Levels And Mirroring

Loud, colorful, and live. Three words that describe the engaging form of dance, Ballet Folklorico.

“Discuss in choreographic terms the use of space in Jardi Tancat. In your answer, refer to the variety of configurations or groupings of dancers.”

Mime should be used only when the ballet’s style dictates it, in other cases the dancer’s whole body, not only the hands, should be used to communicate.

The dance portrayed shadowing and unison in its setup, there was use of speed in the movement of legs and hands and the speed changes as the dance continues. The dancers appeared with a white hip-hop long baggy pant with a bare chest. The dancers started with backing the audience and then turned in uniform and faced the audience and demonstrated an expansive degree of body movement and flexibility in the use of space which goes in uniform with the rhythm and this performance presented the audience with a sincere view of the essence and spirit of hip-hop rather than the commercially exploited stereotypes portrayed by the

Within each group performance, the dancers use a variety of levels such as; low, medium and high. Although, both performances do not incorporate all the three levels throughout the piece. For example: In Graeme Murphy’s Synergy by Synergy, the movements are all seen at a high level, where the performers are observed jumping on the spot, rising on the balls of their feet which is called a Releve, Leaping from one side to the other with a pointed foot and the female dancers being lifted up into arabesque and also being tossed from one side to the other. The use of high-level movements is interpreted with the intent of strength, muscle and machine in an abstract form.

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.

_______________ are what link one movement phrase to another, allowing a dance to flow smoothly from section to section.

Lester Horton has been named, as one of the many founders of modern dance, whose style continues to be used in present day choreography. Although Hortons’ early technique was impacted by his interest in various cultures; his style eventually shifted towards a more theatrical technique. Horton used his versatile dance background and interests to develop the sub genre under modern dance, more formally known as choreodramas. His technique seen in earlier pieces and choreodramas such as “The Beloved” and “Salome” were effective in displaying the purpose of Horton’s style. Horton integrated his background in dance, props, costumes, and choreography to emphasize contemporary ideas and display the new genre of choreodramas.

A multimovement piece composed for the lute or keyboard with the style, tempo, and rhythmic patterns of a particular dance

When learning information about important facts, dates, and the influential people who made up U.S. history, I do not remember learning much of anything regarding the Irish, Chinese, or Japanese. Well, except for Pearl Harbor and the U.S. retaliating against Japan by dropping atomic bombs. I definitely learned that people from around the world immigrated by boat across vast amounts of ocean for a chance to thrive in the land of freedom called America. I learned that millions of people entered through Ellis Island in the late nineteenth century, looking upon the Statue of Liberty, in hopes of finding their right to life, liberty, and happiness. I learned that the majority of these people were stricken of their identities and provided new American names that were easier to pronounce. I did not however, learn about the great discrimination and hardship that these people suffered at the hands of white Americans. The major theme presented is labor discrimination, unequal and unfair pay, long hours, and harsh working and living environments in regards to the Mexican Americans, Chinese, and Japanese. Takaki (2008) paints a vivid picture of discrimination and suffering of the people known as the “others” living and working in the multicultural “melting pot” United States, in his book A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America.

always been known for the risky and powerful movements which are often why dancers retire from the company. The dancer’s movements were often very intense and emotive, such as the “throws” across the stage in which the dancers would, almost violently, launch themselves across the stage in different forms (leaps, falls and flips to name a few). Another section where the movements were emotive is where the dancers were thrusting their hips in different positions to perhaps show sexuality in “self”.

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

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

Taking methods of the dance or stick with the traditional movements and showing them in a way that would be more interesting to the public. Which is what was done with Riverdance and Lord of the Dance, which take the form of the dance and use it for a dramatic necessity.

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.