On Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 8pm, I took a trip to the Public Playhouse located in Cheverly, Maryland to witness the “World Dance Showcase”. The “World Dance Showcase” was comprised of six different dances. However, I decided to focus solely on the dance titled “Night in an English Village Pub” that was performed by Charm City Rapper Sword Dancers. This dance was performed by Sindee Ernst, Miriam Hack, Jack Hemler, Rhonda Keilholtz, Kappy Laning, Megan Philippi, Laura Robertson, Joe Shelby, Alexandra Sjaardo, and Jerry Stein and accompanied by traditional tunes that were played by Cyd Shelby. The movements stemmed from traditional figures by Laura Robertson and clogging steps by Anna Marley. The Charm City Rapper Sword Dancers are stationed in Baltimore, MD but are based on a ritual English dance company. The swords that they employ in their dance were derived from a coal-mining instrument. In total, there were ten performers all of which who were White Americans, mainly woman, and above the age of 40.
The tune that was being played led the dancers through their movement. The violinist played her heart out and the dancers dug right into it. The music was comprised of a live violinist who was accompanied by an instrumental sound track in the background. The music shifted gears as it went from soft to more upbeats after the two women were done and the larger group performed. The costumes worn by the performers were directly related to their body movement. Initially, the
Have you ever taken an dance class? Or played a sport? Well, there is conflict over if
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.
The melody sounds somber and serious and the energy of the dancers suddenly changes. A spoken word takes place and all of the dancer begin to tell their stories of pain and struggle through movements. The spoken word talks about the journey of men and women who overcame social injustice. In the dancer's movements you could clearly see how they correlated together. Movements were powerful and restraint at the same time giving the audience the idea of the women were pushing through something that was bearing them down. There was a lot of expansion in the chest, back, and arms followed by contractions in the body. As soon as the spoken word was finished the mood of the piece change again and the pianist began to play a upbeat tune that brought the dancers back in to a more positive and high spirit. A lot of polyrhythms take place as the dancers jump high and move their arms back and forth moving throughout the space. This happens in unison at first and then solos, trios, and duets happen in this section of the dance. The expression on their faces add charismatic charm to this piece. Their expressions continue to move them into different emotions and feelings that are relatable to everyday
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
On April 14, 2017, my friend and I visited for the first time Salt Lake City Community College dance company’s annual performance. The show was presented at the Grand Theater at the South City Campus of the college. The performance’s name “Moving Words” imply what the audience was about to experience. “Moving Words” consists of 18 different dances and each of those dances brought a unique feeling to the overall performance. I thought that the dancers and choreographers have done an amazing job. However, after seeing all the different dances there were two that stuck together with me, because of the ideas and the morals these dances introduced.
This dance piece would not be as emotional and dramatic without music. It sounds like at the beginning of the dance piece, the music has two moods. When dancers divide into two groups, as each group is dancing the music changes from high and cheerful into heavy and deep. Those two completely different moods made the movements more charismatic. The violin part in the middle of the dance, made the waves of movements and music intertwine into a powerful energy that kept the
We were a pom and hip-hop team. Because this was Noblesville’s first year competing, opposing teams arrived with low expectations for us, and they also showed a polite disregard for our team. I was to dance that day, but only once. I understood the privilege, for I was a freshman on a varsity team. And though I was used to performing, I was not prepared for the criticizing looks,
Since I was a little girl I’ve always been part of something. But none of the activities I did really filled me. I became part of a dance academy when I was 13 years old, and it was because my sister wanted to learn to dance for her Quinceañera. It’s kind of ironic how something that would be very important to me started so simple. But I guess that’s just how the best things in life happens.
Penn State athletes are ready to dance at the annual THON. The dance marathon is going to benefit pediatric cancer research. The Penn State IFC or Panhellenic Dance Marathon, known as THON, is going to happen this weekend.
What is the Disney extravaganza? The National Cheer Association and the National Dance Alliance create the Disney extravaganza as one team. The National Cheer Association is abbreviated NCA. The National Dance Alliance is known as the NDA. The Disney Extravaganza is only a small portion of a big parade. This portion is a Christmas dance that is put on by a team made up of NCA and NDA participants. The video of the dance is combined with smaller portions of the parade and the shows to make one parade. The parade is seen by viewers on Christmas day. The parade is a magical experience that brings the childhood enjoyment of Christmas back. All cheerleaders and dancers should get to be a part of this event. The National Cheer Association, the National Dance Alliance, and Disney’s Extravaganza is an amazing experience because it is a widely viewed parade, a great accomplishment, and it gives one the opportunity to meet others.
The music style can be related to the Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey style of music for dancing due to the pace of the music and the type of movements. In addition, the music would have been more touching if it was sang by a female rather than a male to have more association with the female dancers feelings. The music is a key element throughout the performance because it allowed the dancers to dance to the rhythm of the melody and perform with confidence because of the guidance from the music. Given these points, the rhythm, melody, and pauses the music brought to the performance was prosperous for the choreographer, which brought a gloomy mood to the audience with a unique type of music and
With the cellos in the background, the violins were the forefront of the piece. They created a sound similar to festival music. Then, the cellos and the violins alternated playing in a sort of call-and-response. The cellos began to play, then the violas, and finally the violins. The movement ended with all the musicians plucking the strings of their instruments.
Dance has been a natural movement form since the beginning of time. The origin of dance is unknown, just as the knowledge of the benefits of dance are unknown to many in our society. Many people do not enjoy dancing and also do not fully understand the positive benefits that come from dancing. Researchers such as Edwards, Duberg, and many more have found countless mental and emotional benefits of dance that originate from movement patterns, brain connections, and even expressions of emotion. Many are aware of the physical benefits of dance, but beyond the physical benefits of dance, there are also emotional and mental benefits that come from dance as well.
In one my classes; Dance Appreciation, I had an assignment to view a dance piece on YouTube. The dance that I viewed was called “She without arm, he without leg, Hand in Hand”. The dance was not only informative, but it was enlightening to watch.
The history of modern dance dates back as early as the 19th century when Isadora Duncan, began her career as a performer and choreographer, leading her to evolve into one of the world’s most renown and innovative modern dance influences of the time. A rich history followed with the birth of other significant and revolutionary individuals such as Martha Graham in 1894 (Terry, 2017) and George Balanchine in 1904 (Walker, 2017). These pioneers of dance, introduced the world to a new style of choreography, originally derived from and based upon romantic classical ballet. The Oxford Dictionary (1989) defines modern dance as ‘a free expressive style of dancing that developed in the early 20th century as a reaction to classical ballet.’ Classical ballet has a rigid style, it requires supreme discipline and structured movement. Modern dance was established as an alternative way to perform, where dancers were not restricted by costume or movement and used this freedom to push visual boundaries. Many people criticised the choreography and reviewers in the 1930’s-1940’s wrote of how it was unsavoury and distasteful (Gilbert, 1999), although, eventually becoming a worldwide phenomenon. It can be argued that Balanchine, Graham and Duncan were inevitably the three most significant dance figures in the development of modern dance choreography from foundations built by romantic classical ballet.