Below are annotated bibliographical citations created in the course of research for class papers. We offer them here as a continually growing guide to scholarship in the field.
Allen investigates the "local circumstances of what is commonly referred to as a 'revival' of dance in South India in the 1930's," centering his study on Rukmini Devi and Nataraja (a Hindu god, king of dance). This article discusses the evolution of dance in South India, focusing on the influences of Rukmini Devi. The question of audience reception is discussed, as well as the historical context in which South Indian dance has evolved. A section devoted to Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn discusses St. Denis' own intentions regarding her dancing (she never claims to imitate actual Oriental dance) as well as her popularity in India; although her dance Nautch as well as others were successful there, the reasons for popularity differ. Matthew Allen is (as of SP07) Chair and Assoc. Professor of Music and Coordinator of Asian Studies at Wheaton College.
Thisnreport on dance research discusses the "current state of research in the field of Indian dance," assessing the physical history of India and discussing the socio-economic conditions throughout history as a means to analyze why emphasis might be placed on some kinds of research and not others.
A documentary on the "pioneers" of modern dance--Ruth St. Denis, Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan among others. Biographical data is presented along with historical video footage and stills.
According to JSTOR, a non-for-profit organization archiving important scholarly work on-line, DRJ (Dance Research Journal) is concerned mainly with "historical and critical theory of dance." This article argues that the term "interculturalism" needs to be reformulated in its use in contemporary dance and theatre studies. Chakravorty intends with this article to "uproot interculturalism from its location in Euro-American metropolitan centers and restore it to historical specificity within the context of the formation of the Indian nation-state and national identity." At the time of publication (2000-01), Chakravorty was a Mellon Fellow in the Department of Music and Dance at Swarthmore College. She is a practitioner of Kathak dance.
Dance Chronicle covers a wide range of topics centering on dance of the past and present. Coorlawala's article focuses on the "catalytic" affect that "Ruth St. Denis' non-authentic Indian dance" had on "re-awakening" traditional Indian dance forms within India itself. Additionally, she calls into question the views of "present-day dancers and dance scholars in India who insist that traditional Indian dance forms…continued to exist in an unbroken traditional lineage." By examining the history of India as well as the corresponding history in the west, and the implications of the dance in India and abroad, Coorlawala attempts to give us a sense of what the "Dance Renaissance" in India really meant. Regardless of who had the most influence on these changes, Coorawala argues that "the accrued acclaim from international exposures provides dignity to the sense of self of a battered nation emerging from centuries of economic and cultural exploitation."
This article examines the dances of Ruth St. Denis in detail, placing her performance in its cultural context and arguing for the application of "postculturalist theory to the writing of dance history and also for the wider opening of feminist scholarship to considerations of live performance." Jane Desmond has since become a major figure in the new dance studies movement in American academe, publishing numerous articles, books and an edited collection on dance studies entitled Meaning in Motion: New Cultural Studies of Dance. She is (as of SP07) Associate Professor of American Studies at the University of Iowa.
TDR, the journal of performance studies, "provides scholarship on performances and their social, economic and political contexts" (citing Project Muse). Erdman's article discusses how "Shankar translated Indian dance into productions which were on the one hand authentic and on the other hand accessible to western audiences." The question of authenticity is central to this essay: to whom and in what contexts is something authentic, and why were Shankar's dances considered authentic?
A tribute to Shankar, this article provides biography and context for Shankar's life work and successes. Additionally, the article ponders what a successor to Shankar might need in order to continue Shankar's legacy.
Dance scene in a film based on a tale of a village in Queen Victoria's India, circa 1893.
The book studies "the relationship between archaism and modernism" (explained in the introduction), using Manship as the central figure. Chapter five, "Archaism from other places and in other modes" focuses notably on India, Greece, and Egypt and relates the dance of St. Denis, Duncan, and Nijinsky to the art discussed. Susan Rather argues that Indian art "was a fertile source of values that modern artists…associated with archaism"; and that Manship's "borrowings from Indian art bespeak a rather poignant respect for cultural conditions that he, as a member of modern Western society, idealized but could never really know." As far as Ruth St. Denis is discussed, Rather argues that "the study and revival of indigenous Indian dance forms owes much to the interest awakened by St. Denis and other Western performers of Indian dance."
An interesting article in which Graham articulates the innate need for dance to change and shift not only through the involvement of students and emerging dancers, but also through the reception of dance by a public.
In her own words, Graham comments on her technique and philosophies of dance. This book is useful in that it provides primary source essays by choreographers who have made significant contributions to the development of an American tradition -- the editor also provides introductory commentary about each artist outlining basic career and biographical information.
An essay by Doris Humphrey that offers some insight into her creative process as a choreographer and general philosophies about dance.
An autobiography of Doris Humphrey, edited and compiled by American dance historian Selma Jeanne Cohen (1920-2005) with a forward by Charles Humphrey Woodford. The book includes Humphrey's personal writings. Of particular interest is a chapter about pioneering modern dance and the original struggles Humphrey faced.
This edited collection contains excellent source material for the philosophies of Doris Humphrey, among others. It provides primary source essays by choreographers who have made significant contributions to the development of the American stage dance tradition -- the editor also provides introductory commentary outlining basic career and biographical information for the artists discussed.
This was an informal showing of student work that I viewed at Washington University in St. Louis. The work was performed as a culmination of the dance Composition II class, offered annually in the Spring semester.
This source interrogates the experience of dancers, addressing opinions on teaching, dancing professionally and other themes of a dance career. Assessments include the common belief that teaching dance is less worthy than performing, but that many dancers find the idea of performing professionally beyond their skill level. It also addresses the influence of televised dancing on the dance culture as well as the percent of dance students who anticipate teaching or choreographing at some point in their career.
This source previously referenced for its publication of specific choreographers' essays also includes useful historical commentary by the editors.
This book explores the development of dance education and its history. It provides an excellent comparison of the styles and theories of dance education, grounding them in their historical context.
This book argues that Martha Graham was an artist much more concerned with producing her own work, rather than teaching others. However, through the decades, mainly by setting pieces on her company, she developed a technique that has been taught for many years and continues to influence contemporary dance today.
Overall, an excellent resource for studying dance pedagogy, as the four main styles of pedagogy that my paper focused on were developed at least in part while the artist was working at Bennington. This source also provides excellent background history of dance and a comprehensive modern dance timeline in the back of the book which I found beneficial.
This first-person account describes the way the techniques of four dance pioneers were taught to students in an early collegiate setting. Interesting for the fact that the reader can note what elements the author retained.
As Stodelle argues, Humphrey's theory stems from: Movement first, the Emotion. Humphrey believes in the universality of movement and creative potential. Her work is most often characterized by Fall and Recovery, as well as Opposition and Succession.
Though this source focuses heavily on the reconstruction of specific dance works, it addresses some issues pertinent to the preservation (or lack thereof) of dance technique. It helps to provide a framework for dance as a mode of history.
This article, written for a musical journal, traces the shift in the primitivism and avant-garde movements through Stravinsky's scores for Le Sacre du Printemps and Les Noces, especially based on the general change in world-view after World War One and the rise of mechanism.
This DVD is from an evening of ballets which Stravinsky scored, performed by the Royal Ballet. The DVD, in addition to showing Firebird and Les Noces, has an interview with a man who danced in the original Royal Ballet production of Les Noces in 1960. Other extras include a segment on the rehearsal process for the two ballets.
This brief article published in 1957 gives a very dated approach to understanding Les Noces and Cantata. The majority of this paper is concerned with Cantata, but it was nevertheless useful to learn how people considered Les Noces in the past.
This article was written by the costume and scenery designer for Les Noces in its original inception. In it, she describes the process that she went through in order adequately and accurately to reflect the spirit and mood of Stravinsky's score and libretto and Nijinska's choreography.
Drue Fergison uses the rehearsal schedules of Les Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo to explore the process by which Diaghilev prepared to perform Les Noces in Paris during the 1923 season, comparing that to performances earlier in the decade, or at other locations.
Robert Johnson looks at Stravinsky's influence in the creation of Les Noces. He gives specific attention to Stravinsky's interest in psychology. He also traces the influences for the musical themes and the libretto, noting especially the reliance on folk music of Northern Russian villages.
Italian Futurism was a literary and artistic movement sparked by the writing of this manifesto by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who was the first to write down concretely what defined Futurism. His depiction of the founding of the movement is couched in highly melodramatic phrasing. He also lays out the eleven precepts which were to guide the Futurists. Marinetti and the Futurists wrote many manifestos, not only for literature, dance, music, painting, architecture, but for the performance of everyday life as well.
Margarita Mazo looks at Stravinsky's score for Les Noces, especially the connections between Russian wedding rituals and Stravinsky's score. She explicitly lays out the different aspects of the ritual which Stravinsky and Nijinska portrayed.
Nijinska's memoirs are focused mainly on her relationship with her brother more than anything else. Les Noces is only mentioned in passing in the introduction, or in reference to other works. This remains an important resource, but must be read with an eye towards the different historical and cultural perspective concerning the significance of Nijinska's creativity as a female choreographer in her time.
Felicia McCarren uses this book to trace the mechanical influence on dance as the machine age and industrial revolution came to have more of an impact on the arts in general. She argues that the increased influence can be attributed especially to the Futurist movement, and the arrival of cinema as a method for creating and exploring art.
Ballet Mécanique was a film by avant-garde director Fernand Léger which was created to showcase the classical beauty found in mechanical objects, and how non-mechanical objects could be analogous to mechanization. This essay explores the ideology of the avant-garde movement.
For my research, I looked at "Elegie" to assess the ways in which a lone male figure relates the female soloist and the female corps de ballet in this story of love, loss, and the "unattainable" perfect woman. This video includes Balanchine's "Ballo Della Regina," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "Elegie," and Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux and originally aired on PBS television in 1979.
For my research, I looked at The Four Temperaments to analyze how the dynamics of partnering work between men and women reveal gendered relationships wherein the men possess power and control and the women are rendered submissive. This video is a collection of selected Balanchine ballets including Tzigane, Divertimento No. 15, and The Four Temperaments, originally produced for television as part of the Dance in America Series in 1977.
This video was originally produced in 1969 by Unitel Film and TVE and is danced by members of the American Ballet Theatre. For my research, I looked at the ways in which Albrecht and Giselle's pas de deux staged by ABT represented themes of bourgeois femininity, marriage, individual choice and agency, female sexuality and the theme of female self-sacrifice for the sake of male survival.
For my research, I analyzed approaching no calm counting laughter looking for the ways that David Dorfman's choreography addresses gender roles and relationships, particularly in his use of non-traditional gender pairings and egalitarian movement vocabulary for both men and women. This is a videotape donated by the David Dorfman Dance company to the Washington University Performing Arts Department archive, documenting the company's performance at the Joyce Theater in 1995, and including Dorfman's BULL and Hey.
I watched the entire video in order to better understand the larger body of Dorfman's work in the 90s, and the material (including Hey) generally displayed elements of the gender equality in movement that were specifically related to my investigation concerning Hey and partnering. This video recording of the company's performance at the Joyce Theater in 1995 also includes BULL and approaching no calm counting laughter.
This video was important to my research in that it gave me more insight into Dorfman's body of work as a whole. It also utilizes non-traditional gender pairings in ways that make it relevant to my larger arguments. This video recording, donated by David Dorfman Dance to the Washington University Performing Arts Department archives, documents the company's performance at The Kitchen in 1994 and includes Out of Season, Hey, and BULL.
For my research, I looked at Ritmo Jondo, a work that addresses masculinity, femininity, and the relationship between the two within the context of a traditional culture. This is a videotape of a performance at the Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas, Venezuela on April 6, 1990, and also features Humphrey's popular work about human experience, Day on Earth.
For my research, I looked at With My Red Fires, a work that addresses love, both romantic and fraternal, as well its capacity for passionate excess. The work concludes with a vision of humanity prevailing over prejudice and violence, a humanity moving towards equality. The piece is performed by a special company assembled for the 1977 American Dance Festival. This video also includes a performance of Humphrey's New Dance.
In the context of my research, I analyzed La Sylphide for the ways that it constructs gender difference and male dominance through the movement vocabulary and partnering choreography between James and the Sylph. Additionally, I looked at themes of expectations and norms regarding marriage and relationships, female sexuality, and the tensions articulated regarding conceptions of femininity. This video, produced in 1982, is based on the 1832 version of the ballet and is performed by members of the Paris Opera Ballet.
Albright's book argues that the body must be understood as a place on which gendered, racial, cultural, and social norms, stereotypes, and expectations are inscribed. Consequently, the dancing body is a physical presence that is capable of exposing and challenging these cultural representations and their relationship to bodies. As of SP07, Ann Cooper Albright is an Associate Professor of Dance at Oberlin College and teaches courses in dance, performance studies, and women's studies.
This article is a review of the David Dorfman Dance company's performance at New York City's Joyce Theater in January of 1995, a concert that included "approaching no calm counting laughter," "BULL," and "Hey." Jack Anderson is a dance critic, author, and contributor of dance reviews and other articles to The New York Times since 1978.
Dancing Women takes a feminist approach to the history of Western dance, analyzing the various ways in which social ideas about gender and femininity are translated into and expressed through movement. Sally Banes is currently (as of SP07) the Marian Hannah Winter Professor of Theatre History and Dance Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
For my research, I looked at the introduction to Ramsay's The Male Dancer, a book that argues that representations of masculinity in dance reflect ideas about male bodies and male sexuality and also contribute to the way masculinity is constructed and destabilized in society. As of SP07, Ramsay Burt is a Professor of Dance History in the School of English, Performance, and Historical Studies at De Montfort University in Leicester, UK.
"The Balanchine Woman" argues that the third theme from Balanchine's The Four Temperaments is a pas de deux in which the man is assertive, authoritative, controlling, and manipulative and the woman is submissive, powerless, and compliant in her own oppression, revealing a gender dynamic that espouses not only difference but also dominance. This article appears in a Spring 1987 edition of The Drama Review, written by Ann Daly, then TDR's managing editor, as well as a dance critic and doctoral candidate in Performance Studies at New York University. After teaching for many years on faculty in the Department of Theater & Dance at the University of Texas at Austin, Ann Daly currently acts as an arts consultant.
Critical Gestures is a collection of over 80 reviews, articles, interviews and essays on dance by Daly that focus on the intersection of dance and history. Important to my research was the final section of the book, entitled Theorizing Gender, which discusses representations of gender on the concert dance stage.
Dance, Sex, and Gender is a comprehensive pro-feminist analysis of representations of masculinity, femininity, sexuality and eroticism, sexual orientation, and gendered bodies as they appear and are articulated through dance. Hanna is a dance critic, author, and Senior Research Scholar in the Department of Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park (as of SP07).
"Packaging Doris Humphrey" argues that Humphrey's choreography was grounded in her humanism and in her desire for an ideal, democratic society; more specifically, Humphrey's belief in gender equality translated into equality in movement between men and women. This article was published in the Autumn 1996 volume of Dance Research Journal and was written by Barbara Hausler, a dancer, musician, educator, and writer whose ongoing research focuses on Humphrey's technique and style.
"In Pursuit of the Sylph" argues that the sylph in Romantic Ballets was reflective of 19th-century understandings of woman: a figure at once innocent and dangerous, alluringly seductive and erotically threatening, i.e., the feminine was conflictedly sexualized. This article appears in The Routledge Dance Studies Reader, a collection of contemporary writings on dance. Deborah Jowitt is a dance critic, choreographer, author, and faculty member in the Dance Department at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
In Ecstasy and the Demon, Manning traces the development of Mary Wigman's choreographic and artistic philosophies within the context of the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich in Germany. Specifically, Manning argues that Wigman originally worked in a feminist fashion to subvert existing representations of women, but then reverted back to more traditional conceptions of men's and women's social roles as a result of her collaboration with the Nazis and the influence of their nationalist and fascist ideologies. Manning is (as of SP07) Professor of Dance, Performance Studies and Theatre at Northwestern University's School of Communication.
This article describes Mary Wigman's Totenmal as a dance that spoke to themes of war and nationalism relevant in 1930s Germany, treating relationships and tensions between masculinity and femininity, men and women. Published in the May 1989 volume of Theatre Journal, this article was written by Susan Manning, who at the time of publication was an Assistant Professor of English and an affiliate of the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Theatre and Drama at Northwestern University. Manning is (as of SP07) Professor of Dance, Performance Studies and Theatre at Northwestern University's School of Communication.
"The Madness of Giselle," a chapter from McCarren's monograph dealing with the intersection between dance and the science of pathology in history, argues that Giselle is a work engaged in commentary about freedom of expression, repression, dance and the dancer, disease and madness, the erotic, and the cultural questions surrounding ideals of femininity and female sexuality. Felicia McCarren, is (as of SP07) Associate Professor of French at Tulane University.
This essay features Graham's thoughts on dance, particularly its relationship to time and evolution. The collected essays are useful in that the book provides primary sources written by choreographers who have made significant contributions to the development of the American stage dance tradition -- the editor also provides introductory commentary about each choreographer outlining basic career and biographical information.
In this essay, Holm writes short messages of advice to her dance students. This book is useful in that it provides primary source essays by choreographers who have made significant contributions to the development of the American stage dance tradition -- the editor also provides introductory commentary about each choreographer outlining basic career and biographical information.
Valis Hill depicts the story behind Dunham's choreographing of Southland, the choreographic process, the tension in the company, and the political aftermath that effected Dunham's career and work as a touring artist.
This video includes Out of Season, Hey, Kilter, and Bull.
This video, donated by David Dorfman Dance company to the Washington University Performing Arts Department archives, includes the three pieces in Live Sax Acts performed in reverse chronological order from when they were choreographed: Job, Bull, Horn.
This article discusses Dorfman's unconventional and challenging approaches to choreography, which include dancers playing themselves, choreographing on regular people, and combining aspects of various art forms in the dramaturgy. Carbonneau includes her interpretation of "Live Sax Acts."
Dunning reviews the three pieces in Live Sax Acts, focusing on the relationship between the two male performers and mentioning, interestingly, that their dialogue often changes, revealing the improvisational level of their work.
This journalistic review covers the three pieces of Live Sax Acts, focusing on Dorfman's statements about masculinity.
This review describes all three pieces of Live Sax Acts, giving very positive feedback.
This is a review of David Dorfman Dance's performance from the "At the Kitchen" videotape. The review mentions Dorfman's integrating music-playing into his dances. Tobias writes her interpretation of Bull.
Two Performance Studies Scholars interview Bill T. Jones about his thoughts on dance and some of his previous work.
This video juxtaposes footage from the survival workshops with the finished work of "Still/Here." It includes interviews with the workshop participants and Jones, who performs for the interviewer every task he asks of his participants.
This essay discusses Jones' earlier work, arguing that Jones addressed the topic of masculinity from his various perspectives as a black, homosexual, and male performer. Gay Morris has also published Moving Words: Re-Writing Dance with Routledge, a collection of essays that look at current debates in dance scholarship.
This video features interviews, rehearsals, and performance sequences of several artists, including Meredith Monk.
Incorporating performance and conversations with and about John Cage, Philip Glass, Meredith Monk and Robert Ashley, these programs create an experience that extends beyond the music alone to explore each composer's concepts and to express aspects of their personalities.
In this essay, Meredith Monk tells how she got into performance art, outlines her interdisciplinary approach and her emphasis on voice as language.
This list of Monk's notes highlights the artist's goals in her exploration of the voice as generator of its own language.
This essay provides analyses of several of Monk's pieces.
This review mentions a few pieces Monk has created, describes her trademark style, and mentions a bit of history of her art form.
This video is a documentary on the performance art of various artists, including Meredith Monk. I only watched the excerpts with Meredith Monk, but the library catalog synopsis says that "art critics and theorists also discuss the past, present and future of performance art."
This website keeps viewers informed of performance artist Dan Froot's projects, ranging from their history to announcements of upcoming shows. His "Duets" page has succinct descriptions of each of the pieces in Live Sax Acts as well as photographs from each piece. Dan Froot is currently teaching at UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures in Los Angeles.
This book includes interviews with Bill T. Jones and Meredith Monk as well as a gallery of photos for each of the artists and their work. (I consulted exclusively representaitons about the work of Jones and Monk in this text).
In this chapter of his memoire, Jones describes the choreographic process he used to develop Still/Here. He led workshops for survivors of terminal illness and transformed their gestures and speech into dance. This chapter also includes photographs from the piece: three from Still and one from Here.
This videorecording explores how being Asian-American influences the styles of dance and choreographic methods of the three aforementioned choreographers. The main argument of this video is that Asian-Americans are differently affected by their individual experiences in American society and the dance world, which lead them to carry distinct beliefs and choreograph in unique ways.
This videorecording presents the history of Butoh, interviews Butoh founder/creator Tatsumi Hijikata and investigates the cultural importance of Butoh in Japan, while using modern footage of popular Butoh artists. This film argues that Butoh is an accurate representation of Japanese society at the time of its inception and has become increasingly so as Butoh serves as an integrated part of Japanese society (thus suggesting a reciprocal effect between the two aspects of how Japanese-ness is culturally produced).
Dancing Into Darkness tells, in the form of an ethnographic journal, of Fraleigh's personal experiences learning Butoh and learning about Japanese culture. Reading the progress of her experiences month by month made Butoh less of an enigma; important historical information regarding Butoh was also included. Sandra Horton Fraleigh chairs the Department of Dance at the State University of New York, Brockport and has served as president of the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD).
"On the History of Western Dance in Japan" is a transcribed interview between Ichikawa and "E;" I presume "E" stands for Editor. The argument which most heavily arises from this interview is that Japanese thought and internalization policies have hindered Japan from achieving its fullest potential in the dance world; and through the gradual reopening of Japanese society, it may grow and flower.
This is an essay published by Kei Takei, who studied at Julliard on a Fullbright Scholarship and currently produces and dances for her own company, Moving Earth. The argument of her essay is that through the dissolving of individual fears of the Japanese to explore and express their own emotions, modern dance can be cultivated and can progress.
This book was used to reference the Unequal Treaties which the Japanese negotiated insufficiently (hence, why they were unequal) and tells of the way that the Japanese were to restructure their diplomacy, taking into account these new policies with numerous other nations.
Caldwell's book includes biographical information about Ito, as well as close readings of "At the Hawk's Well" and other Ito works. Chapters focused on his life in Europe, New York and Los Angeles.
Professor Copeland teaches here at Washington University and also is the Director of the East Asian Studies Program and an Associate Dean of the University College of Washington University.
This essay published by Professor Mary-Jean Cowell, Professor of Dance at Washington University and Coordinator of the Dance Program in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Satoru Shimozaki who trained with Ito Michio and currently has his own company in Japan argues that, although cultural identity plays a great role in the creation of modern dance by individuals, it need not be the defining factor of ones individual sense of self.
This encyclopedia contains information on virtually everything Japanese-American, from slang words used by Japanese-Americans in Hawaii to demographics. It celebrates the Japanese-American and his or her distinct and unique culture. I found an extremely useful article about Ito Michio in this encyclopedia, which provided in-depth bibliographical information.
In this chapter from Fraleigh's book Dancing Identity: Metaphysics in Motion, the author critically analyzes Butoh within its historical context, while also making mention of Japanese-Americans and the gist of their experience in America during the period leading up to and including World War II. Mention is also made of Ito Michio and his work. The central argument of this chapter is that Butoh's goals were "acknowledging a scorched Japan amid three thousand years of history, honing new beginnings and freely plying global imagery (181)." Sandra Horton Fraleigh chairs the Department of Dance at the State University of New York, Brockport and has served as president of the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD).
This book discusses developments in the nonverbal arts in Japan, mainly in the period following World War II (dance, art, etc.), explaining the different types of modern dance that were presented after the War (the modern dance of Graham and others, the post-modern dance of Trisha Brown as well as Butoh). Tom Havens, Professor of History and Modern Languages at Northeastern University, specializes in Japanese cultural and intellectual history.
This article, taken from a selection of essays originally presented by scholar-performers at the 1978 annual conference of the ADG-CORD (American Dance Guild - Council on Research in Dance) held in Honolulu, Hawaii, and then compiled and edited by Betty True Jones for publication by CORD in 1983, contained information about Butoh's rebellion against the rise in popularity of ballet in 1945, and other popular dances in Japan like modern dance and traditional Japanese dance. Havens' article was also useful in understanding Hijikata's philosophies.
From Johnson's article, I learned about the general development of Butoh and about the performance of Kinjiki in 1959.
This article discusses the philosophies of Butoh, the actual practice of the dance and of being a Butoh dancer. There was also information about Hijikata's development of Butoh and a close reading of Kinjiki. A memorable quote by Hijikata from this article is: "Since the body itself perishes, it has a form. Butoh has another dimension." From this quote, one is able to see that Hijikata was a profound intellectual who spoke in rhymes, or in a manner that was not easy to understand. Butoh expresses itself similarly -- the audience is not blatantly served the purpose or meaning of a dance.
From this website, I learned about Noh and Kabuki.
Japan: A Concise History gives a broad overview of Japan's complex and rich history. I was able to obtain information from the Tokugawa Period to the Heisei Period (Japan from 1989 to the present), though found the sections on Japan from roughly 1930 until 1960 to be the most useful.
Stein's article argues that Butoh was a break away from all Japanese tradition. Although on the surface it may resemble Noh or Kabuki, Butoh sought to reveal and raise the issues of deformity, insanity and homosexuality which had previously been ignored by Japanese society.
This book gave a great breakdown of the history of traditional Japanese dance and its development--new forms of dance from past centuries and imperial periods amalgamated to form nihon buyo.
From this website outline, I learned some general things about the uses of the shamisen, yokobue and Japanese drums as instrumental accompaniment for Noh and Kabuki.
Liz Waring's article outlines the history of Butoh and the work of Hijikata and Ohno as inventors of something "entirely new, constructed by the rejection of traditional Japanese dance and Western modern dance".
Isadora Speaks is a compilation of excerpts arranged by Franklin Rosemont. The excerpts are taken from Duncan's speeches, letters, and writings and cover a variety of topics in her work and personal life. The text is complemented by images of Duncan's life in the form of photographs and drawings. The excerpts and images were put together to further the appreciation of Isadora's contributions "as dancer and theorist of dance; as critic of modern society, culture, education; and as champion of the struggles for women's rights, social revolution and the realization of poetry in everyday life."
In her autobiography Duncan provides reflections and thoughts on her life and works. Her decision to write this autobiography was accompanied by hesitation and came after a recommendation from others to write one.
In Fuller's autobiography she tells about her time as a dancer sharing her motivations, her goals, and her thoughts on her work. She also includes information about her relationships with her peers.
Dancing Women is a history of stage dance from the mid-nineteenth century to the present, analyzed from a feminist perspective. In the chapter "Early Modern Dance," Banes discusses how the female pioneers -- Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, and Ruth St. Denis -- changed dance at the turn of the century.
This special session consisted of two master classes covering the history of Isadora Duncan's contributions to Modern Dance in the USA, and teaching practical excercises in Isadora Duncan's modern technique. The classes combined lecture, discussion, movement participation, and observation of Bloch's performance of Isadora's work.
In this article Coffman discusses female dancers at the turn of the century. She examines the role technology played in shaping how the female body was perceived as well as the significance of the "relationship between emerging technologies." Fuller's work and her contributions to dance and science in particular are examined.
This book is a biography of Loie Fuller's life based mostly on primary sources. It was written with the goal of creating a complete biography of her life and contributions to modern dance.
In this book Daly examines Duncan's work and ideology through three levels of questioning: through an analytical description, through an interpretation and application of the cultural context, and through a critical view of Duncan's philosophy asking the question, "What were the ideological implications of Duncan's practice?" Daly arranges her book into chapters that each examinw a different ideological aspect of Duncan's work.
This book chronicles Duncan's work dividing her oeuvre into three parts: Lyrical (1877-1903), Dramatic (1903-1913), and Heroic (1913-1927). The text provides biographical information about Duncan and is presented with pictorial works ranging from photographs to watercolors to sketches. Written in part by Isadora Duncan's grandniece, the text strives to present Duncan "as her loved ones and her fellow artists saw her."
I used this chapter to incorporated insight on the change in the gaze of the audience that attended the performances of the early modern dance pioneers. It mentions the work of both Duncan and Fuller. Susan Foster is a significant contributor to the new dance studies scholarship in the USA, having published numerous books and articles on the subject of dance and dance history. She is (as of SP07) Professor of Choreography, History and Theories of the Body at UCLA's Department of World Arts and Cultures.
This article relates the dance of Loie Fuller to the medical world of the era. In this comparison, the author analyzes changes in each field and how they influenced each other. Specifically, the contributions of neurologist and pathological anatomist Charcot are examined in detail.
This video presents some of Duncan's choreography and some history of her schools. The work is performed by the Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble and staged by Andrea Mantell-Seidel.
This article presents the principles and ideals of Francois Delsarte. It details the succession of his teachings and how they have been applied to Modern Dance.
This book is a historical survey of scientific discourse from 1900 to 1939. The Reingolds' present the material to contextualize the research being conducted during the time period as well as to show its influence on American society.