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| Martha Graham with Bertram Ross in 1961 |
The rise of modern dance, a distinctively American art form, started at the beginning of the 20th century. Martha Graham (1894-1991), a distinguished American choreographer and dancer, one of the modern dance pioneers, produced many of her works in New York City while Merce Cunningham, her co-performer and a former ballet student, had his first solo concert in the city in 1944 with the help of John Cage, an American composer known for his unusual approach to music. Cunningham was the first to introduce pure movement and chance procedures to dance choreography, and much of his work was deeply influenced by John Cage. Cunningham set the foundations of postmodern dance by his unique approach to dancing that involved non-psychological abstract work. The character of the approach could be described as the expressiveness of each element which allows the audience to interpret the meaning without any suggestions coming from the author or the performer. Contemporary ballet started developing around the work of the famous choreographer George Balanchine who successfully merged classical and modern ballet. He was the founder of New York City Ballet (NYCB), while Paul Taylor, one of the most influential American choreographers was also in the company.
Another influential art form that was born in New York was African-American modern dance with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater being one of the foremost presenters of the art form. The group focuses its work on gospel, spirituals and the blues and many of their choreographers have been accredited with respectable recognitions (Bill T. Jones, one of the choreographers won the prestigious MacArthur "Genius" Award in 1994). Pearl Primus, another famous African-American dancer made her debut in New York City, at the 92nd Street Y, and immediately became known for its exceptional dancing abilities like jumping very high when performing. Her work is inspired by another artist of the African-American descent, choreographer Katharine Dunham. She evolves her work around speaking against racial oppression and violence.
New York is the birthplace of breakdance, a street dance style that emerged from hip hop movement in South Bronx's African-American communities in the early seventies. The legend suggests the the beginnings of this dance style can be traced back to settling territorial disputes of rival gangs in the ghetto. This competitive ritual of gang conflicts grew into a pop culture phenomenon and the emergence of dance teams including the Bronx's Rock Steady Crew.
