Sign Up Now
Get instant access to over 1 million+ study documents
OR
Already registered? click here to login
By creating your account, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and student honor code.
Alvin Ailey
First Viewing:
The overall tone of the work is positive and life-affirming in spite of apparent obstacles that are perceived as externalities to the dancer's range of motion. The dancer at times hugs herself, which seems to suggest a need to love oneself; at other times, the dancer opens the arms wide in an embrace of the world and of life's possibilities. Then the dancer moves in a circle as though to encompass the range of these possibilities and move towards them. When the dancer shrinks down, there is danger or one of life's obstacles getting in the way. When the dancer rises again, life is once more possible because of the inner strength within.
The sound score is dramatic with a woman's voice singing the words over a few instruments that sound like strings. The work seems to be about a woman awakening to life. The dancer is Marylin Banks and she stretches out her limbs with such fluidity and grace that she seems at once to be like a tree reaching up with life and like a ballerina spinning with grace. I think the choreographer wants us to know that the female life is dramatic and beautiful as it grows and develops.
Second Viewing:
Alvin Ailey's cultural background shapes his artistic process in the sense that he is an African-American who comes out of a situation where there is a lot of...
Added to that is Alvin's sexual orientation and one senses that there is a lot that Alvin wants to express through dance, and through his modern style of dance, that is like the soul trying to come to terms with so many barriers that society puts in its way towards self-fulfillment and self-expression. Thus, his artistic process is like a way of cutting through the jungle of these externalities and refining the dance form -- the image -- that he wants to project on the stage.
In this manner, Ailey is exploring ideas of the mixing of cultures, of the ideas of the sexual and social revolutions happening in his era, showing his dancers in movements that appear to be almost orgasmic at times, and at other times somewhat spiritual as though the soul were growing through the dance movements like a flower opening up to the sun. Ailey explores ideas about tradition and value as well by incorporating traditional dance moves into the choreography but he is very innovative with these at the same time and does not use anything just for the sake of it being valued as traditional: Ailey wants to transcend the past and project a new representation of the spirit through modern dance. In this sense, I feel it is Ailey's intention to show the soul that is trying to find itself, trying to…
Michael Bennett's legacy as a choreographer: A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls Michael Bennett's choreography in productions such as Dreamgirls and A Chorus Line dominated the Broadway stage of the 1970s and 1980s. Along with the work of other great choreographers of the era like Bob Fosse, Bennett is credited for revolutionizing Broadway theater and the role of dance in the Broadway tradition. In A Chorus Line in particular, the dance tells the
Dance Peters The Pop Music Choreography of Michael Peters Few forms of dancing are more present in our popular culture than that associated with popular music. While the forms of tap, ballet and ballroom all occupy an obvious place in our academic understanding of dance, these are for the large part only seen in specialized contexts such as theatres and formal events. This contrasts the style of dance and choreography that accompanies
Festival Title: Break it Out! Festival Mission: Break it Out! is dance festival celebrating the LGBTQ community, and which encourages young people to be proud, strong, and confident. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, LGBTQ youth are twice as likely to have attempted suicide than their heterosexual peers, and were far more likely to have experienced bullying, depression, substance abuse, and negative attitudes towards schooling too. Involvement with
Millepied's Dancers I think style most aligns with Millepied's approach in this piece: the female dancer expresses such a limp, languid and languorous feeling, almost as though she were rag doll compelled into action by the male ballet dancer, the music, and indeed the audience. Her posture, and the balance of her head (constantly rolling around on her shoulders as body poses then collapses in the arms of her male counterpart,
Musical Theatre Film and the Choreographed Dance Sequence Entertainment based on film has been paramount in this country since the beginning of the motion picture in the early 20th century. The movie-going experience spread throughout the world in a few quick years, and was enhanced subsequently by technological developments. Today, movies range from action to musicals to drama and animations. One type of movie mentioned above, the musical, however involves not only
controversy with regard to the field of choreography, as many are inclined to ignore it. The media world is especially important in the contemporary society when considering its ability to influence individuals. A great deal of ideas associated with the media has gradually come to be significant when regarded from the perspective of an ordinary person. While the technological progress in the contemporary society has reached great heights, people