INSIDE Information and Handouts to Get You Ready for VICTORY DANCE
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This section is part of a full NEW VICTORY® SCHOOL TOOL® Resource Guide. For the complete guide, including information about the NEW VICTORY Education Department, check out: NewVictory.org/SchoolTool INSIDE Information and handouts to get you ready for VICTORY DANCE COMMON CORE STANDARDS What is VICTORY DANCE? Reading: 9 Writing: 5 Speaking and Listening: 1; 2; 5 Language: 1; 2; 4; 5 The New Victory Theater is thrilled to present VICTORY DANCE! Every summer, VICTORY DANCE celebrates the incredible artistry and diversity of NYC dance with performances specifically curated NEW YORK STATE STANDARDS The Arts: 1; 2; 3; 4 for young audiences which features a cross-section of highly English Language Arts: 1; 3; 4 accomplished and internationally recognized New York-based companies. BLUEPRINT FOR THE ARTS Dance: Dance Making Developing Dance Literacy Making Connections “a powerhouse of dancers who represent the unique heartbeat of NYC” We are thrilled to welcome you to this season of Victory Dance, The New Victory Theater’s annual dance series. This summer’s twelve New York City-based dance companies showcase an incredible range of dance and the power it has to transform space. All three programs feature a powerhouse of dancers who represent the unique heartbeat of NYC. Program A includes the inventive Pilobolus, the melodic feet of Ayodele Casel, bold moves from the Stephen Petronio Company and the joyous bounciness of Eva Dean Dance. Program B fuses modern, contemporary and flamenco dance to create a passionate combination that includes the iconic Paul Taylor’s Company B, the perspective-bending Seán Curran Company, the audacious Davalois Fearon and A Palo Seco Company who storm the stage with strength and grace. Program C is an eclectic mix featuring the beautifully complex street dance of Ephrat Asherie Dance, the precise and powerful Parul Shah, the time-traveling Calpulli Mexican Dance and the elegant work of Dance Theatre of Harlem. As these creative artists gather to share their talents, it’s fun to note their varied connections. For example, it won’t be the first time some have crossed paths. Davalois Fearon has performed with Stephen Petronio Company and Ephrat Asherie returns to the NEW VICTORY stage with her own company after performing with Doug Elkins Choreography as part of Victory Dance 2016. Ultimately, as always, we hope you enjoy connecting here with us to share your love of dance! DIRECTOR OF ARTISTIC PROGRAMMING 5 NewVictory.org/SchoolTool THE NEW VICTORY® THEATER © The New 42nd Street NEW VICTORY® SCHOOL TOOL® Resource Guides WHO’S JAMMIN’ IN THIS HANDOUT SUMMER’S NEW VIC PROGRAMMIN’? PROGRAM A PILOBOLUS All is Not Lost Created as part of a multi-media collaboration with indie rock band OK Go, tango master Trish Sie and Google, All is Not Lost places performers on a plexiglass platform and projects live video captured from alternate angles, challenging audiences to view dance from an entirely new perspective. AYODELE CASEL While I Have the Floor 2017 recipient of the “Hoofer Award” and hailed by the legendary Gregory Hines as “one of the top young tap dancers in the world,” Ayodele Casel shares her personal journey with cultural identity and language through intricate solo tap dance and recorded spoken word. STEPHEN PETRONIO COMPANY Bud Suite (2006) EVA DEAN DANCE Stephen Petronio’s distinctive movement BOUNCE Surfing (Excerpts) language, with its whirlwind partnering and A suite of ocean inspired fast forward gender play, unites with music by vignettes from Eva Dean Dance’s celebrated songwriter Rufus Wainwright and acclaimed BOUNCE repertory, cutting-edge fashion by Tara Subkoff. Surfing incorporates splashy and fluid motion as dancers dive, glide and surf over colorful balls. WHO’S JAMMIN’ IN THIS HANDOUT SUMMER’S NEW VIC PROGRAMMIN’? PROGRAM B PAUL TAYLOR’S COMPANY B (Excerpts) The highly-acclaimed Paul Taylor Dance Company brings one of its most beloved works to New Victory audiences. Company B captures both the grim shadow of World War II and the bright optimism of America in the mid-20th century. SEÁN CURRAN COMPANY Social Discourse (Excerpts) A witty, contemporary urban folk dance, Social Discourse features six performers trying to move like the letter “S” turning itself inside out in this abstract painterly dance. DAVALOIS FEARON DANCE Time to Talk (Excerpts) Inspired by Davalois Fearon’s own experience of oppression and racial bias, Time to Talk uses A PALO SECO FLAMENCO COMPANY dynamic, contemporary dance, poetry, music El Martinete and visual art to confront complex social issues Three female dancers take on the strength and inspire new thinking. and emotional rawness that lies at the heart of Flamenco. Fluctuating between sleek canonized gestures and powerful footwork, El Martinete fuses traditional techniques with a modern, metropolitan flare. WHO’S JAMMIN’ IN THIS HANDOUT SUMMER’S NEW VIC PROGRAMMIN’? PROGRAM C EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE Odeon (Excerpts) Inspired by the music of early 20th-century composer Ernesto Nazareth, the unique and universally appealing choreography of Ephrat Asherie layers breaking, hip-hop, house and vogue to a buoyant mix of live classical romantic music and popular Afro-Brazilian rhythms with musical direction by Asherie’s brother and collaborator, Ehud Asherie. PARUL SHAH DANCE COMPANY Drawing from the North Indian classical dance, Kathak, Enduring Silence takes inspiration from the resilient women who endure physical hardship and violence that persists under a canopy of cultural tradition. CALPULLI MEXICAN DANCE COMPANY DANCE THEATRE Mexika Tiawi! (Mexicans Onward!) OF HARLEM Roughly translated as “Mexicans Onward!” in the Harlem on My Mind (Excerpts) Náhuatl language, Mexika Tiawi! is a contemporary The world-famous Dance Theatre interpretation of ancient Aztec ritual dance by of Harlem uses music from the likes choreographers Noemy Hernandez, Daniel Jaquez of Fats Waller, Duke Ellington and and Alberto Lopez Herrera. Wynton Marsalis to draw on a rich continuum of jazz, and burst from the 8 stage in a joyous and soulful ballet. HANDOUT Below is a list of dance styles that you and your kids will see on stage over the course of VICTORY DANCE! BALLET JAZZ A centuries-old formal style of dance that A style of dance that is smooth like ballet, but is not as rigid. consists of a set of intricate positions and The movement flows with the rhythm of the music, and jazz techniques, often characterized by graceful performers often improvise their steps as they dance (they and fluid movements. make up dance moves on the spot). CONTEMPORARY A free and expressive style of dance that came about in response to more structured dance forms, like ballet and tap. It is not bound by rhythms and the movement is a release from tension. FLAMENCO HIP-HOP A form of dance thought to have been born out of the A contemporary style of centuries-long cultural blending of Roma , who migrated from dance that includes a variety northwest India to Spain between the 9th and 14th centuries, of urban dance styles, like the Sephardic Jews and the Moors . b-boying/b-girling, popping and locking. LYRICAL A dance style created by fusing jazz and ballet techniques, that is mainly performed to music with lyrics. In lyrical dance, the choreography is often emotional, dynamic and delicate. KATHAK TAP DANCE A North Indian classical dance, the word “kathak” is said to Rhythmic step dance with hard-soled shoes or shoes with be derived from the word “katha” which means “the art of soles and heels to which taps have been added. This form storytelling.” “Kathakars” or bards used to recite religious first premiered in the 1820s and has since evolved into an and mythological tales accompanied by music, mime and integral part of the American cultural canon. To this day, dance. The dance is performed with the dancers’ legs people around the globe are still wowed by the tapping straight and with bells attached to their ankles. While the talents of the late Fred Astaire and Sammy Davis Jr. and emphasis is on footwork rather than hands, the dancers living legend Savion Glover. are not strictly required to stick to fixed steps. NewVictory.org/SchoolTool THE NEW VICTORY® THEATER © The New 42nd Street NEW VICTORY® SCHOOL TOOL® Resource Guides LET’S DROP SOME KNOWLEDGE! Use the questions below to spark your kids’ curiosity about the program and enhance their trip to the New Vic! Then, after seeing the show, use the questions below to reflect on what you and your kids saw on stage. Voicing an aesthetic response is an important part of the theater-going experience! Allowing kids the opportunity to articulate their own thoughts and hear the ideas of their peers will increase the impact of this experience! Ask before your kids see VICTORY DANCE. How do you define dance? Have you seen dancers live on stage before? What style of dance were they performing? What style of dance do you enjoy most, either as a dancer or audience member? What qualities make a dance piece interesting for you to watch? What are the ways that dance can tell a story? If you had to put together a program of your favorite dancers (famous or not) who would be on your list? Based on the descriptions in the VICTORY DANCE program that you are going to see, which are you most excited about and why? Reflect with your kids after VICTORY DANCE. What was the experience of seeing live dance on stage like? Has your definition of dance changed in any way? If so, how? Did any of the dances surprise you? If so, how? Did you have a favorite dance piece? Which was it and why? Where did you see storytelling happening in VICTORY DANCE? BODY ENERGY SPACE TIME (B.E.S.T.) Throughout this resource guide, you and your kids will be introduced to activities around dance.