Evan Causey Dance 124 03/10/14 Wasted Time Victoria Marks’ most recent contemporary dance pieces all were fascinating, but the two that drew me in the most were “Men” and “Mothers And Daughters”. Both of these pieces made in the spring of 2014, focus on the idea of celebrating the life you have been given, leaving your mark on the world, and getting the most out of every opportunity you have to be with someone you care about. Victoria Marks is a dance professor at UCLA, who also choreographs dances for the stage, and films. “Marks’ recent work has considered the politics of citizenship, as well as the representation of both virtuosity and disability. These themes are part of her ongoing commitment to locating dance-making within the sphere of political meaning.” Marks in both films “Men” and “Mothers And Daughters” believes that , "Your Dancing ability does not matter because we are all differently-abled", which is why she used both trained and untrained actors to create these two pieces of art. "Men", was a very fascinating dance piece, about a group of older men who travel from all over, to come together in order to reminisce about the long lives they have lived. In doing so they all resort back to a childhood state of mind, and get to experience growing up all over again. Throughout the film each man leaves a token of his past behind, for example the pictures in the beginning, the footprints in the snow, and the white rocks placed on the ground to map out where the dancer has been in the past. These tokens represent a mark the man has made on the world, in some way, shape or form. At first the dancers bodies move sluggishly, and their faces express a feeling of weakness and tiredness. But once spring ca... ... middle of paper ... ...ach one shows a unique perspective of celebrating life, leaving a mark on the world, and spending time with the ones you love. The film "Men" focuses on men who want to leave their mark on the world, and "Mothers and Daughters" is about how a mother leaves her mark on her child. Although Marks does not believe that you have to be an amazing dancer to be in a dance video, Victoria Mark's is absolutely a Dance for the Camera virtuoso. Her eye for detail is exquisite, and her dance films are pack full of emotions, and expressive movements. Her way to use dance to tell a story is phenomenal, and you can tell she really wants to make a difference in the world with her work. She wants to express her feelings through dance, and change the way people think about life, and time. These films make me wonder what I have been missing from my life, and how can I change my life.
Katherine Dunham led a rich and full life not only as a dancer, but as someone who studied the people she loved, wrote extensively, and stood for causes that meant so much to her. Her legacy lives on not only in the great anthropological studies she did or the important political and social stances she took, but in the modern dance of today. Modern dance, or dance in general for that matter, wouldn’t be what it is today without her studies and influence.
Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.
Throughout this analytical essay I will discuss, analyse and conclude the work of two contemporary modern dance pioneers, Alvin Ailey and Katherine Dunham. I will pay particular attention to the era 1935-1980 and focus on socio elements of this time period, using relevant literature to support my findings.
The first three stories in this section are talking about the relationship between mothers and daughters and the last one is concluding the whole book "The Joy Luck Club". By examining this section, there is one moral in these four stories, which is the relationship between daughters and mothers, is very strong and mothers and daughters have similar fate and face.
“Dance is the hidden language of the soul.” With this quote Martha Graham opines that the body says what words cannot. Martha Graham was a significant American dancer, teacher, and choreographer of modern dance in American history. Graham was a person who never thought about being “different” from anyone else, but she certainly was. Graham employed the psychological concepts of Freud and Jung into her dances. Graham also sought to give “visible substance to things felt”, which was a phrase that became a metaphor central to her art form. Among many things Graham was also a huge advocate of expressionism, a form of art in which an artist seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world into their work, and her revolutionary vision and artistic mastery has had a deep and lasting impact on American art and culture.
Gail Godwin's short story "A Sorrowful Woman" revolves around a wife and mother who becomes overwhelmed with her husband and child and withdraws from them, gradually shutting them completely out of her life. Unsatisfied with her role as dutiful mother and wife, she tries on other roles, but finds that none of them satisfy her either. She is accustomed to a specific role, and has a difficult time coping when a more extensive array of choices is presented to her. This is made clear in this section of the story.
Brooks was the first child of David and Keziah Brooks. She was born on June 7, 1917 in Topeka, Kansas. Brooks wrote her first poem when she was 13 years old and was published in the children’s. Moreover she was the first black author to win the Pulitzer prize. magazine. In 1938 she was married to Henry Blakely and had two children. After a long battle of cancer Brooks died in December 3, 2000.
The lack of support and affection protagonists, Sula Peace and Nel Wright, causes them to construct their lives on their own without a motherly figure. Toni Morrison’s novel, Sula, displays the development of Sula and Nel through childhood into adulthood. Before Sula and Nel enter the story, Morrison describes the history of the Peace and Wright family. The Peace family live abnormally to their town of Medallion, Ohio. Whereas the Wrights have a conventional life style, living up to society’s expectations.The importance of a healthy mother-daughter relationship is shown through the interactions of Eva and Hannah Peace, Hannah and Sula, and between Helene Wright and Nel. When Sula and Nel become friends they realize the improper parenting they
These two movies show how two girls, by learning to dance, also learn to overcome discrimination and simply be themselves. They don’t listen to others around them when they say what they are doing is wrong. They do what they know is right and in the end find themselves through the love of their partners and their new love of dancing.
The performance sets up the scene with the female dancers dressed as prominent women throughout history such as Rosie the Riveter, Nillie Bly, Mother Teresa, Amelia Earhart, and Florence Nightingale. The women take turns in the spotlight, using their movements to tell their story and significance in history. The story of Amelia Earhart was told symbolically through the performer’s actions. The audience are introduced to Earhart’s love of flying and her aspirations to be a renown female pilot through the performer’s imitation as a graceful plane flying across the stage with glee. However, her story takes a dark turn when she embarks on a quest to prove herself as a capable pilot in spite of being a woman. We see her downfall when her character, as a plane, struggles to stay in flight and eventually tumbles and falls, exiting the stage soon after to show her mysterious disappearance during her quest. The performer playing as Earhart succeeded in portraying her story and her downfall. The dancer’s performance as Earhart was followed by another significant performance which was the dance of Mother Teresa, who took the spotlight with her reserved yet expressive dances. During her dance, Mother Teresa made a notable move where she wanders the stage and places a hand on each of the women in a caring way, like a mother would do to her child. This action she performed in her dance
I knew it was going to concentrate on dance from the African Diaspora, but other than that I really had no idea what I was stepping into. The reading on the first day, Black Man’s Burden by John Oliver Killens, provided the sense that this was going to be a time for me to immerse myself in the material and contemplate about the stories that are being told through movement. Now, these stories can be told either directly or indirectly. When taking elements and styles of African dance I feel there is always a larger picture behind the movement. Take the movement, we did from the cakewalk. I knew the historical significance of cakewalk and what it represented. Knowing that information, allowed me to portray the movement and make it more authentic. I could not help but think about the African slaves and their story. In the reading, the boy asks his dad about the lion and man fighting, but the man is always triumphant. Then the dad explains, “‘Son, these stories will always end that way until the lion learns how to write’” (xxxiv, Killens), I feel that represents all the stories behind the dance that do not always have the opportunity to be heard. Now, it is our chance to learn about and to understand the movement. It is our chance to bring these hidden stories to life and give them a voice. This can only happen when we accept the movement and chose not to “other”
Steve Paxton: Speaking of Dance – Conversations with Contemporary Masters of American Modern Dance. Academic Internet Video. Directed by Douglas Rosenberg. Oregon: Alexander Street Press, 1996.
While studying new criticism and reader response we were told to read the poem “The Mother” by Gwendolyn Brooks. Throughout this essay I will be applying what I have learned in class to help dissect that experience to clearly differentiate both. First I will talk about new criticism and what it was like reading “The Mother” through that style. Then I will continue on to reader response and share the journey through our reading with that style. After that I will compare the similarities between both styles. Finally, to conclude I will briefly discuss which one I preferred more.
2017). The female gaze is used as an attempt to subvert the image of the man being “the bearer of the look” and the “woman as the image” (Mulvey, 1975: 19). Yes, in that specific scene, the belly dancer was the “image” to be looked as we would expect from traditional cinema, however, she was not sexualized in the way a masculine point of view would present her (Mulvey, 1975: 20). What this does is that it feminizes both the spectators and the camera’s point of view from the very beginning, indicating a sign that we will be introduced to events and relationships from a female perspective that would otherwise be unknown to us in the male dominated world of Bent Familia (Mulvey, 1975: 25). This scene is also very important because it tells the
Curiosity is the wick in the candle of learning and also the basis of education. Curiosity had killed the cat indeed, however the cat died nobly. Lives of Girls and Women is a novel written by Nobel Prize Literature winner, Alice Munro. This novel is about a young girl, Del Jordan, who lives on Flats Road, Ontario. The novel is divided into eight chapters; and each chapter refers to a new, unique event in Del's life. As an overall analysis of the book reveals that Del Jordan's intriguing curiosity has helped her throughout her life, and enabled her to gain further knowledge The character is often seen in scenarios where her attention is captivated, and through the process of learning she acquires information in order to her answers her questions about particular subjects. There are many examples in the book that discuss Del’s life, and how she managed to gain information, as well as learn different methods of learning along the way.