History
Contemporary dance draws on both classical ballet and modern dance, whereas postmodern dance was a direct and opposite response to modern dance. Merce Cunningham, initially a student of Martha Graham, accompanied his dance in April 1944, with music that was composed and performed by John Cage, who said that Cunningham's dance "no longer relies on linear elements (...) nor does it rely on a movement towards and away from climax. As in abstract painting, it is assumed that an element (a movement, a sound, a change of light) is in and of itself expressive; what it communicates is in large part determined by the observer himself." Cunningham continued to showcase his work until 1953, when he formed Merce Cunningham Dance Company at the Black Mountain College in North Carolina. Cunningham is considered the first choreographer to "develop an independent attitude towards modern dance" and defy the ideas that were established by it. Cunningham made over one hundred and fifty works for his dance company and his pieces have been incorporated into ballet and modern dance companies internationally.
Read more about this topic: Contemporary Dance
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