Modern Dance DVD Instructional Videos

Modern Dancing
Discovering Your Expressive Body
A comprehensive demonstration of the basic concepts in modern dance training by a Certified Laban Movement Analyst; presents exercises on total body connectedness, internal support for balance, full-range mobility, weight transference propulsion and three-dimensional movement.

Martha Graham: The Dancer Revealed VHS
Modern dance owes more to Martha Graham than to any other single figure. As dancer, choreographer and teacher, she conceived and shaped the major dance form of the 20th century. Martha Graham died in 1991, at almost 97, having towered over American and world dance for seven decades. The Dancer Revealed is the definitive video documentary on her life and work. This insightful program includes interviews with leading figures such as Agnes de Mille, Erick Hawkins, Ron Protas and many others. Among the many extracts shown of her work are Acts of Light, Errand into the Maze, Frontier, Appalachian Spring, American Document, Primitive Mysteries and Night Journey. 60 mins.

Martha Graham - An American Original in Performance DVD
A true pioneer in the world of dance, Martha Graham has become an American legend. Breaking with tradition she has been a fearless explorer and a passionate artist. She exemplifies the American spirit in its purest form. A Dancer's World - In this 30-minute Peabody Award winning film, Miss Graham and her company demonstrate the challenge and beauty of expression through movement. Developed during her European and Oriental tours, the format of the film, "exercised de style" as the French call it, takes us into her dressing room, into the studio and into the spirit of dance itself. Directed and photographed by Peter Glushanok. (Filmed in 1957) Night Journey is Martha Graham's retelling of the legend of Oedipus. Danced by Miss Graham as Jocasta and featuring Paul Taylor as Tiresais and Bertram Ross as Oedipus, the work has a score by William Schuman and setting by Isamu Noguchi, the internationally renowned sculptor and designer. Said Clive Barnes: "This film contains the essence of Graham and is among the two or three successful dance films ever made." Directed by Alexander Hammid. (Filmed in 1961) Appalachian Spring is an American folk tale of a young pioneer, his bride and a wandering revivalist preacher with a band of followers. The dance tells of the couple's wedding, the building of their home, the preacher's dire sermon and the woman's gentle blessing as the couple begins a life in the wilderness. The Pulitzer Prize winning score was composed by Aaron Copland, and the sets were designed by Isamu Noguchi. Directed and photographed by Peter Glushanok. (Filmed in 1958). 93 mins.

Lester Horton Technique - Intermediate Level VHS
Dance Spotlight presents the Intermediate tape of the innovative dance training technique of Lester Horton for modern dancers, teachers and choreographers. Lester Horton developed a training method which expanded the body's traditional range of motion. These codified technique studies preserve this important achievement in modern dance training for future generations. Marjorie B. Perces, former Horton dancer and teacher, and Ana Marie Forsythe, chair person of the Horton Department at the Ailey School since 1979, lead a group of professional dancers through Preludes, Fortifications, Hinges, Balances and other studies which continue the documentation begun in "Lester Horton Technique - The Warm-Up". The material presented on this tape helps to build strength, agility, and flexibility. This is also an excellent way to do a non-aerobic workout and beautiful movements that help develop grace, free artistic expression and reduce muscle stress. Features Prelude Studies #1, 2 and 3, Fortification Studies #7-12, Hinge Studies #1, 2 and 3, Falls, Balance Studies, Figure 4 Study, and Percussive Stroke Study. 60 mins. (2002)

Lester Horton Technique: The Warm Up VHS
This is a revolutionary dance training tape for both modern dance and exercise enthusiasts. This unique program is designed to prepare dancers for rehearsal and performance. The technique's creator, Lester Horton, was determined to develop a warm-up that did not limit how the body could move, and that was anatomically corrective. As a result, his method has enormous variety, range and complexity. Many noted dancers began their dance training with Horton and used the technique with their own students. Horton protegees lead a group of young professional dancers through leg swings, metatarsal presses and fortifications in this exclusive presentation. For the profes

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sional dancer who needs to build strength, agility and flexibility, this tape provides important injury-preventing techniques. It's also an excellent way for the non-dancer or athlete to do a nonaerobic workout that helps develop grace and relieves muscle stress. 45 mins.

Jose Limon: Three Modern Dance Classics VHS
Jose Limon (1908-1972) was a Mexican-American choreographer who continues to be regarded as one of the modern dance world's seminal creative artists, known for his intense dramatic presence and the theatricality and musicality of his dances. Her for the first time on video are three of his most famous works with the original casts, filmed in their entirety for the Canadian Broadcasting Company in the 1950s.
The Moor's Pavane (1949) is generally considered to be one of the great masterworks in the modern repertory. In the form of a Renaissance dance, Limon distills the legend of Othello into a taut, one-act human drama with music by Henry Purcell. Joining Limon are his close collaborators Lucas Hoving, Pauline Koner, and Betty Jones. Telecast date: March 6, 1955 (21 min.)
The Traitor (1954) was Limon's response to the McCarthy hearings and the climate of betrayal that haunted the arts and entertainment fields during this period. Against a music score of violence, passion, and tenderness (by Gunther Schuller), the tragedy of Judas is portrayed as if it were taking place in modern times. Telecast date: October 23, 1955 (19 min.)
The Emperor Jones (1956) is based upon the play by Eugene O'Neill wherein a fugitive from a chain gang sets himself up as a ruler of an island domain. He becomes a tyrant, and his mistreated subjects eventually rebel and hunt him down. For this dance, Limon commissioned a musical score from Heitor Villa-Lobos. Telecast date: March 13, 1857 (23 min.)