Final PaperModern dance flourished in the 20th century, embodying a theatrical dance tradition unique to classical ballet. Unlike classical ballet, modern dance represented not an expression, but rather an obsession with modern art itself. By analyzing the contrasting cultural elements of dance, ballet and modern dance, it will reveal the hybridity of dance culture. Early modern American dancers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis symbolized the break with European classical ballet culture (Thomas). Modern dance represented a rebellion against the European ballet traditions imposed on American ballet. Before the 20th century, dance culture had never been strongly anchored in American society (Cohen). Before the emergence of ballet in America, “…dancers were not socially acceptable in polite society…so they could not hope to be treated seriously or climb the social ladder” (Thomas, 215). Thomas expressed that American dance culture was weak due to the legacy of puritanist denunciations of arts and entertainment. The Puritans believed that bodily indulgence or anything related to it was dangerous and would induce sexual behavior (Thomas). American theaters stuck to traditional views of dance, with women wearing Greek or Oriental style dresses. In the novel Dance, Modernity and Culture, Helen Thomas argued that Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman abandoned the cultural margins whose origins of popular dance as the Denishawn school of dance offered. Denishawn was created in 1915 by Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn and is often known as the birth of modern dance. Unlike ballet, modern dance does not place much emphasis on precision and technique but rather on "...unwavering and unsentimental...... middle of paper ...... uth St. Denis focused on expression through nature and religion, Humphrey and Graham's interests were in the capabilities of the body. Severing ties with the Denishawn School of Dance, Graham and Humphrey established an enhanced movement vocabulary with a direct emphasis on balance, strength, coordination and space. Therefore, modern dance emerged when traditional European views of ballet were rejected by dance iconoclasts. Once Puritanism's religious views on dance were eclipsed by modern dance, they affected American culture throughout society today. Modern dance allowed American choreographers and dancers to create their own identity. The emergence of modern dance allowed American society to use dance based on a new language. Modern dance represented a rebellion against the traditions of European ballet imposed on American ballet..