Creating And Developing A Group Dance Performance With A Particular Focus On Choreography

Every time you step onto the stage the movement you show reveals you as the dancer but also the dance that was created. A ballet isn’t as simple as an arabesque or balancé de côté that are put together to provide a show. Each ballerina on the stage brings their own personal approach to how they dance, it’s a little more psychological than one may think. As said by Likolani Brown “you have to work hard but also not lose track of who you are and you have to remember why you do it. You do it because you love it and you have something individual to give to the art.” For a dancer it’s not just the determination but the personality in dancing that fully brings one to the art. In ballet or any form of dance there are two elements which are inward and outward. Inward being the choreography or creativity of an artist tied together with the outward putting pressure on that artist to create a product. This product of art has to keep the ballet world spinning even though so little is understood about the ballet. So, how can we as ballerinas can we really communicate the inward with each other or with the audience when the pressure of the outward lies so heavily? A ballerina will speak no words but will be heard because the movements that we make is our own form of communication. Movements, choreography, terminology are all things a ballerina would use to really say something, to explore and discover more about each other. For dancers this form is so unique and special to us because we

important foundation in understanding the broader scope of how dance can be seen as a

On April 14, 2017, my friend and I visited for the first time Salt Lake City Community College dance company’s annual performance. The show was presented at the Grand Theater at the South City Campus of the college. The performance’s name “Moving Words” imply what the audience was about to experience. “Moving Words” consists of 18 different dances and each of those dances brought a unique feeling to the overall performance. I thought that the dancers and choreographers have done an amazing job. However, after seeing all the different dances there were two that stuck together with me, because of the ideas and the morals these dances introduced.

Dancing is a recreational activity that has been enjoyed by millions of people for centuries. There have been countless styles of dance and thousands of memorized steps that have been performed in front of people or even just simply enjoyed alone without and audience. When a handful those thousands of steps come together, it creates a routine. Even though there are countless dancers that are breathtaking when they perform the routine in front of and audience, most dancers cannot be proficient without someone to assemble those countless steps together to create something awe inspiring, beautiful, and entertaining to watch. Dance is a world of constant change due to the want of awe, the need to produce something unique, and the necessity to catch the audience’s attention. Although many people believe some dance styles have not changed for centuries, innovative choreographers flip dance styles upside down with their unique approaches.

According to Laws and Russell, any choreographed dance consists of three components: movement, poses, and transitions. Movement is the heart and dance, as well as the primary aspect that portrays the style and

Students will improvise and adapt the skills and knowledge they learnt through the example dance to explore their own emotions and display of these.

My overall response to the dance concert is spectacular because each dance piece was moving, remarkable, and motivational. Each dance had an astounding affect on me and allowed to me repelled into the performance. These impressions came from me analyzing the dance pieces, “A Brief Study of Recent History and “One Heart, Two Worlds”, for the Spring 2016 Studio 115 Dance Concert Series at USM’s Dance and Theatre Building on May 4th. The first performance, “A Brief Study of Recent History” was choreographed by Elizabeth Lentz-Hill and introduced by the dancers Jennifer Alafat, Megan Bradberry, Shaquille Hayes, etc. While the second piece, “One Heart, Two Worlds”, was choreographed by Dejonelle Gleeton and the performers were Brittain Allgood,

1.1.16 Joann Keali’inohomoki defines dance as, “a transient mode of expression…performed in a given form and style by the human body moving through space”

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.

While watching the performance of the company, I notice how their choreography is displayed into action. The improvisation class that Robert Moses taught gives me an opportunity to really be engaged and focus on my habits to try to find an escape. Even though the Robert Moses Kin dance company is strictly a choreographic work, there are some improvisational components included in the performance, such as mirroring and the use of physical contact. By observing this performance, I am trying to base and look at it from an improvisational perspective.

The directors endlessly drilled their individual pieces down to the very move in order to make sure that every dancer picked up the essentials. Like engine components, everybody was required to work together seamlessly and undergo maintenance in order to produce the greatest visual effect. To achieve the desired image, our directors casted us into their designed formations, deciding which part of the machine we would be. From there, it was a matter of repetition in order to ensure that the overall choreographic set kept its fluidity and would not rust over

Patricia Scott Hobbs gives a professional, yet personable insight into the duties and lifestyle of a choreographer. Throughout the question and answer segments, Hobbs is asked a series of questions that provide viewers with a “backstage” view of all different aspects and demands of the job. Specifically, viewers are taught career beginnings, keys to success, education requirements, industry needs/goals and advice for young aspiring artists. The knowledge provided from Hobbs is bountiful with information any young artist with similar goals (like myself) would require. It is evident that Hobbs has brought nothing but truth to the interview as she also helps viewers comprehend the obstacles artists face throughout their careers. Although all segments within the interview disclose Hobbs expertise of joining the artistry

Throughout all forms of art there are several ways to portray a message to an audience, whether it be through a painting about the meat industry or a song about an unjust legal system, expression can take on many different forms. No matter what the message or motivations of the piece, it is up to the artist how they want it portrayed. Dance is no exception to this rule, in today's world dance is one of the most popular ways to spread a message. From flash mobs to protest art dance is one of the most visible forms of expression people recognize today and these pieces of art are always evolving and changing to fit the wants and needs of the artist.

Finally, the last element is the emphasis on improvisation: the ability to extemporaneously compose on an existing melody. This is often considered as a chance to show off for the performers. Through improvisations and ornaments which were both elaborated by the extemporaneously composition of performers added interest and differences between music and even the same piece of music might sound different.

When it comes to what I think improvisation is, I think it is basically any movement that a dancer does in a setting that is not planned or pre choreographed. I feel like improvisation is kind of like wild dance thinking where the dancer just moves in a way that is random and it comes from the first dance move that is at the top of their head. It is almost as if the dancer is just moving, but isn’t really thinking about what they are doing, they are just grooving. Although I think improvisation is just moving without thinking about what you are doing, I do believe that there are boundaries that a