Laura Dean

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Laura Dean is a postmodern dancer and choreographer who is known for her minimalist style of dance. She often incorporates repetitive phrases, geometric patterns, spinning, unison movements, and canon phrases into her choreography [1]. Dean’s signature movement is creating circles within circles which can be seen in her famous works, Spiral and Dance [2].

Contents

[edit] Biography and Background History

Laura Dean was born on December 3rd, 1945 in Staten Island New York and graduated from New York’s High School of the Performing Arts, where she trained with Lucas Hoving [3]. Dean also attended the School of American Ballet as well as the Third Street Music School where she studied piano and music [4].

Dean replaced famous dancer Twyla Tharp in the Paul Taylor Dance Company in 1965, and danced in the premier of From Sea to Shining Sea [5]. She stayed with this company for only one year, but Taylor as well as Merce Cunningham and Alwin Nikolais had a large impact on her movement style during this time [6].

[edit] Dean in the 1970’s

After a two-year hiatus in San Francisco she traveled back to New York City and formed her first company, Laura Dean and the Dance Company in 1971 [7]. Dean created a multitude of pieces which premiered between 1971 and 1975 that were accompanied by the music of Steve Reich [8].The Dean Dance and Music Foundation was formed in 1975, to help support the creation of music and dance by Laura Dean, and her company was renamed Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians.

Christopher Reardon, a writer from the New York Times, stated Dean had, “made her mark in the 1970's by stripping dance to a set of elemental gestures and patterns, [she] regards movement as an end in itself.” [9]. It was not uncommon during the 1970’s for a postmodern minimalist choreographer to strip the stage of costumes, lighting, music or scenery in an attempt to make the movement seem more important [10]. Dean’s works embodied the ideals of minimalism which dominated this era and influenced the post modern choreographers of the 1970’s. By the late 1970’s, Dean had become renowned for her spirals, the continuous circling movements of the body, which would become her legacy.

[edit] Choreography and Movement Interests

Most of Dean’s movement involves geometric patterns, spinning and cannon phrases -- the same phrase of movement performed successively one dancer after another -- and often is viewed as abstract and energetic [11]. Dean’s dances have a strong connection in their movement to folkloric dance. In fact, published in an article for Dance Magazine in 1994, Marilyn Hunt stated, “the usual folklike quality of Dean's work is still present in the simple repeated steps, geometric floor patterns, and sense of community.” [12]. Ecstasy and Infinity, the two pieces Hunt writes about in her article, are good examples of how Dean incorporated her classic motifs into more modern works with styles that differ from here earlier pieces. This might have something to do with the versatility of her motifs, which are easily adapted to different styles of dance [13]. Although she has created many different works of individualistic choreography, it is easy to see some of her most famous motifs, such as spinning and cannons, continuously within her works. This connection remains, no matter which style of dance the movement was set for.

[edit] Awards and Featured Works

Dean created a piece entitled Night for the Joffery Ballet Company in 1980. She was also featured on a PBS special program Dance in America, “Beyond the Mainstream” [14]. In 1993, Dean was one of four choreographers to work on Billboards, a full length ballet created for the Joffery Ballet Company [15]. She has received two Guggenheim fellowships and has published articles in Drama Review, Dance Scope, and Contemporary Dance [16].

[edit] Dean’s Recent Activities

The Laura Dean Dancer’s split up in 1994 with Dean’s relocation to North Carolina [17]. She taught at the American Dance Festival(ADF) in 1995 and 1996 [18]. Dean became part of the ADF’s extended residency program in 1997 with a grant from the Lila Wallace-Readers Digest Fund [19]. In fact, an article was published mentioning Dean’s recent connection with the ADF in the New York Times on May 13, 2007. Jennifer Dunning, the author of the article, talks about Laura Dean in conjunction with the “North Carolina AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL Durham, June 7-July 21,” where this event “continues its founding mission -- the support of American modern dance” by using the “classics by Martha Clarke, Laura Dean and Helen Tamiris” [20].

[edit] Best Known Works

  • 1975 Drumming, Laura Dean Dancers – Music by Steve Reich
  • 1976 Dance, Laura Dean Dancers
  • 1977 Spiral, Laura Dean Dancers
  • 1980 Night, Tympani, Joffery Ballet – Music by Laura Dean
  • 1985 Impact, Brooklyn Academy of Music
  • 1988 Space, New York City Ballet
  • 1993 Billboards, Joffery Ballet – Music by Prince
  • 1993 Arrow of Time, Albany Berkshire Ballet
  • 1993 Ecstacy, Infinity, Albany Berkshire Ballet – Music by Laura Dean

[edit] References

  1. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 358.
  2. ^ Karen Raugust, "Dean, Laura" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1993), 178.
  3. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 358.
  4. ^ Amanda Smith, "Dean, Laura," in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 358.
  5. ^ Karen Raugust, "Dean, Laura" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1993), 177.
  6. ^ Karen Raugust, "Dean, Laura" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1993), 177.
  7. ^ Debra Craine and Judith Mackrell, The Oxford Dictionary of Dance (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000),134
  8. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 358.
  9. ^ Christopher Reardon,“DANCE; When Collaborators Find Themselves Out of Step,” New York Times,August 30, 1998,[1],
  10. ^ Sally Banes, Terpsichore in Sneakers, High Heels, Jazz Shoes, and on Pointe: Postmodern Dance Revisited, (Boston: Houghton Mifflin 1979), 307
  11. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 359.
  12. ^ Marilyn Hunt, "Laura Dean Musicians and Dancers – Joyce Theater, New York, New York -Dance Reviews," Dance Magazine, September, 1994 [2]
  13. ^ Karen Raugust, "Dean, Laura" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1993), 179.
  14. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 359.
  15. ^ Karen Raugust, "Dean, Laura" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1993), 179.
  16. ^ Karen Raugust, "Dean, Laura" in International Dictionary of Modern Dance, ed. Taryn Benbow-Pfalzgraf (Detroit, MI: St. James Press, 1993), 178.
  17. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 359.
  18. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 360.
  19. ^ Amanda Smith, “Dean, Laura,” in International Encyclopedia of Dance, vol. 2, ed. Selma Jeanne Cohen (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), 360.
  20. ^ Jennifer Dunning,“The World at Their Feet,The New York Times,May 13, 2007,[3],