A Man And A Woman

always been known for the risky and powerful movements which are often why dancers retire from the company. The dancer’s movements were often very intense and emotive, such as the “throws” across the stage in which the dancers would, almost violently, launch themselves across the stage in different forms (leaps, falls and flips to name a few). Another section where the movements were emotive is where the dancers were thrusting their hips in different positions to perhaps show sexuality in “self”.

In the second section it represents the women fighting for their freedom. The movements are a lot more circular in this section. It uses more contractions, releasing & vibratory movements. In the first two sections, the dancer shows the struggle being not only physical but emotional also. She does this by the powerful expressions she uses on her face. She even imitates a couple of screams that play in the song ‘Been On A Train’. This gives the audience a clear understanding of the how she is feeling.

Some of the movements executed by the dancers are similar to those executed by dancers in a stepping performance and also in a tap dance presentation. This presentation falls into the group of the new trends of modern dance, in which the choreographer are taking more and more liberty with various dance combinations, and including strong messages in their work. I would definitely attend other dance performance, not only from this company, but also by other companies; and would also recommend this performance, especially to people going through a dark period in their life. This performance finished convincing me that dance is surely the most communicative of the art forms, and that a single presentation can convey more than one

This section ends with the female in and arabesque on the male dancers knee without stretched hands as thought reaching out for help. A recurring motif through the whole dance.

Watching a video of a dance piece called “The Moroccan Project,” choreographed by Alonzo King was quite impressive. Living in San Francisco and taking dance classes brought me to Lines Ballet which is King’s dance studio. I have seen a great deal of different types of dance at the studio waiting for my Ballet classes and there are some great dancers. It comes as no surprise that Alonzo would have such great dancers. It appears that Alonzo King is exploring different cultures in dance in Contemporary Ballet. His near-perfect choreography is articulate, passionate, and graceful- he brings diversity in dance to San Francisco and other parts of the world. This piece articulates the expression of the two dancers coming together yet dancing apart at times- it is a fusion of several different types of dances into one using video editing to create a story about the coming together of two individuals.

The dancers represent how they are all moving together to a rhythm that binds them together, not as dancers, but as human beings. It represents how everything is bound together, but this connection is lost by many of the characters. They distance themselves from their connections to relatives and to the Earth through the actions of the government and their own decisions.

The melody sounds somber and serious and the energy of the dancers suddenly changes. A spoken word takes place and all of the dancer begin to tell their stories of pain and struggle through movements. The spoken word talks about the journey of men and women who overcame social injustice. In the dancer's movements you could clearly see how they correlated together. Movements were powerful and restraint at the same time giving the audience the idea of the women were pushing through something that was bearing them down. There was a lot of expansion in the chest, back, and arms followed by contractions in the body. As soon as the spoken word was finished the mood of the piece change again and the pianist began to play a upbeat tune that brought the dancers back in to a more positive and high spirit. A lot of polyrhythms take place as the dancers jump high and move their arms back and forth moving throughout the space. This happens in unison at first and then solos, trios, and duets happen in this section of the dance. The expression on their faces add charismatic charm to this piece. Their expressions continue to move them into different emotions and feelings that are relatable to everyday

The next minute the man pushed with his legs the woman as they were getting into an argument. The music “God Help the Girl” complimented the dance with its quick beat. Another interesting part of the dance was when the two dancers sat around the table as most people in the world do during dinner time. Moreover, the man put his legs on the table and as he was waiting for dinner to be served. This reminded me of how many cultures around the world are patriarchy oriented where the men are the bread makers and the women’s role is to take care of the children and all the house work. However, the woman’s costume was a representation of how women in the twenty-first century have grown to become career and goal oriented and not settling for the “Homemaker” position that society is used to. Another interesting part of the dance “Folie a’Deux” reminded me of something I learned in Dance 1010 class and it was a dance similar to the Lindy Hop. The duet came to the front of the stage, between the table and the couch, very close to each other and started hopping and moving very quickly. However, their upper bodies were also moving and their arms were flopping back-and-fourth. Overall, the dance moves were concentrated in the middle and upper space. Their bodies were straight while stepping heavy on the floor turned towards the audience. The dancers made eye contact with the public but also

Six dancers had a “partner” but one person was left out adding to the dynamic of the dance. This dynamic was creating a story for the audience to follow if they only follow the wave of movement. One group of dancers would float over to the single dancer using ballet and animal-like movements, yet the single dance moved as if in trouble. This single dancer received help from that group, yet everyone on stage would become this single dancer at some point. It created a story of helping others in their time of need, and it was a lovely story to watch unfold.

The space, time and usage of dynamics were powerful yet elegant-elements that added to the overall quality and tone of the work. The solo dancer used her body to perform various movements with specific ranges of motion, showing her ability to control, express and properly connect to the audience through her performance. In this performance, there seems to be a spiritual side when the dancer, Marilyn Banks, sits on the bench and starts to swing her arms in wide semi-circles to show looks of anguish and despair. Ms. Banks also varied movement by quivering her hands-movements such as a shaking or slight trembling with her hands when reaching outwards. She also used a lot of ornamentation or embellishment through her movements. Her body and her path of movement embellished her gestures since she was performing spins across the stage.

The movement is, above all else, gestural. The gestures start out as being removed from meaning and feeling, but eventually become more sensual and fulfilled. The gestures are also what could be considered taboo. Both dancers grab their breasts, groin, and thrust their lower bodies repeatedly throughout the piece. As the dance progresses, the movement goes from being placed and calculated to becoming something more reckless and passionate. There is also a lot of

75). Modern dance is all about the concentration on innovation. The dance, “One heart, Two worlds” has a huge connection with the choreographers, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman, a technique of “music visualization”. When it came to creating dances, Humphrey was interested in group dynamics. She also had a strong connection with music, therefore, music visualization is “a way to see the music through the dance, sometimes having the dances follow rhythmic patterns (pg.81). Also, the choreographer, Isadora Duncan, created dances centered on the emotion of Mother, depicting a sorrowful and broken figure. This emotion relates to the duo dance scene, the girl connecting with the world of dreaming and the harsh world of reality; however, in the end, she appears to be broken when separated from her dream. Also, Duncan went against the traditional form of ballet by creating dances in ways that were more natural, like movements of the trees or ocean as well as being inspired by not restricting movement by providing the dancers with loose costumes. The dance “One Heart, Two Worlds” also depicts movements in a more natural way such as the nature of

The couple dances by expressing their emotions by pushing, shoving and smashing their partner against the wall in some kind of thrilling affection. I be pointing out that the choreographers use choreographic elements of space : shape/line & direction; time : speed/tempo &breath/emotional phrasing; and energy: dynamics and qualities in to their work to make a dance performance exciting and what is being depicted .

As section one develops, we see the woman collapsing to the ground before writhing at the foot of the cloth, the pressure pushing down on her, forcing convulsions, binding her to the ground. Exhibiting solely low and medium levels, conjointly with contrasting dynamics of sustained and vibratory or percussive movements, the woman reaches out to the audience, provoking involvement, and emotional attachment. Her determination and longing for freedom is oppressed as the representational movements manifest. The dancer ascends to an erect position, wrapping the cloth around her and stepping on it, binding herself to the ground. These introverted, constrained movements convey to the audience the dancer's struggle, particularly when combined with the myriad of literal and abstracted movements. The audience are shown her struggle against not only the symbolic interpretation of the ground as her work and the pressure placed upon her to work, but also the literal meaning of being bound and specifically the

The props being used throughout this dance consist of an elastic band, a rectangular piece of cardboard that vary in different sizes and a long plank of wood. The elastic band creates the feeling of risk and suspension, the elastic is a flimsy material that could break at any point. The piece of cardboard and the plank of wood are quite similar, they both play with trust, counting on the others to help keep it stable. It also plays with weight and counter balance, which lies under the theme of ‘ trust ‘. What all these materials have in common is if a wrong move is made, could cause a