When I was a young dancer in Louisville, Kentucky, my ballet teacher used to speak a lot about Merrill Ashley. She brought neoclassical technique to exquisite new heights under Balanchine, and as a technician, she famously paved the way for today’s balletic whiz kids. (Later, when I was a teenager, I was lucky enough to […]
Martha Graham was the “Mother of Modern Dance,” influencing generations of dance artists with her incomparable choreography and technique that featured the pioneering concept of contraction and release. But did you know… 1. Graham frequently created her own costumes. In a 1989 interview, Graham commented, “Dance is theater and larger than life. Makeup and costume, […]
American Dance: The Complete Illustrated History by Margaret Fuhrer Voyageur Press; 288 pages; $45 Legendary dancers and choreographers like Fred Astaire, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Martha Graham jump off the pages of this beautiful coffee-table book on the history of American dance, by Dance Spirit editor in chief Margaret Fuhrer. Being a Dancer: Advice from Dancers […]
Broadway choreographer Danny Daniels passed away on July 7 in Santa Monica, California, at age 92. Daniels was known for his choreography in musicals, such as Walking Happy, Annie Get Your Gun and The Tap Dance Kid, for which he won the 1984 Tony Award for best choreography. Daniels was born Daniel Giagni Jr. in […]
Michael Bennett is best known for the Pulitzer Prize–winning A Chorus Line (1975), now considered the quintessential concept musical, in which the choreography, dialogue, music and staging support a central theme. The musical’s intimate subject matter—the personal lives of chorus dancers auditioning for a show—was revolutionary for its time. Bennett also introduced the concept of […]
As a founding member of the 1960s New York City–based dance collective Judson Dance Theater, Yvonne Rainer was one of the 20th century’s most innovative choreographers. But did you know that she had an equally remarkable career as a filmmaker from 1972 to 1996? Today through Thursday, the Film Society of Lincoln Center is featuring […]
Dance history is inundated with risk-takers, but these three legends took it to a whole other level, pushing the boundaries of what was possible. For today’s #ThrowbackThursday, take a moment to remember these three iconic figures. Vaslav Nijinsky: 1890–1950 Russian ballet dancer and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky helped usher in a new era of ballet. He […]
As a member of the ground-breaking dance collective Judson Dance Theater in the 1960s, Trisha Brown carved out a reputation as a highly innovative choreographer. Over six decades, she created a diverse body of works, using a process-oriented approach and rule-based structures. Brown’s choreography stands out for its quick bursts of energy, collapses of weight, […]
As artistic director of The Royal Ballet in London, Frederick Ashton was a highly influential 20th-century choreographer. His distinct style—technically refined yet highly expressive—soon became a hallmark of English classical ballet. By developing individualized movement motifs, Ashton created memorable characters. Love, friendship, humor and loyalty were frequent themes in his ballets, most notably in La […]
At the turn of the 20th century, Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova legitimized and popularized ballet around the world with her one-of-a-kind magnetism and performance style. She is best remembered for her performances of The Dying Swan, a classical solo that fused brilliant technique with striking expression. Pavlova in costume for The Dying Swan The Dying […]