Will Modern Dance Survive? Lessons to Be Learned From the Pioneers and Unsung Visionaries of Modern Dance

This book examines the origins and growth of modern dance, demonstrating why
it is a unique art form. The author includes citations from many critics, dancers,
choreographers, and historians, and writers to contextualize her own views, as
an academic, dancer, and choreographer.


"One is not likely to ever find another book so comprehensive and yet so personal, so concerned with exploring personal and professional truths. . . . It is refreshing for me to read an alternative point of view on many of the topics she examines. I perceive Ms. Soll’s book to be a work of exceptional courage – she has thoroughly investigated her beliefs, and she expresses them vividly even though they will likely be unpopular and controversial. I consider this book to be a gift to the dance world. . ."– Bill Evans, Artistic Director, Bill Evans Dance Company

“Here is a book that investigates a vast panorama of modern dance, its origins, growth, quintessential reasons as an art form. Soll cites many critics, writers, philosophers, dancers, choreographers, and historians, in contextualizing her views. It is a book full of highly stimulating ideas.”– Tom Borek

Table of Contents

Table of contents (main headings):
Preface; Foreword; Introduction
1. Modern Dance: An Historical Perspective (forerunners; Bennington Visionaries; Transitional Choreographers, Post-Modernism)
2. Mid-Twentieth-Century Unsung Visionaries of Modern Dance (Helen Tamiris, Charles Weidman; European Modern Dancers; African-American choreographers, misogyny)
3. The 60s: The Impact of the Experimentalists (Anna Halprin, Barbara Mettler, Simone Forti; commercialism; movement vocabulary; grunge; legacy of the 60s)
4. The Unsung Visionaries of the Post-60s Era (current generation; interviews; Elizabeth Kendall)
5. An Evaluation of the Modern Dance of the 70s, 80s, and early 90s (Funding; mainstream modern dance; established modern dance artists; influences from abroad; Butoh dance)
6. The New Generation: The Situation Now and the Prognosis for the Future (contemporary choreographers and their work; contemporary trends; repertory companies; HongKong Dance Festivals)
Conclusion; Bibliography; Index