudolf Laban School: the theoretical work of Rudolf Laban (kinetography and movement analysis), artistic activity and its principles (choral dance, Bewegungschor); the most important pupils, Mary Wigman and the concept of absolute dance, Kurt Jooss and Tanztheater;
Representatives of other movements of modern dance in Europe; overview of the development of modern dance in individual European countries, including Czechoslovakia; overlapping influences of European dancers in other parts of the world;
Dance Modernism in America: The Denishawn School, its concepts, the personalities of Ruth St. Denis (Music Visualisation) and Ted Shawn (male dance);
Martha Graham; Doris Humphrey and José Limón;
The emergence of dance modernism in the 1950s and 1960s: Merce Cunningham and his influence on the transformation of dance modernism;
From Dance Modernism to Postmodernism (Judson Church Group);
The work of Pina Bausch and the „new German dance theatre“.
Discussion of required readings and video clips

Learning outcomes

Understanding of the problems of one of the lines of modernism in dance art, understanding of the historical context, including the connection to contemporary events.

Prerequisites and other requirements

none

Literature

E-learning:

https://moodle.amu.cz//

Required reading:

BANES, Sally. Terpsichore in Sneakers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. ISBN 0395286891.

BURT, Ramsay. Alien Bodies. London, New York: Routledge, 1998. ISBN 0415145953.

HUMPHREY, Doris. The Art of Making Dances. New York: Grove Press, 1959.

MARTIN, John. Modern Dance. New York: Dance Horizons, 1972.

MAZO, Joseph H. Prime Movers Makers of Modern Dance in America. London: A&C Black, 1977. ISBN 9780713617375.

MILLE, Agnes de. Martha. The Life and Work of Martha Graham. New York: Random House, 1991. ISBN 0394556437.

ROBINSON, Jacqueline. Modern dance in France : an adventure 1920-1970. Amsterdam: Harwood academic publishers, c1997. ISBN 90-5702-016-5.

SHELTON, Suzanne. Divine Dancer: A Biography of Ruth St.Denis. Garden City, N. Y., 1981. ISBN 0385141599.

PARTSCH-BERGSOHN, Isa. Modern dance in Germany and the United States : crosscurrents and influences. Chur: Harwood academic publishers, c1994. ISBN 3-7186-5558-6.

THOMAS, Helen. Dance, Modernity and Culture. London, New York: Routledge, 1995. ISBN 978-0415087940.

Evaluation methods and criteria

Oral examination covering the material from Modern Dance Directions 1 and 2 (2 questions, one related to a specific personality and his/her work, one contextual - 90%; submitted extracts from the required literature 10%).

Attendance (75%).

Further information

No schedule has been prepared for this course

The subject is a part of the following study plans

Dance Pedagogy (BA) - Methods of Classical Ballet Technique - from 2023/24 (Required subjects with the possibility of repeat registration)
Dance Pedagogy (BA) - Methods of Modern and Contemporary Dance - from 2023/24 (Required subjects with the possibility of repeat registration)
Dance Pedagogy (BA) - Methods of Folk Dance - from 2023/24 (Required subjects with the possibility of repeat registration)