Raegen Docca

AM T/PHL 254

M arjorie Hall

11/16/2016

Art Communicating Through Modern Dance

M any different art forms are able to communicate without the need for spoken words or

verbal communication. They can portray a message that is both emotionally and cognitively

thought out. A more specific example of an art form that has traditionally been known to

communicate is; modern dance. This style of dance was first developed in the early 20th century

as a way to defy traditional ballet styles of dancing. In modern dance the focus is reliant on the

dancer or choreographers own interpretations instead of traditional steps. This style of dance

allows dancers to reject the limitations classical ballet constructed, and instead favor the

movements that derived from the expression and thoughts of a dancer's inner feelings or

conscience. The ideas about modern dance as a form of communication and artwork can be

associated with Leo Tolstoy's ideas about communicating emotions through artwork.

Leo Tolstoy, 1852-1910, was a Russian philosopher and writer who expressed his ideas

on aesthetic theory in his book, What is Art?, originally published in 1896. These passages

highlight that feelings and emotions are the central focus of Tolstoy's aesthetic theory; it

describes what art consists of. It is feelings in which the artist seeks to express, and it is feelings Commented [F1]: That (theres no in in what you want to say.

which the audience comes to understand in a work of art. Therefore art acts as a form of

communication, especially between the artist and the audience. He asserts that art infects the
perceiver with the same emotion that the artist was feeling, which is the case for modern dance. 1

His theories are clear to see, because modern dance has rhythmic bodily movements, usually

performed to music, serves as a form of communication or expression. Human beings express Commented [F2]: No singular subject for this singular verb.

themselves naturally through movement, and that is why dance is the transformation of ordinary

functions and movement, into expressive movement with purposes.2 Philosophically, modern

dance grew out of the need to express ideas particular to the twentieth century that could not be

expressed through the older language of ballet. Isadora Duncan and M artha Graham where

central to developing a way of creating dance that does that.3

This notion Leo Tolstoy has about an artists personal emotions and their connection with

the audience can be connected to Isadora Duncan's similar ideas. Isadora Duncan, 1877-1927, is

often called the mother of modern dance, because she was the first to work in the new mode of

dance. She was an American dancer known as an important figure in both the arts and history, a

world-famous performer and choreographer, an innovator, a feminist, educator, author, and

philosopher. She said that ballet dancers had too many rules to follow about how they should

stand and bend and move, and ballet was ugly and against nature. She wanted her modern

dance style to be free and natural and to be able to express herself, and to turn dance into a style

that was the language of liberation and transformation. When Isadora started to create this new

style of dance it wasn't only clear to her what she was trying to accomplish and portray through

modern dance. According to dance critic, Deborah Jowitt, in the Village Voice 1998, "She

emphasized the connectedness of body and soul at a time when links between human beings,

1 Tolstoy, Leo. Leo Tolstoy, What Is Art? Trans. Aylmer Maude. (1896): 1-32. Web. 8 Nov. 2016.
2 "Modern Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World
Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).
3 Moore, Jessica. "Modern Dance Primer." PBS. March 23, 2013. Accessed November 29, 2016.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/entertainment-jan-june01-modern-dance_03-23/.
their work, and the land were being severed." This quote emphasizes how modern dance had Commented [F3]: Need citation for the quote

even originated as a way for the artist to connect their feelings with their work and the audience

was able to understand this way of communication. Overall her goals was to tell her own life Commented [F4]: agreement

4
story through abstract and universal expressions in order to communicate.

Isadora
Duncan is captured in these photographs and portrays how her movements, even in still
lifeimages, evokes emotions She is free from confined movements and strategically placed limbs
in order for her to move freely, and express the emotions she is experiencing with the audience.5
Dance as a language or a way of communicating involves elements such as posture, use

of body weight, character of movements, specific movements of the head, torso, hands, arms,

legs, and feet. This is why most modern dancers have considered it essential to examine their

own style of movement and to develop theories about the emotions they should be portraying.6

An example of how an artist who is a dancer can make their modern dance movements

communicate with the audience is shown in this video,

https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcqzmFl0DhI .7 The dancer's movements portray a message

4 "Who Was Isadora Duncan?" Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company. 2012. Accessed November 29,
2016. http://www.smartlabs.us/customers/isadoraduncan/the-foundation/archives
5 "Who Was Isadora Duncan?" Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company. 2012. Accessed November 29,

2016. http://www.smartlabs.us/customers/isadoraduncan/the-foundation/archives
6 "Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia,

EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).

7 Rojo, Tamara, Frederick Ashton, and Isadora Duncan. "Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of Isadora Duncan -

Solo (Tamara Rojo, The Royal Ballet)." YouTube. October 16, 2014. Accessed November 29, 2016.
https://youtu.be/FcqzmFl0DhI.
and connect the audience with the emotions of the artist, much like Leo Tolstoy said high art

must do. The beginning sequence you can imagine the dancer communicating to the audience

that she's envisioning connecting with another human as she moves her hand, and then she goes

into tracing their body on the side of her. This portrays a sense of longing, because the dancer is

reaching for someone else but they aren't their to be in reach. It still carries a sense of hope

though as the melody of the music is still upbeat and the movements flow throughout the space

as if the dancer associates pleasant emotions with this other human being.

These strong emotions and message of longing for that other human being and wanting to

embrace he or shehim or her, are continued throughout the piece until the dancer claps her hands

together and the audience picks up on the mood change from upbeat and positive to somber, as if

the performer realizes the other person they are trying to connect with is no longer there. The

movements transition from circle and almost in a fixed space to further across the stage. The Commented [F5]: unclear

performance space or stage is important for modern dance to convey messages, which is shown

in the video as she uses the space more to convey different emotions then when she started the

dance. This is because, modern dancer usually assumes a multidimensional orientation in the

performance space. Dancer's actions make use of each dimensions provided to them in the space

in order to convey different messages. Dancers can often stand sideways, turn their backs on the

audience, and not remain upright, each claiming a different feeling or emotion. This transition is

also carried through the shift in lighting from warm oranges, red and pinks, to cool blue hues.

Therefore the more the dancer is moving in this piece across the performance space the more she

is trying to come to terms with this situation, and it provokes feelings of loneliness, sadness, and
fear of being alone.8 Overall in this single piece of art audience members can converse with the

ideas of the artist themselves as they carry out the message through movement that they intend

for the audience to connect with. Commented [F6]: Your additions here help to explain the point
you are trying to make more clear.

M artha Graham is another choreographer who influenced dance and used it as a form of

communication. 1894-1991, but unlike Duncan she focused on both emotional and cognitive

executions of modern dance. She is considered a pioneer of modern dance, and referred to

modern dance as "The hidden language of the soul. She is also recognized as one of the greatest

artists of the 20th century because she helped to create a movement language based upon the

expressive capacity of the human body.9 She evolved her technique of contraction and release

from the natural exhalation and inhalation of breathing. In her early abstract works she explored

movement initiated in the torso. She often danced the roles of female protagonists confronting

moments of crisis in order to convey strong messages to her audience about problems arising

during the 1930's. Her work is overall why modern dance is known as the free, expressive style

of dance to help convey and communicate powerful messages with it's audience.10 Commented [F7]: No apostrophe

Although it might be hard for some critics to evaluate specific works of modern dance as

art, there are ways to assess the quality of the dance. A few of these ways include a dancer's

expressive range and the ability of the modern dancer to communicate. The difference between

Duncan and Graham is Duncan was just developing modern dance for the first time she based Commented [F8]: Fused sentences

her movements purely off of her emotions, but Graham used modern dance as an artistic practice

ingrained in the rhythm of American life and the struggles of the individual, Graham claimed to Commented [F9]: Comma splice

8 "Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia,
EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).
9 "History: Martha Graham." History . 2012. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://marthagraham.org/about-

us/our-history/.
10 "Modern Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World

Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).

bring a distinctly American sensibility to every theme she explored. She wrote in the 937 essay,

A Platform for the American Dance, A dance reveals the spirit of the country in which it takes

root. No sooner does it fail to do this than it loses its integrity and significance Her artistic

communication through dance movements consistently dealt with social, political, psychological,

and sexual themes, which is why she was known as a politically powerful artist even though her

outlet of artwork was modern dance. Overall M artha Graham has helped modern dance to be a

form of artwork that communicates emotionally and cognitively because she altered and

expanded the scope of modern dance by rooting the dance and its movements in social, political,

psychological, and sexual contexts, deepening their impact and resonance with the audience.11

Martha Graham is captured in these photographs and portrays how her movements, even in still
life, evokes emotions. Her body isn't constricted to the traditional style of ballet, and because of
this she is able to mold and shift her body into positions she feels evokes a particular emotion.12
To see examples of how dance can convey messages and communicate, especially with a

political bases for example, watch video until 3:06. The video showcases The M artha Graham's

11 "History: Martha Graham." History . 2012. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://marthagraham.org/about-
us/our-history/.
12 "History: Martha Graham." History . 2012. Accessed November 29, 2016. http://marthagraham.org/about-

us/our-history/.
Dance Company performing selections from their 'Political Dance Project', which premiered in

June of 2010, at the Joyce theater. 13

https ://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ut9XjQ8RESE

After discovering the origins of modern dance and the original intentions to have a new

style of dance communicate through movement, connections can be made to other philosophers

and writers besides just Leo Tolstoy. Compared to Tolstoy, Gordon Graham acknowledges that

art can have its origins in and communicate, strong emotions, but he does not hold the same

belief that it is universal. The two writers differentiate even more in their writings when Gordon

Graham states art has to have an impact, and an artwork that aims at a portrayal of any emotions,

even those of a violent or evil nature, has to count as a failure if it leaves the audience in an

uncomprehending state. If relating this notion to modern dance, then I completely agree with this

idea. If an audience is left emotionless from a piece of dance, then it is lacking something from

the artist own emotional state that is being portrayed.14 Commented [F10]: Since you invoked the cognitive in your
discussion of Martha Graham, why not make the connection to
Grahams chapter 4 on his full theory?
Unlike Gordon Graham, Collingwood is a philosopher who would agree with Tolstoy

though. He has the notion that the artist processes emotion in the course of creating their work,

and this leads to a thoughtful expression that communicates to the audience. The process of

creating art is the process of self-discovery. The artist is discovering what his or her emotions

are. The act of communicating emotions to an audience is for an artist, an act of self-

communication. Art is not simply, expressing one's feelings, because the artist never rants. They

are just being emotional through art. M odern dance is a form of art that allows the artist to use

self-discovery to form their artwork. Through this formation there is communication between the

13 Anne Bogart,Anne, and Martha Graham. "Martha Graham Dance Company's 'Political Dance Project'" YouTube.
June 03, 2010. Accessed November 29, 2016. https://youtu.be/ut9XjQ8RESE.
14 Graham, Gordon. Philosophy of the Arts: an Introduction to Aesthetics. 3rd Edition. London: Routledge, 2005.
artist's self discovery and the emotions the audience perceives from this.15 Collingwood and

Tolstoy's beliefs connect directly to why the modern field of dance developed as a means to help

people express themselves and relate to others through non-verbal communication.16
M odern dance was developed originally in the twentieth century by Isadora Duncan, and
Commented [F11]: I think you want to include something for
your reader about how a modern dancer might go about
constructing a piece how that processing happens in the process
of choreography.

later carried on by other artist such as, M artha Graham, because there was a need for dancers to

portray a message that was both emotionally and cognitively thought out at the time. This style

of dance has survived until present day, because there is still a need to communicate messages to

an audience, and a dancer's form of doing so is through non-verbal expression of the body. With

modern dance there is are no longer constrictions or limitations felt by the artist, they are allowed

to use their thoughts and emotions, which connects to Leo Tolstoy's ideas about how artist

communicate their emotions to the audience through their artwork.

15Korsmeyer, Caroline, ed. Aesthetics: The Big Questions. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 1998.
16"Modern Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World
Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).
 Works Cited

Anne Bogart, Anne, and Martha Graham. "Martha Graham Dance Company's 'Political Dance
Project'" YouTube. June 03, 2010. Accessed November 29,

2016. https ://youtu.be/ut9XjQ8RESE.

"Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk & Wagnalls New World
Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).

Graham, Gordon. Philosophy of the Arts : an Introduction to Aesthetics. 3rd Edition. London:

Routledge, 2005.

"History: Martha Graham." History . 2012. Acces sed November 29, 2016.
http://marthagraham.org/about-us/our-history/.

Kors meyer, Caroline, ed. Aesthetics: The Big Questions. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing,

1998.

"Modern Dance." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2016): 1p. 1. Funk
& Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, EBSCOhost(accessed December 7, 2016).

Moore, Jessica. "Modern Dance Primer." PBS. March 23, 2013. Accessed November 29, 2016.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/entertainment-jan-june01-modern-dance_03

23/.

Rojo, Tamara, Frederick Ashton, and Isadora Duncan. "Five Brahms Waltzes in the Manner of

Is adora Duncan - Solo (Tamara Rojo, The Royal Ballet)." YouTube. October 16, 2014.

Accessed November 29, 2016. https ://youtu.be/FcqzmFl0DhI.

Tolstoy, Leo. Leo Tolstoy, What Is Art? Trans. Aylmer Maude. (1896): 1-32. Web. 8 Nov. 2016.

"Who Was Isadora Duncan?" Lori Belilove & The Isadora Duncan Dance Company. 2012.
Accessed November 29,2016. http://www.smartlabs.us/customers/isadoraduncan/the-

foundation/archives.

I had in mind something more sophisticated than Funk and Wagnalls as a source for the
aesthetics of modern dance. But many of the additions youve made are helpful and the paper
is better for them. I still think you make too many assertions without backing them up with
evidence, either from your experience, from the pieces themselves, or from sources.

Component Points

Paper clearly articulates theme and purpose for the paper in 18/20 points
an initial paragraph, and the theme or purpose of the paper is
effectively addressed in the body and conclusion.

Paper accurately represents concepts from class readings and 17/20 points
discussions.

Paper evidences effort to obtain and use sources beyond the 8/10 points
required course materials.

Paper clearly and accurately represents work(s) of art used as 9/10 points
examples in the paper as appropriate

Paper makes appropriate connections between aesthetics 8/10 points

content and artwork(s) chosen.

Sequencing of content in paragraphs is organized and logical. 9/10 points

Sentence structure and word choices are accurate and clear. 9/10 points

Spelling and typographical errors are absent. 4/5 points

Chicago footnote citations and Works Cited list is included and 5/5 points
properly formatted.

Total 87/100
points