Domain One - Dance Flashcards
Element of Dance: Space
Locomotor: (traveling through space)
Eight Basic Steps: walking, running, leaping, jumping, hopping, galloping, skipping, sliding
Nonlocomotor: (staying in one place “on spot”)
stretching, pushing, twisting, bending, kicking, sinking, curling
Combined Locomotor: (often traditional folk steps)
two-step, paddle, grapevine, step-hop, chug, spinning
**teachers should be aware of the space between dancers
individual, group, or class (solo, duet, ensemble)
space between dancers (side-by-side, supported, far, near)
interactions between dancers (leader, follower, mirror, unison, parting)
Element of Dance: Time
Rhythm - countable patterns
Tempo - fast or slow speed
Beat - even or uneven
Meter - 2/4 time, 3/4 time etc.
Syncopation - a rhythmic pattern produced when a deliberate pattern is upset
Rhapsodic Rhythms - non-metric (breath, water, wind)
Element of Dance: Levels
Direction - forward, backward, up, down, sideways (horizontal, vertical), diagonal, straight, circle, out, in, zigzag, spiral
Form/Shape - angular, rounded, twisted, bent, crooked, symmetrical, asymmetrical
Level - high, medium, low
Range - wide, narrow, big, little
Pathway - floor, elevated, air patterns
Focus - gaze, floor, away
Element of Dance: Force
Quality of Energy - sustained (smooth), suspended (light), swing (under-curve), sway (over-curve), collapsed (loose), percussive (sharp), vibrate (shudder)
Degree of Energy - strong, weak, heavy, light, dynamic, static, flowing, tense
Dance Activity Instruction
- determine age-appropriate expectations for safety
- determine physical abilities, taking into account gender-specific and special needs
- begin with a warm-up and end with a cool down
- separate into steps, start slowly, use counts, and work up to proper tempo
- teach one part of basic step pattern at a time, when two have been learned, combine
- explain floor pattern and use key words
- provide opportunity for multiple dance experiences
Cultural Dances
Carry important historical significance from ancient civilizations
Examples: Chinese ribbon dance, Polish polonaise, India’s Kathakali or Bharatanatyam dance, clogging, Irish dancing, pavane/galliard, the minuet, Charleston, twist, disco, nip-hop, lambada
Religious/Ceremonial Dance
Choreography played a significant role in many cultural events; dance was created and performed in celebrations, rituals, and rites of passages
Example: Native Americans use dance in mourning, preparation for battles, or for joy
Folk Dance
- form of cultural dance that originated in medieval times when they danced to celebrate (medieval carolers were the first folk dances found in England and parts of Europe)
Authentic:
- Movements must predate the nineteenth century
- performed by peasants or royalty
- The choreography is derived from tradition
- There is no teacher
Variations of folk dance found today: square and barn dancing
Play and sing with movement: sing-along dances - London Bridge, Hokey Pokey, Ring Around the Rosie, The Farmer in the Deli, BINGO, Pop Goes The Weasel, Skip to My Lou
Maypole Dance: often danced on May Day in European nations (such as Germany and Sweden), taught in American schools today; ribbons are attached to a pole so that children can hold a ribbon as they dance
Modern Dance
Born in the 20th century; created as a resistance to rigidity of classical ballet
Based on subjective interpretation of internalized feelings, emotions, and moods; often unstructured and makes deliberate use of gravity and body weight to enhance movement; encourages free-style dance, should be utilized to provide dance opportunities for all ability levels; encourages expression of feelings and emotions through movement
Theatrical Dance
Based on music, songs, dialogue, dance
Often experienced in the form of musical theatre productions; well known productions - ballet, jazz, tap; other - ethno-cultural, kabuki, Russian, Celtic dance
Social Dance
Refers to dances in which socializing is the main focus; dance partners are essential
Popularity of competitive social dancing has helped many of these styles become household names
Includes: hip-hop, line dance, ballroom, waltz, foxtrot, tango, rumba, jive, swing
Dance Historical Timeline: Prehistory to Beginning of Middle Ages (A.D. 400)
Characteristics: circle form (rhythmic motion within a circle); use of imagery
Gender Roles: men = war/hunting, women = seasons/planting; early accompaniment came from drums, harps, flutes, and chants
Forms: social dance (births, special events, rites of passage); ritual dance (tradition, religious rituals - temple dances, hunting magic); fertility dance (marked the changing seasons - especially for planting and harvesting - and sought favor with the gods)
Historic evolution (use of dance movement):
Egypt - movement associated with gods/funerals
Greece - in theatre-chorus; festival of Dionysus
Rome - pantomime/ dance expression
India - formalized hand movements (example - Hindu dance: the oldest world dance
Java - elaborate costumes, balance and moderation, traditional dance
China - ceremonial dance with each character having specific hand movement, and martial (war) dancing
Japan - Kabuki: traced to primitive rituals; it involves stomping, elaborate costumes, is male only, is still current
Dance Historical Timeline: Middle Ages (500-1400)
- Church attempted to restrict pagan dance, often associated with fertility, but folk dances evolved from earlier ritual dance (ex/ Maypole dance; origins in primitive fertility rituals [dancing around a pole; associated with spring)
- Characteristics of folk dance: many regional differences; all had recreational aspects and basic steps such as running, walking, hopping, and skipping; all are linked to culture, music, and the history of a group; take form in a circle
- Current examples in the 20th century: polka, square dances, historic dances - Cossack dance of Russia, polonaise of Poland, Czardas Hungarian tavern dance, and Mexican El Jarabe Tapatio (“hat dance”)
Dance Historical Timeline: Renaissance (1400 - 1600)
- dancing evolved from pageants and processions of the period
- ballet developed in France (1500s) and moved to Italy —> development of court dancing in Europe (nobility in a palace setting); patronage of the Medicis; “dancing masters”; steps were slow (adagio) and fast (allegro); lack of spontaneity (defined steps)
- music to accompany specific, technical ballet steps; a theatrical art form developed - music, costumes, setting, plot, and themes such as Greek and Roman mythology and history (Julius Caesar); Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet
- Minuet: a formal aristocratic court dance developed at the end of the period
Dance Historical Timeline: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
- Formal dancing spread to the Continent; expansion of professional dancing masters; professional choreography at the Paris Opera (opera and dance); costuming; introduction of the waltz (1-2-3) rhythm; court dance
- Ballet developed throughout Europe —> virtuoso dancing; expressive capacity of the body; pointe footwork and the heel-less shoe
- Era of Romanticism (early 1800s); continued evolution of ballet; emphasis on emotions and fantasy; true pointe work; evolution of “lightness in flight”; this differed from other dance forms in placement and alignment of the body, as well as in training
- focus on the ballerina; male is secondary
Dance Historical Timeline: Early Twentieth Century
- Revolutionary aspects of Ballet Russes (Russia); stretched the boundaries of classical ballet; new movements (“turnout”)
- Revolutionary aspects of early modern dance; appreciated the qualities of the individual; primitive expression and emotion; “new freedom” of movement; choreography of Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham and their break from restrictive classical ballet and tutu; broadening the minds of the public; explosion of modern dance - ragtime jazz emerged, the flapper era influenced fast-moving dances like the Charleston
Dance Historical Timeline: Late Twentieth Century
- growth of contemporary dance, post modernism in the 1960s; movement toward simplicity and a less sophisticated technique; “no” manifesto, a frequent rejection of costumes and stories
- other directions post-1960s: more eclectic, ballet and ethnic used in the same performance, all-male groups, intense theatrical effects in lighting, costumes, and sets
- Martha Graham and psychodrama: intense movement often depicting pain, fear, and love; dance forms “sculptured” by human body positions; contraction and release of the torso, “fall and recover”; angular gestures; schools and dance companies
- George Balanchine (director of the NYC Ballet) and modern American ballet; Broadway and Hollywood shows; a new style of moving with emphasis on speed and mobility; lean body types; importance of the female dancer
- social dance and mass culture: rock ‘n’ roll; MTV; hip-hop; ballroom dancing (tango)
Abstract dance
Art of pure movement
Choreography does not show a narrative story
Adagio
Dance to slower tempo music, such as the pas de deux in ballet; also a type of practice exercises in dance class consisting of balance and sustained movement
Alignment
Body placement (line) or stance of the dancer’s body to increase body health and efficiency
Allegro
Dance with fast or lively tempo, such as fast turning movements in ballet
Arabesque
Ballet pose in which the dancer stands on one leg with one arm extended in front and the other leg and arm extended directly behind the body
Attitude
Dance pose modeled after the statue of the winged Mercury by Giovanni Bologna, in which the knee is bent and the working leg is lifted behind the body (croisée derriére) or in front of the body (croisée deviant)
Barre
Railing attached to the wall horizontally, about three and a half feet above the floor; in ballet, dancers hold onto this during the intro (warm-up) portion of the class; also used for leg stretches
