C H A P T E R

8
Imported Influences:
1900–1929

Chapter 8 Imported Influences: 1900–1929)

 “Let me see you do the ‘ragtime dance’
Turn left and do the ‘cakewalk prance’
Turn the other way and do the ‘slow drag’
Now take your lady to the world’s fair. . .
And do the ‘ragtime dance.’”

~Scott Joplin
Dancers Doing the Charleston
 Chapter 8 Concepts
• A dance fever broke out with fad dances, the tango, the
jazz age, ragtime, and the Charleston.

• Pavlova’s and Diaghilev’s companies dazzled American

audiences with their European ballet triumphs.

• A new dance form emerged as dance artists sought

ways to express their individual styles based on ancient
Greek dance, ethnic dance forms, and emotional
responses and interpretation of music and natural
phenomena.

• Dance began to be viewed as not only entertainment but

also a discipline with artistic merit.
 Glance at the Past
• From the turn of the century to the 1930s, the United
States underwent tremendous historical, political,
and social changes.
• The century began with the assassination of
president William McKinley; in the next decade the
United States entered World War I.
• The Roaring Twenties, with Prohibition and
speakeasies as well as women’s rights, ended with
the stock market crash and the subsequent Great
Depression.
 Social Dance
• As African Americans migrated to northern
cities, their rhythms and dances moved with
them.
• Waves of immigrants brought their cultures
and dances with them.
• Catching the American energy of the later
part of the 19th century, ragtime became the
rage, revolutionizing dance at the beginning
of the 20th century.
 Ragtime
• The term ragtime came from its catchy, ragged
rhythm, often created by syncopation.
• Ragtime began during the 1880s. Its energetic
movements, influence of minstrel songs,
country dances, and jigs adapted by African
Americans resulted in new rhythms and the use
of syncopation.

(continued)
 Ragtime (continued)
• In 1898 Joplin wrote “Maple Leaf Rag.”
• His new rags were influenced by old minstrel
songs, Stephen Foster’s songs, John Philip
Sousa’s marches, and popular songs of the
1880s and 1890s.
• As ragtime propelled American popular music
into a dominating force (and sheet-music
publication into a $2 billion industry in the early
1900s) music and dance became accessible
forms of household entertainment.
 Irene and Vernon Castle
• Around 1910, the Castles led a new dance
revolution; their careers coincided with the
emergence of ragtime and the ever-building
dance craze.
• Vernon changed social dance from a set
sequence of steps to a series of figures for
couples; men led and women followed.

(continued)
Irene and Vernon Castle (continued)
• The Castles created hundreds of new steps;
their dances were simple, popular, and
innovative and got more people dancing.
• Dances included
– the Castle walk (accompanied by “Castle Rag”),
– the one-step,
– the two-step, and
– animal fad dances.
 The Tango
• From late-19th-century Buenos Aires, it
combined cultural elements from African,
Native American, and Latin dances with
popular Argentine music—the tango.
• By 1910 tango mania had reached Paris; it
spread through Europe, London, and New
York until the onset of World War I.
 Fox Trot
• Invented around 1914 by Arthur Carringford
(stage name was Harry Fox).
• In New York vaudeville theaters with his
company (the American Beauties), Fox trotted
through their tableaux and paused to tell a joke.
• His two slow walks followed by four quick
steps became known as Fox’s trot.
• The dance was easy and became popular,
making its way into dance halls.
 The Jazz Age
• By 1917, Chicago had become known as the
world’s jazz center.
• In New York, George Gershwin and Cole
Porter broke down the barriers between the
concert hall and popular music from Tin Pan
Alley.
• Meanwhile, Irving Berlin created American
patriotic songs for World War I and new
songs for the follies.
(continued)
 The Jazz Age (continued)
• The Roaring Twenties ushered in the
Charleston, black bottom, and shimmy.
• Radio spread American culture via songs
and music over the airwaves into many
homes.
• The Savoy Ballroom (in the heart of Harlem)
opened its doors in 1926. From ragtime to
swing to boogie-woogie, it became the
launching pad for new fad dances.
 The Charleston
• The most popular dance in the mid-1920s;
the American craze spread quickly to
Europe.
• Its origins are unclear, but it made its debut
in the 1923 African American revue Runnin’
Wild.
• Done in 4/4 time to such tunes as
“Charleston” or “Yes, Sir! That’s My Baby,”
it used a kicking step and other dance steps.
 The Black Bottom
• An African American dance that originated
in the South; a song by the same name
appeared in 1919.
• The dance became popular when it was in
the play Dinah (1924).
• It replaced the popular Charleston onstage
and in the dance halls.
 Russo-American Ballet
• The Russo-American era: The first period of
American ballet in the 20th century.
• Russian influence began with U.S. debuts of Anna
Pavlova and Mikhail Mordkin (1910).
• The Pavlova (and later Diaghilev) company displayed
skillful technique, romantic music, elaborate
costumes, and spectacular settings.
• Major figures in ballet and choreography in the new
century created new audiences for classical ballet
beyond theatrical, minstrel, and variety shows.
 Michel Fokine (1880–1942)
• Russian-born dancer, choreographer, and
theoretician.
• Upon graduation from the Imperial School he joined
the Maryinsky Ballet.
• He joined Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes as a dancer and
choreographer; 1909 to 1912 has been called its
Fokine period.
• During this period he created Les Sylphides,
Firebird, and Petrouchka.
(continued)
 Michel Fokine (continued)
• Fokine is considered a transitional figure between
Petipa’s classicism of the late 19th century and the
modern ballet that evolved in the first half of the
20th century.
• In 1914 he sent a letter to the London Times
outlining his five principles of ballet reform. These
principles became the guidelines for the new 20th-
century ballet, which rescued ballet from its history
as entertainment and transformed it into an
expressive art.
 Fokine’s Five Principles
1. Each dance should use new forms of movement suitable to its
subject and period.

2. Dance and mime should be used to express dramatic action.

3. Mime should be used only when the ballet’s style dictates it; in
other cases the dancer’s whole body, not only the hands,
should be used to communicate.

4. The corps de ballet should be used for plot development and

as a means of expression.

5. Ballet reflects the alliance of all the arts involved in it: music,
scenery, dancing, costuming. Music should be a unified
composition that is dramatically integrated with the plot.
Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky
in Fokine’s Le Pavllion d’Armide
 Anna Pavlova (1881–1931)
• She trained at the Imperial School, joined the
Maryinsky company, and was a prominent
ballerina in Russia before touring.
• She joined Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes but left
because of disagreements with Diaghilev.
• Her first tour of the United States was in 1910
with Mikhail Mordkin as her partner at the New
York Metropolitan Opera House.

(continued)
 Anna Pavlova (continued)
• Pavlova created her own company with a
repertory of ballet, experimental dances that
she choreographed, and classical ballets.
• She inspired dancers and dance teachers all
over the world, influencing ballet and ballet
audiences in the early 20th century.
• Her name became synonymous with the word
ballerina.
• Her signature work was the Dying Swan.
 Vaslav Nijinsky (1890–1950)
• He graduated from the Imperial Ballet School and joined
the Ballets Russes for its 1909 premiere season.

• In 1912, he became the choreographer for Diaghilev’s

Ballets Russes. His works include Afternoon of a Faun;
he danced the title role.

• He mounted The Rite of Spring for the Ballets Russes

(1913). Other works included Jeux (1913) and Tyl
Eulenspiegel (1916).

• In early World War I, he was a civilian prisoner in

Austria-Hungary.

(continued)
 Vaslav Nijinsky (continued)
• He rejoined Ballet Russes for a second American tour;
he was director, ballet master, and premier danseur.

• In 1917 it became clear that Nijinsky was mentally ill; he

left the company.

• His dancing was technically extraordinary. His technical

prowess created a new place for the male dancer in
20th-century ballet that would equal that of the
ballerina.

• His choreographic contributions were bold.

 Nijinksy’s Ballet Innovations
• He used angular, jerky movements; parallel
foot positions; and very stylized
movements.
• His works portrayed a strong sense of
atmosphere and use of body facings.
• He introduced sexual elements into his
ballets.
• His work, The Rite of Spring, was strongly
influenced by Dalcroze eurhythmics.
Vaslav Nijinsky in L’Après-midi d’un
faune, as the Faun
 Léonide Massine (1896–1979)
• He graduated from the Imperial School in Moscow,
joined the Bolshoi Ballet Company and then
Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.
• 1913 through 1921: He was the chief choreographer
of the Ballets Russes; those years are known as the
Massine years.
• In 1933, Massine joined the Colonel W. de Basil’s
Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo as choreographer.
There, he restaged many of the Diaghilev company’s
works.
(continued)
 Léonide Massine (continued)
• He is credited with creating the symphonic ballet,
an abstract ballet performed to symphonic music
such as Choreartium.
• Later, Massine was to choreograph for Ballet
Theater.
• In his career, Massine choreographed over 100
ballets; most popular were La Boutique Fantasque
(1918) and Tricorne (The Three-Cornered Hat, 1919).
 Bronislava Nijinska (1891–1972)
• Russian-born dancer and choreographer and sister of
Vaslav Nijinsky; she graduated from the Imperial School
and joined Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

• Signature work: Les Noces (1923); presents a Russian

peasant wedding ceremony and dances to music by
Stravinsky.

• She created Les Biches and Le Train Bleu (1924).

• She emigrated to the United States in 1938. She started

a school in Los Angeles and choreographed for Ballet
Theatre and Ballets Russes de Monte Carlo, among
others.
 Sergei Diaghilev (1872–1929)
• Russian entrepreneur who devoted his life to
ballet through Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes
(1909–1929).
• In 1909, he produced “Saison Russe,” a series
of Russian ballet and opera performances in
Paris.
• He created a total-theater experience focusing
on ballet but supported by scenery, costumes,
music, and other arts.
 Significant Dance Works
Fokine’s seminal works include
• Chopiniana (1906): Became Les Sylphides (1909).

• Le Pavillon d’Armide (1907): Set in the Louis XIV period,

based on a story by Théophile Gautier. It is considered a
transitional work from Petipa’s style to Fokine’s style.

• Firebird (1910): Based on a Russian fairy tale, it includes

a prince, a magical bird, and monsters; it ends with a
Russian wedding.

• Petrouchka (1911): Set in a 19th-century Russian

Shrovetide carnival, it involves puppets.
(continued)
Significant Dance Works (continued)
• Massine’s Parade (1917): Launched a new period in the
Ballets Russes. A surrealistic look at street circuses,
the ballet took its title from Picasso’s visualization of
the French and American circus managers as animated
billboards.

• Nijinska’s Les Noces (1923): Included a Russian

peasant wedding ceremony and dances to music by
Stravinsky.

• Le Train Bleu (1924): A lighthearted ballet about 1920s

fashions, with costumes by Coco Chanel.

(continued)
Significant Dance Works (continued)
Despite his short career, Nijinsky produced
innovative works, including
• L’Après-midi d’un faune (1912): Staged to look similar
to an ancient Greek frieze, in which a faun cavorts with
nymphs.

• Le Sacre du Printemps (1913): Featured ground-

breaking use of rhythm and movement.

• Jeux (1913): A ballet based on a game of tennis.

• Tyl Eulenspiegel (1916): Debuted in New York.

 Dance Literature
• From the turn of the century through World War I
ballet teaching manuals emerged.
• Louis Chalif (Russian dancer and teacher; came to
the United States in 1904) wrote ballet technique
books and published dances with sheet music.
• Technical Dictionary of Dancing (1913) by Edouard
Espinosa (1871–1950).
• The Manual of Theory and Practice of Classical
Theatrical Dancing (1922) by Beaumont and
Cecchetti; it outlines Cecchetti’s method for
teaching ballet.
 Summary
• The early 20th century in America was a period of
imported influence, especially from Russia.
• Pavlova made a lasting impression on audiences in
America and throughout the world.
• Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, though plagued with
touring problems, provided an even more lasting
gift to American ballet. The company members who
remained in the United States nurtured ballet in the
next decades.
• These artists set the stage for the emergence of
American ballet.
 New Dance
• A new vision of dance formulated in the early
20th century.
• A synthesis of many people’s contributions
and the events that occurred during the last
quarter of the 19th century.
• The new dance emerged as a response to the
ballet that populated the variety shows and
music halls, which had a rigid formula of steps
and poses.
 Dancers and Personalities
Dancers’ studies and backgrounds became some
of the strands in developing new dance.
• Dance concepts, techniques, costumes, and stage
settings from around the world
• Dancers from vaudeville and variety shows who
performed “fancy dances” that incorporated various
dance forms
• Genevieve Stebbens, who taught the Delsarte
method (influenced Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis,
and Ted Shawn)
 Major Figures in New Dance
• Forerunners of modern dance, the new dancers
wanted authentic movement; they performed
barefoot instead of in pointe shoes.
• They wanted to dance about real people, not
fairy-tale princes and princesses; they
abandoned the tutus, tights, and big skirts in
favor of clothing that allowed freedom of
movement.
• They danced with scarves that left movement
trails in the air.
 Loie Fuller (1862–1928)
• She performed in Europe, where she became La Loie.
• In 1908 she founded a school and a company, Loie
Fuller and Her Muses.
• Her theories of dance include use of natural,
nonballetic gestures and movements; using few
specific steps; and interpreting music spontaneously.
• She looked at fabric and light and expanded her
repertory of effects.
• Fire Dance (1895): This work used glass plates on the
floor with lights from underneath.
 Isadora Duncan (1878–1927)
• Born in San Francisco, she began as a show dancer
in Chicago.
• In 1902 she joined Loie Fuller’s company; she
returned to the United States in 1908 and danced at
the Metropolitan Opera House.
• Duncan’s work was accepted in Europe but not so
readily in America.
• Her early dances were inspired by nature or music,
movement that springs from within the dancer.

(continued)
 Isadora Duncan (continued)
• Duncan’s principle of movement: Motion is
motivated by emotion and must be expressed with
the instrument of the entire body.
• Her use of great music, her bare feet, her free-
flowing costumes, and her performance on a bare
stage were a legacy for other dancers.
Isadora Duncan (continued)
 Ruth St. Denis (ca. 1877–1968)
• Known as the mother of American modern dance.
• Developed a particular interest in expressing
religious and mystical themes.
• In her early career she was a skirt dancer in
vaudeville.
• Her interest and study of Oriental dances influenced
Radha (1906), a blueprint for other works and
considered a masterpiece. Radha is a goddess of
the five senses.

(continued)
 Ruth St. Denis (continued)
• In 1914 Ted Shawn became her partner and her
husband; the following year they established the
Denishawn School in Los Angeles.
• In the 1930s, St. Denis founded the Society of
Spiritual Arts.
 Ted Shawn (1891–1972)
• A dancer, choreographer, artistic director, author,
and crusader for male dancers; he established the
Denishawn School with Ruth St. Denis.

• From 1933 to 1940, Shawn established an all-male

company (Ted Shawn and His Men Dancers).
• In the 1950s, he established Jacob’s Pillow in Lee,
Massachusetts.
• Shawn is known as the father of American modern
dance.
Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn
in “Dance of the Rebirth”
from Egyptian Suite
 Influences on New Dance Forms
• Aesthetic dance: At the turn of the 20th century, it
was taught as physical education for women in
college settings.
• Melvin Gilbert: Physical educator hired to teach
women his aesthetic movement program. He hired
Louis Chalif to collaborate and expand the
program.
• Gertrude Colby and Bird Larson: Taught their
natural dance forms in colleges.
These strands further developed the new dance.
(continued)
 Influences on New Dance Forms
(continued)
Denishawn School and Company (1915–1931)
• Denishawn was the highest-paid and most talked-about
dance company in the country. The company’s cross-
country tours introduced American audiences to new
forms of dance.

• The school and the company educated first-generation

American modern dance artists and choreographers.

• Denishawn made a great contribution to dance in

education through their inclusion of Asian, Spanish,
and Indian dances and ethnological studies as well as
their music visualizations.
 Significant Dance Works
• Loie Fuller: Serpentine Dance (ca. 1891), The
Butterfly (1892), Salome (1893), Fire Dance (1895).
• Isadora Duncan: Marseillaise (1915), Marche Slave
(1917).
• Ruth St. Denis: Radha (1906), Incense (1906),
Soaring (1920).
• Ted Shawn: Xochitl (1921), Death of Adonis
(sometimes titled Adagio Pathétique; 1924), Kinetic
Molpai (1935).
 Dance Literature
• After the turn of the century, dance became an
educational tool through writing.
• Ted Shawn wrote nine books, including
Fundamentals of a Dance Education (1935), Dance
We Must (1940), and Every Little Movement (1954) to
develop a foundation for the new dance forms.
• Louis Chalif produced several books and
voluminous dances with accompanying sheet music
that he distributed through his New York dance
school.
(continued)
 Dance Literature (continued)
Magazines
• Dance Lovers: In 1925 it expanded to a new format
and became The Dance; it lasted until 1931.
• American Dancer: It emerged in California in 1927.
• Dance: Founded by Robert Milton in 1936.
• Dance Magazine: Created in 1942; a product of
merging American Dancer and Dance.
 Summary
• Since Little Egypt first performed at the
World’s Fair in Chicago before the turn of
the 20th century, performers of the new
dance grasped international influences,
both ancient and modern, as means for
expressing contemporary views.
• They used personal and stylized movement
in an attempt to capture the spirit of a new
dance.