“ PIPPIN” live performance review

Sources for live performance listings:

· UM Frost School of music, Frost Events Calendar news.miami.edu/frost/index.html

· UM Ring Theater Performance Season as.miami.edu

· Professional, off-campus performances are OK too, but may be expensive.

1) All Live performance papers must include an attached program (stapled) with a signature of someone involved in the production (one of the musicians, the conductor, an actor, singer, etc.) A signed ticket will also suffice.

2) Live performance reviews must be dated and turned in NOT LATER THAN 1 week following the performance.

Plan ahead, and take the time to Attend and Write about a Live dance, theater, opera or music performance. As accessible as on-line recordings may be, there is Nothing Like Live Performance.

A vast amount of excellent recorded materials are available for study on-line. It is easily accessed and allows the viewer to experience a wide range of artists and styles. These on-line recordings are best used as class reference, and should not stand in for live performance.

Please do not write this paper before reading the material included below in the “Guidelines” sections (read on). I look forward to reading your thoughtfully written observations. Please understand, however, that your Dance class is a Lab. You may attend a live performance and write about it, but do not plan to write/submit multiple papers to “write you way out” of poor class attendance. One class absence can be made up for one paper. A maximum of two papers may be submitted, and are due the last day of class.

Format for the Paper

What is the pleasure in watching others move? 

· Minimum of 1 page, maximum 3 pages, typed (no exceptions), double-spaced.

· Review should be structured like any other paper: introduction, summary/review, conclusions

· All titles of dance or music titles should be underlined.

· Include ideas about the choreography, genre of dance, use of space, use of dynamics and rhythm, use of movement vocabulary, and your overall impressions (see below for further details and suggestions).

A+ = vivid writing that is emotionally engaging.

A = clear writing that conveys a good mix of detail and overview.

B = adequate writing that lacks detail or is missing an overall perspective.

C = generally adequate writing but incorrect or confusing use of terms

D = incomplete work; poor writing

F = does not meet standards for college work.

Guidelines for Viewing a Dance or other Performance:

· When writing a dance observation review, consider the following prior to the performance: Who is performing? Is it a new work or classic choreography reset? Who are the choreographers? Are they known for other works?

· When viewing a performance, be an active participant, rather than a passive consumer.  Work as hard at viewing the piece as the choreographer, or musicians did making the work.  Consult the program notes, or on-line credits/notes for information.

· During the performance, there are also many things to consider that should be incorporated into your writing process. What style of dance is it? Is the performance experimental or conventional? What are the cultural implications of the performance? How do elements of the performance, such as lighting, scenery, and costume, enhance the choreography?

· If a performance is very abstract, take as much from it as you can and strive to deliver your opinion of it as clearly as possible in your writing. Remember there is no right answer since art is abstract and everyone responds to art based on his or her own experience.

· There is a lot to take in when viewing dance, and it can be easy to forget aspects of the performance. Write down your observations and your inspirations as you watch the performance. If the performance is recorded, do not to stop the video, but rather watch from beginning to end, just as it was filmed. You have the luxury of repeated viewings!

Guidelines for Writing About a Dance Piece/Performance:

· The opening statement of your critique should draw the reader in.  Be creative.  Tell the reader where and when the concert took place.

· When writing about choreographers, always identify them by name.  What were the choreographer’s intentions and were they successfully communicated?  What do you think the choreographer was trying to say with the dance, or what did the dance say to you?  What was the dance about?  Was it just movement, or was there a story? Analyze the symbolism.  Does it relate to current events?

· Discuss the choreography.  Did the choreography flow, what were the dynamics, how did it move in space and what were the motivations for the movements?  Make general comments but also include detailed descriptions.  Try to give at least one specific movement image. 

· What thoughts or feelings did the concert or piece evoke?  In constructing your critique, reflect on why you may have had certain reactions.  Always back up your assertions, positive or negative with concrete examples.  Don’t just be a negative critic; offer your thoughts in a constructive way. 

· Comment on the music and identify the composer(s) and musician(s) when possible.  What was the relationship of the dance to the music?  Did the music play an important role in the performance?  Was the music live, pre-recorded or some combination of both? What difference did it make?  Did the form of the music influence the form of the dance or vice versa?

· Were the dances well rehearsed and/or well performed? Support your comments with specific examples. Did the dancers work together well in the ensemble pieces?

· Were the makeup, props (if used), and costumes appropriate?  Discuss the scenic design, lighting design, and overall use of the theatre space.  When speaking about any element of design, you must include the designers' names.

· Comment on the overall production; give the reader a sense of what it looked like.  What was your reaction to the concert as a whole?  How did the piece or pieces connect?

· Each critique should reach a conclusion regarding the performance.   

More on writing about dance . . .

“The challenges of writing about music can be compared to the challenges of writing about dance.  Here is an example of good descriptive writing about dance.  It describes the beginning of Alvin Ailey's Revelations.

Six dancers are grouped center stage, arms reaching high, fingers spread, heads tilting back.  The men are bare-chested, wearing only body-hugging pants.  The women's long, sleeveless dresses are plain but drape loosely around their thin bodies to reveal breasts and hips with a similarly plain, unsensual beauty.  Warm light pours down from above, fixing the dancers in a moment of the exaltation and yearning.  "It looks so simple, and it is," Dorene Richardson said.  The dancers move very little in what follows, and after they separate as a group they return and pull together.

. . . those elements -- bodies that contract and hinge, sudden sinking and almost instantaneous rises, sashays across a crowded stage -- are used not so much to narrate or to suggest but as direct expressions of emotion.  Ailey's sense of theatrical effect and pacing served him well in the steadily building Revelations.

From Alvin Ailey, A Life in Dance, Jennifer Dunning, 1996

Source: Myra Daleng, Richmond Dept. of Theatre and Dance;

DC Meckler, Writing About Dance from the Arts, the Senses and the Imagination.)