Miley Cyrus recently made headlines for her performance on stage at the MTV Music Awards, shaking her rear end in what many described as a scandalous or inappropriate manner, while barely dressed in what was akin to a skimpy bathing suit. Anyone who watched the news in the days following her August 25, 2013, performance at the Video Music Awards could not have missed the commentary, and there was a lot of commentary. Some thought Miley’s performance was extreme and perverted. People talked, and many pondered this new dance. Was this artistic expression, or obscene absurdity, and did Miley create this new dance known as, “twerking?”
This paper discusses the origins of twerking, its transplantation from its origins into the American dance scene, and Miley’s performance of the progressive version of the original dance. It also explores the values and criticisms associated with the dance, and some of today’s social views of the dance. Finally, it discusses the historical aspects of the dance and considers the future of twerking.
Performance by Miley Cyrus
As background, Miley appeared on stage on the night of August 25, scantily clad, and performed a dance that is now commonly referred to as, “twerking.” She appeared to have made this dance famous, as she received massive media coverage and commentary, comedic reprisals, and critical acclaim by some as to her media genius. In fact, this term was added to The Oxford Dictionary Online just this year. “Twerk” is defined as, a “dance to popular music in a sexually provocative manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low squatting dance” (Definition of twerk in English). Miley certainly did dance in a sexually provocative manner, thrusting her hips and squatting as she co...
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... is the original of ‘twerk’? Oxfordwords Blog. 29 August 2013. Web. 26 November 2013.
Philpott, Alexis. “The Evolution of Twerking.” The Marquee. 10 October 2013. Web. 07 November 2013.
Powell, Azizi. “Cote D’Ivoire’s Mapouka Dance - The Roots of Twerking”. Pancocojams. 16 May 2013. Web. 30 November 2013.
Richardson, Elaine. "Developing Critical Hip Hop Feminist Literacies: Centrality and Subversion of Sexuality in the Lives of Black Girls." Equity & Excellence in Education Routledge 08 August 2013. 327-341. Web. 07 November 2013.
“Who knows only his own generation remains always a child.” This quote from George Norlin echoes the edification that cultural exposure can offer. How does African dance relate to do modern dance? The two are so heterogeneous in their make-up that one would not think of them as having similarities. The truth, however, is that all dance forms are linked in some way or another; they all strengthen and sharpen each other. Modern dance has its roots in African dance with the emphasis placed on the connection of weight and gravity. Brenda Dixon Gottschild names five aesthetics that are present in African dance. A particular piece that draws attention to the relation of the five aesthetics to modern dance is “Split Sides”, choreographed by Merce Cunningham.
Learning about Dance: Dance as an Art Form and Entertainment provides visions into the many features of dance and inspires scholars to keep an open mind and think critically about the stimulating, bold, ever-changing and active world of dance. Learning about Dance is particularly useful for those who do not have a wide and diverse dance contextual, such as students in a preliminary level or survey dance course. This book consists of twelve chapters. Chapter one dance as an art form focuses on the basic structures of dance. Dance is displayed through the human body, it has the control to communicate and induce reactions. Dance can be found in many different places, it enables the participants and seekers to touch and knowledge the joy of movement. Dance is discovered as being one of the oldest art forms worldwide. Dance existed in early cultures was recognized in a sequence of rock paintings portrayed dance. Since this discovery of rock paintings, several other forms of art have been found that depict dance. People used rituals in order to worship the gods and believed that the rituals held magical and spiritual powers. During the ancient period civilizations sentient decisions began to be made with regard to dance. Other periods that had an impact on dance were the medieval period, the renaissance period, and the contemporary period. Chapter two the choreographer, the choreographer is a person who comes up with the movements created into a dance routine. The choreographer expresses themselves through choreography because this is their way of communicating with the audience. In order to be a choreographer you must have a passion for dance. Each choreographer has their own approaches and ways of making up a routine. Choreographers ...
Dance is an ever evolving form of art; in much the same way that one can categorize and differentiate between eras and styles of architecture one can also do so with dance. These eras at times have sharp delineations separating them from their antecedents, other times the distinction is far more subtle. Traditional forms of dance were challenged by choreographers attempting to expand the breadth and increase the depth of performance; preeminent among such visionaries was Seattle born dancer and choreographer Mark Morris. Mark Morris' began as one of the millions of hopeful individuals attempting to simply make a career in dance; he not only succeeded but managed to have a lasting effect on the entire landscape of dance.
In The Venus Hip Hop and the Pink Ghetto, Imani Perry argues that the over-sexualized, unattainable bodies of black women in popular culture will lead to the breakdown of feminism and the positive body image of the everyday black women. As hip hop music continues to become more popular, the sexist messages presented in lyrics and music videos are becoming more common to the everyday public, including young black girls developing a self-image. Instead of these girls being exposed to healthy, positive role models who encourage individuality and that there is more to a woman than her body they are given hip hop video models whose only purpose is to look sensual on screen. The strong women that do exist in the hip hop genre are pushed to sexualize themselves or their lyrics to sell records or stay relatively unknown. Although Perry’s arguments are logical, I believe that she is creating a slippery slope of logic. A genre of music cannot destroy the self-image of black women that has existed for generations.
The article discusses the fact that hip hop “provides a lens [through which white students and faculty at institutions] interpret Black culture” and that because of this not only is the Black female’s view of herself being manipulated, but black males expect what is being promoted by hip hop culture from them, and so does every other person (Henry, West, & Jackson 238). A professor at North Carolina Central University spoke about how he dislikes how hip-hop has influenced the way his students dress, he said “ They look like hoochie mamas, not like they’re coming to class” (as cited in Evelyn
Ramsay, B. (2000). Dance theory, sociology, and aesthetics. Dance Research Journal, 32(1), 125-131. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1478286
...ing audience to say “no” to various social dysfunctions such as illiteracy. She then distracted everyone, and subsequently undermined her own message, by punctuating it with a Vegas flash courtesy of Mr. Timberlake. That should have told America something about how seriously to take Janet Jackson. If you need to drive home your social commentary with a starburst nipple accessory, perhaps your rhetoric needs some work.
This paper will be a detailed description of what dance was like in the 1950’s specifically focusing on 1954 to 1959. It will also go beyond to demonstrate how the style of dancing is a direct reflection of the society during that time period. The topic will be presented in class and a brief reflection will be included in this paper.
Allison Bonetti, a dancer in the performance, is quoted, remarking, “I feel dizzy every time we complete the Waltz section, but I don’t feel dirty or scandalous, as I would after, say I maybe danced in a club. I think I speak for many of us when I say that the Waltz feels like a dance my grandmother would do.” In fact, the performance is misleading seeing as it is paired with very formal and controlled dances such as the Pavane and the minuet. In fact, modern historians such as Mark Knowles have compared the Waltz to social hip hop dances of today such as “krumping and grinding” since through the ages social dances have been “manifestations of society’s beliefs, values, attitudes, confusions, and concerns.” If the performance was to correctly convey this notion, it would have beneficial to place the nineteenth century Waltz in the second half of the performance, along with dances like the Quan and the Whip. However, in order to maintain chronological accuracy, the Waltz was placed in the beginning of the performance, overall failing to reveal the true nature of the nineteenth century
This serves to negate any “unnatural” sexualization of the White body through the routine while emphasizing the black performance. Twerking, represents a type of Black, female, sexuality that has its roots in colonization and was exploited in the Victorian era in order to justify the objectification of the Black female body by creating them as inherently different. The black body became hyper-sexualized, animalistic and representative of the inherent inferiority of the “other”. Simultaneously it also allows Black women bodies to be analyzed, unlike White women who are socialized as
Women have consistently been perceived as second-class citizens. Even now, in times when a social conscience is present in most individuals, in an era where an atmosphere of gender equality 'supposedly' exists, it is blatantly apparent that the objectification and marginalization of women is still a major social issue. In reality, progression in terms of reducing female exploitation has been stagnant at best. Not only is the degradation of women a major problem that to date has not been eradicated, but it is actually being endorsed by some music celebrities. There are a growing number of people who purchase rap albums that support the fallacy that women are mere objects and should be treated as such. As the popularity of rap continues to climb at unprecedented rates, so too does its influence on the perception of women. In the vast majority of hip-hop songs, the depiction of women as sexual objects, the extreme violence directed towards them and the overall negative influence these lyrics have on the average adolescent's perception of women make rap the absolute epitome of female exploitation.
The first social dance explored was ballroom dancing. Ballrooms were a place of courtship; therefore, these dances were always performed by a male, female couple. Traditional gender roles began the dance as the men always asked the women to dance. As the dance began, the bodies were transformed into vehicles to connect these opposite sex partners. However, societal rules applied to this dance because partners must be from within the appropriate class, the intentions proper, and the movements executed in a specific manner. The woman’s role was essentially to avoid a misstep of tripping on the man’s feet, since the male always led the dance.
Although the film has endured some criticism, the film’s after-after party at Kingston’s Club Mirage proved that Dancehall Queen isn’t “the invention of a perverted production team in search of celluloid satisfaction. Real-life dancehall queens stroked their crotches, winded their hips and rubbed their well-oiled buttocks” (St. Hill).
As Jackie Joyner Kersee once said, “The rewards are going to come, but my happiness is just loving the sport and having fun performing” (“Sports Quotes,” 2013). Sports play a major role in entertainment all across the world. Sports can range from driving in NASCAR to playing in the NBA (Careers in Pro Sports, 1999). Sports usually involve teamwork and is fun for everyone. Although sports are supposed to be fun, there is natural competition. Being a feminine art, dance is considered to be just about anything other than a sport. Dancers are trained to the height of their ability, just like other athletes in other sports. Even though the dancer might not perform with their whole dance studio on stage at the same time, the dancers are all apart of the same team. Dancing is not an easy sport to participate in, so if you are looking for a sport that does not require practice then you might want to look into a different sport. There are hour-long practices, healthy diets, and several routines to remember. Normally, if someone is convinced that dance is not a sport, they have not fully engaged or experienced dance. In order to better understand dance, it is important to understand the history of dance, the competition of dance, and the comparison of dance to other sports.
ition: a type of country and western dancing in which dancers line up in a row without partners and follow a choreographed pattern of steps to music.