The Assignment

INTRODUCE THE CONCERT- Give context and summary of the concert. What is the title of the concert? What dance pieces were performed? How do the ones you will analyze fit into the rest of the concert? Give the who, what, when and where.

DESCRIBE-   Include basic information such as the title of the dance, the name of the choreographer(required), the music (title and composer), the number of dancers, the costumes and/or lighting effects (optional).  Most important, use your own words to give the reader a sense of the quality of the dancing (For example, was it fast- paced, slow, lyrical, percussive, quirky, jazzy, small, delicate, large, powerful...etc.). You must give description of the movement of the dances.  Describe the individual elements of the performance: space, time, energy, flow, setting, costumes, music, or text. This is not a report!

ANALYZE the integration of the elements. Some questions to answer could be: What is the structure? And the style? Discuss the similarities and differences of the pieces or parts of the performance. What is the relationship between the form of the work and the content? How do the elements of dance come together?

INTERPRET   in your own way, the dances you chose.  What do you think is the artist’s intent? Did he/she tell a story, explore a character, or were the pieces about particular moods or ways of moving?  What meaning(s) did you make from these dances?  Why?  What did you find confusing?  Why? What relationships did you observe between dancers, between the dance and the music, or any other elements?  Do you think that the choreographers meant the dances to communicate something in particular?  Why or why not? If you had several different possible interpretations, write about them. Be sure to defend your hypotheses with evidence.

EVALUATE the performances’ strengths and weakness.  What did you find to be most interesting, most captivating, or even most irritating, in these dances?   Why?  Were there any moments that surprised you in any way? Were there any contrasting elements in the work? What were they?  Can you describe special qualities of the dancers?  

CONCLUDE YOUR ANALYSIS - Find a way to bring it all together.  Please avoid: “Overall the concert was interesting and full of different kinds of pieces. The dancers did a great job and I would definitely come back and see this company again.” Instead, find some interesting connections between the pieces. Comment on a highlight moment. Summarize your Analysis and/or interpretations. Compare or contrast the pieces (briefly).