Sally Banes, in her reading, sets the stage for analytic post-modern dance to be the natural progression in the evolution of dance, following post-modern dance that is. The post-modern dance was a hostile rejection of the definitions and limitation of dance; the next step would be to redefine dance after having expressed their distaste for the old constraints in dance. In analytic post-modern dance, the focus on dance moved away from expressing personal meaning. Rather than putting a personal meaning into the dance, it instead became focused on the movements of a dance- Banes described the focus on body movements as akin to being “goal-oriented”. The dances of this were not very high energy, but displayed a good sense of control over the body as well a more fluid movement (as opposed to the tense movements of other dance styles).

Steve Paxton was the father to the Contact Improvisation dance style, which emerged from the analytic post-modern dance era in 1973. Contact improvisation incorporates many aspects of the analytic post-modern dance, as the style did not have a personal meaning for every single dance. Contact improvisation was and continues to be about a dancer and their body interacting with another dancers as well as with gravity; it is about a focus on the way two partners spontaneously move together while keeping contact. The movements themselves were very fluid and not very energetic- from my time in the contact improvisation class, I was able to see first hand that the dance was like watching two people sliding over and against each other, rolling with the movements of the other. Just as the dance style encourages a more relaxed and free-flowing movement, it also requires one to be able to think kinetically; the entire dance is improvised on the spot, as the name would suggest, so the dancers must be able to take whatever movements their partner is providing and then react accordingly. All in all, Paxton innovated a dance style which fit perfectly into the era which spawned it.

-Mary Yanez

From what we have read, watched, and discussed I think post modern dance was a movement that provided a radical and unique new outlook onto what dance was. Modern dance had already shattered the glass ceiling of classical dance as it strayed from ballet into hundreds of new varieties with their own style, technique and cultural influence. Post modern dance varied again from modern dance by challenging common assumptions or requirements even of the new modern dance style. It introduced complex questions to be answered through physical expression. This physical expression varied greatly. Post modernism challenged the necessity for dances to be choreographed to music, or any noise at all. Why do we need music as a background for dance? And if we include music why does it have to be written prior to the choreographing as an inspiration for the dance? Why can’t dances be the inspiration for music, or for them to be created independently and combined without prior rehearsal? These are the types of questions that brought about the post modern dance movement. Dancers used strange props, danced in silence or vocalized while dancing, some even incorporated motions that were questioned to even be considered dance.

One artist who was a strong proponent in the development of this movement was Steve Paxton. Paxton got involved in the movement after studying with Bob Dunn in Merce Cunningham’s studio. Performances under Dunn took place in Judson Church, a venue that proved itself to be a place to foster the new work of post modern choreographers like himself. When Paxton was looking for a place to show his own work, he also turned to Judson Church. Paxton was the founder of a dance style called contact improvisation. Contact improvisation is a type of unchoreographed dance that involved some multiple of people greater than one. Dancers knew a series of techniques and motions but had to focus on working and moving with their partner(s) as the paramount theme of the dance style. Partner(s) characteristically have to remain in contact with one another as they move freely around, over, and under one another. They have to do as much “listening” with their bodies as they do “speaking” so that both partners knew where each other wants to go and are therefore able to remain in meaningful contact. Paxton’s introduction of contact improvisation into the post modern dance movement remains a substantial contribution as it is still avidly taught and studied today. Many dancers, even if not primarily trained in this style, study Paxton’s influences as a way to heighten their sensitivity to the way they shift weight between themselves and the earth, as well as how they move and flow with partners they work with in other styles. Because of this, Paxton has not only pioneered a new dance style, but also improved the technique of dancer performing other dance styles.

Analytic Post-Modern Dance is a movement that wanted to revolutionize the meaning of what dance truly is. This is similar to the purpose of just about any movement in art forms. The movement wanted to take away the belief that the beauty in dance is in the meaning. Merce was an artist that began to challenge this belief, and he believed that the choreography itself is a story as opposed to a story having to be told through the dance. A part of Analytic Post-Modernism that was promoted by Rainer in Trio A is the insertion of dance moves that are part of the casual and amateur moves into this new ideal (Banes XXI). The movement wanted to isolate dance motions in an almost scientific way, a way that intellectualized the movements of the body. Analytic Post-Modern Dance focused on the movements of the artists as the dance and minimized the importance of finding a meaning or story in the pieces.The movement originally was not too intermeshed, but became more combined through the work of the Grand Union with one another.

Steve Paxton was the artist who came up with Contact Improvisation in 1973, and this form of dance was the embodiment of the choreography being the story. The movements of the dancers in Contact Improvisation are largely based on the reactions of one dancer with another. Paxton’s dance form consisted of fluid and nearly random movements. As I saw in the Contact Improvisation class as well as the video, the dance form allowed for an expression of the individual artist and for expression for the group dynamic. Paxton incorporated the ideas of Analytic Post-Modern Dance that someone who is not a dance enthusiast can get involved with his dance from. I found this out for myself, even though I was only observing the class I can see how anyone willing to get involved could have, and is a testament to why the Contact Improvisation has stuck around.

Glenn Collaku

Sally Banes defines analytic post modern dance as rejecting “musicality, meaning, characterization, mood and atmosphere; it uses costume, lighting, and objects in purely functional ways. In the 1970’s, the objective of dance was to be minimalistic, functional, and objective. With no influence from western philosophies, unlike previous dance forms, there was an emphasis on spontaneity and the process of the dance rather than the finished product. Dancers began to use every day clothes and sweats as costumes, very little to no music at all, and special lighting effects in ordinary, well lit rooms. The art form centers the dance on the individual. The individual becomes an expression of dance, rather than the dance performed by the individual to represent some idea. The human body is glorified through the use of contractions, repetition, and gravity as it exposes the raw aspects of dance. For example, the concept of “actual time” is used. Through this, movements are timed to the amount needed to physically carry out the activity as opposed to the standardized timing that dictated earlier forms of dance. Banes describes this new style of choreography to be demonstrating “a theory of dance”. By the 1970s, Analytic Post-Modern dance had established a more concrete style.

Steve Paxton was an essential part in the growth and formation of post modern dance. Trained by Robert Dunn in Merce Cunningham’s studio, he developed techniques that are still used today. He was a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater located in New York City which was a major platform for post modern dancers to showcase their work at the time. What Paxton is most known for however, is his development of the dance form known as Contact Improvisation in 1972. This form of dance uses analytic post modern techniques as it utilizes the physical scientific laws of friction, momentum, gravity, and inertia to explore the relationship between dancers. Paxton believed that even a non-professional dancer was able to contribute to this dance form. The improvised dance form is based on the communication between two moving bodies that are in complete physical contact with each other for an undesignated amount of time. Contact improvisation is related to analytic post modern dance in that it uses the techniques of the style as well as introduces a new idea of dance to the world as well.

-Monica Huzinec

In the 1960s there was a break away from Post-Modern dance to a style that used the body itself as the subject of the dance rather than having the body serve as instrument for expressing the deeper meaning of the dance. Thus this dance style focused on the way in which dance was expressed rather than the meaning behind the dance. In order to showcase this new style choreographers and dancers experimented with different and new uses of time, space, and the body. One specific choreographer, Merce Cunningham, decided to disengage the relationship between music and dance and had his dancers learn movement with no music until the day they had to perform the dance.

Moreover, in the 1970s an even greater deviation from post-modern dance emerged to form a style called analytic post-modern dance. This dance form stripped dance of all expressive elements such as music, lighting, costumes, and props. The dances were often performed in silence, and well-lit rooms, and the dancers dressed in ordinary clothes like sweatpants and t-shirts. The goal of analytic post-modern choreographers was to redefine dance in the wake of the controversy of the 60s. Thus movements weren’t overtly expressive and gave no illusionistic references. Rather the moves were simple and usually involved, repetition, reversal, geometric forms, and comparison and contrast. As Banes describes, the dance’s energy was “literally reduced”. With the elimination of musicality and rhythmic organization it is obvious that analytic post-modern dance was a very divergent dance style in comparison to ballet and modern dance.

In 1972 Steve Paxton created Contact Improvisation.  This form of dance involves “physical techniques of falling, duet situations, and physical improvisation, but its forms have social and political connotations” (Banes XX). Meaning that a dancer and their partner(s) must work together to continue the flow of the dance while maintaining physical contact the entire time. The elements of the performance were also symbolic of a world that could be better. For example the improvisation stands for freedom and adaptation, and the support stands for trust and cooperation. Thus Paxton is related to analytic post-modern dance in that he used the ideas of analytic post-modern dance in his contact improvisation style. Not only did Paxton incorporate the social and political issues of the time like other analytic post-modern choreographers but Paxton presented audiences with a new and different idea of dance as well.

Ariella Caminero