Dance in Musical Theatre

Dance and theatre have influenced one another from the very beginning of their history together. Both of these art forms share a common bond in that they look to tell a story by expressing emotions through their own unique form of communication.

Song and dance in live performances can be traced back to ancient Greek and Roman cultures. Originally found in Grecian theatre, dance can be dated as far back as 240 BC.

Ancient Roman theaters were huge and seated thousands of people. Due to the extreme number of audience members, keeping a performance exciting was vital for audience approval. If the audience was not impressed they would throw items and heckle performers. In an effort to continually improve audience approval the Romans adopted dance including it in their wild performances, to help add a further element to the live shows.

Sound projection was also a problem a problem for the dancers as they had no
speaking parts so to draw the audience’s attention to their performance the dancers would nail metal to the bottom of their sandals to help make the dance steps louder. These would be considered the first tap shoes.

There is an African expression that says: “If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing” As far back as can be traced, all cultures have sang and danced as a way to express their feelings, celebrate special events and pray. The medicine men of many cultures used dance as a form of prayer, asking the gods to bring rain, end famine and cure the sick. For this reason those medicine men are considered, by many, to be the first choreographers of formal dance.

Dance and drama would not become fully integrated until the 20th century. In 1943 the musical "Oklahoma" opened in New York. Oklahoma was a huge success and truly invoked the combination of dance, music and drama as we know it today. The dances in Oklahoma were a big part of the story. Performed by students of ballet, this musical included folk, ballet and modern dance.

Equally as influential was the musical "Westside Story". Westside Story was first performed in New York in the 1950’s. One of the dance scenes between two rival street gangs serves as a great example of musical theatre dance, also known as character dance. Deep emotion is expressed in the dancing of this scene with strong meaning in every move.

This blog on dance in musicals would not be complete without mentioning a dance legend. Known not so much for his fancy footwork but for his great contribution as a choreographer, Bob Fosse's influence on dance in musical theatre can be seen in many musicals performed today. "Chicago" is an example of a musical, performed today, whose conventions mimic that of the "Chicago" directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse in 1975.
Born in Chicago the son of a burlesque show entertainer Bob Fosse grew up in and around burlesque style theatres. Burlesque style shows combine slapstick sketches, dirty jokes, and dance solos which included naked women. Influenced greatly by the old burlesque style Bob would go on to create award winning dance moves. His unique sexy ,shadow box style of choreography won him 9 Tony awards.

The incorporation of dance in musical theatre not only adds great visual stimulation from the action and beautiful movements but it also allows the meaning behind the performance to take on a higher level of expression.

The following video is a performance from the Tony Award winning refue "Fosse". Enjoy





Work Cited

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2005.


"Great Performances . That's Dancin': Fosse on Broadway . "Chicago" PBS." PBS. 30 Oct. 2009

Kenrick, jJohn. "Dance in Stage Musicals." Musicals101.com - The Cyber Encyclopedia of Musicals. 28 Oct. 2009 .

"The History of Dance." Wendy Burke School of Dance. 28 Oct. 2009 . Several third party sources were used to compile this information and thus, it is not necessarily the complete work of anyone involved @dance4it.

"YouTube - Sing! Sing! Sing! (2 of 2) - Fosse." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. 28 Oct. 2009 . This wonderful big production number is the finale from the Tony Award-winning revue "Fosse". This is part 2 of 2. Louis Prima's 1936 composition "Sing Sing Sing" became one of his biggest hits a...

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madcodance.com

All In The Timing

I was very excited to see this production in action, as I was a volunteer during some of its construction. I even managed to get my name in print. :)

I decided to mix up my blog on All In The Timing, so I included a little personal introduction and background along with my views on the performance itself.

The above prop is my claim to fame. It was used on the set of the third short play “The Universal Language.” With the guidance of Mr. Scott Green I helped to create a little piece of theatre.
As Daytona State Colleges’ Scenic Design and Technical Director, Scott plays a major part in this play and all productions put on by Daytona State College. Besides being extremely dedicated I found Scott to be cheerful and accommodating even under the great pressure of the countdown to opening night.
I was a fan of theatre before taking this course, I already had a great appreciation for the courage and hard work it must take to act live on stage. The opportunity that I was offered in helping set up this production has given me a new and even greater respect for not only those actors but also the crew behind the scenes.
I was amazed to learn how each set is designed and constructed primarily by hand. The theatrical department of Daytona State has an entire warehouse style area specifically setup for this construction complete with high ceilings, hundreds of props, scene screens, paint and shop tools such as circular saws and almost any size plywood you may need.
I also met the Stage Manager, Lindsey Akins, whose responsibilities included organizing the volunteer help (myself) and many other areas of production. I personally helped Lindsey trace the letters for the pull down prop in “The universal Language”

(Lindsey Akins-Traceing letters for The Universal Language prop)

I would like to say kudos to all involved with this production. I found great dedication and skill in everyone I met on stage and off.I am very glad to have met all of these new faces and most importantly to have been a part of this experience.

Below are a few pictures and a short video of the behind the scene construction of this very entertaining play.


From the drawing board by Scott Green

A work in progress



Up and Running

This prop was constructed with a few wires and a child’s bike that was turned to move the clock pieces





working out the kinks

Ever wonder how they raise and lower the props and very heavy curtains? Weights and Pulley system at work

The following is my take on the evening, my roommates’ opinions and the audience reaction during and after the performance.

On Thursday evening I finally got to witness this play in full swing I brought my roommate. From the moment we walked through the doors the atmosphere of the theater was relaxed. We sat on the left side of the theater with only a few audience members. The majority of the audience sat in the middle, this gave me a great vantage point to observe the audience reaction. I must admit the play held my attention greatly and I had to remind myself to look over at other audience member’s. The audience was involved with each scene from the beginning. The vibe in the theater was light and happy. The audience was not very large I would say they were friends and family of the cast, mostly due to their reactions. They were friendly, encouraging and familiar.

The actor’s interaction with the audience was interesting and effective. At one point during the second play, Words, Words, Words, the actors were jumping around and behaving very silly the audiences initial response did not seem to be as loud as the actors wanted so I watched as they became more extreme and interactive until they received a greater response. Another interesting and impressive incident occurred during our live performance, there was a blackout. This happened during "The Philadelphia" there was a loss of power for only a short time, even though we could not see them the actors did not skip a beat, we could hear the dialog as if nothing was different. Thankfully, the lights were on before they had to move around the very dark stage.

I eavesdropped as the audience shuffled out of the theater and their responses were very positive ranging from “I’m impressed” to “What a great performance” I overheard nothing negative…which is good because I would have disagreed strongly.

My roommate does not attend plays very often and has never taken a drama course so it was interesting to hear her take on the performance. Although, my roommate enjoyed the entire play her favorite play was “The Universal Language” she felt the connection with the actors, almost as if she was learning along side of them. We are both still impressed by how hard the actors of this play must have worked to speak in nonsense as if it were really a second language.

Overall, we thought all five plays were well organized with simple but effective sets. The lighting and clocks, around the theater and on the stage, definitely helped create an atmosphere that made you feel included in the performance. We left feeling light and happy the same way we felt during the play.

Kyogen Japanese Theatre

Japanese Theatre-Kyogen

The Japanese people are very religious and traditional. Buddhism is the practiced religion in most if not all of Japan. Buddhist followers believe that spirits are all around us and that they must be pleased for the believers to have good health, happiness and good fortune. Within the realm of Japanese Theatre the performances are spiritual, including gods and ritualistic dance and music. They are essentially performed as a prayer.
There are four major Japanese Theatre styles: Noh, Kyogen, Kabuki and Bunraku. My focus on this blog post will be the comedic style of Kyogen.
Kyogen is often referred to as a partner of Noh theatre. Although, they differ in their conventional styling these two forms of theatre are typically shown together. Noh Theatre is serious and spiritual in nature. Kyogen theatre displays the comic, earthly everyday elements of life. A Kyogen performance is shorter in length and has a very light and happy feel. Including this style of theatre within the Noh performance allows a break from the serious metaphysical world that is Noh Theatre.
The traditions of the Japanese culture carry over to their theatre. Theatre actors and crew are determined by birth right. You could only play a major part in a Noh play if you were born into a family of Noh performers. The same is said for the Kyogen and Kabuki theatrical conventions.
Kwanami Kiyotsugu and his son Seami Motokiyo, considered the founders of Noh theatre, called the comic element of plays “Kyogen” or “mad words”.
Traditionally, the Kyogen role in Japanese Theatre included juggling, tumbling and other silly activities. The responsibility of the traditional Kyogen actor was a performance during the intermission of a Noh play which was said to mimic the court jester style of medieval times. Over the years Kyogen Theatre has evolved to include Sarugaku or monkey music which includes drums, dancing and other instruments.
The Kyogen style performances consist of only one act. The cast members of Kyogen, as in most Japanese Theatre are all male. The Kyogen actor may double and play a small role during a Noh play but he would only play a lower class part; such as a janitor, or servant. As they were considered in the everyday world a Kyogen actor’s part on stage must equal that of their status in the Japanese community. On stage these parts can be distinguished by the actor’s socks. The Noh actor will always wear white and the Kyogen actor will wear yellow.
The costumes and masks of Kyogen Theatre are not as elaborate as that of the Noh. The parts played by the actors are common and call for common costumes. The facial expressions of the actors are extremely important to the comic style of Kyogen; this is why you’ll notice the main characters do not wear masks. Masks are used, however, and are typically worn by actors playing gods or animals.
Although there are many differences in the style and conventions of these two forms of Japanese Theatre Kyogen and Noh go well together to create a unique audience experience.

Works Cited

Arnott, Peter D.. Theatres of Japan. New York: Macmillan, 1969.

Felner, Mira, and Claudia Orenstein. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2005.

"Japan - Kyogen." bookmice.net index. 8 Oct. 2009 .

"YouTube - Kyogen Theater." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.. 13 Oct. 2009 < v="ohQSAy-Msd0">.
"Japanese Art." Artlex.com. 9 Oct. 2009 .

"Kyogen Theatre." flickr.com. 9 Oct. 2009 .