Dance Commons^™

Making Connections: Improving Movement Skills By Integrating Knowledge From Dance Disciplines, Amy D. Howton

Faculty Articles

Dance specialist Rebecca Enghauser (2003) has emphasized that, in the dance class, motor learning begins when the student replicates the movements presented. Demonstration is usually a necessary accompaniment to verbal instructions, suggesting that dancers routinely engage in multiple learning styles, including visual, auditor/, and kinesthetic. Enghauser also addressed "random practice," where movement appears in different combinations that then produce better and longer-lasting skill learning. Therefore, relating similar movement from different disciplines should help produce long-term learning. The analysis required when processing these similar, although perhaps outwardly different, movements provides additional and more enduring learning opportunities. Enghauser also addressed "random practice," …

Weaving Through Reality: Dance As An Active Emblem Of Fantasy In Performance Literature, Tara Maylyn Frankel

CMC Senior Theses

Literature uses dance to reveal underlying messages of fantasy through the themes of the central narrative of female characters. Examining the original texts with respect to their varying adaptations for film and stage, performance literature reveals how directors relate a three-dimensional story to an audience from a two-dimensional world. Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Red Shoes” shows an underlying semiotic code where transitioning from the black and white of reality to the red of fantasy is only accomplished through dancing. Oscar Wilde’s Salome displays an eroticization of the exotic solo-improvised dance that provides a semblance of control for the main character. …

The Secret Garden

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 2009 performance of The Secret Garden based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett with script and lyrics by Marsha Norman and music by Lucy Simon.

The Secret Garden tells the story of Mary Lennox, a young English girl from British Raj who is sent to live in Yorkshire, England with her relatives after her parents die in a cholera outbreak. As she works in a neglected hidden garden with a young gardener she begins to grow and begins to influence her sickly cousin and uncle.

In Passing, Julia Allisson Cost

Scripps Senior Theses

My intentions for "In Passing" were to build the beginnings of an education philosophy through a richly varied choreographic process. I wanted my dancers to come away from this work with a heightened eagerness to explore the unfamiliar and an increased confidence in their ability to support one another and be supported, and I wanted to learn to more effectively and tenderly lead a group of many different personalities through a long-term creative experience. I think we have been successful.

Dreaming In Motion: Maintaining Community, Culture And Identity Of First Australians, Ian R.T. Colless

Theses : Honours

No abstract provided.

Dancescape: A Work In Thetranslation Of Bodies And Movement, Julia Allisson Cost

Scripps Senior Theses

Translation is inevitably challenging work. When the human body and its movement are the subjects translated, the work may be particularly difficult, as questions both technical and ethical may arise about the representation in the second medium. Yet the exercise can also be very illuminating, creating space for insights that may not have been possible without the translation. For my Scripps College art thesis, I have created a series of paintings of Western dancers and researched four artists whose work involves bodies, movement, or dance and whose approaches differ tremendously. These artists are Edgar Degas (1834-1917), an impressionist painter known …

Dance Concert 2008: Gotta Dance!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2007-2008 Season

No abstract provided.

Choreographing The Other: The Serbian State Folk Dance Ensemble, Gypsies, Muslims And Albanians, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

I argue that the power to represent is not only power in a theoretical Foucauldian sense, but the power of representation, especially of those powerless to resist the field of representation provided by state-supported national dance ensembles, is a very real power. Dance scholars have begun to look at issues of representation and dance and human rights within fascist and communist contexts of the past, as well as questioning the stances toward dance taken by theocratic regimes like that of the Islamic Republic and Iran and the former Taliban regime of Afghanistan. I also suggest that the actual content of …

Dance And Human Rights In The Middle East, North Africa, And Central Asia, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

In this essay, Islam itself is first examined in order to determine how individual Muslims justify to themselves and to others the banning of dancing in various contexts. Following a brief discussion of Islam as it relates to dance, some of the myriad dance genres and contexts found in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia are discussed. Finally, I consider the many ways in which many Muslims perceive dance, and then describe and analyze the local reactions to dancing in its complexity. This approach elucidates multiple meanings that create a pattern of behavior within specific cultural contexts.

Dance 2007: Encore!, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2006-2007 Season

No abstract provided.

Dancing Through Film Musicals: Narratives In Motion, Dara Phillips

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to discover if and how dance communicates vital plot and character information nonverbally. The example analyzed was the film Singin’ in the Rain. This thesis examined the six dance sequences in the film to determine if the dancing is an integral, powerful, and significant communicative addition to the film. Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm was used in conjunction with Seymour Chatman’s concept of kernels and satellites to determine if the dances communicated significantly to the film’s viewers. The Narrative Paradigm, though loosely framed, provided the concepts of coherence and fidelity. These concepts helped determine if …

Dance 2006: Street Fest, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2005-2006 Season

No abstract provided.

Reviews: “Performance And Evolution In The Age Of Darwinism,” “Dancing At The Dawn Of Agriculture,” “Dance In Anthropology (2nd Edition),” “Dances Of The Tewa Pueblo Indians (2nd Edition)", Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

In order to create a contextual basis for a discussion of these four titles, I connect them through the authors’ uses of anthropological and archaeological methods and theories, and discuss how these have changed through time.

Dance Concert 2004: Broadway Babies, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

2003-2004 Season

No abstract provided.

Time Wounds All Heels: Duncan, Ballet, And Bataille, Joanne Pearson

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Any study of the birth of modern dance draws upon the work of Isadora Duncan and for too long her dance has been placed in opposition to ballet. Even today the contemporary Duncan dancer reifies the image of Duncan as natural, harmonious, unique and rounded [1]. This opposition of free dance versus ballet presents a two-dimensional portrait of past representations of femininity. I aim to re-think Duncan's disdain for the pointe shoe and her belief that barefoot dancing would encourage a liberated movement that would in turn free woman from her disgraceful position in dance and …

Peter Pan

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 2002 performance of Peter Pan based on the play by J. M. Barrie with music by Jule Styne, Mark Charlap, and Trude Rittmann, and lyrics by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Carolyn Leigh.

Peter Pan tells the story of the Darling children, Wendy, John, and Michael, and their adventures with Peter Pan, the boy who never grows older and lives in the fantastical land of Neverland.

Spreading The Net, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

The ballet and modern dance establishment has a stranglehold on dance programs throughout North America. Dance ethnology, with one or two exceptions, takes a back seat to the study of Western theater dance forms and its major figures. Individuals highly trained in dance ethnology have a difficult time accumulating sufficient "cultural capital," in Bourdieu's terms, to secure meaningful positions. As a consequence, we must "spread our nets" in order that our research and writings become more relevant outside the dance field. Dance ethnologists are uniquely poised to respond to the strong emphasis on popular culture that currently characterizes the social …

Accumulated Response In Live Improvised Dance Performance, Joanna T. Pollitt

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The response project and accompanying thesis aim to affirm the role of the dancer as an authority in revealing patterns and traces of accumulated lived experience, knowledge and ideas through the practice and performance of dance improvisation. The dancing body is investigated as a dynamical and complex system of research that is embedded in a process of continual response to the present. These bodily inscriptions and the process of active response form the seminal grounds for the physical and energetic exchange of improvised dance in performance.

Dance And Doctrine: Shaker And Mormon Dancing As A Manifestation Of Doctrinal Views Of The Physical Body, Lindsy Stewart Cieslewicz

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares the dancing of the Shakers (The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance) and the Mormons (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church) during the nineteenth century, as it was influenced by their doctrinal beliefs about the human body. Specifically, it examines how the role of the physical body in achieving mortal happiness and immortal salvation was viewed by each group and how these beliefs were reflected in their dancing. It describes the different forms of dancing performed by each religious group and how dance functioned as worship and recreation for the …

Dance Concert (November 12-15, 1998), Lindenwood University

Student Dance Programs & Brochures

Event program for Dance Concert (November 12-15, 1998).

Afghanistan, Anthony Shay

Pomona Faculty Publications and Research

A very conservative Islamic country, Afghanistan lies on the eastern edge of the Middle East, to the west of Pakistan and India. Afghanistan is at the confluence of Iranian, Central Asian, and Indian cultural currents, and most groups within Afghanistan have ethnic ties across the borders. Indian elements are the least felt, but the rhythmic footwork of some solo dancing is highly reminiscent of classical Indian traditions. A variety of ethnic and linguistic groups, each with its own choreographic tradition, reflects Afghanistan's enormous cultural diversity. Its dance traditions, however, are scarcely documented. As in most Islamic countries, dancers are paid …

1997 Otterbein University Summer Theatre Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

1996 Otterbein Summer Theatre Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's show.

Dance Alive Ii (April 20-22, 27-29, 1995), Lindenwood College

Student Dance Programs & Brochures

Event program for Dance Alive II (April 20-22, 27-29, 1995).

1994-1995 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Maine Dance Curriculum Guide, Dance Education In Maine Schools

Maine Collection

Maine Dance Curriculum Guide

by Dance Education in Maine Schools

Department of Education, Augusta, Maine 1994.

Contents: Message from the Commissioner / Forward / Acknowledgements / Preface - Maine Dance Heritage / Introduction / Pedagogy / Students with Special Needs / Major Premises / Evaluation / Scope and Sequence / App.A: Glossary of Terms / App.B: How to Establish Your School Dance Program / App.C: Complimentary Movement Disciplines / App.D.: Resource List / App.E.: Dance Education in Maine Schools

The Choreography And Production Of "Jacob Five: A Journey Into The Olive Vineyard", Laurie Behunin

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of choreographing "Jacob Five: A Journey into the Olive Vineyard" was to artistically express a religious allegory in order to praise God as well as to bring the audience, dancers, and choreographer to a new understanding of the passage from which it was derived. The 39-minute dance was presented April 10, 1993 as a dance fireside. Following the performance, an informal discussion was held to give the audience an opportunity to respond to the dance. These comments were considered and recorded as part of the evaluation of this thesis. Both the thesis and video of "Jacob Five: A …

Dance Has All The Moves! (April 20, 1980), Lindenwood College

Student Dance Programs & Brochures

Event program for Dance Has All The Moves! (April 20, 1980).

Senior Dance Recital (May 1, 1977), Lindenwood College

Student Dance Programs & Brochures

Event program for Senior Dance Recital (May 1, 1977).

Brigadoon

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1977 performance of Brigadoon with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe.

Brigadoon is a musical about two American tourists who stumble upon a Scottish Town that only appears every one hundred years. One of the tourists falls in love and must decide whether to stay in the enchanted village or remain in the real world.