Dance is one of the most physically demanding of the performing arts. Its main instrument is the human body itself. With specific movements crafted together to create a performance piece, most of the time accompanied by music. However, when a screen dance is being shown, other factors besides the body movement and music are present and thus must be taken into account when watching the performance. This essay will discuss how important elements such as movement and music are important in interpreting a screen dance, as well as elements that are not able to be present during a live performance, such as editing and camera movement.
The difference between a screen dance and a live performance of a dance is that the audience’s point of attention is controlled by the director. We are only allowed what the director wants us to see. Should the director want us to focus on a particular movement or body part of a dancer, the camera focuses on it, and we are not allowed to see the rest of the movement or body part, compared to a live performance in where we are allowed to see the whole body of the performer at any given time. This can be seen in the music video Kanye West - Fade (Explicit) (2016), there are several points in which the audience is forced to focus on the top half or lower half of the dancer, Teyana Taylor. When the director chooses to focus on her upper torso, we are not allowed to see the lower part of her body. This makes the audience aware that this portion of her
His camera was said to have done the dancing. It was not the individual dancers, but his quick editing cuts, multiple angles and shots, and special effects that created the brilliant movement.
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 two live dance works viewed this year were “Emergence”, performed by Sydney Dance Company, choreographed by Rafael Bonachela, performed at the Princess Theatre and a recorded dance performance titled “Image”, choreographed by Jason Northam and Liesel Link. The two dance performances substantiated were exceedingly diverse and dissimilar. The two performances juxtaposed their intentions and interpreted opposing elements through diversity in movement vocabulary, structural devices and form, performance skills and technical elements.
Dancing is a recreational activity that has been enjoyed by millions of people for centuries. There have been countless styles of dance and thousands of memorized steps that have been performed in front of people or even just simply enjoyed alone without and audience. When a handful those thousands of steps come together, it creates a routine. Even though there are countless dancers that are breathtaking when they perform the routine in front of and audience, most dancers cannot be proficient without someone to assemble those countless steps together to create something awe inspiring, beautiful, and entertaining to watch. Dance is a world of constant change due to the want of awe, the need to produce something unique, and the necessity to catch the audience’s attention. Although many people believe some dance styles have not changed for centuries, innovative choreographers flip dance styles upside down with their unique approaches.
This week's reading's, lectures, along with the live dance session has helped further the little prior knowledge I had on the details and components that are necessary to create a dance performance. In particular, DeFrantz does a great job listing the aspects behind Alvin Ailey's dance performances. The foundation of these performances was predetermined in Ailey's notebook of thematic sketches, descriptions of each individual character, sketches of desired settings and costumes, along with an outline of the counts to the music (DeFrantz 2). Together all of these details help make a dance that reflects a story or message or that allows the audience to formulate their own interpretation based on what they saw. Besides the actual choreography/
For example, filmmakers in Hollywood still use and apply the split scene technique to create many movies and music videos. Kelly's legacy has infiltrated the music video industry, the success for the young singer later. His techniques inspire people who want to learn and analyze about dance so that they can create new types of dances, based on his contributions. Today, using camera technique is an important proof that shows Kelly’s creativity in the development of dance and film industry. Moreover, dance is no longer confined within the framework and gaudy costumes because people can use common settings in dancing that make it more free and fun, like Kelly’s style.
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.
As everyone continues to ask “How can dance be a sport? You can’t judge on time and the scoring is personal.” Just like figure skaters (an Olympic sport), competitive dancers are judged on technique, posture, timing, formation, hold, pose, togetherness, musicality, and expression, presentation, power, foot and legwork, shape, and travel space. Dancers have a lot on their minds while performing on stage. Some of the thoughts are “Is my foot pointed? Am I extending my arms correctly? Is my technique clear? Is my head turned the right way?” That’s a lot to think about while under enough pressure by being on stage.
The Paramount Theatre Houston, Texas. A beautiful theatre with elegant architecture, and well-crafted sculptures, that provides a warm and inviting atmosphere. It has a convenient location with easy navigation in addition to spacious parking. Arriving at this appealing theatre helped set a positive tone about how the evening would go, which was nothing less than I had expected. I watched two performances in which I will be evaluating in this paper. The first one I will discuss is Lord of the Dance: Dangerous Games. It is an Irish step dance that was choreographed by Michael Flatley and performed by the Riverdance Irish Dance Company. The second performance is an African dance choreographed by Etiene Cakpo, Kokou Gbakenou, and Jimu Makurumbandi called the African Journey. This dance was performed by Gan Sango Music and Dance.
Dancing is a form of visual expression through creative body and space movements as old as the ancient Romans. While it may seem easy to dance, it takes real effort to learn to perform a dance, and its success depends on the use of the five elements of dance. In viewing two dances from the TV series “So you Think you Can Dance”, I got a perspective of how judges would critique dances based on how their use of elements correlated with the type of dance style. I discovered that although I enjoy the open style of jazz dances, Sabra and Neil’s dance to “Sweet Dreams” left me some negative impressions on jazz dances. Instead, Neil and Kent’s dance to “How it Ends” impressed me with how the elements were used to change the face of contemporary art
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
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.
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 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.
“ Dance is the hidden language of the soul” ( Martha Graham). Dance is nonverbal and is often used by many people as a language. All people can tell emotions by dancing even beginner and amateur classes. In the world, there are many kinds of dancing, for instance, jazz, ballet, and samba. Each dance has completely distinct parts because all region`s cultures gave influences to each dance style in the past time such as classical Japanese dance and salsa. Furthermore, many people dance as entertainments and exercises and can trace many cultures by practicing dancing. Dancing is a necessary for people`s lives. The reasons why people dance are working as professional dancers, learning cultures and histories, and dancing with friends.