The Modern Dance

The Modern Dance is the debut album by American rock band Pere Ubu. It was released in January 1978 by record label Blank.

A 5.1 surround sound version was released as the DVD-Audio side of a DualDisc in 2005.

Critical reception
Reviewing for The Village Voice in 1978, Robert Christgau wrote that "even though there's too much Radio Ethiopia and not enough 'Redondo Beach,'" he would be "listening through the failed stuff—the highs are worth it." In Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), he reaffirmed that "the highs are worth it, and the failed stuff ain't bad" in his revised review. Ken Tucker, writing in Rolling Stone, called it vivid and exhilarating, even if "harsh and willfully ugly".

NME named The Modern Dance the 11th best album of 1978. Fact placed the record at number 31 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 1970s.

Personnel
Pere Ubu
 * David Thomas – vocals, musette, percussion, production
 * Tom Herman – guitar, backing vocals, production
 * Allen Ravenstine – EML 101 and 200 analog synthesizers, saxophone, tapes, production
 * Tony Maimone – bass, piano, backing vocals, production
 * Scott Krauss – drums, production

Technical
 * S. W. Taylor – sleeve artwork
 * Ken Hamann – engineering, production
 * Mike Bishop – engineering assistance
 * Paul Hamann – engineering assistance
 * Mik Mellen – sleeve photography