How much do you know about the history of modern dance?

Genre of Western Concert or Theatrical Dance

• Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance that primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
• Modern dance was developed as a rejection of classical ballet and a way to express social concerns like socioeconomic and cultural factors.
• Early modern dance artists such as Isadora Duncan, Maud Allan, and Loie Fuller disregarded ballet's strict movement vocabulary and stopped wearing corsets and pointe shoes.
• Sociopolitical concerns, major historical events, and the development of other art forms contributed to the continued development of modern dance in the United States and Europe throughout the 20th century.
• American modern dance can be divided into three periods or eras: Early Modern, Central Modern, and Late Modern.
• Martha Graham is often regarded as the founding mother of modern 20th-century concert dance. She developed her own dance technique, Graham technique, that hinged on concepts of contraction and release.
• African American dance blended modern dance with African and Caribbean movement.
• The legacy of modern dance can be seen in the lineage of 20th-century concert dance forms.
• Postmodern dance developed in the 1960s in the United States when society questioned truths and ideologies in politics and art.
• Contemporary dance emerged in the 1950s as the dance form that combines the modern dance and classical ballet elements.
• Modern dancers use dancing to express their innermost emotions, often to get closer to their inner-selves.
• Important teacher-student relationships in modern dance include Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, and Alvin Ailey and Lester Horton.

Test your knowledge of the history and evolution of modern dance with this quiz! From its origins as a rejection of classical ballet to its incorporation of African and Caribbean movement, modern dance has been shaped by sociopolitical concerns and major historical events. Explore the different eras of American modern dance, the development of postmodern and contemporary dance, and the key figures who helped shape this influential art form. See how much you know about this fascinating genre of western concert or theatrical dance!