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2000 BCE
Natya Shastra influences Indian Theatre and Dance
a "theater manual" that describes and analyzes the techniques employed in ancient Sanskrit plays; spells out in great detail all aspects of the performers art ranging from mudras (hand gestures) to specific makeup and costume regulations; laid down the basic strategy of Indian dance (influenced both bharata natyam and kathakali); ~2000BC -
450 BCE
Evidence of Dance in Rome
Hellenistic Period; evidence of dance in images and architecture, unclear exactly what it looks like -
400 BCE
Pyrrhic
weapon dance, a form of Greek mock combat (moves a soldier would need in battle); soldier in his battle gear accompanied by music; builds strength and agility and prepares soldier for war around 400BC -
100
Hopi Snake Dance
Native American society in Southwest revolved around danced ceremonies for thousands of years; dance with snakes, used movement to become one with nature; believed snakes were a part of underground world connected to rain and nature, way to ensure that they would receive rain for the harvest and connect with god -
800
Cambodian Court Dance
9th century, Khmer empire; court dance- slow, controlled, elegant dance performed by young beautiful women passing down stories of Cambodia's history/gods -
1200
Mevlevi order establishes sema
Konya, Turkey 1200s; Rumi-our master, spiritual master, kind of god on this planet; dervish's whirling ceremony- attire is reflective of the mourning garments Rumi wore after the death of Shamsi Tabriz; use the body to connect with God, a vessel to fill with the love of God; spinning→ transcended to another place physically -
Founding of Kabuki
1600 Kyoto, Japan; Okuni- woman who found kabuki, started mixing different popular entertainment forms; onnagata- male kabuki performer who specializes in female roles; kabuki stage -
Death of Cardinal Mazarin, founding of Royal Academy of Dance in France
Cardinal Mazarin ran France until Louis XIV was 14; Académie Royale de Danse- first of the many academies Louis XIV established; Court of Louis XIV- language of ballet established by Louis XIV and his dance master Pierre Beauchamps; Versailles, lose status if you cannot dance -
1st Asantehene & the Golden Stool
Late 1600s-1700 Ghana; Golden stool symbolized essential spirit of Asante Nation; Akwasidae festival every 40 days, Big Adae yearly; Asantehene expected to dance, Fontomfrom- drum, drumming and dancing intertwined -
Kathakali
Kerala, southwest India 1700s; colorful makeup to distinguish characters, all male performers, performed outside of temples for whole night, dance/drama, percussion; Kalari payattu- martial art form trains kathakali, practice in earthen pit, physical discipline; eye, eyebrow, hand and wrist, and lip exercises, mudras, revoke rasas; stories told through Kathakali from Mahabharata and the Ramayana. -
French Revolution
dance no longer wants to represent aristocracy after revolution; beginning of 1800s rise of middle class, whole new era not about king, move into age of romanticism -
Tahitian Dance Prohibited
Around 1800, traditional dance prohibited, suppression of culture. Prior to that, Tahitian/polynesian dance= sexuality celebrated, men and women have separate steps and traditionally danced apart, movements are solely male and solely female, shaking of hips, a way to thank gods, women wore a low waisted grass type skirt to accentuate hips, feathery large headpieces/headdresses -
La Sylphide
sylph- imaginary female delicate creature, femoral: can't touch or hold on to her, lives in forest; romantic ballet, Paris- long skirts, power to the people, female dominated, moments of pointe work, doom and gloom, “any time but now, any place but here"; Choreographed: Filipo Taglioni at Paris Opera, Marie Taglioni as sylph -
Giselle
Romantic Ballet- Paris, focus on common people, etc.; wilis- girls who died of broken hearts; Music: Adolphe Adam; Choreography: Jean Corall & Jules Perrot -
Classical Ballet develops from Imperial Russia
1870s-1900, developed in St. Petersburg, never performed outside of Russia; Marius Petipa- father of Classical Ballet (imported to St. Petersburg from Paris Opera- brought many elements from Romantic Ballet); divert attention from story to technique, not about romantic story telling narrative, look at fancy elaborate tricks, break fourth wall: bow, monarchy represented on stage as characters, highly developed pointe work, grand pas de deux, shorter tutus -
Swan Lake
Classical Ballet, St. Petersburg; choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov-Petipa’s Assistant Ballet Master, score by Tchaikovsky -
Ghost Dance Emerged
Plains Indians late1880s; Wovoka, a Paiute Messiah created spiritual movement (ghost dance); believed in the transforming power of dance- form of rebellion, way of unifying different tribes and surviving against the U.S. government -
The Sleeping Beauty
Choreographed by Petipa, Tchaikovsky=composer; tale of dynastic renewal, monarchy on stage, shorter tutus, musicality, pointe work -
Loie Fuller
raised in Illinois, goes to Paris, the City of Light, makes dance artistic for the first time since the Romantic Era; Lilly dance: fabrics attached to arms, emphasis on heavy breathing, sweating, new uses of electricity; dance no longer cheap, its artistic -
Isadora Duncan
raised in San Francisco viewed art as religion; inspired by elements of nature, western art, classical societies of Greece; movement is freeing and flowy, hair is down, legs are showing, dances give a spontaneous sense; late 1800s-early 1900s -
Ballet Russes Company Established
Founded by Sergei Diaghilev; never performed in Russia, mainly in Paris, inspiration in Russia; Fokine, Stravinsky; elaborate productions, “astound me”; unity of expression in dance, along with an integrated corps de ballet, less pantomime; change from Marius Petipa's classical ballet at the Imperial Ballet -
Ruth St. Denis and Denishawn
beautiful skirt dancer from New Jersey; she did appropriate cultures and create dangerous stereotypes, tapped into Americans fascination with other cultures; partners with Ted Shawn and forms Denishawn in LA- first American school of dance -
Martha Graham
potential realized at Denishawn; created 180 pieces of choreography, did not retire until age 75; contract and release, joy and sorrow; story open for interpretation; intense muscularity -
School of American Ballet Opened- Balanchine
Imported from Russia to the U.S.A. to create a 20th century American ballet company- must establish a school of ballet; pieces focus on movement itself; Apollo, The Prodigal Son -
Reemergence of Bharata Natyam
During British colonization association of devidasis as sacred prostitutes, viewed as sinful and horrible--> abolished. when India gained independence, those who knew bharatanatyam brought it back; no longer a temple dance rather you learn, pass on, and perform; still a way to make an offering, based on Natya Shastra, Shiva Nataraja -
Jose Limon Dance Company Established
contemporary western choreography; Limon's mentor=artistic director; diverse in race, gender, and choreographers; strength and fall, up and down -
Jerome Robbins
mid-late 20th century; famous for choreographing Broadway hits; associate director of Balanchine's New York City Ballet; ''Gypsy,'' ''West Side Story," "Fiddler on the Roof.'' -
Merce Cunningham
Established dance company in 1953; in industry for 70 years, 180 dances and 700 events; style defined by precision and complexity, challenged traditional ideas; music and dance work independently of one another, dancers not tied to rhythm, structure, or mood of music; used chance and randomness as a tool, need movement, time, and space, but music, costumes, a set, etc=unnecessary -
Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre in NYC Established
African American man grew up in Texas; learned from Horton and Graham; main priority get dance to the people; everything done with purpose and intentionality, beyond just movement; diverse in people and choreographers; Revelations -
Batsheva Established
Ohad Naharin out of israel, backed by Graham; very intimate, sexual, props and technology; contemporary western dance -
Khmer Rouge Takeover Cambodia
1970s khmer rouge took over cambodia; "start at year zero", wiped out/abolished cambodia's culture, killing fields: genocide, people and culture wiped out; as soon as khmer rouge was kicked out (1979) dancers tried to restore culture and history, went into "survival mode" -
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company Formed
dance company with wife; references figures from the world of 20th century dance history, value not only in dance but also set, narrative, music;
