What Has Become of Postmodern Dance? Answers and Other Questions by Marcia B. Siegel, Anna Halprin, Janice Ross, Cynthia J. Novack, Deborah Hay, Sally Banes, Senta Driver, Roger Copeland, and Susan L. Foster

Abstract

Ed. Note: In the I960S, the emergence of dance triggered a whirlwind of questions, is it prominent among them. The new dance prevailed, however, and set the agenda for the '70s and early '8os. But at that point, tanztheater, Reagan, and megamarketing intervened, and dance in America underwent significant changes. The aesthetic was diffused and, in some cases, willfully transgressed. Some of the most satisfying dance today has more in common with Doris Humphrey than Yvonne Rainer. The well-choreographed dance and premeditated meaning has made a comeback. And at the other end of the spectrum, personal narrative and ritual are providing alternative bases for dance making. What has become of dance? We asked a variety of choreographers, critics, and historians to tackle the question. Their answers suggest that the discussion is still very much an open one, filled with caveats and parenthetical qualifications. Even the terminology is still being debated. The meaning of postmodern (and modern, concomitantly) varies profoundly between and even within disciplines, denoting cultural, stylistic, or historical distinctions. In dance studies, the term postmodern originated as an historical category. Decades later, much of the vigorousness of the discourse results from the effort to reconcile that use of the word with the very different paradigms informing the concept in art, architecture, and cultural theory. One of the reasons that this effort remains so problematic is the traditional model of dance history, rather than dance studies. Up until recently, the