Importance of Doris Humphrey

We care about Doris Humphrey because she was an open-minded artist who looked to the future of dance, while still honoring those who came before her.

She was very appreciative of her time spent with Denishawn, and used her success with them as a springboard for her career.  She was a smart dancer who used research to make gains within the field, rather than sit back and be told what to do.  Her theory on fall and recovery, which led to her codified technique, was greatly influenced by the ideas of German philosopher Frederick Nietzche.  Her technique is still taught today.

Her collaborations with other artists shaped what Modern Dance is today.  Her willingness to work with her former student, Jose Limon, as artistic director of his company demonstrated how humble she was.  The Limon Dance Company is one the few Modern Dance companies which is still performing today.  There success is at least partially due to Doris Humphrey's Artistic Directorship during their early years.  Additionally, she worked with Martha Hill and others to start the dance department at Juilliard, which is still a wildly successful education program.

I believe that her largest gift to the future of dance was her book, “The Art of Making Dance”.  Published in 1958, the year she passed away, this book is still widely considered a must read for any dancer or choreographer.  This text is usually used in dance composition classes, but can also be utilized by other art forms. 

Doris Humphrey's legacy makes her nearly impossible to not care about.  In addition to her technique, and her book, Doris Humphrey's stamp on dance is still visible in many other places.  The Limon Dance Company, MOMENTA, The Juilliard School, and many other dance companies and colleges continue to perform her repertoire.  Her theory on fall and recovery as well as well as the compositional tools outlines in her book can be seen in the works of: Jose Limon, Trisha Brown, Pina Bausch, and many other choreographers.  Many of her compositional tools, are even used in improvisation based work. 

It is no surprise that someone as hard working and smart as Doris Humphrey experienced such success both during and after her time on earth.  

Importance of Isadora Duncan

We care about Isadora Duncan because she played a pivotal role in developing modern dance into what it is today. Her work was organic and captivating which developed from an honest place of felt experience. With no shoes on her feet and no corset holding her in place she flowed through nature with freedom and poise. This freedom led her to challenge the rules set forth by society as well. Her free-spiritedness supported the rights of women and helped to change the restrictive ideas of what a woman “should be.” Isadora was not only a dancer but also a social activist. She was one of the first women to make dance a way to teach and influence society. Though America was not so receptive, Europe was. All was not lost in her experience in America though; she helped to open the doors for women to break down walls in the future.

The public should take note of Isadora Duncan because she helped to shape societies restrictive views of what women “should be. She is a great leader even though she was indirectly one. Her main purpose was to dance and be free. Through this she influenced more than just the “dance” community. She was one of the first women to have a public career and have men working for her, statues made after her, and audiences pay money to watch her. There were some before her too, Loie Fuller for example, but it was still a challenge to be here for a woman at the time. Heck, it is still hard to be a woman and not be constantly subjectified by society.

Her influence is easy to correlate in society but it is even easier to correlate in dance. Her ideas and organic form is still seen in movement today. She moved so lightly and with such ease. Presently there is a technique and notation for Isadora’s style of dance but it is not as popular as other codified movements. We think that is because Isadora was so free and maybe was more open-minded to have her ideas evolve (this is not a fact, just an idea). You can see the idea of evolving movement in improvisation techniques and trans-modern classes of present day. And though it is difficult to find her codified ideas presently I think her indulgent, flowy qualities can be seen in some artists still. For example Trisha Brown is very free when she moves, and William Forsythe has an effortless quality (not exactly the same, but the move with a light-freedom). Also, almost every modern class is taken with bare feet so, thank you Isadora!!

Dance is so important to more than just the art itself. Isadora was an innovator of her time. Her legacy still continues on today. It is easy to see how and why she was so pivotal in developing a ground floor for modern dance to grow from. As well as a place for the arts to integrate into influencing societal norms.