“Rice” In Cloud Gate Dance Theater of Taiwan’s 2013 production, “Rice”, choreographer Lin Hwai-min narrated a life story regarding a beloved subject of his. During the length of seventy minutes, twenty-four dancers interpret the cycle of rice from the growth as seedlings, the intimacy of pollination, the severance of harvest, the endurance of the blaze, and the rebirth in nature. In this report, discussed is “Soil” and “Wind,” the first two of an eight sections in the performance. Melting traditional martial art and contemporary dance movements, “Rice” drew its audience into the world of the staple grain of Asia in the setting of rice paddy videography and folklore vocals; with subtext of historical challenges, perseverance, and ultimate …show more content…
He draws inspiration from his homeland, an island off mainland China in the Pacific Ocean (Lin Hwai-min's story: The Father of the Cloud Gate Dance). Taiwan has endured through European conquistadores, Japanese Imperialism, post WWII political upheaval, social conflicts, and is under constant threats from communist China. He was raised in a privileged family and demonstrated a gift of writing in his early age. It seemed all but certain that he would follow his father’s footsteps and become a lawyer when he started college. Yet, after a year of study, he switched his major to journalism. It was after he came to study in the United States that he decided to pursue his dream as a dancer. Influenced by Marcia Thayer, who Mr. Lin credited for his life-changing decision, he became a student at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance in New York. Cloud Gate was born in 1973 and has brought forth acclaimed pieces under the artistic directorship of Mr. Lin ("Lin Hwai-min: Biography"). From culturally-rich Taiwan, he seamlessly incorporated mythical characters in “The Tale of the White Serpent (1975),” historical significance in “Legacy (1978),” and Chinese classics in “The Dream of the Red Chamber (1983).” At age 69, Mr. Lin continues to work sixteen hours a day running the logistics of his group. Together, the company enjoyed the cheers both domestically as well as internationally, persevered through a period of disbandment from 1988 to 1990, welcomed the birth of its second troupe-Cloud Gate 2 in 1999, survived a devastating loss from a fire to their studio in 2008, and celebrated their new home opening in
Without the use of stereotypical behaviours or even language is known universally, the naming of certain places in, but not really known to, Australia in ‘Drifters’ and ‘Reverie of a Swimmer’ convoluted with the overall message of the poems. The story of ‘Drifters’ looks at a family that moves around so much, that they feel as though they don’t belong. By utilising metaphors of planting in a ‘“vegetable-patch”, Dawe is referring to the family making roots, or settling down somewhere, which the audience assumes doesn’t occur, as the “green tomatoes are picked by off the vine”. The idea of feeling secure and settling down can be applied to any country and isn’t a stereotypical Australian behaviour - unless it is, in fact, referring to the continental
This essay will explore how the poets Bruce Dawe, Gwen Harwood and Judith Wright use imagery, language and Tone to express their ideas and emotions. The poems which will be explored throughout this essay are Drifters, Suburban Sonnet and Woman to Man.
Australian poets Bruce Dawe and Gwen Harwood explore ideas and emotions in their poems through vivid and aural poetic techniques, the poets also use symbolism to allow the readers to relate to the text. In Dawes “Homecoming”, the poet explores the ideas in the text using language techniques such as irony, paradox and visual imagery to construct his attitude towards war and the effect. While in Gwen Harwood’s, “The violets”, she uses prevailing imagery and mood to emphasize fertility and growth. Contrastingly, In Bruce daws, “Life cycle”, the poet uses the idea of sport to symbolise and represent religion with the use of clichés and juxtaposition to convey his ideas of religion, myths and Christianity in the language use, similarly Harwood poem
Kim Addonizio’s “First Poem for You” portrays a speaker who contemplates the state of their romantic relationship though reflections of their partner’s tattoos. Addressing their partner, the speaker ambivalence towards the merits of the relationship, the speaker unhappily remains with their partner. Through the usage of contrasting visual and kinesthetic imagery, the speaker revels the reasons of their inability to embrace the relationship and showcases the extent of their paralysis. Exploring this theme, the poem discusses how inner conflicts can be powerful paralyzers.
Every dance that is created by a choreographer has a meaning and or purpose behind it. The dance choreographed could be used to send a political, emotional, or a social message. Regardless of the message being sent, each dance created possesses a unique cultural and human significance. This essay will examine and analyze two dance works from history and give an insight into what each dance work provided to the society of its time.
The story explores many vital concepts accompanied by beautiful illustrations. I felt a strong sense of cultural understanding, spirituality and connection to family and land as though I was on this journey too. I could sense an underlying meaning in each dance, holding great importance to Bertie’s family and a strong connection to their culture. Pryor has attempted to fuse the then and now, by speaking of changes in the land, from a once spiritual gathering place, to a now busy town street where through food, they keep the culture alive (Pryor, 2010).
Form impacts meaning in the poem "Cloud," by using free verse and enjambment, and it creates the sense of movement that is free and flowing much like its real life counterpart. Which is located in the following excerpt "... roiled and murmuring ..." with the words roiled and murmuring, it creates the sense of movement because the denotative meaning of the word roiled is to turn water "cloudy" by stirring up sediment, the very defining of the word roiled means to cause water to become cloudy by stirring or moving it around, likewise connotative meaning of the word roiled is movement just a simple movement. Similarly, with the words "You were the "shadows" of a cloud "crossing" over a field of tulips ..." it creates a sense of movement much
The most preeminent quality of Sonia Sanchez “Ballad” remains the tone of the poem, which paints a didactic image. Sanchez is trying to tell this young people that we know nix about love as well as she is told old for it. In an unclear setting, the poem depicts a nameless young women and Sanchez engaged in a conversation about love. This poem dramatizes the classic conflict between old and young. Every old person believes they know more then any young person, all based on the fact that they have been here longer then all of us. The narrative voice establishes a tone of a intellectual understanding of love unraveling to the young women, what she comprehends to love is in fact not.
Throughout Bernard's collection of sermons, he justifies the central concerns of the “Song of Songs” within his selected works. He develops a creed of mystical contemplation, meditation, and personal joining with God. Bernard using an allegorical approach, he wrote about the “Song of Songs” and his sermons creating the metaphor of the church, stressing the importance of love in knowing service to God. “Song of Songs” has many interpretations within the love poem, and Bernard conveys them on discussing what the “Song of Songs” is, dives into what the kisses are that indicate the progression on the soul, describes who the four kinds of spirits are, and identifies the bride and Bridegroom.
Literary elements are the components of a written piece formed by an author. For example, a poem or short story, in which all of them have settings, plots, and themes that are used to help elaborate their compositions. They help depict the author’s intentions and encourage insight or understanding of the overall meaning even if it’s not easily understood by the reader. “Blue Winds Dancing” by Tom Whitecloud and “The Victims” by Sharon Olds both show examples of conflicts that evolve dynamic characters as a product of growth from their previous experiences.
The Ghost Dance; Ethnohistory and Revitalization. Chicago: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc, 1989. Lawrence, Elizabeth Atwood. “Sun Dance.”
Throughout Graham’s career that lasted well over fifty years, she created over 180 works from ranging from solos to large-scale works. Soon after audiences and critics became accustomed to Graham’s innovative style of movement she developed a following among serious dance patrons, scholars, and critics. Graham’s famous solo, “Lamentation,” was a portrait of a grieving woman sitting alone on a bench and moving to an anguished Kodaly piano score. In this dance Graham is simply wearing a giant tube-like cloth, which represents stretching in one’s own skin.
[6] Cohen, Selma Jeanne. International Encyclopedia of Dance: A Project of Dance Perspectives Foundation, Inc. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
W.E.B. Dubois was one of the most prolific and pioneering leaders during the early Civil Rights era. Throughout his life, he produced numerous works as a commentary on the social construct that existed between whites and blacks, including the groundbreaking collection of essays The Souls of Black Folk published in 1903. These essays detailed the historical, political and sociological plight of African Americans in society after the Civil War. In addition, the essays introduced the concept of double consciousness which referred to the challenge blacks faced in reconciling an African heritage with an American identity, a theory that would disseminate into his later works. Accordingly, his poem “The Song of the Smoke” published in 1907 is an extension of his earlier work in double consciousness, but with an emphasis on the celebration of black heritage. Embedded in these affirmations of blackness; however, is a sense of longing for the unity and equality of all races. In the poem, “The Song of the Smoke”, DuBois reflects on the past, finding grief and courage in the legacy of his slave ancestry and toward the future, hoping a new strength and dignity is formed amongst all Americans.
In the half darkness of twilight, the geisha--shimmering in her embroidered kimono, her tall headdress bearing a half circle of combs, her chignon raised to display above the kimono collar a tapering powered neck-- steps out of her cage with precaution and enters a small garden, skipping from stone to stone. The sliding door splits open to admit her.1