In the 1980s, concert art dance began to mine the world of sports for both thematic and choreographic innovations. Expanding on choreographic experiments involving sports, games, and play that were originated by the early Postmodernists in the 1960s, dancing became more... [more]

In the 1980s, concert art dance began to mine the world of sports for both thematic and choreographic innovations. Expanding on choreographic experiments involving sports, games, and play that were originated by the early Postmodernists in the 1960s, dancing became more athletic, physical, and risky. Some choreographers began incorporating movement usually found on fields and courts: the baseball slide, the hook shot, the tackle, as well as movements from gymnastics, akido, tai chi, and capoiera (a Brazilian movement genre mixing dance and martial arts). Partnering also developed an athletic edge. Choreography began to include complicated lifts that require precision timing and incorporate gymnastic vaulting techniques. Dancers jump and dive into and onto other dancers, body checking one another like skaters in a hockey rink. Athleticism has been incorporated into dance in a variety of diverse ways. Consider the cardiovascular prowess of Molissa Fenley's work -- her dancers train aerobically in order to rehearse for her high-energy, relentlessly kinetic pieces. Or the feats of gymnastic daring and "kamikaze acrobatic" stunts performed by Elizabeth Streb/Ringside, which employ sports equipment usually found in Olympic competition. Or conversely, examine the precise exchanges of props in Charles Moulton's piece "Nine-Person Ball Passing". In the most obvious nod to Athleticism, Peter Pucci created the aptly titled pieces "Baseball" and "Sports", which celebrate the physicality of competition. [show less]