1st Edition

Modern Dance in France (1920-1970) An Adventure

By Jacqueline Robinson Copyright 1999
    480 Pages
    by Routledge

    478 Pages
    by Routledge

    It was indeed an adventure for those pioneers in France who struggled for the recognition of the new-born dance of the twentieth century - from the free dance of Isadora Duncan, through the absolute dance of Mary Wigman, to the modern dance of Martha Graham. Jacqueline Robinson has lived at the heart of this adventure, sharing the aspirations of a whole generation who often suffered from the lack of understanding of an establishment more inclined towards classical ballet. From the breaking of the soil in the twenties, to the flowering in the sixties, here is a chronicle of the changing landscape of French dance. Here is the story of those men and women, ploughmen and poets, rebels and visionaries - the recollection of those events that made it possible for dance as an art form in Western countries to rise again as a fundamental expression of the human spirit.

    Foreword, Prelude: Indelible Ephemera, INTRODUCTION, PART I 1920-1930: THE GROUND-BREAKING YEARS, THE ACTORS, INSTITUTIONS, THE DUNCAN LINE, THE LABAN AND DALCROZE LINES, THE INDEPENDENT ONES, THE EDUCATORS, PART II 1930-1939: THE TILLING YEARS, THE ACTORS, INSTITUTIONS, THE LABAN AND WIGMAN LINES, THE DALCROZE AND HELLERAU-LAXENBURG LINE, DEFECTORS FROM CLASSICAL DANCE THE INDEPENDENT ONES, THE EDUCATORS, PART III 1945-1960: THE SOWING YEARS, THE ACTORS, INSTITUTIONS, FRENCH DANCERS OF EUROPEAN DESCENT THE GRAFTS, IN THE LINE OF JANINE SOLANE, THE INDEPENDENT ONES, THE EDUCATORS FROM DRAMA AND MIME, IN THE DUNCAN LINE, PART IV 1960-1970: THE FLOWERING YEARS, THE ACTORS, INSTITUTIONS FRENCH DANCERS, NOMADIC AND SEDENTARY, THE SCHOLARS, THE EDUCATORS, THE GRAFT FROM LA TIN AMERICA, JAZZ AND AFRICAN DANCE: ANOTHER TURNING TOWARDS ROOTS, EPILOGUE

    Biography

    Jacqueline Robinson

    "A major and fascinating study." -- Laurence Louppe
    "Clearly written and clearly presented...reads like a novel." -- Liberation
    "For the first time, the weave of influences, the networks of related elements, the pioneers and the leaders...are placed together in this remarkable book..." -- Nouvelles de Danse, Brussels