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THESE FEET ARE MADE FOR TALKING
STUDY GUIDE
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PERFORMANCE
Dance is a language that we use to express ourselves, and to communicate without words. Through the ages, dance has held an important place in the cultures of the world. This rich history is explored in our program through the medium of the American art form called modern dance. Drawing from Southern Danceworks' diverse repertoire, we present a rich educational and cultural interdisciplinary performance.
The program features the dynamic interaction of dancers, musicians and a narrator, who describes where, why and how these art forms evolved. By first breaking dance down to the basics, we expose the audience to the primal aspects, then build into more complex structures, giving a clear overview to the novice.
Throughout history, dance and music have had a myriad of purposes in life as social expression, rites of passage, and the preparation and celebration of daily rituals. By using a wide range of music and dance, the audience becomes aware of the magnificent scope of these art forms. There will be familiar and unfamiliar sound and movement. We take the most everyday gesture and augment it until it becomes something one can define as dance. Whether the student relates to sports, martial arts, mime, gospel music or jazz, all of these things are incorporated into our program. In this unique environment, we offer new insights that broaden the scope of experience, open young minds and renew enthusiasm for learning.
PRE-PERFORMANCE QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Give a definition of dance and music. How and why do you think these art forms began? What are some similarities between music and dance? What types of dance have you done in your lifetime? What types of music have you listened to? Does the type of music determine what dance you do?
Experiment: Divide the class into three groups. Have one group clap and count to 4 in a repeating pattern: 1-2-3-4/1-2-3-4/etc. Have the second group clap on every other count. Have the third group clap on count 1 of each group. Now let one group keep the 1-2-3-4 pattern going while the other groups make up (improvise) their own pattern.
2. How many of you participate in a sport activity? How does rhythm enter into it? Movement? What are the differences between sports and dance?
Experiment: Turn to a person sitting nearby. Choose a general topic to "discuss," such as "What did you do this morning?" Speak to your partner without words. Embellish the gesture to make yourself even clearer. Were you understood? If so, describe how you expressed yourself. Was it dance?
3. Why is dance and music an integral part of out lives? What part have dance and music had throughout your own life? Name some musicians and dancers and describe how they have made your life better. Have you heard of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Michael Jackson or Alvin Ailey?
Connections to the Dance Course of Study:
Grades 3:
Strand: Creation, Production, and Evaluation
#21. Discuss the purposes of dance.
Examples: ritual; celebration; entertainment; expression of ideas, thoughts, feelings
Grades 6-8:
Strand: Creation, Production, and Evaluation
#15: Explore dance as a form of nonverbal communication as an observer and as a participant.
Grades 9-12:
Strand: Creation, Production, and Evaluation
#22: Explore the use of nonverbal communication skills (observer-receiver; participant-initiator).
WATCHING THE PERFORMANCE
Look for primitive movement and sound in the first section. Next, watch for rhythmic development. Then, follow the various additions that contribute to both art forms. Look for detail and nuance.
Order of Events
Part One: The program opens with narration and the questions are posed: where and how did dance and music evolve? We go back in time to introduce our dancers and musicians in a slightly comical "primitive" piece.
Part Two: We explore the differences between everyday music and dance. The dancers use props in creative ways, and the music attempts to match the movement. We emphasize the qualities that are similar in these separate forms, which clearly work together to form a whole.
Part Three: Expressing without words, silence is punctuated by movement and sound. Watch carefully as something happens that transforms simple conversation into dance. The artists are using improvisation as a tool in this section.
Part Four: Our Southern heritage comes into play, all aspects combine to form a union of dance and music, spirit and intellect.
Connections to the Dance Course of Study:
Grade 3:
Strand: Creation, Production, and Evaluation
#27. Evaluate choreography in regard to a viewer’s emotional reaction.
Grades 6-12
Strand: Evaluate
#19: Recognize and practice appropriate audience behavior.
Grades 6-8
Strand: History and Culture
#24: Identify the role of dance in a variety of cultures and time periods.
Grades 9-12
Strand: Creation, Production, and Evaluation
#21: Critique professionally choreographed works identifying the emotional elements exhibited.
POST-PERFORMANCE QUESTIONS
1. How has this performance changed your preconceptions about dance? Music?
2. Part One - From the Beginning
How are the primitive themes reflected in the dance and music?
3. Part Two - The Next Phase
What does it mean to augment sound or movement? Why is gesture important? What did the dancers say to you and each other? Demonstrate some of the gestures you saw.
4. Part Three - Music and Dance Come into Their Own
How has the next dance progressed in time and development? Which elements have been added? How does this particular dance fit into our world today?
5. Part Four - The Beautiful Harmony
Describe the artistic aspects of dance and music. How do these transcend everyday life? What do these art forms bring to our lives?
EXERCISES
1. Write a brief pre-performance essay about the place that dance and music have in your life. Include what you think is importance about these art forms.
2. Following the performance, write an essay about how your perceptions have changed.
3. Revisit the rhythmic and gesture experiments. Describe how they are different the second time.
4. Discuss the impact of art on our world past and present.
Connections to the Dance Course of Study
Grade 3:
Strand: History and Culture
#30. Discuss the role and importance of dance in various cultures.
Grades 6-8
Strand: Interdisciplinary
#33: Explain similarities and differences among artistic disciplines.
Grades 9-12
Strand: Interdisciplinary
#30. Analyze the role of dance in a variety of cultures and time periods.
VOCABULARY
Aesthetic - Of, relating to, or dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste and with the creation and appreciation of beauty.
Alignment - The relationship of the skeleton to the line of gravity and the base` of support, body placement, or posture; proper alignment lessens body strain and promotes dance skills; static and moving.
Art - The conscious use of skill and creative imagination to make aesthetic objects to see, listen to or read.
Augment - To increase in size, amount or duration.
Beat - Pulse of the music.
Choreography - A dance sequence that has been created with specific intent.
Contrast - A principle of composition, shows opposites.
Culture - Improvement of the mind, tastes and manners through training.
Dance - Series of movements.
Discipline - Strict training that corrects or strengthens.
Dynamics - The expressive content of human movement, sometimes called qualities or efforts. Dynamics manifest the interrelationships among the elements of space, time, and force/energy.
Embellish - Add on, ornament.
Energy - The amount of force needed to initiate and control a movement.
Gravity – The attraction due to gravitation that the Earth or another celestial body exerts on an object on or near its surface; the quality of being heavy.
Improvisation - Movement or music that is created spontaneously.
Meter - The number of beats in a measure or pattern of music. Duple meter has two beats; triple meter has three beats, etc.
Modern Dance - A twentieth-century style of dancing having a limitless range of styles.
Music - The arrangement of melody, harmony and rhythm in a combination that has unity and continuity.
Primitive - In an early stage of development, primal, intuitive.
Projection - A confident presentation of one's body and energy to communicate movement and meaning vividly to an audience; performance quality.
Range - The size of movement or space.
Rhythm - The organization of sound/movement in time, the temporal quality of sound/movement.
Sequence - To arrange movements in order with a beginning, middle and an end.
Style - A distinctive manner of movement; the characteristic way dance is done, created or performed that identifies the dance of a particular performer, choreographer or historical period.
Symmetry - Balanced proportions and beauty of form. |
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