Daniel Nagrin

Background

Daniel Nagrin was an American choreographer, author, and dancer who was born in New York City in 1917. Throughout his life, Nagrin was involved in numerous dance competitions. He was also involved in arranging many dance patterns and movements especially of modern dance. When he was eight years old, he was involved in sharing and exploring his knowledge about modern dance. Nagrin had many influences including his four wives who he studied with. They were Anna Sokolow, Martha Graham, Helen Tamiris, and Hanya Holm.

He rose to the dance stage when his dance that was referred to as Dance in the Sun was used or rather adapted by the renowned filmmaker Clarke Shirley in a film that had the same title. In June 1954, he joined hands with Ronald Gould and David Shapiro and the three formed the Dance Percussion. The dance Percussion would later go ahead and experience plenty of successes and later would be known as the New York Percussion trio.

Historical Context

In the mid twentieth century, there were many changes that were taking place in the dance industry. As the music industry grew, the dance industry also grew as they two hold hands or work together. Nagrin has been referred to as the father of modern dance by many people in the United States because of the influences he had on modern dance. Many people view him as a revolution to the traditional dance that was present in the past. His style of dance was something that was completely new to many people in the United States. His dance style was highly drawn on jazz music and jazz movement. It also incorporated traditional dance that was played using classical music. His style also combined a quite fierce humanism that was rooted in revealing gestures.

   

     

Personal Opinion

The study of Daniel Nagrin is an important topic that matters to me because of the significant influences that it has had to modern music and dance. In the past, music and dance were two different things. Artists or musicians who were mainly involved in music were not involved in dance. Dance was seen as something that could be used together with music, but not a necessary prerequisite to dance. Throughout his career, he developed many modern dance movements and staged competitions where people would face off in dance. In my development and in dance, the study of Daniel Nagrin helps me understand the evolution of dance that has taken place in the past few decades

X-Factor

The X Factor is a television series that is aired in the United States and the United Kingdom. The television series looks into searching for new signing talent that is available in the country. The X Factor and its development in the last decade can be heavily linked with the works and lifetime of Daniel Nagrin. During his lifetime specifically his career as a choreographer, Nagrin was involved in many numerous dance competitions. These competitions aimed at looking for talent from the public. Once a particular talent was observed from the public, Nagrin together with his collaborators would mentor and train such an identified dancer to be a professional dancer. The same can be observed in X Factor. The only difference is that X Factor looks for individuals who can sign rather than dance. The contributions of Nagrin to music and dance throughout his lifetime can thereby be seen through the upcoming of shows and television series that are interested in looking for talent from the public