Jose Limon Study Guide.indd - University Musical Society

Transcription

05l06 Youth Education
Creative Teachers...Intelligent Students...Real Learning
José Limón Dance Company
Teacher Resource Guide
About UMS
One of the oldest performing arts presenters in the country, UMS serves diverse audiences through multidisciplinary performing arts programs in three distinct but
interrelated areas: presentation, creation, and education.
With a program steeped in music, dance, theater, and
education, UMS hosts approximately 80 performances
and 150 free educational activities each season. UMS
also commissions new work, sponsors artist residencies,
and organizes collaborative projects with local, national as
well as many international partners.
UMS gratefully acknowledges the
following corporations, foundations,
and government agencies for their
generous support of the UMS Youth
Education Program:
The department coordinates dozens of events with over
100 partners that reach more than 50,000 people
annually. It oversees a dynamic, comprehensive program
encompassing workshops, in-school visits, master classes,
lectures, youth and family programming, teacher
professional development workshops, and “meet the
artist” opportunities, cultivating new audiences while
engaging existing ones.
Michigan Council for Arts and
Cultural Affairs
University of Michigan
Arts at Michigan
Linda and Maurice Binkow
Borders Group, Inc.
Chamber Music America
DailerChrysler Corporation Fund
Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Dykema Gossett, PLLC
Heartland Arts Fund
Dr. Toni Hoover in memory of
Dr. Issac Thomas III
JazzNet Endowment
JPMorgan Chase
Masco Corporation
National Dance Project of the New England
Foundation for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
Pfizer Global Research and Development,
Ann Arbor Labratories
ProQuest Company
Prudence and Amnon Rosenthal
K-12 Education Endowment Fund
TCF Bank
TIAA-CREF
Toyota Technical Center
UMS Advisory Committee
University of Michigan Credit Union
U-M Office of the Senior Vice Provost for
Academic Affairs
U-M Office of the Vice President of Research
Wallace Foundation
For advance notice of Youth Education events, join the
UMS Teachers email list by emailing
umsyouth@umich.edu or visit www.ums.org/education.
The José Limón Dance Company residency is
presented with support from DaimlerChrysler
Corporation Fund.
Cover Photo: Lar Lubovitch’s Concerto Six Twenty-Two
(Photo by Rosalie O’Connor)
This Teacher Resource Guide is a product of the University
Musical Society’s Youth Education Program. Researched and
written by Bree Juarez. Edited by Ben Johnson and Bree Juarez.
All photos are courtesy of the artist unless otherwise noted.
While proudly affiliated with the University of Michigan
and housed on the Ann Arbor campus, UMS is a separate
not-for-profit organization that supports itself from ticket
sales, grants, contributions, and endowment income.
UMS Education and
Audience Development
Department
UMS’s Education and Audience Development Department
seeks to deepen the relationship between audiences and
art, as well as to increase the impact that the performing arts can have on schools and community. The program seeks to create and present the highest quality arts
education experience to a broad spectrum of community
constituencies, proceeding in the spirit of partnership and
collaboration.
05/06
UMS Youth Education
Friday, January 13, 11 AM
Power Center, Ann Arbor
TEACHER RESOURCE GUIDE
Table of Contents
About the Performance
*
*
6
7
Repertoire
10
12
14
16
18
Short on Time?
We’ve starred the
most important
pages.
Only Have
15 Minutes?
Coming to the Show
The Performance at a Glance
Evening Songs (1997)
Chaconne (1942)
Angelitos Negros (1972)
Concerto Six Twenty-Two (1986)
Watching a Dance Performance
The Company
*
*
20
21
22
23
Co-Founder: José Limón
Co-Founder: Doris Humphrey
The Influence of José Limón
A José Limón Timeline
Modern Dance
*
Try pages 7, 20, 22
or 27
27
28
30
31
About Early Modern Dance
Two Early Moderns
Contemporaries of José Limón
The Elements of Dance
Lesson Plans
35
36
38
42
43
44
Resources
*
*
4 | www.ums.org/education
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
Curriculum Connections
Meeting Michigan Standards
The Vocabulary of Dance
Dance Vocabulary Word-O
Modern Dance Word Search Puzzle
Word Search Puzzle Solution
UMS Permission Slip
Bibliography/Videography
Internet Resources
Recommended Reading
Community Resources
National Resources
Using the Resource DVD
Evening Performance/ Teen Ticket
How to Contact UMS
About the
Performance
Concerto Six Twenty-Two by Lar Lubovitch (Photo by Rosalie O’Connor)
Coming to the Show (For Students)
We want you to enjoy your time in the theater, so here are some tips to make your Youth
Performance experience successful and fun! Please review this page prior to attending the
performance.
What should I do during the show?
Everyone is expected to be a good audience member. This keeps the show fun for everyone.
Good audience members...
• Are good listeners
• Keep their hands and feet to themselves
• Do not talk or whisper during the performance
• Laugh only at the parts that are funny
• Do not eat gum, candy, food or drink in the theater
• Stay in their seats during the performance
• Do not disturb the people sitting nearby or other schools in attendance
Who will meet us when we arrive?
After you exit the bus, UMS Education staff and greeters will be outside to meet you. They
might have special directions for you, so be listening and follow their directions. They will
take you to the theater door where ushers will meet your group. The greeters know that your
group is coming, so there’s no need for you to have tickets.
Who will show us where to sit?
The ushers will walk your group to its seats. Please take the first seat available. (When
everybody’s seated, your teacher will decide if you can rearrange yourselves.) If you need to
make a trip to the restroom before the show starts, ask your teacher.
How will I know that the show is starting?
You will know the show is starting because the lights in the auditorium will get dim, and a
member of the UMS Education staff will come out on stage to introduce the performance.
What if I get lost?
Please ask an usher or a UMS staff member for help. You will recognize these adults because
they have name tag stickers or a name tag hanging around their neck.
How do I show that I liked what I saw and heard?
The audience shows appreciation during a performance by clapping. In a musical performance, the musicians and dancers are often greeted with applause when they first appear. It
is traditional to applaud at the end of each musical selection and sometimes after impressive
solos. At the end of the show, the performers will bow and be rewarded with your applause.
If you really enjoyed the show, give the performers a standing ovation by standing up and
clapping during the bows. For this particular show, it will be most appropriate to applaud at
the beginning and the ending.
What do I do after the show ends?
Please stay in your seats after the performance ends, even if there are just a few of you in your
group. Someone from UMS will come onstage and announce the names of all the schools.
When you hear your school’s name called, follow your teachers out of the auditorium, out of
the theater and back to your buses.
How can I let the performers know what I thought?
We want to know what you thought of your experience at a UMS Youth Performance. After
the performance, we hope that you will be able to discuss what you saw with your class. Tell
us about your experiences in a letter or drawing. Please send your opinions, letters or artwork
to: UMS Youth Education Program, 881 N. University Ave., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011.
The Performance at a Glance
Who is José Limón?
José Limón (1908-1972) (pronounced ho-zay lee-mohn) was a crucial figure in the
development of modern dance in America. Born in Mexico, Mr. Limón moved to
New York City in 1928. It was here that he saw his first dance program; an event
that changed his life. In 1946, he established his own company and many of
his works were quickly recognized as masterpieces including The Moor’s Pavane
(1949). As a choreographer, Mr. Limón was a consistently productive until his death
in 1972—he choreographed at least one new piece each year—and he was also an
influential teacher and advocate for modern dance.
What does a choreographer do?
Choreography (also known as dance composition) is the “art of making visual
structures in which movement occurs.” People who make these compositions are
called choreographers. A choreographer creates a dance by having a vision and
then arranging or directing the movements of the dancers. The choreographer
must work closely with the dancers, the stage manager and musicians during
rehearsals. Although mainly used in relation to dance, choreographers also work
in various settings including fencing, gymnastics and ice skating.
What is the José Limón Dance Company?
Founded in 1946 by José Limón and early modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey,
the Company is now led by Carla Maxwell, who worked closely with Limón before
becoming Artistic Director in 1978. The Company’s repertory consists of José
Limón’s classic works and works commissioned by contemporary choreographers.
“The resources
of the body must
be developed so
they can speak
with truth and
power”
-José Limón
What is a repertory company?
The José Limón Dance Company is a repertory company meaning they commission
and dance pieces by other choreographers. For example, at this youth performance
you will see pieces by José Limón, as well as, Jirí Kylián, Donald McKayle, and Lar
Lubovitch.
What is Modern Dance?
Modern dance is a phenomenon that started in the early 20th century, when individual dancers felt the need to break away and create a form of dance based on
more natural motions of the human body. There is no specific definition for what
makes something modern dance, as the concept of “modern” was simply applied
to the dancers of the time who had begun a rebellion against the strict discipline
of classical ballet. Today we perceive modern dance as a discipline defined by the
people who began this movement and their individual traditions and followings.
Now a widely appreciated style of performance, modern dance began as, and continues to be, an experiment in new ways of moving.
What is the difference between modern dance and
classical ballet?
Ballet relies on an illusion of lightness and effortlessness, while modern dance relies
on weight—dancers often fall all the way to the floor. While a ballet dancer must
remain almost perfectly balanced, a modern dancer must be able to fall and slide
safely. The ballet of the early 20th century relied on ornate costumes and scenery,
but early modern dance was often performed on a bare stage in bare feet and a
simple tunic.
What will I see at the performance?
During the performance of the José Limón Dance Company you will see four
different pieces of repertoire being performed. Please see the DVD included in this
packet for exerpts of the four pieces. They are:
Evening Song (1997)
Choreography: Jirí Kylián
Music: Antonín Dvorák
“American dance
is not merely a
style or idiom.
It is a potent
idea. When its
contemporary
personalities
retire, the idea
will persist”
-José Limón
In this quiet and poignant work, master choreographer Jirí Kylián (pronounced
year-EE kill-EE-uhn) shows us a community of men and women who share with
us a moment at twilight when they are experiencing the mysteries and wonder of
nature. The dance is structured in four sections; a female trio, a duet for a man
and a woman, a male trio and a sextet for three couples. In each section, through
simple gestures and folk dance patterns, Mr. Kylián draws portraits of this community at play, in thought, and in observance or refelction. The music is by Antonín
Dvorák (pronounced ann-TOHN-een deh-VOHR-zhahk), Songs for Mixed Choir
and In the Nature, and are sung a capella.
Chaconne (1942)
Choreography: José Limón
Music: J. S. Bach -- Partita No. 2 in d minor for unaccompanied violin
The chaconne (pronounced sha-kohn) is a dance form that originated in Mexico
as a robust and raucous dance. Bach employed the strict musical form of the
chaconne but enriched it with powerful emotional implications. Mr. Limón has
tried to capture in his dance both the formal austerity and the profound feeling of
the music. This dance is one of the first important works created by Mr. Limón as
he was forming his first company and is considered a modern dance classic.
Choreography: Donald McKayle
Music: Manuel Alvarez Maciste
Choreographed by leading African American choreographer Donald McKayle, the
central solo in Angelitos Negros is an African American woman looking upwards
at the Sistine Chapel in Rome. She sees a heavenly view that has no Black angels
– only White ones. She asks the question: “Are there no Black angels in heaven?”
She looks at her own reflections and cries out that she wants to enter heaven,
too, and asks the painter to include Black angels the next time he paints a heavenly view on the church ceilings. This work showcases the special talents of
Roxane D’Orleans Juste and brings us an intimate look at a mixture of power,
restraint and passion.
Choreography: Lar Lubovitch
Music: W. A. Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622
Mr. Lubovitch’s hallmarks are his musicality, rhapsodic style, and sophisticated
formal structures, as well as his highly technical choreography and deeply
humanistic voice. Although this dance does not have a formal story, it expresses
through its structure, relationships that speak of community, joy and love. The
second movement is for two men who partner each other. It demonstrates how
two male friends can be supportive with one another while still showing their
strength, creating an atmosphere of mutual support rather than competition.
Donald McKayle’s Angelitos Negros featuring Roxane D’Orleans Juste (Photo by Beatriz Schiller)
Repertoire
Evening Songs (1997)
Title
Description
In this quiet and poignant work, master choreographer Jirí Kylián shows us a community of men and women who share with us a moment at twilight when they
are experiencing the mysteries and wonder of nature. The dance is structured in
four sections; a female trio, a duet for a man and a woman, a male trio and a
sextet for three couples. In each section, through simple gestures and folk dance
patterns, Mr. Kylián draws portraits of this community at play, in thought, and in
observance or reflection.
The music, by Antonín Dvorák, is from his Songs for Mixed Choir and In the
Nature. As they are sung a capella, the sense of suspension that pervades the
dance is intensified through this magical composition.
Choreographer: Jiri Kylián
Jirí Kylián (1947- ) started his dance training when he was nine
years old at the ballet school of the Prague National Theatre. From
the age of fifteen he studied at the Prague Conservatory.
In 1967 Kylián went to the Royal Ballet School in London on a
scholarship from the British Council. Here he came into contact
with the most important developments in choreography - ballet as
well as contemporary dance. Consequently, John Cranko, a major
choreographer of this period and director of the Stuttgart Ballet in
Germany, offered him a dance contract and encouraged Kylián’s
ambition to create his own dance works.
In 1973, following his first choreography for Nederlands Dans
Theater, an artistic relationship between Kylián and the wellknown Dutch company began, which has brought about the creation of almost 50 dance productions for this group. Today, the
Jirí Kylián
world famous ‘Main Group’ (NDT 1) is complemented by a young,
experimental company of 17 - 22 year old dancers (NDT 2) and
a group of mature dancers/performing artists past the age of 40
(NDT 3) - each of which has its own repertoire reflecting the specific qualities of a
certain life-time. Together, they constitute the organization called Nederlands Dans
Theater: “Three dimensions of a dancer’s life”, as Jirí Kylián likes to refer to them.
1978 brought a decisive international break-through with Sinfonietta - his choreography to the music of compatriot Leoš Janácek at the U.S. Spoleto Festival in
Charleston, North Carolina. The years after Charleston established Kylián’s reputation as one of the most ingenious choreographers with dance works such as Symphony of Psalms, Forgotten Land, Overgrown Path, Svadebka, Stamping Ground,
l’Enfant et les sortileges - to name only a few.
Since the mid-eighties Kylián’s artistic view and style have changed considerably
towards abstraction and surrealistic images. Having created a unique and very
personal style, Kylián’s choreographies defy academic categorization blending elements of many sources. There are always new inspirations to be explored, new
challenges and boundaries to be overcome. Profoundly based on musical reading
- there is something in his work deeply penetrating into the mystery of the human
being itself, unveiling hidden traces through his dance.
The Music of Evening Songs: Antonín Dvorák
Antonin Dvorák, born on September 8, 1841 in a small town near Prague, is
known to be one of the greatest Czech composers, noted for his attractive melodic
compositions and the brilliance of his orchestration. At the age of 16 he studied
at the Prague Organ School. There, he was introduced to the works of past great
masters as well as to composers such as Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner.
In 1861 Dvorák joined the National Theatre in Prague as a
violist. During this time he wrote many compositions, but not
until 1873 with a performance of his grand patriotic work
Hymnus for chorus and orchestra, did he achieve recognition.
Composer Johannes Brahms later prevailed upon his publisher to
print some of Dvorák’s works.
Always composing an apparently effortless output of music,
including Slovonic Dances in 1878, Dvorák soon became a
professor of composition at the Prague Conservatory. In 1884
following a series of trips to London to conduct his own music,
he earned a commission to compose The Spectre’s Bride. In
1891 he received an honorary doctorate degree from Cambridge
University, the same year he composed the popular Carnival
overture.
Following successful tours to Russia and Germany, Dvorák
accepted an invitation in 1892 to become director of the
National Conservatory of Music in New York City. In 1893 while
Antonín Dvorák
in the United States, he wrote what is probably his most famous
work, the Symphony in E Minor from The New World. In 1895
Dvorák returned to Prague where he completed Rusalka in 1900, the ninth of his
10 operas. In it, he tells the familiar story of a water nymph who falls in love with a
human prince. The following year Dvorák became the director of the Prague Conservatory. He devoted his last years to working on an opera, Armida.
Despite the international recognition he had achieved, Dvorák lived in relative poverty as a result of unfavorable contracts with his music publishers. He died on May
1, 1904. A national day of mourning was declared, and Dvorák was honored with
a burial in Vysehrad Cemetery, where many prominent Czechs are also buried.
Chaconne (1942)
Description
The chaconne (pronounced sha-kohn) is a style of dance which originated in New
Spain, now Mexico, as a robust and raucous dance. Bach employed the strict musical form of the chaconne but enriched it with powerful emotional implications. Mr.
Limón has tried to capture in his dance both the formal austerity and the profound
feeling of the music. This dance is one of the first important works created by Mr.
Limón as he was forming his first company.
The chaconne is a fiery and suggestive dance that appeared in Spain about 1600
and eventually gave its name to a musical form. Miguel de Cervantes, Francisco
Gómez de Quevedo, and other contemporary writers imply a Mexican origin but
do not indicate whether it was indigenous or a Spanish dance modified there.
Danced with castanets by a couple or by a woman alone, it soon spread to Italy,
where it was considered disreputable as it had been in Spain. During the 16th
century the dance became subdued and stylized, and in the 17th century
it gained favour at the French court. There it was danced by an ensemble
of women or by a double line of couples, who as a group and as individual
couples solemnly executed various figures.
Choreographer: José Limón
José Limón (1908-1972) was a crucial figure in the development of modern
dance: his powerful dancing shifted perceptions of the male dancer, while
his choreography continues to bring a dramatic vision of dance to audiences
around the world. Born in Mexico, Limón moved to New York City in 1928
after a year at UCLA as an art major. It was here that he saw his first dance
program and set him on new path as a dancer and choreographer.
José Limón in
Chaconne
Photo by Barbara Morgan
In 1946, after studying and performing for 10 years with Doris Humphrey
and Charles Weidman, he established his own company with Humphrey as
Artistic Director. It was under her experienced directorial eye that Limón created his signature dance, The Moor’s Pavane (1949). Limón’s choreographic
works were quickly recognized as masterpieces and the Company itself
became a landmark of American dance. Many of his dances—There is a
Time, The Moor’s Pavane, Missa Brevis, Psalm, The Winged—are considered
classics of modern dance.
Limón was a consistently productive choreographer until his death in 1972—he
choreographed at least one new piece each year—and he was also an influential
teacher and advocate for modern dance. In addition to numerous dance faculty
positions, Limón received two Dance Magazine Awards, the Capezio Award and
honorary doctorates from four universities in recognition of his achievements.
For more information on José Limón, please see pages 20-25 of this resource
guide.
The Music of Chaconne: Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was born in Germany to a family of talented
musicians. At the age of ten he began learning about music from his brother. He
eventually used this knowledge and his innate talent working for Kings, Dukes,
and Princes as well as in the churches of Europe. His most famous set of works
for piano is The Well-Tempered Clavier, which is a set of 48 preludes and fugues in
two volumes that are often played and studied by pianists throughout the world.
Partita No. 2 in d minor for unacompanied violin
José Limón uses one of Bach’s most famous pieces as the music for his work: the
“Chaconne” movement from his Partita No. 2 in d minor for unaccompanied
violin.
The piece was written in the period 1717-1723 and is said to
have been dedicated to the memory of Bach’s first wife, Maria
Barbara Bach. The partita is of five parts, with “Chaconne” as
the fifth and final part. However, its average time of 14 minutes
surpasses that of all the other four movements combined.
The theme in the first four measures is the base on which the
rest of the piece forms a variation. It is miraculous that Bach was
able from this simple theme to conjure so many variations without seeming forced or repetative. He expounds upon this phrase
for nearly fifteen minutes without repeating himself and without
losing our attention! Indeed, he instead conjures so much intellect and depth into the piece that it is beyond words to describe
its meaning or its mood.
The piece starts in a tragically agitated d minor harmonic key,
moving in the mid section to D major key, but it ends in the melancholic d minor key in which it started. The ending conjures a
sense of resignation mixed with pain and sorrow.
“Chaconne” is considered a pinnacle in the solo violin repertoire
covering almost every aspect of violin playing known during Bach’s time
and thus it is among the most difficult pieces to play on any instrument.
Johann Sebastian Bach
“Chaconne” was also a favorite piece of Bach’s as well. He said,“The Chaconne
is the most wonderful, unfathomable piece(s) of music. On one stave, for a small
instrument, the man writes a whole world of the deepest thoughts and most powerful feelings. If I imagined that I could have created, even conceived the piece,
I am quite certain that the excess of excitement and earth shattering experience
would have driven me out of my mind.”
José Limón was quite moved by Bach’s piece and found choreographing Chaconne
to be a great artistic challenge. In his autobiography, Mr. Limón wrote the following about its creation: “Bach’s theme has a somber and austere majesty. It is
also one of the master’s most profoundly beautiful utterances, impeccably formal
and elegantly baroque. It was a struggle day after day trying to compose a phrase
of movements, eight bars of slow ¾ tempo in duration, which would somehow
reflect what is in the music. It took a tremendous amount of sweat. Not only of the
body but of the mind and intuition. There was no dramatic idea or story on which
one could lean on. Here was the challenge which must be met and transcended if
totally abstract formal beauty was to result.”
“There is a miraculous fecundity to the art of Bach. In this “Chaconne”, it seems
inexhaustible. The work has a logic and a radiance and purity. Each variation creates its own perfect little universe, yet joins with its successor to create a mighty
impetus which ascends ever higher to regions of rapturous sonority.”
Description
Angelitos Negros (Black Little Angels), is a classic Donald McKayle solo from the
suite, Songs of the Disinherited, a four-part piece that explored Black culture in
America in the 20th century. Songs of the Disinherited opens with On My Way,
where the dancers depict people who are on their way to freedom and a better
life up North. In Up On The Mountain, two workers bemoan their lives working
hard for very little pay – struggling to survive against insurmountable odds. Finally,
Shaker Life shows the holy spirit and its power to carry downtrodden people
through hard times to a better life.
The central solo in Angelitos Negros is an African American woman looking
upwards at the Sistine Chapel in Rome. She sees a heavenly view that has no Black
angels – only White ones. She asks the question: “Are there no Black angels in
heaven?” She looks at her own reflections and cries out that she wants to
enter heaven, too, and asks the painter to include Black angels the next time
he paints a heavenly view on the church ceilings.
This work showcases the special talents of Roxane D’Orleans Juste and brings
us an intimate look at a mixture of power, restraint and passion.
Choreographer: Donald McKayle
New York-born Donald McKayle (1930- ) began dancing in his senior
year in high school, winning a scholarship to the New Dance Group. There
he studied with Pearl Primus, Sophie Maslow, Jean Erdman, and others. He
made his professional debut in 1948, and choreographed his first pieces with
the New Dance Group when he was 18 years old. In 1951, he, along with
Daniel Nagrin and others, founded the Contemporary Dance Group, which
premiered McKayle’s Games in 1951. Perhaps his best-known piece, Games,
juxtaposes the innocent imaginings of urban children with the real dangers
Donald McKayle
they face. McKayle received a scholarship to the Martha Graham School and
then joined her company from 1955-1956. In addition to his work with Graham,
he danced with Merce Cunningham, Anna Sokolow, and Charles Wiedman,
among others. A free agent, McKayle danced as a guest artist with various companies, as well as in Broadway musicals.
But McKayle’s central focus was always choreography, and though he was a wellknown choreographer, he never maintained a permanent company. He choreographed for other companies or assembled dancers as he needed them for specific
concert seasons; two popular examples are Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder (1959)
and District Storyville (1962), both in the repertory of the Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theater.
Successful in the worlds of dance and theater, McKayle created dances for concert
stages, Broadway, television, and film. His Broadway credits include Golden Boy
(1964), I’m Solomon (1969), Raisin (1974), and Dr. Jazz (1975); he was also one of
the four choreographers for Sophisticated Ladies (1981). Beginning in 1963, McKayle choreographed for television programs about once a year, including The Ed
Sullivan Show (1966-1967), The Bill Cosby Special (1968), the Marlo Thomas special Free to Be You and Me (1974), and the 1977 Oscar Presentations. He created
dances for films in The Great White Hope (1970), Disney’s Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971), and Charlie and the Angel (1972). In the field of popular music, he
has choreographed stage acts for singers such as Harry Belafonte and Tina Turner.
McKayle’s sensibilities were formed by the theatrical dance of the 1950s. A humanistic choreographer, he uses narratives and deals with potent emotion conveyed
through dramatic characters. At times his stories are specific to the African American experience, as in his protest dance Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder, but his choreography is universal in its implications.
McKayle has taught at Bennington College, the Juilliard School, the American
Dance Festival, and in Europe. His closest associations are with the repertory group
at the Los Angeles Inner City Cultural Center and with the School of Dance at the
California Institute of the Arts, to which he was appointed artistic director in 1975.
McKayle currently serves as professor of dance at the University of California,
Irvine. As a prolific craftsman whose dances exist in many repertories and in many
mediums, Donald McKayle has been one of the most influential African American
choreographers of the postwar era.
The Music of Angelitos Negros
The dance Angelitos Negros is set to a song of the same name that is sung in
Spanish by the popular 1970s vocalist Roberta Flack. The composer is Manuel Alvarez Maciste with lyrics by Andres Eloy Blanco.
The following is the text of the poem by Andres Eloy Blanco on which the song is
based:
Painter born in my native land with the foreign brush
Painter that continues the course of all the painters of old
Even though the Virgin may be White, paint little Black angels for me
For they too go to heaven
Painter indeed you paint with love!
Why do you deprecate those of your color,
If you know that in heaven God also loves them?
Painter of saints in the alcoves, if you have a soul in your body
Why have you forgotten those of Black color in your paintings?
Every time you paint a church you paint beautiful little angels
But never have you remembered to paint a black angel.
For photos of the
Sistine Chapel,
go to:
www.wga.hu/
tours/sistina/
Andres Eloy Blanco (1896-1955) was a Venezuelan poet, humorist, lawyer and
politician. His poem Angelitos Negros was first made famous in Spain and Latin
America through a song by Cuban singer Antonio Machín. The poem is a hymn
against racial discrimination and Blanco continued to write socially-oriented poetry
throughout his career.
Description
Concerto Six Twenty-Two is one of choreographer Lar Lubovitch’s classic works,
as well as one the masterworks of 20th century modern dance. Lar has set his
dance to Mozart’s Concerto for Clarinet and Orchestra, or K.622. Mr. Lubovitch’s
hallmarks are his musicality, rhapsodic style, and sophisticated formal structures,
as well as his highly technical choreography and deeply humanistic voice. It is
precisely for these qualities that the Limón Company has sought his work to join
their repertory. Although this dance does not have a formal story, it expresses
through its structure, relationships that speak of community, joy and love. As
one reviewer wrote, (this dance) “combines the formality of the classical
concerto with the composer’s delightful sense of humor and tender
expressivity.”
The second movement is for two men who partner each other. Here Mr.
Lubovitch demonstrates how two male friends can be supportive and
tender with one another while still showing their strength, creating an
atmosphere of mutual support rather than competition. The first and third
movements are for the entire company and illuminate both the clarity of
Mozart’s music and joy and wit that abound in his score.
Choreographer: Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch
Photo by Broadway Beat/
Bradshaw Smith
One of this country’s most versatile, popular and widely seen choreographers, Lar Lubovitch (1943- ) founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
37 years ago and has choreographed more than 60 dances for the company. Based in New York City, the company has performed in virtually all 50
states of this country as well as in more than 30 foreign countries throughout the world. In addition, he has also allowed his works to be included
in the repertories of other select companies throughout the world, including the New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Paris Opera Ballet,
Royal Danish Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater,
Baryshnikov’s White Oak Dance Project and Netherlands Dance Theater. In
response to a commission from New York City Ballet in 1988, Lubovitch created
Rhapsody in Blue, to the music of George Gershwin. The dance was featured on
opening night of New York City Ballet’s American Music Festival.
Lubovitch made his Broadway debut in 1987 with the musical staging for the
Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical, Into the Woods, for which he received
a Tony Award nomination. In 1992 he choreographed the notorious Dance of
the Seven Veils for the Broadway production of Salome, starring Al Pacino and
Sheryl Lee. In 1993 he choreographed the highly-praised dance sequences for
the Broadway show The Red Shoes. The final ballet from that show is now in
the repertory of American Ballet Theater. For his work on that show, he received
the 1993-94 Astaire Award from the Theater Development Fund. Most recently
he created the musical staging (and two new dances) for the current Broadway
revival of The King and I.
Born in Chicago, Lubovitch was educated at the University of Iowa and the Juilliard School in New York. His teachers at Juilliard included Antony Tudor, José
Limón and the Martha Graham Company. He danced in numerous modern,
ballet, jazz and ethnic companies before forming the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968, when Paul Lepercq generously sponsored the company’s first performance.
The Music of Concerto Six Twenty-Two:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was born in Salzburg, which is now in
modern-day Austria. Mozart’s musical ability became apparent when he was about
three years old. Mozart received intensive musical training from his father, including instruction in both the piano and violin. He developed very rapidly and was
already composing at the age of six.
During his formative years, Mozart completed several journeys
throughout Europe. A highlight of the Italian journey, which is now
an almost legendary tale, occurred when he heard Gregorio Allegri’s
Miserere once in performance in the Sistine Chapel, then wrote it out
in its entirety from memory, only returning a second time to correct
minor errors: he thus produced the first illegal copy of this closelyguarded property of the Vatican.
Mozart wrote a variety of different types of music. His enormous
output includes works that are widely acknowledged as pinnacles of
symphonic, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. Many of his
works are part of the standard concert repertory and are widely recognized as masterpieces of the classical style. Mozart died on December
5, 1791 while he was working on his final composition, the Requiem.
A younger composer, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, was engaged to complete
the Requiem after Mozart’s death.
Clarinet Concerto in A major, K.622
Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
At the peak of his compositional abilities and just weeks before his death,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed the Clarinet Concerto in A major. He wrote
it specifically for his friend, Anton Stadler.
While a master of all classical genres, Mozart’s most influential advances were
probably in the area of the concerto as well as opera. His concertos contain three
movements:
First: generally in double-sonata form
Second: Variable, slow movement
Third: lighter, usually rondo or sonata-rondo, sometimes a variation form
In addition to standard strings, nearly all of the orchestrations contain woodwind
sections and French horns, and some use trumpets and timpani as well. Such full
accompaniments contribute to the symphonic quality of the concertos, which is
one of their most innovative and influential features. Mozart’s treatment of the
genre was so complete that it has changed little in substance since his death,
despite the fact that practically every major composer after him has written in it.
As the final concerto, the Clarinet Concerto stands as a supreme example of
the genre and contains some of Mozart’s finest writing for any instrument. He
had already written extensively for the clarinet and basset horn (precursor to the
modern bass clarinet), and all of these works indicate a remarkable understanding
of the instrument’s capabilities and idiosyncrasies. The clarinet’s ability to navigate
very large intervals is tastefully demonstrated in numerous passages and helps
create excitement and freshness.
For more indepth
information on the
sonata form,
go to:
http://
en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Sonata_form
Watching a Dance Performance
Title
Suggestions for Watching the Performance
Visit UMS Online
www.ums.org/
education
You don’t have to have any special training or experience to watch dance.
You will be taking in information with all of your senses: eyes, ears, even your
muscles. You may be fascinated with the physical activity you see, the music, the
production elements (lighting, costumes and props) or with a “story” the dancers
tell you. Your muscles may even react to the action with a kinetic response as
you empathize with the movements on stage; tensing when the dancers leap
or bracing as they perform a daring fall or a remarkable lift. It is very natural
to want to get up and dance after watching an inspiring performance. Open
your mind to the moment; concentrate and and raise your awareness to the
immediate moment in front of you. The members of the audience are as much a
part of the performance as the dancers are!
As the lights lower and the music begins, take a deep breath and relax in your
seat. You are beginning to watch motion, movement, shape, line, rhythm,
tempo, color, space, time and energy...dance. Allow yourself to let go of any
notion that you already know what dance means, or has to mean. Release the
notion that you have to look at dance as if you were reading a book. If you
watch dance with this type of open mind, you may experience an emotion, an
image or a feeling that you may not be able to describe. You may not know why
or where these reactions come from, but don’t worry. This is all a part of the
magic of dance.
You may want to ask yourself some questions as you watch the performance:
What are the sensory properties in the dance?
What do you see? What do you hear? What are the dancers actually doing on
the stage?
What are the technical properties in the dance?
What kind of space is being used? What are the shapes and designs being
created? What kinds of energy, dynamics or motions are being used?
What are the emotional properties in the dance?
How does the movement on stage make you feel? How does the music make
you feel? Do you think the music and movements work well together?
Every piece of choreography has a reason for being. Dances may be celebrations, tell stories, define moods, interpet poems, express emotions, carve designs
or even help you to visualize music. As you watch a dance, a story may occur to
you because of your past experiences. However, not all dances relate to stories.
The sequences do not have to make literal sense. Allow images and personal
feelings to come to the surface of your consciousness.
Following the Performance
After the performance, feel free to discuss your thoughts with others. Please
don’t be disturbed if others had a different reaction to the dance than yours.
Take time to think about your personal images and thoughts. Was it enjoyable to
watch? Did the dance remind you of experiences in your own life? Did the
choreography inspire you to express yourself by writing a poem, drawing a
picture or even creating your own dance?
José Limón
Dance Company
José Limón’s Choreographic Offering (Photo by Rosalie O’Connnor)
Co-Founder: José Limón
José Limón (1908-1972) was a crucial figure in the development of modern dance:
his powerful dancing shifted perceptions of the male dancer, while his choreography continues to bring a dramatic vision of dance to audiences around the world.
Born in Mexico, Limón moved to New York City in 1928 after a year at UCLA as
an art major. It was here that he saw his first dance program: “What I saw simply
and irrevocably changed my life. I saw the dance as a vision of ineffable power. A
man could, with dignity and towering majesty, dance... dance as Michelangelo’s
visions dance and as the music of Bach dances.”
In 1946, after studying and performing for 10 years with Doris Humphrey
and Charles Weidman, he established his own company with Humphrey
as Artistic Director. During her tenure, Humphrey choreographed many
pieces for the Limón Dance Company, and it was under her experienced
directorial eye that Limón created his signature dance, The Moor’s Pavane
(1949). Limón’s choreographic works were quickly recognized as masterpieces and the Company itself became a landmark of American dance.
Many of his dances—There is a Time, The Moor’s Pavane, Missa Brevis,
Psalm, The Winged—are considered classics of modern dance.
José Limón
Photo by John Lindquist
The Moor’s Pavane,
one of José Limón’s
signiture pieces
Limón was a consistently productive choreographer until his death in
1972—he choreographed at least one new piece each year—and he was
also an influential teacher and advocate for modern dance. He was in residence
each summer at the American Dance Festival, a key faculty member in The Juilliard
School’s Dance Division beginning in 1953, and the director of Lincoln Center’s
American Dance Theatre from 1964-65. Limón received two Dance Magazine
Awards, the Capezio Award and honorary doctorates from four universities in recognition of his achievements. He was the subject of a major retrospective exhibition at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, The Dance Heroes of
José Limón (Fall 1996), and in 1997 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame at the
National Museum of Dance in Saratoga Springs, NY. His autobiographical writings,
An Unfinished Memoir, were edited by Lynn Garafola and published in 1999 by
Wesleyan University Press.
Co-Founder: Doris Humphrey
Doris Humphrey (1895-1958) was one of the founders of American modern dance.
She created a distinctive approach to movement based on the body’s relationship
to gravity and the use of weight, and her choreographic works are considered classics of modern dance.
Born in Oak Park, Illinois, Humphrey was an avid dance student from a young age,
and she opened her own dance studio after graduating from high school. She
moved to Los Angeles in 1917 to join the Denishawn School and Company, where
she performed and taught until 1928, when she and Charles Weidman left to form
their own group in New York. Between 1928 and 1944, she choreographed and
performed for the Humphrey-Weidman Company, an artistic collaboration that
produced ground-breaking dances as well as outstanding performers, José Limón
among them. When physical disability ended her career as a dancer, she became
the artistic director and mentor for Limón and his company, creating classic works
such as Lament for Ignacio Sanchez Mejias (1946), Day on Earth (1947), Invention
(1949), and Night Spell (1951). Her final artistic contribution, The Art of Making
Dances, was published in 1959 and remains an essential text on choreographic
principles.
Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman
The Influence of José Limón
“I try to compose
works that are
involved with
man’s basic
tragedy and
gradeur of his
spirit...to probe
the human
entity for the
powerful, often
crude beauty of
the gesture that
speaks to man’s
humanity.”
-José Limón
In the beginning, José Limón often experimented with movement and shape in
an attempt to explore how the bodies of his dancers were capable of moving.
His dancing was particularly daring and exciting as he played with balance and
shape. As he developed and studied more technique, he combined this natural
enthusiasm with the clarity of line and form. After decades of thinking of male
dancers simply as support posts for their female partners, Limón raised the art
of male dancing to a new level. His choreography often focused on the strong
male figure and, in turn, gave more stylistic possibilities for both male and female
dancers.
Though he initiated movement from personal insights, José Limón believed that
dance was a universal language. He used it to search for the essence of feelings
that anyone could recognize and empathize with. In his choreography, Limón
often turned to heroic figures and events taken from history including, Adam and
Eve, Shakespeare’s Othello, Native Americans, and the Poles after World War II.
By choosing these subjects, Limón showcased his humanist approach to modern
dance. His dancers’ turns, balances, lunges and soaring leaps seemed to be the
irrepressible physical expression of the human spirit.
Mexico is also part of Limón’s identity, and occasionally he made explicit reference
to his heritage. For example, in collaboration with other Mexican artists, he was
commissioned by the Mexican government for a series of dances derived from
Mexican history. His piece La Malinche (1949) is a dramatic trio based on the
true story of the Indian woman who served as a translator for Cortez during his
conquests of Mexico.
Gravity also plays an important role in José Limón’s work and is the basis for
his technique. A person can harness th energy of gravity, and use it to build
momentum, change direction, and shape movement. This concept is called “fall
and recovery.” It is common that a Limón dancer may one minute by executing
spiraling turns, the next minute lunging in a series of weighted, earth-bound runs,
or balancing on one leg as the body tilts to one side suspended in a completely
off-balanced position. It is this ability to take the energy of gravity and transfer it
into propulsion across the floor that drives José Limón’s choreography.
However, unlike ballet, the effect of his movement is not one of weightlessness.
In fact, another signature of Limón’s work is that the dancers are in constant
dialogue with the floor beneath them. They run and jump making vertical leaps
only to reconnect with ground and rise again. The concept of suspension is
also central to Limón’s choreography. This concept begins with the belief that
a dancer can prolong the time spent at the height of a motion. In this way, a
dancer controls the weight of his or her body as it nears the point where it must
fall again. The movement is lighter, slowed down, and gains a hovering quality, as
when a body is floating. This “light point” in which the dancer is neither falling
nor resisting, is called “suspension.”
Following his death, the José Limón Dance Company became the first American
dance troupe to survive the death of its founder. Prior to this, it had been taken
for granted that a modern choreographer’s work was dependent on his or her
own physical presence. The fact that Limón’s company outlived him was an
important step in establishing the idea of American modern dance as a legitimate
art form rather than merely the idiosyncratic vision of individual artists.
A José Limón Timeline
1908
José Arcadio Limón is born in Culiacan, Mexico.
1915
Limón’s family moves to the United States; first to Arizona, and then to California.
Title
Please visit the
offical José Limón
Dance Company
website at
www.limon.org
1928
Limón moves to New York City.
1929
Limón sees his first dance performance and enrolls in the Humphrey-Weidman
School.
1930
Limón appears in Americana, a musical revue on Broadway featuring dances by
Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman.
1937
Limón creates his first major choreographic work, Danzas Mexicanas, while in
residency at Mills College as part of the Bennington Festival.
1943
Limón is drafted into the U.S. Army and choreographs several works for the
Special Services. He is discharged in 1945.
1946
Limón forms his own dance company with Doris Humphrey, his mentor and
teacher, as Artistic Director and co-choreographer.
1947
The José Limón Dance Company has its debut performance at New York’s Belasco
Theater. The New York Times hails Limón as “the finest male dancer of his time”
and favorably reviews the choreographic works of both Limón and Humphrey.
1948
The Company appears at the first Connecticut College American Dance Festival,
where it remains in residence each summer until 1973.
1949
Limón creates and premieres The Moor’s Pavane, a masterwork that remains one
of the most widely performed modern dances in the world.
1950
Limón receives his first Dance Magazine Award, for The Moor’s Pavane.
1951
Limón begins his association with the Juilliard School in New York, where he will
teach and choreograph until his death.
1954
The Company inaugurates the U.S. State Department’s International Exchange
Program with a tour to South America.
Please visit the
Dance Company
website at
www.limon.org
1958
Doris Humphrey dies on December 29th, marking the end of a remarkable 30-year
creative partnership with Limón.
1957
Limón receives his second Dance Magazine Award.
1960
The Company returns to South America under the U.S. International Exchange
Program.
1963
The Company is the first dance company to perform at Lincoln Center, in
Philharmonic Hall.
1964
Limón receives a Capezio Dance Award, and is appointed Artistic Director of
Lincoln Center’s American Dance Theater, a publicly supported modern dance
repertory company.
1968
The José Limón Dance Foundation is incorporated, establishing a non-profit
organization that is dedicated to Limón’s work in the dance field.
1969
Limón begins setting his dances on other companies: American Ballet Theater
produces The Moor’s Pavane and The Traitor, and the Royal Swedish Ballet presents
an all-Limón program. Limón makes his final stage appearance at the Brooklyn
Academy of Music, performing “The Leader” in The Traitor and “The Moor” in The
Moor’s Pavane.
The José Limón Dance Company makes its UMS debut.
1972
The Company presents its final season under Limón’s direction and premieres his
final work, Carlota. He dies of cancer on December 2nd.
1973
The Company tours the Soviet Union; Ruth Currier is appointed Artistic Director,
and begins to shape it into a modern dance repertory company.
1975
Carla Maxwell is appointed Assistant Artistic Director.
1977
The Company celebrates its 30th anniversary at New York’s Roundabout Theater.
1978
Carla Maxwell is appointed Artistic Director of the José Limón Dance Foundation,
and the Company presents its NYC season at City Center—Roots of American
Dance—which establishes it as a dance company with a repertory from a range of
choreographers.
Title
1982
The Company’s NYC performances are part of the Joyce Theater’s inaugural
season.
1985
The Limón Institute is formed as a component of the José Limón Dance
Foundation to oversee the licensing of Limón dances and offer classes in Limón
Technique.
Please visit the
Dance Company
website at
www.limon.org
1986
The Company drops “José” from its title, re-naming itself the Limón Dance
Company to emphasize its status as a repertory company.
1992
Mark Jones is appointed Executive Director of the José Limón Dance Foundation.
1994
The Company establishes a formal presence in San Jose, CA, performing annually
and conducting education/outreach activities.
1996
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts presents The Dance Heroes of
José Limón, a retrospective exhibition on Limón’s life and work. The exhibition is
permanently installed in the National Dance Museum in Saratoga Springs, NY, and
Limón is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
1997
The Company celebrates its 50th Anniversary and performs in Sarajevo.
1998
Artistic Director Carla Maxwell is honored with a Bessie, New York’s performance
Award; Executive Director Mark Jones receives the Arts & Business Council’s Arts
Managers Excellence Award.
1999
Limón’s autobiographical writings are edited by Lynn Garafola and published as
An Unfinished Memoir by Wesleyan University Press.
2000
Limón is named one of “America’s Irreplaceable Dance Treasures” by the Dance
Heritage Coalition.
2002
The Company premieres Carla Maxwell’s re-creation of Limón’s Psalm at the
Cultural Olympiad in Salt Lake City, UT.
2004
Carla Maxwell and the José Limón Dance Company win an Isadora Duncan Award
for the for restaging of Psalm (Jose Limón), at the Cowell Theater.
2006
The Company appears as part of the UMS 05/06 season. It is their second appearance in Ann Arbor under UMS auspices.
Modern Dance
Painting of Isadora Duncan by Fritz August von Kaulbach from Isadora Duncan, The Art of the Dance. courtesy of Theatre Arts Books.
About Early Modern Dance Title
Modern dance, now practiced and performed throughout the world, originated
in the United States and Germany. Launched as a deliberate rejection of the
heritage of classical ballet and popular spectacle, this new form of dance was
intended to provoke and to inform. Early modern dance borrowed heavily from
other cultures, incorporated new technologies and used the body to reveal the
psyche. Modern dance was pioneered predominantly by female artists such as
Isadora Duncan, Loie Fuller, and Ruth St. Denis in the United States, Rudolf von
Laban and Mary Wigman in Germany. It became widely identified as a unique art
form within just two generations.
Isadora Duncan shocked or delighted audiences by baring her body and soul
in what she called “free dance.” She weaved and whirled in flowing natural
movements that emanated, she said, from the solar plexus. She aimed to idealize
abstractly the emotions induced by the music that was her motivating force,
daringly chosen from the works of serious composers including Beethoven,
Wagner, and Gluck. Although Duncan established schools and had many
imitators, her improvisational technique was too personalized to be carried on by
direct successors.
The work of the two other American pioneers was far less abstract although no
less free. Loie Fuller used dance to imitate and illustrate natural phenomena: the
flame, the flower, the butterfly. Experimenting with stage lighting and costume,
she created illusionistic effects that remained unique in the history of dance
theater until the works of Alwin Nikolais in the 1960s.
“...the one artform
other than jazz
that can be called
truly American,”
- Robert Coe,
Historian
The pictorial effects achieved by Ruth St. Denis had a different source: the
ritualistic dance of Asian religion. She relied on elaborate costumes and sinuous
improvised movements to suggest the dances of India and Egypt and to evoke
mystical feelings. With Ted Shawn, who became her partner and husband in
1914, St. Denis enlarged her repertoire to include dances of Native Americans
and other ethnic groups. In 1915 St. Denis and Shawn formed the Denishawn
company, which increased the popularity of modern dance throughout the United
States and abroad and nurtured the leaders of the second generation of modern
dance: Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman.
At the end of the 1920s those who rebelled against the commercialism of Denishawn devised their own choreography and launched their own companies. Their
dances were based on new techniques developed as vehicles for the expression
of human passions and universal social themes. Martha Graham found the breath
pulse the primary source of dance; exaggerating the contractions and expansions
of the torso and flexing of the spine caused by breathing, she devised a basis for
movement that for her represented the human being’s inner conflicts.
To Doris Humphrey, gravity was the source of the dynamic instability of movement; the arc between balance and imbalance of the moving human body, fall
and recovery, represented one’s conflicts with the surrounding world. Forsaking
lyrical and imitative movement and all but the most austere costumes and simplest
stage effects, Graham and Humphrey composed dances so stark, intellectual, and
harshly dramatic as to shock and anger audiences accustomed to being pleased by
graceful dancers. José Limón was deeply afftected by their work would later carry
on this aesthtic when he and Doris Humphrey established the José Limón Dance
Company in 1947.
Title
Two Early Moderns
Ruth St. Denis: 1879-1968
“Society has
discovered something new under
the limelight. Out of
the jaws of
vaudeville a group
of New York women
who still keep a
weary eye out for
up-to-date
novelties, have
snatched a turn
which they hope to
make more or less
an artistic
sensation.”
-The New York Times,
March 25, 1906
Ruth Dennis was born in 1879 on a New Jersey farm. The daughter of a strongwilled and highly educated woman who was a physician by training, St. Denis was
encouraged to study dance from an early age. Her early training included Delsarte
Technique, ballet lessons with the Italian ballerina Maria Bonfante and social dance
forms. Ruth began her professional career in New York City in 1892, where she
worked in vaudeville houses.
In 1898, the young vaudeville dancer was noticed by David Belasco, a well-known
and highly successful Broadway producer and director. He hired her to perform
with his large company as a featured dancer, and was also responsible for giving
her the stage name “St. Denis.” Under Belasco’s influence, Ruthie Dennis became
Ruth St. Denis, toured with his production of Zaza around the United States and in
Europe, and was exposed to the work of Japanese and European artists.
St. Denis’ artistic imagination was ignited by these artists. She became very interested in the dance/drama of Eastern cultures including those of Japan, India and
Egypt. After 1900, St. Denis began formulating her own theory of dance/drama
based on the dance and drama techniques of her early training, her readings into
philosophy, scientology and the history of ancient cultures. In 1904, during one
of her tours with Belasco, she saw a poster of the goddess Isis in an advertisement. The image of the goddess sparked her imagination and she began reading
about Egypt, and then India. In 1906, after studying Hindu art and philosophy, she
offered a public performance. She had designed an elaborate and exotic costume
and a series of steps telling the story of a mortal maid who was loved by the god
Krishna. Entitled Radha, this solo dance was first performed in Proctor’s Vaudeville
House in New York City. Radha was an attempt to translate St. Denis’ understanding of Indian culture and mythology to the American dance stage. She began performing Radha in respectable Broadway theaters.
In 1914 St. Denis married Ted Shawn, her dance partner, and the next year they
founded the Denishawn School and Company in Los Angeles. During this time,
St. Denis’ choreographic style broadened. She had a profound influence on the
course of modern dance in America, particularly through Denishawn, which was
the first major organized center
of dance experiment and instruction in the country and whose
students included Martha Graham
and Doris Humphrey. Prompted by
a belief that dance should be spiritual instead of simply entertaining
or technically skillful, St. Denis
brought to American dance a new
emphasis on meaning and communication of ideas by using themes
previously considered too
Ruth St. Denis as Radha, circa 1908. philosophical for theatrical dance.
Courtesy of Culver Pictures.
Isadora Duncan: 1878-1927
Dancer, adventurer, revolutionist, ardent defender of the poetic spirit, Isadora
Duncan has been one of the most enduring influences on 20th century culture.
Isadora Duncan is regarded as the founder of modern dance.
Angela Isadora Duncan was born in California in 1877. Her mother
was an accomplished pianist who introduced her to the great
composers, whose music later inspired Isadora’s creation of a new
dance form. As a child she studied ballet, Delsarte technique and
burlesque forms. Isadora’s genius was appreciated by her family
when she was very young, but her revolutionary ideas on dance
were not well accepted in America. She began her professional
career in Chicago in 1896, where she met the theatrical producer
Augustin Daly. Soon after, Duncan joined his his touring company,
appearing in roles ranging from one of the fairies in a Midsummer
Night’s Dream to one of the quartet girls in The Giesha. Duncan
traveled to England with the Daly Company in 1897. During this
time she also danced as a solo performer in and around London.
Isadora’s dream was to teach children who would then continue to
teach others. This was more important to her than performances,
although performing was valuable as a motivating force and also
to help finance her school. One of her objectives was to obtain
government support for the school. The first and only government
to sponsor her work was the Soviet Union, and this support lasted
approximately ten years. Even so, raising money was always
difficult, but with financial support, she founded Schools of
Duncan Dance in France and Germany. Eventually, Isadora gained
great fame in both Europe and America; in fact, in the entire
world.
Isadora Duncan in
Revolutionary; circa 1903.
Isadora Duncan was influenced by the Greeks and Romans where dance was
regarded as a sacred art form. She felt that dance was meant to be an expression
of the natural movements of the human body, and her graceful flowing dance
style was revolutionary. She developed within this idea, free and natural
movements inspired by the classical Greek arts, folk dances, social dances, nature
and natural forces as well as an approach to the new American athleticism which
included skipping, running, jumping, leaping and tossing.
She was a theorist of dance, a critic of modern society, culture, education and a
champion of the struggles for women’s rights, social revolution and the realization
of poetry in everyday life. Dancing in long tunics with bare feet and loose hair,
Duncan awed audiences with her grace and expression. She inspired a new way of
looking at dance and began a movement into a new exploration of the potential
of the human body, encouraging many of her contemporaries to do the same,
and beginning what we know today as Modern Dance.
Contemporaries of José Limón
Martha Graham: 1894-1991
“It takes great
passion and
great energy to do
anything creative,
especially in the
theater. You have to
care so much that
you can’t sleep,
you can’t eat, you
can’t talk to people.
It’s just got to be
right. You can’t
do it without that
passion.”
-Agnes De Mille
Martha Graham is one of the most widely recognized names in the history of
modern dance. Her school is still one of the most prominent dance schools in
America today. Martha Graham was originally a member of the Denishawn School
of Dance, but she became dissatisfied with the Eastern dance techniques and
broke away to form her own tradition. Graham felt that the center of dance was
breathing, and that all of our motions centered around the inhale and exhale of air.
Her choreography is recognizable for it’s stark angular look, and for the dramatic
contractions and expansions of the body, symbolizing and mimicking the human
breath. Her most notable works are Frontier (1935), El Penitente (1940) and Appalachian Spring (1944)
Alvin Ailey: 1931-1989
Alvin Ailey began studying ballet in 1949, leaving behind his studies at UCLA. One
of his teachers was choreographer Martha Graham, and over the next ten years,
Ailey appeared on stage and film as a dancer, choreographer, actor, and director.
He choreographed Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and Samuel Barber’s opera, Antony
and Cleopatra, which was the inaugural production of the Metropolitan Opera at
Lincoln Theater. Ailey founded the Alvin Ailey Dance Company, and in 1965 Ailey
left dancing to concentrate entirely on choreography and running his company.
He moved between the worlds of african-american and caucasian dance, beginning the long history of intermingling that yielded the contemporary dance we
know today. Aliven Ailey’s signiture pieces include his breakthrough Blue Suites
(1958) and Revelations (1960).
Agnes De Mille: 1905-1993
An American choreographer and dancer from New York City, De Mille was the
daughter of playwright W. C. De Mille and niece of Cecil B. De Mille. De Mille
brought the ballet form to musical comedy using dance to enhance the plot and
move the story along. Choreographing some 15 musicals and 21 ballets, she was a
significant force in a new American realism that mingled ballet technique, vernacular movement, and modern psychology. In addition, she was an important spokesperson for governmental and private support for the arts at congressional hearings
and other public forums. In 1973 De Mille founded the Heritage Dance Theater,
which was based at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Her most popular works
include Rodeo (1941) and Fall River Legend (1948).
Merce Cunningham: 1919-
Merce Cunningham was originally a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company before splitting off to form his own Company. Cunningham’s style of dance is
composed of abrupt changes and suspensions of motion, and usually is in a
decentralized space on the stage. Cunningham’s work is not based on plot,
characterization, or sequence but instead focuses on movement for movement’s
sake. Cunningham’s early experiments with LifeForms software for choreography
become a tool for Cunningham to go beyond restrictive assumptions about
movement. Although he sometimes uses the program to warehouse particular
steps for the dancers to practice, he is mainly interested in its possibilities for
accessing movement that he hasn’t experienced or hasn’t thought of before.
Merce Cunnigham’s broad repetoire has over 70 pieces includes the works such as
How To Pass, Kick, Fall and Run (1965) and Native Green (1985).
Title
The Elements of Dance
Every art form has its instruments, artistic medium, and design elements. For dance,
they are summed up in the sentence, “Dancers move with energy through time and
space.” This statement includes the basic components that dancers work and play
with. People dancing are themselves their own instruments, expressing themselves
through their bodies. Their body states and movement are characterized by variations in the use of energy, time and space.
Dance Instrument
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www.ums.org/education
The art of dance takes place through the dancer. Human beings are both the creators and the instruments. The physical manifestation of the dancer’s ideas and
feelings is the living, breathing human body.
In dance, the body is the mobile figure or shape: felt by the dancer, seen by others.
The body shape is sometimes relatively still and sometimes changing as the dancer
moves in place or travels through the dance area. Whether moving or pausing,
dancers are alive with inner movement, feelings and thoughts.
Artistic Medium of Dance
Movement is the artistic medium of dance, just as sound is the artistic medium of
music. The movement of human beings includes a wide range, from large and
obvious to so small and subtle that it appears to be stillness. Periods of relative stillness are as effective and essential in dance as are silences or rests within music.
The movement vocabulary of modern dance is made up of human actions. A few
of many possible actions are run, hop, crawl, stop, rise, jump, fall, bend, hold,
shake, stand, walk, twist., turn, balance, roll, stretch, slide, leap, jiggle, pull, push,
kick, hover, reach and hang.
Dance Design Elements: Energy, Time and Space
Dancers make choices as to how, when, and where to do each action. In other
words, dancers apply the variables of energy, time and space to their actions.
While elements of dance design may be categorized and described in a variety
of different ways, they are used, whether consciously or not, by all dancers, from
beginning explorers to seasoned practitioners.
Together, they provide a broad menu from which to make dance choices. Choices
about any of the three elements tend to affect the others, but analyzing them separately can help dancers understand and use them.
Energy
“How?” is a question about the energy, force, or dynamic quality of an action.
Choices about energy include variations in movement flow and use of force, tension and weight.
Here are some examples of action driven by different energy choices: a run might
be free flowing or easily stopped, and it may be powerful or gentle, tight or loose,
heavy or light. A skip might have a sprightly, listless, rollicking, smooth or other
quality of energy. A person might roll heavily across the floor or use explosive
energy to jump. Pushing might be done with gentle or powerful energy.
Title
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Energy choices may also reveal emotional states. For example, a powerful push
might imply aggression or confidence depending of the intent and situation. A delicate touch might reflect affection and timidity or perhaps precision and skill.
Some types of energy can be described in words; other spring from the movement
itself and are difficult to label with language. Sometimes differences in the use of
energy are easy to perceive; other times these differences can be quite subtle. Variations in movement flow, force, tension, and weight can be combined in many ways
and may communicate a wide spectrum of human emotional states.
Time
“When?” is a question about time or timing. Choices about time include such
things as duration, speed, divisions of time (e.g., beats and intervals), timing of
accents, and rhythmic patterns.
Timing choices are applied to actions. Here are some examples: a twist could be
gradual or quick. A stop might be sudden followed by a pause. Leaping might
speed up, slow down, or be paced by even beats. A series of sitting, standing, and
stretching actions could occur with an even pace taking a short or a long time. Such
actions could be accented with pauses at regular intervals or occur sporadically.
Bending jumping, and shaking actions might be arranged in a rhythmically patterned sequence. Rising and curling might ride on the rhythm of breathing.
There are endless possibilities for timing one’s movements because timing variables
such as speed, duration, accents and rhythmic patterns, simple to complex, can be
applied to actions in many different combinations.
Space
“Where?” is a question about space and spacing. Choices about use of space
include such variables as position or place, size, or range, level, direction and pathways.
Here are some examples of space choices applied to actions: the dancer might
choose to move or pause at any specific place in the dancing area. A skip could
be in any direction such as diagonally forward and toward one side of the room. A
twist might be high in the air or low to the ground or in between. A run or turning
action could be in place or perhaps travel a certain distance along a particular pathway. The pathway might be curved, straight, zigzagging, meandering. The dancer’s
movements can also trace pathways in the air as in an elbow drawing loops, a hip
jutting out straight to the side, the head swooping down and up through an arc.
The range of these movements can vary from so small as to be almost invisible, to
as large as the reach of the dancer or the size of the dance area. There are countless
variations and combinations of ways that movement can occur in space.
Is All Movement Dance?
The dancer moves with energy through time and space. But then, who doesn’t? Are
we always dancing every moment we are alive? Or are there some special features
that lead us to call some of our movement experiences dance? It does seem that
in dance, people tend to be more consciously involved in their movement, taking
particular enjoyment or interest in their body.
Title
Language
Dance is a language. It is spoken through the movement of the human body. It
tell stories, expresses emotions and creates images. All dance is based upon a
universal experience: the rhythms and movement of the human body. At a party,
at home, or even on the street, most of us have felt the urge to dance. Whether
it is hip-hop, swing, salsa, meringue, foxtrot, waltz, or twist, we all know a style of
dance.
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In dance we take in, synthesize and transmit our ideas and feelings about life
through our bodies. Dance is a medium for learning about oneself and one’s world.
It is truly a universal art since all humans relate body movement and the need to
communicate with each other.
As we dance, we sense our bodies and the world around us. We learn how and
where our bodies can move, expanding our movement possibilities and enjoying
our sense experience as we dance.
Dance is a vehicle for understanding life experience. Through dance, we give form
to our experience of self and world. Dance is a way to generate and give dynamic
form to our thoughts and feelings. It symbolizes our thoughts and feelings kinesthetically.
Dance is a unique form for communicating. As we manifest our experience of life
in dance, we send out messages through our bodies. We can appreciate these messages ourselves, and others can receive them. Dance communicates in ways that
words cannot.
Practice
Sometimes, dance is
designed to be performed
and seen by an audience.
In those cases, no matter
what the style, dancers must
train their bodies and their
imaginations to be more
expressive. Dance artists
extend the vocabulary of
their movement language
through classes, rehearsals,
and performances. What
they practice are the basic
building blocks of dance.
José Limón Dance Company in Psalm
Lesson Plans
Student busily working during a UMS in-school visit.
Curriculum Connections
Are you interested
in more lesson
plans?
Visit the Kennedy
Center’s ArtsEdge
web site, the
nation’s most
comprehensive
source of artsbased lesson
plans.
www.artsedge.
kennedy-center.
org
Introduction
The following lessons and activities offer suggestions intended to be used in
preparation for the UMS Youth Performance. These lessons are meant to be both
fun and educational, and should be used to create anticipation for the performance.
Use them as a guide to further exploration of the art form. Teachers may pick and
choose from the cross-disciplinary activities and can coordinate with other subject
area teachers. You may wish to use several activities, a single plan, or pursue a
single activity in greater depth, depending on your subject area, the skill level or
maturity of your students and the intended learner outcomes.
Our Lesson Plans Are Now Online!
Lesson plans were created to help enrich your study of the José Limón Dance
Company and make it come alive for your students. We hope that this new online
format will make it easier for teachers to adapt the lesson plans for their own classrooms. The plans can bee accessed at www.ums.org/education.
Lessons plans available for download are:
1. Time, Space and Energy (Grades 3-12)
2. Seeing Music, Hearing Dance (Grades 3-12)
3. Sculptures (Grades 3-12)
4. Connections (Grades 3-12)
5. Directed Improvisation (Grades 3-12)
6. Appreciating the Performance (Grades 3-12)
Learner Outcomes
•
Each student will develop a feeling of self-worth, pride in work, respect,
appreciation and understanding of other people and cultures, and a desire
for learning now and in the future in a multicultural, gender-fair, and abilitysensitive environment.
•
Each student will develop appropriately to that individual’s potential, skill
in reading, writing, mathematics, speaking, listening, problem solving, and
examining and utilizing information using multicultural, gender-fair and
ability-sensitive materials.
•
Each student will become literate through the acquisition and use of
knowledge appropriate to that individual’s potential,
through a comprehensive, coordinated curriculum, including
computer literacy in a multicultural, gender-fair, and ability-sensitive
environment.
Meeting Michigan Standards
ARTS EDUCATION
UMS can help you
meet Michigan’s
Curricular
Standards!
The activities in this
study guide,
combined with the
live performance, are
aligned with Michigan
Standards and
Benchmarks.
For a complete list of
Standards and
Benchmarks, visit the
Michigan Department
of Education online:
www.michigan.gov/
mde
Standard 1: Performing All students will apply skills and knowledge to perform in the arts.
Standard 2: Creating All students will apply skills and knowledge to create in the arts.
Standard 3: Analyzing in Context All students will analyze, describe, and evaluate works of art.
Standard 4: Arts in Context All students will understand, analyze and describe the arts in their
historical, social, and cultural contexts.
Standard 5: Connecting to other Arts, other Disciplines, and Life All students will recognize,
analyze and describe connections among the arts; between the arts and other disciplines;
between the arts and everyday life.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS
Standard 3: Meaning and Communication All students will focus on meaning and communication as they listen, speak, view, read, and write in personal, social, occupational, and civic
contexts.
Standard 6: Voice All students will learn to communicate information accurately and effectively
and demonstrate their expressive abilities by creating oral, written and visual texts that
enlighten and engage an audience.
SOCIAL STUDIES
Standard I-1: Time and Chronology All students will sequence chronologically eras of American
history and key events within these eras in order to examine relationships and to explain
cause and effect.
Standard I-3: Analyzing and Interpreting the Past All students will reconstruct the past by
comparing interpretations written by others from a variety of perspectives and creating
narratives from evidence.
Standard II-1: People, Places, and Cultures All students will describe, compare and explain the
locations and characteristics of places, cultures and settlements.
Standard VII-1: Responsible Personal Conduct All students will consider the effects of an
individual’s actions on other people, how one acts in accordance with the rule of law and
how one acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.
MATH
Standard I-1: Patterns Students recognize similarities and generalize patterns, use patterns to
create models and make predictions, describe the nature of patterns and relationships and
construct representations of mathematical relationships.
Standard I-2: Variability and Change Students describe the relationships among variables, predict
what will happen to one variable as another variable is changed, analyze natural variation
and sources of variability and compare patterns of change.
Standard III-3: Inference and Prediction Students draw defensible inferences about unknown
outcomes, make predictions and identify the degree of confidence they have in their predictions.
SCIENCE
Standard I-1: Constructing New Scientific Knowledge All students will ask questions that help
them learn about the world; design and conduct investigations using appropriate
methodology and technology; learn from books and other sources of information; communicate their findings using appropriate technology; and reconstruct previously learned
knowledge.
Standard IV-4: Waves and Vibrations All students will describe sounds and sound waves; explain
shadows, color, and other light phenomena; measure and describe vibrations and waves;
and explain how waves and vibrations transfer energy.
CAREER & EMPLOYABILITY
Standard 1: Applied Academic Skills All students will apply basic communication skills, apply
scientific and social studies concepts, perform mathematical processes and apply
technology in work-related situations.
Standard 2: Career Planning All students will acquire, organize, interpret and evaluate information from career awareness and exploration activities, career assessment and work-based
experiences to identify and to pursue their career goals.
Standard 3: Developing and Presenting Information All students will demonstrate the ability to
combine ideas or information in new ways, make connections between seemingly unrelated
ideas and organize and present information in formats such as symbols, pictures, schemat
ics, charts, and graphs.
Standard 4: Problem Solving All students will make decisions and solve problems by specifying
goals, identifying resources and constraints, generating alternatives, considering impacts,
choosing appropriate alternatives, implementing plans of action and evaluating results.
Standard 5: Personal Management All students will display personal qualities such as
responsibility, self-management, self-confidence, ethical behavior and respect for self and
others.
Standard 7: Teamwork All students will work cooperatively with people of diverse backgrounds
and abilities, identify with the group’s goals and values, learn to exercise leadership, teach
others new skills, serve clients or customers and contribute to a group process with ideas,
suggestions and efforts.
Each UMS lesson
plan is aligned to
specific State of
Michigan
Standards.
TECHNOLOGY
Standard 2: Using Information Technologies All students will use technologies to input, retrieve,
organize, manipulate, evaluate and communicate information.
Standard 3: Applying Appropriate Technologies All students will apply appropriate technologies
to critical thinking, creative expression and decision-making skills.
WORLD LANGUAGES
Standard 2: Using Strategies All students will use a varietry of strategies to communicate in a nonEnglish language.
Standard 8: Global Community All students will define and characterize the global community.
Standard 9: Diversity All students will identify diverse languages and cultures throughout the
world.
Art
The production of something beautiful that shows a level of skill (or specific intention) in the
chosen medium and an intent to communicate meaning. Art may be classified as architecture,
dance, music, theater, visual, literary, technological, etc.
Audience
People who have gathered together to hear or watch something. They may gather formally in a
hall designed to sponsor professional performances, or they may gather in a classroom to observe
each other’s work.
Body Shapes
The design of the body in stillness; shapes may be curved, angular, twisted or straight.
Choreography
The process of creating a dance; originating from the Greek word choros (meaning “to dance”)
and graphos (meaning “to write”). This process includes an understanding of form and movement development in dance.
Choreographer
A person who creates a dance work and decides how, when and where the dancers should move.
Concentration
The ability to focus on the task at hand. This may include listening, following directions and completing assigned tasks or combinations in a dance class.
Concert
A formal performance of music or dance for an audience.
Costumes
Specific clothes designed for a dance or theater production.
Dance
Many sequences of movement that combine to produce a whole; a dance has organization, progression and development, including a beginning, middle and end.
Dance Technique
The specific vocabulary of dance and the physical principles for producing efficient and correct
body movement are called technique.
Dance Elements
Dance is an art form comprised of the elements of time, space, energy and the body; each of
these elements has its own knowledge base which is interpreted uniquely by each dance whether
it be folk, ballet, modern, jazz or ethnic dance.
Element
Any one of the three basic components of movement: space, time and energy. (Body is sometimes
included as a fourth element.)
Energy
One of the elements of movement; energy propels or initiates movement or causes changes in
movement or body position.
Ensemble
A group of dancers who perform together.
Expression
A manner of speaking, playing music, dancing, writing or visually producing something that shows
feeling and meaning.
General Space
The area of space through which a dancer travels or takes his/her personal space; it may include a
dance studio, a stage, a classroom or the gymnasium; pathways and directions are defined in this
space.
Gesture
A movement of the body or part of the body that a dancer makes in order or express an idea or an
emotion; everyday gestures include a handshake, a wave or a fist; abstract gestures in dance are
those movements given special emotional or content meaning by a choreographer.
Improvisation
Movement that is created spontaneously ranging from free-form to highly structured environments.
Isolation
Movements restricted to one area of the body such as the shoulders, rib cage or hips; isolations
are particularly prominent in jazz dance.
Jazz
A uniquely American dance form that evolved with jazz music. Jazz dance is identified by its high
level of energy, modern themes, costumes and wide variety of approaches and improvisation.
Kinesthetic Sense
The sense of movement and bodily awareness of oneself, others and the environment; this sense
provides feedback about speed, height, tension/relaxation, force, exertion, direction, etc.; accessible to audience and performers alike.
Levels
The height of the dancer in relation to the floor: high, medium, or low. When a dancer is low, a
part of his/her torso is touching the floor; when a dancer is middle level the feet are flat on the
floor; when a dancer is on high level, he/she is in the air or on the toes.
Literal choreography
Choreography that communicates a story or message to the audience.
Locomotor
Movement that occurs in general space when a dancer moves place to place; basic locomotor
movements are walk, run, skip, jump, hop, leap, slide and gallop. Low level locomotor movements may be rolling, crawling or creeping.
Modern Ballet
A choreography that maintains elements of traditional ballet but that was created during the 20th
century; many modern ballets are abstract and nonliteral.
Modern Dance
A performance movement form that evolved at the beginning of the 20th century, modern dance
can be contrasted with ballet, tap or jazz. Creative work on choreography is an important part
of the learning experience in modern dance.
Motion
Moving; a change of position. It may be in one place or through space.
Nonliteral choreography
Choreography that emphasizes movement manipulation and design without the intent of telling a
story; nonliteral works communicate directly through movement and need no translation.
Non-locomotor
A teacher may refer to non-locomotor movement as axial movement, referring to movement that
occurs in person’s pace with one body part anchored to one spot; movement is organized around
the spine or axis of the body. Basic non-locomotor movements are bending, stretching, twisting,
rising, falling, opening, closing, swinging and shaking.
Percussive
Use of energy that is powerful, staccato and explosive.
Personal Space
The kinesphere that one occupies that is defined by the reach space around the body; it includes
all levels, planes and directions both near and far from the body’s center.
Phrase
The smallest and simplest unit of dance form; usually part of a larger, more complex passage. A
phrase is frequently repeated throughout a work in order to give it continuity.
Prop
An object that is separate from the dancer’s costume but that is a part of the action or spatial
design in the choreography or that contributes to the meaning of a dance. Common dance props
include flowers and swords.
Repertoire
Movement phrases or full sections from completed dance works that are taught in order to familiarize dancers with a specific choreographer’s style and movement vocabulary. Repertoire can also
mean the dance pieces a dance company is prepared to perform.
Rhythm
The organization of sound in time; rhythm is a pattern of pulses/beats with selected accents that
can be repeated or joined with other patterns to form longer phrases. Rhythm is one of the basic
elements of music.
Section
A smaller division of a whole work that contains many phrases in and of itself.
Shape
An interesting and interrelated arrangement of body parts of one dancer; the visible makeup or
molding of the body parts of a single dancer; the overall visible appearance of a group of dancers;
also the overall development or form of a dance.
Space
One of the elements of movement. Direction, level, size, focus and pathway are the aspects of
space. An altered use of the aspects allows the choreographer to use space in different ways.
Style
A distinctive manner of moving.
Suite
A choreographic form with a moderate first section, second slow section and a lively third section.
Symmetrical
A visually-balanced body shape or grouping of dancers.
Technique
The learning of movement skills; the ability to use specific methods to create a dance.
Tempo
The speed of movement as it progresses faster, more slowly or on a pulse beat.
Unity
A principle of choreographic form in which phrases fit together, with each phrase important to the
whole.
Vibratory
Use of energy that involves shaking or trembling actions.
Dance Vocabulary Word-o
FREE
SPACE
Before the game begins, fill in each box with one of the vocabulary words or phrases below. Your
teacher will call out the definition for one of the words below. If you’ve got the matching word
on your board, cover the space with your chip. When you’ve got a horizontal, vertical, or
diagonal row of five chips, call out WORD-O!
audience
concert
choreography
dance
energy
expression
call & response
isolation
ensemble
levels
percussive
phrase
improvisation
section
technique
vibratory
costumes
rhythm
suite
motion
concentration
props
shape
jazz
gesture
Modern Dance Word Search
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All of the words from the left column can be found in the puzzle. These words
relate to the José Limón Dance Company performance. Look in all directions for the words!
audience People who have gathered together to hear or watch something.
concert
A formal performance of music or dance for an audience.
element Any one of the three basic components of movement: space, time and energy. (Body is
sometimes included as a fourth element.)
choreographer A person who creates a dance work and decides how, when and where the
dancers should move.
improvisation Movement that is created spontaneously, ranging from free-form to highly
structured environments.
dance
Many sequences of movement that combine to produce a whole; a dance has
organization, progression and development, including a beginning, middle and end.
ensemble A group of dancers who perform together.
isolation Movements restricted to one area of the body such as the shoulders, rib cage or hips;
isolations are particularly prominent in jazz dance.
motion
Moving; a change of position. It may be in one place or through space.
suite
A choreographic form with a moderate first section, second slow section and a lively
third section.
costumes Specific clothes designed for a dance or theater production.
Word Search Solution
Here are the answers to the word search:
audience
costumes
ensemble
motion
choreographer
dance
improvisation
suite
concert
element
isolation
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Recordare by Lar Lubovitch (Photo by Rosalie O’Connor)
Resources
UMS FIELD TRIP PERMISSION SLIP
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We will be taking a field trip to see a University Musical Society (UMS) Youth Performance of the José
Limón Dance Company on Friday, January 13, from 11am-12noon at the Power Center in Ann Arbor.
We will travel (please circle one) • by car
• by school bus
• by private bus
• by foot
Leaving school at approximately ________am and returning at approximately ________pm.
The UMS Youth Performance Series brings the world’s finest performers in music, dance, theater, opera,
and world cultures to Ann Arbor. This performance features the Paul Taylor Dance Company.
We (circle one)
• need
• do not need
additional chaperones for this event. (See below to sign up as a chaperone.)
Please (circle one)
• send
lunch along with your child on this day.
• do not send
If your child requires medication to be taken while we are on the trip, please contact us to make
arrangements.
If you would like more information about this Youth Performance, please visit the Education section of
www.ums.org/education. Copies of the Teacher Resource Guide for this performance are available for
you to download.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to call me at ____________________________________
or send email to _________________________________________________________________________.
Please return this form to the teacher no later than ________________._____________________________
Sincerely,
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My son/daughter, __________________________________, has permission to attend the UMS Youth
Performance on Friday, January 13, 2006. I understand that transportation will be by _____________.
I am interested in chaperoning if needed (circle one).
• YES
• NO
Parent/Guardian Signature________________________________________ Date_____________________
Relationship to student ____________________________________________
Daytime phone number__________________________________________
Emergency contact person________________________________________
Emergency contact phone number_________________________________
Bibliography/Videography
Some of the textual information as well as some of the graphics included in this
guide were derived from the following sources:
Bibliography
Anderson, Jack. The American Dance Festival. Durham, NC: Duke
University Press, 1987.
Cohen-Straytner, Barbara Naomi. Biographical Dictionary of Dance.
New York: G. Schirmer, Inc., 1982.
There are more
study guides
like this one, on
a variety of
topics online!
Just visit...
www.ums.org/
education
de Mille, Agnes. America Dances. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1980.
Jamison, Judith. Dancing Spirit. Garden City, NY: Double Day, 1992.
Lewis, Daniel. The Illustrated Dance Technique of José Limón. New York: Harper &
Row Publishers., 1984.
Maynard, Olga. Judith Jamison: Aspects of a Dancer. New York: Doubleday
& Company, Inc., 1976.
McDonagh, Don. The Complete Guide to Modern Dance. Garden City, NY:
Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1976.
Robertson, Allen & Donald Hutera. The Dance Handbook. New York: G.K. Hall &
Co., 1988.
Terry, Walter. The Dance in America. New York: Harper & Row, Publisher, 1956.
Videos and DVDs
Limón: A Life Beyond Words, Limón Dance Foundation.
Three Modern Classics, Video Artists International, 1999. Featuring three José
Limón classics: The Moor’s Pavane, The Traitor, The Emperor Jones.
The Dance Works of Doris Humphrey, Part II, Dance Horizons Video, 1999.
Donald McKayle: Heartbeats of a DanceMaker, Princeton Book Co., 2005.
Lar Lubovitch’s Othello/San Francisco Ballet, Kultur, 1997.
Martha Graham: The Dancer Revealed, Kultur, 1994.
Martha Graham: An American Legend in Performance, Kultur, 1988.
Denishawn; The Birth of Modern Dance, Kultur, 1991.
Merce Cunningham; A Lifetime in Dance, Winstar Home Entertainment, 2000.
Internet Resources
Arts Resources
The official website of UMS. Visit the Education section (www.ums.org/education)
for study guides, information about community and family events and more information about the UMS Youth Education Program.
www.artsedge.kennedy-center.org
The nation’s most comprehensive web site for arts education, including lesson
plans, arts education news, grant information, etc.
The José Limón Dance Company and Modern Dance
www.limon.org - José Limón Dance Company’s home page
www.dorishumphrey.org - An organization whose mission is to provide information about the great American dance pioneer and choreographer, Doris Humphrey.
www.lubovitch.org - Lar Lubovitch Dance Company’s home page
www.euronet.nl/users/cadi/Introduction.html - The home of the Nederlands
Dans Theater where Jirí Kylián serves as artistic director.
www.voiceofdance.com - provides an international outlook on the world of
dance including reviews, news and discussion forums.
www.pbs.org - offers program schedules and arts-related lesson suggestions
based on the PBS catalog.
http://www.url.co.nz/resources/dance.php- a gateway to an extensive range
of dance resources on the internet.
www.criticaldance.com - offers both professional dancers and dance enthusiasts
forums for conversation and information on current dance events.
Although UMS previewed each web site, we recommend that teachers check all web sites
before introducing them to students, as content may have changed since this guide was
published.
Recommended Reading
PRIMARY & ELEMENTARY GRADES
Baylor, Byrd. (1973). Sometimes I Dance Mountains. Scribner. Text and Photographs capture of a young girl’s feelings about dance.
Freedman, Russell. Martha Graham, a Dancer’s Life. New York: Clarion Books,
1998. This is a photo-biography of Martha Graham.
Haskell, Arnold L. The Wonderful World of Dance (El maravilloso mundo de la
danza). Garden City: NY Doubleday, 1969. (Madrid: Aguilar) Describes the
development of dance from Stone Age ritual to modern ballet and twist.
There are
many more
books available
about modern
dance
Just visit
www.amazon.com
Martin, John Joseph. John Marin’s Book of the Dance. New York: Tudor Pub Co.,
1963.
Maynard, Olga. American Modern Dancers. Boston: Little Brown, 1965. An
introduction to modern dance through the biographical studies of the first creative
dancers of that art.
Reich, Susanna & Raul Colon (Illustrator). José! Born to Dance : The Story of José
Limón. Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books: 2005. This picture-book biography tells the story of José Limón, who became a legendary figure in the history of
American dance.
Sorine, Stephanie Riva. Imagine That! It’s Modern Dance. New York: Knopf, 1981.
Three young dancers present some modern dance vocabulary…including objects,
actions, directions, sizes, shapes, feeling, and ideas.
Van Zandt, Eleanor. Dance. Austin, Texas: Steck-Vaughn Co., 1990. Surveys
dance as an art form, examining such categories as folk dance, ballet dance,
modern dance, ballroom dancing, and contemporary dance and discussing the
creation and recording of dance.
UPPER MIDDLE & SECONDARY GRADES
Anderson, Jack. Ballet and Modern Dance. Pennington, NJ: Princeton Book
Company, 1992.
Au, Susan. Ballet and Modern Dance (World of Art). London: Thames and
Hudson, 2000.
Coe, Robert. Dance in America. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1985.
Dunbar, June. José Limón. Routledge: 2002.
Limón, José & Lynn Garafola (ed.). José Limón: An Unfinished Memoir. Wesleyan
University Press, 1999.
Ford, Carin T. Legends of American Dance and Choreography. Berkeley Heights,
NJ: Enslow Publishing, Inc., 2000.
Mazo, Joseph H. Prime Movers: The Makers of Modern Dance in America, 2nd
Edition. Princeton: Princeton Book Co., 2000.
Community Resources
University Musical Society
University of Michigan
Burton Memorial Tower
881 N. University Ave
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1101
734.615.0122
umsyouth@umich.edu
University of Michigan Department of Dance
3501 Dance Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2217
734.763.5460
www.music.umich.edu/departments/dance/index.htm
Michigan Dance Council
P.O. Box 381103
Clinton Twp., MI 48038
www.michigandance.org
Detroit Dance Collective
23 E. Adams
Detroit, MI 48226
313.965.3544
Michigan Theater and Dance Troupe
24333 Southfield Road
Southfield, MI 48705
248.552.5501
Swing City Dance Studio
Susan Filipiak, Director
1960 S. Industrial
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734.668.7782
www.swingcitydance.com
Wayne State University Dance Department
4841 Cass Avenue
Detroit, MI 48202
313.577.4273
www.dance.wayne.edu
Dance Gallery Studio
815 Wildt Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734.747.8885
www.dancegalleryfoundation.org
National Resources
American Dance Festival
1697 Broadway, Room 900
New York, NY 10019
212.586.1925
adfny@americandancefestival.org
www.americandancefestival.org
Jacob’s Pillow
P.O. Box 287
Lee, MA 01238
413.243.0745
info@jacobspillow.org
www.jacobspillow.org
The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue
New York, NY 10011
212.242.0800
www.joyce.org/
New York City Center
130 West 56th Street
New York, NY 10019
212.247.0430
edu@nycitycenter.org
www.nycitycenter.org/
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011
212.691.6500
www.dtw.org/
Danspace Project
131 East 10th Street
New York, NY 10003
212.674.8112
info@danspaceproject.org
www.danspaceproject.org/
Using the Resource Disk
The DVD accompanying this Resource Guide includes excerpts to demonstrate the
styles and textures of the José Limón Dance Company. This Resource DVD is for
educational purposes only and should not be duplicated. Thank you.
The contents of this Resource DVD includes 9 pieces danced by the José Limón
Dance Company four of which will be seen at the Youth Performance on January
13: Angelitos Negros (Track 3), Chaconne (Track 4), Evening Songs (Track 5), and
Concerto Six Twenty-Two (Track 9).
The José Limón Company Dancers in Psalm
Evening Performance Info
Lar Lubovitch, artistic associate
Friday, January 13, 8pm
Saturday, January 14,1pm (One-Hour Family Performance)
Sunday, January 15, 2pm
Power Center
José Limón’s choreography brings a dramatic vision of dance to audiences around
the world. The Limón technique underscores the body’s natural rhythms of fall and
recovery— the dynamic, unsettling interplay between weight and weightlessness.
The company’s dramatic expression, technical mastery, and expansive, yet nuanced,
movement illustrate the timelessness of Limón’s work and vision. The company
balances classic Limón masterpieces with new commissions by contemporary choreographers.
Lar Lubovitch was one of Limón’s most accomplished students, and his new work,
Recordare, takes its inspiration from the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday
honoring the spirits of departed loved ones. “Lubovitch’s choreography takes
Limón’s organic movement language into a new realm of theatricality and magical
realism,” says the Cleveland Plain Dealer of the work’s first public performance.
This presentation is part of UMS’s decade-long survey of seminal modern dance
companies, which has included the companies of Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Bill T. Jones, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Mark Morris, Trisha Brown, and
Alvin Ailey.
PROGRAM (FRI 1/13) 8pm (Full-Length)
Evening Songs (Jirí Kylián, Dvorák songs) (1997)
Angelitos Negros (Donald McKayle, Manuel Alvarez Maciste) (1972)
Chaconne (José Limón, J.S. Bach) (1942)
The Moor’s Pavane (José Limón, Henry Purcell) (1949)
Concerto Six Twenty-Two (Lar Lubovitch, Mozart) (1986)
PROGRAM FOR THE FAMILY PERFORMANCE (SAT 1/14)
1PM (One-Hour)
Evening Songs (Jirí Kylián, Antonín Dvorák) (1997)
Chaconne (José Limón, J.S. Bach) (1942)
Angelitos Negros (Donald McKayle, Manuel Alvarez Maciste) (1972)
A Choreographic Offering (José Limón, J.S. Bach) (1964)
Title
To purchase UMS
tickets:
Online
www.ums.org
By Phone
734.764.2538
TEEN Ticket
In response to the
needs of our teen audience members, the University Musical Society
has implemented the
TEEN Ticket. All teens
can attend UMS events
at a significant discount. Tickets are available for $10 the day of
the performance at the
Michigan League Ticket
Office, or for 50% off
the published price at
the venue 90 minutes
before the performance
begins. One ticket per
student ID.
PROGRAM (SUN 1/15) 2pm (Full-Length)
A Choreographic Offering (José Limón, J.S. Bach) (1964)
Recordare (Lar Lubovitch, Elliot Goldenthal) (2005)
The Moor’s Pavane (José Limón, Henry Purcell) (1949)
Send Us Your Feedback!
UMS wants to know what teachers and students think about this Youth Performance.
We hope you’ll send us your thoughts, drawings, letters or reviews.
UMS Youth Education Program
Burton Memorial Tower • 881 N. University Ave. • Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1011
734.615.0122 phone • 734.998.7526 fax • umsyouth@umich.edu

Jose Limon Study Guide.indd - University Musical Society

Transcription

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