Dance Reflection

The world of contemporary dance is one that is constantly developing and pushing the boundaries of what makes dance more than just movement. However, it is questionable that it would be in this diverse state if it was not for a few revolutionary choreographers. Along with Martha Grahame is could be argued that Merce Cunningham was a pioneering, revolutionary choreographer who questioned given standards and procedures creating the diverse contemporary style that we know today. Revolutionary can be defined as something radically new or innovative; outside or beyond established procedure and principles (Dictionary.com, 2017). In order for something to be revolutionary it has to be in relation to something else, this is certainly true for Cunningham’s

“What are you even doing here? I have never seen such flawed technique in all my years as a choreographer.” The words echoed throughout the medical college auditorium. Impelled by the admonishment in front of my peers, I persevered in my endeavor to improve upon my dancing prowess and by the final year of medical school was leading the college dance team. The above mentioned undertaking further spawned an interest for the discipline of Latin Ballroom which lead to participation at the national level. The unwavering focus and persistence even in the face of unfavorable odds is more broadly reflective of my approach towards learning, both academic and extracurricular. This has been instrumental in achieving stellar academic outcomes including being ranked nationally in the top 0.0004 percent in the premedical test and the top 0.6 percent in the common aptitude test for management training.

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 Repertory Dance Company Fall Dance Concert was held at the Mannoni Performing Arts Center. The dancers involved in this dance concert are part of the University of Southern Mississippi Dance Department meaning they are either pursuing a degree in dance or teach dance at a university level. Both students and faculty had the opportunity to present work during adjudication to be chosen to be presented at this concert. I particularly enjoyed this concert because, while all of the dances presented were a part of the broad genre of modern dance, each dance had such a unique aesthetic so the concert still provided a great amount of variety to keep the audience captivated. The two pieces I have chosen to review represent this variety very

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.

At this company, I have learned from a mentor as well as created my own choreography that I base on my compassion. As an illustration, I designed a dance as a tribute to Holocaust survivors after learning in depth about the event. In order to become competent in dance, I believe that I have to master my abilities both as an independent artist as well as a contributing performer to the overall synergy of the

I decided to research one of the most influential Modern Dance pioneers; Martha Graham. Graham’s contributions to dance has often been compared to Picasso’s contributions to art and Stravinsky’s to music; in my opinion she opened up many new opportunities and possibilities for dance including the ability to learn free expression and honesty through movement.

In reading this book, I received additional confirmation that expressive arts are healing arts and that healing is sacred. Getting in the body, tapping into its wisdom, and externalizing the energy can bring solace and restoration. Winton-Henry writes with passion and clarity about the invitation by the Divine to dance. This notion has impacted my own journey with dance and established it as a sacred gift to be received and to be given. Because of reading this book I believe that my understanding of Dance as a sacred art form has been deepened.

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.

I became a ballet student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2014. Being a high school student here gave me the opportunity to expand my horizons and take in as much art as I possibly could. During my first fall at UNCSA, I attended the Emerging Choreographers performance and was privileged to see works created by fourth year contemporary majors. These stunning works showed me the possibilities that dance holds to truly convey powerful and meaning messages. One work in particular stood out to me. It was a piece that showcased five dancers all dressed in pedestrian clothing. At first it appeared to be a casual street scene but a the music progressed one girl began making incredible sharp movements as if she was possessed. She made tiny movements of her hands and feet all the while moving a great distance across the stage. The others started going off what she was doing and all moved together as one giant body supporting the girl in the middle. She continued dancing in the most amazing way have many small movements combined with huge movements that made her seem a thousand feet tall. Intrigued I spoke to one of the dancers about the intention of the dance. She told me that the

For Understanding Dance, we were assigned to go to The University of Oklahoma University Theater School of Dance’s Contemporary Dance Oklahoma. The show contained six different performances with a fifteen-minute intermission after the first three. Each performance featured different choreographers, including our professor Ilya Kozadayev for his part in the performance Lucid. While I did prefer some of the dances better than others, I was able to find things I appreciated in all six dances.

Modern dance has converted into the contemporary movements that teenagers and adults use to dance when they are in a certain event. But who were some of the pioneers that created this gestures? Throughout this essay I am going to talk about two of them, Martha Graham and Jose Limon who are the 20th century’s innovative artists in our dance culture. Her name is Martha Graham and is considered as “the mother of the modern dance”.

The Paramount Theatre Houston, Texas. A beautiful theatre with elegant architecture, and well-crafted sculptures, that provides a warm and inviting atmosphere. It has a convenient location with easy navigation in addition to spacious parking. Arriving at this appealing theatre helped set a positive tone about how the evening would go, which was nothing less than I had expected. I watched two performances in which I will be evaluating in this paper. The first one I will discuss is Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games. It is an Irish step dance that was choreographed by Michael Flatley and performed by the Riverdance Irish Dance Company. The second performance is an African dance choreographed by Etiene Cakpo, Kokou Gbakenou, and Jimu Makurumbandi called the African Journey. This dance was performed by Gan Sango Music and Dance.

When first assigned this final project, two choreographers immediately fled into my mind: Ohad Naharin and Roni Koresh. Since I began dancing, I have always been extremely intrigued by both the Batsheva Dance Company and Koresh Dance Company. Being raised both ethically Israeli and religiously Jewish, these two companies allowed me to feel a deeper connection that went past the movement alone. Since I was recently informed that I have been accepted to train with the Batsheva Dance Company and its founder, Ohad Naharin for a month this summer I decided to choose a different choreographer to study. I wanted to look into a choreographer’s process that I did not know much about, am interested by, and may not have the opportunity or excuse to reach out to them in the near future. I decided to study the creative process of Ronen (Roni) Koresh. I have had the pleasure of seeing multiple Koresh shows. Since I have been to numerous shows, I have begun to notice multiple similarities between his pieces; however, I am also constantly surprised by what is yet to come.

With fall breezes in the air individuals storm into Morgan Hall to witness the much anticipated ARDT dance performance. After having much focus on plays, it was refreshing to experience a different form of artistic expression. The dancers were able to keep my attention from start to finish, and the show proved to be my favorite production thus far. The performances were obviously well rehearsed and put together. Throughout the show I paid close attention to facial expression, the fluidity of movement, and the overall message of the performance. With these critiques in mind the opening lyrical piece entitled “Point of Contact” from the first half, and the final lyrical piece entitled “Falling” from the second half were my favorite pieces.