If Martha Graham’s midtown studios were the birthplace of Modern dance, the genesis of Postmodern and Contemporary dance might be traced back to a church in Greenwich Village. In 1962, Judson Dance Theater, a collaborative of choreographers, artists, and musicians, formed in the Judson Memorial Church off Washington Square and embarked on a series of experimental dance performances. Embracing chance and improvisation, non-linear narrative, and multimedia — the same principles that were sparking the art scene throughout New York in the '60s — the seminal performances broke free of the formalism that had characterized much of 20th century Modern dance. Over the course of four years, the collective’s work not only presaged dance’s Postmodern era, but also laid the groundwork for today’s Contemporary dance.

Judson’s Dance Theater’s 50th anniversary is being celebrated with Danspace Project's “PLATFORM 2012: Judson Now," a 10-week program of performances taking place at St. Mark’s Church. The series showcases original pieces performed by the Judson artists alongside those from the younger generation of artists they influenced and continue to impact.

“Judson Dance Theater, its artists, and explorations still inspire because their ideas were about possibilities, not about limitations,” Judy Hussie-Taylor, the executive director of Danspace, told ARTINFO. “The current interest in live performance speaks to a need for unmediated and unmediatized experiences in the age of instant information. The fact that very little film documentation [of the Judson performances] from 1962 to '66 exists also allows artists today to imagine the performances and the ‘scene’ differently. Perhaps there is a certain romance in that.”

Judson’s "Concert of Dance" on July 6, 1962 was the first of 200 performances that would be staged through 1966 at the church, involving around 400 artists. The group’s multidisciplinary approach grew from a composition workshop taught by Robert Dunn at Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. Dunn, a composer, was a student of John Cage, and led his own students in channeling Cage’s experimental ideas for music and interpretating them through movement. The resulting performances, many of which have been revived for "Judson Now," often packed a visceral punch or played on audience expectations. In Steve Paxton’s “Intravenous Lecture” (1970), a dancer is connected to a bag of saline solution with an intravenous needle. Lucinda Childs’s “Pastime” (1963) is performed completely inside of a large bag, while Yvonne Rainer’s “We Shall Run” (1963) is a choreography of plainclothes pedestrians moving through space in unison. If some of the pieces now seem dated, an undeniable strain of fearlessness still underscores the oeuvre.

“Judson Now” launched its fall schedule with a 100th birthday gathering for John Cage in September, and continues with events through December. As part of the 50th anniversary, Danspace Project is also producing a catalogue with commissioned interviews and conversations aimed at creating a discourse between different generations. That conversation seems only apropos, as Judson Dance Theater not only left an historical cultural mark, but also created a visual vocabulary that's still in use today. 

"Platform 2012: Judson Now" will be performing through Decemember 1 at St. Mark's Church-in-the-Bowery.