Critical Review On Be Your Self

The male dancer only wore pants and bared his upper body. This simple costume design not only made the people who watch the dance to have a clear vision of the dancer, but also better presented a predicament that the character was experiencing at that time. At the first half of the dance, the dancer would leave at least one part of his body on the bench, and tried hard to reach other parts of his body away. This muscular interplay between the dancer and the bench resonated with the audience to experiencing the same struggle feelings as the character. As the performance developed, the dancer started to leave the bench to fully use the space. The dancer had many different movements comparing with sitting on the bench previously. He started to lie down, roll over, stand on the bench and make a turn use only one foot. The level of the dance was no longer limited in the middle but changing from low to high as well. Having such a change, the dancer is converting a more delight and energetic feeling to the audience, in order to demonstrated that the character was recovered through the

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

Petipa’s production of Swan Lake is a beautiful example of the structure movements that dancers must perform; in the clip titled Odile entrance & Black Swan pas de deux, you see “The Black Swan” perfect posture and balance, dancing on en Pointe all the while managing to gracefully seduce the prince through her seductive movements and entrancing expressions. In contrast Modern dance focus is on the dancer expressing their inner most emotions and feelings through free flowing movements. The modern dancer uses their whole body more naturally and fluidly to convey what their current emotional state is, unlike classical ballet where the ballerina at all times keeps an upright posture, and performs with structured, angular lines. Martha Graham’s “Frontier” is a great example of the free movements of Modern dance; In this performance Martha Graham uses her whole body to move to the rhythmic sounds of the drums and music, you can clearly see that there is no confined structure in this performance, she is completely moving organically to how she is feeling and what she is trying to convey through her movements.

4. Kealiinohomoku. “An Anthropologist Looks at Ballet as a Form of Ethnic Dance” Pg 533

Stewart’s choreographic revolution began when he combined movement with rapid and fast rapid techno music which modern audiences relate to. ‘Birdbrian’ has been described by Katy Evans an author as a “heart stopping, eye popping, tempo changing, absorbing one hour and fifteen minutes of pure genius amazement, a truly theatrical and demanding performance that’s funky, fast and furious”. The use of chorographic techniques used, Stewart persuades the audience to not look away. The slow motion, stillness, turns and jumps, cannons, duet works, contractions, high releases, dynamics and zombie like movement all give into gravity and this was shown throw the something floor work. This piece was the first of Stewart’s as Artistic Director to tour internationally. The intensely physical and powerful work represents his trademark modern style, which involves jerking, glitching, abrupt and fast powerful movement making the performance intriguing to watch, the dancers appear to have a sense of power as they come across to be strong. The dull lighting creates suspense and excitement that combined with images projecting over the dancers. The shell of the choreography reveals balletic and classical duet work. The costuming of ‘Birdbrain’ are black legging and simple white T-shirts. In the section where a lady is walking across the stage with point shoes. Is symbolistic of it being a reconstruction of a classical ballet

Mrs. Farrell’s book is quite technical when it comes to the lengthy descriptions of the dances she rehearses and performs; from a dancer’s view these varied conclusions of the types of movements she was dancing is quite astonishing. In fact, it adds a whole new level to the imagination that can come alive in a person’s thoughts when they read an expressive book. Although the technical explanations will excited, astound, and reveal how much passion and deep meaning ballet had in Suzanne Farrell’s life, but a reader, who may not be involved in the arts will be unfamiliar with the ballet and musical terms in

Sarah Calver is a notable dance educator and choreographer, widely known for her contribution to not only dance, but also to the arts industry in the Northern Territory from 1984. Awarded with the 2012 ‘Services to Dance’ award by Ausdance, Calver has been vital in integrating dance into the everyday lives of those living in Australia’s far north. Taking inspiration from figures such as Maggi Phillips and Evelyn Hodgkinson, whose discipline and passion drove her practice in an isolated region1, Calver continues to educate and inspire Australia’s young dancers. She is adept at creating, producing, and remounting dance theatre works as part of SLiDE Youth Dance Theatre ( a collaborative effort run with Joanna Noonan and Katie Cawthorne(now Canberra

The movements were very specific and showed the story of the dance. The partners used many movements that contained many body

The movements of the Humphrey's choreography are slow and precise, they pierce the space, creating a graceful pattern, while due to their tempo they imprint in the memory of audience. Her expression during the dance, while not speculating on dramatics, subtly and powerfully expresses ideas of both themes. The spiral movements, while being soft are able to convey the idea of expression. At the same time, the sharp angular movements of the second part deliver strife for action and balance. After watching the performance, the viewer realizes the inseparability of the action and expression in everyday life and appreciates the design of the dance (Doris Humphrey Technique: The Creative Potential “Two Ecstatic

Dance was not a new element in the theatre realm. It had been used for years as a way of interpretation of feelings of a character that the writer or director wanted the audience to feel visually. Through movement, expression of those feelings was portrayed and helped the audience to somewhat

This book is about how one dance comes together, from beginning to end, from choreography to opening night. The author offers paintings and thoughtful placement of words regarding his observations of dancers as they perfect their moves. The book ends with the curtain going up during a performance. This book is ideal for anyone who wants a preview of what goes on behind the scenes of dancing.

All six dances in the ‘black and white’ ballets are based on sexuality. The male

The piece was trying to convey the idea of freedom. Liberating the soul by expressing what it feels in a form of dance, which is something that can be seen. The movements were free, the performers moved around the stage depicting natural dance movements.

As I settled into my seat in the small white box theater set up by Gibney Dance Company in their largest studio at 280 Broadway, I thought perhaps this performance would provide insight into the type of contemporary dance is funded and valued in New York City. The lights went out and the music started, a meditative low drone sound composed by Icelandic cellist Hildur Guonadottir, according to the program notes. I could feel the vibrations of the music from my seat and it felt comforting and relaxing. If I was not planning on seeing a dance show, I could have fallen asleep. The performance was 50 minutes of predictable contemporary dance movement, or in other words, ballet movement pushed off the center axis, overlaid with an emo emotionality for no apparent reason other than to compliment the feeling of the music. This performance called “Folding In” choreographed by artistic director of Gibney Dance, Gina Gibney, was so repetitive, so plain, so uninspired, that it made me rethink why I am even interested in dance at all. The problem

The Robert Moses Kin company reinforced the idea that it is alright to learn from your mistakes and to make movement have its own originality. The dancers in the performance did two different pieces from their earlier works called “Speaking Ill of the Dead” and “Never an End for Peace.” These pieces displayed technique visuals that were being discussed in class and brought to the performance with the company. Overall, the way that they described their movements can give me a further understanding with how I can further my dance technique.