Alvin Ailey- Movement Examples Flashcards
Describe a moment from Hermit Songs (1961) that shows the subject matter.
The dancer is in a turned out plié in second position, a possible influence from Karel Shook. He is relaxed forwards at the waist with his arms in front of him, crossed at the elbows. The dancer is looking down. He wears a long sleeved floor-length black robe that covers up most of the body apart from the feet, hands and head.
This position with the crossed wrist shows a reference to religion and the strong internal focus shows reflection and a sign of respect for God. The dancers costume is similar to that of a monks which further shows the religious links.
The aural setting includes African American and Gospel music which shows the link to religion in Ailey’s community and shows how it was a big part of his childhood.
Describe a moment from Hermit Songs (1961) that shows Ailey’s choreographic influences.
The dancer is stood facing the audience with his left leg extended in a low parallel second position with a flexed foot. His left hand is cupped and resting on his left hip. His right hand is also cupped and held up towards his forehead which is turned to the right. The dancers focus is on the floor which suggests that he is representing an introverted character.
The use of the cupped hands, parallel position and flexed foot are all reflective of the graham technique
Describe a moment from Quintet (1968) that helps to show the subject matter and Ailey’s choreographic influences.
The five dancers stand upstage facing stage left, in a small parallel plié. The stage is lit very dimly. They have their pelvis tilted backwards in a seductive manner. Their downstage arm is resting on their mid thigh and their upstage arm is crossed across their chest, fingers resting on their shoulder.
This movement suggests that they as performers long for some privacy as their bodies are positioned towards the back of the stage with their left arm covering the body. However, by having their head turned to the sudience, Ailey portrays the idea that they cannot escape from the world of performing. The backwards tilt of the pelvis is reflectve of the Dunham technique.
Describe a moment from Quintet (1968) that shows the clear influence of Dunham
The female dancer stands on her left leg facing stage right with her right extended on the floor behind with a pointed foot. Her head is turned over her left shoulder and her hips are pushed forwards. Her hands are locked together pulled down behind her back.
This is a powerful and strong position. By leaning back over the shoulder the movement becomes flirtatious and playful. The pushing forward of the hips draws attention to curves and femininity which is very reflective of the Dunham technique.
Describe a movement example from The River (1970) That helps to show Ailey’s stylistic influences
Two males and a female dancer stand on stage, the female dancer further forwards. She posés in to arabesque with her left leg leg in the air. She then does a classical pas de boureé in to fifth position and extends her right leg at 45º. She then does a double rond de jambe en l’air en de hours followed by another pas de boureé.
This is very classical and reflects Ailey’s balletic training.
Describe the following movement example from The River (1970) and what it shows.
The male dancer is on his knees facing stage left. The female dancer has her left leg resting on the left shoulder of the male dancer and has her right leg fully stretched creating a perfect split position. The dancers hold hands with their upstage arms raised and their downstage arms low.
In this position, the male dancer is framing the position of the female dancer highlighting her beauty, grace and strength. This was a key feature of Ailey’s work throughout his choreographic career
Describe a movement example from Flowers (1971) that shows the subject matter and Ailey’s choreographic influences
The female dancer stands on top of a table in a glamorous position. She is ‘sat’ in her left hip and has her right extended to the side. She has her left hand on her waist and her right stretched upwards. Her focus is up and out. The male dancers are on the ground around her with cameras.
This movement shows the stylistic influence of Broadway and Jack Cole. The male dancers with the cameras are representitive of the media which helps to show the life of Janis Joplin and the price of fame.
Describe a movement from Pas De Duke (1976) that helps to show Ailey’s stylistic influences
Judith Jamison and Mikhail Baryshnikov perform a huge kick in second with their left legs, throwing their arms up to open fifth.
These big exaggerated high leg kicks shows the over the top jazz and musical theatre influences in his life. Also, the extreme flexibility of the dancers is showcased.
Describe some movements from Memoria (1979) that show Ailey’s choreographic influences
In section 3, all the dancers perform Horton movements which help to show the fact that both Ailey and Joyce were Horton dancers. The movements they perform include high legs in controlled extensions, spirals, deep pliés and lunges and lateral T’s.
There is influence from Graham. In the opening section the dancers scoop their hands behind their head to cover their ears and contracts bending over. This movement is then repeated with a body circle. This use of contraction and cupped hands reflects the Graham technique.
Describe the final moment from Memoria (1979) and its interpretation.
The dancers are stood in a wedge shape tableau centre stage. The main female dancer is Lifted above the others and everyone reaches up to her. She has her hands clasped above her head. This shows how she was hugely influential not just to Ailey but to the whole company.
Describe what stylistic influences can be seen in For Bird- With Love (1984)
Ailey was heavily influenced by jazz, both in music and dance.
After watching Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly as a young boy at the cinema, and working on Broadway with Jack Cole, Ailey continued to fuse jazz with other dancestyles in his choreography.
Describe what stylistic influences can be seen in Opus McShann (1988)
Influence of jazz from Jack Cole, Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire which can be seen in a split leap across the back of the stage.
Elements of the jitterbug social dance step.
Graham dancers came to take part in the piece which shows the increased status of the company.
Use of revealing costumes- could be interpreted as sexualisation of the female character (Dunham) or to show the strength and athleticism of themale (Horton)
Describe a movement from section one of Cry (1971) that shows Aileys choreographic intention
The dancer runs round to end upstage left and collapses to the floor on to her knees. She scruches up the long piece of cloth and scrubs it against the floor whilst crawling on her knees. This movement clearly shows the domestic work that the women of the African American community found themselves having to do to survive. It’s a stereotypical role which seems to be ingrained in history.
Describe a movement from section two of Cry (1971) that shows Aileys movement style
Influence of Graham. The solo female dancer stands centre stage facing the audience in a small parallel second position. She contracts the upper torso with one hand held to her stomach and as she does so, she turns her legs to a small fourth position and bends facing stage right.
This movement shows the hardship and pain of constant racial oppression and the long hard journey to make a better life for themselves
Describe a movement example from section 3 of Cry (1971) that shows Ailey’s movement style
Travelling from upstage right to downstage left, the dancer performs two long runs followed by a hitchkick, holding on to her skirt. This is repeated again. She then does two high kicks in second throwing the opposite arm up. Once she reaches downstage left she does a turned out attitude turn with her arms in open fifth.
This movement is very theatrical in nature and also shows the flexibiity of the dancer.
