Parsons Dance Company At Harbison Theatre Essay

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

Alvin Ailey was an accomplished dancer and choreographer whose African-American heritage influenced his works in the 20th century. His successful dance career has gained international recognition and acclaim thus rendering a significant legacy. Ailey’s background as a dancer and choreographer had many strong influences from social, cultural, economic and political aspects during his early life. His African-American heritage has greatly influenced his works. Alvin was the founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (1958-), galvanized and stabilized an African American presence in theatrical dance. An outstanding performer, choreographer, company director, and mentor to scores of dance artists, Ailey oversaw the growth of his small, pick-up group of seven dancers into a large, carefully managed, internationally-renowned enterprise including several ensembles of dancers and a thriving school in New York City housed in the largest building devoted to dance in the United States. Along the way, Ailey changed the landscape of modern dance by developing new audiences for its performance through a consistent combination of exceptional artistry and wellcoordinated community outreach programs. In all, Ailey invigorated the art of dance with his distinctive creative imagination, his “blood memories” of cultural formations he witnessed as a child-- including the jook joint and the black church --and the strong survivalist ethic he learned as an African American man born in the

The Faculty Dance Concert was an entertaining event filled with a variety of dance styles. The show took place on Friday, November 6, 2015, at 7:30 in the evening, and was held in the Fullerton College Campus Theatre. The founding artistic director is Melanie Kay Rosa and the assistant artistic director is Lisa M. Anderson. The dance faculty choreographers are Lisa M. Anderson, Sarah Cashmore, Teresa Jankovic, and Melanie Kay Rosa. The four guest choreographers are Helen Gardea, Robert Laos, Devon Smith and Shawnee Amara Williams. The two student choreographers are Ashely Garcia and Madeline Young.

Born July 6, 1931 Donald McKayle grew up in Harlem, New York City and was raised by his parents Wilhelmina Cohen McKayle and Philip Augustus McKayle. As a young teenager, his English teacher helped spark an interest of African American history along with his neighborhood which was rich with “social dancing, culture and political awareness” (Jacinto, 2012, p. 1). This combination of interest in African American diaspora and influence of environmental surroundings would lead to inspiring and forming McKayle into a renowned dancer, teacher and choreographer. Prior to McKayle’s senior year in high school he saw a performance by Pearl Primus which made him realize he wanted to become a dancer. He went on to audition for the New Dance Group and was chosen as one of seven dancers. As a member of the New Dance Group he trained in a variety of dance genres under Sophie Maslow, Nona Shurman, Mary Anthony, Nina Golovina, and even Pearl Primus. His first choreographic work was with the New Dance Group entitled Saturday’s Child, which was a solo he performed. His time with the New Dance Group gave him a strong technical background and movement vocabulary that he would carry on with him as he joined the Contemporary Dance Group. It was then that he premiered Games, at Charles Weidman’s studio which “launched the young choreographer 's career” (Jacinto, 2012, p.1). This was the first time audiences saw him as a storyteller and social critic whose movement style played off of the human

On Wednesday, November 18th, I had the pleasure to attend and watch the Dance Plus’s Fall show. The Dance Plus was performed at the Douglass Theatre, Victoria Mastrobuno Theater. When I entered the show the theatre seemed a little small for such big crowed. I immediately thought there would not be enough seats for all the audience, but somehow it fitted everyone. As everyone got settled down, the dance performance had started. I chose to write about the first performance that was choreographed by the amazing director, Jessica Lange her work was simply wonderful! I loved every little piece of the play. It put a smile on my face watching this amazing work of art. So with that said, I would now like to talk about the dance performance. There were

On October twentieth, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. at Harris Center in Folsom Lake College, a dance performance called “Twyla Tharp Dance” was exhibited by The Department of Dance. The dance contained three shorter works with two intermissions. Each of the pieces were completely different from each other because each piece had its own unique style so there was not a particular classification. In any case, there was one particular piece called “Country Dances” choreographed by Twyla Tharp was a fascinating piece in a way that it was there for amusement, as well as bringing back the old dancing style to the audiences to remind them how great the old days were. Each dancer of the piece truly understood their own character and danced to their own heart desires.

This year’s edition of The George Washington University’s “Danceworks” directed by Anthony Gongora was a modern variety act that combined components of dance and theatre throughout several individual performances. Among these individual performance, there were acts that were narrated while others told a story just through dance; there were acts that related to particular circumstance of GW students such as “9:35, 11:10, 12:45, 2:20, 4:10”, others that narrated the life stories of a particular character such as “Belinha,” and others that looked into the deeper meaning of human existence such as “Exuviate.” Even though the individual performances generated some interest among the members of the audience, there was chronological sequence among

Surely, the intense joy and confidence with which Ashley Bouder in Square Dance and Sterling Hyltin in Duo Concertante danced and carried themselves must have radiated on Saturday afternoon handily throughout the theater. Although not surprising, the sheer skill with which both executed their steps was nevertheless astonishing. Taylor Stanley and Robert Fairchild, their partners respectively, were equally outstanding.

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.

Everyday, I go into the studio and hear a generous hello from a staff member. If the vibrant dance bags, and leather jet black couches do not make you feel at home, then the dancers will. Mallory Flores is an intern and dancer of 15 years at Encore Studio, and thinks Encore’s sense of community is what makes everyone feel at home whenever they step onto the dance floor. Not only does the sense of community keep the dancers going, but it keeps the business running, as Karen Flores stated she loves how “the people she sees come in and out of the studio have a constant positive energy radiating off of them”. Yet, being at the studio for up to fourteen hours a week for some dancers does not keep them from coming in and enjoying the curriculum taught in class. Not only does it drive the dancers to come to class, but it keeps the teachers motivated to continue to put out their best work too. Angelina Gallo thinks that “The dancers at Encore are so passionate, they are kind, they are genuinely good people… I think a lot of this stems from the dance training and the people that they are surrounded by on a daily basis. The students are my family.” which shows why everyone feels the constant state of security within 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.

For the production of York Dance Ensembles ‘SPACE|TIME|LINE’, my position as a crew member was the sound operator. My duties and responsibilities was to take the music required and set it in order of the show. In addition, the sound operator must set levels for each song to ensure the music was suitable for the audience, as well as the dancers on stage. Other everyday duties were to ensure the speakers, god microphone, and headsets all worked properly before each run of the show. Most importantly, I had to communicate with the stage manager during the show to know when the music needed to be played.

The choreography of Danielsen’s life goes far beyond the corners of dance. Ever since the day she stepped foot into a dance studio, she has had big dreams and lets nothing stand in her way of accomplishing them. “I saw myself as a prima ballerina, but when I actually started to dance, my dream turned into being able to execute well and being able to perform in any

Jerome Robbins was an American choreographer, dancer, and innovator of the musical theatre dancing style within the 1900s. His best works feature famous names such as Barbra Streisand and shows like West Side Story, The King and I, and Fiddler on the Roof, with the man himself known for “displaying an inexhaustible gift for combining character, comedy, and storytelling in dance”, something never before done in American musical theatre. While highly proficient in traditional Russian ballet, performing in both Balanchine’s Ballet Theatre and many others, Robbins felt “stifled” by the style, wanting to create “dance about American subjects…[about] today, and how [Americans] are”. Teaming up with a then unknown composer of Leonard Bernstein, he created his first major hit of Fancy Free in the spring of 1944, “a jazz-infected ballet” piece that put him on Broadway’s radar for years to come. (Vaill)

"A company of older women are powerful, moving and so, so worthy of a trip out" (Baker, n.d.), is why I chose Moving Memory Dance Theatre Company, directed by Sian Stephenson and Jayne Thompson, as my professional study. With this, I have been exploring the relationships between director and company, how they communicate with one another and their rehearsal process.