12-2 Dance - Part 2

Forms of Dance

Ballet

The most esteemed style of dance, the ballet, more than any other, has always been regarded as a great art form, not unlike the fine arts. Ballet patronage has long been the province of the well-to-do and nobility, and this has been reflected in its strenuous support by many national governments, most notably in Russia, with the preeminent Bolshoi Ballet. It is arguably the most demanding of all the genres within dance, as well. The extraordinary technical skill, physical strength, and stamina required of the performers, all while maintaining an exquisite delicacy of form, prove this type of dance to be the ultimate challenge for a male or female dancer.

Modern

Modern dance developed in the early twentieth century as a radically new dance genre which was intended to be a more natural expression of form and movement, in direct response to the perceived rigidity of ballet technique. Also extremely physically demanding of its performers, it typically veers from the lyricism and fluidity of ballet toward more angular and visceral states of dynamic and static motion, frequently calling upon its artists to create organic shapes within a space, rather than elegant lines flowing through the space. Nonetheless, many of its adherents would insist that a grounding in basic ballet technique is essential to a successful modern dancer. Over the last century it, too, has become a highly reputable and popular dance form for audiences and performers alike.

Jazz

Imbued with a sensuality as well as a rhythmic sense which descended from traditional African American folk songs and dance, the lineage of jazz as dance performance is traced primarily through the American musical to its roots, first in minstrel shows, then vaudeville, and finally the American musical theatre. Always vigorously engaging and often athletic, jazz eventually evolved throughout the 20th century in Broadway shows and Hollywood movies to become an essential part of any musical productions. It now also enjoys a modest following outside of the musical theatre.

Tap

Like jazz, tap also finds its heritage in the rhythms and musical sensibilities of the African American experience. It was the epitome of ingeniousness, as poverty-stricken slaves, searching for entertainment but deprived of means, created rhythmic sounds with the feet, themselves functioning as the embodiment of percussive music, just as a singer can perform a cappella, that is, without another instrument for accompaniment. Again, like jazz, tap dance insinuated itself into all eras throughout the history of American musicals. While its current relevance to audiences outside of musical theatre is debatable, its influence can nevertheless be seen in the intricacies of certain Hip Hop manoeuvres.

Hip Hop

Highly theatrical but with the credibility of the urban streetwise performer, hip hop is a much more recent phenomenon in the world of dance. The artists who developed this form of dance did so often enough in a communal fashion, through improvisation in impromptu public performances. Commonly disaffected young men, savvy to the ways of urban life in the typically underprivileged neighbourhoods of large cosmopolitan city centres, they are self-taught choreographers whose brilliant and stylish moves and techniques have been appropriated and assimilated worldwide by performers eager to display their talents for the adulation of their peers.

• Have you ever been to a dance performance or danced yourself?
• Where was this?

A. Ballet

Yulia Stepanova, "Sleeping Beauty" Lilac Fairy Debut, December 13, 2012

1. How would you describe Stepanova’s performance? Be fairly specific.
2. Think about the way the dancer moved on stage. What examples of skill, strength and stamina did you note?
3. Did you find this dance to be lyrical and fluid, as the writer suggested?

B. Modern

RIOULT Dance NY Promo Video

1. What did you think as you were watching this video? Was the dance engaging to watch?
2. What elements of the work did you like or dislike? Think about the movements, costumes, choice of music, or anything else that impressed you either favourably or not.
3. How did this compare to your impression of the ballet video you watched before it?

C. Jazz

Better Get Hit - Decidedly Jazz

1. Did you get any sense of the sensuousness in the movements that the writer mentioned when watching this video?
2. Does this kind of dance seem more or less theatrical to you than the other two that preceded it? In what ways do you think so?
3. Did you see any evidence of the athleticism also required of this dance form?

D. Tap

"Cups" Tap Dance

1. What word or phrase would you use to describe this dance?
2. Were the performers here accompanied by music? If so, was it appropriate, do you think?
3. How would this have been a different experience for you, the audience, if unaccompanied?

E. Hip Hop

LES TWINS - France | Performance @ HHI's 2012 World Hip Hop Dance Championship

1. Was the writer correct to say that the influence of tap dance “can nevertheless be seen in the intricacies of certain Hip Hop maneuvers”?
2. Were any of the dance moves made by the performers familiar to you before watching this video?
3. How would you compare this style of dance to the four that you saw before it?