Gene Kelly was and American actor, singer, film director, producer, dancer and choreographer who was born August 23, 1912 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States where he grew up and began his dancing career. He is the best dancer of all time as his moves are outstanding and can make the littlest dance moves into big and mouth dropping. Gene Kelly excelled at numerous things over the course of his extended career. It was obvious to see that since the age of eight, when Gene began to take dancing classes, that he has come a long way in life. His performance skills began to strengthen from his Golden Age musicals such as "Cover Girl", "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", "On the Town", "An American in Paris" and most known "Singin' in the Rain". …show more content…
Kelly pulled together a masterpiece that blew everyone off their feet, with just an umbrella the rain and the talent Gene, this was sure to be a performance never forgotten. Kelly moves effortlessly and gracefully across the stage. He articulates clearly and makes every movement look so easy in a way that only Gene Kelly can. “Singin’ in the Rain” is set in a street. He uses props such as an umbrella, gutter, pole and puddles etc. You can hear a numerous of different noises and things in this dance piece. Things like tapping tap shoes against the concreted ground which mimic the sound of the rain. The sound of umbrella spinning and twirling on both the air and ground. You can also hear the sound of rain beating down on the street and puddles splashing. As this involves singing you can hear vocals from Gene Kelly. He brings the performance to life and encourages the viewers into feeling like they are a part of the enactment. Gene Kelly is a triple threat, meaning he can sing, act and dance, this makes the performance good. This act is also good as he uses more than one prop. He uses not just his feet but he uses the umbrella, the gutter, the pole, the puddles and the shops along the
Born in Rogers, Texas on January 5, 1931, Alvin Ailey spent his formative years going to Sunday School and participating in The Baptist Young People's Union. At age twelve, he moved to Los Angeles and, on a junior high school class trip to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, fell in love with concert dance. Ailey began his formal dance training inspired by the performances of the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and the classes with Lester Horton that his friend, Carmen de Lavallade, urged him to take. Horton, the founder of the first racially integrated dance company in the US, was a catalyst for Ailey as the young dancer embarked on his professional career. After Horton's death in 1953, Ailey became the director of the Lester Horton Dance Theater and began to choreograph his own works. In New York, Ailey studied with many outstanding dance artists, including Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman, Hanya Holm and Karel Shook, and took acting classes with Stella Adler. A versatile performer, Ailey won a number of acting roles while continuing to choreograph and dance professionally. In 1958, Ailey founded his own company, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. During the Company's first decade, Ailey created approximately twenty new ballets, among them Hermit Songs and Reflections in D. These were followed by The River, The Lark Ascending, Love Songs and many others.
University of Northern Iowa Dance Marathon is an organization that raises money for the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. The organization aims to provide emotional and financial support for families with children facing life threatening illnesses by raising money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and organizing events that increase student and community awareness. This money then is put towards things like research, education, equipment and pediatric ward enhancements so the children and families can feel a little more comfortable during their stay at the hospital. The big event was on March 1, 2014, but the organization completes events throughout the year to fundraise as much money as possible for the Miracle Network kiddos, like a 5k color run on campus, trick-or-treating for kids who can’t, and selling grilled cheese at midnight during homecoming celebrations.
It was a great time of despair for the Native American people as the defeat of their nations by the ever westward expanding United States and subsequent placement onto reservations disrupted their culture and way of life as it had existed for hundreds of years. The decade leading up to 1890, which was a main focal point in the history of Native Americans, saw the passing of the 1887 Dawes Severalty Act which called for the breaking up of reservations and offering the Indians an opportunity to become citizens and giving them an allotment of land to farm or graze livestock on (Murrin 628). This breaking up of the different tribes’ social structure was just one of the many causes which led to the spiritual movement known as the Ghost Dance (or Lakota Ghost Dance) that swept across what remained of the Native American people in their various reservations. Other reasons for the Indian’s dysphoria at this time in their history included: lack of hunting, decease of the buffalo, forced abandonment of their religion, nearly forced conversion to Christianity, westernization, and having to farm for the very first time.
Water Study is an elegant piece of art created in 1928 by the fascinating choreographer Doris Humphrey. This was a controversial dance as this was a point in history where women were not aloud to wear trousers or it was a very rare occurrence to see a woman wearing them. The dancers within this piece wear nude or grey unitard which makes them look naked with no light shone on them which created a stir in society. The opening section for this piece starts with a dimly lit stage only lit from three spotlights above representing the moonlight reflecting onto the water's surface. All 14 dancers are placed in a confined ball on the floor sat staggered across the stage facing audience stage left. The dancers then perform a series of seven cannons
At eleven years old, she was discovered by Gus Edwards and performed in a dinner show called the Vaudeville Kiddie Revue. In her teenage years she could often be found dancing in clubs. Then, she started auditioning for Broadway shows. The reason she started tap dancing was because the fact that every audition she went to, she was asked to tap dance. So, she enrolled in the Jack Donahue School in New York. After her first class, she didn’t want to come back because she felt so behind. Jack called her and told her to come back, so she did. By her seventh lesson, she was finally getting good.
“Momma! Daddy! It’s time for the Grand Ole Opry!” In the early twenties, during the Great Depression, it was a time when the family would gather around the radio to listen to music of all types. It was a small piece of happiness brought into the lives of people who were living thru hard times. There was gospel music, rock and roll, jazz, and yes, country music being played on a simple radio.
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was born on January 31, 1919 (York). He was born in the small town of Cairo, Georgia, on that day in January. His parents were Jerry and Mallie Robinson, the two of them didn’t have the best of marriage but they made out ok (Allen). Later in 1919, Jerry left Mallie to go farm some land somewhere else, but it was later found out that he had run off with another woman.
In the early 1930’s, Holiday sang for tips in clubs in New York and it was around that time she took on her stage name. “Billie” was inspired by the actress Billie Dove, and Holiday from her father. In the autobiographical book “Lady Sings the Blues”, Holiday claims her big singing break came in 1933, when she looked for work as a dancer at a Harlem speakeasy. When there wasn’t an opening for a dancer, she auditioned as a singer. (Holiday, Lady Sings the Blues) Holiday wowed the owner and began singing in Harlem jazz clubs and impressed jazz writer and producer John Hammond. He heard her fil...
The hit musical "Singin' in the Rain" may possibly be one of if not the greatest musicals of all time. With it's tale of the film world of the mid 1920's and its creative underlining love story between Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) and Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds), it provokes the interest of someone who would not generally be attracted to a musical. It is a classic masterpiece that set the standards that musical films of today will be judged by. It is a classic performance by the great Gene Kelly and displays outstanding performances by Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor. As well as starring in this brilliant movie, Gene Kelly teams up with Stanley Donen to make their mark in film history.
Jackie Robinson (Jack Roosevelt Robinson) was an exceptional athlete. He was born on January 31, 1919 in Cairo Georgia. When his father left his family they all moved to Pasadena, California. They thought it would be a better
Swing Dance Group 2: Brandon Wong, Robin Massowd, Meredith Seamon, Savannah McEntire, Johannah Robert, Renee Wilson, Kelcie Melino, Kara Shifflett, Natalie Perez, Gabrielle Slais, Arian Shahbazi, Katie Parker. Page Break History: The.. Swing dance, as it is called today, originated in the 1920's when the African American community in Harlem, New York developed the Charleston and Lindy Hop while dancing to contemporary jazz music. In comparison to previous dance styles, swing dance, which is usually done to jazz music, had great and large movements. The Savoy Ballroom, which opened its doors in New York City during 1926, was one of the first places where swing dance came alive to the sounds of swinging jazz music played by the best black bands in Harlem (Heikkila).
Dance, like any other art form, is constantly evolving. Its roots are planted in every place in the world. America can thank several countries for creating what the dance industry is today. Since America is a melting pot, it has blended movements from all over the world. This country accepts all cultures and invites new art. Textbooks do not expand on the importance of dance, but it not only played a role in early American society, but todays as well.
“Dance, the art of precise, expressive, and graceful human movement, traditionally, but not necessarily, performed in accord with musical accompaniment. Dancing developed as a natural expression of united feeling and action.”
At four years old, my mom signed me up for my first dance class, and ever since then I haven’t stopped. Dancing has become more then a hobby for me, it has become something I am interested in doing the rest of my life. Dancing interests me because I love being active, working with others, and simply having fun while getting the job done, all of which dancing provides. Already, I know where to look for colleges that have solid dance programs because I have grown up watching dancers from my studio go to college to major in dance and they have given me advice on where to look. This is very helpful information however I would also like to know specifics about the day in the life of a dance major and how many dancers actually get jobs after college and are able to make a career dancing.
Every society has social dances that are interconnected into each culture. However, each culture has a different way of portraying these social dances. In America, as well as other countries, social dances incorporate traditions, power, milestone events, etc. I observed dance in a non-traditional performing environment during a musical festival in urban downtown Austin, Texas. The atmosphere was filled with joy and happiness despite the gloomy morning. This particular day of the music festival, which is South by Southwest, was geared more towards the middle and upper age groups. As I observed my surroundings, the individuals primarily dancing were close to the stage and interacting with the bands. I noticed that these dancers were mixed with