Rtola Valencia: Modernist Innovation and Exotic Imagery in Early 1900s Dance

Description

T—rtola Valencia was a phenomenon in the world of dance in the beginning of the twentieth century. Her history remains unwritten, probably because she neglected to train disciples to carry on her new tradition of modern Spanish dance. To this day, ÒSpanish danceÓ means mostly folkloric or flamenco performances, and those companies which create new dance in Spain or Spanish-influenced settings are incorporated into the world of western modern dance. In addition, Totola Valencia did not confine herself to her Spanish-themed dances, based on the richness of this Mediterranean/Arabic culture; she researched, as did Ruth St. Denis and other educated artistes of their times, cultures ranging from India to Arabia, Africa to native American Indian. From these researches, partly ethnographic, and partly proto-feminist, they created new dances, staged in dramatic ways but definitely not in the balletic conventions of their times.

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