Based on Ms. Lee’s remarks, I assume the thrust of the performance
will be somewhat didactic. My impression
she want us to feel something about a moment in Chinese-American history that
still has relevance. I’m not sure, however, what we are intended to feel. Did
you get an idea from her remarks how she wants us to feel? Or if she assumes
some we might act in some new way as a result of this experience? Obviously
your feelings remain our own. A thoughtful take in your review might be that
the artist wants us to feel one thing and you feel another. Feel free to
challenge the artist. It’s your
experience.
While watching the production, I hope to choose several particular
moments to focus on determined by my emotional and intellectual reaction. I’m hoping
there will be an emotional, not just an intellectual, connection. If I find
myself puzzled or put off, I’m going to fight that response, at least for a
while. I want to work with the performance, not against it. I want to be fair.
Knowing (I think) what the artist has in mind, I’m going to ask myself if the
piece works for me on those terms, and if – not for me - it might work for
others? There is such a thing as a
partial success.
Although I don’t want you to write only as if this is a “pure”
dance experience, with no larger social meaning, you might choose to emphasize the
specifics of the physical performance. You might choose one dance – that is,
one episode in the presentation - to scrutinize as a series of physical acts. Wandering
around the net, I came across some possible vocabulary for description of dance.
You might talk about:
· * spatial arrangements (stage position, groupings, partnering)
· * axial and nonlocomotor movements (bending, twisting, stretching,
swinging) and locomotor movements (walking, running, hopping, jumping, leaping,
galloping, sliding, skipping)
· * use of body parts (head, trunk, arms, legs, feet)
· * relationships (near, above, along, connected, shadow)
· * shapes (curved, angular, symmetrical)
· * balance (on balance, off balance)
· * space (self space, general space)
· * size of movements and actions (big, medium, small)
· * level (high, middle, low)
· * direction (forward, left, up)
· * pathway (curved, zigzag, straight)
· * single focus and multi-focus (might be particularly useful in
judging multimedia)
· * time (fast, medium, slow)
· * rhythm (pulse, pattern, breath, accent)
· * energy (sharp, smooth)
· * weight (strong, light)
· * flow (free, bound)
· * general understanding how human structure and function can affect
dance movements and movement potential (think of gymnasts and cortortionists)
(The preceding bullet points were taken from a
description of what an applicant desiring a certificate to teach dance in New
York State public schools should understand.)
Your opening paragraph might do a variety of things, from plunging
into description of a specific moment in the presentation to stating your
reaction to the overall piece to a provocative bit of personal history or
philosophy to prepare the reader for detailed development later. The name of
the dance company will probably show up pretty high in the piece. But bury
information about where and when the performance took place. Interest me before
you tell me that.
Here are some other questions you might ask yourself:
·
Are you comfortable talking
about the technical ability of the performers in carrying out the vision
of the choreographer. Were the dancers technically up to the task? Did the
group look well-rehearsed?
·
Is the music was suitable for
the dance? Same thing for costumes.
·
Were the sets and props
necessary and effective for the dance?
·
Do you find your eyes
following one particular dancer? Can you explain why?
This production will also involve video. I think the video will be
background, and the dance will be foreground. If that’s the case, the role of
the video will be to support and complement the dance – though I suppose an
artist might want to create a tension in mood or tone or content between
foreground and background. My assumption is that we will be concentrating on
the “real” – the dance – and not the video. Bottom line is that I want you to
identify any and all multimedia elements and comment on them.
Also, there may be voiceover. Could be poetry. Could be prose.
Questions are the same: How do all these elements fit together? Don’t just say
they do or don’t. Be specific about what’s going on. What exactly are the
sounds and the video and the actions of the dancers at a specific moment that
either please or displease you?
Going into this review, you are going to have some expectations, some anticipation of what you are going to experience. You might include some of that in your review. I don't want it to crowd out the details of the actual performance, but the degree to which your expectations are confirmed or confounded is one way of judging the success of the presentation.
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