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Case Study: Pilobolus As A Modern Dance Company

1441 Words6 Pages

Pilobolus is a modern dance company that has been taking the art of dance to unfamiliar territories since its establishment. The company is renowned for its unique characteristic of blending modern styles of dance with acrobatics and technology. The company also heavily emphasizes collaboration and engages people around the world through its education services and stunning performances. By breaking down barriers between disciplines and challenging the way we think about dance, the company has received an immense amount of recognition and appreciation. More than forty years later, Pilobolus continues to be a resilient influence in the field of modern dance.
Pilobolus was founded in 1971 when Alison Chase chose a number of Dartmouth students …show more content…

The dance company fuses modern styles of dance with acrobatics (Strauss, Marc, and Myron Howard Nadel). The company’s choreography is characterized by seemingly unrealistic partnering and weight-sharing techniques that demonstrate the plasticity, strength and beauty of the human body. Its pieces are filled with clever visual illusions and humor. The company is also well known for creating both still and moving body structures. Drawing from the principles of balance and counterbalance, the company has produced numerous unbelievable body structures. In fact, the dance company’s style is so unique and divergent from other styles, that Pilobolus has created its own dance vocabulary (“40 years of Pilobolus …show more content…

By taking dance to unfamiliar territories and greatly experimenting with innovative partnering techniques, Pilobolus has created an original style of dance that continues to grow in popularity. The style of the company not only challenges the boundaries of dance, but also the capabilities of the human body. The way the company utilizes technology in the making and showing of its pieces is revolutionary in the realm of modern dance. By mixing acrobatics and drama with different styles of dance, Pilobolus has paved the way for a new branch of dance. For example, after the company’s rise in popularity, groups similar to the company, such as Cirque de Soleil and Elizabeth Streb, emerged (“Ballet-Dance Magazine “Fungi Form”: The Story of Pilobolus”). Not only is the company’s work revolutionary and authentic, but so is the way in which the company produces its work. Pilobolus uses a collaborative process to create pieces. This means that everyone in the company contributes in some way to the creative process and a lot of the movement is produced from collaborating and improvisation. The directors come in only to shape the work. This technique of producing work has become increasingly popular in modern dance companies (“Pilobolus: United in Motion, One Movement at a Time”). There is no doubt that the company will continue to expand its vision and teachings, and possibly make more significant contributions to

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