Robert “Bob” Fosse was a man of many talents, skills, and before passing on in 1987; made a tremendous impact on dance, especially the mixing of dance styles for other choreographers to come. The performances he created for Broadway along with his reach in the movie industry formed a “Fosse” image that others hoped to reach on their journey through the dance industry. His own life lived up to the style, level of dance he required his dancers to perform at, demanding and physically exhausting, yet powerfully enough to capture an audience all around the world. His personality may have been a bit too aggressive for some, but this personality is behind works such as, Redhead, Sweet Charity, and Chicago. If the man came off strong, it was for good
Her choreography continues to stay relevant in the contemporary dance scene and performed on stages across the country. “In 2004, 5 companies performed Ms. Tharp’s works, but the number has grown; 15 dances were licensed in 2005, and more than 20 so far this year (2006)...” (Kourlas 2006) Since 2006, Tharp’s works continue to be an essential part of many ballet company repertoires. While continuing to choreograph, Twyla Tharp wrote two books, including an autobiography entitled Push Comes to Shove in 1992 and The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life in 2003.
Alvin Ailey was an extremely successful dancer and choreographer who broke the racial barriers of the dance world. Without Ailey, we wouldn’t have his artistic works and the racial divide between dancers still would be accepted in society. Ailey taught the dance world that being different should not only be accepted but encouraged. Also, he is a great example of a figure who overcame hardships to achieve their goals. Ailey has shown himself to be an inspiring individual who overcame racial prejudice and fought for equality, grew up in a single parent home, progressed in a dance career at a late age, and who has produced and created famous works.
The Alvin Ailey modern dance company is known internationally for their works and dancers but how they began is a very interesting story. The company formed in 1958 and just two years later one of the most memorable and notable performances of the company was created, “.Revelations”. Although Alvin Ailey was the creator and director of this company, Ailey’s style and the technique he used and that the company still uses stems from Lester Horton. Horton was a pivotal teacher for Ailey and inspired him to create a company and carry on this technique from Horton. This paper will illustrate the beginning influence Horton had on Ailey and how the company has grown overtime.
A passionate American jazz singer, pianist, songwriter, and a Civil Rights activist, Nina Simone would change the music industry forever. She was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina February 21st, 1933 (2;3). Evident early in her life was her talent. At the age of three, she started playing piano by ear, able to listen to a tune and play it back on the piano (2;4). Her parents were both preachers, so consequently, she grew up in the church (2;4).
In her article, Embodying Difference, Jane Desmond argues that dance offers important insights into the ways moving bodies articulate cultural meanings and social identities. In other words, she explains the importance of studying the body’s movement as a way of understanding culture and society. She has two main arguments. First, she argues for the importance of the continually changing relational constitutions of cultural forms. Desmond further explains that the key to shedding light on the unequal distribution of power and goods that shape social relations are the concepts of cultural resistance, appropriation, and cultural imperialism (49).
Fishnets and Feathers Extra Credit The speakers of this lecture included a panel of four former dancers of the Don Arden Production Shows in Las Vegas and Reno. LaVerne Ligon was a dancer who frequently toured with Don and the other dancers. She stated her career after starting fine arts at Howard University. Once she graduated she became the opening act for a variety of don’s shows such as “Hello Dolly” and “Joan Rivers Show.”
“Twyla Tharp's work fused classical discipline and rigor with avant-garde iconoclasm, combining ballet technique with natural movements like running, walking and skipping. While modern dance had historically aspired to high seriousness and spirituality, Tharp's work was edgy.” Tharp expanded the boundaries of contemporary performance and modern dance through her over exaggerated and unpredictable movements danced to pop, classical music, or silence. With the influential power she had in the world of modern dance, Twyla Tharp was able to create “Aquarius” to express the way she felt about the period of constant war that she was living through. “No one could tolerate me, so I had to do my own work" , as an active and bold choreographer for her time, Tharp had no fear in giving her opinion through her art and her contribution to building up the countries dance culture made her a top choice of one to relay a message of the current issues in 1970 American society.
Throughout the history of dance, there has been an extensive list of collaborations that we can look back on today and use as a model of ingenuity and inspiration. The relationships that are established through these collaborations are important because it allows two or more individuals to work together to share their unique ideas and skills with one another to achieve a common goal and make something more extraordinary that cannot generally be attained just with one’s own abilities. In my opinion, one of the most significant collaborations of all time, in the dance world, has been the partnership of George Balanchine and Igor Stravinsky. George Balanchine, Russian born dancer and choreographer, is without a doubt one of the most influential individuals of the dance world. He had started dabbling in choreographing when he was still a young student, but his choreographic career really started to take off when Sergei Diaghilev took Balanchine under his wing and made him chief choreographer of Ballet Russes in 1924.
Although I felt that Doris Humphrey book emphasized her thoughts about choreography and choreographers Sally Barnes seemed to compare various choreographers including Humphrey. A central theme that I found was “motivation for the movement”. Doris compared the differences between choreographers who created piece from their own ideas or dreams and independent choreographers who created work for money and fame. Her work in particular was sometimes influenced by architecture because she thought it was impressive, but claimed ideas can be found all around us. The ideas developed into dances that did not have a deep meaning but really captivated the audience were masterpieces because the choreographers were very invested in their subject.
Mambo Girl (1957), a movie musical, follows Kailing, a talented young woman widely admired for her singing and dancing capabilities, as she searches for acceptance after learning the truth about her background. Shall We Dansu? (1996) follows Mr. Sugiyama, a Japanese accountant who goes on a secretive and intimate journey into the world of ballroom dance. Both Mambo Girl and Shall We Dansu? emphasize the close relationship between intimacy and Latin dance by linking Kailing and Mr. Sugiyama’s manners of dancing Latin to the emotional connection each has with other characters.
“Artworks have ‘aboutness’ and demand interpretation” (Barrett 71). This statement creates a foundation for writing, specifically about dance, as each dance piece is always about something, no matter how simple it appears to be. As I began to write about dance I knew not only to provide a description of the piece, but utilize the description as evidence as I develop a possible meaning. Additionally he explains, “There can be different, competing, and contradictory interpretations of the same artwork” (Barrett 73). When I would begin to develop an explanation from the description I provided, I had to remind myself that my interpretation was only one view of the dance and I should not try to provide one comprehensive interpretation for the
“Dance,” George Balanchine defines, “is music made visible.” Having studied piano since the age of five and ballet since nine , he was able to create and understand the profound relationship between dance and music. Having studied at the Conservatory of Music he was able to create choreography that visualized the music, rather than the story. He strongly believed that music should be the primary influence of choreography not the story.
The word “ballet” brings to mind words such as “grace” or “beauty” when heard by many people. The definition itself states that it is a form of dance that uses precise steps and light, graceful motions. This definition was in the minds of those who attended the Théâtre des Champs-Élysèes in May 1913, but rather they were greeted with the complete opposite. When Igor Stravinsky’s ballet Rite of Spring opened, the audience was greeted with swift, chaotic music that quickly became a whirlwind of sound. The music softened and the curtains opened to a primitive dance, causing mass hysteria throughout the theatre.
In the educational field more non-white ballet teachers are being educated to teach children of colour, so that they feel more comfortable in class and experience ballet as something that belongs to their culture as well. Financial support is offered for children of underprivileged families to avoid that they have to quit ballet for economic reasons. Courses for young arts administrators are set in place to diversify the ballet management. And last but not least black role models are being promoted to change the perception of a historically lily-white Caucasian ballet world. These ‘disrupters’ as called by Darren Walker, are generating a change in the notion of the ideal ballet body and the standard ballet attire.
