As time passes, we are seeing modern dance (contemporary dance) do what it does best: adapt to changing circumstances. One of my favorite qualities about modern dance is that it can fuse with many other dance forms and still be considered contemporary. One of the biggest crazes right now seems to be joining modern with hip hop. I think many choreographers are trying to take the "professional" and "respected" modern dance and fuse it with the "crowd-pleasing" and "commercially viable" hip hop dance. Personally, I feel that much of it is still boring. Here's why: I feel that the strongest quality that modern dance can offer a dancer/choreographer is the ability to truly say something that is unique and original to themselves. What I see in so many of these modern/hip hop fusion choreographers is that they are making "cookie-cutter" dances that look the same as everybody else's modern/hip hop dance. I want to see why a choreographer is unique. What are they doing that no one else is doing?
So, speaking of evolution, here is a clip from Israeli-born choreographer Hofesh Shechter. He is a product of the incredibly awesome Batsheva company (remember them from early in the quarter?), which is descended from Martha Graham, one of the founders of Modern dance. He is another step forward in the evolution of dance. Check him out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czcXspACmD8
Corollary Questions:
What speaks to you? Why? What is he doing that no one else is? If you were a choreographer, what unique abilities or interests would you fuse into your dancing?
The thing that really spoke to me in this video was the dedication of the performers. This was captured in many moments but particularly from the intense fist/foot pumping. I also appreciated the unique and always changing formations that were incorporated by the choreographer. I thought this was cool and beautiful because although it caught my eye, the time to create these formations must have been challenging for the choreographer or in general for any choreographer who is creating a dance.
ReplyDeleteI have not seen enough different contemporary dances to comment on the choreographer's uniqueness but I noticed that a common theme seems to be the dancers' ability to allow their movements to flow as if no effort was put behind each motion.
If I was a choreographer, I would fuse martial arts with modern dance.
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ReplyDeleteThe level of intricacy of floorwork spoke to me most in this video. The variations and levels that arise are absolutely beautiful. Not only are they executing the movements standing up, but really executing the ground work as well. I notice there is a nice flow with every dancer and it intrigues me to see how big their movements are. There is an uniqueness with Hofesh Shechter because he incorporates various styles into his choreography as well as implementing a focus in musicality. Even the simplest movements are on beat! I also notice the floor/ground-work movements and flow are infused movements that may be capoeira, break-dancing, house, etc. He also utilizes simple movements (fist pumping, leg kicking, two steps) that emphasizes his work. It really reminds me of the quote, "It's not what you do, it's how you do it." The simplest movements can be transformed with a new meaning/energy through your way of expressing it.
ReplyDeleteI'd incorporate a fuse of break-dancing, house , & freestyle into my dancing.
I think what stood out the most to me in this piece was how well the music and the dancers connected. The movements gave a story to the music and the music gave life to the dancers. All the movements seemed simple but the choreography and the execution of the movements were so intriguing because they were so timely and clean with each move. Also, all the dancers were together when needed but doing separate moves at times. This gave an interesting effect that never left me bored. I think Hofesh Shechter was really able to bring out the dancing with the music and the music with the dancing. If I was a choreographer, I would try and incorporate different cultural dances or movements into my dancing.
ReplyDeleteI feel as though this choreography captures both the fluidity of movement as well as the abruptness and sharpness of hip hop, without seeming too jarring. That, to me, is particularly striking, and speaks to the combination we were working on yesterday. I feel that especially in a time where social media, such as Youtube, predominates the lens through which we view art and performance, you're absolutely right in saying that the performers have to do something different in order to break free of the homogeneous, commercial machine. If I was to be a choreographer, I would encourage the performers to utilize the parts of their body that seem most natural for them. That is, some people find freedom and expression of movement by utilizing their arms, head, torso, etc. For me, I feel most in-sync with my body when it is my legs that are moving. Something about moving my legs feels so freeing to me, and I'm sure it's different for everybody. I would encourage to find that place where there is freedom of tension, a movement, a style, that is liberating. If it is in the context of a group combination, I would still encourage them to find that movement that speaks to them, not fearing standing out among the rest of the performers, embracing what it is that makes their body and their movements unique.
ReplyDelete---Charlie
What speaks to me in this video is the commitment of the choreography to the individual sounds of the music. It is amazing to watch because the dancers no longer seem like human beings, but are instead extensions of the background music, as if the sounds were actually coming alive. Unlike any choreographer I've seen before, Shechter is able to take away the performers' human quality. At no point do the performers directly interact with one another--their faces remain rather expressionless and they are almost always looking downward--yet the audience can still distinguish an indirect connection between the dancers as they deliver the movements in unison. Personally, I also am not in favor of pushing modern dance in the direction of hip-hop in order to become commercially pleasing. I believe the most beautiful modern dance is one that remains true/personal/unique to the choreographer--an idea that is futile if everything becomes hip-hop. If I was a choreographer, I would fuse the sounds of different instruments into my movement, particularly Asian instruments. Each sound would come with a different movement, putting together an entire song in visual rather than audio form--almost like a composer's musical score for an orchestra, but instead for dancers.
ReplyDelete-Katherine Huynh
Hofesh Shechter stays true to his unique, original, and personal style of dance. While incorporating and fusing other types of dance styles such as hip-hop, the choreographer vividly illustrates and portrays his vision of dance. Socially, styles of dance such as hip-hop, modern contemporary, modern jazz are accepted because they are predominantly viewed on shows such as So You Think You Can Dance and America’s Best Dance Crew; however, there is much more originality and diversity to dance that needs to be showcased by the wide range of choreographers. If I were a choreographer, I would incorporate styles that I am most comfortable with such as jazz and bollywood—and these two styles would make my choreography absolutely original and unique, which I am pleased to deviate from social norms of acceptable dance. This is something I am doing that no one else is doing, and I appreciate that uniqueness in other choreographers. If one choreographs with love and interest in the style(s) of dance, it will be apparent in the movements of the dancers and speak to the audience. Therefore, the evolution of dance will prosper if increasing number of choreographers dance with their unique abilities and away from the social crazes and crowd-pleasers.
ReplyDeleteThe element that struck me the most unique about this dance was the metronomic quality. The dancers kept a constant and even pulse with their bodies, never missing a beat, speaking to the stamina of these men and women. I enjoyed the levels, especially the moments where they all surrender to gravity. I commend Hofesh Shechter's willingness to let the dance deconstruct for moments, like when the dancers fall or get out of sync. This makes the communal moments where the dancers form amoebic-like masses far more poignant.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to choreograph a piece I would incorporate my theater background by giving my dancers relationships, objectives, and obstacles. This would create a more dynamic and differentiated stage picture. I would like to see different scenes occurring between characters in different areas of the stage or theater. The way each dancer moves would change based on who they are dancing with or near. Each dancer would be uninhibited and fully committed to achieving their objective no matter what obstacle comes in their path.
From watching this clip choreographed by Hofesh Shechter, I noticed how unique and original his movements are. Short powerful jabs and movements smoothly transition into large fluid movements that encompass every body part, calling attention to the smooth limberness of the arms and the heaviness of the head. The fast-paced tempo of the music keeps the movements in check as each small movement corresponds to a single sharp beat in the music. Shechter also utilizes the concept of space very well, both horizontally across the floor and vertically by sweeping down low and leaping up high. The dancers’ movements are powerful and angelic. I also noticed how the routine was comprised of a few basic select body movements or poses and the dance developed from those movements. Those movements were expanded and exaggerated and the routine was just a progression of those few movements.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite parts of watching a dance routine is how well the movements correspond to beats in the music. I am instantly attracted and drawn into such movements as I feel they are being reinforced by the music, just as well as the music reinforces the movement. Additionally, I was fascinated by the smaller movements in the routine characterized by the preciseness and sharpness. The ability of a choreographer to skillfully craft tiny, yet powerful, movements that appeal to the audiences’ eyes is very respectful to me. These two concepts would be incorporated into my routines if I were a choreographer.
- Nicole WOng
I see a lot more dancing on the floor with interesting footwork and more movements that make it look like hip hop, such as sharp jumps and arm and leg movements that flow with the beats in the music. The fist-pumping makes the dancers seem very into the story they are telling. I always enjoy seeing the dancers separate, whether in pairs or in groups, and do different choreography at the same time. If I was a choreographer, I would have the dancers move around freely for a certain portion of the song so that more of the dance floor was covered. Having them come back to dancing in unison would just show how well they can move according to the music. -Alexis
ReplyDeleteThe modern dance mixed with the hip-hop feel was exemplified in this performance and the combination of the two emotions were amazing to watch. I really liked the contrasting quality of the smooth/fluid movements versus the sharp/fast movements. The way the dancers fell to the ground then seemed to float back up was very powerful and inspired me to focus on the transitions between movements while I'm dancing instead of just focusing on the end points of the movements. Individually, the dancers were passionate and convincing. As a group, they were completely in sync and had a very mesmerizing quality.
ReplyDeleteWhat speaks to me is the high energy of the dancers. Their sharp movement and strong almost impulsive dance and the way they use their entire body, taking up all the space giving them a very dynamic feel. If I were to choreograph I would involve fast sharp movement with very high energy music fusing with it dance styles from different cultures such as African and bollywood dance styles. What I like about his style that no one else is doing is the impulsive movements it gives it a very animalistic feel or wild in a sense.
ReplyDeleteWhat struck me was the passion that I felt from the dancers, and their ability to simultaneously remain strong in their individual gestures, yet sync up with the rest of the group. Their movements appear natural, yet sporadic. The juxtaposition is beautiful. Referencing our class today and how difficult it was for a large class to move about freely, I appreciate Hofesh Shechter's drive and ability to direct such a large group. If I were a choreographer I would incorporate my own passion of painting into the mix. Involving actual paint would be too messy, but they could envision the floor as being the canvas and their bodies as the tool that applies the paint. These soft, fluid movements would be countered with fast, succinct alterations of the body.
ReplyDelete-Janise Morrison
What speaks to me when it comes to this video is the sense of togetherness the dancers and their choreography have ripples through out their performance. I feel that his style is pushing boundaries and providing an organic feel to a social constructed of societies rush in technology. If i was able to pursue a career in being a choreographer my still will most like be generally contemporary dance but fuse with a pop but not hip hop but like that time in class where we had to move with strength and sharpness.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that stood out the most for me in this video was how well the music went with the choreography. It seemed like the two were made for each other, and I think thats what dancing should do. I also liked how Shechter took very familiar moves, like fist pumping, and made them his own. The timing of everything really spoke to me as well. I think that is what made the performance very special, while someone was doing one thing, another group was doing another, and when they transitioned into something else together it was amazing. If I were a choreographer, I would use everything I knew from different dance experiences and make it my own. I think the most influence would come from my footwork from Mexican dancing and then fuse hip-hop and contemporary moves with that.
ReplyDeleteA lot of hip-hop is uninteresting to me because a) most of the dance moves done by women completely objectify them as sex symbols and b) doesn't seem to have anything behind it emotionally. That's so far been my experience watching it. However, this choreography hooked me. I loved that while I watched it I thought, "huh, this looks like a rebellion" and that's what it was about. Sometimes I like a dance that's easy to get some meaning behind.
ReplyDeleteThings that I really appreciated was the repetitive motions and moves that they kept going back to, as well as the way they kept switching off. There was always somewhere else to look, and the dance did a really good job at focusing the audience's attention.
Everything was so specific and sharp which I felt fit in with the idea of the piece. I also saw how the movements and shapes the dancers made represented trying to break free and standing up together in a rebellion. So I would try to take the specificity and the moves that focused the audiences attention.
Overall I felt this was a great blend of both modern and hip-hop, because it didn't feel like one or the other. It felt like both. My background is in social/ballroom dance, where the most important things are the connection with your partner and the repetitive rhythms. So it would be really interesting to add hip-hop or modern elements to that and see what happened.
What speaks to me in this vedio is that the dancers' performance describes the combination of the fluidity in the movement and the sharpness in the movement, which is the symbol chactheristic of hip hop. I thought the movement must lose kind of fluidity when we try to move sharply. However, this vedio denies my initial thought. In fact, our current contemporary dance has already mentioned about hip hop, which makes the dance become much more powerful. As many classmates mention about the expression on dancers' faces above the discussion board. The ingredient of the dance does not just based on the emotions on the face. To a large extent, the dance itself is fuse with the soul and thought of the dancer. I think Hofesh Shechter perfectly attaches the music with his choreography, which makes me really like to watch the clip. If I was a choreographer, I would try to bring lots of my energy to take the sharp movement, fusing with the music. Just be more natural to do the movement in the natrual way, and also with power. But during the long movement, we should also care about the fluidity and do not interrupt it. From where I stand, I really curious and excited to see the fusion of different types of dance.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me in this video was that the whole vibe I got throughout the whole perfomance was intensity. Every single one of the performers' movements were so thought out and unique. The performance was really engaging and the choreographer put a lot of thought into each and every one of the movements. I thought that the movements really matched the music. Also, I really didn't know what to expect next as the performance went on. That feeling of not knowing what to expect was kind of cool. It just made me want to watch more of it. If I were a choreographer, I would definitely incorporate elements of hip hop into my dance pieces, just because I feel like when hip hop and contemporary dance come together, they create something really special.
ReplyDeleteWhat was most interesting in this piece was the use of time to create a even stronger feel. As opposed to having each dancer do the same movements at the same time, the choreographer had sets of dancers doing the same moves, but at separate times. Because the moves were not synchronized, it created an even more hectic feel on top of the already strong and sharp moves. It reminded me of the urban city streets, where everyone is walking about (doing the same moves), but at different paces and different directions. But there are certain times that they convene and do the same thing, for example, at the bus stop or at the subway station.
ReplyDeleteIf I were a choreographer, I would infuse ballet with modern dance.
What I found most interesting in this piece is that the dance is not lead by any particular body part. Each body part has there own role but move along with another. I'm not sure exactly how to explain what I feel is happening. It is so different from other pieces I have seen. For some reason the movements kind of remind me of zombies. There movements aren't being controlled by a mind but by the body. When the arm moves the body follows. Every body part movement is connected to another and at the same time they make individual movements. The movements are sharp and yet fluid. The movements need the entire body to be flexible and able to move in ways that don't necessarily feel natural. These are all unique to his choreography. If I could choreograph a piece, I would have more fluid and slow movements. I love the subtle beauty of nature and would definitely use nature as an inspiration.
ReplyDelete~Nicole B.
What spoke to me the most about this video is that the dancers are dancing like musical instruments. They are describing each layer of the music with their bodies. They are using every part of their bodies to portray the intensity of the music. The dancers use both fluid-like and sharp movements to do so. If I were a choreographer, I would fuse daily activities into dance. I also really love lyrical dance.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite aspect of this piece is the musicality of the choreography. Many times with hip hop, the movements will follow only one part of the music--the bass line or the most prominent beat, for example. Within Shechter's piece, he manages to seamlessly combine the movements and music so that a movement will influence a beat or a note and vice versa. The way the choreography is split among the dancers, each group represents a different aspect within the music. One group follows the offbeat while another hits each beat made by the rhythm section. For me, they managed to become the physical representation of the music. I love the juxtaposition of such hard, raw dance moves being so fluid and done with such preciseness alongside other dancers. The sense of community, a bunch of individual people becoming one cohesive unit through common motions, is, for me, one of the best parts of watching and doing dance. Even when they are doing different motions they are still complementary to each other. A lot of times choreographers use things inspired by movements in nature; I would be interested in seeing if it was possible to draw inspiration and choreography from nonliving or stationary things you see in everyday life such as buildings or words in texts. That would be fascinating to see someone's interpretation of how things that aren't necessarily able to physically move could influence our own forms of dance.
ReplyDeleteWhat stood out to me most was the choice of movements that Shechter chose to go along with the music. It looks as if he fuses together a variety of simple movements; but the effect of them altogether is really moving. I found it quite funny that he incorporated a lot of fist or foot pumping into the piece since this move is commonly deemed the default for those who “can’t dance.” Yet, rather than look silly, the piece was very powerful and intense. I think that Shechter’s choice of moves for the choreography made the dance unlike others that I’ve seen, and these movements were so well incorporated with the music that the performance was extremely mesmerizing to watch.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this choreography, as it was seemingly a combination of everything I enjoy in dance. It had a breathe like quality in a lot of the movement, it was at times very athletic, it had a vocabulary which was simple and complex, and it was quite musically driven (this allowed a lot of personality to shine through during the slower movement). Some of the movements were rudimentary, accessible to most, and subtley repeated throughout out the piece which I felt was unique. Some movements were fluid were others were relatively mechanic, which I appreciated. I also felt the travelling floor choreography was unique in that.The whole piece had an instinctual essence to it in the sense that some of the movements were similar to primate movements in tandem with movements that were honest/humanistic/vulnerable.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to choreograph a piece I would choose movement based of the human experience as it relates to the body mixing high and low intensities, breath, ease, mindfulness, and quirk.
For me, the music and choreography in this piece had a very industrial feel to it. I felt like it somehow seemed tribal, too. I noticed that the dancers movements emphasized different beats in the music. Half the dancers would be doing fluid choreography to the melody while the other half would be doing sharp movements to the bass lines. Sometimes dancer would leave apart from the “group” in the sense that they would do their own movements. Then other dancers from a different “group” would leave their own group and join that dancer, and suddenly they all would come apart from their synchronic movements and disperse into different groups, now doing synchronic movements again but within different groups of dancers. I noticed that it allowed me to keep my attention on what was going on everywhere on stage at once, because different people were always breaking off, doing new and different movements, pulling my attention to a different area. I feel like I lose that sense of a cohesive performance when I watch contemporary with a lot of dancers, especially when there is so much going on everywhere that I can’t pay attention to any one single thing, and its impossible to pay attention to all of it. Here, I felt like I could keep track of everything because it was so orderly, but interesting at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe thing speak to me is the cooperation of the dancers. In the vedio, they are not doing the same movements at the same time, but it still looks harmoniously to me. I think it is the magic of the choreographer, which can combine different motions in sequence and match the beat with the music. If I were a choreographer, I would use contrasts with movements. Because contrast makes more powerful. For example, a sharp movement after a soft movement looks stronger compared to the sharp movement itself. Even at the same time, different dancers can do contrast motions which makes the dancing more interesting.
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