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
I agree with Mary on her point about post-modern dance consisting of much more focused body movements. Post-modern dance did reject, as Mary said, “the limitations of dance,” as it began to break away from the focus on aesthetics that was common in modern dance. Instead, this new dance movement placed new constraints on movement, which was limited by their goals and concepts. Although these can also be considered “limitations,” they allowed much more freedom and “free-flowing” movement as Mary mentions. Additionally post-modern dance, unlike modern dance, which was “bloated with dramatic, literary, and emotional significance,” made the body the center of attention (Banes xvi). The body was no longer an instrument to convey the significance of other subjects–it was the subject itself. In this way, post-modern dance became much more minimalistic, as it was more down-to-earth and stripped down, with less focus on costumes and more focus on the body and dance itself (Banes xx).
Unlike Steve Paxton, who, as Mary mentioned, embraced gravity, Trisha Brown tried to defy gravity in some of her dance pieces. She became interested in using unused spaces, which relates back to Banes description of post-modern dance: “the use of space was explored both in terms of the articulation in the dance and in terms of place” (xvii). Some of Brown’s dances consisted of walking on walls and ceilings, which broke away from the strict adherence to the use of stages and galleries for showcasing dance. Brown, although not as free-flowing as Paxton, also incorporated improvisation into her dance piece “Solo Olos.” This dance involved an instructor who called out directions on the spot for dancers to follow, as he or she analyzed the dancers’ movements. The dancers, in turn, were expected to react quickly to instructions such as reversing their current movements. This showcases one of the most important aspects of post-modern dance, which emphasizes solely the dance and the dancers’ movements; there were no other distractions such as costumes, or deeper significances.
I agree with Mary that post-modern dance rejects the limitations of modern dance and other preceding dance movements and styles. Post-modern dance, in the analogy to visual art, is akin to the abstract. Just like art of the abstract expressionist movement focused on capturing the movement and process in the final product, Post-modern dance focused on celebrating the movement and process of dance itself. It frees itself from the constraints of literary idea and music; it celebrates the beauty of natural human movement and thus enables any type of human movement to be considered dance, even that of standing still.
Trisha Brown, like Paxton, gained notoriety after taking Robert Dunn’s classes at Merce Cunningham’s studio. She focused on improvisation: many of her pieces she would not have a choreographed routine for, and did not know what she would be doing when going in to perform.She also became well-known for her equipment pieces. She would often use support systems, like ropes and pulleys, in order to suspend her self in the air or to be able walk on vertical walls. This way, she would make use of what would otherwise be “wasted space.” Her interpretation of post-modern dance’s rejection of traditional limitations on dance extended to the rejection of the physical laws of nature.
I think Mary made a great point when she stated that “the post-modern dance was a hostile rejection of the definitions and limitations of dance.” Post-modern dance allowed for more freedom and it changed the way dance was seen. “Expressive elements such as music, special lighting, costumes, props, et cetera, were stripped away from the dancing” (Banes XX). There was no more use of costumes and instead the dancers wore normal everyday clothing like t-shirts and sweatpants. There was no more use of music and the performances were done in well-lit rooms. There was a shift in focus from the dance expressing personal meaning to the dance focusing more on the actual movements that the dancers were making. The dancer became the subject of the dance and was no longer the person that was used to convey the meaning of other subjects. As Banes stated, “the analytic dances called attention to the workings of the body in an almost scientific way” (Banes XXI). There was more control over the body and what it could do. Like Mary mentioned in her writing, other dance styles had rigid and tense movements but post-modern dances displayed more fluid movements. Even though, the dances were done in a more relaxed manner, there was still a sense of structure in them. Analytic post-modern dance was overall more focused on the dance itself with the simple yet effective approach it had.
Trisha Brown, just like Steve Paxton, changed the ideas of movement. Trisha Brown was different from Paxton in her use of “perfectly good unused spaces”. For example, she walked on the wall of the Whitney Museum along with other dancers using ropes. She defied gravity but at the same time showed how the body can be used in different and unique ways which is what Post-Modern dance is all about. She used simplistic movements in her dances and she had a minimal usage of words and music. One of her works “Solos Olos”, was quite interesting as it had an instructor calling out directions for the dancers on stage. The amazing thing about this performance is that the dancers had to think on the spot and reverse their movements and change it from one moment to the next based on the instruction given. The focus was solely on the different moves that were done.This emphasized the importance of the actual dance movements and the dancers creating them. Trisha Brown wasn’t looking to become popular, but with all the different and unique performances that she contributed to Post-Modern dance, she became a well-known and popular choreographer over the years.
– Karla Collaguazo