DANCE

TRADITIONAL ARTISTIC PERCEPTION (AP) ® CLASSICAL CREATIVE EXPRESSION (CE) Artsource CONTEMPORARY HISTORICAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT (H/C) The Music Center’s Study Guide to the Performing Arts EXPERIMENTAL AESTHETIC VALUING (AV) MULTI-MEDIA CONNECT, RELATE & APPLY (CRA)

ENDURING FREEDOM & THE POWER THE HUMAN TRANSFORMATION VALUES OPPRESSION OF NATURE FAMILY

Title of Work: choreographed many Broadway shows, including Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder (1959) performed by The Alvin Raisin. He is on the dance faculty at the University of Ailey American Dance Theater California, Irvine. Creators: Choreographer: Donald McKayle b.1930 About The Artwork: Music: Traditional African American, arranged by Robert De Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder was born in a moment of Cormier and Milton Okun from the collection of inspiration when Mr. McKayle met musician Leon Bibb. John and Alan Lomax Performing one weekend at a resort in the Catskills, they Background Information: collaborated on a prison song, Told My Captain, which Born in New York, Donald McKayle’s impressive career reflects the hardship and rhythms of Southern chain encompasses both modern and theatrical dance styles. gangs. McKayle actually chained himself to Bibb, improvising His early interest in dance was intensified at seventeen ideas through dance movement. Their performance, when he was electrified by seeing Pearl Primus, a young, intended to be a one-time happening, so affected the energetic black dance artist who combined modern with audience that they repeated it throughout that weekend. authentic African dance. The friend who had invited McKayle realized that this idea needed to be developed him to her concert was a student of Miss Primus. After into a full length piece. It took two years to complete. the performance McKayle felt such a strong chemistry Creative Process of the Artist or Culture: with Pearl Primus and her work, he insisted that his friend “The more specific and truthful you can be, the more teach him everything she knew that very night. universal your work will be,” states Mr. McKayle. He However, without technical dance training it seemed has a profound interest in African American heritage doubtful that he would be allowed to study at The New and has based this work on themes and styles drawn Dance Group where Ms. Primus taught. He insisted from this culture. Fascinated and moved by the strong, that if they would only audition him, they would know pulsing, repetitive rhythms of he was a dancer. His audition won him a scholarship to work and prison songs, he the school and marked the beginning of his legendary based Rainbow ’Round My dance career. From the beginning he choreographed and Shoulder on the concept of danced, never feeling that he was limited to only one of being a prisoner with a dream these roles. Mr. McKayle believes that having all the of freedom. senses open throughout life is very important for him as an artist. This openness has also helped him change the New York, NY minds of others. In 1955 he was the first black male “What is beautiful about selected to join the Martha Graham Dance Company mankind are the differences, and that is a thing to celebrate.” and he toured with them on their historic tour of Asia, Donald McKayle sponsored by the U.S. State Department. He has also Los Angeles, CA Discussion Questions: Multidisciplinary Options: After the video has been viewed: • Learn a traditional work song, such as the Hammer • What is the mood at the beginning of the dance? Song. Find a recording of it. The important pulse is on • Why do you think the choreographer selected the “off beat” rather than the main beat. Clap the off Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder as the title for the dance? beat rhythm and discuss the reason for the strong, • What movements were used to show the agony of compelling rhythm. Listen to the lyrics, then think of the men on the chain gang? Can you show any? other tools or instruments which fit the song. Add new verses. • How did the movement and music work together? • List words which describe the feelings of imprisonment • What was the hope of the men? Which dancer do and freedom. Think of an everyday object and, you think represented hope and freedom? Why? incorporating some of these words, write a poem or short • Describe your feelings from seeing the dance. story based on its response to freedom or imprisonment. Examples of objects: pencil, towel, cup, brush, shoe, box, Summary of the Dance Scenario: curtain. Until recently it was a common practice in the South to chain convicts together at their ankles as they Sample Experiences: worked at road construction, stone quarrying and LEVEL I bridge building. In this dance, Donald McKayle • Working alone, find how it feels to walk in the follow- shows the frustration and anger the men felt, as well ing ways: heavy, light, dragging, bouncy. Then, work on as their dreams of freedom. The stage lighting creates these ways of walking with a partner, copying each the ‘crack of dawn’ as five convicts enter, performing other’s movement choices. Discuss the differences you strong, stark and full-bodied movements. Their felt when moving in these different ways. twisting actions are interrupted at times as if they are * • Think of group work movements which can be reacting to being whipped. Although the movements explored, such as hauling, dragging, pushing, pulling, of the men are forceful, they become weighted and lifting and carrying. Create variations for each. weary as the day evolves. A woman appears, but is LEVEL II really a vision representing freedom. Three duets • In small groups, have leaders call out work commands follow, connected by choral transitions, representing for others to do as they travel along a straight path in 30 the memory and desire of a man for his sweetheart, seconds. Contrast this experience by having each student mother and wife. All the female roles, originally move along a curved path, doing movements of their performed by Mary Hinkson, are danced by the same own choice for 30 seconds. Compare the experiences. woman. The dance, set to the compelling rhythms of * • First with a partner, then in small groups, have a leader traditional African American folk songs, is scripted to create slow, strong, clear movements which are mirrored build emotional tension towards an explosive, sad ending. or shadowed by the partner or group. Work for smooth flow of motion and transitions. Audio-Visual Materials: LEVEL III ® • Artsource video excerpt: Rainbow ’Round My * • Working in partners, have one partner mime a strong Shoulder, courtesy of The Alvin Ailey American whipping (slashing quality) action to which the other Dance Theater and Donald McKayle. responds in dance movement. Repeat this several times • Photos: courtesy of The Alvin Ailey American working on action/reaction variations. Try in slow Dance Theater. motion, then fast motion. Change roles. Discuss the Additional References: experience and how the movements differed. How did • American Dance Festival. The Black Tradition in each role feel when you performed it? Modern Dance, American Dance Festival. • Select an African American spiritual or work song and www.americandancefestival.org. create small group studies which are inspired by the rhythm. Combine sections to create a whole work. 2 * Indicates sample lessons DANCE

RHYTHMS OF WORK ENDURING VALUES

LEVEL I Sample Lesson

INTRODUCTION:

In many cultures, people work together to lighten tedious, repetitive jobs. To quote The Fireside Book of Folk Songs, “The principle of ‘music while you work’ was discovered long ago when men first saw that rhythm and unity of action helped to perform a task with greater swiftness and efficiency. Music, more than anything else, gave their actions the combined effort that was needed.”

In the past, sailors would sing sea chanties as they hoisted the sails, pulled in the lines and loaded cargo. Working on the railroad, the men would sing as they dragged the ties into place and drove in the spikes. As workers still do in Africa, slaves in America would provide a rhythm for their work by singing, giving them the will and energy to endure long hours of hard labor. Even during World Wars I and II, factory workers in many countries incorporated work songs to make their jobs easier. Soldiers who had to march great distances kept their spirits high by singing songs which kept them in step and lifted their morale.

In this unit, we are focusing on the work which prisoners had to do, as a forced member of a chain gang; however this lesson can highlight any type of work which people have done throughout history.

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)

Students will be able to:

• Move with unity and rhythm with others. (Artistic Perception)

• Express individual interpretation of dance movements based on work movements. (Creative Expression)

• Discuss the historical and cultural use of music and rhythm to support and channel the energy of people who perform repetitious work movements. (Historical and Cultural context)

• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Aesthetic Valuing)

MATERIALS:

• Audio recording of the Hammer Song or other works songs such as sea shanties, railroad songs or prison songs.

• Artsource® video excerpt of Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder, danced by The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

3 PROGRESSION:

• Introduce the idea of people creating a rhythmic pattern while working together to get hard jobs done. Sometimes people get paid for this type of work and sometimes they are forced to work against their will.

• Give a brief introduction to Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder and give some history of the chain gangs. Refer to the unit pages for this information. Have the students view at least the first part of the video, where the men are showing the idea of the chain gang. Focus on the unison movement and the energy and mood of the men.

• After the students have viewed the video and discussed the historical and cultural aspects of the piece, have them focus on the unison movement. Have them explore ways to do repetitive movement as they explore the following work ideas: chopping, sawing, sledge hammering, pushing, pulling, lifting, carrying, dragging, hauling, digging, swinging a pick axe, etc.

• Select different students to become the leader, performing their movement ideas with everyone else following them. Choose several leaders, each with a different idea. Stress the idea of doing the movement together rhythmically, and repeating the action several times.

• Play the Hammer Song and have the students try several of the ideas again, working within the rhythmic structure. Discuss how they felt. What would they change? What did they learn about repetitive work motions? What did they learn about working together? How do people use the idea of unison to get work done today?

EXTENSIONS:

• Divide the students into groups of four. Have them take turns doing work movements of their choice, working in unison. If they wish, they can select a particular type of work idea and make up their own work song or sing traditional ones such as I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, or Yeo, Heave Ho!

• Encourage students to explore ways to abstract their movements by:

• making them very big (changing the size) • adding a traveling movement such as a slide, skip, gallop or leap • doing the motion with different body parts (isolation) • finding five variations on ways to perform each movement idea • changing the energy (weak, strong, percussive, sustained, swinging, vibrating, etc.)

• Relate the work movements to whatever culture or period of time is being studied in social studies or history.

VOCABULARY: work song, unison, repetition

4 ASSESSMENT: (Aesthetic Valuing)

DESCRIBE: Describe one of the work movements you did. Give as much detail about the movement as you can.

DISCUSS: Discuss what you learned by doing these work movements.

ANALYZE: Talk about why you think Mr. McKayle chose the title, Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder as a title for a dance about prisoners and their dreams of being free? Think of other titles you might use if you were the choreographer.

CONNECT: List words which describe the feelings of imprisonment and freedom. Think of situations when you have felt free and ones when you have felt that your freedom was taken away. Discuss the difference between these two feelings or situations.

TO ESTABLISH CRITERIA FOR THIS TASK AND CREATE A RUBRIC: See the information in the Addenda.

The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater A scene from Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder Choreographed by Donald McKayle Photo: Jack Mitchell

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DANCE

LEAD AND FOLLOW ENDURING VALUES LEVEL II Sample Lesson

INTRODUCTION:

Learning to work with others has many advantages. One has to take attention off oneself and place it on cooperating with others. Effective participation with others earns one the right to be part of that group. There must be cooperation and a sense of being connected to something larger than oneself. This activity builds a new type of awareness in students and places attention on following the lead of someone who is in charge. Since each person gets the opportunity to be a leader, this exercise gives each student the chance to play both the one ‘giving orders’ and the one who must ‘follow orders.’

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)

Students will be able to:

• Work in unison with a group, being both a leader and a follower. (Artistic Perception)

• Design and perform original movements. (Creative Expression)

• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Aesthetic Valuing)

MATERIALS:

• Artsource® video excerpt of Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder danced by The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

• Music, such as the Hammer Song, I’ve Been working on the Railroad, or other rhythmic work songs.

• A simple drum, woodblock or clap can be used to set a steady beat to support the rhythm of the work movements.

PROGRESSION:

• Discuss the opposite concepts of leading and following, and of being an individual and being part of a group.

• Introduce the video, Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder. Give some basic background from the unit page.

• After the video has been viewed, use the ‘Discussion Questions’ on paage 2 to stimulate thinking and give students an opportunity to share their views. Also ask what they noticed about the way the men moved in unison. What does working in unison involve? Was a particular man the leader? How do they know?

• Divide students into three’s or four’s; have each group select a leader. The leader performs movements

6 which are strong, large, simple and precise. Each movement should be repeated several times before going to the next. Give the students a specific amount of time in which to move. For example, give them 15 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 5 seconds. Each movement idea should have a clear beginning, middle and ending. Have them change leaders. Establish the following criteria: move in unison, design motion which is smooth and continuous, or do sharp and clear level changes. • Have several pairs, trios and quartets perform their work movements simultaneously while the others watch. Ask such questions as:

• Which groups moved effectively in unison? Why were they able to do this? • Did any groups change levels? Directions? Energy?

At this point, you may wish to show the first segment of the video again and have them watch the unison movement of the men again. What did they see this time that they didn’t see before? What new ideas did they get for leading? What other types of movement did the men do? Describe these. • Have the students repeat the above task and find new movements they can use. Let them also add stops (active stillness).

EXTENSIONS: • Form small groups. Each leader should lead, first by facing the group. After they get more experienced, the leaders can turn their backs and have the group ‘shadow’ them, adding locomotor movements, accents (strong movements), stops or pauses, etc. Refer to the Artsource® Dance Addendum, “Tools to Use when Viewing Dance,” to show other possibilities for movement qualities, such as slashing, twisting, pressing, floating, etc. Have the leaders each select two of these qualities and include them. • Have two small groups work in ways which are contrasting or in opposition to each other, still working in unison with a leader.

VOCABULARY: percussive movement, unison, repetitive

ASSESSMENT: (Aesthetic Valuing) DESCRIBE: Describe the movement of the men in the dance. DISCUSS: Discuss the differences between leading and following.

ANALYZE: Discuss the movements of the men in the dance and how they expressed their situation.

CONNECT: Discuss other situations where people have lost their freedom and are under the control of Donald McKayle and Carmen DeLavallade a power greater than theirs. in a scene from Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder Photo: Norman Maxon

7 DANCE

FREEDOM AND OPPRESSION ENDURING VALUES

LEVEL III Sample Lesson

INTRODUCTION:

Freedom and oppression have been themes throughout human existence. It is important to understand the roles of both in order to preserve freedom. Sometimes, individuals get stereotyped playing the bully or the victim and carry on with these roles for the remainder of their lives. Escaping from these roles is made easier if one can first identify and understand them.

This lesson is based on two roles: one is the character who is cruelly controlling another human being and the other is that of the victim, controlled against his or her wishes. There are no answers, only a height- ened awareness of what it feels like to be in either position. In a sense, both roles are dependent upon the other and neither really has freedom when either role is being taken. This can be a point of departure for discussion.

OBJECTIVES: (Student Outcomes)

The student will be able to:

• Work with movement concepts of action and reaction and respond spontaneously. (Artistic Perception and Creative Expression)

• Gain a deeper understanding of freedom and oppression. (Historical and Cultural Context)

• Describe, discuss, analyze and connect information and experiences based on this lesson. Refer to Assessment at the end of this lesson. (Aesthetic Valuing) Renee Robinson and Carl Bailey Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater MATERIALS: Photo: Jack Mitchell • Artsource® video excerpt of Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder, danced by The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

PROGRESSION:

• Introduce and show the video excerpt of Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder. Discuss the position of a prisoner. How does one become a prisoner? What privileges does a prisoner lose in American society? How would you feel if you were to be in this position? Give some background on the terrible conditions of the chain gangs who were prisoners in earlier times in the South. (See “Summary of the Dance Scenario” on page 2) Have the students notice how the dancers moved to give the impression that they were being whipped.

• After the video is discussed, use some of the ideas in the ‘Discussion Questions’ section on page 2. Have the students work with a partner, one taking on the role of a prison guard and the other taking the role

8

of the prisoner. Explain that this will be a movement study about “action and reaction”. Using exaggerated, miming actions, one partner will stand a distance of a few feet from the other and use strong, whipping motions. After each motion, they must wait until the partner moves in response. Switch roles.

• Look at this exercise in two different ways: from the point of view of how each role felt and how effective the movement ideas were. The focus on the latter should be that the movements are exaggerated, strong and clearly directed. The person being whipped must respond correctly in terms of the direction and body part first receiving the impact.

• Repeat this idea several times, encouraging the students to find movement variations. Stress the strong and controlled energy required. Repeat the idea having the students move in slow motion, then exaggerated fast motion. How did this change the idea or the way it felt?

• Have several pairs of students perform their idea. Guide the discussion and audience comments so that they view the idea in terms of movement action/reaction responses and the elements of dance. Ask how the use of these dance elements helped convey the idea of oppression. Name movements and qualities that would convey the idea of freedom.

• Repeat the idea and change the quality of movement so it is light and playful. Does this alter the way one feels? Why or why not?

• If you wish, view the video again. Discuss the choices choreographer Donald McKayle made in showing the ideas of both freedom and oppression. Why is it sometimes easier to see one idea if it is contrasted with its opposite?

EXTENSION:

• In small groups, create a dance that is based on the theme of freedom and oppression. Choose music that will strengthen the idea and complement the dance.

VOCABULARY: freedom, oppression, contrast, quality, action/reaction

ASSESSMENT: (Aesthetic Valuing)

DESCRIBE: Describe the directions and energy of action/reaction movements.

DISCUSS: Discuss the differences between being in control and being controlled.

ANALYZE: Discuss the relationship between the ones being controlled and the one in control. Elizabeth Roxas and Desmond Richardson Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder, CONNECT: Discuss other situations in life Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater where you see these concepts happening. Photo: Jack Mitchell 9

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Introduction

ARTSOURCE®: THE MUSIC CENTER’S STUDY GUIDE TO THE PERFORMING ARTS

Artsource® highlights works of art and artists of stature from diverse cultures. It represents early to contemporary art forms in the disciplines of dance, music and theatre and complements the programs and performances of the Music Center’s resident companies and artist roster.

The arts are ancient, enduring and universal forms of communication. Artists present their perceptions, reflections, and points of view which influence, and are influenced by, the culture and period of time in which they exist. Artsource ® Contributors

Project Director Melinda Williams

Project Coordinator Susan Cambigue-Tracey

Writers: Dance Susan Cambigue-Tracey Diana Cummins, Carole Valleskey, Madeleine Dahm, Deborah Greenfield, Barbara Leonard, Melinda Williams

Music Rosemarie Cook-Glover Ed Barguiarena, Susan Cambigue-Tracey, Barbara Leonard, Connie Hood, Annette Simons, Marilyn Wulliger, Diana Zaslove, John Zeretzke

Theatre Barbara Leonard Kathryn Johnson

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The Music Center of Los Angeles County wishes to thank the artists featured in this publication for their outstanding artistry and their generosity in allowing us to share their creative spirit in the classroom. Sincere appreciation is also extended to the members of the Center’s Board of Directors and Education Council for their guidance in developing these resource materials, Music Center volunteers for their help in organizing, proofing and editing Artsource® units; the professionals who provided field review; and the dedicated teachers who tested the Artsource® units in their classrooms.

Mark Slavkin Vice President for Education Melinda Williams Director of Education