TEXT CHAPTER SIX MODERN DANCE VIDEO DANCING IN THE LIGHT ALVIN AILEY A TRIBUTE TO ALVIN AILEY The Second Generation Martha Hill 1900 1995 o Pulled together a festival of dance called the American Dance Festival o Wasn t a dancer was a teacher o No longer in Vermont at Bennington College now it is at Duke o Moved onto Julliard School o Leading figure during the second generation of modern dance Anna Sokolow 1915 2000 o Studied with Martha Graham o Important next step in modern dance o Best known for Rooms how it is possible to live in NYC among so many people and still feel alone and isolated o Jose Limon 1908 1972 Studied with Widman o From Mexico and brought with him heritage from Humprhey Widman company o Technique emphasizing balance speed control o Best known for The Moor s Pavane Erick Hawkins 1917 1994 o First male dancer in Martha Grahams studio o Featured in Appalachian State o Left her company and marriage o Technique based on ease and free flow of movement opposite of Martha Graham Lester Horton 1906 1953 o Up until now all of modern dance was in the East coast o From California o American Indian Native American cultural influences very important to him o Was the teacher of Alvin Alley o Technique requires a strong torso and uses both symmetrical and asymmetrical styles Katherine Dunham 1909 2006 o A researcher and a scholar in the field of Anthropology o Technique combines native Caribbean and modern dance o Negro Rhapsody first all black piece in Chicago o Barrelhouse Blues black concert dance on Broadway o Stormy Weather was a movie that featured singer Lena Horn Talley Beatty 1923 1996 o Mourner s Bench Pearl Primus 1919 1994 o Strange Fruit Alvin Ailey 1931 1990 o From Texas and one of many children o Big guy o Moved to LA and went to Lester Horton s class and joined company o Lester left his company with Alvin when he died o Alley moved to NY to study all types of dance o Established major center of dance in NY called Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre o Established schools within his theatre that acknowledged Horton and Dunham o Revelations Cry For Bird With Love Night Creatures Donald McKayle 1930 o Teaches at University of California Irvine o Rainbow Round My Shoulder Video notes 1st video o Tribal music o 1 male dancer o Imitating a bird o Black background 2nd video Barrelhouse blues o 1 male 1 female dancer o jazz music o black background o pedestrian clothes o prop is a stool 3rd video Strange Fruit o 1 female dancer o no music just words from a poem o strange fruit is the body of the person hanged 4th video o 1 male dancer o bench is used as a prop o motif is angel 5th video o all male dancers around 10 o no shirts or shoes o light background working under hot sun in prison 6th video Alvin Alley o started at 18 7th video Revelations o 3 acts 1 pilgrams of sorrow 2 take me to the water about baptism o o 3 stool and fan props used in this section dresses but bare feet women dancers