Mike Brzeznski Dance Analysis

The quotes “For most people, social dancing begins in pleasure,” and “Of course, people sometimes feel pressure to dance in ways that are otherwise associated with pleasure; social dancing can serve many functions in a society,” from Chapter 4 of Dancing: The Pleasure, Power, and Art of Movement (Jonas 2003), peaked interest in me when thinking of all the various dance forms that we have talked of in class and even those outside of class. One in particular that has interested me the most is swing dance. With family member involvement in the past and having multiple friends take part in the Swing Dance Club here on the Wayne State University Campus for pleasure, enjoyment and social interaction has made me want to go more in depth about it. With the help from academic sources and knowledge from class lectures I will be researching the history of swing dancing, the forms of swing dancing, and what gender roles take place within these movements.

When I was four years old I was introduced to a tall, petite, beautiful ballerina who spun around the room with elegance, and effortlessly captured the crowd with her stunning abilities. As a little girl, I sparkled with admiration and was inspired to be all she was, it was from that point on, that I ventured into an unknown world of art, strength and expression. Now being eighteen years old with about fourteen years of experience in the dance world, I have learned and developed the norms, values and practices of the culture, and the conflicting theory within it.

Naharin created this dance pedagogy as a way to explore the possibilities of movement, increase awareness and amplify sensation by deeply listening and feeling the physical sensations of the body. Naharin’s way of approaching movement has been said to break boundaries of modern dance, producing movement that is often described as rough, lacking balletic elegance, virtuosic, explosive, fast (Aldor). In contrast, ballet is often stereotyped as pristine, pretty, controlled reserved, and proper — very rarely does is it described as loose, wild, free and ugly. By those descriptions Gaga could be seen as the “anti-ballet”. In fact, an article from T Magazine describes Gaga as “ sublime” and “a delightful horror” compared to the “quest for perfection” that is ballet (Subin). With such a stark contrast between the stylistic result of the two ways of moving, it would seem that Gaga and ballet can never relate. Consequently, what is unique about Gaga is rather than a technique or a vocabulary, it is a philosophy of how to use one’s body; or as The Guardian describes it “a toolbox” that dancers can apply to any dance technique (Perkovic). Although at a brief glance Gaga and ballet may seem to be polar opposites, I have found that I can use the concepts from Gaga as tools to adjust and strengthen my performance in ballet

Being a psychology major, I tend to enjoy dances that appeal to emotion through stories. The dance that I decided to write this paper on is a small group contemporary piece performed by the Abby Lee Dance Company. This dance has a sad theme to it, as it deals with the topic of suicide. They use props including a table and three telephones to add creativity to the piece. This dance is interesting to me because of the affiliation it has to mental illness, which is personally important to me.

As dance being known as an art form that can portray symbolic meanings and influence society, not many dance companies are grasping at the opportunity to address many of these social issues that our culture is facing. “I feel as though [major dance companies] do the happy-go-lucky dances and never do the gritty, what’s really going on in dances, says high school junior Jenae Rogers from George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology. The modern world has been brought up against multiple issues, ones that relate close to home, and ones that might not particularly pertain to us. Despite not being able to primarily fix these issues, we can certainly draw attention to it. Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on issues in society. Betty Cooper, Chamber Dance Company’s Program Director, explains that “As an ephemeral art form, people tend to let dance wash over them like a sunset, and don’t necessarily expect more of it than to be poetic. But dance is a medium that is as potent for social commentary as the spoken and written word.” Many outsiders feel as though dance is just a hobby, but dancers and dance companies can do a lot to help spread awareness of certain issues. Police brutality, gender diversity, and eating disorders or weight shaming can all be addressed in major dance companies. Dance gives us the ability to share our thoughts on social issues that do not get the attention they need in order to be helped. Nonetheless,

From the article "I Don't Want to do African … What About My Technique?:" Transforming Dancing Places into Spaces in the Academy by Raquel L. Monroe, the author discussed about problems that currently occur in dance space of a higher institution. The terms ‘technique’ has become problematic when the Monroe pointed the fear of the future dancer if they took dance class that is different from ballet or modern. The article further discusses by using excerpt and interviews from teachers and students on defining what ‘technique’ is. She also touches the topic on racial injustice in dance from the stereotypes of certain movement that denoted a group of people and classification of ‘high’ or ‘low’ art. This further support her argument when she critiques

Three laps around the gym, minute long planks, crunches, sit-ups, and pushups in a matter of thirty minutes. As a dancer, experiencing and realizing the strength that needs to be present in order for an athlete to grow is vital. We go through long hours of choreography sessions, pain and strain on our bodies, and vigorous training. Many people will disagree on the status of if dance is a sport or not. Both Mary- Elizabeth Esquibel, in her article “Why Dance Will Always Be a Sport” and the infographic entitled “Is Dance a Sport?” attack this controversial dilemma. Even though these arguments use different formats, they use rhetoric similarly.

Jane Desmond introduces her article, “Embodying Difference: Issues in Dance and Cultural Studies,” by describing a dance that readers can picture as the dance of tango in their minds. This helps lead to her connecting dance, or body movement, with cultural studies and social identities. In her article, Desmond focuses on connecting how dance and body movement can be portrayed differently in social identities, such as race, class, gender, nationality, and sexuality.

The dance that I will be focusing on is entitled: thinking sensing standing feeling object of attention. The dance, to me, symbolizes the socialization of persons in Western civilization concerning gender roles. In the beginning there are gestures that are separated from emotion and full-embodiment, but as the dance progresses the gestures become more meaningful and recognizable. The lighting starts out very specific and narrow, then the light encompasses the entire stage, and eventually the dancers are silhouetted as they return to a familiar movement motif in the end. The music is mainly instrumental with occasional soft female vocals, and the lyrics suggest emotion, which is interesting because the dancers do not convey emotion until

Feminism plays a large role in many dance styles in today's society. It is a key tool to use while teaching younger students as proved by the women showcased in the films provided as well as in the articles, “The lens in which I look through everything now is feminist theory and pedagogy” (Jennifer Bolt). Throughout the interview, Bolt touched on how she felt as if she had a loss of voice when it came to fighting for the dance program, it connects back to her learning about how women had to fight for their voice in society when she was just a girl. Claire Wooten explained how she tended to steer away from what she called “The F word” (Wooten) when directing her classes due to how announcing feminist theory right off the bat seemed to put people off. Wooten stated she directed her classes from an emancipatory standpoint, attempting to remove herself from the equation to heighten student experience and self-progression.

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

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).

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, women such as Loïe Fuller, Ruth St. Denis, Doris Humphrey, and others courageously rejected the constrained nature of classical ballet and challenged social norms. Fuller is a pioneering woman of modern dance because she defies gender norms by tearing off corsets, dancing with bare feet, and allowing an idea of feminist aesthetic to fuel her movements (Au 88). Rather than torturing her body into the restricted constructs of a male-designed paradigm, Fuller wore “a large piece of billowing fabric material which is an extension of physical body” (Bennahum). Just as professor Bennahum explains, “she used fabric to take herself out of the conversation about women not wearing Victoria dress.”

Last Tuesday, we talked about the changes of dance positions and partner relationships. The classical ballet dancers had to follow strict rules: heels touching with toes turned out, arms shaping an oval, and necks staying upright. More interestingly, a couple of ballet dancers did not face each other because it could bring something out between the man and woman partner. However, contemporary choreographers have broken the taboos and opened the new prospects in dance field. Unlike Isadora Duncan who subverted the traditional dance style, some choreographers maintained beautiful customs while they made small cracks in the classical dance forms. For instance, George Balanchine introduced incurved legs, and designed face-to-face ballet choreography.

How often do you stop to take in the moment? Imagine a man who is not as happy as he