Alice In Wonderland Dance Evaluation

1004 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Narrative writing about dancing

The dance performance that I chose to attend was Alice In Wonderland, which was performed at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins, Colorado by an outside presenter called the Canyon Concert Ballet. As noted in the companies name, the style of dance was contemporary ballet and after I did some research on the company’s website I could not find the choreographer of this play, but the list of the dancers is on their website at: http://ccballet.org/company/dancers/. The particular show that I saw was narrated from the perspective of Alice’s older sister by Jessica V. Freestone, who is the Former Artistic Director of Canyon Concert Ballet, and daughter of the Open Stage founders. This presentation of Alice In Wonderland took place on April 22nd, and …show more content…

When it came down to the more important and tone setting parts of the story, for example, Alice questioning a marvelous blue caterpillar sitting a top a large and colorful mushroom on her whereabouts and what she should do to get home or her meeting the provocative and eerie Cheshire Cat, the choreographer used one on one partner dances, which utilized romantic dances like the polka and waltz to emphasize the importance of the …show more content…

The choreographer purposefully threw many types of moves performed by many dancers at the audience in order to make a statement of confusion and otherworldliness for this performance. The dancers played to the choreography very well which resulted in a clear portrayal of what the vision for this play was, and it was also made more clear by how recognizable and popular the story of Alice In Wonderland is. The world of Wonderland was recreated beautifully in this performance by all of the intricacies of the dances and set pieces, which provided a very accurate adaptation and made it easy to keep up with what was going on. The music used to accompany this performance was classic ballet style music featuring woodwinds and stung instruments. The music featured higher tempos at the peaks of the story and lower for when things were more slow and the plot was at a developing point. The music was crucial in establishing the mood of each scene and the environment of the overall performance. The dancers performed simultaneously to the accompaniment with

Show More
Related

  • I Attended The `` Uic Jazz Ensemble ' At 7

    1567 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... began the piece, and the beat of the drum was frequent. After the introduction, the rest of the musicians joined. The pianist also had a solo part with the companion of the drum. The pace of the song was moderately fast, and the song ended with a climax.

    Read More

  • Bob Fosse Dance Techniques

    2530 Words  | 6 Pages

    Musical theatre is an art form as are the dances within them. Musical theatre dances must relate to the song being sung, the character or characters within the story, the plot, the style of the musical and time period. It is a choreographers job to not only create an effective image onstage but also connect the dance with the musical in which it is performed in. For what is a dance without performance. In All that Jazz from Chicago, the song is seductive and performed in a burlesque style. Bob Fosse used few subtle and small movements of the individual body parts that execute the pianos beats as well as demonstrating the words of the song. Fosse used stillness more than usual in a dance number and it gives a climatic suspense and an even build throughout the performance. Still and silence is just as effective as the largest of movements which is a technique that Fosse manipulated to sexualize and bring the music to life through the dancers bodies. Fosse's choreography choices fitted the style, music, and feel of the song giving the dancers a greater connection with the performance. Fosses use of choreographing in this dance for me reflects the style of the era and the Jazz age. The subtle sexual and relaxed movement mirrors the Jazz music and the rise of women as more openly sexual and scandalous in the 1920's. In A Secretary is Not a Toy from How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Fosse's choreography mimics the office work place. He includes the use of type writers, pads, and pens as part of the dance. He uses something as simple as women and men walking and moving through the office space and turns that into choreography. He then adds rhythm and simple dance movements such a skips, hops, arm gestures and holding out the props, all executed on the beats. He also uses his choreography to show the relationship between men and women in the working place. In

    Read More

  • Agnes de Mille’s Impact in the World of Dance

    1399 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the years, America has pursued the performing arts in a large variety of ways. Theatre plays a dramatic and major role in the arts of our society today, and it takes great effort in all aspects. Musical Theatre, specifically, involves a concentration and strength in dance, acting, and singing. This is the base that Musical Theatre is built upon. For my Senior Project, I helped choreograph multiple scenes in a community musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie”. Choreography is a way of expressing oneself, but it has not always been thought of for that purpose. Agnes de Mille’s expressive talent has drastically affected how people see choreography today. Agnes de Mille’s influence in the world of dance has left a lasting impact in the Performing Arts Department, and her revolutionary works are still known today for their wit, lyricism, emotion, and charm.

    Read More

  • Music and Dance: The Rodeo Suite

    1118 Words  | 3 Pages

    Music is reliant on expression through the medium of sound. Dance revolves around expression through movement. The ballet Rodeo, choreographed by Agnes de Mille and composed by Aaron Copland in 1942, combines these two channels to emphasize this ballet as an American genre about cowboys and cowgirls in the west. At the insistence of de Mille, characterization and emotion portrayal in both the choreography and the music was necessary (Pollack 369). Before Copland began composing Rodeo, de Mille outlined the dance for Copland in detail. She let him know how many measures she wanted for specific dance scenes and gave him descriptions of the music she wanted for a specific scenes and characters (Pollack 367). She also provided Copland with some cowboy folk tunes that he could incorporate into his compositions (Pollack 367). Seemingly, Copland was providing most of the collaboration for this ballet de Mille had envisioned. The inspiration for most of the music came from the dance movements and the story of the ballet. This is unlike Copland’s later compositi...

    Read More

  • In The Red And Brown Water Essay

    1004 Words  | 3 Pages

    A predominant feature within this theatrical element is the incorporation of lyrical movement within the acting scenes. A group of lyrical dancers move in and out within the scenes and are used as a foreshadowing method to emphasize situations that hold a current or upcoming significance to the overall theme of the play. For example, in the beginning of the play, the dancers along with Onya are represented through an apparent dream that Elgeba, Onya’s young neighbor, has about Onya being swept away by the currents of the water. The dancers impressively portrayed this concept as the silent waves that were holding Onya up and taking her away. This foreshadowing dream shows Onya’s ultimate destiny and fall from her increasing hardships. Also, the humming and singing from the the actors and dancers throughout the play play a significant role in adding an emotional element to the overall overview of the play. The seemingly sad humming at the beginning of the play was a beautiful introduction that set an overall serious tone to the underlying issues that were at hand. Without the use of words, both of the elements of the lyrical dancers and the humming from the actors expressed meaningful emotions that continuously paved the way for the difficult situations that Onya had to

    Read More

  • Anything Goes Analysis

    722 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the introduction, Mordden explains that “all its [musical theatre’s] artistry dwells in the historian’s key buzz term ‘integrated’: the union of story and score” (Mordden x). It is important for audience members to understand that musical numbers aren’t put into shows just for pure entertainment. Rather, the numbers are there to not only further the plot, but to also tell more about the characters than can be said in words. As many shows say: sometimes you just have to sing about it. Mordden also points out that “the historian recognizes other aspects of integration—of dance as a thematic and psychological instrument…” (Mordden x). Just as musical numbers reveal more about the character, so can dance. If the character is shy and reserved, their movements and dances will reflect it with smaller movements and less flashy numbers. If the character is big, over the top, and dramatic, the choreography will be huge, take up a lot of space and most likely require a lot of energy. If these numbers are

    Read More

  • The Nutcracker Suite

    536 Words  | 2 Pages

    Half of the dances in the nutcracker suite are symbolic of different event in history or everyday life. A great example of a symbolic dance in the movie is the Russian dance; this dance that is performed in the Russian dance scene is a real Russian dance. Disney also instead of humans preforming it, they got the flowers preforming it which again gives it a very good vibe.

    Read More

  • Critique Of The Cakewalk Dance

    1035 Words  | 3 Pages

    Legendary jazz artist, Nina Simone, once said, “To most white people, jazz means black and jazz means dirt, and that 's not what I play. I play black classical music.” This quote perfectly embodies how the Cakewalk dance was treated during its dawning in the late 19th century. The dance was both praised and criticized by its observers. The Cakewalk started out as a way for African-American slaves to mock their masters and live in autonomy. But, quickly enough, the Cakewalk gained popularity and began to evolve into formal dance competitions where the winning couple would be awarded a large and ornate cake. The Cakewalk’s popularity was also a result of minstrel shows where white actors in blackface and poor black actors and actresses would

    Read More

  • Summary of the Ballet "Giselle"

    538 Words  | 2 Pages

    The element that stood out the most to me was how effectively the music and the footwork corresponded. The best examples of this are seen through the dancers solos. Especially Albrecht's solo, his feet glide on the stage at the same tempo as the music. Similarly, Giselle's graceful footwork is truly amazing. I really like the similarities between the choreographed footwork and the music, it makes Giselle seem much more elegant and beautiful. This also seems to make the work look more put together and in sync because the dancers are dancing in harmony with the orchestra. The choreography by itself is amazing. The footwork is rapid and intricate, however, at the same time it is delicate and graceful. The ballerina (Giselle) made it look very easy to do the choreography, when it rea...

    Read More

  • Esplanade Analysis

    1303 Words  | 3 Pages

    Overall time helped demonstrated the masses’ movement unity as they moved with the time and the individual’s struggle as she moved contrary to the group’s time. The dance began with a lively Bach movement, which created a feeling of excitement as the mass of dancers moved with increasing speed. The short duration needed to complete movements, regularity of the music, and repetition of dance patterns of the group established their synchronization with time. In contrast, this allegro tempo created a nervous, rushed feeling for the individual woman, which established her contradiction to the groups perception of time. The sharp, sudden adagio tempo change in Part 2 created an uneasy mood, while establishing distrust and tension between the individual woman and the masses. The stillness of the mass dancers in response to the woman in Part 2 exemplified this segregation. As the tempo slowed in Part 4, an element of sadness and isolation was apparent in the individual woman’s movement. In contrast, this tempo change for the group created an intimacy between the individual heterosexual couples. This intimacy further isolated the individual women and demonstrated her movement against groups perception of time. The changes in tempo of music and dance movement complimented the third element of dance, dynamics or

    Read More

  • Divided We Fall

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    The music suited the movie very nicely. By the type of music playing, you could determine what sort of scene was coming up, either fast and light...

    Read More

  • A Midsummer Night's Dream Dance Analysis

    819 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the play, the time of the dancers fluctuated. There were times of excitement when the dancers expressed feelings of joy and therefore they had a fast speed but there are other times when the dancers were confused and uncertain and as a result, their speed were much slower and calmer. Additionally, they used the principle of shape to create illusions to entice the crowd. Some parts of the play instructed the dancers to form inanimate objects using their bodies.

    Read More

  • Dance Concert Analysis

    1167 Words  | 3 Pages

    Over Halloween weekend, Dance TCU in concert, performed at Ed Landreth Hall on the TCU campus, was a mid term showcase performed by the students in the TCU School for Classical and Contemporary Dance. The overall mood was very professional. These college level dancers performed various pieces from Giselle to video edited versions of dance to contemporary dances inspired by swing dancing. Each piece was unique and whether the style was classical or contemporary, the execution was very good. The quality of the performance was spectacular and showed all the work that everyone involved in the production has put out to perfect all the aspects of the show come together. While there were some minor technique errors, the staging, costume design, lighting,

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Alice's Adventure In Wonderland

    879 Words  | 2 Pages

    When the story of Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland began Alice seemed very childlike as she was distracted easily and acted very curiously as most children tend to. These characteristics led her

    Read More

  • The Magic of Music in Film

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    The importance of music in movies is highly regarded for manipulating the viewer’s emotions and helping them immerse into the story. Music is one of the prime elements in cinema. Without it a movie would feel dull and unexciting. There are three elements in a movie: one is acting, the second is picture, and the third one is music. It is a holy trinity; if incomplete, there would be a lack of sensation and excitement. Both acting and picture can stand independently from one another, but music is the one that makes the movie memorable.

    Read More

More about Alice In Wonderland Dance Evaluation

Open Document