What is modern dance?

Modern dance is a broad genre of Western concert or theater dance. It first emerged in Germany and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to have emerged as an abandonment or opposition to classical ballet.

It advocates breaking away from the constraints of the overly rigid movement routines of classical ballet and using dance movements that conform to the laws of natural movement to freely express people's true emotions, emphasizing that dance art should reflect modern social life.

Basic characteristics: (1) Modern dance’s outlook on life is tolerant, optimistic, and adaptable; its artistic outlook is to seek common ground while reserving differences, as in “Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each showing his magical powers.”

Merce Cunningham, the third generation master of American modern dance, once said: "If you don't like other people's works, just make one that you like." (2) The concept of quantity is the first in modern dance.

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It can be said that Gram's "master" crown is built up by his unrivaled 180 dance dramas and dances.

Her classmates also pointed out: "Do you want to choreograph an excellent dance? Then, let's choreograph 100 bad ones first!" (3) The concept of beauty is no longer the only pursuit in modern dance; in modern aesthetics, beauty

It's not even a supreme concept.

Therefore, beauty or lack of beauty should not be the only yardstick to measure the quality of modern dance works; when Grame was just starting out, her angular and twitching movements that were sensitive to the coming new era were once considered by those at that time.

The press insulted her as "either a sudden epileptic seizure or imminent childbirth."

But decades later, when the whole world was using her convulsive expressions, her "contract-relax" movement principle was regarded as the clarion call of a new era and a representative of a new aesthetic.

⑷The concepts of new and old are not an absolute right and wrong relationship in modern dance.

Although the new is not always better than the old, the new is often more interesting and more attention-grabbing than the old.

⑸ For modern dance works, we should try our best to avoid judging the rights and wrongs, especially when looking at post-modern dance that is far away from traditional concepts.

Dance is an aesthetic that is far away from economic foundation and ideology, rather than ethics.

⑹ For modern dance works, especially new works for experimental purposes, including students’ exercises, it is best not to judge the value of the work, but to strive to tap its creative potential and understand the motivation for its creation.

purpose.

⑺In the final analysis, all dance creations are intentionally or unintentionally exploring the philosophical and aesthetic proposition of "What is dance?"

⑻ Danceability, a serious problem in classical dance, does not hold true in modern dance at all, because the concept of modern dance is so broad, because nature is dancing in the eyes of modern dancers, and because every human behavior

Every movement is dancing.

Paul Taylor, the third generation master of American modern dance, said: "What we lack is not movements, but the eyes to discover those movements that can serve our own purposes well." ⑼ Thoughtfulness and philosophy have always been one of the important characteristics of modern dancers.

one.

They are no longer the kind of artists and craftsmen who only imitate and do not think about creating.

⑽ It is necessary to understand that the purpose of modern dance is bold experimentation and serious exploration, not cheap flattery or technical showoff.