ARDT Response

Dance has been around for a long time, it is older than many other popular sports we have. It takes on the physical capacity to be labeled as a sport, and yet in most cases, it is not. It is one of the few activities that is both a sport and an art, but it is given very little respect as a sport. Dance has evolved in a number of ways throughout time, but it has always been through a meaning. Whether that be dancing for love or faith, or dancing for first place.

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

Dance is one of the most beautiful, expressive forms of art known to mankind. It expresses joy, love, sorrow, anger, and the list truly goes on for all the possible emotions that it can convey. Dance not only can express how one feels, but it can tell a story or even be used to praise a higher power. Dance has intricately played an important role to every culture over the course of time. Two forms of dance that have not only stood against the test of time but have influenced the development of other various styles of dance is none other than Classical Ballet and Modern Dance.

On the day of October 1, 2016, a few dance friends and I attended Nuit Blanche and our first stop was Asalto Toronto. When approaching the installation, I was open-minded because this was my first experience at Nuit Blanche. When I saw the piece, however, I was unsure of what was happening and what its significance was. I noticed that it was, in fact, pedestrians in the projection, and I initially found their vertical crawling to be slightly off-putting and animalistic. Nontheless, the more I observed and questioned the piece, the deeper my understanding became. I chose Asalto Toronto due to its relation to the community and society, the overall message of overcoming, and the opportunity to view this installation as a form of ethnic dance.

‘For me, it is important that the work I make finds connection … but at the same time… calls into question our conversations of what dance is’ (Garry Stewart, 2010). Garry Stewart, the Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) since 1999, began his dance training at the age of twenty, after leaving university studying social work. Through his explosive, energetic and electrifying style, his unique dance pushes drives boundaries empowering his works, which are technically demanding, frightful and exhausting, creating an intriguing performance. In his pieces ‘Birdbrain’ and ‘G’ a combination of classical ballet, contemporary dance and gymnastics is utilized throughout to create a fascinating performance. Stewart’s productions have toured

Some may argue that dance is an art and not a sport. Yet, it has the same characteristics as a sport does.

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”.

This year’s edition of The George Washington University’s “Danceworks” directed by Anthony Gongora was a modern variety act that combined components of dance and theatre throughout several individual performances. Among these individual performance, there were acts that were narrated while others told a story just through dance; there were acts that related to particular circumstance of GW students such as “9:35, 11:10, 12:45, 2:20, 4:10”, others that narrated the life stories of a particular character such as “Belinha,” and others that looked into the deeper meaning of human existence such as “Exuviate.” Even though the individual performances generated some interest among the members of the audience, there was chronological sequence among

The first act of any show is essential in capturing the audience’s focus; the performance Ballad Unto lived up to that expectation. This dance grasped my attention because I was not sure what to expect from the dance company and this dance was choreographed, by Dwight Rhoden, with

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

These distinction sections were noticeable because of changes in energy levels and changes in the tempo of the music. To me this also represents the different periods we may go through in life. Our emotions, circumstances, and relationships are constantly changing as we go throughout our lives. Change is unfortunately inevitable. The theatrical elements such as the music, lighting, and costumes helped add to the serious aesthetic. One recurring them I noticed was how the dancers held hands at various points within the dance, and this represents unity and necessity of having a support system.

Some think dance involves little endurance versus sports like cross-country running. Although, dancers exert forces through their hands, legs, arms and head in all different directions. Dance is a cardiovascular, aerobic, difficult sport. It fits all requirements in the definition of a sport, and has the physical and mental challenges as

Observer 1 and 2 also fully agreed on the effort qualities that were demonstrated, stating that the performance was free, sudden and light, agreeing with the dancer. The dancer expressed that the sound score provoked a “happy/upbeat” emotional response, effecting the performance by encouraging more “bounce, swing” and lightness to the movement (Appendix G, Dancer 3, p43). The observers stated that Dancer 3 “responded to the energy” and atmosphere of the piece (Appendix G, Observer 1, p44), contrasting with the feedback the observers gave Dancer 1, with Observer 1 stating that the music was “light and bouncy” and the movement didn’t reflect this (Appendix E, Observer 1, p36). Dancer 1’s results could be because of the difficulty with comprehending the score, supporting the suggestion that dancers could benefit from music training, as the apparent lack of understanding seems to negatively affect a dancer’s ability to respond to music, and perhaps their potential for

There are many differences and similarities in Lyrical and Jazz dances. Lyrical is a type of dance that is slow and flows very softly. Jazz is a faster moving dance and is very quick motions. Lyrical dance challenges choreographers and dancers to use motion to interpret music and express emotion. A lyrical dancer's movements attempt to show the meaning of the music.

This means that not only does dance require athleticism, but it also requires you to express yourself. The definition of art reads: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination typically in a visual form, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. This, in essence, describes dance. It is a way for the dancer to express their feelings and emotions. Instead of using mediums such as clay or paint, a dancer uses her body to form art. She uses beauty, grace, passion, and both emotion and physical power to make her audience feel