1. Modern and Contemporary 1900-Present

2. Dance - Modern and Contemporary Dance
Michel Fokine
Russian choreographer
Goal: to unite choreography, music and the dancing in ballets.
Successful works: Prince Igor, Carnaval and Firebird
Developed a five-point philosophy for ballet.

3. Martha Graham American choreographer Created modern dance
Choreographed over 100 dances
Included American Indian, ancient dance ritual, American pioneers and Greek mythology.
Expressed raw emotion and symbolic meanings
Graham Technique -new method of movement
Contraction and release of the mid-section of the body.

4. George Balanchine Russian choreographer
Strong influence on American ballet in the 20th Century.
Created the New York City Ballet Company
Choreographic style called neo-classic
very clean and simple
Dancers were often dressed in a simple leotard and tights

5. Alvin Ailey American choreographer
Created the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre.
First black dance company to travel abroad
His most famous work-
Revelations- gospel ballet
Various subject matters like American Indians and Irish Monks.
Broke down the barriers of race in dance.

6. Mikhail Baryshnikov Russian dancer
Director of the American Ballet Theatre in 1980.
Gave youthful dancers a chance at having lead roles.
Formed the White Oaks Dance Project working with Twyla Tharp to blend modern dance and ballet.
Baryshnikov became a successful actor and dancer

7. Dance Styles Modern Dance Hip Hop Tap Modern Tap Swing
Break Dance-Hip Hop
Evolution of Dance

8. America’s Best Dance Crew
Season 7: Return of the Superstars

9. Drama/Theatre -Modern & Contemporary American Musical Theatre
Musical Theatre is an American art form
It combines a script, singing, and dancing.
The contribution of African-American music is an important element in the development of American musicals.
The 1940’s were the beginning of the “Golden Era” of musicals.
Oklahoma 1943
West Side Story 1957
Cabaret 1967
British imports such as Cats and Phantom of the Opera, two of the many Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals to make it on Broadway
Today’s technological advances have really enhanced the appeal of musicals for many audiences through the technical elements.

10. Music - Modern and Contemporary
Igor Stravinsky ( )
Born in Russia, but also held French and US citizenship
Wrote for ballets
Used Russian folk stories for the ballet stories.
Followed the model of the Romantic composers and used unusual harmonies to create a range of emotions
Listen to Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring: Opening to the end of Jeu de Rapt.

11. George Gershwin (1898-1937) New York born composer
His music reflected the unique nature of American Society.
Wrote concertos, symphonies and music for musicals which were the “popular” music of the day.
Famous piece is Rhapsody in Blue.
the sights and sounds of the city, and came to Gershwin while he was riding a train from New York to Boston.
Used sounds associated with the jazz music that was so popular in Harlem at the beginning of the 20th century.
George and his brother Ira worked together to write songs for Broadway musicals.
People would hear a song from a show that they liked, buy the sheet music to it, and sing it in their homes. (before radios)

12. Aaron Copland (1900-1990) American musical composer
Most well known for writing music that represented America.
Felt that music needed to be accessible to the general public.
Wrote music that he felt could be better understood by everyone.
Used American folk songs, American stories, and also some elements of Jazz.
Famous pieces:
El Salon Mexico (1936)
Billy the Kid (1938)
Lincoln Portrait (1942)
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942)
Rodeo (1942)
Appalachian Spring (1944)

13. Duke Ellington (1899-1974) American born Jazz musician
Began career as a pianist.
From Ellington’s band played at the Cotton Club in Harlem, NY
His band experimented with new timbres for their instruments.
Some of these new sounds were growling, bending notes, and using rubber plungers as mutes for their instruments.
Wrote over 1000 pieces of music.
Many of his pieces became popular hits and are now considered jazz standards.

14. Visual Art -Modern and Contemporary
This period has the most drastic changes happening in visual art.
Artists were inventing new art styles that did not rely on representational subject matter.
Line, shapes, and forms were simplified and abstracted.
This is the period of “isms,”
Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Constructivism, Precisionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and Minimalism.

15. European Art - Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)
Spanish artist
Created Cubism
broke real objects down into geometric shapes and forms like cubes
One of the greatest artists of the modern period, and the most prolific artist of all time.
He mastered: drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture and ceramics.
When he died, he left behind over 50,000 piece of art
Experimented with abstract subject matter and using color in nonrealistic ways.
Had a “The Blue Period” and a “The Rose Period”
Also created the concept of collage.
He created 165 paintings in one year, basically one painting every 52 hours!

16. Salvador Dali (1904-1989) Spanish artist
Created a style called Surrealism
Influenced by the psychiatrist Sigmund Freud’s theory that our subconscious mind and dreams control a lot of what we think and how we act.
The Persistence of Memory- bizarre, dream-like images

17. Modern and Contemporary American Culture
Frank Lloyd Wright ( )
America’s greatest architect.
Born in Wisconsin
His mother did everything she could to educate him for a career in architecture.
Wright believed that “form and function are one,”
Felt that using nature-inspired details should not be limited to just surface decoration on a building.
“Organic architecture”
The Prairie style is considered Frank Lloyd Wright’s biggest contribution to architecture.
Prairie style homes are very horizontal with low-pitched roofs and wide overhangs.
Wright example homes:
The Robie House and Fallingwater

18. Georgia O’Keeffe (1887-1986) Abstract painter
Simplified forms into shapes using form, color, and line.
Created a series of skyscraper paintings.
She loved the landscapes of the West.
Used vivid colors and strong contrasts.
Painted close-up images of flowers, shells, and leaves, as well as landscapes
Her flower paintings were sensual in their curving lines and vivid