Where did improvisation go?

I actually wrote this a little while ago, but after the previous post (The fringe benefits of failure, and the importance of imagination) I thought it would be fitting to talk about improvisation.

Inside every little ballerina is the urge to move, to improvise. The little girl hears music and lets her body go, to sway, to run, to twirl. And yet, I find it strange that remembering myself as a pre-teen, expected to perform improvisation in the odd class, I was paralised by shyness, scared to expose the little girl inside to scrutiny of the world.

It seems that we take all the little girls, and boys, who shows a natural love for moving to music, we put them in a class and teach them how to look like a row of synchronised, cookie cutter perfect ballerinas. If I think about it, everything that we teach in our ballet classes focuses on suppressing our natural urge to be individuals, our freedom to express ourselves with our natural nuances, our own choreography.

The way we train our dancers may make for a spectacular corps de ballet in Swan Lake, but does not bode well for the dying swan who does not want to 'go gently into that good night' by blending into the row of corps girls.

And so I ask, what are we doing to our budding young choreographers - the writers of the stories to be told through music and dance? How do we nurture that fairy princess who steps into class on her very first day, moving to her own song, to achieve the technique, precision, synchronisation and awareness that defines ballet, but also to nurture the free spirit of each individual to unleash to the world an unrestricted creativity from each and every dancer?

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination

Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, was invited to give the commencement address at the Harvard graduation ceremony for the class of 2008. You don't have to be a Harry Potter fan, nor a Harvard graduate to appreciate her words of advice and wisdom, with a touch of humor thrown in.

You can read or watch the address here.

A little bit of Horton class

This was all I could find... but I hope a little is better than nothing :)

A small except of a Horton Technique Class:

The Horton Technique

Horton is a major codified modern dance technique reputed to fortify, stretch, and strengthen the human body. A technique created by Mr. Ailey’s mentor Lester Horton in the 1930's and 1940's. A modern dance pioneer, Horton’s goal was to create a dance technique that was anatomically corrective and utilized the widest possible range of motion, with an emphasis on large, full movements done to musical phrases of varying lengths and dynamics.

Horton was trying to create a dance technique based entirely upon corrective exercises, created with a knowledge of human anatomy; a technique which will correct physical faults and prepare a dancer for any type of dancing he may wish to follow, a technique having all the basic movements which govern the actions of the body, combined with a knowledge of the origin of movement and a sense of artistic design.

In an interview Horton stated: “I am sincerely trying to create a dance technique based entirely upon corrective exercises, created with a knowledge of human anatomy; a technique which will correct physical faults and prepare a dancer for any type of dancing he may wish to follow, a technique having all the basic movements which govern the actions of the body, combined with a knowledge of the origin of movement and a sense of artistic design”. (from the book American Dancer Pierre, Dorathi Bock (New York, NY October 1937, pg. 37.

The basic warm involves: flat backs, primitive squat, descent and ascent, lateral stretches, release swings, leg swings and deep lunges. The shapes that are used throughout the training in Horton technique are emphasized: the T positions, stag position, cross lunge and coccyx balance. The Horton technique was designed with studies to stretch and strengthen different areas of the body. Many of the beginning level studies which are taught focus on the Achilles tendon, the abdominal muscles, and movements that lengthen the spine and the hamstring muscles. Simple combinations of movements that include turns and jumps are taught to introduce musicality and dynamics to the beginning dancer's vocabulary. Performance qualities are emphasized at the very beginning of the dancer's training.

See also:

* The Dance Technique of Lester Horton, Majorie B. Perces, Ana Marie Forsythe, Cheryl Bell, ©1992 Princeton Book Company
* Video: The Dance Technique of Lester Horton: An Advanced Beginners Class (available from Amazon.com)

Lester Horton

Horton, Lester, (1906-53), dancer, choreographer, and teacher is regarded as one of the founders of American modern dance. He developed a unique style of technique and choreography, established the first permanent theater in America devoted to dance, and organized one of the first integrated modern dance companies.

Lester Horton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana. Choosing to work in California (three thousand miles away from the center of modern dance - New York City), Horton developed his own approach that incorporated diverse elements including Native American dances and modern Jazz. Horton's dance technique (Lester Horton Technique) emphasises a whole body approach including flexibility, strength, coordination, and body awareness to allow freedom of expression.

Throughout his career, Horton combined dance and drama into a total theatrical experience. He was intimately involved in creating all aspects of a production: the costumes, sets, lighting, and music as well as the scenarios and choreography. His fascination with ethnic dance, human sensuality, and cultural history was expressed in a prodigious body of work with themes ranging from the classics to melodrama, social concerns to farce.

Horton demanded a lot from his dancers. He required them to study ballet, learn to read music, sew, work the light board, and assist in making scenery and props, participating in virtually all aspects of production, design, and execution. Horton's company members and students included well-known modern dancers/choreographers such as Alvin Ailey, Janet Collins, Carmen de Lavallade, Bella Lewitzky, James Mitchell, Joyce Trisler, and James Truitte. Horton collaborated with Lewitzky to develop the foundation of his technique; they joined forces with several other partners to found the Dance Theater in Hollywood in 1946.

sources:
* Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre - Techniques, Horton
* Wikipedia - Lester Horton

More on Martha Graham

I know you can find everthing on youTube, but I did think that finding something with Martha Graham actually in it, would be quite a feat. But well, what do you know... here's something that was filmed in 1961. This expert features choreography from her ballet "night journey", which premiered in Cambridge, Mass in 1947.

Martha Graham

Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, whose influence on dance can be compared to the influence Stravinsky had on music, Picasso had on the visual arts, and Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.^[1] Graham invented a new language of movement, and used it to reveal the passion, the rage and the ecstasy common to human experience. She danced and choreographed for over seventy years, and during that time was the first dancer ever to perform at The White House, the first dancer ever to travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and the first dancer ever to receive the highest civilian award, the Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."

In 1926, Martha Graham founded her dance company and school, living and working out of a tiny Carnegie Hall studio in midtown Manhattan. In developing her technique, Martha Graham experimented endlessly with basic human movement, beginning with the most elemental movements of contraction and release. Using these principles as the foundation for her technique, she built a vocabulary of movement that would "increase the emotional activity of the dancer's body." Martha Graham's dancing and choreography exposed the depths of human emotion through movements that were sharp, angular, jagged, and direct. The dance world was forever altered by Martha Graham's vision, which has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for generations of dance and theatre artists.

Graham's early dances were not generally well-received by audiences who were not sure what they were seeing. The works were spare, powerful and modern, devoid of the dreaminess and glamour of the works of the previous decades. The dances were often based on strong, precise movement and pelvic contractions, and were charged with beauty and emotion. It was a stirring period of revolution for Graham in which she would begin to establish a new language of dance which was different from everything that preceded it and which would leave everything that came after it indelibly changed.

In 1936, Graham made her defining work, "Chronicle", which signalled the beginning of a new era in contemporary dance. The dance brought serious issues to the stage for the general public in a dramatic manner. Influenced by the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War, it focused on depression and isolation, reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes.

Those who had the privilege of seeing her perform in her prime have attested to her precision, form and mesmerizing brilliance as a dancer on stage. Though she is arguably one of the most important choreographers in the history of dance (and perhaps one of the most important artists of the 20th century) she always said that she preferred to be known and remembered as a dancer.

For more information see:
* Wikipedia - Martha Graham
* Martha Graham Resources

[1] http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/graham_m.html