Singin In The Rain Dance Essay

Before my research I knew that my topic was a popular dance in the 1920s. The dance comes from the song "The Charleston". I choose this topic because I found it very interesting, I found this topic interesting because the1920s was an entertaining time period, the dances created then must be a fun topic. I would love to find out more about my topic. Such as why was the dance created? How did it become popular? Who created the dance?

Chapter 4 was the most interesting chapter in my opinion. Specifically, I find tap dance to be very interesting. I enjoy both watching tap dance and the history of tap dance. Tap dance is unique in that it incorporates the making of sound into the movements performed by the dancers. The movie Singing in the Rain is also one of my favorite movies. The movie contains many tap dance scenes throughout the whole movie. I enjoy the leg movements the different dancers use throughout the movie. Tap dance is one of America’s oldest dance forms. It originated from minstrel shows that represented black stereotypes. From there, minstrel shows evolved into Vaudeville shows. The primary form of dance in these shows was tap as well. Tap become less popular in the 1930’s and 1940’s as jazz dance became more popular. However, jazz dance incorporated many elements of tap dance, such as the syncopated beat.

Dancing skyrocketed during the 1920s. Many styles of dance that were created before the era did not become popular until the

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.

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

In the performance “Sinnerman” the costumes were just the guys shirtless with black dancer pants which are comfortable for them to move around in, and for footwear it wasn’t really clear if the dancers were wearing black socks or black shoes. In “Singing In The Rain” Gene was wearing a gray trench coat and matching slacks with dark brown dress shoes but he actually tap danced in them. The vibe in both videos were completely different in the first one it was more serious and religious opposed to the second video where it was more cheerful. The environment was also different as well, Alvin’s performance was done on stage and Kelly’s performance was done on a sidewalk. There are some comparisons though in these two videos the use of stage space were both negative because there was so much space around the dancers, the first performance there were no use of props and no sets and in “Singing In The Rain” he only had an umbrella. The stage space was negative around both performances because there was so much space around the dancers. The lighting played a big role in “Sinnerman” because it started off with a black backdrop which made it ominous with a blue pool/spotlight with someone laying in the middle but the person then disappeared as the first dancer came on stage, the camera pans out to show that the backdrop color changed to a mixture of pink and purple representing a late sunset and the whole stage lit up in blue representing water. This backdrop and the whole stage remained the same throughout the

Singin’ in the Rain (MGM, 1952) is an American musical comedy directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. The film comically emulates the transition from the production of silent movies to ‘talkies’ in Hollywood during the 1920s. The narrative follows a successful silent film star named Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and his glamorous blonde on screen partner Lina Lamont as they attempt to adapt The Duelling Cavalier a silent film, into a talking film. However, the shrill sound of Lamont’s voice cast serious doubt of the potential success of the film. Lockwood’s musically talented sidekick Cosmo Brown (Donald O’conner) suggests that the film be turned into a musical, and recommends Lockwood’s love interest Kathy Seldon (Debbie Reynolds) perform

Dancing is a historical tradition. Hip-hop dancing has been alive at social functions for centuries, and Popping and Break dancing are the old school days gone by. In recent years, Hip-hop dance has proved its long lasting presence in our lives. It is in our media, our music and day-to-day social functions. It isn't usually taught parent-to-child so people are seeking schools where they can learn. With Dance sport being considered as a medal sport in the next Olympics, more people will be exposed to Social and Hip-hop dance.

In the first section, Desmond focuses on “movement style and meaning” (pg. 31). She explains how movement is learned through our communities. In some locations, some dances may be seen as proper because that is what they learned in their community, but if performed in another community, those people may see their dance as “improper.” Desmond provides the example of how in the nineteenth century the waltz was seen as “too sexually dangerous” when introduced in North America and Europe. Their reasoning

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.

It contains both him and Ginger dancing as a couple in quick steps as partners. They have smooth transitions that would move back and forth. They constantly switched from walking to dance movements where they would go from simple movements to Astaire going at it with his tap dancing. They would walk a few steps with their arms locked and then immediately they would pull apart. Ginger would lift up her dress a bit and would do a quick tap from left to right to left again in sync with Astaire who did the same step. They end the left and right step with a small kick of the right foot (1:02-1:10). This piece is a perfect example of the mix of ballroom dance and tap dancing that Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were so well known for. These dances popularized the use of tap dancing during that time and changed the way dancing was used in films. This dance move was a smooth transition from a part in the movie and was related to the plot. Rather than it being a random burst of dance, it was connected to the

Thirty years ago, a boy named Albert Boyce caught the attention of his peers while performing some of his original dance moves during halftime of their neighborhood basketball games (Gregory 1). “He would dance, and twist his shoulders” around, said Kia Gregory, creating a dance style many had not seen before. Albert’s friends said that his moves reminded them of a “drunken shake,” with flailing arm movements and a wide range of motion in the legs (Dougan, Fitzgerald 1). People were intrigued by his dance style because it felt more spontaneous and wild compared to anything they had seen before. Years later, a group called the “Crazy Boyz” took some of Al. B.’s moves and made them more appealing to the general public (Gregory 1). They created multiple YouTube clips, which generated popularity of these dance moves. They would help artists choreograph music videos, borrowing some of Al. B.’s spastic arm and leg movements. Mass media helped these music videos race to the top popularity charts, introducing everyone to a new and more freestyle dance.

Although this was a hip hop routine, the choreographers also added a simple form of a Reggaeton body wave in the performance. These elements made certain parts of the dance be more connected with the lyrics of the song. For instance, when Mark and Chelsie dipped lower and did the body wave entwined with a snake motion, the girl’s head was on the boy’s back. From this movement and previous movements, you could infer that the boy is venomous like a snake causing pernicious harm to the girl. Another example would be when the boy placed his hand over the girl’s heart, and then she popped her chest out. That made the audience realize the boy had stolen the girl’s heart. These moves were a visual interpretation of the lyrics. If the choreographers had chosen not to add these elements into the dance, the dance would have been bland, and Mark and Chelsie would have been less likely to deliver the message of the

In 2008, the movie “Slum dog Millionaire” inspired a new dance craze, quickly spreading across the globe. Due to the movies, popular hit song, “Jai Ho” and the famous choreographed dance shown in a memorable performance during the closing credits of the film, known as Bollywood dance, has exploded into dance studios, workout facilities, and films worldwide. For decades, the infusion of song and dance has been a vital element of the Indian and Hindu film industry. Bollywood dance is not an easy topic to discuss because it does not have exact history, definition, or style associated with it. However, it still is a recognizable dance form,

I have been dancing for 11 years. I went from being in a little dance class to competing all around Iowa and Illinois. However, I never thought about the history of dance before. This hidden history project is the perfect time to learn the history behind something I am passionate about. I am going to bring the history of dance to the light. To make sense of the history of dance we must look at what it means to us in our everyday lives and how it has impacted us.