Dance culture in the United States

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The dance in the United States has indeed developed in parallel with the German dance scene, but in a different direction. It created its own styles in the three main areas ( ballet , modern dance , ballroom dances) of dance. Internationally known choreographers also established themselves, who in turn today influence international choreographic development. So z. B. the American school of ballet methodology (with a different temporal structure of the sequence of the individual exercises a ballet lesson) or the popular ballroom dances such as rock 'n' roll , lindy hop or square dance , as they are today in Germany and Europe to be danced.

The jazz age

The African-American slaves in the USA created numerous dances such as the blues , the cakewalk and the black bottom .

Based on these roots, a multitude of dances developed in the heyday of jazz . The tap dance , Charleston and Authentic Jazz received today, many of these roots in the field of solo dances, while in the couple dances Swing dances like the Lindy Hop , Balboa and Shag enjoy again growing in popularity. Individual choreographies like the Shim Sham or the choreographed Big Apple also live on.

Many of the dances of that time such as the Turkey Trot , Texas Tommy , Big Apple , Suzie Q or Breakaway have largely been forgotten and mostly only live on in the form of individual dance figures.

Under these influences were many of the dance greats from the early days of cinema such as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson , Fred Astaire , Ginger Rogers , Gene Kelly , Donald O'Connor and Dean Collins . In the course of this, Frankie Manning was awarded the first aerial , his Whitey's Lindy Hoppers can be seen in the film Hellzapoppin ' (“In hell the devil is loose”). Also Dawn Hampton is over the age of 80 years still on international dancers meeting as a guest.

Rock and roll

In the 1960s, with the popularity of rock 'n' roll, numerous fashion dances emerged. Most of these have been forgotten, the main exception being the twist . There were thousands of such fashion dances, often created only for individual songs. Well-known are Madison from the film and musical Hairspray or the song " Shake a Tail Feather " from the film " Blues Brothers ", which is based on the fashion dances "Twist", "The Monkey", "The Frug", "The Chicken ”,“ The Swim ”and“ Mashed Potato ”.

African American dances

African American dance forms originally emerged on the streets. Even today, the new forms of movement arise there and not in dance schools, where they enjoy great popularity. The movement sequences arise in social interaction with one another; numerous performances and competitions take place today.

The main focus is mainly on improvisation . One characteristic is that the dances are constantly evolving. Two dancers compete against each other in so-called battles, and the steps of the opponent are recorded and directly developed. The focus is on the self-expression and self-realization of the respective dancer, his needs and interests.

Today, other contemporary dance forms can be found in the Afro-American style, while other dance forms naturally also make use of the existing repertoire.

Alvin Ailey and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater are an important example of this link between modern dance and African American dance forms. Hip-Hop , Breakdance , Afro and Jazzdance (among others) are sub-areas that are now also taught separately.

The film Save the Last Dance paints a good, current picture of the scene.

ballet

During the early 1920s, the American population first learned about classical ballet through touring European companies. The first American companies were formed in the 1930s when dancers and choreographers teamed up with dance lovers like Lincoln Kirstein (1907-1996). Kirstein invited the Russian choreographer George Balanchine (1904–1983) to visit the USA in 1933. Together they founded the School of American Ballet , from which the New York City Ballet emerged in 1948 . The ballet manager and advertising agent Richard Pleasant (1909-1961) founded America's second, leading ballet organization, the American Ballet Theater , together with the dancer and manager Lucia Chase (1907-1986) in 1940 .

Strangely enough, Americans like Pleasant used the Russian classics and stuck to this methodology, while Balanchine developed new classical pieces ( Stars and Stripes ) for his new American company with contemporary music and not only presented the standard Russian repertoire of the past. The San Francisco Ballet Company also created exciting new versions and was the only one to perform a complete version of the Nutcracker for over 10 years .

Since then, the American ballet scene has been a combination of reinterpreted classics and neoclassical works, e.g. B. by Jerome Robbins (1918–1998), Robert Joffrey (1930–1988), Eliot Feld (* 1942), Arthur Mitchell (* 1934) and Mikhail Baryshnikov (* 1948).

Modern dance

American modern dance developed in parallel with the music scene in the United States in the early 20th century . Among the founders are illustrious names such as Isadora Duncan or Ruth St. Denis , her husband and colleague Ted Shawn and their students Doris Humphrey and Martha Graham . Modern dance is more about expressing feelings. The movements are not light and floating like in classical music, but on the contrary represent conflict and gravity. The dancer seems to be fighting against gravity. Choreographies can be fixed, but there are also performances in the field of improvisation. Many of Graham's most famous pieces were developed in collaboration with leading American composers, such as: B. also "Appalachian Spring" with Aaron Copland .

Later choreographers like Merce Cunningham also combined different styles; so z. B. Alvin Ailey African American elements and black music . Recently, Mark Morris and Liz Lerman have shown that exciting exercise and the ability to move freely do not only depend on age or body shape.

American folk dances

Today's world-famous square dance is not only a state dance in 19 US states, there were also other typical dances:

Well-known dancers

Ballet companies

Dance companies

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