Modern Dance
Audrey Watkins p1
History
Modern Dance was born in America during the turn of the 20th century when a number of choreographers and dancers rebelled against the two forms of dance that were prevalent at the time, ballet and vaudeville. They rejected what they interpreted as the rigid and imperialistic nature of ballet, and they wanted to be taken seriously as artists rather than be seen simply as entertainers. Loie Fuller, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn are considered to be the pioneers of modern dance in America.
Mia Michaels
Mia Michaels was born in Coconut Grove, Florida on February 22, 1966. Her dad taught her ballet, tap, and jazz while her sister taught her contemporary. Michaels choreographed cirque du soliel's tour, 'delirium' in 2005. Two years later in 2007, she won an Emmy Award for outstanding choreography for 'Calling You' on season 2 of SYTYCD. She left the American show in 2009 to participate in the Canadian, UK, and Australian versions of SYTYCD. Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe made it very clear that Mia was welcome with open arms to return at any point. Michaels was also one of the choreographers set to pay tribute to Michael Jackson at the 2009 MTV VMAs.