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Isadora Duncan, 2002.
A biography of the life and career of the American dancer, Isadora Duncan.
1,572 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 51.95
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Abstract
This paper reviews the life of the artist, dancer and teacher Isadora Duncan born in 1878 and discusses her contribution to American dance. It examines how Isadora Duncan is largely credited with establishing what we now know as modern dance and how she infused the accepted dance modalities of her day with ideas old and new. It analyzes how Duncan?s attitudes and approaches came from her native America and how these ideas involved a stress upon unfettered athleticism for both men and women. Duncan wished to develop the body?s capacity for jumping, stretching and expressing emotions rather than pure excellence and form in isolation.
From the Paper
"Thus, although she lived and traveled extensively in Europe, it is important to remember Duncan?s origins in the United States and subsequent influence upon American dance?s cavalier attitude towards formulaic traditions. ?Born in 1878 in San Francisco, Isadora Duncan grew up in a childhood filled with imagination and art. Her mother introduced her four children (Isadora was youngest) to classical music, as well as Shakespeare, poetry, literature and art. Isadora spent many hours playing and dancing upon the beach, and even taught dance classes to younger children as a way to earn a little extra money for the struggling family. In her teenage years, Isadora traveled to Chicago and New York with some of her family members, working and performing in various productions such as Mme. Pygmalion, Midsummer's Night Dream or vaudeville shows with limited success."
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Isadora Duncan:A Pioneer of Dance, 2002.
Examining the life and work of Isadora Duncan and how her dance style developed over the years.
1,412 words (approx. 5.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 47.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at the life of Isadora Duncan, a pioneer in modern dance. It discusses her early life, personal life and education. The paper then addresses how her dance style was influenced by various elements such as Greek influence and American culture. It looks at Duncan's education and how this impacted her art. The paper concludes with the status of Duncan's dance style today and the existance of the Isadora Duncan Dance Ensemble.
From the Paper
"Isadora Duncan is recognized as one of the pioneers of modern dance as it is known today. Since childhood she had loved poetry, beauty and rhythm. She had a large amount of practical common sense juxtaposed with a dreaming quality, inherited from her father. As her childhood was marked by poverty, Duncan hated reality, and was a rebel (Dickson, 2001). This was all worsened by her parents? divorce and her mother?s insistence that her father was practically subhuman. Furthermore Isadora?s mother disavowed their faith and accepted atheism. The child?s confusion was heightened by the fact that when she met her father, he was a charming, lovable man. This resulted in the fact that Isadora never lost her contempt for the institution of marriage as she had grown up with it."
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Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 2002.
A history of Serge Diaghilev and his ballet company, Ballets Russes, and its influence on the world of ballet.
1,080 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 37.95
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Abstract
The paper gives a history of Russian-born Serge Diaghilev and explains how his unconventional ideas of ballet led to the creation of the Ballets Russes in France. The paper lists the people associated with the company and explains the factors that contributed to the success of the Ballets Russes. The author describes the incredible impact that the Ballets Russes had on the world of ballet.
From the Paper
"Serge Diaghilev was born of Russian nobility in Perm, Russia, on March 19, 1872. In 1890 his family moved to Saint Petersburg, and at the university there, Diaghilev was supposed to study law, but he soon became enamored with the arts and realized that was where his future lay."
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History of Social Dancing in the Twentieth Century, 2002.
A concise study on the history of social dancing in 20th century.
655 words (approx. 2.6 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 23.95
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Abstract
This paper examines historically social dancing in the 20th century, also called couple dancing. The paper describes the five different types: Modern Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Slow Foxtrot, and Quickstep, all of which are presently danced the world over both socially as well as in dance sport competitions.
From the Paper
"Social dancing was derived from the concept of dancing by a couple, usually a man and a lady, in a closed hand. Coming from the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, these dances gained popularity from the standard ballroom dances with diverse rhythms, tempos, and aesthetics. Although all these aspects changed with the change in the social attitudes, the one thing, which remained common through out the history of dancing, is that of the couple dance or the social dances. (Evans 2001)"
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August Bournonville, 2002.
This paper takes a look at the life and achievements of August Bournonville, the most celebrated Danish choreographer in history.
1,180 words (approx. 4.7 pages), 0 sources, $ 40.95
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Abstract
The following paper discusses August Bournonville?s family life, the way in which he got to be the principal for the Copenhagen Royal Theatre, as well as their ballet-master and dance teacher. It examines the way in which Bournonville took a very contrasting humanistic approach to dance ? he tended to focus on the beauty found in the ordinary things.
From the Paper
?His third daughter, Mathilde, was a teacher; his fourth daughter, Therese was a homemaker, and his son Edmond was a doctor with a successful practice in both Sweden and Denmark. Wilhelmine was the Bournonville?s adopted daughter, who seemed to perhaps ease his guilt about his daughter whom he had abandoned so many years earlier in France. It is important to interject that Bournonville did keep in correspondence with the adoptive parents of his first-born daughter, and he even corresponded with her after she was on her own. He never revealed to her that he was her father, but he aided her economically at any chance that he had.?
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Zydeco Music, 2001.
This paper describes zydeco music and dancing, popularized by Creole French speaking people of African decent living on the prairies of south-central and southwest Louisiana.
2,860 words (approx. 11.4 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 84.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that zydeco music, a form of dance music, is characterized by a syncopation or a shift of accent in a passage or composition that occurs when a normally weak beat is stressed. The author points out that the accordion and keyrub board, (also know as the washboard, scrub board or a froittoir) are essential parts of the zydeco sound, but there are no fiddles as in Cajun music. The paper relates that traditional zydeco dancing was done subtly, smoothly and upright by couples in a closed position; however, zydeco dancing appears to be evolving from a couples dance to individual free-style. The author relates that Clifton Chenier, who brought the zydeco genre to international attention, reigned as the "King of Zydeco" with a career lasting 30 years, and earned a Grammy award in 1984.
From the Paper
"The changes that have taken place in zydeco music can be tracked by the type of accordion that is used. There were four different models of accordions that have been widely used in the zydeco musical genre, each type varying in the number of rows, and consequently the number of keys. The accordions were sturdy and could be easily heard in big crowds of people. Today, there are diatomic models as well as chromatic models. The diatomic models only play the full-step intervals found in major scales, while the chromatic "piano" accordions encompass half-step intervals..."
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Analysis of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's "Achterland", 2006.
An analysis of Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's modern dance film "Achterland," from a dance and filmmaker's perspective.
1,190 words (approx. 4.8 pages), 1 source, APA, $ 40.95
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Abstract
This paper analyzes "Achterland," written by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. It discusses film techniques, camera placement and the motivation behind the piece, all from the filmmaker's perspective. The paper then examines the dance technique and choreographic standards. Finally, the paper looks at how "Achterland" portrays gender roles and feminism in fine arts.
From the Paper
"Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker's piece Achterland is an award-winning dance film featuring male and female dancers that clearly express the struggle for equality between men and women. The music includes Eight Studies for the Piano by Gyorgy Liegeti and Trois Sonates pour Violon Seul by Eugene Ysaye."
"Filmed onstage with de Keersmaeker behind the camera, viewers are given a great insight into what de Keersmaeker's true artistic vision is. The camera is guided to frame and stress certain aspects of her choreography. It is interestingly done so (i.e. focusing on random body parts) that the viewer is forced to focus on certain things that may not have caught attention otherwise. I was often left wondering if there were specific movements or body parts to focus on, but at times it just seemed like an artistic choice with no real motivation."
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Review of "The Red Shoes", 2007.
This paper provides a review of Michael Powell's 1948 dance film, "The Red Shoes."
1,500 words (approx. 6.0 pages), 0 sources, $ 49.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer analyzes the film "The Red Shoes". The writer considers a number of aspects of the film including characters, lighting, dance sequences and color. Further, the writer highlights a number of the film's main themes including passion and jealousy. Overall, the writer maintains that the film's appeal should be attributed to the good taste of Michael Powell and the multitude of prestigious aids he employed such as Jack Cardiff, Robert Helpmann, composer Brian Easdale, and art director Arthur Lawson. Their contributions to the film are invaluable, making "The Red Shoes" a special film that offers overwhelming visual and aural sensations. The writer concludes that combined with the complicated philosophical and emotional issues, Powell and company produced a movie that should stand among the greatest in its genre.
From the Paper
"By the time this plot has come fully to fruition, the film is nearly over. The second act last somewhere around one hundred minutes; it is not hard to imagine a less patient audience being bored with, if not entirely dismissive of, the film's long path toward a culmination that last only a matter of minutes. The Red Shoes, however, is not really a love story at all; the relationship between Craster and Paige is present only to set up some of the larger themes that are all resolved in the end. Thus, the concrete story must be approached as something to be dissected, a narrative with many layers to be pulled away and exposed.
The real goal of Powell's film is to examine the pressures and costs of passion. This theme is focused directly on Vicki Paige; she is the character most influenced by Lermontov and most willing to sacrifice everything for the ballet."
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Rock and Roll History, 2006.
A discussion regarding the macrocosm and microcosm of 'Rock and Roll History in Coming of Age in Buffalo' by William Graebner and 'Flowers in the Dustbin' by James Miller.
1,125 words (approx. 4.5 pages), 2 sources, $ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the historical research of both Miller and Graebner rely on different macrocosmic and microcosmic approaches for understanding the rock and roll phenomenon. The paper further discusses how the Miller tends to apply a national approach to his understanding of rock and roll through fashion and musical trends, which often involves secondary sources in the media. Graebner also relies on secondary information to a certain degree, but certainly, he seeks deeper empirical data that reaches into the racial and ethnic barriers that Miller does apply.
From the Paper
"The book review being analyzed here will analyze the microcosm and macrocosm of rock and roll history within Coming of Age in Buffalo by William Graebner and Flowers in the Dustbin by James Miller. By understanding the microcosm of history within a small historical location in Graebner's history, rock and roll is not as generalized as one finds in the more national perspective of music history. While Miller often defines national trends in music and fashion in rock and roll culture, both books offer different points of view on how music history should be analyzed."
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Dance Movement Therapy, 2005.
A discussion of dance as a form of therapy.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 7 sources, $ 62.95
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Abstract
This paper is about dance movement therapy as a form of expressive art therapies. The paper focuses on how dance therapy is about the release of emotional trauma or beliefs as well as feelings that have been suppressed, through appropriate movement. There is a brief history of development of dance therapy as well as a personal story about how fears can limit the ability to dance.
From the Paper
"The expressive arts offer a multitude of opportunities for the human spirit to achieve balance, freedom, relief and potentially self-actualization. While great emphasis in class has been placed on the spirit of the human condition and spirit of the soul, after a brief discussion about the spirit, this paper will focus on what movement and dance therapy are about, the use of dance therapy as a way of unleashing burdensome emotions and psychological pathology in combinations of the arts and solely using dance and movement as the expressive medium. This paper will also include comments on the generally fear and shame based reasons why individuals might initially shy away from dance and movement therapy."
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Strengthening for Dance, 2005.
Examines the importance of strength when becoming a dancer.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 10 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
To be a successful dancer is to be a strong, flexible athlete who has found a balance between physical and mental strength and made the mind to body connection. This paper shows that strengthening is a key element to finding this mind to body connection and in both the physical and mental training of a dancer. This essay briefly discusses the importance of strengthening in the conditioning of a dancer, the best ways to strengthen and the advantages and disadvantages of strengthening."
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Ballet, 2005.
This paper discusses ballet as a form of dancing and examines its significance.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 4 sources, $ 62.95
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Abstract
The paper explains the origin of ballet in relation to semiotics and aesthetics. The paper then discusses its appeal to diverse audiences, using the example of Chinese and Chinese overseas culture. The paper includes notes on the theory of aesthetics and how some may appeal across cultures, as opposed to others. The paper presents ideas of ballet as an institution and not just a form of classical dance, explaining that this depends on location.
From the Paper
"Marcel Danesi explains that dancing is found in all cultures, sometimes as a 'body art' that can be a form of aesthetic communication. (2004, 61) This form of dance can express emotions, moods, ideas, or it can tell a story. Danesi refers directly to Western classical ballet as his example. This paper tells more of ballet and how it can appeal to people, too, who live beyond Western countries, and those who belong to non-Western cultures. As aesthetic communication, ballet has become part of Chinese culture in particular."
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The Semiotics of Dance, 2005.
This paper discusses the semiotics of dance, with a focus on ballet.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 4 sources, $ 62.95
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Abstract
This paper looks at ballet as the form of dance. The paper presents the major argument that ballet is used to create ideas of cultural superiority. The paper considers that at the same time this cultural superiority is used to make other cultures look inferior.
From the Paper
"Art forms are filled with signs, messages, symbols and a whole range of other semiotic features. In Messages and Meanings II Marcel Danesi defines art as, "Disciplined expressive activity that provides the people who produce it and the community that observes it with a range of experiences that might be aesthetic, emotional, intellectual, or a combination of these (Danesi 2004: 332)." Many activities within human societies could be considered art. Singing, music, sculpting, drawing or painting, writing and acting are all activities preformed by societies that are considered art. Each piece of artistic work is filled with symbols, signs and meanings."
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The Multi-Cultural Connection of Dance, 2005.
This paper discusses the multi-cultural connection of dance presented through 'divine love' in Kathak, Middle Eastern and Flamenco dancing.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
In this paper, the writer discusses that the Baile, Egyptian Cabaret, and Nritta represent a cross-cultural connection in world dance, which embodies the love that men and women share for each other. In this manner, the religious idioms of the cultures described here represent the manner of movement that depicts love, but through the sacred ideals of commitment and love. The writer points out that although these differ slightly in the accompaniment of dancers, or in the stylistics of the choreography, there is a archetypal cultural unifier that relates the desire and higher love of men and women across the world.
From the Paper
"This study examines the multi-cultural aspects of "divine love" in Kathak, Middle Eastern, and Flamenco dancing. Within these dances there is a greater blend of different cultural values that make up each of the formats of these dances. In this manner, the chain of influence upon the Kathak, Middle Eastern, and Flamenco dances offer a multi-cultural depiction of how dance is not created within the limitations of geographical boundaries. By understanding the cultural similarities based in these dances, one can realize the power of movement that is a commonality within the religious and divine nature of love. The Kathak dance is a religiously based dance that formally uses the divinity of love for Indian gods, and their dance in the Cosmos."
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Religious Dancing, 2005.
This paper examines the Indian and Indonesian forms of religious dancing.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 2 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that many dance traditions have originated in India and Indonesia, such as the Bharata Natyam from South India, which had an important historical and cultural influence on the history of India. The author points out that important elements of Hinduism, particularly the figure Nataraja, a form of Shiva, are expressed in Bharata Natyam. The paper relates that this dance, as well as many other religious dances, demonstrate the integral relationship between religious dances and the religious themes that inspire them.
From the Paper
"Many dance traditions have originated in India and Indonesia, such as the Bharata Natyam from South India, which had an important historical and cultural influence on the history of India. Important elements of Hinduism, particularly the figure Nataraja, a form of Shiva, are expressed in Bharata Natyam. This dance, as well as many other religious dances, demonstrates the integral relationship between religious dances and the religious themes that inspire them. In terms of specific details of Bharata Natyam, it emerged in southern India and developed over the centuries as a living tradition as generation after generation handed it down from parents to children, and gained ascendancy when the Devadasi system emerged in India."
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Ballet and The Ballet Dancer, 2006.
A look at ballet as an art form and the demands ballet has on the ballet dancer.
1,680 words (approx. 6.7 pages), 6 sources, APA, $ 54.95
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Abstract
This paper takes a look at the history of the art of ballet, as well as reviews the different types of the ballet dance and the strenuous demands that ballet makes on the dancer. This paper also covers various dance choreographers and their particular styles of dance.
From the Paper
"Classical ballet celebrates the potential harmony of the human body, the utopian ideal of collective endeavor, the possibility of the interchange between masculinity and femininity. Something of this is what has recommended ballet to the communisms of the USSR, Cuba and China. Beneath the aristocratic tat of the settings and the charming but dispensable never-never of the stories, there is an implicitly socialist vision.
Yet classical ballet must of course always come wrapped in the specifics of where and for whom it is performed, what other values and meanings it is attached to, and these are riven with contradictions. In practice, in Britain, classical ballet is, at one and the same time, elitist and popular, and woman-centered, heterosexist and part of gay male culture, universal and distinctly white. It is all of this at once.
It is selective in part because it is expensive. Not only are sets on a grand scale and not only do most of the classics require large casts, but behind all that there are the years of investment in training. "
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Flamenco Music, 2004.
This paper is a discussion of the modern style of flamenco music.
1,356 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 47.95
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Abstract
The writer discusses the modern style of flamenco music in Spain. In this paper, the writer looks at the performers of flamenco music. The writer examines the impact of flamenco on Western music. Flamenco icons are also discussed and the writer looks at how the songs tell a story.
From the Paper
"Flamenco is the quintessential music of Spain. It springs not merely from a musical heritage but from an entire way of life. Spaniards the Andalucians and the Gypsy peoples have a long history of music and dance of many different styles. From the familiar works of Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Montserrat Caballe to the lesser known classical composers Isaac Albeniz, Enrique Granados, Fransisco Guerroro and Fransisco GilValencia, Spanish culture has spread its influence around the world. Contemporary icons like Julio Iglasias and his son ... "
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Loie Fuller, 2004.
An overview of the career and art of dancer, Loie Fuller.
675 words (approx. 2.7 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 23.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the art of dancer Loie Fuller and her illustrious career as a dancer. It looks at Fuller's unique contribution to dance as an innovative blend of the artistic and the scientific. The paper contends that although her dances cannot compare on a technical level with the kinds of special effects that even a straight-to-video movie has today, she is in many ways directly responsible for what we see on both stage and screen.
From the Paper
"Loie Fuller was not a great dancer. Although she studied dance as a child she quickly gave up on the lessons because she found them too difficult. But this did not stop her from having an illustrious career as a dancer because Fuller did have something wondrous to offer her audiences which was a unique and innovative blend of the artistic and the scientific. Although her dances in which she was partnered with the magic of early electrical lighting cannot compare on a technical level ..."
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