Matt Sakakeeny took to the streets in February 2007 as he participated in a second line parade alongside the Tremé Sidewalk Steppers and the Rebirth Brass Band. Comparing the festivity to New Orleans’ vivacious jazz funerals, Sakakeeny writes about his observations and thoughts of his experience in the piece Roll With It: Brass Bands in the Streets of New Orleans (Refiguring American Music). Initially, Sakakeeny points out the changes in wardrobe, compared to that of what he has witnessed six years prior. He further sets the scene by introducing his consultants, a group of elite musicians and the core of the Rebirth Brass Band.
Painting a vivid image of the scene, Sakakeeny begins his pattern of tracing through the scene in order to illustrate the challenges New Orleans-based brass band musicians face. Rather than begin with his
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conclusions followed by the use of supporting evidence, Sakakeeny runs through the parade from start to finish, merely allowing notable moments and observations to shine as they are covered.
For example, when describing the upbeat tempo and movement of the performers, Sakakeeny interrupts his description of the scene with a quote from Kieth commenting that he thinks that “it really does go back to second line dancing,” opening the doors to one of the pivotal details in the minds of the musicians. Furthermore, this pause in the scenic description provides a smooth transition from the actions of the musicians to the reasoning behind them. “We try to play continuous to keep everybody going, to keep the energy rolling” adds Philip Frazier. Finally, once this evidence is provided, Sakakeeny begins to draw conclusions based on already substantiated claims by saying “There is not a single tempo that generates audience participation in
brass band performance, but a range of tempos for musicians to move between at different moments.” In emphasizing the goals of these musicians, Sakakeeny collaterally addresses one of the toughest issues they face: the use of improvisation. The goal of trying “to keep everybody moving” carries the weight of finding the best way to do so. In order to support his claim, Sakakeeny includes a quote from Philip regarding “good confusion.” Sakakeeny further supports this idea by including another consultant, Kieth, providing the insight that the musicians “never talk, there’s no communication, you just have to know what’s going to happen.” That said, despite having multiple accounts to support a grand idea that was introduced solely through objective observations, Sakakeeny’s role in the parade is only that of an observer. Despite being caught within an “ecstatic celebration,” he mentions when having further inquiries about an issue that he “would have to wait for [the] moment of euphoria to pass” in order to address them. Sakakeeny’s inability to completely assume the role of those he is observing results in an effective yet incomplete transmission of the perspective of New Orleans-based brass band musicians
The next work of the program, Courtly Airs and Dances, is a multi-movement work composed by Ron Nelson. The piece is split into six movements: Intrada, Basse Danse, Pavane, Saltarello, Sarabande, and Allemande. Each of these present distinct characteristics that separate it from each other movement, yet all are united by being a style of dance. The first movement, Intrada, presents a fanfare-like opening to the multi-movement work. The trumpets and brass section as a whole lead this, as they create a sense of nobility. The key is major and the tempo is one that could be described as allegretto—it is not a fast tempo, yet more brisk than an andante pace. The texture is homophonic, as there are different parts being performed by different
After a short introduction, Andy Baker began the concert by playing the song “Sedentary Motion” composed by Tom Garling. The style of the song was set in an easy modern Samba feel, the music lines were smooth and the chord voicings were merged to produce a gentle, yet complex conversation between sections of the jazz ensemble. As the chords were free and unrestrained, the solo performance of the tenor saxophone and trumpet were able to stand out and present their ideas. The drummer accompanied them throughout the whole song, which makes the song sound more colorful. The tempo of “Sedentary Motion” was set in an easy medium tempo, and the whole song lasted for over nine minutes.
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
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. “Silent Dancing.” Encounters: Essays for Exploration and Inquiry. 2nd ed. Ed. Pat C. Hoy II and Robert DiYanni. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. 145-51.
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
A brass band consists of only brass instruments and percussion. The terms “military band” and “New Orleans band” are often used interchangeably with brass band, but there is a distinct difference between these mediums: military and New Orleans bands use woodwind instruments in addition to brass and percussion; brass bands only use brass and percussion. As a result, the brass band has a unique sound unlike that of orchestras, military or New Orleans bands, and wind bands. J. H. Elliot describes the brass band sound as “somber” yet still as “dignified and impressive” as other instrumental genres. He also praises the brass bands’ capability of shifting from a “brilliant and incisive to the veiled and smooth” sound. Others find the brass band sound unrefined and offensive, as implied by H.C. Moule: “They [the average British audience] would rather hear a brass band playing fortissimo than...
When we watch this performance, we have a hard time viewing this action as many singular musicians marching at one time. . If the band is moving together as one, gestalt psychologist would predict that the audience would see the band moving as one whole group due to the Law of Common Fate. This particular law is discussed by Michael Kubovy (2000). This gestalt principle of grouping describes how our eye-brain system organizes objects moving in the same direction as one. The unified movement of the band causes our brains to organize the band as a whole. Imagine for example a school of fish moving together in a body of water. When a person views this movement, few of people would report not perceiving individual fish swimming, but organize the group of fish as a whole entity. This is due primarily to their sharing of a common movement and destination. So, like the school of fish, if the members of the band are marching from one goal line to another, few people perceive it as a collection of individuals moving in one direction. They perceive the band’s movement as a
Kinetic Conversation was analyzed into seven different pieces. Through these pieces they demonstrated emotions about a certain tragedy or a meaningful event. All of these performances were sited in the auditorium of RCC. Also, I noticed that all the pieces showed a certain emotion through the movements of their feet and hand gestures. The first piece that was called “the golden flock” choreographed by Rosa Rodriguez- Frazier and Joey Navarrete. This piece was by far one of the shortest. This piece was also very unique because the dancers did not need music to express their feelings towards a song. However, each dancer was doing different positions; for example, some were using releve, while others spinned, and jumped across the floor. Also, the dancers during this piece used a lot of pedestrian hand gestures. Very similar to what we were learning in class. Moreover, the second piece was called “Are you ready?” choreographed by Lindsay Rapport. According to my research this piece was an inspiration from current, turbulent political climate. It became more intense with uncertainty and fear for many. This piece was inspired to spread hope and believed that it will become better. The third piece was called “Reclaim Dawn” choreographed by Morgan
The entire cast, and maybe even a few extras who snuck in, contributed to this final piece by lending their voices and dancing shoes. This was the third act of a Michael Bay movie in that it was a explosion of music and dancing that this show had not reached until this point. Tempo describes the speed at which the piece is moving. The tempo of this song starts fairly slow, but continually gains speed right up to the end of the song, and by way of that, end of the show. To match this accelerating tempo, the dancing and theatrics on stage increase in terms of amount of people and what they are doing as well. It sort of felt like when fans storm a field or court after their sports team wins a big game, except these fans can tap dance and sing. Another thing I loved about this song, as well as most of the show, is the timbre. Timbre is the quality of sound in the piece. This song had a glittering, warm, and jazzy timbre. Simply put, this is the kind of music that makes you feel good. Most of the show had this timbre, but this final song took that theme and expanded it as much as the auditorium would
New Orleans has always been a big music town, for there has always been brass bands that played in the streets for parades, or for families to give comfort during a funeral.... ... middle of paper ... ... (The Influence of Jazz & Blues on Modern Music.”).
Jacques D’Amboise states “Everything we do has time and space and dance has been invented, evolved, to express the human being living in the present and being part of time and space.” By listening to Jacques D’ Amboise’s experience with ballet, I reflect on my pass experience with dance through color guard. Throughout my four years of high school I participated in color guard. The Color Guard is the electrifying dance of marching band incorporating equipment, such as flags and rifles. Color guard is a mix various dance styles, including modern, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop. As Jacques D’Amboise’s talk about he’s ballet career, I reflect on the ballet sectional class we took when learning the near choreography for the new show. Also, the warm-ups we did comprised with numerous of ballet move like attitude, pilé, relevé,
The dance performance of “The Sun King Dances” created and directed by a graduate student that I observed was remarkable. All the dancers performing this piece were women. There were a total of five acts in this performance; Act I, Act II, Act III, Act IV and the Grand Ballet. The dancers were recreating the Sun King’s dances from the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Each act had an different set of scenery, choreography, costumes, music and along with a number of dancers performing the dances. All the dances had a similar theme that connected to one another, but each act was unique and had a special story behind it. My favorite act was the first act because when the dancers were performing, their synchronized and repetitive movements reminded me of the hour and minute hands of a clock. My favorite part was when four of the five dancers are holding hands and dancing in a circle while the fifth dancer is in the center of the circle turning and going up and down at the same time.
When artist starts to sing the lyrics. The artist had a steady tempo when singing. They were not rushing nor going to slow. The artists were singing in a normal pace. It seems like the artist were trying to have a conservation with the listener. It looked
An example would be his classic clicks during the opening section of Blackbird from Fosse, the simplistic choreography, slight sexual current and impeccably timing, brings together the ensembles gesturing clicks with the percussive clicks of the music and creates a captivating opening to the number.
We begin to walk fast towards to the stadium as we hear the loud booms of the bass and the screaming of the teenager girls, the sweat of the performers revealed the beginning of the concert. The crowd was full of energy, roaring at every drop the dj plays. House music is enjoyable to an individual, but when it is the sounds of Krewella playing the number one hit “Alive”, the mood changes instantly. The music rouses everyone to their full potential; it's as if the beat is in their souls. There is nothing that tops the emotions that I feel at a rave concert. The energy releases through the singer’s microphone as the raging girls of Krewella jump on stage, and wave their sweaty hair back and forth. The band’s faces are almost completely blocked, as all I can see are dancing figures in front of me as everyone is jumping up and down as adrenaline takes over. From the view on this guy’s shoulders I see...