On April 24, 2014, I watched the specific dance “Against the Grain”, which is choreographed by Sofia Olga Carreras. This dance was performed by many dancers who were Jessica Adams, Nelly Camacho, Leanna Hamilton, Hollee Hennebelle, Heather Horn, Sara Loder, April Maclean, Julie Morris Tessier, Robyn O’Dell, Michaela O’Malley, Alicia Slaughter, and Tracy Tom-Honn. Even though it was a group dance, there still was a solo dancer who was Jessica Adams. The dance was performed in the RCC Performing Arts Center, and the Intersect Dance Theater Co. produced this dance. By watching this creative dance, I saw that the eccentric girl often did different movement from others; eventually, everybody left her, and she lived lonely.
In the first scene, a group of dancers are sitting on the floor, but one dancer, who is Jessica Adams, stands behind them. Her right hand stretches to the sky and her left hand carries her right shoulder as if she is taking a bus to work. Then the group of dancers slowly stands up and does the same action like Jessica. By choreographing the first scene, Sofia tries to express that Jessica gets up early than other people and takes the bus alone. The second scene is mainly about Jessica, it is a solo dance. Jessica moves her left hand downward and faces the stage right. Then she runs in the direction of down stage left and stops as if she encounters with some problems. She holds this posture for a few seconds. Sofia choreographs this scene to present that Jessica works alone and has trouble on it. Then the dance is on the next scene. All dancers are on the center stage. They face down stage and bend their waist. They all hands down and swing their hands as if they are working the same project. Then they all walk back ...
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...s her more distressed. When she quickly runs to the upstage left, she stops and turns to face down stage. She sustains standing there for a while, and then the first light is off. Then she walks toward down stage. Every step she walks, every light turns off until one light is still on. That scene looks like that Jessica walks away from the earth and just lives alone. By performed the little girl’s decision, Sofia shows the audiences that the lonely little girl is abandoned by the society because she cannot fit the custom and still lives herself.
Because the little girl has different views form others and doesn’t how to deal with people, she is far away the normal life and being alone. Actually, people have different manners more or less. Even though one cannot bear the society, he or she should try to adopt the environment because we can live better if we do that.
University of Northern Iowa Dance Marathon is an organization that raises money for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. The organization aims to provide emotional and financial support for families with children facing life threatening illnesses by raising money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and organizing events that increase student and community awareness. This money then is put towards things like research, education, equipment and pediatric ward enhancements so the children and families can feel a little more comfortable during their stay at the hospital. The big event was on March 1, 2014, but the organization completes events throughout the year to fundraise as much money as possible for the Miracle Network kiddos, like a 5k color run on campus, trick-or-treating for kids who can’t, and selling grilled cheese at midnight during homecoming celebrations.
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.
They would dance contemporary to Holiday’s slower jazz songs, which were also her songs with the most serious stories told in them. Performing this style of dance helped to tell the story of hers songs. The dance truly helped to accentuate the message of the song “Strange Fruit.” This song describes the horrific lynchings that took place in the Jim Crow South. The contemporary choreography to this song showed the sadness and confusion that many people felt towards the lynchings. The dancers would come onto the stage in small groups of two or three, and I noticed many of them would do a slow, controlled grand battement followed by dropping their torsos to their feet when they brought their legs back down. They would then proceed to exit the stage, and be followed by the next group of dancers. When I watched this, I felt as though the dancers were showing the pain and despair that people felt before lynchings, and how they next lynching would happen soon
New Dance is described as a developing art form; this dance was articulated in the early 20th century. According to Chapter 8 in History of Dance book, “the new dance emerged as a response to the ballet that populated the variety shows and music halls, which had a rigid formula of steps and poses” (Kassing). The New Dance was a product of several strands that interlaced together dancers’ studies and backgrounds; these strands and others were woven together in a historical, political, and societal framework. For instance, one strand of New Dance consisted of the concepts, techniques, costumes, and stage settings from around the world. These strands influenced major dancers and choreographers, such as, Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, and Ted Shawn.
On the inside of the club door a large notice is pinned up. The notice
In the beginning the dancers start out standing completely still and gradually sit down in a chair, with their heads facing down, which brings their upper bodies into a hunched over position. A few seconds later they quickly fling their upper bodies up into the air, taking them out of their seats, and then gently sit back down. When the dancers are on their chairs, their bodies tense up and with their heads facing down as if gravity and pressure weigh down the dancers, restricting them. The dancers free themselves as they break through confinement and jolt their bodies up out
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
Contemporary 20th century choreographer Paul Taylor used the components of dance -space, time and energy to explore the struggle of an individual versus the conformity of the masses in his dance Esplanade. In addition, Taylor intertwined the principles of contrast, repetition, and resolution throughout Esplanade to portray the emotion, which accompanied this isolation. This esplanade (a long, open, level area usually by the sea) represented the journey of an independent women’s movement against the societal norm of heterosexual couples within the masses.
Although she doesn’t like men ogling her classes, Belinda Shakar does not shy away from the sensual aspects of her dance. In fact, that’s what attracted her to belly dancing as a teenager. “I really liked the sensuality of the dance and even the blatant sexuality,” she says. She had been taking traditional dance classes in Los Angeles in hopes of becoming a performer but thought belly dance seemed more interesting than the styles she was learning. She finally switched to belly dance after injuring herself in a ballet class. The accident convinced her that ballet is unnatural: “It distorts the body and torments it. That is still my feeling o...
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
However, in this ballet concert, the choreographer had designed the scenes to be more like a comedy. The movement of the sisters are more amusing than cruel. For example, when they pulled each other for being eager to dance with the prince, or when they tried to hurt and bully the Cinderella, these movements are not that cruel but amusing. Even the stepmother was drunk and danced comically in the prom scene. Moreover, the movements of all the girls who wanted their feet to fit in to the ballet shoe which Cinderella had dropped in the prom are also very funny. These kinds of design successfully made the audience laugh out loud and without hurting the hearts of the little girls who went to see the performance with their
Dance, like any other art form, is constantly evolving. Its roots are planted in every place in the world. America can thank several countries for creating what the dance industry is today. Since America is a melting pot, it has blended movements from all over the world. This country accepts all cultures and invites new art. Textbooks do not expand on the importance of dance, but it not only played a role in early American society, but todays as well.
A range of contemporary dance actions performed by the two talented young dancers successfully made Michael’s piece world famous, now regarded as an effective example of contemporary dance. The stretching all over Kayla’s body by Kapono’s hands demonstrate sharp precise movements that are normally seen in this style of dance. This sequence of actions begins at 1:54minutes and ends at approximately 2:02minutes. The dancers are seen standing centre stage, facing towards the middle of the audience in a right diagonal. Male dancer Kupono is in a diagonal stance behind female dancer Kayla, hidden from the audience’s view, almost shadowing her while his left hand is positioned on her left shoulder. This ignites an uncomfortable feeling from the audience as his dominant characteristics are already beginning to be exposed to the audience. Kapono’s character has power and control over Kayla’s character in this segment. His right hand quickly comes straight across her mouth, while this action is in motion he begins to emerge from the darkness and into the audience’s view, leaving the audience with an uneasy feeling. Both of Kayla’s hands grab onto his hand in which is covering her mouth; in hopes of discarding his hand. This specific moment in the dance conveys a great deal of symbolism, linking the actions with the overall theme of addiction. The hand over her mouth symbolises the constant addiction that Kayla’s character is struggling with, it shows him as the drug; endeavouring to intoxicate her as she struggles. This is then followed by his left hand running down against her hip in a pressed motion, causing her to react by fiercely pushing his hand off, leading to an aggressive movement from the male dancer as his hand grips her left hip. In contrast to this; she tirelessly flicks his hand off. As Kayla unostentatiously gets weaker, Kupono
“Dance, the art of precise, expressive, and graceful human movement, traditionally, but not necessarily, performed in accord with musical accompaniment. Dancing developed as a natural expression of united feeling and action.”