dance100 5 paragraph essay

Write a five paragraph essay that utilizes the following format: (Your essay should be 12 pt. font, double spaced, 1 inch margins, and your paragraphs need to be indented, DO NOT NUMBER THE PARAGRAPHS) Please note that there are high expectations for the Assignments in this course. Please proofread your work carefully for spelling, grammar, and clarity of ideas.

Paragraph 1

Choose two of the dances from the Lesson 02 Viewings. For this paragraph, take a perspective in the form of a thesis statement about how the two relate to each other as you practiced in Part Two the Lesson 02 discussion forum. That should be the final sentence of the paragraph. The first part of this introductory paragraph should set up the perspective.

Here is a sample introduction: (Please note I am replacing titles with “Dance A and B” and you should use the actual titles from the Lesson 2 viewings)

“Although initially I thought Dance A and Dance B were fairly similar because both dances remain relatively close to the floor most of the time, I find the differences in these two dances to be more compelling as they reveal more clearly how opposing the choreographers’ artistic intentions were. The most obvious difference is in how Dances A and B use energy and time. Dance A is incredibly smooth and consistently slow, and the dancers move as if they don’t have any bones in their bodies throughout the entire piece. In Dance B there is a lot more variance as the dancers continuously alternate between sudden, sharp pulses in their bodies and soft, languid ripples. After taking some time to consider the meaning of the two dances based on how the bodies were moving, I have come to the conclusion that Dance A is making a comment about the steadfastness of nature, while I interpret Dance B to be addressing the unpredictability of life.“

Notice how the general descriptions of each of the pieces relate to the interpretations that are included on the thesis statement.

It is not necessary to interpret the dances, the thesis can be about movement qualities that the pieces share, how they movement and music go together or don’t, or any other myriad observations. The most important objective is that the thesis statement is very specific, and that the rest of the paragraph is related to that perspective.

Paragraph 2

Describe one of the two dances that you talk about in paragraph 1. As you practiced in Part One of the Lesson 02 Discussion Forum, you should write 2 general sentences that describe the entire dance, and then 2 sentences that each describe a few seconds of choreography that stand out to you including 3 component descriptions, and that support your general sentences. Your last sentence of this paragraph should relate to your thesis statement. For example, you might say:

“Dance A utilizes the concept of level well, as it contains many moments where the dancer’s bodies appear suspended just above the floor. Throughout the dance, there are also multiple times when an individual dancer will make his or her way across the stage space with such smooth energy, it is as if he or she is moving through molasses. At one point at the start of the piece, a dancer delicately balances her torso on her two hands, elbows firmly bent underneath her stomach, while performing a painstakingly slow extension of her right leg parallel to the floor. Another moment in the dance that stood out to me was when one of the male dancers rotated his body balancing precariously on one foot, by executing a gradual spiral that started from his head and ended with his long leg reaching behind his body in a beautiful arc. When observing the fluidity, closeness to the earth, and consistent use of time in Dance A, one is reminded of the steady yet imperceptible growth of a tree or movement of a glacier.“

Paragraph 3

Do the same as above for the second dance you have chosen.

Paragraph 4

Discuss in greater detail how you came to the conclusions that you make in your thesis statement. You could address other movement qualities that you observed, or additional aspects of the pieces such as music, costumes, lighting, title, etc. Make sure that any observations you make about the pieces support your thesis statement. For example, you might say:

“The choreographers for Dance A and Dance B made other choices that strengthen my belief about their artistic intentions. In Dance A, the music was quite calm and cyclical, and it did not have a recognizable melody. The consistency of tones without an easily discernible pattern reminded me of how there is form inside the chaos of the natural world. In Dance B, the lighting alternated haphazardly between being bright while directly on a few dancers, and being more subdued and casting a soft glow on the entire stage. These sudden changes in the look of the stage support my hypothesis that the choreographer was intending to comment on the ways that a person’s life can change in an instance….“

Paragraph 5

In the final paragraph, discuss the necessary tools for and the benefits of being an active audience member, and how you used those tools to create your thesis statement. Include in your discussion ideas and concepts from Lesson 01 Readings, “The Audience Checklist.” Make sure that you refer to the readings directly. For example, you might say:

“After carefully examining Dance A and Dance B, I have come to the conclusion that to be an active audience member while watching dance, a person needs to consider the various ways the dancers interact with each other and the stage space. I think that how and where the dancers are placed on the stage gives an audience member a context for understanding the world created by the choreographer. Similarly, the specific qualities present in the interactions between the dancers offers some evidence about what is being communicated. In “The Audience Checklist,” Marcia Siegel describes choreography as being a “game” and that an engaged audience member must uncover what he or she thinks the “rules” of that game are. I resonate with this idea as I very much enjoy looking for and discovering patterns, and I plan to continue with that level of engagement whenever I watch dance.

Lesson 2 viewings:

1. Water, Part 1, Dance Film by Keone and Mariel Madrid

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFLrUOxAyu4 (Links to an external site.)

2. D-Man in the Waters, (excerpt) choreographed by Bill T Jones
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZg_q3CDNOM (Links to an external site.)

3. Movin’ Out (excerpt) choreographed by Twyla Tharp

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hgzw5spUxc (Links to an external site.)

4. Heaven, (excerpt) choreographed by Rennie Harris

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oo0QHLGi-k0 (Links to an external site.)

5. Rich Man’s Frug, choreographed by Bob Fosse

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-HDIMF344Y (Links to an external site.)

6. Appartement (excerpt) choreographed by Mats Ek

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNal9PlKPLs (Links to an external site.)

7. Meyer (excerpt) choreographed by Alonzo King

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0JYh2hoy10 (Links to an external site.)

8. Walklyndon choreographed by Robbie Barnett, Lee Harris, Moses Pendleton and Jonathan Woken

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4f3lCnQdQA (Links to an external site.)

9. Desihoppers, World of Dance Finals 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm3fcOmbzWI&index=4&list=PLTO5ldoX-F2LsZkVTqNIf-A9t5wwmCD1L (Links to an external site.)

Lesson 2 readings:

1.

Element of dance

Things to consider when looking at dance:

Begin with Intrinsic (Internal) Elements.Describe what you can actually see.Don’t worry about when, where, how, and why it was choreographed.Describe what you see happening. (BODY, EFFORT, SHAPE, SPACE)

Describe the elements of BODY, which should always be the primary focus for the writing in this class. Where is the initiation? What specific parts are moving/not moving, and what are they doing?

• Core–“The dancer’s core suddenly became enlivened and caused her rib cage to sway violently as her legs pressed firmly against the floor keeping her in one place.”
• Proximal–“Suddenly, the group of dancers began to shake in their proximal joints. Their hips rocked back and forth quickly, while their shoulders popped up and down at lightning speed.”
• Mid-limb–“Throughout the dance, there were several moments when the dancer appeared to be pulled by a string attached to her mid-limbs. For example, at one moment, she extended her arm forcefully towards the audience, and then that arm suddenly bent as her elbow swirled behind her body causing her to rotate and fall to the floor.”
• Distal–“I noticed a lot of distal initiation throughout this piece of choreography. For example, at one point the dancer swiftly extended his arms away from his torso led by the fingertips.”

Describe the EFFORT elements.Remember different body parts might have different EFFORT and need to be described separately.

• Weight (force): Strong/Light
• Space (focus): Direct/Indirect
• Time (speed): Quick/Sustained
• Flow (tension): Bound/Free
• All combined to create actiondrives (punch, press, and so on)

Describe the SHAPE elements. Angular? Linear? Curved? Static?

• Do static body positions resemble something other than the body? “The bound tension of his outstretched arms transformed the dancer into a wall”
• Does the movement resemble something other than the movement? “The quick strong swipe of the dancer’s arm resembled a tennis swing”

How are the dancers using the SPACE elements?

• Interpersonal: do they relate to and/or interact with each other?
• General Paths in space: curved or angular/meandering or direct?
• Levels: low, mid, high

Continue to look at Intrinsic Elements but now consider information..

Who is performing?

• Gender
• Age
• Any cultural attributes that strike you as significant
• Body type

Where is this happening?

• Formal “proscenium” stage
• On the street
• In a building
• In nature
• Made for the camera, i.e., the dance is choreographed for watching on a screen

How are the dancers interacting with the environment?

• Sound
• Set design and Props
• Audience

What style of dance is this? Can you define it? Does it look like a combination of styles? If so, what do you think they are?

Towards the end of the course we will consider Extrinsic (External) aspects of dance (i.e. what purpose does a dance serve to a particular culture, what in the choreographer’s history caused him/her to create a dance) but even when we move to this stage, always begin your analysis with describing what the body is doing, and in terms of the other questions above.

2.

Compositional devices for exploring movement material

http://youtu.be/rZ6XD4ah018 (Links to an external site.)

1. Acceleration: to gradually increase the speed with which the movement or movement phrase is done
2. Deceleration: to gradually decrease the speed with which a movement or movement phrase is executed
3. Accumulation: a sequence of movements which develops by repeatedly starting at the beginning: 1; 1,2; 1,2,3; 1,2,3,4; etc.
4. Augmentation: to lengthen time values of some or all movements (TIME); to increase the range of a movement or phrase (SPACE)
5. Dimunition: to condense the time values of some or all movements (TIME); to reduce the range of the movement or phrase (SPACE)
6. Development: to carry an aspect or aspects of a phrase to a new choreographic intention
7. Dynamic variation or transformation: to modify the TIME and ENERGY aspects of the phrase with a view to change its quality or “personality”
8. Embellishments: to add movements of certain body parts on top of other movements (for example: from a normal walk to a walk with the head shaking violently)
9. Insertion: to splice new material into a phrase
10. Inversion: to perform the spatial opposite or counter-direction with the same body part (i.e. The right arm goes from high right side to low left side)
11. Isolation: to develop one aspect of the phrase (i.e. only performed the upper torso movements, or perform the phrase with no arms, or do only head movements, etc)
12. Mirroring: to perform a movement on the other side simultaneously; two halves of the body mirror each other; two bodies mirror each other
13. Repetition: a movement event occurring two or more times; to repeat a phrase or a fragment of a phrase
14. Retrograde: to go from the end of a phrase or movement to the beginning as in reverse action of the film
15. Scramble: to change the order of movements within the phrase, or phrases within a dance, or within a section of a dance
16. Transposition: to change the facing; to change the planal orientation of the movement; to perform the movement of one body part on another part; to change the level of the movement phrase; to change the rotation of body part

3.

Alternative wards to improve your writing

Delighted	Interested	Energetic	Content	Jubilant
Lighthearted	Absorbed	Creative	Happy	Exultant
Carefree	Aroused	Alive	Easy	Joyful
Amuse	Engrossed	Vital	Glad	Joyous
Pleasure	Fascinated	Zestful	Cheerful	Elated
Mirth	Inquisitive	Invigorated	Pleased	Ecstatic
Adventurous	Stimulated	Buoyant	Blissful	Exhilarated
High	Intrigued	Eager	Comfortable	Rapturous
Playful	Curious	Vigorous		Thrilled

Thankful	Affectionate	Confident	Relaxed	Satisfied
Moved	Warm	Proud	Mellow	Fulfilled
Touched	Loving	Empowered	Languid	Sated
Grateful	Friendly	Hopeful	Dreamy
Gratified	Tender	Optimistic	Rested
Appreciative	Sympathetic	Expectant
Expansive	Openhearted	Secure

Excited	Peaceful	Alert	Awed
Ardent	Calm	Mindful	Inspired
Passionate	Centered	Clearheaded	Wonder
Fervent	Equanimous	Steady	Amazed
Enthusiastic	Quiet	Centered	Astonished
	Tranquil		Bedazzled
	Reverent		Spellbound
	Attuned		Entranced
			Enthralled
			Enchanted