Rehearsing Solo Piece: The Music

Experiential Work

APPROXIMATE CLASS TIME - 75 min)

I - Warm Up

 (2:45 min)

Let us do our isolation warm-up routine as we have done in class:

neck
shoulders
arms
torso
hips
legs
ankles

------------------------------------------------

II - Alignment (2:00 min)

Close your eyes
Imagine a string pulling you from the top of your head up towards infinite

Elongate of your neck
relax your shoulders
Imagine gravity is pulling you towards the ground, from the bottom of your feet downward
Inhale and on the exhale press your abdomen against your spine
Flatten your back
Tuck in your rib cage
Rotate your shoulder so that the align with your hips
Bring your tailbone slightly forward
Soften your knees

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

 III - Breathing and Stretching

Stand Up and Stretch(11:00 min)

-----------------------------------------------

IV.    Rehearsal of Solo Piece

 Follow the Following Steps: 

a. Dance a character outside your comfort zone.

b. Push for tougher choreography.

c. Analyze every step.

d. Study your transitions.

e. Fill in the blanks on your own.

Source:   Link: More Than a Solo

Question 1

As you go through every step described above, write a reflection on your progress.

--------------------------------------

V.    Choose Music

 Watch the video and use the same principles described by Arthur Moore to put music to his cinematographic images to choose the music for your solo piece. 

Music has many different fundamentals or elements. Depending on the definition of "element" being used, these can include: 

pitch, 

beat or pulse, 

tempo, 

rhythm, 

melody, 

harmony, 

texture, 

style, 

allocation of voices,

timbre or color, 

dynamics, 

expression,

articulation, 

form 

structure.

Question 2

Once you choose your music, try to describe it using the elements mentioned above that apply to your music piece.

-------------------------------

VI)    Written Component: Tell Your Story

 Remember that in Modern Dance, there is always a story being told. For instance

Catherine Dunham - Barrel House Blues 

The piece is based on the slow drag a couple stands common to the Juke and the honky tonking. It depicts the time in Chicago when it was cold.  This lonely woman who felt a little beat up went on in a barn and had the time of her life just for a moment. She finds this young man and fantasizes. https://youtu.be/UcN0G7xItwo (9:00)

Lester Horton - The Beloved

The Beloved (all 1948), based on a newspaper article about a man who suspected his wife of infidelity and beat her to death with a Bible. The Beloved, co-choreographed with Lewitzky, is widely regarded to be a classic example of modern dance and one of Horton’s masterpieces. https://youtu.be/NZZ8RP8cTcs

Jose Limon - The Moor's Pavane

The Moor's Pavane is a 20-minute ballet based upon the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare. The ballet was choreographed by José Limón in 1949 to music from Henry Purcell's Abdelazer, The Gordion Knot Untied, and the pavane from Pavane and Chaconne for Strings, arranged by Simon Sadoff. https://youtu.be/ZnmsSiMfMHw

 

Martha Graham - Appalachian Spring

The story tells of a spring celebration of the American pioneers of the 19th century, after building a new  Pennsylvania farmhouse. A young farm couple ruminate on their lives before getting married and setting up house in the wilderness. An itinerant preacher delivers a sermon. An older pioneer woman oversees the events with sympathy and wisdom. The newlyweds muse on their future as night falls. The couple will face a future that will not be all sweetness and light, but they will be able to survive the challenges. https://youtu.be/XmgaKGSxQVw

Question 3

 Go over your piece and think about the story you are telling. There is no right or wrong answer. Your story is yours to tell. Please write a few sentences in which you summarize the story you are telling through your solo piece.