American Dance Festival
Encyclopedia
The American Dance Festival is a six and four-week school for dance and a six-week summer festival of modern dance
performances, currently held at Duke University
and the Durham Performing Arts Center
in Durham, North Carolina
.
The precursor to today’s American Dance Festival began in 1934 as the Bennington Festival, a summer program at Bennington College
where modern dance
pioneers Hanya Holm
, Martha Graham
, Doris Humphrey
and Charles Weidman
came together to teach dance technique and perform new works. For one year, in 1939, Bennington moved the program to Mills College
in Oakland, California
, but it was back in Vermont by 1940. It ceased to exist after the summer of 1942.
In 1948, a program based on the Bennington model was established at Connecticut College
in New London, Connecticut
and called the New York University – Connecticut College School of Dance / American Dance Festival. In 1969, newly appointed director Charles Reinhart shortened the name to, simply, the American Dance Festival. After 30 years at the Connecticut College campus, the festival moved, in 1978, to the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Modern dance choreographers and companies including José Limón
, Pearl Lang
, Bella Lewitzky
, Sophie Maslow
, Alwin Nikolais
, Merce Cunningham
, Ruth Currier
, Erick Hawkins
, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey
, Twyla Tharp
, Eiko & Koma
, Seán Curran
, Maguy Marin, Pilobolus
and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
have all given performances there.
Numerous dance works have premiered at the American Dance Festival, many of them commissioned by ADF. The largest theater in the Carolinas, the Durham Performing Arts Center, was built partly as a showcase for the festival.
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
performances, currently held at Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
and the Durham Performing Arts Center
Durham Performing Arts Center
The Durham Performing Arts Center opened November 30, 2008 as the largest performing arts center in the Carolinas at a cost of $48 million. It will be the main venue for the performing arts in Durham, North Carolina.-Costs and history:...
in Durham, North Carolina
Durham, North Carolina
Durham is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and also extends into Wake County. It is the fifth-largest city in the state, and the 85th-largest in the United States by population, with 228,330 residents as of the 2010 United States census...
.
The precursor to today’s American Dance Festival began in 1934 as the Bennington Festival, a summer program at Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
where modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
pioneers Hanya Holm
Hanya Holm
Hanya Holm is known as one of the “Big Four” founders of American modern dance...
, Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
, Doris Humphrey
Doris Humphrey
Doris Batcheller Humphrey was a dancer and choreographer of the early twentieth century. Humphrey was born in Oak Park, Illinois but grew up in Chicago, Illinois. She was the daughter of Horace Buckingham Humphrey and Julia Ellen Wells and was a descendant of pilgrim William Brewster...
and Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman
Charles Weidman is a renowned choreographer, modern dancer and teacher. He is well known as one of the pioneers of Modern Dance in America. He wanted to break free from the traditional movements of dance forms popular at the time to create a uniquely American style of movement...
came together to teach dance technique and perform new works. For one year, in 1939, Bennington moved the program to Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, but it was back in Vermont by 1940. It ceased to exist after the summer of 1942.
In 1948, a program based on the Bennington model was established at Connecticut College
Connecticut College
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college located in New London, Connecticut.The college was founded in 1911, as Connecticut College for Women, in response to Wesleyan University closing its doors to women...
in New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....
and called the New York University – Connecticut College School of Dance / American Dance Festival. In 1969, newly appointed director Charles Reinhart shortened the name to, simply, the American Dance Festival. After 30 years at the Connecticut College campus, the festival moved, in 1978, to the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
Modern dance choreographers and companies including José Limón
José Limón
José Arcadio Limón was a pioneer in the field of modern dance and choreography. In 1928, at age 20, he moved to New York City where he studied under Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. In 1946, Limón founded the José Limón Dance Company...
, Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater....
, Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky
Bella Lewitzky was a modern dance choreographer and noted teacher....
, Sophie Maslow
Sophie Maslow
Sophie Maslow was an American choreographer, modern dancer and teacher, and founding member of New Dance Group. She was a first cousin of the American sculptor Leonard Baskin....
, Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais was an American choreographer.Nikolais studied piano at an early age and began his performing career as an organist accompanying silent films. As a young artist, he gained skills in scenic design, acting, puppetry and music composition...
, Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Ruth Currier
Ruth Currier
Ruth Currier was an American dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher. She was a principal dancer with the José Limón Dance Company from the late 1940s into the 1960s. She later served as that company's director following Mr. Limón’s death from 1972-1978...
, Erick Hawkins
Erick Hawkins
Frederick Hawkins known as Erick Hawkins was a leading American modern-dance choreographer and dancer...
, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey, Jr. was an American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York. Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th century concert dance...
, Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
, Eiko & Koma
Eiko & Koma
Eiko Otake and Takashi Koma Otake, generally known as Eiko & Koma, are a Japanese performance duo. Since 1972, Eiko & Koma have worked as co-artistic directors, choreographers, and performers, creating a unique theater of movement out of stillness, shape, light, sound, and time...
, Seán Curran
Seán Curran
Seán Curran is an American dancer and choreographer. Curran's dance company, the Seán Curran Company is based in New York City.As a boy in the Boston suburb of Belmont, Massachusetts, Curran began dancing by learning traditional Irish step dancing...
, Maguy Marin, Pilobolus
Pilobolus (dance company)
Pilobolus is a contemporary dance company whose origins are traced to a 1971 Dartmouth College dance class taught by Alison Becker Chase. The group first began performing in October 1971....
and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Anne Teresa, Baroness De Keersmaeker is one of the most prominent choreographers in contemporary dance...
have all given performances there.
Numerous dance works have premiered at the American Dance Festival, many of them commissioned by ADF. The largest theater in the Carolinas, the Durham Performing Arts Center, was built partly as a showcase for the festival.
Further reading
- Anderson, Jack: The American Dance Festival. Duke University Press, Durham 1987.(ISBN 0-8223-0683-2).