Tap Dancing
The ways that humans express themselves artistically often reflects the social, political and religious contexts of the times of their development. Tap dancing and its evolution is no exception to this rule and the many interesting components that are contained within this artistic tradition indicate a rich history of this performance art. The purpose of this essay is to discuss and analyze the art of tap dancing by exploring its roots and demonstrating the importance of this tradition. The essay will first explore the social and political aspects of tits developments before discussing this dance form in terms of performance highlighting the movements, music and forms of this expression.
The Beginnings of Tap Dancing
Tap dancing is a combination of several different percussive art forms, including African drumming and tribal dances, Scottish, Irish, and English clog dances and jigs. The true birth of this art form came in the United States…...
Dorrance Dance's ETM: Double Down
The Dorrance Dance Company is the brainchild of MacArthur Genius Grant inner Michelle Dorrance. Although the viewer might presume that tap-dancing is a relatively traditional, even hackneyed form of American dance, Dorrance infuses it with new life and gives it a hip-hop beat. As noted in its review of the most recent Dorrance Dance production by the NY Theater Guide, ETM: Double Down at the Joyce Theater takes the viewer by surprise every moment. "The dancers walked onstage in semi-darkness, dragging along the floor a something that is either a crate or piece of scenery. It turns out to be a combination of both -- an electronic tap board designed by musician/choreographer/dancer Nicholas Van Young" (Contino).
hile most dances are rigorously choreographed (many ballets, for example, uses dance steps that have existed in a particular fashion for more than a century), one of the signature aspects…...
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Works Cited
Contino, Patricia. "Dance Review: Dorrance Dance in ETM: Double Down at the Joyce." NY
Theater Guide. 28 Apr 2016. Web. 4 May 2016.
ETM: Double Down. Playbill. 1 May 2016. Print.
Seibert, B. "Review: Dorrance Dance, Where Tap and Computers Intersect." The New York
Jazz dance is an integral part of American history. The various types of jazz dance all come from a fusion of African and European traditions, which is why jazz dance symbolizes American culture itself. According to Tilton's film Jazz Dance, jazz dance first evolved in the Deep South and spread as far as Europe before returning home to America. Jazz dance is not monolithic, and it is important to recognize the differences between types of dancing such as tap and swing in order to understand the contexts in which the dances were or are used. For example, some dances became popular in theater, while others were more comedic. Jazz dance might not seem to have a political or even an economic dimension, but it certainly does. The impact of jazz dance on American society has been felt on almost every dimension including political, economic, and social realms. In particular, jazz…...
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References
Hill, Constance Valis. Tap Dancing America. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010.
Krump Dancing
Krump is a popular form of dancing sweeping America. But most people can't find a class in krump dancing offered at a suburban local gym or dance studio along with Zumba, tap, and jazz. Krump dancing originated in the urban ghettos of Los Angeles, not as part of a formal, classical tradition of dance. Much like breakdancing or vogue-ing, it has its roots in a culture of poverty, where people with little money or other material resources could at least create art with their bodies in a visceral and organic fashion. The streets where krumping first became popular are lined with "barbershops, chicken joints, liquor stores and churches" and little else (Booth 2005:1).
"Krumping," according to the documentary on the dance craze called Rize, has been called "break dancing on fast-forward" (Booth 2005:1). Krumping began as a "hip-hop dance style sired by a former drug dealer named Tommy the Clown"…...
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Works Cited
Booth, William. "The Exuberant Warrior Kings of 'Krumping.'" The Washington Post.
They took it very seriously. I wanted to take it seriously, but the more seriously I tried to take it. The more they made fun of me. I eventually quit. At first I would just lie to my mom and say that I was sick and couldn't go. Then I started complaining about my ankles hurting. Then I used school as an excuse saying that I had homework to do. Finally, I just told my mom the truth.
"The other girls in tap class make fun of me. They call me names because I am not black like them."
My mom's face looked so sad when I told her. She bit her lip and looked away. Then she looked back at me and smiled. There was a tear in her left eye.
"Okay. You don't have to go anymore."
"No?"
"No. The only think I want for you is to be happy. If that…...
The play implies that social conventions can mask the truth by forcing people to take on false appearances, and pretend to believe they are true.
The most upstanding characters in the play are Krogstad and Mrs. Linde. Mrs. Linde is not respectable because she has worked hard all her life and does not have the easy life of a pampered wife. Mr. Krogstad's reputation and his decision to bust Nora make him seem sleazy, but he is actually trying to hold down a job and raise children on his own without any support. He turns out to be, at heart, a good man. Ibsen wants us to know that appearances can be deceiving.
8. This play is supposed to be a tragedy, and is meant to enlighten us about how we lie to each other and to ourselves in order to save face and keep up appearances.
It is significant to note that this story was initially published during the 1970's, which was a period of relative rest and calm following the justifiable turbulence of the 1960's. Due to this publication date, this story does not reflect the current generation, but that of at least one before it. It is interesting to consider the fact that this story was not published prior to the 1970's because many of the notions and stereotypes it challenged were still too dominant during previous periods. As such, this book is able to deliver readers an unflinching perspective about what life is like for someone who is different, and teased as a result. Readers are able to ascertain just what exactly other people have to go through when they are teased. There are some touchingly poignant moments in this tale related to Oliver's differences that unequivocally reveal what life is like for…...
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Works Cited
dePaola, Tomie. Oliver Button is a Sissy. New York: Harcourt Books. 1979. Print.
oreover, they work well with solo dance moves (which is why they worked out so well for Beyonce. Thus I would describe De Keersmacker's work as timeless, "avant-garde" (Gardner, 2011) ballet that pushes the envelope.
A.3. It is difficult to pinpoint specific themes in the choreography of De Keersmaker. The Choreographer herself admitted that she dislikes themes and tries to eschew them from her work (Jenkinson, 2009). Therefore, if one were to explore the lack of themes in the choreographer's work, they would revolve around innovation and novelty. She incorporates a wide variety of media within her choreographed pieces, such as varying elements of sound (both musical and otherwise), text and different varieties of light. She also sings along to her songs (Williams, 2003).
A.4. The main way that this choreographer's work is influencing larger society is through the form of flattery known as imitation. Beyonce's lifting of several of De…...
Bragg writes, "The youngest, cutest children make a little more money as they tap dance for tourists outside the two-drink minimum bars, the lethargic striptease acts, and the walk-up daiquiri stands. Most weekends, there are a least a dozen dancers her in the Quarter, all children" (Bragg 160). Bragg shows people the underbelly of life in America, but shows it is not all bad, and that even the most desperate people have hope, dreams, and a desire to make their lives better. Late in the book, one simple sentence seems to sum up what Bragg is trying to accomplish with his book. He writes, "This is a place that has learned to cherish a slow day" (Bragg 246). He writes like that throughout the book, and captures his subjects with tact and understanding.
The book is charming, disturbing, joyful, and intensely difficult to read in places, but it serves the…...
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References
Bragg, Rick. Somebody Told Me: The Newspaper Stories of Rick Bragg. Tuscaloosa, AL: The University of Alabama Press, 2000.
Graphic Design Comparison
Graphic design has the power to shape our world and reflect our history. This is abundantly clear when examining two works of graphic design over a century apart. This paper will examine the similarities and difference between the handbill for the excursion tickets to Baltimore of 1876 and Paula Scher’s poster for the Public Theatre.
One major similarity between these two posters that have over 100 years of difference between them is that they both employ a visually arresting typography. Both posters use a font that is recognizable but hard to identify and depend on the use of large words given to words considered most important. “The 1995 posters Pentagram designed for The Public Theater’s production of Savion Glover’s Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da Funk featured the wood typefaces used throughout The Public's identity” (Pentagram.com). In the case of the handbill, the largest and most important word is Maryland,…...
The theory involving Christine being determined to put an end to Rhoda's life can be related to her ration intervening, influencing her to take action before Rhoda continued her killings.
Rhoda pays special attention to the way that her mother sees her, and, even though she knows that her mother has the power to denounce her, she does not attempt to murder Christine. The next in Rhoda's list of killings would have been Monica Breedlove, taking into consideration the fact that the women had been closely connected to her, and that it had been possible for her to endanger Rhoda with the information that she knew.
The ending of the movie is most probably intended to present the audience with what it wants to see, someone finally punishing Rhoda, not through putting her into a mental asylum (as should have been the case), but by physically hurting her.
"And there is, above all, that whole sphere of music whose lifeblood is standardization: popular music, jazz, be it hot, sweet, or hybrid" (Adorno, 2004, p. 212). Taking this definition, then within the line of disdainful art we must place hakespeare, Longfellow, even Hemingway; all of whom used a pattern to their writing, not simply for mass consumption, but as a skeletal structure of being. Within this rubric, then, "it is critical… to distinguish between the motivations for and the actual effects of listening" (Christenson, p. 103). Thus, despite the fact that Cook's "Permanent" follows a poetic pattern, the two major considerations again come forward: the motivation for writing and performing as a tribute to a specific occasion, and the relevance and commonality of reaching out for an emotional connection between humans.
Finally, for Adorno, the "vulgarization and enchantment… dwell together in the arrangements which have colonized large areas of…...
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Since this type of music is a commodity, and standardization means it follows a pattern that is familiar to audiences, it must have little social value, other than brief entertainment. "And there is, above all, that whole sphere of music whose lifeblood is standardization: popular music, jazz, be it hot, sweet, or hybrid" (Adorno, 2004, p. 212). Taking this definition, then within the line of disdainful art we must place Shakespeare, Longfellow, even Hemingway; all of whom used a pattern to their writing, not simply for mass consumption, but as a skeletal structure of being. Within this rubric, then, "it is critical… to distinguish between the motivations for and the actual effects of listening" (Christenson, p. 103). Thus, despite the fact that Cook's "Permanent" follows a poetic pattern, the two major considerations again come forward: the motivation for writing and performing as a tribute to a specific occasion, and the relevance and commonality of reaching out for an emotional connection between humans.
Finally, for Adorno, the "vulgarization and enchantment… dwell together in the arrangements which have colonized large areas of music" (Adorno, 2001, p. 41). That is to say that the only viable way art may exist is without entertainment value. This has some truth, one would certainly not argue that many of the films of the 1930s, for instance, showing synchronized swimming, lavish set productions of tap dance, and tuneful songs with very little soul, were nothing but grand escapes for the masses from the ravages of the Great Depression.
However, lighting, electronic enhancement, instrumentation,
This Never-Never Land does not seem recognizable as Vietnam anymore, given how much the nation has changed since the cessation of the conflict. Ironically, Herr's portrait of a world-upside down might seem to better reflect the current situation in Iraq, another nation which is torn apart by a confusing array of factions and bloody violence. Of course the terrain, nature of the fighting, and the ideological issues at stake are very different in Iraq, and the historical analogy is far from perfect. But Herr is not talking about history so much as emotions, and the failure of Americans to truly understand a situation and a worldview different than their own. As an American, he writes of Americans and writes of American confusion more than the world of Vietnam itself. Vietnamese soldiers appear as dismembered victims of violence more than they do as actual subjects and speakers. But for this Herr…...
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Works Cited
Herr, Michael. Dispatches. New York: Vintage, 1991.
Michael Herr, Dispatches (New York: Vintage, 1991), p.43
As previously mentioned, Crisp is openly homosexual and his exhibitionist impulses and self-destructive behavior motivates the struggle within his life vs. unoriginal heroic desire. Similarly to Dil who lives his life, at times showing self-destruction as she guns down Jude and ties up Fergus, by her own rules, choosing to be a woman amidst a time when being transgendered was severely frowned upon. The journey for both Crisp and Dil though hard, ultimately led to a strong sense of gender identity and an awakening of both sexuality and eroticism as they found their way through gender and sex.
The journey for Crisp began after leaving his parent's home and venturing off into various jobs like a tap dance instructor and commercial artist. Although he met some initial success in these jobs, he ends up one of the few places that allows openly gay men. And even with constant ridicule from men…...
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Isabelle and Therese from the 1968 movie Therese and Isabelle is a story about two lesbian women who defy convention by having a love affair in their boarding school. Their love is very intimate with scenes of conformity as Therese has sexual intercourse with a boy as an attempt to normafy herself as Goffman states on page 12 of his book, Stigma. Scenes in the beginning of Therese's mother preparing her for marriage put pressure on the young woman to adhere to the gender identity and sexuality society predetermined for her. The scenes are sweet and innocent laced with a tinge of fear as they are become fearful of someone coming into the room to find them making love. A scene in Isabelle's room gets interrupted by a noise the couple hear from outside the hallway. Their relationship ends much like that of Maurice and Clive.
In the novel, Maurice, Maurice and Clive are two college friends who engage in a homosexual relationship. Unlike with Isabelle and Therese, they are not as intimate and the relationship lasts longer, for two years. Similarly however, Clive like Therese wishes to conform and be normal and decides to marry leaving Maurice alone. The story however continues and Maurice finds solace and connection in Alec. However Alec blackmails him and in his attempt to cure what Dr. Larken terms, "congenital homosexuality" tries hypnosis. Eventually his desire to rebel against society's norms and be with Alec lead him and Alec to relinquish leading closeted gay lives for a happy life with each other.
Overall movies and films tend to show the world a different or unique perspective. The characters of Crisp, Dil, Isabelle, Therese, Clive, and Maurice offer a rare look into the life of a homosexual and in the case of Dil, a transgender/transsexual. These people like any other people struggle to conform, to meet the expectations of society, but also lead their own lives and fulfill their gender identity and sexual orientation. After all, sexuality is a large part of a person.
Breakdancing
The dance style known as breakdancing has other names including "b-boying" and "breaking." The latter are the preferred terms used by those who are purists and originators of the form with breakdancing becoming the more popular term as popularized by the media (Schloss). This originated as part of the emerging hip-hop culture of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It became quickly popular, first in urban communities and then spread. In the current historical moment, breakdancing can be found in all social, ethnic, and gender groups and has been developed from a style of popular dance into an art form. hat began as a street dance to impress peers has transcended the culture and become a part of the dance world, giving as much respect and dignity as ballet or waltz. Breakdancing mastery requires a great deal of control, coordination, and practice. Those who attempt it without understanding the mechanics…...
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Works Cited:
Bloom, Julie. "Street Moves in the TV Room." The New York Times. 2008. Print.
Chang, Jeff. Total Chaos: the Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop. New York City, NY: Basic Civitas,
2006. Print.
Cook, Dave. "Crazy Legs Speaks." 18. Dec. 2012. Web.
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