Anna Sokolow was a firm believer that modern dance should be non-conformist. She believed the strength of modern dance is in its lack of tradition and its constant growth and change. Sokolow stated, “There must be form as well as concept.” First the choreographer has a spontaneous vision for the dance through movement; just as any artist is initially inspired. These movements are not intellectually developed but are evoked by emotional images. The intellectual process is putting these movements together into a form that works as a whole. Sokolow believed that a sense of form can be learned but there are no rules.
“I don’t like elaborated design. I like naked structure. In the theatre, I am anti-décor and anti-costume.”
Sokolow stripped away the decoration of dance and was willing for it to be ugly and unentertaining. She firmly believed that “progress in art comes through the quest for new forms.” She admired the artists who broke away from the traditional forms in order to find an abstraction from reality; a pure form with life as its main source. “True form comes from reducing reality to its essential shape.” Sokolow’s form is pure, stripped down to the bare essentials, which makes it beautiful.
I love the remark that there are no rules, and many of the artists of this time took that to heart with their choreography. I find it interesting that she was another student of Louis Horst, and yet all of his students and mentees (such as Graham, Sokolow and my artist Trisha Brown) have such different approaches to choreographing. I also like the quote that she admired artists that find an abstraction from reality. I find this intersting because her choreography is so much more honest than abstracted work.
ReplyDeleteI am truly inspired by the ways in which Sokolow turned away from tradition to create reality in basic raw living shapes. She is not trying to create wondrous pieces of extravagant large movements, instead she is creating works that make you think and question both its meaning and general content. Sokolow explores a new world of dance with new forms that strip down to ideas that are essential. She does not try to fluff up her work and that is what I find that inspiring. By breaking away from the norm she is discovering a new reality and testing limitations and boundaries. I had never known the power that challenging the rules of dance could bring.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to comment on the final quote of the blog. The quote that talks about how Sokolow does not like to have an ending to her pieces because she doesn't believe there is ever a solution. This shows me the realism in her works, she realizes that there is no ending, there is no solution, time keeps going and ways keep changing and it is how we interpret and experience it that matters. It is challenging the norm by not having an end to her pieces, but it is facing the reality and that is what makes her works so beautiful.
Sokolow has a power through her work. She was not afraid to be disliked or an outcast. She was strong minded and strong willed as well. She didn't give in to others' ways of thinking and for that she is a truely great artist, I feel. She is a great artist that speaks through her choreographic works and when she speaks it is a powerful message being conveyed to the audience. Sokolow is great for this reason.
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