Choose a Modern, Post-Modern, Contemporary (Modern), Dance Theater or Contemporary Ballet piece, with at least 3 minutes of dancing. You can choose from the Watchlists, or you can find a video within those styles.Remember to choose a historically relevant choreographer/dance. This is because you will need to analyze the phrases of dance through the lenses of historical content. Historically relevant dances reference socio-political issues. Just because something is famous (i.e.: culturally relevant) does not make it historically relevant.NO Romantic Ballets, Classical Ballets or NeoClassical Ballets. (Contemporary Neo-Classical Ballets can sometimes work – but email me for an exception.)NO PAPERS ON MICHAEL JACKSON.NO PAPERS ON “Revelations,” (‘Wade in the Water,’ ‘Sinner Man,’ etc.) or “Cry” by Ailey. (Other works by Ailey are fine!)NO PAPERS ON “Lamentations,” or “Heretic” or “Appalachian Spring” by Graham (other works by Graham are fine, or you can compare two).Kurt Jooss “The Green Table” is an acceptable work; BUT do not focus on the opening scene (the men in the masks around the green table); the entire piece is 40 minutes; please focus on any of the other sections, or about the entire work.Matthew Bourne – Edward Scissorhands is okay, but avoid papers on just one love scene, and watch the original movie by Tim Burton. “The Ice Ballet” or “Topiary” alone are NeoClassical ballets/Jazz dance, but the work in it’s entirety is a political commentary about suburbia in 1950/60/90/00’s.NO PAPERS on “The Infernal Galop” by Bourne. He’s got so many other great works, and loads of interviews which tell you more. Dig! There are many short montage films from Bourne on the internet now (“Ballet Shorts”) – be sure that you look at an entire dance.Dances from SYTYCD are usually not 3 minutes long, and not historically relevant (yet). They are only permitted with pre-approval.DV8 Physical Theater – I’ve seen too many papers on only the pub scene from “Enter Achilles,” so please write about the rest of the dance, or – if you’re interested in LGBTQ+ issues, try “To Be Straight With You” or “Can We Talk About This,” or any of their other works. Remember that there is more to “The Cost of Living” than the montage – find full scenes to work from.Some exceptions can be made, but only with professor pre-approval. Send me a link to get permission if you want to break one of these rules. :)Video Watchlists in the Styles for the C.A.P.(Just because it is in a watchlist doesn’t mean it’s approved; the above rules still apply! These links are here to help you with style references.)Video Watchlists in the Styles for the C.A.P.(Just because it is in a watchlist doesn’t mean it’s approved; the above rules still apply! These links are here to help you with style references.)Your dance does not have to be from these lists, but you must choose a dance from one of these styles.Trust me – I’ve graded (literally) thousands of these essays, and it does make it highly unlikely that you will earn a B or above if you start out with a dance that is created for entertainment value, without the multiple layers of high art.THESISA 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.Movement + Context = MessageBODYThe Message/Story of the Work in the Big Picture (Background Information)PLOT: Brief Description of the overall plot or progressionRelate the plot/story arc to the thesisCULTURAL CONTEXT: Describe the dance styleRelate the style to the thesisHow is the style different from their peers’ work or why did they choose this style instead of another?HISTORICAL CONTEXT: Describe the historical events that relate to this dance’s creationRelate the historical context to the thesisWhat was the world like at that time, and how did their dance represent or challenge the world around them?The Message/Story of the Work in Specific ExamplesFive (at least) Movement Phrase Description ParagraphsTOPIC SENTENCE: Tell us how you interpret a particular section of the dance, in relation to your thesis.MOVEMENT PHRASE DESCRIPTION: Describe a phrase of movement that demonstrates the message/story, as you interpret it.This should take about 3-6 sentencesdescribe at least 15 seconds of the danceUse at least four movesCONCLUSIONA Conclusion that confirms your relation of the movements to the message, and expands upon how this work is important and culturally/historically relevant. Add a Works Cited PageProvide at least three citations, of different kinds.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.) 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 the video(s) and websites you mention– An article about the work– Websites discussing the historical/cultural context– *Properly formatted citations– **Parenthetical References in your work– You need outside sources, but you can (and should) certainly ALSO cite your use of module information:CHOOSE ANY DANCE LISTED IN THE FILES
