Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-08T02:35:55.706Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Selected Aspects of Czech Dance Modernism(s) in the Context of the Dance (R)evolution at the Beginning of the 20th Century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2024

Julia Hoczyk
Affiliation:
Narodowy Instytut Muzyki i Tańca, Warsaw
Wojciech Klimczyk
Affiliation:
Jagiellonian University, Krakow
Get access

Summary

Pondering the topic of “re-writing dance modernism” in the Czech context provokes one to contemplate if it is possible to review and redefine the modern and avant-garde dance era within the frame of Czech art studies, giving that the definition and the specification of these notions are nearly non-existent. However, this era can be considered without any doubt as one of the most dynamic in the development of artistic dance in the Czech milieu, which during this period progressed in parallel with the reforms and new art trends present on the European scale. The artistic legacy of the representatives of dance modernism has been mentioned by Czech theater scholars in a rather marginal way so far. It has been related especially to their intensive cooperation with particular avant-garde theater artists and ensembles. Besides, in the second half of the 20th century, several surveys and summarizing studies were written, mostly by female avant-garde and modern dance representatives themselves in an effort to recall and recapture the trace of the era between the two world wars.

Inquiring about the cause of the “oblivion” of Czech dance modernism legacy inspires a few reflections and a number of speculations. No doubt, the fundamental factor was post-war politics. After the February 1948 communist coup, the then Czechoslovakia became a part of the Soviet Union controlled bloc of countries. The liberal heritage of the interwar avant-garde art was considered as unsuitable by the communist regime. Even if the individual avant-garde representatives (mostly opposing the new regime) were not directly persecuted, they became marginalized and stripped of state support. Such was the fate of the representatives of dance modernism as well. The only accepted artistic dance style recognized nationally after the February coup was professional classical ballet, which was very Russian school oriented at the time. The modern dance legacy of the first half of the century, especially the Ausdruckstanz mostly developed between the two world wars, was banished from the professional stage in the beginning of the 1950s. In fact, this legacy survived only in the area of dance pedagogy and in the (often semi-legal) amateur dance domain during the entire duration of the communist era.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Jagiellonian University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×