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Dance
Modern dance
Originating culture	various
Originating era	Antiquity

Dance is a type of art that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music,^[1] performed in many different cultures and used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting.

Dance may also be regarded as a form of nonverbal communication between humans, and is also performed by other animals (bee dance, patterns of behaviour such as a mating dance). Gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are sports that incorporate dance, while martial arts kata are often compared to dances. Motion in ordinarily inanimate objects may also be described as dances (the leaves danced in the wind).

Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic, artistic and moral constraints and range from functional movement (such as folk dance) to virtuoso techniques such as ballet. Dance can be participatory, social or performed for an audience. It can also be ceremonial, competitive or erotic. Dance movements may be without significance in themselves, such as in ballet or European folk dance, or have a gestural vocabulary/symbolic system as in many Asian dances. Dance can embody or express ideas, emotions or tell a story.

Dancing has evolved many styles. Breakdancing and Krumping are related to the hip hop culture. African dance is interpretative. Ballet, Ballroom, Waltz, and Tango are classical styles of dance while Square Dance and the Electric Slide are forms of step dances.

Every dance, no matter what style, has something in common. It not only involves flexibility and body movement, but also physics. If the proper physics are not taken into consideration, injuries may occur.

Choreography is the art of creating dances. The person who creates (i.e., choreographs) a dance is known as the choreographer.

Origins and history[link]

Ancient Greek bronze statuette of a veiled and masked dancer, 3rd - 2nd century BC, found in Alexandria, Egypt.

Dance does not leave behind clearly identifiable physical artifacts such as stone tools, hunting implements or cave paintings. It is not possible to say when dance became part of human culture.

Joseph Jordania recently suggested, that dance, together with rhythmic music and body painting, was designed by the forces of natural selection at the early stage of hominid evolution as a potent tool to put groups of human ancestors in a battle trance, a specific altered state of consciousness. In this state hominids were losing their individual identity and were acquiring collective identity.^[2] Jonathan Pieslak's research shows, that some contemporary military units use loud group singing and dancing in order to prepare themselves for the dangerous combat missions.^[3] According to Jordania, this trance-inducing ability of dance comes from human evolutionary past and includes as well a phenomenon of military drill^[4] which is also based on shared rhythmic and monotonous group activity.

Dance has certainly been an important part of ceremony, rituals, celebrations and entertainment since before the birth of the earliest human civilizations. Archeology delivers traces of dance from prehistoric times such as the 9,000 year old Rock Shelters of Bhimbetka paintings in India and Egyptian tomb paintings depicting dancing figures from c. 3300 BC.

One of the earliest structured uses of dances may have been in the performance and in the telling of myths. It was also sometimes used to show feelings for one of the opposite gender. It is also linked to the origin of "love making." Before the production of written languages, dance was one of the methods of passing these stories down from generation to generation.^[5]

Another early use of dance may have been as a precursor to ecstatic trance states in healing rituals. Dance is still used for this purpose by many cultures from the Brazilian rainforest to the Kalahari Desert.^[6]

Sri Lankan dances goes back to the mythological times of aboriginal yingyang twins and "yakkas" (devils). According to a Sinhalese legend, Kandyan dances originated 250 years ago, from a magic ritual that broke the spell on a bewitched king. Many contemporary dance forms can be traced back to historical, traditional, ceremonial, and ethnic dance.

Partner Dancing in Art

Dance at Bougival by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1882–83)

Eadweard Muybridge's phenakistoscope "A Couple Waltzing" (c.1893)

Classification and genres[link]

Dance categories by number of interacting dancers are mainly solo dance, partner dance and group dance. Dance is performed for various purposes like ceremonial dance, erotic dance, performance dance, social dance etc.

Dancing and music[link]

Many early forms of music and dance were created and performed together. This paired development has continued through the ages with dance/music forms such as: jig, waltz, tango, disco, salsa, electronica and hip-hop. Some musical genres have a parallel dance form such as baroque music and baroque dance; others, such as classical music and classical ballet, developed separately.

Although dance is often accompanied by music, it can also be presented independently or provide its own accompaniment (tap dance). Dance presented with music may or may not be performed in time to the music depending on the style of dance. Dance performed without music is said to be danced to its own rhythm^{[citation needed]}.

Ballroom dancing is a dance art form which combines athletic fitness with artistically skillful dance steps.

Saman Dance from Gayo people of Sumatra, Indonesia

Morris dancing in the grounds of Wells Cathedral, Wells, England

An amateur dancesport competition at MIT

Professional dancers at the Tropicana Club, Havana, Cuba, in 2008

Dance studies and techniques[link]

In the early 1920s, dance studies (dance practice, critical theory, Musical analysis and history) began to be considered an academic discipline. Today these studies are an integral part of many universities' arts and humanities programs. By the late 20th century the recognition of practical knowledge as equal to academic knowledge led to the emergence of practice research and practice as research. A large range of dance courses are available including:

• Professional practice: performance and technical skills
• Practice research: choreography and performance
• Ethnochoreology, encompassing the dance-related aspects of: anthropology, cultural studies, gender studies, area studies, postcolonial theory, ethnography, etc.
• Dance therapy, or dance-movement therapy
• Dance and technology: new media and performance technologies
• Laban Movement Analysis and somatic studies

Academic degrees are available from BA (Hons) to PhD and other postdoctoral fellowships, with some dance scholars taking up their studies as mature students after a professional dance career.

Dance competitions[link]

A dance competition is an organized event in which contestants perform dances before a judge or judges for awards, and in some cases, monetary prizes. There are several major types of dance competitions, distinguished primarily by the style or styles of dances performed. Major types of dance competitions include:

• Competitive dance, in which a variety of theater dance styles such as: acro, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, and tap, are permitted.
• Open competitions, that permit a wide variety of dance styles. A popular example of this is the TV program So You Think You Can Dance.
• Dancesport, which is focused exclusively on ballroom and latin dance. Popular examples of this are TV programs Dancing with the Stars and Strictly Come Dancing.
• Single-style competitions, such as; highland dance, dance team, and Irish dance, that only permit a single dance style.

Today, there are various dances and dance show competitions on television and the Internet.

Occupations[link]

There are several careers connected with dancing: Dancer, dance teacher, dance sport coach, dance therapist and choreographer.

Dancer

Dance training differs depending on the dance form. There are university programs and schools associated with professional dance companies for specialised training in classical dance (e.g. Ballet) and modern dance. There are also smaller, privately owned dance studios where students may train in a variety of dance forms including competitive dance forms (e.g. Latin dance, ballroom dance, etc.) as well as ethnic/traditional dance forms.

Professional dancers are usually employed on contract or for particular performances/productions. The professional life of a dancer is generally one of constantly changing work situations, strong competition pressure and low pay. Professional dancers often need to supplement their income, either in dance related roles (e.g., dance teaching, dance sport coaches, yoga) or Pilates instruction to achieve financial stability.

In the U.S. many professional dancers are members of unions such as the American Guild of Musical Artists, the Screen Actors Guild and Actors' Equity Association. The unions help determine working conditions and minimum salaries for their members.

Dance teachers

Dance teacher and operators of dance schools rely on reputation and marketing. For dance forms without an association structure such as Salsa or Tango Argentino they may not have formal training. Most dance teachers are self employed.

Dancesport coaches

Dancesport coaches are tournament dancers or former dancesports people, and may be recognised by a dance sport federation.

Choreographer

Choreographers are generally university trained and are typically employed for particular projects or, more rarely may work on contract as the resident choreographer for a specific dance company. A choreographic work is protected intellectual property. Dancers may undertake their own choreography.

By ethnicity or region[link]

India[link]

South indian folk dance like a horse known as Poi Kal Kudirai

During the first millennium BCE in India, many texts were composed which attempted to codify aspects of daily life. In the matter of dance, Bharata Muni's Natyashastra (literally "the text of dramaturgy") is one of the earlier texts. Though the main theme of Natyashastra deals with drama, dance is also widely featured, and indeed the two concepts have ever since been linked in Indian culture. The text elaborates various hand-gestures or mudras and classifies movements of the various limbs of the body, gait, and so on. The Natyashastra categorised dance into four groups and into four regional varieties, naming the groups: secular, ritual, abstract, and, interpretive. However, concepts of regional geography has altered and so have regional varieties of Indian dances. Dances like "Odra Magadhi", which after decades long debate, has been traced to present day Mithila, Orissa region's dance form of Odissi (Orissi), indicate influence of dances in cultural interactions between different regions.^[7]

From these beginnings rose the various classical styles which are recognised today. Therefore, all Indian classical dances are to varying degrees rooted in the Natyashastra and therefore share common features: for example, the mudras, some body positions, and the inclusion of dramatic or expressive acting or abhinaya. The Indian classical music tradition provides the accompaniment for the dance, and as percussion is such an integral part of the tradition, the dancers of nearly all the styles wear bells around their ankles to counterpoint and complement the percussion.

Bhangra in the Punjab[link]

The Punjab area overlapping India and Pakistan is the place of origin of Bhangra. It is widely known both as a style of music and a dance. It is mostly related to ancient harvest celebrations, love, patriotism or social issues. Its music is coordinated by a musical instrument called the 'Dhol'. Bhangra is not just music but a dance, a celebration of the harvest where people beat the dhol (drum), sing Boliyaan (lyrics) and dance.It developed further with the Vaisakhi festival of the Sikhs.

Dances of Sri Lanka[link]

The devil dances of Sri Lanka or "yakun natima" are a carefully crafted ritual with a history reaching far back into Sri Lanka's pre-Buddhist past. It combines ancient "Ayurvedic" concepts of disease causation with psychological manipulation. The dance combines many aspects including Sinhalese cosmology, the dances also has an impact on the classical dances of Sri Lanka.^[8]

Harlequin and Columbine from the mime theater at Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark

In Europe and North America[link]

Concert (or performance) dance[link]

Ballet[link]

Ballet developed first in Italy and then in France from lavish court spectacles that combined music, drama, poetry, song, costumes and dance. Members of the court nobility took part as performers. During the reign of Louis XIV, himself a dancer, dance became more codified. Professional dancers began to take the place of court amateurs, and ballet masters were licensed by the French government. The first ballet dance academy was the Académie Royale de Danse (Royal Dance Academy), opened in Paris in 1661. Shortly thereafter, the first institutionalized ballet troupe, associated with the Academy, was formed; this troupe began as an all-male ensemble but by 1681 opened to include women as well.^[5]

A small dance company rehearses for an outdoor performance in Stuyvesant Cove Park in Manhattan, New York City

20th-century concert dance[link]

At the beginning of the 20th century, there was an explosion of innovation in dance style characterized by an exploration of freer technique. Early pioneers of what became known as modern dance include Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Mary Wigman and Ruth St. Denis. The relationship of music to dance serves as the basis for Eurhythmics, devised by Emile Jaques-Dalcroze, which was influential to the development of Modern dance and modern ballet through artists such as Marie Rambert. Eurythmy, developed by Rudolf Steiner and Marie Steiner-von Sivers, combines formal elements reminiscent of traditional dance with the new freer style, and introduced a complex new vocabulary to dance. In the 1920s, important founders of the new style such as Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey began their work. Since this time, a wide variety of dance styles have been developed; see Modern dance.

The influence of African American dance[link]

African American dances are those dances which have developed within African American communities in everyday spaces, rather than in dance studios, schools or companies and its derivatives, tap dance, disco, jazz dance, swing dance, hip hop dance and breakdance. Other dances, such as the lindy hop with its relationship to rock and roll music and rock and roll dance have also had a global influence.

See also[link]

Dance portal

References[link]

Notes

Further reading

• Adshead-Lansdale, J. (Ed.) (1994) Dance History: An Introduction. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-09030-X.
• Carter, A. (1998) The Routledge Dance Studies Reader. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-16447-8.
• Charman, S. Kraus, R, G. Chapman, S. and Dixon-Stowall, B. (1990) History of the Dance in Art and Education. Pearson Education. ISBN 0-13-389362-6.
• Cohen, S, J. (1992) Dance As a Theatre Art: Source Readings in Dance History from 1581 to the Present. Princeton Book Co. ISBN 0-87127-173-7.
• Daly, A. (2002) Critical Gestures: Writings on Dance and Culture. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6566-0.
• Dils, A. (2001) Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader. Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0-8195-6413-3.
• Miller, James, L. (1986) Measures of Wisdom: The Cosmic Dance in Classical and Christian Antiquity, University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-2553-6.

External links[link]

Find more about Dance on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Definitions and translations from Wiktionary
	Images and media from Commons
	Learning resources from Wikiversity
	News stories from Wikinews
	Quotations from Wikiquote
	Source texts from Wikisource
	Textbooks from Wikibooks

•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Dance". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
• Historic illustrations of dancing from 3300 B.C. to 1911 A.D. from Project Gutenberg
• United States National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame

Lester Horton (23 January 1906 – 2 November 1953) was an American dancer, choreographer, and teacher.

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Lester Iradell Horton was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on January 23, 1906. His parents were Iradell Horton and Pollyanna Horton.

His interest in dance was stimulated by his fascination with the American Indian after watching tribal dances in a Wild West show. He studied the Iroquois and Red River Indians, and Penobscot and Ojibway tribes.^[1]

He studied ballet for two years with Theo Hewes in Indianapolis. At that time he also took classes at the Herron Art Institute and worked with the Indianapolis Little Theater.

Seeing a performance of the Denishawn company had a great impact on him.

Horton arrived in California in 1929 to perform The Song of Hiawatha at the Argus Bowl in Eagle Rock, CA.

He took a job with the Stuberghs, with whom he remained close for his lifetime. They produced wax figures and Horton painted faces on the window mannequins.^[2]

He chose to work in California instead of New York City, which was considered the center of modern dance at the time.

Career[link]

Horton formed his first dance company, the Lester Horton Dancers, in 1932. That company evolved into what was briefly known as the Lester Horton California Ballets (1934) and then the Horton Dance Group (1934). The Horton Dance Group, billed in its film appearances as the Lester Horton Dancers, lasted until early 1944. Later, Horton attempted to develop a company on the East Coast for dancer Sonia Shaw, but Shaw's husband stopped underwriting the venture and the company collapsed before it could give any public performances.^[3] After a brief hiatus, Horton formed the Dance Theater of Los Angeles with his longtime leading dancer, Bella Lewitzky; their partnership ended when Lewitzky left in 1950. Horton's final company continued until 1960 under the direction of Frank Eng.

In order to finance his school and various dance companies, Horton choreographed a number of early Hollywood musicals, beginning with Moonlight in Havana (1942). Most of the films, like the Maria Montez vehicle White Savage (1943), were B-movie musicals; the most notable was Arthur Lubin's Phantom of the Opera (1943). Horton's dancers also frequently worked at clubs, including the Folies Bergère in New York and Earl Carroll Theatre and Restaurant in Los Angeles. Horton's best-known works, which he called "choreodramas," are Salome (which occupied Horton for nearly two decades^[4]) and The Beloved.

Dance Theater made only one appearance in New York, during the last year of Horton's life. The troupe was scheduled to perform at the reputation-making theater of the Young Men's and young Women's Hebrew Association on East Ninety-second street in New York City. Upon arriving the troupe discovered the venue did not provide publicity and so the performance was largely unknown and not well attended. Only about 300 people showed for the Saturday night performance and only about 200 tickets were sold for the Sunday matinee. This netted the company a total of 100 dollars. All but one of the reviews was good.^[5] One magazine praised the "superb dancers" but complained that "one technical and effective stunt follows another with hardly ever any sustained choreographic continuity."^[6] There was not enough money to return home to New York and Horton had doubts about the company's financial ability to attend Jacob's Pillow later that summer. Horton's agent wired Horton the money to get the troupe home. At the time, Horton was drinking heavily and was emotionally and physically ill. Upon returning to Los Angeles he moved into a house on Mulholland Drive where he was attended to by his parents and friends.

Determined to perform at the Jacob's Pillow festival, the group travelled the Berkshires by car. The show was a success, though Horton could not afford to accompany the troupe to the festival.^[7] Riding on their success at the festival, the troupe was asked to open for Johnny Desmond in the Fall; they were so popular that they were invited back for another two-week engagement. Horton died of a heart attack at his home on November 2, 1953.^[8]

Since Horton's death, his dance technique and choreography have become widely known and practiced. Horton's legacy has survived through the www.lhdt.org Lester Horton Dance Theater Foundation, Inc., which is dedicated to preserving and promoting Horton's contributions as a dancer, choreographer, and educator. Also, various dance companies such as the Joyce Trisler Danscompany focus on Horton's technique."^[9]

Horton choreographed the following films:^[10]

• Moonlight in Havana 1942 (Universal-International)
• Rhythm of the Islands 1943 (Universal-International)
• White Savage 1943 (Universal-International)
• Phantom of the Opera 1943 (Universal-International)
• Climax 1944 (Universal-International)
• Salome Where She Danced 1945 (Universal-International)
• That Night With You 1945 (Universal-International)
• Frisco Sal 1945 (Universal-International)
• Shady Lady 1945 (Universal-International)
• Tangier 1946 (Universal-International)
• Siren of Atlantis 1948 (United Artists Release)
• Bagdad 1949 (Universal-International)
• South Sea Woman 1953 (Warner Brothers)
• 3-D Follies 1953 (R.K.O)

Horton trained a number of significant mid-twentieth century dancers:

• Alvin Ailey
• Eleanor Brooks
• Janet Collins
• Rudi Gernreich
• Carmen de Lavallade
• Bella Lewitzky
• James Mitchell
• Carl Ratcliff
• Jeri Faubion Salkin
• Joyce Trisler
• James Truitte
• William Dale Jennings

Other figures who emerged from Horton's school and company include actress Lelia Goldoni and Sondra Kerr Blake. The founder of the Mattachine Society, Harry Hay, had a daughter who took classes at the dance theater.

Personal Life and Relationships[link]

Horton was involved with William Bowne from 1932 to 1949 when Bowne left Horton to marry a former member of Horton's dance company, Portia Woodbury (Bowne).^[11] Not long after, Horton became involved with film and theater writer Frank Eng. Eng was with Horton until his death in 1953.^[12][13]

Technique[link]

Horton developed his own approach to dance that incorporated diverse elements including Native American Folk Dance, Japanese arm gestures, Javanese and Balinese isolations for the upper body, particularly the eyes, head and hands. Horton also included Afro-Caribbean elements, like hip circles. Horton's dance technique, which is now commonly known as Horton Technique, has no style, per se. The technique emphasizes a whole body, anatomical approach to dance that includes flexibility, strength, coordination and body and spatial awareness to enable unrestricted, dramatic freedom of expression.

"I am sincerely trying now to create a dance technique based entirely upon corrective exercises, created with a knowledge of human anatomy; a technique which will correct physical faults and prepare a dancer for any type of dancing he may wish to follow; a technique having all the basic movements which govern the actions of the body; combined with a knowledge of the origin of movement and a sense of artistic design." -Lester Horton, in a letter to Dorathi Bock Pierre, "From Primitive to Modern," American Dancer (October 1937)^[14]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Barnes, Clive. Genius on the Wrong Coast, New York Times, 1967.
• Bizot, Richard. "Lester Horton’s “Salome” 1934-1953 and after." Dance Research Journal, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Spring, 1984) pp. 35–40.
• Dinerman, Diana. The Horton Technique, Bourgeon Journal of Dance, Volume 2 #3, pp. 28–30.
• Foulkes, Julia L., Modern Bodies: Dance and American Modernism from Martha Graham to Alvin Ailey. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002.
• Murphy, Jacqueline Shae. The People Never Stopped Dancing: Native American Modern Dance Histories. Journal of Folklore Research Press, 2007.
• Perces, Marjorie B., Forsythe, Ana Marie, Bell, Cheryl.Dance Technique of Lester Horton Princeton Book Company, 1992.
• Prevots, Naima. Dancing in the Sun: Hollywood Choreographers 1915-1937. University of Michigan Research Press, 1987.
• Warren, Larry. Lester Horton: Modern Dance Pioneer. New York: Dance Horizons, 1977.
• Dance Perspectives 31 (Autumn 1967) is entirely devoted to Horton.
• Lester Horton Dance Theater Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
• Genius on the Wrong Coast (video recording), Lelia Goldoni, distributed by Green River Road, 1993.
• Camera Three Tribute to Lester Horton (video recording), 1963.

External links[link]

Dance portal

• Lester Horton at the Internet Movie Database
• Lester Horton Dance Theater Collection
• Lober, David. Lester Redux
• Lober, David. The Lester I Knew
• Barnes, Clive. Genius on the Wrong Coast,
• The Lester Horton Dance Theater, Inc.
• Dinerman, Diana. Horton Technique

Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique performing in March 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Felipe Andres Coronel
Born	(1978-02-19) February 19, 1978 (age 34) Lima, Lima Province, Peru[1]
Origin	Harlem, New York, United States
Genres	East Coast hip hop, alternative hip hop, political hip hop, Underground Hip Hop, Hardcore Hip Hop
Occupations	Rapper
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Viper Records
Associated acts	Akir, Diabolic, Lowkey, Chino XL, DJ Green Lantern, La Coka Nostra, Jean Grae, Rockin' Squat, Mos Def, Dead Prez, Ras Kass, Krs-One, Pumpkinhead, Reppin MG
Website	myspace.com/immortaltechnique

Felipe Andres Coronel (born February 19, 1978), better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York.^[2] Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics. The views expressed in his lyrics are largely commentary on issues such as class struggle, poverty, religion, government and institutional racism.

Immortal Technique has voiced a desire to retain control over his production,^[3] and has stated in his music that record companies, not artists themselves, profit the most from mass production and marketing of music. He claimed in an interview to have sold close to 200,000 copies of his three official releases.^[4]

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Coronel is African-Peruvian and was born in 1978 in a military hospital in Lima.^[1] His family emigrated in 1980 to Harlem.^[5] During his teenage years he was arrested multiple times due in part to what he has said was "selfish and childish" behavior. He attended Hunter College High School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Shortly after enrolling in Pennsylvania State University, he was arrested and charged with assault-related offenses due to his involvement in an altercation between fellow students, the charges stemming from this incident led to him being incarcerated for a year.^[1][6] After being paroled, he took political science classes at Baruch College in New York City for two semesters at the behest of his father, who allowed Coronel to live with him on the condition that he go to school.^[7] Honing his rapping skills in jail, and unable to find decent wage-paying employment after his release, Coronel began selling his music on the streets of New York while battling with MCs whenever the opportunity arose.^[8][9][10] This, coupled with his victories in numerous freestyle rap competitions of the New York underground hip hop scene such as Rocksteady Anniversary, Braggin Rites and others, led to his reputation as a ferocious Battle MC.^[11]

Revolutionary Vol.1 and Vol.2[link]

In 2001, Immortal Technique released his first album Revolutionary Vol. 1 without the help of a record label or distribution, instead using money earned from his rap battle triumphs^[11]. He also battled but lost to Posta Boy in 106 & Park's Freestyle Friday. Revolutionary Vol. 1 also contained the underground classic Dance With The Devil. In November 2002, he was listed by The Source in its "Unsigned Hype" column, highlighting artists that are not signed to a record label. The following year, in September 2003, he received the coveted "Hip Hop Quotable" in The Source for a song entitled "Industrial Revolution" from his second album. Immortal Technique is the only rapper in history to have a "Hip Hop Quotable" while being unsigned.^[11] He released his second album Revolutionary Vol. 2 in 2003. In 2004, Viper Records and, in 2005, Babygrande Records re-released Immortal Technique's debut, Revolutionary Vol. 1, to make it available to a wider audience. "Point of No Return" from Revolutionary Vol 2 was used as the entrance theme for Rashad Evans during the UFC 88 Main Event between Chuck Liddell and Rashad Evans.

Revolutionary Vol.3 and The Middle Passage[link]

Immortal Technique (left) at the Roskilde Festival, 2006.

Between 2005 and 2007 Immortal Technique began working on The Middle Passage and The 3rd World, the two albums that would serve a follow up to Revolutionary Vol. 2 and complete the series. He was also featured on several movie soundtracks and video game soundtracks, all the while touring relentlessly and becoming heavily involved in visiting prisons to speak to youth and working with immigrant rights activists and raising tens of thousands of dollars for children’s hospitals overseas. He invested his money not in items that are usually associated with fame but rather in large pieces of farmland in Latin America. He created a writing grant program for high school students as well.^[12]

The Martyr[link]

In October 2011 Immortal Technique released The Martyr, a free compilation album of previously unreleased material and new tracks. ^[13]

Collaborations[link]

The summer of 2005 saw the release of "Bin Laden", a vinyl single 12" featuring Mos Def and DJ Green Lantern. The single also contained a remix of the song featured Chuck D of Public Enemy and KRS-One. In early 2006, the song "Impeach the President", featuring Dead Prez and Saigon turned up in the mixtape "Alive on Arrival" DJ Green Lantern. This is a simple version of The Honeydrippers, 1973, in which Immortal Technique urged fans to organize a vote of censure against George W. Bush. In April 2009, a new song leaked on the internet named "Democratie Fasciste (Article 4)" by Brazilian-French rapper Rockin' Squat which featured Immortal Technique. The official release of the song and Rockin' Squat's album Confessions D'un Enfant Du Siècle Volume 2 was on May 12, 2009. The instrumental from the song was sampled from Wendy Rene's "After Laughter". The song expresses the inequalities of the Third World and revolutionary events throughout history against tyranny and oppression. The song contains lyrics in English (Immortal Technique), French (Rockin' Squat) and brief shout outs in Spanish (Immortal Technique). This song is Immortal Technique's first official international collaboration.^[14] In early 2009, it was announced that there would be a collaboration between Technique and UK underground artist Lowkey, on a single called "Voices of the Voiceless". On September 11, 2009, a "snippet" of the song was released on YouTube.^[15] The preview was released ahead of its September 21 launch on iTunes, as part of a web-campaign that included updates, promotion and links on forums, E-Magazines and several social networking sites. The song's lyrics cover a broad range of issues that are familiar to listeners of both artists – racism, world revolution, war, socialism, government control, rape, famine, colonialism, Classism, self-determination and the war in Iraq.^[16]

Charitable work[link]

Immortal Technique performing in March 2010.

In June 2008, Immortal Technique partnered with Omeid International, a Non–Profit Human Rights Organization, to lend his support. He dubbed the work as "The Green Light Project". With the profits of The 3rd World album, Immortal Technique traveled to Kabul, Afghanistan to help Omeid build an orphanage without any corporate or external funding. The orphanage, having been successfully established, currently houses over 20 orphaned children from Kabul.^[17]

Films[link]

[edit] The (R)evolution of Immortal Technique

A documentary about Immortal Technique was released in September 2011 and premiered at the Harlem Film Festival.^[18]

[edit] This Revolution

Immortal Technique appeared as himself in a docudrama film entitled This Revolution, which was recorded during the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York. The tape contains the protests surrounding the convention in the form of a documentary. It also featured Viper Records affiliates Akir and producer SouthPaw in roles.

Since then Immortal Technique has taken control of Viper Records and has signed a distribution deal with Babygrande Records / E1 Entertainment to vent to their next album. SouthPaw has managed to establish himself as A&R of Viper Records.

Discography[link]

Studio Albums[link]

Compilation Albums[link]

• 2011: The Martyr

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Find more about Immortal Technique on Wikipedia's sister projects:
	Images and media from Commons
	Quotations from Wikiquote

• Official website
• Immortal Technique on Twitter
• Immortal Technique on Myspace
• Immortal Technique at Allmusic
• Immortal Technique at MTV
• Immortal Technique at AllRovi
• Immortal Technique at the Internet Movie Database

Martha Graham
Martha Graham by Yousuf Karsh (1948)
Born	(1894-05-11)May 11, 1894 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	April 1, 1991(1991-04-01) (aged 96) New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Field	Dance and choreography
Movement	Modern dance
Influenced by	Eleonora Duse
Influenced	Paul Taylor
Awards	Kennedy Center Honors (1979) Presidential Medal of Freedom (1976) National Medal of Arts (1985)

Martha Graham (May 11, 1894 – April 1, 1991) was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts,^[1][2] Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.^[3]

She danced and choreographed for over seventy years. Graham was the first dancer ever to perform at the White House, travel abroad as a cultural ambassador, and receive the highest civilian award of the USA: the Presidential Medal of Freedom. In her lifetime she received honors ranging from the Key to the City of Paris to Japan's Imperial Order of the Precious Crown. She said, "I have spent all my life with dance and being a dancer. It's permitting life to use you in a very intense way. Sometimes it is not pleasant. Sometimes it is fearful. But nevertheless it is inevitable."^{[citation needed]}

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Graham was born in Allegheny City, which today is part of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1894. Her father George Graham was what in the Victorian era was known as an "alienist", a practitioner of an early form of psychiatry. The Grahams were strict Presbyterians. Dr. Graham was a third generation American of Irish descent and her mother Jane Beers was a tenth generation descendant of Puritan Miles Standish.

In the mid 1910s, she began her studies at the newly created Denishawn School of Dancing and Related Arts, founded by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn,^[4] at which she would stay till 1923.

New era in dance[link]

In 1925, Graham was employed at the Eastman School of Music where Rouben Mamoulian was head of the School of Drama. Among other performances, together they produced a short two-color film called The Flute of Krishna, featuring Eastman students. Mamoulian left Eastman shortly thereafter and Graham chose to leave also, even though she was asked to stay on.

In 1926, the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance was established. On April 18 of the same year,^[4] at the 48th Street Theatre, Graham debuted with her first independent concert, consisting of eighteen short solos and trios that she had choreographed. She would later say of the concert "Everything I did was influenced by Denishawn."^[5][6]

One of Graham's students was heiress Bethsabée de Rothschild with whom she became close friends. When Rothschild moved to Israel and established the Batsheva Dance Company in 1965, Graham became the company's first director.

In 1936, Graham made her defining work, "Chronicle", which signaled the beginning of a new era in modern dance.^{[citation needed]} The dance brought serious issues to the stage for the general public in a dramatic manner. Influenced by the Wall Street Crash, the Great Depression and the Spanish Civil War, it focused on depression and isolation, reflected in the dark nature of both the set and costumes.

In 1938 Erick Hawkins was the first man to dance with her company. The following year, he officially joined her troupe, dancing male lead in a number of Graham's works. They were married in 1948. He left her troupe in 1951 and they divorced in 1954.

Her largest-scale work, the evening-length Clytemnestra, was created in 1958, with a score by Egyptian-born composer Halim El-Dabh. She also collaborated with composers including Aaron Copland on Appalachian Spring, Louis Horst, Samuel Barber, William Schuman, Carlos Surinach, Norman Dello Joio, and Gian Carlo Menotti.^[7] Graham's mother died in Santa Barbara in 1958. Her oldest friend and musical collaborator Louis Horst died in 1964. She said of Horst "His sympathy and understanding, but primarily his faith, gave me a landscape to move in. Without it, I should certainly have been lost."

There were a few notable exceptions to her dances being taped. For example, she worked on a limited basis with still photographers Imogen Cunningham in the 1930s, and Barbara Morgan in the 1940s. Graham considered Philippe Halsman's photographs of "Dark Meadows" the most complete photographic record of any of her dances. Halsman also photographed in the 1940s: "Letter to the World", "Cave of the Heart", "Night Journey" and "Every Soul is a Circus". In later years her thinking on the matter evolved and others convinced her to let them recreate some of what was lost.

Martha Graham with Bertram Ross (1961)

Graham started her career at an age that was considered late for a dancer. She was still dancing by the late 1960s and her works from this era included roles for herself which were more acted than danced and relied on the movement of the company dancing around her. In her biography Martha Agnes de Mille cites Graham's last performance as the evening of May 25, 1968, in a 'Time of Snow'. But in A Dancer's Life biographer Russell Freedman lists the year of Graham's final performance as 1969. In her 1991 autobiography Blood Memory Graham herself lists her final performance as her 1970 appearance in "Cortege of Eagles" when she was 76 years old.

In the years that followed her departure from the stage Graham sank into a deep depression fueled by views from the wings of young dancers performing many of the dances she had choreographed for herself and her former husband. Graham's health declined precipitously as she abused alcohol to numb her pain. In Blood Memory she wrote:

It wasn't until years after I had relinquished a ballet that I could bear to watch someone else dance it. I believe in never looking back, never indulging in nostalgia, or reminiscing. Yet how can you avoid it when you look on stage and see a dancer made up to look as you did thirty years ago, dancing a ballet you created with someone you were then deeply in love with, your husband? I think that is a circle of hell Dante omitted.

[When I stopped dancing] I had lost my will to live. I stayed home alone, ate very little, and drank too much and brooded. My face was ruined, and people say I looked odd, which I agreed with. Finally my system just gave in. I was in the hospital for a long time, much of it in a coma.^{[Full citation needed]}

After a failed suicide attempt she was hospitalized. Graham not only survived her hospital stay but she rallied. In 1972 she quit drinking, returned to her studio, reorganized her company and went on to choreograph ten new ballets and many revivals. Her last completed ballet was 1990's Maple Leaf Rag.

Graham choreographed until her death in New York City from pneumonia in 1991, aged 96.^[8] She was cremated, and her ashes were spread over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico.

Influence and legacy[link]

Graham has been sometimes termed the "Picasso of Dance," in that her importance and influence to modern dance can be considered equivalent to what Pablo Picasso was to modern visual arts.^[1][2] Her impact has been also compared with the influence Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.^[3]

To celebrate her 117th birthday on May 11, 2011, Google celebrated by turning their logo for one day into a logo dedicating the life and legacy of Graham.^[9]

Martha Graham has been said to be the one that brought dance into the twentieth century. Due to the work of her assistants, Ron Protas and Linda Hodes, much of Graham’s work and technique have been preserved. They taped interviews of Graham describing her entire technique, and videos of her performances.^[10] As Glen Tetley told Agnes de Mille, “The wonderful thing about Martha in her good days was her generosity. So many people stole Martha’s unique personal vocabulary, consciously or unconsciously, and performed it in concerts. I have never once heard Martha say, ‘So-and-so has used my choreography.'"^[11] An entire movement was created by her that revolutionized the dance world and created what is known today as modern dance. Now, dancers all over the world study and perform modern dance. Choreographers and professional dancers look to her for inspiration.^[12]

Martha Graham Dance Company[link]

The Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest dance company in America,^[13] founded in 1926. It has helped develop many famous dancers and choreographers of the 20th and 21st centuries including Erick Hawkins, Anna Sokolow, Merce Cunningham and Paul Taylor. It continues to perform, including at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center in June 2008, a program consisting of: Ruth St. Denis' The Incense; Graham's reconstruction of Ted Shawn's Serenata Morisca; Graham's Lamentation; Yuriko's reconstruction of Graham's Panorama, performed by dancers from Skidmore College; excerpts from Yuriko's and Graham's reconstruction of the latter's Chronicle from the Julien Bryan film; Graham's Errand into the Maze and Maple Leaf Rag.^{[citation needed]} The company also performed in 2007 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, with a program consisting of: Appalachian Spring, Embattled Garden, Errand into the Maze, and American Original.^[14][15]

Quotations[link]

According to Agnes de Mille:

The greatest thing she ever said to me was in 1943 after the opening of Oklahoma!, when I suddenly had unexpected, flamboyant success for a work I thought was only fairly good, after years of neglect for work I thought was fine. I was bewildered and worried that my entire scale of values was untrustworthy. I talked to Martha. I remember the conversation well. It was in a Schrafft's restaurant over a soda. I confessed that I had a burning desire to be excellent, but no faith that I could be. Martha said to me, very quietly: "There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. ... No artist is pleased. [There is] no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer divine dissatisfaction, a blessed unrest that keeps us marching and makes us more alive than the others."^[16]

“Virile gestures are evocative of the only true beauty. Ugliness may be actually beautiful if it cries out with the voice of power” - Martha Graham 1928. ^[17]

Accolades[link]

Graham was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1976 by President Gerald Ford (the First Lady Betty Ford had danced with Graham in her youth). Ford declared her "a national treasure".^{[citation needed]}

Graham was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 1987.^{[citation needed]}

In 1998 Graham was named "Dancer of the Century" by Time Magazine,^[18] and one of the female "Icons of the Century" by People Magazine.^{[citation needed]} The New York Times called her a "brilliant, young dancer".^{[citation needed]}

Choreography[link]

This excerpt from John Martin’s reviews in the New York Times provides insight on Graham’s choreographic style. “Frequently the vividness and intensity of her purpose are so potent that on the rise of the curtain they strike like a blow, and in that moment one must decide whether he is for or against her. She boils down her moods and movements until they are devoid of all extraneous substances and are concentrated to the highest degree.”^[19]