Pay close attention to detail.
Knowing the background of a dance can help you understand the sequence and the emotions the dancers feel.
Dance's main characteristic is the graceful curve we can see in a lot of the things around us.
The universe is rhythmic - when you begin to analyze things on a deeper level, you begin to see the connections between the things around you. As we begin to study these dances, we start to understand the dancing of the trees and the atoms in our beings - as if the world is one big dancing machine.
Dances do not have to be the common dance between two people - it can be the curved movement of the arm of a member of an orchestra, or the curved movement of a singer's lips.
Music can create an illusion with dance, regarding the tempo of the music making the dance itself seem faster than it is.
Impressions: I think it will be very insightful and make the world around me more interesting, so I can see more movement and grace in the world. The singers and dancers (which are one and the same) all were very skilled and practiced in their art, and they were able to perform flawlessly. This will encourage myself and hopefully other students to work hard to perfect their art, whatever it may be. Personally, I will be striving for a better sound in my singing, keeping the curves in mind as I create my own art. It will also encourage us all to pay more attention to the little things we may not have noticed before in both the things we watch online and the things we experience in real life.
Dance is created on a delicate balance.
Simmering sensuality is present in more dances as you look later in the 1900s, where it became more socially acceptable - especially during the time of WWII.
Costumes in these dances were very important, especially for the women who danced, because the costumes tend to show off their legs more (which is partially for the simmering sensuality) to display the skill that can be seen in the curve of the legs throughout the sequence.
Breaking the fourth wall became a lot more common and was seen in most of the dances from this reflection day (see Reflections, August 28, 2019).
Pay attention to detail - the curve can be seen all throughout the dance, especially in the legs when there are stairs present on the set that the dance takes place.
Each dance has a beginning, middle, and end - it tells a story. Sometimes the dances have foreshadowing, where the beginning circles around and shows up at the end.
The dancers are athletes - they aren't breathing hard, especially notable in the longest dance sequence ever done ("Barn Raising Dance" choreographed by Michael Kidd).
Ballet contributed a lot to many of the dances we have watched - the style can be seen sometimes throughout a dance or just in segments of it.
Females in a lot of these dances wear a lot of red to contrast their partner's and to distinguish themselves among the men they would dance with.
The women are a lot more distinct with their styles and movements of dance than the men are.
None of the dancers, when they were done with even the longer dance sequences, were out of breath - they were all physically fit and some could even handle singing and dancing at the same time and without being out of breath at the end.
Grabbing the audience's attention by breaking the fourth wall became very common after it was first done because it enabled the performers to connect with their audience on a more personal level.
The greatest dancers were well versed in all different kinds of dance genres and were almost perfect at them. They can also fluidly switch from style to style without multiple takes due to the long amounts of time they would practice for.
A lot of dances incorporate stories into them, which were usually very easy to figure out because of how well the dancers conveyed their emotions to the audience.
A lot of dances also used a multitude of props to enhance the sequences, and the dancers always used the space in the shots wisely to create the best atmosphere.
All of the things in the dances are purposeful and specific - everything is planned out to the music to ensure that all of the sequences flowed well.
Dancing may also incorporate a fair amount of acting to create a good atmosphere for the sequence.
Some subtle movements like swaying can be a crucial part of a dance, especially during introductions where the dancers are speaking to each other.
Dances can be inspired by a lot of things - some including things that happen in nature with animals and insects.
Every dance has to be practiced for hours over months to make it perfect - all of the people in the scenes have to be perfectly on beat with everyone else and with the music or the whole dance will seem off.
The greatest people in their art are well versed in all aspects of it - anyone who is not, should not be considered one of the greatest.
The greatest dancers add to the music that plays in the background of their performances - they never take away from it.
A dancer's costume is almost as important as the dance itself - it is one of the main components of the dance that can enhance it.
Music tends to follow the dancer - the moves will sync up with the music in ways you don't notice at first.
The orchestra is never wrong - they practice for hours on end and if the dancer messes up the dance, or any other member of the performance messes up, they have to redo the entire shot from start to finish.
Most of the greatest dances are done in one shot, with hours and hours of practice done by the dancers beforehand.
Camera angles and different camera shots were introduced by Stanley Donen.
The famous people that we consider to be idols have their own idols that they take inspiration from.
It was normal for older men to like younger women (and vice versa) around these times.
Many of the greatest dances can not be replicated because of how much practice and skill it takes to do.
The best performers are able to get any reaction they want out of an audience with their performance.
Comedic dancing is brutal because of all of the falls and the amount of times they have to be practiced to get them right.
The Golden Age of Hollywood was between the 1920's and the 1960's.
1928 was the year that "talkies" started out and were becoming popular.
The performance of "Unforgettable" by Nat and Natalie King Cole was the first time any video like that had been done to combine an old performance with new video and audio.
A woman named Edith designed costumes for movies and won many awards for her talent.
"People Will Say We're In Love" was written by Rakers and Hammerstein.
Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly only performed one song together in their lives.
A lot of these dances require good acting as well as good dancing, and sometimes with a singing part the performer has to be good at all three.
Most movies recorded audio for the dances so that the singers could just lip sync their singing parts as they danced.
Judy Garland preferred to sing live.
The trolley dance was first done by Judy Garland and was the only time that dance had been done.
Most people would not be able to keep their voice steady on a moving and rocking trolley.
An American in Paris draws from partially real events that happened in the dancer's lives/inspiration from their lives.
It was the longest dance, but it was done in segments to allow for costume changes.
When dancers have natural chemistry together it makes the dance much more emotional and real.
We watched one dance in this class and then worked on our group paper.
We watched one dance in this class and then worked on our group paper.
You do not need overly exaggerated facial expressions when singing. They may take away from the overall performance.
1945 was when technology and dance first merged together.
Movies were often not shot in the locations they claimed to be in, it was usually just a set made up to look like the place.
Professional dancers are able to subtly fix any discrepancies in their dances without anyone noticing.
Shoes can be a very important factor to grabbing the audience's attention.
The Fifth Dimension is the greatest harmony group.
Gene Kelly was a crucial part of the technology and dance movement.
Wires were sometimes used to help dancers do more dangerous dances in high places, or to seem as if they are flying off of a tall object.
Comedic dancing is brutal, and can send the dancer to the hospital because it tires you out so much and can cause injuries and bruising.
Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, and Donald O'Connor were the only ones to do comedic dancing because it was so brutal.
'Singing in the Rain' was a big part of the transition to "talkies."
Dancers were often paired up together based on how good of a dancer the producers thought they were.
Costumes play a big role in showing off the dancers talent (who is better than who).
Fosse choreography was introduced and started to become popular.
No one has ever slid over glass boxes the way Bobby Van did, before he did it.
No one has ever and will ever do a jumping dance like Bobby Van did.
Tap sounds change depending on the material the dancer is tapping on.
Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire work really well together.
The movie 'Wonder Man' skyrocketed Vera Ellen to fame.
The flowering plant, heather, grows in autumn and spring in Scotland.
Gene Kelly is very authentic and cares a lot about production.
Vera Ellen and John Brascia make a lot of eye contact with the camera.
Michael Jackson is the greatest hip hop dancer.
MC Hammer is the greatest pop-rap dancer, and he really brought rap music to America.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White are the greatest ice dancers in history, and they hold a world record.
Marge and Gower Champion are the greatest husband and wife dance team of all time.
Mikhail Baryshnikov is the greatest male ballet dancer of all time, and when he jumps, his head is almost ten feet in the air.
Natalia Osipova, or "extreme Natalia," is the greatest female ballet dancer of all time.
Bob Fosse choreography included bending your knees together when you're dancing, sliding around the dance floor, and "Fosse hands."
Eddie Murphy would say that Jerry Lewis is the greatest comedian of all time.
Jerry Lewis would say he is not a dancer, despite his skill.
Jerry Lewis gave Bob Fosse a chance, and put him in movies a lot.
Danny Kaye was the third person contacted to star in 'White Christmas,' not the first.
In 'White Christmas,' Danny Kaye mocks Bob Fosse's choreography.
'The Bandwagon' and 'Singing in the Rain' are acclaimed to be the two greatest musicals of all time.
Fred Astaire is the only one to ever dance with a piano.
Fred Astaire generally dances with more props than other dancers do.
Robert Alton helped to develop Donald O'Connor as a dancer (to dance with his whole body by developing his top half). He did "Mandi" in 'White Christmas.'
Arunas Bizokas and Katusha Demidova are the greatest ballroom dancers. They won world championships 10 years in a row, were undefeated for 12 years, and in over 100 dances.
Donald O'Connor said that his best dancing was done in the movie 'Call Me Madam' and in the song "It's a Lovely Day Today."
Michael Jackson liked Judy Garland's outfit so much, he got a similar outfit for a music video for "Dangerous."
Costumes are a part of the dance.
Judy Garland is one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Fred Astaire is a very determined man - he still filmed a movie right when his wife died.
Stanley Donen ingeniously created a spinning set so that there could be the illusion that Fred Astaire is dancing on the ceiling and on the walls of a room.
Chasse means "to chase," to glide, to move side to side, or a step-together-step pattern.
Your scholarly judgement of certain things should be separate from your personal opinions or favourites - they should be based on fact or actions that have been taken.
The combination of technology and dance creates very intricate and impressive dances - which require dancers to be perfectly in sync with another dancer that they cannot see.