Anna Sokolow was a ground-breaking contemporary dance artist who believed dance was more than entertainment. Her works were often political and explored the human stuggles in society. She was an individualist who valued change and viewed a non-conformist approach to modern dance. She is a key figure in the modern dance development in Mexico and Israel. She also brought her works to Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. She often found inspiration in her Jewish roots and explored Jewish themes, rituals, and the Holocaust. Sokolow's dramatic movement is stripped of fabrication and expresses raw human conflict.
"Do what you feel you are, not what you think you want to be. Go ahead and be a bastard. Then you can be an artist."
Anna Sokolow I presume got her sense of "drama" from Martha Graham. Did she use it well, or elaborate on it moreso? The "radical" themes of hers seem typical of the "Left" before WW-II which included Troskyism, the old Labor Movement, Woody Guthrie, and FDR's "New Deal."
ReplyDelete-Peter Strickholm
I think Sokolow was a great artist. She brought a fierceness to the world of dance that was unique to her. From what I took away from this section was that she was a strong person who didn't care what people thought about her, only what she felt about herself.
ReplyDeleteGreat opening to your blog, Sarah. Peter's comment is so insightful. Woody Guthrie and Anna Sokolow- WOW. Radical American artists.
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