
Taking its name from the Judson Memorial Church, a socially engaged Protestant congregation in New York's Greenwich Village, Judson Dance Theater was organized as a series of open workshops from which its participants developed performances. Redefining the kinds of movement that could count as dance, the Judson participants- Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Philip Corner, Bill Dixon, Judith Dunn, David Gordon, Alex Hay, Deborah Hay, Fred Herko, Robert Morris, Steve Paxton, Rudy Perez, Yvonne Rainer, Robert Rauschenberg, Carolee Schneemann and Elaine Summers, among others- would go on to profoundly shape all fields of art in the second half of the 20th century. They employed new compositional methods to strip dance of its theatrical conventions, incorporating "ordinary" movements- gestures typical of the street or home, for example, rather than a stage- into their work, along with games, simple tasks, and social dances to infuse their pieces with a sense of spontaneity. Published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, 'Judson Dance Theater: The Work Is Never Done' highlights the workshop's ongoing significance. "In the early 1960s, an assembly of choreographers, visual artists, composers, and filmmakers made use of a church in New York's Greenwich Village to present performances that redefined the kinds of movement that could be understood as dance--performances that Village Voice critic Jill Johnston would declare the most exciting in a generation. The group was Judson Dance Theater, its name borrowed from Judson Memorial Church, the socially engaged Protestant congregation that hosted the dancers' open workshops. The Judson artists emphasized new compositional methods meant to strip dance of its theatrical conventions and foregrounded 'ordinary' movements--gestures more likely to be seen on the street or at home. Although Judson Dance Theater would only last a few years, the artists affiliated with it, including Trisha Brown, Lucinda Childs, Ph
Page Count:
199
Publication Date:
2018-01-01
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