The introduction of the Broadway hit sensation, "Oklahoma!" led to the identity of an American mythology. Unlike other nations, America needed to be represented in a way that it could be identified. The Broadway Oklahoma! was just the needed production that would give America its identity. It represented America as the cowboy free lancing his way across the west in search of plunder and glory. It portrayed the scenery of the North America from the prairies and deserts, to the Rockies and Coast. The idea of being free in a democracy was constantly sublimely placed into the viewers of this production. This was all represented through the idea of a lone-star state, but in this case symbolized through the point of view of a couple of lone wolves. The setting takes place on a farm in the Midwest. A tall and handsome white cowboy rides on a horseback to reach his beloved girl of his dreams who in this case is a white Southern belle. They both eventually fall in love and start a family living happily ever after. The idea of raising a family in a nice house and becoming successful is a theme that still resonates in American culture today; "living happily ever after." The choreography displayed in the musical was painted with coupling visuals along with skipping through meadows as the male tries to be the suitor of the woman's dreams. Most of the choreography involves vocals that are emphasized by the dancers moving their diaphragm in an upright and powerful position. This portrays American rugged individualism. The dancers are calm and their eyes seemed to be always focused on looking ahead; which is another technique they use to symbolize the American theme of progression. The use of all these choreographic styles was to represent Amer...
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...nd Trinidad and finding her ancestry that was lost and finally returning to America realizing that it is still lost; evidently starting a new culture of people. This musical shows the hardships and everyday lifestyle of women in the south we were harvesters. It portrayed the monotonous lifestyle that they had to face with no certainty of their future through repetitive and slow water-like dance movements. The female dancers would clap their hands in synchronized movements and move together like one unit portraying their struggle and glorifying a banded group of strong sisterhood. This musical was able to represent the difference between African American and indigenous Africans through their different dance styles and music that they played. Walking with Pearl: Southern Diary, hoped to educate viewers on the American struggle through the eyes of African American wome
One of the first concerts ever produced by his company was titled Blues Suite, which was a well-received depiction of poverty in the deep south set to a soundtrack of blues music. This concert was an integral part in defining Alvin Ailey’s choreography technique, which is loosely based on the technique associated in ballet with strong legs and feet, while still maintaining a more evocative, modern-style torso. However, the most critical element that determined the specific style of each piece was solely dependent on the story he wanted to tell. Revelations was a magnificent showcase of storytelling that quickly became Alvin’s signature dance concert. He drew inspiration for this piece from his memories as a child growing up in the south. According to the Dance Heritage Coalition, the concert, which has been viewed by twenty-three million people worldwide, featured the sounds of negro spirituals and gospel music with depictions of common worship rituals including baptism in Wade in the Water, the sacred act of taking communion in I Wanna Be Ready, and prayer in I’ve Been Buked (1). Additionally, Alvin also focused a great deal of his energy into creating a dramatic atmosphere for his dancers to perform in. He had a very strong creative influence in
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
On a Wednesday night I saw Texas State Theatre and Dance Department's performance of A Chorus Line. The main plot of the musical entails the audition of 17 dancers for several Broadway roles on the chorus line. However, during their auditions the director Zach asks for personal stories of each dancer's life. Though the plot of this musical is seemingly simple in its twist on the traditional audition, it explores themes that reveal the human experience, the search for individuality, and the sense of self.
The film Dances With Wolves, attempts to change our stereotypical view of Native Americans, as savage and uncivilized people, by allowing us to see life from their perspective, helping us to realize that many of their experiences are not all that different from our own. The main setting of the film is the Great Western Plains of North Dakota. John Dunbar comes to discover the west before it is completely destroyed through settlement and what he actually finds is a group of people that he comes to understand and love, for all of the qualities that he finds within their individual lives. The Sioux soon become a part of John Dunbar's experience not only in the west, but in his life as well. Through his eyes, the viewers begin to see that these Native Americans are not what they are expected to be, but instead are civilized and are companions that can have strong relationships.
This fearlessness was something that Broadway idealized, ultimately opening the doors for playwrights and composers to speak their mind by means of the shows they produced. A few leading shows in this field were the musicals Chicago, Pacific Overtures, and A Chorus Line. Each of the three plays tackled their own social injustices all while also embedding individualized views of the glorified American Dream inside their works. Chicago and A Chorus Line take you behind the scenes in the world of Broadway, one tackling the injustices of the media and glorification of crime, and the other puts a light on the “small people” often forgotten in
Ostlere, Hilary. “Taming The Musical.” Dance Magazine 73.12 (1999): 84. Expanded Academic ASAP. Westfield State College Library, MA. 15 April 2005.
Wearing a mask helps create a hidden identity. When wearing one, you disclose who you truly are. Your social status can no longer be revealed. Your family is unknown. You are able to act freely. Throughout centuries Venetian masks have been used on many occasions for such purposes. The mask wearer can carry about freely and interact with others without the boundaries of their identity and social structure to keep them apart. The mask has an extensive history in Venice, Italy. There are several designs, all serving different purposes. Shakespeare often incorporated masks into his plays, including Romeo and Juliet and Othello. In Othello, Shakespeare uses the concept of a mask throughout the play to reveal the different identities of Iago and his true intentions. In Romeo and Juliet, however, actual masks are worn to conceal the identity of Romeo at the Capulet Ball and Juliet metaphorically wears a mask to create a façade about her relationship with Romeo. The tradition of the mask is one that still lives on in Venice today with the annual celebration of Carnival.
Musical theatre is a type of theatrical performance combining music, dance, acting and spoken dialogue. Written by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, ‘West Side Story’ is a classic American musical based on William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The through-composed score and lyrics are used to portray different characters and their cultures, the rivalry between the Jets and Sharks, and the emotions felt as the story progresses. This essay will be exploring the music and how effective the score is in realising the world and characters of the musical. Furthermore, it will discuss how Bernstein and Sondheim relate characters’ diverse ethnicities to particular musical ideas and motifs.
This powerful film takes us on a journey through the eyes and hearts of four young girls from the Yorta Yorta community. Cynthia, Julie, Gail and Kay shared a love of singing, before Kay was taken away by the government and placed in an institution to learn the ‘the white ways’. The four girls reunited as adults to embark on their own journey through Vietnam, singing as an all Aboriginal girl group
I experienced Chicago, the Broadway musical, and because I had seen the movie many times before, I knew all the songs and dances by heart. I loved it, but it was actually the movie that influenced me to become a “Chicago fan.” The movie is based on the 1996 Chicago revival of the original musical version of 1975. It was thrilling knowing that the making of the musical into a mainstream production would increase its accessibility and widen its distribution into all the corners of the world; now there is no excuse for people not to experience Chicago, and though not everyone can go to Broadway to see it, just about anyone can indulge themselves in this dazzling movie in the comfort of their homes. In addition to a fantasy world of singing, dancing and Vaudeville, the film also provides a narrative that is explicitly presented through Roxie’s point of view, creating a counter-human side to Roxie’s fantasy world so that the audience can easily identify and engage.
thesis of how the musical brought our inner child out to realize our true struggles in life.
Sater, Steven. "Preface ." Sater, Steven and Duncan Sheik. Spring Awakening: A New Musical. New York: Theatre Communications Group, Inc. , 2007. VII-XV. Print.
The two decade period beginning in the late 1940s and concluding in the late 1960s represented the height in popularity for the Hollywood musical. With every major production proving to be box office gold, the level of critical approval was high establishing the Hollywood musical as a genre. Born with the coming of sound, the Hollywood movie musical derived from two sources: opera and operetta, brought over by European emigres, and the American tradition of vaudeville, the inspiration behind so many “backstage” musicals, the plots of which revolved around putting on a show. The interesting alliance between dream and reality in the musical gave directors, designers, and cinematographers the most creative scope within the commercial of Hollywood. Being able to experiment with elements like color, split-screen techniques, and surreal settings made the musical an important force in imaginative filmmaking, without it being attacked by cautious studio moguls. Fortunately, musicals could also easily bypass the censorious Hays Code, which was instigated in the 1930s as a moral guideline for film studios. Although guidelines like “ dances which suggest or represent sexual actions”, “dances intended to excite the emotional reaction of the audience”, and “costumes permitted to undue exposure” were condemned, musicals were full of “shocking” dances and scantily dressed women. Scantily dressed women and sexual innuendo almost went unnoticed by the censors as long as they remained within the seemingly harmless confines of the musical as if nothing immodest could happen in the context of the make believe world the family entertainment inhabited.
Dance adds a unique dimension. It has the ability to bring to the surface underlying feelings and themes as seen in the dream ballet and Kansas City numbers. The actual technique and movements of the dance can create a sense of fluidity and togetherness. This was important to the book plot of Oklahoma. Overall the dances were extraordinarily detailed. Several numbers had many dancers. The choreography achieved good utilization of the stage space. The backup dancers were well defined and not used as space fillers. It seemed everyone had a story to tell. Three cheers Oklahoma!