Nancy Stark Smith
Encyclopedia
Nancy Stark Smith is a dancer and founding participant in contact improvisation
.
An alumna of Oberlin College
, Smith initially trained as an athlete and gymnast
. She studied and performed in modern dance
and postmodern dance
shows in the early 1970s. She danced in the first contact improvisation shows in 1972, and has since worked as a dancer, performer, instructor, author, and organizer. She has travelled the world to teach and present shows of contact and improvised dance.
She has collaborated with numerous partners including Steve Paxton
, Julyen Hamilton, Karen Nelson, and, recently, the musician Mike Vargas.
In 1975, she founded Contact Quarterly, an international journal of dance and improvisation, which she continues to co-edit and produce.
Contact improvisation
Contact improvisation is a dance technique in which points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation...
.
An alumna of Oberlin College
Oberlin College
Oberlin College is a private liberal arts college in Oberlin, Ohio, noteworthy for having been the first American institution of higher learning to regularly admit female and black students. Connected to the college is the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, the oldest continuously operating...
, Smith initially trained as an athlete and gymnast
Gymnast
Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...
. She studied and performed in modern dance
Modern dance
Modern dance is a dance form developed in the early 20th century. Although the term Modern dance has also been applied to a category of 20th Century ballroom dances, Modern dance as a term usually refers to 20th century concert dance.-Intro:...
and postmodern dance
Postmodern dance
Postmodern dance is a 20th century concert dance form. A reaction to the compositional and presentation constraints of modern dance, postmodern dance hailed the use of everyday movement as valid performance art and advocated novel methods of dance composition....
shows in the early 1970s. She danced in the first contact improvisation shows in 1972, and has since worked as a dancer, performer, instructor, author, and organizer. She has travelled the world to teach and present shows of contact and improvised dance.
She has collaborated with numerous partners including Steve Paxton
Steve Paxton
Steve Paxton is an experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, he performed works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown...
, Julyen Hamilton, Karen Nelson, and, recently, the musician Mike Vargas.
In 1975, she founded Contact Quarterly, an international journal of dance and improvisation, which she continues to co-edit and produce.
See also
- Steve PaxtonSteve PaxtonSteve Paxton is an experimental dancer and choreographer. His early background was in gymnastics while his later training included three years with Merce Cunningham and a year with José Limón. As a founding member of the Judson Dance Theater, he performed works by Yvonne Rainer and Trisha Brown...
- contact improvisationContact improvisationContact improvisation is a dance technique in which points of physical contact provide the starting point for exploration through movement improvisation...
- dance improvisationDance improvisationDance improvisation is the process of spontaneously creating movement. Development of improvised movement material is facilitated through a variety of creative explorations including body mapping through body mind centering, levels, shape and dynamics , sensory experiences through touch or contact...
- Judson Dance TheaterJudson Dance TheaterJudson Dance Theater was an informal group of dancers who performed at the Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village, Manhattan New York City between 1962 and 1964. It grew out of a dance composition class taught by Robert Dunn, a musician who had studied with John Cage...
- postmodern dancePostmodern dancePostmodern dance is a 20th century concert dance form. A reaction to the compositional and presentation constraints of modern dance, postmodern dance hailed the use of everyday movement as valid performance art and advocated novel methods of dance composition....