Choreography Analysis

Choreography Analysis Paper Assignment

Write about a Modern, Post-Modern, Contemporary (Modern), Contemporary

Ballet, or Dance Theater piece.

Remember to choose a historically relevant choreographer that we have covered

by this point in the class. Choreographers from SYTYCD are too current to be

considered historically important *yet* - but if you find a work of theirs that is

over three minutes and you want to argue to write about, you may submit this

request by email in advance of the submission due date for special permission.

NO PAPERS ON MICHEAL JACKSON, NO PAPERS ON AILEY'S "REVELATIONS,"

ALL DANCING MUST BE AT LEAST 3 MINUTES IN LENGTH.

Plagiarism and paraphrasing of others' work/ideas will not be tolerated. I use

Turnitin to grade your final papers, which will compare your work to hundreds of

previous papers on this subject.

Your paper must have:

THESIS: (~20 Points)

A thesis that states what the message/story of the work is, and how the

movement phrases and elements of the style of dance (or the cultural/historical

context) communicate this message.

BODY:

The Message/Story of the Work in the Big Picture: (~10 Points)

-- Brief Description of the overall plot and style of the piece.

-- Relate the plot/story arc to the message

-- Relate the style to the message

The Message/Story of the Work in Specific Examples: (~40 Points)

-- AT LEAST FIVE Movement Descriptions of phrases (at least ten seconds long)

that demonstrate the message/story, as you interpret it

-- Relate the each of these physical movements to the message/story

Relate the Work to Dance Overall: (~10 Points)

-- Historical / Cultural Distinctness (I.E.: What was the world like at that time,

and how did their dance represent or challenge the world around them?)

-- Unique Style in Comparison to Other Dances (I.E.: How is the style different

from their peers' work? Why this style instead of another?)

CONCLUSION: (~10 Points)

A Conclusion that confirms your relation of the movements to the message, and

expands upon how this work is important and culturally/historically relevant.

Works Cited (at least Three) of different kinds. (~10 points)

EACH video/book/article you use must be cited with a proper MLA citation:

http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/index.php (Links to an external site.)Links

to an external site. AND a URL (web link) for any source discovered online. If you

are discussing/paraphrasing someone else's research or ideas, use parenthetical

references: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/ (Links to an

external site.)Links to an external site.

-- Links to the video(s) you mention (2 points)

-- An article about the work (2 points)

-- Websites discussing the historical/cultural context (2 points)

-- Be sure to include the actual link in each citation (2 points)

-- Parenthetical References in your work (2 points)

Penalty for late papers (-10 points)

Penalty for Plagiarism, including paraphrasing or failure to cite references (-10 to

-40 points per section)