I was born to the name John Ewing Richter, on April 27, 1911, in the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey. It was around the beginning of the war in which I dropped my German-sounding name and adopted my stepfather’s last name combined with my own personal nickname resulting in the name I am now recognized by; Jack Cole. Over the course of my career I developed a distinct style of dance for both the screen and stage. I looked to all different kinds of dance, including but not limited to, modern, ethnic, ballet, and popular, to pioneer my own kind of dance, which eventually became known as theatrical jazz dance. My innovative contributions to dance have earned me a spot as one of the most influential dancers of all time. Ethnic dance was a major influence on my personal style. My first exposure to ethnic dance was in the pageants of Denishawn, which included Indian, Native American, Caribbean, Ancient Greek, Renaissance Commedia del’Arte, and Spanish dancing. I found these dance styles fascinating, and sought out and mastered authentic forms of ethnic dance. I learned the Indian dance form before continuing to study Afro-Caribbean, Spanish, and South American dance forms. …show more content…
Usually the dancers display a clear and combustible dance language, moving through space at varying levels and elevations and facing all directions. I frequently assembled the dancers in geometric formations, including but not limited to, lines, wedges, and clusters and then I would move moved them around, not just leaving them dully in the center. Set design in my movies gave me further elements to make my dance sequences unique. I was quite fond of using ramps, ladders, poles, platforms, and staircases to use space horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. These simple structures gave my dances an extraordinary sense of
Sally Banes is an American writer and dance historian and critic. She is also a professor of theater history and dance studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Banes has written multiple books and contributed to many documentaries and films. The book Moving History / Dancing Cultures, which Banes contributed to, includes the article “Choreographic Methods of the Judson Dance Theater”. This book was published in 2001.
Another common feature of all the dances is that the music is an irregular rhythm, creating suspense and standing out as individual. Kylian’s choreography uses the ability to isolate and coordinate different body parts as well as the use of hands to communicate meaning in all of his dances. Humor is often created as a result in over the top facial expressions like in ‘six dances’. Kylian as a contemporary choreographer uses stillness as a choreographic device in all of his dances. Another unique element to his dance style is the entrances and exits of the performers. He explores space’s limitations and capabilities making the entrances and exits part of the dance. In all of Jiri Kylian’s dances, the dancers enter and exit the stage into darkness rather than through wings. The dancers in all Jiri Kylian’s Black and white ballets, dance predominately in a large group, with individuals or pairs breaking off to do their individual movements before soon joining back in with the group.
As a child, Lester Hortons was very interested in Native American culture. He spent his adolescent years studying Indian folktale, visiting Indian burial mounds, and writing about his interests in the culture (Perces 4). Horton’s fascination with dance stemmed back to the viewing of his first performance by The Denishawn Dancers (Perces 4). Modern dancers, Ted Shawn and Ruth St. Dennis included Indian, Siamese, Japanese, Javanaes, and Egyptian dance styles in the performance. This medley of cultural dance styles heightened Horton’s interest in dance an died to his study of ballet, Greek dance, and modern dance (Peres 4). Horton began his training in ballet and Greek dance, but became dissatisfied with ballet. After suspending his ballet training, Horton
She studied different types of dance and incorporated them into her own technique. “Called the matriarch of black dance her groundbreaking repertoire combine innovative interpretation of caribbean dances,traditional ballet, African rituals and African American rhythms to create the Dunham technique” (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 2). Dunham technique is continued to be taught at schools and companies all over the world. Her travels to other countries always inspired her choreography. “She is credited for bringing caribbean and African influences to a European-dominated world” (“Katherine Dunham Biography” 2). Dunham’s use of different world influences innovated dance and created more significant choreography. Dunham not only changed how she danced; she created an entirely new
Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.
Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.
Indian and Mexican Traditional Dance Thesis statement: Superficially, there are major differences between the Indians and Medicos traditional dance. Body 1: The Dress • What they wear • How they were it • Each culture men and women dancing clothes Body 2: Music: • Kind of music • The language of music (local or global) Body 3: Contemporary dance: • Famous dancer • Old day and new days dancing
When thinking of a specific type of dance, the vast majorities of the time people generally relate and direct the art form to a certain type of culture or race. As times develop and cultures start to merge, people tend to try and get to understand other diversities. This happens especially when we look at various forms of dance, where the people of origin are no longer the only ones who strictly perform it. Shown in the movies “Save the Last Dance” and “Take the Lead” both show a great deal of racial status and stereotypes involving dance, where the minorities try their best to fit in. Proving themselves by showing how they can adapt to other cultures by the flow and movement of their bodies. Both show a great understanding on how people of different races can be brought together by something most people can relate to, dance. To what extent does race inform the dancing as portrayed in the films “Save the Last Dance” (2001) and “Take the Lead” (2006)? To support the following argument stated above, there are several sources that will be implemented throughout the essay found within the dance community (journals, articles and books).
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.
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
Further dancers should not be pushed to do movements their anatomical limitation limits them to do and challenging movements which they have not practiced before; finally they should not do excessive repetition of movements which can lead to explanation. After every dance session dancers should cool down and stretch again. Apart from the basic of dance injury prevention dancers who are overweight or are over 40 years old should visit the doctor to check their health, when dance3rs have a pre-existing problem or an injury specially in a common part like the foot, ankle or lower back should regularly go to the doctor for a check-up too. Every dance styles are different so dancers should choose a dance considering many facts such as if they have dance before, their injuries or disease like arthritis, wearing the correct shoes is very important an example can be when getting in pointe the correct shoes to be able to stand in pointe should be used and not normal ballet shoes or other shoes as it could cause serious
My personal aesthetic in the terms of dance extends far beyond mentioning what I like and what I dislike. It unfolds the layers of my personality, my style, and my past experiences. I tend to think of aesthetics in the form of a jigsaw puzzle. Within a puzzle there are hundreds of important pieces that fit together to make a grand image and each puzzle piece requires a process of development and self-discovery. My aesthetic puzzle pieces include confidence, vulnerability, dynamic, high energy, illusion, and emotional connection. Most of my aesthetic is initiated by personal preference or a significant event in my life, but I will start with the foundation of my dance training first. I was raised in the dance studio where I regularly practiced ballet, jazz, tap, musical theatre, and contemporary. I was blessed to have the opportunity to explore multiple genres of dance at a young age and as a result of this, I began my aesthetic development with a very versatile palette of movements and interpretations.
Just when social dancing was at its height, World War 2 put a stop to its popularity. Lack of attendance, plus the intricate rhythmic patterns of modern jazz music, which were too complex for social dancing, led to the closing of dance halls and ballrooms. With the demise of social dance, the growth of jazz dance as a professional dance form began. During the 1940’s, jazz dance was influenced by ballet and modern dance. By blending the classical technique of ballet with the natural bodily expression of modern dance, jazz developed a sophisticated artistic quality. Unlike early jazz dance, which was performed by talented entertainers without formal training, modern jazz dance was performed by professionals trained in ballet and modern dance.
The two pieces where this was most prevalent was “Helen Tide” from University of Hawai’i and “Cascade of Moons” from Mills College. For a majority of “Helen Tide,” the two dancers did not travel around the stage a whole lot. The piece was about 6 or 7 minutes long and there was probably 15-20 seconds of quicker movement. Some of their movement was so slow that it was hard to tell whether or not the dancers were actually moving. On the other hand, “Cascade of Moons” had 6 dancers instead of only two. This gave another element to the piece because I would watch one dancer, then another, and by the time I went back to the first dancer, she was in a completely different position. Although they were moving extremely slowly, because each dancer was doing something different, it felt as thought there was always something new to look at. There were more moments of rapid movements in this piece as well, which was very contrasting to the slower movement. However, while “Helen Tide” had very minimal fast movements, “Cascade of Moons” had much more fast paced moments. The amount of contrast each choreographer decided to have in their piece helped convey the different stories that they are trying to
These dances eventually evolved to include praise songs and myths that were enacted by trained dancers and actors. By the end of the 5th century BC, these dance dramas were part of entertainment and provided social and political commentary on the times. Amongst the Romans, dance waxed and waned in acceptance by the powers that ruled. Until 200 BC, dance brought life to Roman processions, festivals and celebrations. However, in 150 BC all of the dancing schools were closed as Roman nobility considered dance as suspicious and even dangerous activity of the masses. Dancing has come a long way since ancient times. But there are still some similarities. When people thought up these dances they were trying to express themselves, their emotions, their problems and beliefs. Today we do the same thing. We make up dances according to our attitudes, beliefs, thoughts and feelings. The future will also contain dances that will reflect that society. There are many different kinds of dances. There is ballet, line dancing, slow dancing, the list goes on and on. Some of these dances are slow. Some of them are fast. They all use different type of instruments. Each dance representing a time, an event, an expression or feeling. Each dance expressing something different. Dances will never die. They are too interconnected in the