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Isadora Duncan
Isadora Duncan was an eccentric woman considered by some to have created modern dance. A grand personality both on-stage and off, she broke away from the strictness of ballet and used pedestrian movements such as skipping in her choreography. She met her death in 1927 when a long, flowing scarf that she was wearing caught on the axle of a car and broke her neck. Oh, the drama. -
"Serpentine Dance"
A short solo work by Loie Fuller that explored both innovative lighting and costume design. Considered a very early modern dance work. -
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Martha Graham
An incredibly influential pioneer of modern dance, Martha Graham was an incredibly prolific performer, choreographer and teacher. While Duncan may have started the art form, Graham is the one who launched it to stardom. Her works were often psychological in nature, and dealt with varying themes from frontier America to Greek mythology. -
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Doris Humphrey
Doris Humphrey was a second-generation dancer like Graham whose technique is still taught today. She collaborated frequently with dancer Charles Weidman, and they formed the Humphrey-Weidman Company. Also an accomplished author. -
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Anna Pavlova
Anna Pavlova was a Russian ballerina who danced briefly with the Ballets Russes, but is most famous for her solo work, particularly the miniature "The Dying Swan", and for turning the ballet aesthetic at the time on its head with her non-standard body and technical shortcomings. One of the most celebrated ballerinas of the 20th Century, she was named prima ballerina in 1906 following a performance of Giselle. -
"The Dying Swan"
A short ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine for Anna Pavlova, the ballet details the last moments in the life of a swan. This solo is now widely celebrated and has influenced portrayals of Odette in "Swan Lake". The score for the work is "Le Cygne", by Camille Saint-Saens. -
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Jose Limon
A modern dancer and choreographer- like Graham, has one of the main codified modern techniques taught today. Limon technique emphasizes the natural balance between fall and recovery. -
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Michel Fokine
Michel Fokine was a Russian ballet dancer who was the principal choreographer for the Ballets Russes for a short time. Some of his most notable works with the company were "Firebird" (1910), "Les Sylphides" (1909), "Petrouchka" (1911), and "Scheherazade" (1910). -
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Ballets Russes
A traveling professional ballet company originally based out of Russia. Led by impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the company produced many star dancers and choreographers, as well as highly controversial ballet works. The company died when Diaghilev died, and was in a constant state of debt. -
Les Sylphides
A plotless ballet choreographed by Michel Fokine for the Ballets Russes. Inspired heavily by Filippo Taglioni's "La Sylphide" (1832). -
"The Firebird"
A ballet performed by the Ballets Russes, "The Firebird" was choreographed by Michel Fokine with a score by Igor Stravinsky. While a celebrated Fokine work, "Firebird" is most notable for launching Stravinsky's career as a composer, and both ballet and score were a commercial and critical success. The ballet is based off of old Russian folk tales about a magical glowing bird. -
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Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais was a modern dancer and choreographer who was particularly noted for experimenting with making the human body look inhuman through the use of strange costumes. Also tended to compose his own music. -
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Vaslav Nijinsky
After Fokine's time as the principal choreographer, Diaghilev encouraged Vaslav Nijinsky as the Ballets Russes next star choreographer. An electric performer, Nijinsky was known for some very controversial works, chief among them "Le Sacre du Printemps", which caused riots when it first premiered. Nijinsky's performance career came to an end after being diagnosed with schizophrenia. -
"Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring)
A ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky with score by Igor Stravinsky for the Ballets Russes, the score and choreography were equally controversial and jarring to audiences, and caused a riot when it first premiered. The ballet is about an ancient tribe that celebrates the arrival of spring by selecting a sacrificial maiden to dance herself to death. -
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Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham was another influential modern dancer and choreographer. Cunningham's main contribution to the field was the idea of chance, and frequently explored the idea of leaving movement, music, or costumes up to chance, utilizing dice to make decisions for him when creating work. -
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Paul Taylor
Paul Taylor is one of the last living great second-generation modern choreographers. A dancer for Martha Graham, he left and formed his own company. Fond of iconoclastic works, he often uses dance to make social commentaries on the state of the world. But, he is equally capable at creating comedic and abstract pieces. -
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Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey was a modern choreographer renowned for his still-popular company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City. He is also noted for revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th-Century concert dance, and for revolutionizing modern dance in general. -
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Stephen Petronio
Stephen Petronio is an American choreographer and dancer who is the artistic director of the Stephen Petronio Company in New York City. He was the first male dancer for the Trisha Brown Company, and then went on to found his own company in 1984. His movement vocabulary is visually arresting and showcases great energy on the part of his dancers.