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The Theme of Dance in Modern Art

Towards the end of the 19th C, as artists are veering away from the art academies, their search for new styles, topics and mediums is closely related to dance. Their interest in various cultures and folk art inspired artists to have a closer look at folk dances, including colorful costumes and expressive movements. The growing metropolis like Paris, Berlin and New York brought young, often impoverished girls onto the stage, whether as ballet dancers, in cabarets, circuses, or even shadier places. Women were at the forefront of creating new dances and changing social mores. Modern artists were also highly inspired by the new directions in modern dance, as performed for example by Isidora Duncan. Other artists like Henri Matisse pursued new expressions of timeless, more universal or primordial dances, in search of an underlying connection between all cultures. Throughout the decades, ‘dance’ develops from being a theme in painting and sculpture to an integral element of stage sets, kinetic art, performance.