Can Modern Dance Be Preserved?

“In modern dance, the company typically exists to flesh out the concepts of one artist, who is also, at least at the beginning, the star dancer. In this respect, there’s a crucial difference of outlook between a ballet choreographer who provides a piece to a dance company (in much the same way as a composer does for an orchestra) and a modern dancer who treats her ensemble as an extension of herself. Temperamentally and artistically, Cunningham differed about as much as possible from Graham, his fellow titan in the domain of modern dance. For one thing, he was fascinated by fragmentations and dispersals, and she was always seeking grand unity. But in the way he conceived of his enterprise, Cunningham subscribed as fully as Graham to the organic, integral connection of the choreographer and the company.”

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