These vividly written letters document the lives of two remarkable women artists who were at the center of twentieth-century dance modernism. Mary Wigman s groundbreaking choreography and inspired performing in Germany during the 1910s and 1920s brought the emerging art of modern dance into dialogue with modern painting, theater, and film. Her disciple Hanya Holm took Wigman s aesthetic philosophy to the United States in 1931, effectively adapting it to the American temperament, and ultimately became a celebrated choreographer of Broadway musicals such as Kiss Me, Kate and My Fair...

Soloists ignited the modern dance movement and have been a source of its constant renewal. Pioneering dancers such as Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Maud Allan embodied the abstraction and individuality of the larger modernist movement while making astounding contributions to their art. Nevertheless, solo dancers have received far less attention in the literature than have performers and choreographers associated with large companies.

In On Stage Alone, editors Claudia Gitelman and Barbara Palfy take an international approach to the solo dance performance. The...

Rediscover some of the most courageous dancers of the twentieth century "Providing a broad examination of the solo that spans the twentieth century, the expertly curated essays in this volume bring to light specific soloists' work while also reflecting larger trends in concert dance and interrogating issues of aesthetics, performativity, gender, race, and nation. It is a welcome addition to the field."--Hannah Kosstrin, Reed College "Diverse in both the dance artists considered and research approaches utilized, this thoughtful and engaging collection of essays enriches the growing body of...