What Is Dance?

What Is Dance?

By Suchu Tanyetz

Okay. So. You want to know what actually happened.

Fine. But I want to be clear that I am still not entirely sure I am banned. That is a strong word. What I know is that Marcus — someone I trust, someone tall enough to have a particular view of any room he is in, someone who moves in wider circles than I do and hears things — reported back to me that certain people were angry. Not mildly annoyed. Angry. The kind of angry that gets remembered. The kind that apparently has a shelf life longer than the performance itself, which was eleven minutes.

Eleven minutes. They have been angry for longer than the piece was.

I have been on the other side of this. I want to say that. I have sat in an audience and watched something and felt my face do things I could not control. I understand the experience. What I am less clear on is how a piece that asked a question and then answered it honestly constitutes an act of aggression against the dance community. I was invited. I made a piece. The piece had an opinion. These things happen.

Here is what the piece was.

Works in Pluribus is the Academy of Significant Movement's annual showcase. Many companies. Many styles. Ballet. Hip hop. Contemporary. People like me, which is its own category that no one has successfully named in forty years so we have all stopped trying. The backstage situation is what you would expect when you put this many dancers, this many costumes, and this many strongly held aesthetic positions into a space designed for perhaps a third of that. I have worked in worse. I have worked in conditions where backstage was a suggestion and the suggestion was a hallway.

My piece opened the show. If you do not know what that means — and I mean really know, not just imagine — it means the artistic director received my submission, watched it, and decided it should go first. Before the audience has fully sat down. Before the latecomers have arrived. Before anyone has turned their phone off or fully committed to being present. It is the slot you give something when you do not know where else to put it, which is a polite way of saying it is the slot of shame. I have been in this field long enough to know exactly what it means. I said nothing. I smiled. I took the slot.

The piece began with a voiceover. Booming. Extremely self-important. The voice of every artist statement ever written, every grant application, every post-show talkback where someone uses the word liminal without irony and expects to be taken seriously. What is dance? What IS it? The dancers entered in ballgowns — enormous, structural, the kind of garments that have their own center of gravity — and they ran. Passionately. As one does when the question has been asked and the answer must be expressed through the body immediately.

This was not a celebration of dance. This was a portrait of how dance celebrates itself. There is a difference and I thought it was obvious.

The ballgowns came off. Black. Serious. Then aerobics. Then two dancers doing things with their spines that I will not describe except to say there was a nature documentary voiceover and it was entirely accurate. Then the voiceover returned and this time it had an answer. Dance is nothing. Life is pointless. Fred Astaire began to sing. The dancers reached for their red tails jackets and began to melt to the floor, dissolving slowly, beautifully, like something very significant was concluding.

Except for Marcus.

Marcus is tall. Marcus has hair down his back, curly, magnificent, the kind of hair that registers in peripheral vision from thirty feet away. Marcus could not get his jacket on. The sleeve had done something — I still do not know exactly what — and he spent the entirety of Fred Astaire singing about heaven working on this problem, very visibly, while everyone around him dissolved. He did not get it on. He died anyway. One arm in, one arm out, melting to the floor with the rest of them, the jacket hanging off him at an angle that was, in retrospect, perfect.

I was mortified. I want to be honest about that.

I have since changed my position entirely. A piece concluding that life is pointless, ending with a very tall man unable to put on a jacket while Fred Astaire plays and everyone else dies beautifully — this is not a mistake. This is the piece working correctly. Marcus was not failing the finale. Marcus was the finale. I just could not see it at the time because I was sitting in the audience, which is where someone had decided I should be, watching something I could not control, which is, I realize, also the piece.

The applause was what I would call present.

The show continued. I watched the rest of it from the lobby, where the lighting is different and nobody asks you anything. My mother was inside. She had notes. She always has notes. This is not related to the ban.

As for what specifically resulted in my current relationship with the Academy of Significant Movement — I want to be careful here. I did not do anything to deserve it. That is my position and I am keeping it. Whether something was said backstage in the particular way things get said backstage when space is limited and aesthetic positions are strongly held, whether a certain type of company director with a certain type of investment in dance being a serious and meaningful pursuit took issue with eleven minutes of evidence to the contrary, whether any small fires were involved — I cannot speak to all of that.

What I can tell you is that some people were very angry and have stayed that way. I understand it. I have been that person in the audience. I know what it feels like when something makes your face do things.

I just think that is a reasonable response to art. Not grounds for anything further.

Marcus, for what it's worth, has fully mastered the jacket since then. He showed me. It goes on perfectly.

We did not discuss the performance.

We never discuss the performance.

The Lasting Impact of Postmodern Dance: A Legacy of Unconventional Methods

The birth of Postmodern Dance was a seismic shift in the dance world, disrupting the status quo and paving the way for a new era of artistic expression. This revolutionary movement defied the norms of traditional modern dance, embracing a rejection of spectacle and formalism and instead, championing interdisciplinary collaboration. By partnering with visual artists, composers, and filmmakers, Postmodern Dance broke down the boundaries between art forms and created a new landscape of limitless potential.

Breaking free from the constraints of convention, Postmodern Dance declared that anything could be dance, and anyone could be a dancer. This bold stance set the stage for the movement to embrace the fragmented, self-referential, and ironic ideologies of postmodernism. The Judson Dance Theater, a postmodernist collective in New York in the 1960s, is widely credited as a pioneer in this movement and its groundbreaking ideas.

Embark on an exciting journey of postmodern dance in the digital age. Uncover its fluid history through groundbreaking interdisciplinary collaborations with artists, musicians and filmmakers. Explore the impact of technology on the genre, and how young creators are shaping its future. Join us as we examine the relevance of postmodern dance in the digital world.

Postmodern Dance Takes Shape

The term "postmodern" made its way into the dance world in the early 60s. As the genre was taking form, rejection of the traditional modern dance style was the only unifying factor among these emerging artists. Pioneers of the form experimented with avant-garde techniques like chance procedures and improvisation. Dance by chance, where movements are determined by chance instead of the choreographer, was popularized by Merce Cunningham, a modern dancer and choreographer. But despite their rejection of traditional modern dance, early postmodern choreographers still drew inspiration from techniques in classical ballet and modern dance.

As postmodern dance evolved, a more defined form took shape in the 1970s. "Analytical postmodern" was the term used by Sally Banes to describe the style of the time. The focus was on abstraction, conceptualization and distancing from the conventional elements of dance such as music, costumes, props, and lighting. This approach aligned more with the modernist criteria set forth by art critic Clement Greenberg. Analytical postmodern dance was stripped of personal expression, relying instead on scores, verbal commentaries, bodily attitudes, and tasks to convey meaning. Its minimalistic method echoed modernist art's objective approach.

The late 60s and early 70s were a time of political upheaval and activism, and this era of change left a lasting impression on analytical postmodern dance. The works of postmodern dancers of the time were inspired by movements such as Black Power, anti-Vietnam war protests, second-wave feminism, and LGBTQ activism. The style was infused with elements of African-American and Asian dance, music, and martial arts, showcasing a cultural inclusivity and rejection of dominant Euro-American norms. Through their art, postmodern dancers of the time used dance as a tool for exploring and challenging political and social issues.

Postmodern Dance in the 80s and Beyond - Breaking Free from Formalism

The postmodern dance of the 80s and beyond diverged from the analytical style of the previous decade, embracing expression and meaning once again. Though diverse in style, the form began to align with the avant-garde music world, appearing on prominent international stages such as City Center and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This era of postmodern dance also saw an increased interest in preserving the art through film and repertory, moving away from the improvisational attitude of its early days.

Postmodern dance of the 80s and beyond delves into the exploration of narrative content, virtuosic skill, language and gesture, and political manifestos, pushing the perceived limitations of meaning and art. The formalism of the 70s was left behind as the dance form continued to evolve, reaching new innovations of creative expression.

Breaking Barriers: Postmodern Dance's Legacy of Collaborative Creativity

Postmodern dance is a genre that defies convention, championing experimentation, improvisation, and interdisciplinary collaboration with artists, musicians, and filmmakers. Leading the Charge: Postmodern Dance's Pioneers and their Pioneering Partnerships The pioneers of postmodern dance - Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, and Yvonne Rainer - revolutionized the art world with their fearless approach to interdisciplinary collaboration. Cunningham and composer John Cage formed a symbiotic bond that gave birth to groundbreaking works in both dance and music. Brown, on the other hand, drew inspiration from the world around her, joining forces with visual artists to infuse her minimalist style with an electrifying touch of originality. Rainer, with her experimental ethos, elevated interdisciplinary collaboration to an art in and of itself. These visionaries' beliefs in the power of collaboration were unwavering, with Cunningham famously stating "Art is not just a single expression. It’s a collaboration." Brown proclaimed "Collaboration is key to creating something truly original and exciting," while Rainer celebrated the beauty of interdisciplinary collaboration, declaring "it allows for the creation of something truly unique and beyond the realm of what any one artist could achieve on their own." These pioneers' words serve as a testament to the transformative potential of collaborative work in postmodern dance.

Revitalizing Dance through Unconventional Methods: The Lasting Legacy of Postmodern Dance

The heyday of postmodern dance may have come and gone, but its impact on the world of dance endures. Though its peak popularity spanned just a few decades, from the 1960s to the 1980s, postmodern dance continues to inspire and inform contemporary dance and choreographic processes. In fact, postmodern methods, once considered avant-garde, have become a staple in the toolbox of many contemporary choreographers, shaping the landscape of dance composition for decades to come. The lasting legacy of postmodern dance lies in its groundbreaking approach to interdisciplinary collaboration, which sparked new forms of creative expression and continues to inspire artists to push the boundaries of conventional methods.

Breaking Down Barriers: The Evolution of Postmodern Dance

Postmodern dance has always been a genre that defies convention and pushes artistic boundaries. From its roots in interdisciplinary collaborations to its current presence on digital platforms, postmodern dance continues to evolve and democratize the art form. Today, postmodern dance artists are using technology and the internet to showcase their work and reach a wider audience. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Niv Sheinfeld and Oren Laor, and Trajal Harrell are just a few examples of artists who are utilizing digital platforms to bring their innovative work to a global audience.

The Intersection of Art and Technology: The Digital Age of Postmodern Dance

As technology continues to shape our world, postmodern dance is bridging the gap between tradition and innovation. Young and fearless artists, like @dancer.on.ig and @movementmuse, are using the internet as a platform to showcase boundary-breaking performances. The future of postmodern dance is bright, with the rise of these innovative creators leading the way for a new era of breathtaking developments and surprising collaborations.

Leading the Charge: Pioneers of Postmodern Dance

Martha Clarke, Shen Wei, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker are among the renowned postmodern dance artists who continue to push the limits of what is possible in the genre. Their work seamlessly blends movement, design, and sound to challenge and inspire audiences and fellow artists.

The Relevance of Postmodern Dance in Our Lives

Postmodern dance remains a relevant and dynamic art form that continues to shape our perceptions and deepen our understanding of the world around us. With a focus on breaking down artistic boundaries and fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, it continues to be a vital force in the world of dance.

Envisioning the Future: The Phenomenon of Postmodern Dance in the Digital Age

The future of postmodern dance is full of possibilities as young creators rise to the challenge of embracing technology. The rich legacy of interdisciplinary collaboration that has defined postmodern dance will continue to inspire new and exciting paths for the art form in the digital age. With endless potential for innovation and experimentation, the journey ahead for postmodern dance promises to be an exciting one.

-Suchu Tanyetz