Pioneer women: Early British Modern Dancers

该项目将对两位早期英国现代舞蹈编导和教师Madge Atkinson（1885-1970）和Ruby Ginner（1886-1978）的档案进行重要的工作。受伊莎多拉·邓肯的启发，两位女士开创了各自的“赤脚舞”形式：阿特金森的“自然运动”强调身体的和谐运用，用跑步和平衡等简单动作来创造抒情风格；而Ginner的复兴希腊舞蹈则借鉴了古希腊的竞技、戏剧和舞蹈。在他们职业生涯早期发表的文章表明，阿特金森和金纳的作品在当时被认为是重要的，这与后来的历史记载形成鲜明对比，后者倾向于尊重俄罗斯芭蕾舞和中欧现代舞的进口传统，以及英国本土芭蕾舞的发展。先锋妇女项目是萨里大学舞蹈研究系和国家舞蹈资源中心（NRCD）之间的合作项目，它建立在先前由AHRB资源增强计划（2002-2005年）资助的联合研究项目“在线舞蹈数据”的基础上。该项目的两个主要目标是，通过深入分析阿特金森和金纳的编舞和教学方法，将他们重新写进舞蹈史，并首次提供一系列关于20世纪英国舞蹈和文化史的材料。基于对他们的档案的初步整理和调查，预计进一步的研究将揭示早期英国现代舞和芭蕾之间比以前想象的更紧密的忠诚，从人口统计学上讲，“英国”舞蹈不仅仅是伦敦的大都会芭蕾舞团和/或地区音乐厅。该项目还旨在将阿特金森和吉纳与其他更知名的女性舞蹈家重新定位，如艾德琳·根萨梅、塔玛拉·卡尔萨维娜、玛丽·兰伯特和妮内特·德瓦卢瓦，在编纂培训体系和创建自己的公司方面，从而为20世纪初英国女性的角色和代理提供更广泛的见解。该项目还将考虑在此背景下的其他两位舞者，Leslie Burrowes和Ludmila Mlada，前者曾在德国跟随Mary Wigman学习现代舞，后者曾先后在Rambert芭蕾舞团和Jooss芭蕾舞团演出。（NRCD在2003年获得了Burrowes和Mlada的档案）。该项目的产出将包括一份档案馆藏的在线目录、几篇期刊文章、舞蹈重建、编辑的DVD、一次学术研讨会、一次展览、两天的学习和研讨会产生的一本编辑的书。一项口述历史项目将提供宝贵的补充文件，并将创造额外资源，以提高档案的内容和用途。项目期间将与萨里大学舞蹈研究系和NRCD的25周年庆祝活动相一致，研讨会将是这些活动的中心活动，以宣传该项目的高档案价值，知识和体现重点，并加强萨里大学学术和研究支持活动之间的合作伙伴关系。

This project will undertake vital work on the archives of Madge Atkinson (1885-1970) and Ruby Ginner (1886-1978), two early British modern dancer-choreographers and teachers. Inspired by Isadora Duncan, both women initiated their own respective forms of 'barefoot dance': Atkinson's Natural Movement emphasised a harmonious use of the body in which simple actions such as running and balancing were used to create a lyrical style; whilst Ginner's Revived Greek Dance drew on Ancient Greek athletics, drama, and dance. Articles published during the early stage of their careers demonstrate the extent to which the work of Atkinson and Ginner was deemed significant in its day - in marked contrast to subsequent historical accounts which have tended to privilege the imported traditions of Russian Ballet and Central European modern dance, and the development of an indigenous British ballet.The Pioneer Women project is a collaboration between the Department of Dance Studies and the National Resource Centre for Dance (NRCD) at the University of Surrey and it builds upon a previous joint research project, Dance Data On-line, funded by the AHRB's Resource Enhancement Scheme (2002-2005). Two main aims of the project will be to write Atkinson and Ginner back into dance history through in-depth analysis of their choreographies and teaching methods, and to make a range of materials on 20th-century British dance and cultural history available for the first time. Based on initial sorting and investigation of their archives in preparation for this project, it is anticipated that further research will reveal closer allegiances between early British modern dance and ballet than previously thought, and demographically, that 'British' dance constituted more than London-based metropolitan ballet and/or regional music hall. The project also aims to re-align Atkinson and Ginner alongside other, better-known, female dance protagonists, such as Adeline Genée, Tamara Karsavina, Marie Rambert and Ninette de Valois, both in terms of codifying systems of training and founding their own companies, thus providing broader insights into the role and agency of women in early-20th century Britain. The project will also consider two other dancers within this context, Leslie Burrowes, who studied modern dance with Mary Wigman in Germany and Ludmila Mlada, who performed first with Ballet Rambert and then the Ballets Jooss. (The NRCD acquired the archives of both Burrowes and Mlada in 2003).Outputs of the project will include an online catalogue of the archives' holdings, several journal articles, dance reconstructions, an edited DVD, an academic symposium, an exhibition, two study days and an edited book arising out of the symposium. An oral history project will provide valuable supplementary documentation and additional resources will be created to enhance the archives' content and usefulness. The duration of the project will coincide with 25th anniversary celebrations by both the Department of Dance Studies and NRCD, and the symposium will be a central event for these, in terms of publicising the high archival value, intellectual and embodied focus of the project and reinforcing the collaborative partnership between the University of Surrey's academic and research support activities.