Research

Unit 12 research: 

My solo: 

Contrast the game- 

The game is set in the 1920’s, you play as the young girl’s (Didi) imaginary friend (Dawn) who has the ability to shift from the 3D world to the 2D shadows. You solve puzzles to unfold the story of Didi’s parents split by following her mother to her place of work; a headliner at the popular venue the Ghost Note Cabaret. 

The City and its surrounding areas have a large number of light sources that can be exploited to create shadows. Use objects and elements in the décor to create your own shadow scenes – for example, the shadow of a bicycle wheel cast on the wall becomes a staircase to reach a higher platform. Distort these shadows in any way you like to create a path that can only be accessed in the shadow world! 

Below is a link that shows how the character uses some objects in real life and how they become useful as a stepping stone as a shadow. 

My character- I'll be portraying the character Dawn, the whole game view point is seen through her eyes. She lives in the shadows, where she can pass for one of them, moving between the two worlds. She is described as the most seen but most unknown. (Interactive, 2019)

Contemporary dance: 

“Contemporary encompasses other specific techniques that make the genre unique. Pedestrian movement is a major component in contemporary dance that takes everyday common movements and incorporates them into the choreography.” (A Dance Through the Ages, 2019)

I chose contemporary dance as it includes pedestrian movement as in the game Dawn solves the puzzles by shifting in the shadows but still doing human things. 

Brainstorm of reality/life and a brainstorm of shadow and darkness:(pics of brainstorm) 

What this taught me is that when you consider life and shadow, they seem different and contrasting, however when you get deeper into them, they are more similar than you’d think. As a shadow is a form of reflection. 

How dance can portray a story/character-   

“Expressing emotion 

True story: If you pretend to be a sad person, have a sad expression and make sad movements, you will actually start feeling sad! The same is true for happiness, anger, or any other emotion. And that’s not all - some of that emotion will rub off on your audience and your partner, allowing you to communicate with them without saying a word. Here’s some ways to build your emotional vocabulary 

1. If playing an angry character, think sharper, stronger movements, with a more serious face. 

2. If your character is sad, make your movement slower, smaller, more contained. 

3. If a happy-go-lucky character, put the tiniest bounce in your movement, make big open gestures, and smile! 

Telling a story 

A dance, like a song, often tells a story, with a beginning, middle and end. Maybe at the beginning you are passionate lovers, in the middle you ‘fight’, and in the end you give up and leave. This might seem very advanced, but it gets a lot easier when you put it back in the context of the previous two points. For example: 

4. In the beginning, your characters might use very romantic movement, switch to sharp, strong shapes in the middle, then get very soft and sad at the end. 

5. Another sequence might begin with closed sad movements, gradually growing increasingly confident to the point of arrogance, before settling down into something laid back and generous. What kind of story might be told here?” 
6. (Joy of Dance, 2019) 

Music- 

I want to be able to show a difference between shadow and life so I need to find music that have a happier side and a darker side however I couldn’t find one piece of music that fits so I need to find two contrasting pieces of music which I will then edit together to create music for my solo. For the shadow  – Muffled footsteps by Laura Platt, for the life - black world by Lucas King  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FerICuO5zc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKCzj0_QsX0

Duets: Alice in wonderland 

The author: 

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, who is better known as Lewis Carroll, was a mathematician, photographer, writer and inventor. He loved games, such as croquet, backgammon, billiards and chess. Dodgson read and owned many books and loved writing especially children books; fiction and educational. 

 Alice in wonderland book: 

Dodgson created the Alice book as a small story to tell Alice Liddell and her sisters on a small boat ride, but pleads from Alice ensured the story being written down. His main inspiration for the story was the people and places around him, for example Alice Liddell and her family. 

Alice: 

Alice is a seven-year-old English girl with lots of imagination and is fond of showing off her knowledge. Alice is polite, well raised and interested in others, although she sometimes makes the wrong remarks and upsets the creatures in Wonderland. She is easily put off by abruptness and rudeness of others 

White Rabbit and his relationship with Alice: 

He is the first wonderland character who Alice meets, she the follows him down the rabbit hole into wonderland. The Rabbit nervous and always in a hurry. He acts a guide for Alice throughout her journey through Wonderland though unintentionally. 

The rabbit hole: 

Alice is sitting with her sister on the riverbank and is very bored. Suddenly she sees a White Rabbit running by her. It is wearing a waistcoat and takes a watch out of it, while muttering to himself ‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’. Alice gets very curious and follows him down his rabbit-hole. The rabbit-hole suddenly goes straight down and Alice falls into it. She falls very slowly and while she is talking to herself she falls asleep. Suddenly she lands on a heap of sticks and dry leaves and the fall is over. She sees the White Rabbit running in front of her through a long passage and she continues to follow him 

(Alice-in-Wonderland.net, 2019)

Mistake waltz:

This is a great representation of humour in dance as you can tell that the 'mistakes' were delieberate and they made the audience laugh. by researching this it helped me with creating the choreography by allowing it to not be so serious and more fun.

Partner work:

This will help us have ideas for some partner work that we could do. we want to add partner work as we need to show that Alice and the Rabbit are becoming friends and are getting closer.

Jive:

Since having no prior experience in this style of dance Marshall and I decided to watch a tutorial on the basic steps to become familiar with it. I researched this because I wanted to add some jive step to liven up the choreography for part 1 as I needed to show Alice and the Rabbit having fun and I wanted to have more energy and partner work. 
Group pieces: 

All that jazz/ Bob Fosse: 

Bob Fosse was an American dancer, director and choreographer who was known for his distinct style of dance and following darker plots. Working on musicals made Fosse’s reputation rise as an inventive choreographer that frequently used props such as: chairs, canes and hats. Some of his signature moves are- turned in at the knees, shuffle sideways, rolled shoulders, and the shaking jazz hand.  

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019)

About the choreography: 

On stage they smoke, dance sensually, and are very touchy with one another. The movements match the melody and tempo of the song. -(prezi.com, 2019)

The movements are isolated and very minimalistic but still very interesting to watch as the movements fill the space. 

Choreography: 

What is a choreographer? 

Choreographers design and direct dance routines. They not only invent and perfect dance moves, but they also practice them to make sure that they coordinate with music and provide entertainment for the audience. The word “choreography" actually comes from the Greek words that mean “dance writing." (Wonderopolis.org, 2019) 

In order to become a successful Choreographer, a person needs to have a good balance between creativity, artistic sense, leadership skills, and dancing experience. Choreographers are required to have a minimum of 6 to 8 years of experience dancing and at least 5 teaching and/or choreographing. A Dance or Musical Theatre diploma from a recognized university, performing arts college or conservatoire will give aspiring Choreographers a definite edge over other candidates. (Neuvoo.ca, 2019) 

What are the roles of a choreographer? 

Choreographers create compelling dance routines in a way that translates emotions through movements. They then direct rehearsals during which they instruct Dancers, Singers, and sometimes Actors on how to perform the routines they thoughtfully crafted. (Neuvoo.ca, 2019) 

Choreographers might work with individual dancers or large groups. As they teach dance moves by example, they also provide encouragement and guidance to the dancers. While the final dance might be just a few minutes long, it can take weeks and even months to perfect even a short routine. (Wonderopolis.org, 2019)

Collaborate with Entertainment Director in production of shows, Discuss brief and initiate new ideas, Coordinate with director to audition and cast dance roles, Collaborate with composer to select music and sound, Design dance steps and routines to fit music, Conduct research and implement new ideas, Explain and teach steps to dancers, Practice dance steps and routines with dancers, help to establish shots and check continuity when working in recorded media, Schedule entertainment staff concerning rehearsals. (Great Sample Resume, 2019) 

Teaching choreography: 

There are three ways in which people learn: visual, auditory, and tactile cues.  Some people learn through watching a demonstration, others by listening, and still others by doing.  This is, in part, why traditional schoolrooms (trying to learn math by listening to a teacher talk and then writing out standardized tests) don’t work that well… but I digress. (4dancers.org, 2019) 

Choreographer has a certain amount of responsibility for observing the ways her dancers learn.  If all you want to do is sit in a pair of jeans and talk the dancers through it then be prepared to fire them in droves until you’ve found ones that learn best through listening. (4dancers.org, 2019) 

I’m researching this because Marshall, Dylan and Savannah have different ways to rehearse and understand choreography, for example, Marshall can learn choreography through listening whereas with Dylan and Savannah I need to demonstrate before teaching it to them. I also need to run it with Savannah more times as her muscle memory isn’t great whereas I demonstrate to Dylan once and he can then practice on his own. 

Creating choreography: 

Chance methods can be a provocative element of choreographic process, allowing new artistic possibilities to arise in creation or performance. American choreographer Merce Cunningham adopted this idea in his dance creations. The way the music and dance sequences fit together might be determined in his dances by throwing dice, or using the I Ching. Sometimes, Cunningham's dances were created to be exactly the same duration as a commissioned piece of music, but the two were only put together for the first time in performance (Artsalive.ca, 2019) 

For my solo I opted for the creation and development of motifs method to create the choreography as this was a method I was used to. A movement or gesture or short movement phrase which has the potential to be developed in the dance/work. A movement motif functions as choreographic device within the choreography. It can contain the essence for the completed piece and is usually repeated with integrity and manipulated throughout the dance. (Dance Glossary, 2019) 

For All that Jazz I took repertoire from the original choreography and used them in different formations and orders. I did this method of choreography because I wanted to keep it as close to Fosse’s style of dance. 

Alice part 1 was character based and mostly made from improvisations. However, part 2 was a lyrical song where the choreography was based off of the lyrics. 

These are some way choreographers create choreography, in my case, I like to improvise and create motifs when I work. 

Cabaret: 

History: 

A cabaret is a restaurant that serves alcohol and offers entertainment. Its origin is France in 1881 as a small club. The audience are sat around a small stage/platform where they enjoy various acts such as poetry readings, shadow play, songs and comedy skits. The first of the cabaret entertainment was the Moulin Rouge, its cabaret show was the first to perform the cancan and lead many others to follow. In 1900, cabarets moved to Germany, adding to the entertainment with mild risque musical entertainment, political and social satire. 

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2019)

Salis’s venue inspired the opening of several others – not just in Pairs, but the world over. Clubs sprang up in Austria, Germany and even the USA, with the cabaret culture differing slightly from country to country. (Bergin, 2019) 

It began as a sort of creative hub, where various musicians, dancers – even poets and writers, gathered to socialise, discuss their ideas and trial their pieces over a few drinks. (Bergin, 2019) 

nowadays the people to perform at cabarets are performers looking to get scouted by agencies or companies. its a way for them to make a name for themselves, its mainly towards singers as you wouldn't find ballet or contemporary acts in a cabaret.

The layout of a cabaret:

 we need to find the best way to set out the seating for the audience.

Cabaret seating.

there is an open end, with the audience seated in an arc facing forwards. 

Positives:  - The open end allows for a focal point or presentation area. 

Negatives:  - Inefficient use of floor space, with seating capacity reduced.  (Technologies, 2019)

Bibliography: 

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Alice-in-Wonderland.net. (2019). Alice in Wonderland.net. [online] Available at: http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/ [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

Artsonline.tki.org.nz. (2019). Use of props / Discovering Dance – Teachers' Notes / Key collection / Reviewed resources / Dance / Secondary teaching resources / Teaching and Learning / Home - Arts Online. [online] Available at: http://artsonline.tki.org.nz/Teaching-and-Learning/Secondary-teaching-resources/Dance/Reviewed-resources/Key-collection/Discovering-Dance-Teachers-Notes/Use-of-props [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

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Carly Hughes and the Company of "Chicago" Sing "All That Jazz". (2019). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW8LjDai5YA&feature=youtu.be [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

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History and Development of Dance/ Brockport. (2019). The Roots of French Cabaret: Where it all begun. [online] Available at: https://dancehistorydevelopment.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/the-roots-of-french-cabaret-where-it-all-begun/ [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

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Roh.org.uk. (2019). Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland — Productions — Royal Opera House. [online] Available at: https://www.roh.org.uk/productions/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-by-christopher-wheeldon [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

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What is prop?How to use prop in dance?. (2019). [video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X5GVayxIUU [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

All that jazz by Terra C. Macleod as Velma Kelly. (2019). [image] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9AB-GcSAw8 [Accessed 3 Jun. 2019]. 

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