This is "kind of" a history of modern dance, because to be honest I don't really know all the history, and don't much care to research it. What you find here is a combination of the little I recall from a biography of Martha Graham and what one can find on Google search . . . when I have free time and extra energy, I'll elaborate more on this.
There were two dancers, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. They were "eccentric" to say the least, and were bored with ballet. They invented a kind of dancing all their own, inspired by Oriental and Indian things. Young Martha Graham saw one of their performances and liked it. Somehow or other, she got to their modern-dance school and took classes there. Maybe she got into the Denishawn company, i don't know, or maybe Denishawn was the name of the school. I don't remember. Martha was excelling at choreography and all that. Then Martha got this idea of contraction & release. She invented her own style and went her own way. She freaked most people out, inspired others, and gained a following. There became a Martha Graham Company, and then a Graham school. She died a little while ago, but her style lives on...
There is another style, Lemon or Limon...something. Don't know anything about it, too lazy to google-search.
Other important people, who if you really want to know, you can do your own research on (and please Email me the results!) : Alvin Ailey, Fagan, Harlem Dance Theater (not really modern - tough), ...
