Jessica Lang Dance Concert Report

The two live dance works viewed this year were “Emergence”, performed by Sydney Dance Company, choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, performed at the Princess Theatre and a recorded dance performance titled “Image”, choreographed by Jason Northam and Liesel Link. The two dance performances substantiated were exceedingly diverse and dissimilar. The two performances juxtaposed their intentions and interpreted opposing elements through diversity in movement vocabulary, structural devices and form, performance skills and technical elements.

The music throughout the performance is by The Rolling Stones. The first song, “Little Red Rooster” is very laid back and lazy sounding. It has a slow but consistent tempo throughout the song. The second song, “Lady Jane” has a very slow tempo. This is possibly because it contains lots partner work. The third song, “Not Fade Away” is significantly faster than the previous songs. There is also lots of clapping in time with the music which gives it a kind of celebratory feel. The fourth song, “As Tears Go By” once again has a slow tempo. It has a very relaxed feel at the same time as being sad. This assists in developing the choreographers’ intent because in this section the female dancer is being rejected. The fifth song, “Paint it Black” is where the first costume change takes

The light in the stage was very clear. This helped the audience see every movement with clarity. The dancer’s costumes seemed very well put with the dance. The dance “stamping” has a lot to do with the feet, but

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

This was particularly exciting because the music was written and sung by Beyonce, a majority favorite. However, the costumes lacked coordination and seemed put together very last minute. Although, the purple and red vests did match the lighting which added a unique touch. The dance moves were fun and upbeat which allowed for the audience to enjoy themselves and experience the joy the dancers expressed. The dance truly attempted and succeeded at displaying the true spirit of Beyonce. Also, the dance moves seemed to have been carefully planned out to their fullest potential. The originality of the dance was exceptional which was one of the many components that cultivated its excellent

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.

In “Strictly Ballroom” the beginning scenes of the film Baz established the conventional, elegant atmosphere of the ballroom dancing world. Using a combination of techniques such as graceful music, the

When the show actually began, it started with a digital green timer on the wall counting by the second, accompanied by Mr. Jones sitting at a desk with a desk lamp. He began to read a story as a single dancer in a pink long sleeved top danced beside him. This dancer was definitely the most memorable mover of the company due to her exquisite fluidity within her movement, as well as the desirable synchronization between her movements and the words of Mr. Jones’s voice throughout the piece. As the performance carried on, the other dancers performed various solos, duets, and quartets, of modern movement while Mr. Jones’s stories carried on.

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

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

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

Scope: Dance Research Journal, Vol. 39, No. 1, (2007), pp. 3-24 Published by Congress on Research in Dance

From the very beginning, The Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky strengthens in a volatile sense of harmonious movements. The Rite of Spring is quite different from classical ballets whose subtle interchange of the curvaceous, subjective lithesome in the flow of time that romanticism savored. In this particular dance which was carefully planned by Igor Stravinsky, Stravinsky’s rhythms hit and batter; although highly asymmetric they are still pounded in such a new way that the score requires innovation in harmonious representation to make Stravinsky's invention workable. In this dance, there is no way are these rhythms presented subtly, in fact, they are habitually stricken out in harmony by the huge orchestra that the work uses. Undeniably, one of the most enjoyable facets of a noble performance, even without dance convention, is the way that it looks. Their grey outfit and sporadic black tops make them a perfect blend.

The female dancer re-enters the stage sans the blue shirt/shorts and repeats the gestures with a bit more feeling, and the male does the same thing after the female exits. The next time the female enters the stage, she is only in the colorful bra and black briefs. The male enters the stage in a black bra and colorful underwear. The color in the costumes sends a message of the differences between males and females, but the black undergarments lean towards blurring the lines of gender. The lights get brighter as clothing is shed. The two performers fully embody the gestures now, and seem to have more of an intimate connection with one another. The music constantly seems to be an underscore of the dance, but does not add much to it. The dancers share weigh and partner with more sensuality, and eventually are silhouetted with blue light as they return to gesture and awkward ballroom partnering. The lights fade as they continue to move.

This fall dance concert was filled with joy, darkness, torture, culture, and women's rights, right when you sit down and observe through all 8 dance performances. It would have been 9 dance routines but the dancer who was suppose to perform Hart Broken had an injury, which made a putt off. Nevertheless the show must go on, it starts off with the first and second performance, Xtra Xtra and Scar Tissue. Revealing that both performances were different themes because Xtra Xtra had the dancers in radiant colors and seemed to be energetic, whereas the performers in Scar Tissue were clothed in black attire, such as tutus, dresses, and tights, yet still energetic. This brought to my attention that the whole dance performances were contrast to each other. Throughout the routines of the dance concert, the