“Primitivism, Modernism, and Dance Theory” by Marshall Cohen and “Puppet Theatre” by Heinrich Von Kleist By Lindsay Kaufman and Lauren Garcia and Edited By: Laura Pratt and Dr. Kay Picart

Cohen’s Thoughts on Modernism According to the principle of modernism, the best works of art are ____________________________________ ____________________________________ For example:

Cohen’s Thoughts on Modernism “Sometimes Greenberg means by modernism not a refusal to _____________, but a refusal to _________________ of another medium.” (171)

Three Principles of Modernism: According to Clement Greenberg, “modernism is identified with a number of distinguishible ideas and it will be useful to separate them out.” (170) They are….

Three Principles of Modernism Frankness: ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Propriety: ____________________________________ ____________________________________ Minimalism: ________________________________ ________________________________

“Since dance is created in the medium of the human body, dance should confine itself to examining and revealing the qualities of human movement in greater isolation, for its own sake, and often as it is exhibited in the most ordinary, least dance-like tasks.” (162) Do you agree with this statement?

Cohen’s Thoughts on Primitivism Cohen doesn’t seem to “believe” in primitivism as a true form of dance in of itself. He states that “…the undiffterentiated unity of the primitive world is itself a myth—and a modern one. Even if primitive mysteries are re-enacted, they are experienced by disassociated modern sensibilities and, as some say, only as an aesthetic phenomenon.” (164) Do you feel that this view is cynical or extreme? Do you think that it is accurate?

Von Kleist’s Puppet Theatre The best dancer or choreographer is someone who is like a puppet: ____________________________

“Now, since the puppeteer can only have control over this center of gravity through the medium of his wires or strings, all the other limbs are, as they should be, inert, mere pendulums, obeying only the law of gravity; an admirable quality which one looks for in vain among the majority of our dancers…” (181) Why is inertness an “admirable quality?” Is this an example of Primitivism, Modernism, or neither?

Key Terms Modernism Primitivism Minimalism Frankness Propriety Medium Inertness

Resources: Marshall Cohen; “Primitivism, Modernism, and Dance Theory,” and Heinrich Von Kleist; “Puppet Theory,” from What is Dance? Roger Copeland and Marshall Cohen, Eds.; Oxford University Press, NY; 1983; pages