UNDERSTANDINGS ABOUT DANCE: AN ANALYSIS OF STUDENT WRITINGS WITH PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS
DISSERTATION
Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University
By
M. Candace Feck, B.A., M.A.
*****
The Ohio State University 2002
Dissertation Committee Approved by Professor Terry Barrett, Advisor
Professor Sheila Marion ______Advisor Professor Sydney Walker Art Education Department Copyright by M. Candace Feck 2002 ABSTRACT
Coursework in dance criticism has been historically absent from the curricula of higher educational programs of dance study. Developing the premise that such coursework represents a beneficial and much-needed component within dance studies programs, and grounded in a constructivist view about the nature of learning and understanding, this study presents a descriptive analysis of nine student papers about a single dance concert in an effort to expose and examine the underlying understandings about dance that these writings make manifest.
The study is conducted using a systematic method of content analysis, through which emergent elements of understanding are examined and patterns of understanding identified and categorized. The analysis is divided into two sections: the first focuses on understandings revealed in the work produced by the nine individual writers of the study; the second on understandings revealed in these writers’ responses to the six individual dances that were the subject of their writing efforts.
Results of the study include an excavation of the underlying elements of understanding that emerged through the analysis of the writings, the introduction of a conceptual model delineating the spectrum of understandings about dance, the
ii presentation of evidence that learning activities in dance criticism have the capacity to promote understandings about dance, and a discussion of implications for the development of course work in dance criticism.
iii To Rino, Gabe, Josh and Allegra, — who waited, and believed
iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As is often voiced in pages such as these, I am indebted to more people than it would be permissible to print, for I have been variously inspired, mentored, supported, and just plain tolerated during untold months of work on this project. The mentors who led me, colleagues who fed me, authors who influenced me from within the borders of their own pages, family members and friends who supported me in every way imaginable, and students who taught me back have collectively nudged this document into existence. My gratitude for all these gifts, both large and small, breathes between the lines of this work, within the classrooms where I am privileged to continue teaching and learning, and in my heart.
Without a committee — an abstract term that belies the human and largely thankless labors of its individual members toward the lucky recipient of their collected wisdom — documents such as this would never find their way to comprehensible form. I am most grateful to Terry Barrett, who both ignited my passion for this subject and guided my labors to completion. As my advisor, he possessed that rarest of attributes: he believed in me with a depth that allowed me to do so myself. I am deeply thankful to
Sydney Walker, who not only introduced me to the surprising landscape of content analysis, but made regular appearances along the route with additional maps, compasses, and — when needed — a sturdy walking stick to guide me in the dark. Sheila Marion
v held the difficult post of encountering me most often during this process, and managed to fairly radiate with enthusiasm, knowledge of dance, and unconditional support at every turn. I was also fortunate during the initial phase of work to enjoy the guidance of one of the authors whose scholarship sparked the initial idea for this project, Judith Koroscik.
The students whose work served as the literal foundation for my study have remained purposely nameless here, but know who they are. Without their trust and generosity, their splendid writings, and their willingness to accompany me on the adventure that became the first of many efforts toward teaching dance criticism, this project would have neither substance nor reason to exist. I am grateful as well to the many students who came before and after, for trusting me with their thoughts and their words, and for inspiring me on a daily basis.
My immediate and extended family deserves the deepest measure of my gratitude.
It was to Grandaddy and Papa that I wrote my first piece of criticism, though I was far too young to recognize it, nor to realize what their excitement about it would eventually spawn. My dancing mother, Joan Arden, first opened the windows onto the great vista of this art form, and my father, Thomas Feck, knew that I could write long before I did.
More extraordinary than all of these, however, were the steadfast love, patience, and tireless cheerleading of my husband, Guerino Angelini and our three children, Gabe, Josh and Allegra. As the everyday bodies who patrolled the front lines during the vagaries of an unexpectedly protracted and unpredictable battle, they rose to the occasion with more skill and equanimity than I could have imagined. Rino listened, dreamt and theorized with me about much of the content here, while serving as an exacting live-in editor; it was he who stretched out a hand and pulled me back onto the page when I had toppled
vi precipitously outside the margins, and he did so with grace, love and even humor. My sister, Lisa, left behind her southwestern paradise for Columbus only to prop me up in countless loving ways with one hand, while deftly feeding my family with the other. Jess and Paul, sister and brother of unblood, tended the fires, as always, through all the seasons, and kept them roaring through a very long winter.
The OSU Department of Dance both furnished and fertilized the ground for anything that I have accomplished in and surrounding these pages. Helen and Vickie made possible the initial path, followed by Angelika, Vera, Odette and Lucy. Karen Bell made a pair of momentous journeys to my doorstep, tossing wide the door when I imagined it had been bolted fast. Michael Kelly Bruce first suggested a quarter off to write, and then gallantly lived with the consequences. I have benefited directly from the conversations and encouragement of Karen Eliot, Melanie, Val, Natalie, Ellie and Esther
Beth, among others. Kristin Horrigan taught like a lioness while I foraged around, nosing for footpaths through the thicket. Jim Cappelletti produced the amazing concert about which my students wrote; choreographers created and dancers danced; Art and artists were everywhere, in lighting and costumes, in sculpture and music. Without them, there would be nothing to discuss.
Many more thanks go to the cast of dozens who played supporting roles of award- winning proportions: Dad and Suellen bestowed a month in an amazing writing womb. I could not have persevered without Chris and Summers and Jesse; Barb and Butch; Ron and Bobbi and Belinda; Jonathan and Andrea; Jenai, Leslie and Ron. Others stepped in at just the right moment with the exact provisions required, especially Jim Buckley, Mike
Kaylor, Robbie Shaw, and Liz Waterhouse with timely technical wizardry. Kareen
vii Balsam helped me render a far more appealing conceptual model than my impoverished graphic skills could produce, and in fifteen minutes Lillian Gray solved a problem that an entire OIT office could not solve. There were encouraging taps at the door from Karl with all-seeing eyes, from Paul, the bringer of books, and Erika, the carver of pumpkins.
Mikey added support from the wings, and Tim, Jamie and Ann lit up my writerly dungeon as if it were a beach. In the end, there was even an episode of high adventure: a flooded office and a corps of eleventh hour angels, led by the amazing efforts of Sheila
Marion and Seth Beale.
I am privileged to belong within such a community of minds and hearts, and it is with a mixture of gratitude and wonder that your names are all here inscribed.
viii VITA
October 8, 1950……………………….Born, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
1972…………………………………...B.A. Social and Behavioral Sciences Webster College, St. Louis, Missouri
1982…………………………………...M.A. Dance The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
1991 – 2000 …………………………..Lecturer, Department of Dance The Ohio State University
2000 – Present………………………..Visiting Assistant Professor Department of Dance, The Ohio State University
PUBLICATIONS
Research Publications:
1. M. Candace Feck. “In Miller’s World.” CD-ROM by Mockabee, Valarie, and Mila Parrish: Prey: An Innovation in Dance Documentation: Enhanced Process Based Instruction Companion for the Labanotation Score “Prey.” 2001
M Candace Feck. “Writing Down the Senses: Honing Perception through Writing about Dance.” Dancing in the Millennium International Joint Dance Conference Proceedings, July 2000, Washington DC. 2000. 168 – 174.
M Candace Feck and Vera Maletic. “The Potential of CD-ROM Technology For Enhancing Art-Making Intelligence And Behavior.” 30th International Congress On Research in Dance Proceedings, Tucson, Arizona: November 1997. 159 – 175. ix Vera Maletic, A. William Smith, M. Candace Feck et al. Victoria Uris: Choreographer and Videographer, CD-ROM OSU-MDP (Ohio State University Multimedia Dance Prototype) 1996
FIELDS OF STUDY
Major Field: Art Education
x TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT...... ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... v VITA...... ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... xi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………………………..xxi
LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………..xxiv 1. INTRODUCTION...... 1 1.1 Background of the Problem ...... 1
1.1.1 Modern Dance and Higher Education...... 1 1.1.2 External and Inherent Obstacles ...... 3 1.1.3 Problems of Preservation ...... 5 1.1.4 A Delayed Literature...... 6 1.1.5 The Audience and the Curriculum...... 7 1.1.6 Resistance to Criticism...... 8
1.2 Reasons for the Study ...... 10
1.2.1 The Need for Curricular Reform ...... 10 1.2.2 Shifting Academic Agendas...... 11 1.2.3 Personal Assumptions ...... 12 1.2.4 Curricular Benefits of Writing...... 13
1.3 The Absence of Empirical Data ...... 16
1.4 Background of the Study...... 17
1.4.1 Classroom Convictions ...... 19 1.4.2 Interdisciplinary Bridges...... 20
1.5 Statement of the Problem...... 21 xi 1.6 The Research Design ...... 22
1.6.1 Context for the Study ...... 22 1.6.2 The Study Population...... 22 1.6.3 Selection of an Analytical Methodology...... 23 1.6.4 Criteria for Text Selection...... 24 1.6.5 General Design of the Analysis ...... 25
1.7 Need for the Study...... 26
1.7.1 Limitations of the Study...... 27
1.8 Overview of Chapters ...... 28
2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 31 2.1 Introduction to the Chapter ...... 31
2.2 Literatures of Dance ...... 31
2.2.1 Dance Criticism ...... 32 2.2.1.1 The Growth of Dance Criticism...... 33
2.2.1.2 Inadequate Critical Coverage...... 35
2.2.1.3 Meta-Critical Works...... 35
2.2.1.3.1 Indirect Pedagogical Approaches...... 36 2.2.1.3.2 Pedagogical Approaches...... 40 2.2.1.3.2.1 Lavender’s Model ...... 41 2.2.1.3.2.2 Oliver’s Model ...... 42 2.2.1.3.2.3 A Descriptive Approach ...... 43 2.2.2 Movement Analysis ...... 43 2.2.2.1 Contributions of Laban...... 44
2.2.2.2 Laban’s Influence...... 45
2.2.2.3 Selected Principles of Laban...... 47
2.2.2.4 Language Limitations...... 49
2.3 Art Criticism...... 49
2.3.1 Similarities and Differences ...... 50 2.3.2 Critical Activities...... 51
xii 2.4 Art Education ...... 53
2.4.1 A Constructivist Approach...... 53 2.4.2 Knowledge Acquisition...... 53 2.4.3 Domain Specificity ...... 55 2.4.4 Knowledge Transfer...... 57
2.5 Writing to Learn ...... 58
2.5.1 Fundamental Concepts...... 59 2.5.2 Related Aspects of Thinking and Learning...... 60
2.6 Content Analysis ...... 62
3. METHODOLOGY...... 65 3.1 Introduction to the Chapter ...... 65
3.2 Preliminary Components of the Framework...... 66
3.2.1 Description of the Data ...... 66 3.2.2 The Context of the Data ...... 67 3.2.2.1 The Classroom Context ...... 67
3.2.2.2 The Concert Context ...... 68
3.2.2.3 Data Selection ...... 69
3.2.2.4 Limitations of the Data Selection...... 72
3.2.2.5 The Study Population ...... 73
3.2.2.6 Limitations of the Study Population ...... 74
3.2.3 The Analyst’s Role in Partitioning the Data ...... 74
3.3 Purpose for the Analysis ...... 77
3.3.1 Writings as Evidence ...... 78
3.4 Preliminary Procedures...... 79
3.4.1 Baseline Descriptions...... 79 3.4.2 Formation of Categories of Understanding...... 80 3.4.3 General Impressions of the Student Writings...... 80
xiii 3.5 Stages of the Analysis...... 80
3.5.1 Emergent Questions ...... 81 3.5.2 Refining the Instrument...... 82
3.6 The Coding Sheets...... 82
3.6.1 Units of Analysis ...... 82 3.6.1.1 The Papers ...... 83
3.6.1.2 Paragraphs and Sentences...... 84
3.6.1.3 Sentence/Segments...... 84
3.6.2 Coding Sheet Design: Horizontal Organization ...... 85 3.6.2.1 Row I ...... 85
3.6.2.2 Row II...... 86
3.6.2.3 Row III...... 86
3.6.3 Coding Sheet Design: Vertical Organization ...... 87 3.6.3.1 The Numbering Column...... 87
3.6.3.1.1 Micro-Numbering Issues ...... 88 3.6.3.1.1.1 Isolated Words/Phrases...... 88 3.6.3.1.1.2 Double Meanings...... 89 3.6.3.2 Sentence/Segment ...... 89
3.6.4 Remaining Rows: The Research Questions ...... 91 3.6.3.3 Clarification ...... 92
3.6.3.3.1 “Member Checks” ...... 93
3.7.1 Type of Information...... 94 3.7.1.1 Audience/Performance Interaction (API)...... 96
3.7.1.1.1 API General...... 98 3.7.1.1.1.1 API General: Section I...... 98 3.7.1.1.1.1.1 Section I Exemplars ...... 99 3.7.1.1.1.2 API General: Section II...... 100 3.7.1.1.1.2.1: Section II Exemplars...... 100 3.7.1.1.1.3 Overlapping Categories...... 101 3.7.1.1.1.4 Distinctions between Categories ...... 102 3.7.1.1.2 API: Particular...... 103
xiv 3.7.1.1.2.1 API Particular: Exemplars...... 103 3.7.1.1.3 Meta-API...... 104 3.7.1.1.3.1 Meta-API Exemplars ...... 104 3.7.1.2 Intrinsic Information ...... 104
3.7.1.2.1 Intrinsic Information: Movement and Choreography...... 106 3.7.1.2.1.1 Exemplars...... 106 3.7.1.2.1.2 Movement: by Category...... 107 3.7.2.1.2.1 Group I:...... 108 3.7.2.1.2.2 Group II:...... 108 3.7.2.1.2.3 Group III: ...... 108 3.7.2.1.2.4 Group IV: ...... 109 3.7.2.1.2.5 Group V:...... 109 3.7.2.1.2.6 Group VI: ...... 110 3.7.2.1.2.7 Group VII:...... 110 3.7.2.1.2.8 Group VIII:...... 110 3.7.2.1.2.9 Group IX: ...... 111 3.7.1.2.2 Intrinsic Information: Theatrical Elements...... 111 3.7.1.2.2.1 Exemplars...... 111 3.7.1.2.3 Intrinsic Information: Concert and Concert Collaborators...... 113 3.7.1.2.3.1 Concert Exemplars...... 113 3.7.1.2.3.2 Collaborators Exemplars...... 114 3.7.1.2.3.3 “Concert Basics” Category...... 115 3.7.1.3.Extrinsic Information ...... 117
3.7.1.3.1 Exemplars ...... 117 3.7.1.4 “Metaphysical” Information ...... 118
3.7.1.4 Exemplars ...... 118
3.7.1.5 Reflexive Information: ...... 119
3.7.1.5.1 Exemplars ...... 119 3.7.2 Source of Information ...... 120 3.7.2.1 Source of Information Exemplars...... 121
3.7.2.1.1 Association:...... 121 3.7.2.1.2 Awareness of Time:...... 121 3.7.2.1.3 Awareness of the Writing Agenda: ...... 122 3.7.2.1.4 Cultural Knowledge...... 122 3.7.2.1.5 Domain Knowledge...... 122 3.7.2.1.6 Hearing ...... 123 3.7.2.1.7 Hearing and Observation ...... 123 3.7.2.1.8 Observation ...... 123 3.7.2.1.9 Opinion ...... 124
xv 3.7.2.1.10 Personal Knowledge...... 124 3.7.2.1.11 Program...... 124 3.7.2.1.12 Public Knowledge ...... 125 3.7.2.1.13 Self-Awareness...... 125 3.7.2.1.14 Video...... 125 3.7.3 Kind of Understanding...... 126 3.7.4.1 Kind of Understanding Exemplars...... 126
3.7.4.1.1 Affective ...... 126 3.7.4.1.2 Conceptual ...... 126 3.7.4.1.3 Empirical...... 127 3.7.4.1.4 Factual...... 127 3.7.4.1.5 Hermeneutical ...... 128 3.7.4.1.6 Ontological...... 128 3.7.4.1.7 Qualitative...... 128 3.7.4.1.8 Reflexive...... 129 3.7.4 Critical Activity ...... 129 3.7.4.1 Critical Activity Exemplars ...... 130
3.7.4.1.1 Description...... 130 3.7.4.1.2 Interpretation...... 130 3.7.4.1.3 Evaluation ...... 130 3.7.4.1.4 Contextualizing ...... 130 3.7.4.1.5 Theorizing...... 130 3.7.5 Triangulation Measures...... 131 4. DATA ANALYSIS ...... 148 4.1 Introduction to the Chapter ...... 148
SECTION I: THE WRITERS...... 150 4.2 Organization of the Section...... 150
4.3 Paper n1: Dawn ...... 151
4.3.1 Student Profile...... 151 4.3.2 Type of Information...... 154 4.3.3 Source of Information ...... 155 4.3.4 Kind of Understanding...... 157
4.4 Paper n2: Renée...... 159
4.4.1 Student Profile ...... 159 4.4.2 Type of Information...... 161 4.4.3 Source of Information ...... 163 4.4.4 Kind of Understanding...... 165 xvi 4.5 Paper n3: Laura...... 166
4.5.1 Student Profile ...... 166 4.5.2 Type of Information...... 169 4.5.3 Source of Information ...... 170 4.5.4 Kind of Understanding...... 172
4.6. Paper n6: Erin...... 173
4.6.1 Student Profile ...... 173 4.6.2 Type of Information...... 175 4.6.3 Source of Information ...... 176 4.6.4 Kind of Understanding...... 178
4.7 Paper n7: Kelly...... 180
4.7.1 Student Profile ...... 180 4.7.2 Type of Information...... 183 4.7.3 Source of Information ...... 184 4.7.4 Kind of Understanding...... 186
4.8 Paper n8: Brianna ...... 187
4.8.1 Student Profile ...... 187 4.8.2 Type of Information...... 189 4.8.3 Source of Information ...... 191 4.8.4 Kind of Understanding...... 193
4.9 Paper n9: Nigel...... 195
4.9.1 Student profile ...... 195 4.9.2 Type of Information...... 197 4.9.3 Source of Information ...... 200 4.9.4 Kind of Understanding...... 202
4.10 Paper n10: Nicki ...... 203
4.10.1 Student Profile ...... 203 4.10.2 Type of Information...... 206 4.10.3 Source of Information ...... 208 4.10.4 Kind of Understanding...... 210
4.11 Paper n12: Elena...... 212
xvii 4.11.1 Student Profile ...... 212 4.11.2 Type of Information...... 214 4.11.3 Source of Information ...... 217 4.11.4 Kind of Understanding...... 219 SECTION II: THE DANCES ...... 221 4.12 Organization of the Section...... 221
4.13 Ciona...... 222
4.13.1 Type of Information...... 223 4.13.2 Source of Information ...... 225 4.13.3 Kind of Understanding...... 227
4.14 Plum Tarts...... 229
4.14.1 Type of Information...... 230 4.14.2 Source of Information ...... 233 4.14.3 Kind of Understanding...... 236
4.15 Passing...... 237
4.15.1 Type of Information...... 239 4.15.2 Source of Information ...... 242 4.15.3 Kind of Understanding...... 244
4.16 Partial ...... 246
4.16.1 Type of Information...... 247 4.16.2 Source of Information ...... 251 4.16.3 Kind of Understanding...... 253
4.17 Carpe Diem ...... 256
4.17.1 Type of Information...... 257 4.17.2 Source of Information ...... 261 4.17.3 Kind of Understanding...... 262
4.18 Circle Walker ...... 264
4.18.1 Type of Information...... 265 4.18.2 Source of Information ...... 268 4.18.3 Kind of Understanding...... 270 5. CONCLUSIONS...... 273 5.1 Overview of the Chapter...... 273 xviii 5.1.1 Preliminary Remarks...... 274
5.1.2 Concentric Hermeneutical Circles:...... Viewing, Writing, and Reading...... 275
5.1.2.1 Pedagogy ...... 277
5.2 Types of Information ...... 278
5.2.1 The Complex Nature of Writing about Dance ...... 278 5.2.2 A Spectrum of Information ...... 278 5.2.2.1 Pedagogy ...... 280
5.2.2.2 Writing: A Performance of Understanding ...... 281
5.3 Sources of Information ...... 281
5.3.1 The Multi-Sensory Nature of Dance...... 281 5.3.1.1 Pedagogy: Multiple Points of Entry...... 284
5.3.1.2 Forging Connections between Writer and Dance: ...... Association...... 285
5.3.1.3 Forging Connections between Writer and Dance ...... Domain Knowledge ...... 287
5.3.1.4 A Missing Piece ...... Kinesthetic Information ...... 288
5.3.1.4.1 Pedagogy...... 290
5.4 Kinds of Understanding ...... 290
5.4.1 A Conceptual Model ...... 291 5.4.1.1 Pedagogy: Variations among Learners...... 294
5.4.1.2 Pedagogy: Dance Criticism and Knowledge Transfer ...... 295
5.4.1.2.1 From the Lattice to the Hub ...... 295 5.4.1.2.2 Beyond the Information Given: Knowledge Transfer and Dance Writing ...... 298
5.5 Critical Activities...... 299
5.5.1 Pedagogy ...... 299
xix 5.6 Additional Limitations and Benefits of the Study...... 300
5.6.1 The Slippery Specificity of Language ...... 300 5.6.1.1 Pedagogy: At the Level of Words...... 301
5.7 Concluding Observations...... 302
5.8.1 Towards a Pedagogy of Dance Criticism:...... The Tangible Meets The Ephemeral ...... 304 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 305 APPENDICES ...... 316 Appendix A: Questionnaires I And Ii...... 316 Appendix B: Human Subjects Consent Form...... 345 Appendix C: Description Of Concert Works...... 346 Appendix D: Paper Assignment...... 356 Appendix E: The Coding Sheets...... 357 Appendix F: Type Of Information Analysis By Writer ...... 462 Appendix G: Movement by Category ...... 466
xx LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Critical Activities composite: n1...... 152 Figure 2: Type of Information composite: n1...... 155 Figure 3: Source of Information Composite: n1...... 156 Figure 4: Kind of Understanding composite: n1...... 158 Figure 5: Critical Activities Composite: n2...... 161 Figure 6: Type of Information composite: n2...... 162 Figure 7: Source of Information composite: n2...... 164 Figure 8: Kind of Understanding composite: n2...... 166 Figure 9: Critical Activities Composite: n3...... 168 Figure 10: Type of Information composite: n3...... 169 Figure 11: Source of Information Composite: n3 ...... 171 Figure 12: Kind of Understanding Composite: n3...... 172 Figure 13: Critical Activities for writer n6...... 174 Figure 14: Type of Information composite: n6...... 176 Figure 15: Source of Information composite: n6...... 178 Figure 16: Kind of Understanding Composite: n6...... 180 Figure 17: Critical Activities Composite: n7...... 181 Figure 18: Type of Information Composite: n7...... 183 Figure 19: Source of Information Composite: n7 ...... 185 Figure 20: Kind of Understanding Composite: n7...... 187 Figure 21: Critical Activities Composite: n8...... 189 Figure 22: Type of Information composite : n8...... 190 Figure 23: Source of Information composite: n8...... 192 Figure 24: Kind of Understanding composite: n8...... 195 Figure 25: Critical Activities composite for n9 ...... 197 xxi Figure 26: Type of Information composite: n9...... 199 Figure 27: Source of Information composite: n9...... 201 Figure 28: Kind of Understanding composite: n9...... 202 Figure 29: Critical Activities composite: n10...... 205 Figure 30: Type of Information Composite: n10...... 207 Figure 31: Source of Information composite: n10 ...... 210 Figure 32: Kind of Understanding composite: n10...... 211 Figure 33: Critical Activities composite: n12...... 214 Figure 34: Type of Information composite: n12...... 215 Figure 35: Source of Information composite: n12 ...... 217 Figure 36: Kind of Understanding: n12...... 220 Figure 37: Critical Activities composite for Ciona...... 222 Figure 38: Type of Information composite for Ciona...... 224 Figure 39: Source of Information composite for Ciona ...... 227 Figure 40: Kind of Understanding Composite: Ciona ...... 228 Figure 41: Critical Activities for Plum Tarts...... 230 Figure 42: Type of Information composite for Plum Tarts...... 231 Figure 43: Source of Information for Plum Tarts...... 234 Figure 44: Kind of Understanding for Plum Tarts...... 237 Figure 45: Critical Activities composite for Passing...... 238 Figure 46: Type of Information composite for Passing ...... 240 Figure 47: Source of Information Composite: Passing...... 243 Figure 48: Kind of Understanding for Passing...... 245 Figure 49: Critical Activities: Partial ...... 247 Figure 50: Type of Information composite Partial...... 248 Figure 51: Source of Information composite for Partial...... 253 Figure 52: Kind of Understanding Composite: Partial...... 255 Figure 53: Critical Activities Composite: Carpe Diem...... 257 Figure 54: Type of Information Composite: Carpe Diem...... 258 Figure 55: Source of Information composite for Carpe Diem...... 261
xxii Figure 56: Kinds of Understanding Composite for Carpe Diem...... 263 Figure 57: Critical Activities Composite: Circle Walker...... 264 Figure 58: Type of Information composite: Circle Walker...... 266 Figure 59: Source of Information composite for Circle Walker...... 269 Figure 60: Kind of Understanding: Circle Walker...... 271 Figure 61: Hermeneutical Circles of the Study...... 276 Figure 62: Conceptual Model of Understandings about Dance………………………...293
Figure 63: The Spectrum of Understandings among Writers...... 294
xxiii LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Design for the top row of each of the coding sheets ...... 85 Table 2: Design for the top two rows of the coding sheets...... 86 Table 3: Design for the top three rows of the coding sheet...... 86 Table 4: Numbering system for sentence and sentence segments...... 87 Table 5: Exemplar of the numbering system for “embedded segments” of information..89 Table 6: Exemplar of the numbering system for “double meanings” within units of analysis...... 90
Table 7: Illustration of sentence division into two segments ...... 91 Table 8: Design for preliminary rows of first two paragraphs of coding sheet for n6, abbreviated to reveal structure...... 91
Table 9: Exemplar of “clarification” category of coding sheet, excerpted from n8:P1/4.1-4.5...... 92
Table 10: List of entries compiled from student writings for “Type of Information” ...... 95 Table 11: Three Types of API Information, listed alphabetically, by subdivision...... 97 Table 12: Movement and Choreography Subdivision of Intrinsic Information ...... 105 Table 13: Concert/Concert Collaborators Subdivision of Intrinsic Information ...... 105 Table 14: Theatrical Elements Subdivision of Intrinsic Information...... 105 Table 15: List of components that make up “concert basics” category of type of information, arranged according to journalistic questions, Who? What? Where? When?...... 116
Table 16: Extrinsic Information Category of Type of Information ...... 117 Table 17: Metaphysical Category of Type of Information...... 118 Table 18: Reflexive Category of Type of Information...... 119 Table 19: Coding Sheets for writer n3 ...... 133
xxiv Table 20: Evaluative Activity of writer n1, n8 ...... 152 Table 21: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n1 ...... 154 Table 22: Source of Information from program: n1...... 156 Table 23: Self-Awareness as a Source of Information: n1...... 157 Table 24: Ontological Understanding: n1 ...... 158 Table 25: Empirical and Hermeneutical Understanding: n1, n2...... 159 Table 26: Descrption, Interpretation and Evaluation: n1, n2...... 160 Table 27: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n2 ...... 161 Table 28: Audience Performance Interaction: n2 ...... 162 Table 29: Observation as Source of Information: n2, n6, n9...... 164 Table 30: Hermeneutical Understanding: n2...... 165 Table 31: Descriptive Activity: n3...... 168 Table 32: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n3 ...... 168 Table 33: Movement and Choreography as Type of Information: n3...... 169 Table 34: Observation as Source of Information: n3 ...... 170 Table 35: Program Information and Domain Knowledge: n3 ...... 171 Table 36: Evaluative and Interpretive Activities: n6 ...... 173 Table 37: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n6 ...... 175 Table 38: Observation and Opinion as Sources of Information: n6...... 177 Table 39: Hearing as Source of Information: n6...... 177 Table 40: Empirical Understanding: n6 ...... 178 Table 41: Factual and Qualitative Understanding: n6...... 179 Table 42: Hermeneutical Understanding: n6...... 179 Table 43: Contextualization and Theorizing Activities: n7...... 182 Table 44: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n7 ...... 182 Table 45: Affective Understanding: n7 ...... 186 Table 46: Descriptive and Evaluative Activities: n8...... 188 Table 47: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n8 ...... 189 Table 48: Audience/Performance Interaction Information: n8...... 191 Table 49: Observation as a Source of Information: n8 ...... 192
xxv Table 50: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n9 ...... 197 Table 51: Selected Types of Information: n9 ...... 198 Table 52: Observation and Opinion as Sources of Information: n9...... 200 Table 53: Domain Knowledge and Program Information: n9 ...... 202 Table 54: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n10 ...... 205 Table 55: Domain Knowledge, Opinion and Association: n10...... 209 Table 56: Conceptual, Qualitative and Hermeneutical Understanding: n10...... 211 Table 57: Entries per paper and average words per entry ...... 213 Table 58: Association as a Source of Information: n12 ...... 218 Table 59: Empirical and Hermeneutical Understanding: n12 ...... 219 Table 60: Descriptive and Evaluative Activities: Ciona ...... 223 Table 61: Observation, Opinion and Association: Ciona...... 226 Table 62: Evaluative Activity : Plum Tarts...... 229 Table 63: Theatrical Elements as Type of Information: Plum Tarts ...... 233 Table 64: Video as Source of Information: Plum Tarts ...... 234 Table 65: Association as Source of Information: Plum Tarts ...... 235 Table 66: Hearing and Hearing/Observation as Sources of Information: Plum Tarts....236 Table 67: Interpretive Activity: Passing ...... 238 Table 68: Concert/Concert Collaborators as Type of Information: Passing ...... 239 Table 69: Theatrical Elements and Concert/Concert Collaborators: Passing ...... 241 Table 70: Critical Activities: Partial...... 247 Table 71: Theatrical Elements and Concert/Concert Collaborators: Partial ...... 250 Table 72: Observation, Opinion and Hearing as Sources of Information: Partial ...... 252 Table 73: Personal Knowledge as Source f Information: Partial...... 253 Table 74: Conceptual Understanding: Partial ...... 254 Table 75: Audience/Performance Interaction: Carpe Diem ...... 258 Table 76: Movement/Choreography; Concert/Concert Collaborators: Carpe Diem ...... 259 Table 77: Qualitative and Hermeneutical Understanding: Carpe Diem ...... 262 Table 78: Theatrical Elements: Circle Walker...... 265 Table 79: Extrinsic Information: Circle Walker ...... 268
xxvi Table 80: Observation, Opinion and Association as Sources of Information: Circle Walker ...... 269
Table 81: Affective Understanding: Circle walker...... 272 Table 82: Variation in Types of Information: n3...... 280
xxvii CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Problem
Dance has been called the oldest of the arts. It is perhaps equally true that it is older than the arts. The human body making patterns in time and space is what makes the dance unique among the arts and perhaps explains its antiquity and universality. (Peterson 3)
1.1.1 Modern Dance and Higher Education
These words, which open Anya Royce Peterson’s seminal text on the anthropology of dance, find frequent echoes in conjectures about the origins of dance as an art form. As an infant learns to roll over and sit upright prior to forming recognizable sounds, early humans are believed to have relied upon bodily movements and mimetic gestures to convey a wide range of information within their societies. Prior to the development of language systems, dance may have been used to illustrate the presence of danger, to retell the excitement of a great hunt, to pass on essential information to younger generations of the group, to offer oblations, or to induce the skies to send forth rains for the crops.
1 While the question of origin cannot be answered with certainty, recent research has deepened existing knowledge about the antiquity of dance. Art educator and anthropologist Ellen Dissenayake has suggested that the mimetic gestures of dance have their likely genesis in the exaggerated facial expressions used by human and primate mothers to elicit responses from their infant offspring.1 Other anthropological accounts report precursors to dance within chimpanzee populations (Dissenayake What? 51).
Recently, an excavation by Israeli archaeologist Yosef Garfinkle unearthed evidence of the existence of dance in preliterate societies as distant as 9,000 years ago (Wilford F1).
Although these and other studies point to the importance of dance in the development of human civilization, dance as an academic discipline is a relative newcomer within the curricula of western institutions of higher education. It was only after music, theatre and the fine arts had been established as areas of academic inquiry, that dance educator Margaret H'Doubler managed to forge a place for the first academic department of dance, at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. The year was 1926, in the middle of a decade that had also become the turning point in the birth of a revolutionary new American art form called modern dance. It was a decade which had seen the untimely death of modern dance pioneer Isadora Duncan, and the departures of historical dance figures Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman from the
Denishawn Dance Company and School in order to spearhead the development of this
1 Dissanayake presented this characterization during a keynote address at the 32nd CORD conference on Dance, Culture, and Art-Making Behavior, at the University of Arizona in Tucson October 31- November 2, and has addressed it as well in Art and Intimacy, chapter 1 (42 – 49).
2 indigenous American dance form. As it was, H'Doubler's prophetic vision of a marriage between modern dance and the academy would prove to be a prototype for things to come.2
1.1.2 External and Inherent Obstacles
A variety of explanations might be offered to address the belated nature of this academic partnership. In the first place, dance in western culture has long been prey to
Puritan concepts built upon post-Enlightenment mind/body binaries, with roots as ancient as Paul’s Hellenistic views of Christianity. Oversimplified Cartesian notions that mind and body are of separate but unequal significance — with the rational, thought processes of the mind believed to be superior to the more carnal processes of sensate or intuitive knowledge — have rendered bodily activities suspect. Among these, theatrical forms of dance — the display of human movement without definitive utilitarian value, “not immediately practical” (Cohen Comment 165) — have been relegated at times to a status not much higher than that of prostitution in an American culture dominated by the
Protestant work ethic. There exist still practicing religious groups which forbid dancing to their members, and the cultural history of this country has been marked by various waves of shock and scandal as new forms of social dance have emerged in the popular culture. The dancing body, then, as an artistic medium in post-Colombian American civilization, has been the site of contestation and ambiguity rather than an arena for
2The Dance Magazine College Guide (2002-3), lists over 180 academic programs of dance in American institutions of higher learning today, and hundreds of others which offer courses in dance.
3 serious academic study. Dancers have been essentialized as primitive, irrational figures, and dance as a subject for study has been marginalized as a pre-verbal experience beyond the purview of intellectual inquiry.
A recent collection of articles surveying the state of dance in higher education recapitulates many of these considerations, and points to their precursors in earlier phases of the relationship between dance and the academy.3 While it is revealing that coursework in written criticism is not specifically foregrounded in these essays, the section devoted to overviews of the field and the one dealing with issues in the teaching of choreography point to the ongoing debate within the discipline about the division between theory and practice. An article by Jan Van Dyke (27- 32) interrogates the emphasis in many academic dance settings on a conservatory approach, which tends to privilege the physical training of the dancer at the expense of an education about more comprehensive issues in the field. Also noteworthy is an article by Larry Lavender
(101 – 6), which challenges methods of evaluating choreography in studio work, and one by Carol Press (95 –100), which illuminates the dichotomy between questions of process and concerns about the craft of choreography in academic settings. It is evident in these readings that past issues over the nature of the mind/body connection remain a significant obstacle in considerations about appropriate curricula for dance in higher education.
Dance has also been plagued by internal problems surrounding the issues of documentation, preservation and analysis. The development of a body of literature, that requisite cornerstone of academic worthiness in any discipline, has been hampered by the
3 Edited by Wendy Oliver, this collection is entitled Dance in Higher Education, and is a project of the National Dance Association, 1992. 4 ephemeral nature of the art form. Unlike its sibling arts — music with its long established system of notation; theatre with its vast literary foundation; or the visual arts, which inherently produce their own permanent artifacts for later study and analysis — dance disappears even as it is materializing, leaving no tangible record for prolonged scrutiny or attention. The quest to find a language capable of effectively capturing this transient, non-verbal experience has proven troublesome for philosophers, dance historians, critics and other scholars working to grasp its slippery materiality. Aside from scant pictorial evidence, scattered attempts to produce a recording system similar to musical notation, references to various dance practices within the texts of existing literary forms, and actual but inconsistent written accounts by dance observers, dance has left a challenging path for historians to trace, and specific dance forms and practices have managed to survive primarily to the extent that they have been maintained through oral tradition and practice.
1.1.3 Problems of Preservation
Such has been the historical lot of dance: an art which leaves no reliable artifact; an art bound to the vagaries of prevailing cultural attitudes toward the body; a temporal art without an established system of notation or documentation. It is thus no accident that
Margaret H'Doubler's success at anchoring the first academic department occurred during the early part of the twentieth century, when the fledgling arts of photography and film- making were beginning to make the full force of their documentary possibilities felt.
Furthermore, it was at this same time that a young Hungarian theorist named Rudolf
Laban developed and introduced a system for describing and recording human movement, which would come to revolutionize the manner in which dances could be captured and
5 preserved. This system, known today as Labanotation, was free of the style-based limitations that had crippled previous attempts to create a universal system for recording movement. Dance studies could now be based upon repeated observation of dance works, and upon a substantive written record of specific dances from which sustained inquiry could progress.4 This development, along with the advent of film and video as archival methods, greatly advanced the possibilities for scholarship.
1.1.4 A Delayed Literature
Dancers are a people without a past. They have adopted neither the historical-aesthetic perspectives of American liberal education nor the pop culture's obsession with recording and describing itself. Despite its extremely high level of performance and production skill, dance is back in the Stone Age when it comes to developing the techniques and technologies by which other achievements of the human mind get fed into the ideological mainstream of civilization. (Siegel Waiting 228)
Still, a bona fide and comprehensive literature of dance has been slow to materialize until the latter decades of the 20th century for internal reasons also peculiar to the practices of the art form. Dancers are readily preoccupied with the formidable physical demands of their craft, typically devoting long hours each day to the refinement and maintenance of bodily training, so that the pursuit of other aspects of inquiry can be easily circumvented by the necessity for time in the studio and on the stage to choreograph and rehearse. Historically, as dancers have aged, their efforts have shifted to the process of passing on the knowledge of their history and tradition through the
4 Laban’s system, which has since been refined and expanded, was originally published in his 1926 work, Choreographie. 6 physical training of younger generations of artists. It remains true that many dance professionals are drawn to the field as performers and choreographers, and are either unaware of appropriate documentation methods or have not had the opportunity to master their use.
In the preface to her recent anthology of dance literature, Alexandra Carter suggests that the evolution of dance studies has followed a predictable path which recapitulates the pattern of knowledge acquisition by an individual learner, beginning with dance-making activities, followed by dance historical activities, and finally arriving at dance theoretical applications (15). Since many dancers are drawn to this very physical art form through an aptitude for what cognitive theorist Howard Gardner has labeled
"kinesthetic intelligence" as opposed to linguistic intelligence,5 the necessity of lengthy hours in physical practice has perhaps coupled with a tendency not to be inclined toward the verbal articulation of that practice. In addition, dancers have long been accustomed to marginalization in a commodity-oriented western culture, and often have developed
"inside" modes of communicating about the art form, thus exacerbating the problem of how the form might be articulated to the public upon which dance depends for an audience. Thus, a vicious cycle is perpetuated.
1.1.5 The Audience and the Curriculum
Indeed, the inherent necessity for the presence of a live audience has posed still other challenges for dance with implications at all levels of the art form, including
5The theory of multiple intelligences, developed and originally published in the work Frames of Mind, by Howard Gardner (1983), suggests that there are eight distinct kinds of intelligence. 7 curricular ones. The required presence of spectators has in turn raised the need to perfect the production aspects of the form, often at the expense of other areas. Studio practice, the development of technical expertise, and the need for the immediate attention to theatrical elements such as costuming, lighting, and set design, have tipped much of the supporting dance curriculum in higher education towards studies in these areas. Whereas a painter can produce a work and hope for an audience in the future, since s/he has produced a relatively permanent artifact for extended viewing over time, a dance work requires visual and technical perfection in its brief moments of performed existence, thus perpetuating curricular priorities that are studio-based.
1.1.6 Resistance to Criticism
To further problematize the uneasy relationship between dance education and the study of criticism, it is important to note that many practicing performers have developed an established antipathy for critical practice.6 The location of dance as an art form on the margins of both the academy and the popular culture, the need for a sizable audience to view and justify the considerable expenses of production, and the often inordinate power of the critic's pen to foster or dismantle the viewing population, have conspired to produce a partnership between the dance and critical communities fraught with many-
6 This remark is based not only on observations drawn from accumulated experience in the field, but is also repeatedly referenced in existing dance literature (see, for example Judith Dunn’s remarks in The Vision of Modern Dance (140), or C.L. Carter’s statement, reproduced on pg. 9 of this document.
8 sided difficulties. Moreover, the vernacular use of the term "criticism"7 connotes a negative approach to the subject under consideration, and this seems to be reinforced in the unfortunate reputation of criticism among dance practitioners.8 Considering that the most common form of published dance criticism consists of newspaper reviews of current performance events, which then possess disproportionate gate-keeping power in the market success or failure of a given production or artist, the misconception of critic-as- enemy is consistently re-inscribed. To further compound the problem, published reviews are typically printed after the fact, due to the brevity of performance schedules, and reviewers are often journalists with no formal education in dance, but have rather been hired as music or theatre critics and expected to produce an occasional dance column. It is no wonder that the writing which does get accomplished is often inadequate, serving to burn bridges between art, artist, and audience rather than to construct them.
The absence of a positive inclination toward critical writing among dance students has its counterpart in a frequent lack of critical dance discussion as well. Dance aesthetician C.L. Carter, not unlike adherents of Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences, attributes this to a preference among dancers for action rather than words:
Neglect of the theoretical aspects of dance, such as aesthetics and history, and deliberate anti-intellectual attitudes among dancers who believe that it is sufficient to do rather than to discuss dancing have undoubtedly hampered theoretical efforts on behalf of dance. (75)
7 My own sense of the term is aligned more closely with Harry Broudy's characterization of criticism as "enlightened cherishing," a definition which is regularly received with surprise and skepticism by the students with whom I have worked.
8 Dissociation with the term, moreover, applies even to professional critics. Marcia Siegel has stated on several occasions that she refuses this label, preferring to substitute the term 'dance writing.’ (personal communication with Sheila Marion, May 1998). 9 Although Carter's argument has merit, I believe it paints an overly reductionistic picture of the problem. Also complicit in this unfortunate view of criticism is a tendency among dancers to espouse a particularly modernist view of the art form, often indicating when asked to discuss their work that it will "speak" for itself. This may in part be a defensive position, based on the frustrations which result from working in an already marginalized art form. Moreover the tendency, borne of extended, shared training and rehearsal schedules, to develop specific discursive communities based on nonverbal as well as highly specialized verbal cues, creates a condition in which dance artists often do not develop adequate verbal skills to communicate effectively with the general public about their art form.
1.2 Reasons for the Study
1.2.1 The Need for Curricular Reform
While dancers may justly react against the cultural privileging of word over deed, a lack of educational opportunities to develop skills in 'translating' dancer expertise into accessible language ignores the reality that verbal communication remains the most common form for conveying meaning as well as for stimulating productive interaction.
From a curricular perspective, there has been until fairly recently a lack of commitment to the education of dancers in critical writing; from the dancers' point of view, there has been a similar myopia, a seeming lack of awareness of dance as praxis — theory and practice interwoven — which can reveal itself in the telling as well as in the doing.
Ultimately, dancers who do not develop skills in articulating their art face obstacles in procuring funds for their work and limit the pathways of approach to an art form in
10 search of an audience. Thus, to preclude appropriate educational opportunities to develop expert writers and speakers about dance is tantamount to perpetuating a self-destructive system.
1.2.2 Shifting Academic Agendas
Thus, dance in academe, not unlike the history of studies in the visual arts, has traditionally focused more on studio practice than on critical, historical and theoretical studies. According to art educator and historian Efland (History 237 – 8), the trend towards discipline-based art education (DBAE), which arose out of the Woods Hole conference in the early 1960s and dominated the next two decades of art education theory and practice, made significant inroads in the curricular design of art departments. Not until the very recent past, however, with the passage of the national Goals 2000: Educate
America Act,9 has the call intensified for integrating a more multi-dimensional approach to all the arts, encompassing a balance of studies in production, aesthetics, history and criticism, in addition to the traditional core of studio-based courses. As well, there has been increasing interest among other disciplines — such as cultural studies, ethnography and gender studies, among others — in scholarship which foregrounds the body.10
9 Following passage of this act in 1992, the official document summarizing a national strategy for incorporating the arts in K-12 education was published under the title National Standards for Arts Education: What Every Young American Should Know And Be Able To Do In The Arts. Reston, VA: Music Educators National Conference, 1994.
10This interdisciplinary discourse is so far-reaching that it is impossible to summarize here. I am thinking of such examples as Susan Bordo’s work in feminist scholarship; Judith Butler’s scholarship in comparative studies; and cross-cultural studies such as the work of Sally Ann Ness. 11 Likewise, Daly (Revolution 48), Desmond (1) and others within the field have noted the exponential growth in dance literature within the past fifteen years. It is into this academic, cultural and historical climate that my own interest has arisen to pursue the introduction of dance criticism into the academic curriculum.
1.2.3 Personal Assumptions
As both educator and student, I have been convinced that the educational practice of criticism holds vital advantages for dance studies, and that the introduction of such coursework could not be more timely than in the current embattled arts climate. At an historical moment when censorship and funding issues regularly threaten the very existence of a viable arts community, the study of dance criticism seems to offer specific advantages to educational practice — advantages which tangibly address many of the problems previously identified as obstacles to dance study. Critical practice holds the potential for developing articulate spokespersons and advocates for an art form that needs immediate and ongoing financial and audience support. It develops the ability among practitioners to succeed at grants-writing efforts, an increasing necessity in an arts funding climate that creates more need than promise. It fosters the creation of written documentation of an ephemeral form, generating a 'paper trail' which outlives the performed moments and provides an essential component of dance historical research and study. What has fascinated me most, however, is the opportunity which the practices of writing and talking about dance seem to offer for deepening and reflecting knowledge acquisition and understanding of the art form.
12 Since good critical writing is both a persuasive and an interpretive writing task, the critical classroom presents an ideal context for opening new possibilities in the development of personal responses to dance while simultaneously providing experiences in listening to a variety of alternate views. Students of criticism are routinely required to produce deliberate and carefully formed responses to artworks, and to listen and respond to other students' writings. Herein lies the potential for the development of both individual agency and the location of one's place among what Stanley Fish has called the
"community of interpreters."11
1.2.4 Curricular Benefits of Writing
The writing process seems to hold untapped potential as a vital piece in the overall knowledge project of understanding the art of dance. In the first place, it offers to heighten the level of engagement of the viewer who will be writing. It is a far too common experience to walk away from a concert with only a dim handful of afterimages, soon to be replaced by others. If dance itself is ephemeral, so too the memories of a given performance one has viewed for pleasure, education or curiosity, unless these thoughts are reified in some way, either by discussing the dance or writing about it. Additionally, the writing task itself can serve to “fan the flames” of memory: it obliges the writer to carefully recall as much as possible about what was seen, and to give those memories and thoughts visible and organized form — in words on paper.
11I have been exposed to this concept indirectly through both Barrett’s and Walker’s scholarship, and especially in Fish’s work Is There a Text in this Class? 13 When dance critic Marcia Siegel presented a lecture to dance students at The
Ohio State University,12 she stated flatly: "Writing is not typing; it's thinking on paper." Indeed, the necessity to formulate, organize and concretize thoughts on paper about an essentially non-verbal, elusive experience is often not only a productive exercise in the development of observation-skills and memory, but one which constitutes a valuable challenge for the development of higher-order thinking skills and linguistic abilities. Still, such coursework remains the exception rather than the rule within the curricula of higher education. Students are typically expected to engage in discussion of the work of their peers and other artists in the context of composition classes, or to write occasional brief critiques of performances as a requirement in technique classes; yet there exists no established pedagogy for imparting these critical writing skills, and studio-based instructors often find themselves ill-prepared to provide guidelines or useful feedback about such writing tasks. Ironically, some professional writers, including Edwin Denby
(Theodores 96) and Marcia B. Siegel (Stöckemann 20), have acknowledged a measure of gratitude for the absence of an established methodology for writing dance criticism, admitting that this void has permitted them to pursue their writing unfettered by restrictive conventions. While this may be satisfactory for skilled professional writers, there is a pressing need for developing such guidelines and criteria among students of dance.
12Siegel's comments were made in an unpublished address to students of the Dance Department in Sullivant Hall, November 19, 1998.
14 With regard to one of the benefits of the critical writing experience, Barrett
(Photographs 13), Feldman (Practical 26), and others describe the pleasure its requisite contemplation offers practitioners, by necessitating the time to linger over the works of art to be discussed. As the temporal nature of dance distinguishes it from the visual arts in this respect, the luxury of sustained viewing is not part of the equation of benefits in producing dance criticism. Far from decreasing the value of criticism, however, the transience of performance only increases the urgency of critical practice, which can serve to extend the moment, allowing dance a sense of presence in its absence. When dealing with an art form that disappears as it is being performed, any task which offers to keep the experience on the viewer's mind stands to benefit the viewer as well as the form.
While the focused attention necessitated by critical writing creates the potential for sharpening observation skills and awareness of both the surface and deeper constituents of dance performance, the careful use of language in its service seems to offer additional benefits that are especially helpful to the dance curriculum. An increased facility with verbal communication on the part of dance students can be used to foster audience development, providing tools to forge linguistic connections between artist and viewers. Dance students also need to be able to communicate their ideas with collaborating artists and to engage in productive discourse with others inside and outside the dance discipline. Language skills become increasingly necessary as artists find themselves advocates in the political arena as well as in the quest for funding, which depends on a requisite supply of verbal justifications regarding the need and value of
15 support. There is also a case to be made for the many connections between the creative process of making dances and the creative process of writing, and the possibilities therein for enhancing one while working on the other.13
1.3 The Absence of Empirical Data
As a participant on both sides of dance educational practice in higher education for more than twenty years, I have witnessed these issues as a teacher and as a learner.
From this dual perspective, I have experienced the struggles of attempting to capture the transient experience of dance in words — a struggle aptly characterized by theatre critic
John Mason Brown as akin to the "attempt to tattoo soap bubbles" (qtd. in Cohen and
Copeland 424). I have also repeatedly encountered the value of existing published criticism and other dance literature as a vital resource for teaching and research, and have experienced the cognitive and expressive benefits of writing about other art forms. As an educator, I have observed over time that the task of writing about dance can yield promising insights among student writers.
It has thus been my growing concern that dance criticism should be explored as an integral component in the dance curricula at all educational levels, but there is a deficit of empirical data to propose or shape such reform. It is the purpose of this study to explore the value of such curricular innovation by examining some primary evidence, a group of student writings about dance. By looking closely at these writings, I hope to explore and
13There is a reciprocity here that I have observed numerous times, one that has also been frequently confirmed in student testimonies. See Appendix A, Questionnaire II, especially questions 4, 6, 7, 8 and 12 for examples of this point. 16 classify what kinds of understandings about dance they reveal, to speculate about whether these writings suggest discernible benefits of critical coursework, and to uncover pedagogical implications for structuring such coursework.
1.4 Background of the Study
In the autumn of 1998, I began to develop and teach a course in dance criticism at the Ohio State University Department of Dance. A department noted for its excellence14 within the university, and regularly ranked from outside the university as one of the top dance programs in the country, it has a longstanding reputation for its well-rounded curriculum. In addition to an extensive network of studio-based courses in technique, composition and production, the curriculum is also noted for the unusual strength of its offerings in Laban studies, including courses in various levels of notation, as well as repertory courses which promote regular performances of master dance works reconstructed from Labanotation scores. The Department also has a unique relationship to the Dance Notation Bureau in New York, as it houses the Dance Notation Bureau
Extension office and together with the university library system supports the archives of that institution. In addition, there is a strong dance history track of study, which offers courses from ancient dance history and ethnography to studies in postmodern and
14 Within the OSU community itself, the Department was designated a Center of Excellence in 1986, and received the first Teaching Excellence Award presented in 1996. Outside of OSU, Dance Teacher Now began an annual poll of 100 national dance administrators in December of 1995, and the OSU department has consistently ranked within the top five schools, frequently achieving the number one spot in many categories. 17 contemporary dance. Recently, the department has been expanding its curriculum to include studies and research in the intersections of dance, theory and technology.
As a regular lecturer in contemporary dance and theatre history, an occasional lecturer in Labanotation, and a member of a research team which produced an award- winning CD-ROM focusing on the documentation, preservation and analysis of the work of a particular choreographer, it has been a natural extension of my interests to expand into several new and established literature-based areas of the curriculum. At the time the dance criticism course was first offered, I had reached the point in my doctoral studies of preparing to defend my candidacy exams, which were concerned with issues surrounding studies in dance criticism.
My experiences with the incorporation of student writing in teaching dance history courses, a recognition of the profound importance to dance studies of the literature generated through Laban's contributions, and the doctoral coursework I had pursued in art criticism, combined to make a strong impact on my pedagogical concerns.
In my doctoral studies, I had also been influenced by coursework with Arthur Efland which introduced me to research supporting an integrated literature and studio based arts curriculum as well as to exposure with constructivist and neo-constructivist approaches to learning through the work of Judith Koroscik, Richard Prawat, David Perkins, Sydney
Walker and others. In particular, I have been deeply influenced by the writings, teaching and teaching methodologies of art educator and critic Terry Barrett.15
15Among Barrett’s published works, Criticizing Art and Criticizing Photographs contain many of these insights. 18 1.4.1 Classroom Convictions
In the course of teaching, I have regularly experienced the apparent power of writing to open pathways to knowledge acquisition about dance which seem to remain closed through standard lecture, reading and performance-viewing approaches. In many cases, it appears that some students are able to achieve through writing what Prawat and others refer to as knowledge transfer, a connection between areas of knowledge which at first seem disparate, and the discovery of personal routes for linking dance with their own lived experience. Since writing assignments are usually assigned in response to the viewing of dance, I have noted the increased level of engagement with which students participate in the performance event, as well as the depth of their written reactions by comparison with the brief verbal responses usually offered in class. The necessity of filling a required number of pages with structured observations and reflections about the performances, and the task of organizing these observations into a logical format, appears to prompt an integration of course concepts that might otherwise remain unclear.
It has been my cumulative experience as a learner in Barrett's art criticism courses, however, that has grounded me in the conceptual tools for critical writing and deepened my own insights about the critical writing experience. The guided acquaintance with and practice in the standard critical activities of description, interpretation, evaluation and theorizing on a bi-weekly basis fortified my understanding of these operations. The opportunity to bring my dance background into play in the arena of visual art criticism offered clarity and informed my understandings of both disciplines.
More personally, the realization that the critical task is an open-ended project, based on
19 the writer's individual acts of reception and interaction with a given artwork, followed by the ability to articulate that experience persuasively, allowed me to realize a level of autonomy as a viewer and writer that I had not previously experienced. Finally, the opportunity to craft a written response with care and integrity, to read it aloud in the classroom, and to subsequently listen to the equally persuasive but different approaches of other writers on the same subject constituted one of the most arresting and empowering classroom experiences I have yet encountered.
1.4.2 Interdisciplinary Bridges
It was with great excitement that I greeted the opportunity to bring these insights and experiences into the dance department for the teaching of the new course offering in dance criticism.16 In the absence of an established pedagogical method, I was eager to see how the methodologies developed by Barrett and other art critics would adapt to the particularities of writing about dance. Since no dance criticism textbook exists, I selected readings from a variety of sources, and structured various writing assignments during class and outside of it. I designed a pair of entry and exit questionnaires to ascertain student dispositions toward the course material,17 maintained field notes of the teaching process, and solicited student permissions for the use of their writings for further research and analysis.18 In collecting this data, I was guided by my original intentions to
16By the time of this writing, the course has become an established annual offering in the department, 1998 – 2002.
17See Appendix A for the protocol and coded responses to these questionnaires.
18 See Appendix B for a copy of the consent form signed by each of the student writers. 20 investigate the usefulness of specific course components, the benefits of the coursework as perceived by the students and by myself, the emergence of "voice" in individual writers over the ten week period, and evidence of increased tolerance for multiple perspectives within the classroom community.
1.5 Statement of the Problem
Contemporary art education research recommends the integration of critical coursework into the curricula of all the arts (Efland History 253). The literature of dance, itself late in developing but doing so at present with an unprecedented rate of growth, has scarcely addressed this area of inquiry. Dance presents unique benefits and challenges for classroom critical practice, but contains as yet no text or research detailing a specific methodology for teaching criticism within the dance curriculum. A great deal of work needs to be done in order to address this gap in pedagogical knowledge.
What kinds of understandings about dance do student writings reveal? There has been no research that looks at the kinds of writings students of dance criticism produce when offered the opportunity to engage in critical coursework. Because little is known about what such writings actually reveal about student understanding, it follows that an analysis of student criticism will yield useful data for addressing this question, while illuminating the possible implications for coursework within the dance curriculum.
21 1.6 The Research Design
1.6.1 Context for the Study
The context for the study occurred within a ten week course in Dance Criticism, offered as an elective within the Ohio State University Department of Dance in Autumn,
1998. The course was offered for two quarter hours of credit, and met twice weekly for an hour and a half each meeting. In addition to adapting many of the teaching methods and practices of art educator Terry Barrett, the course was also punctuated at about the halfway point with a week-long residency by dance critic Marcia Siegel, who took over and extended the course activities during that week, offering the invaluable insights and pedagogical strategies of a professional dance critic.
1.6.2 The Study Population
The class from which the student texts are taken consisted of a population of twelve students: ten of them graduate students in dance; one, a fourth year honors student in English with considerable dance experience; and one, a third year dance major. Eleven of the students were female. Reasons for enrolling in the course varied from wanting to experience the rare opportunity to study dance criticism within a classroom situation, to a desire to sharpen existing abilities in writing about dance, to the objective of addressing feelings of inadequacy about writing in general or writing about dance in particular.19
19 Appendix A, Questionnaire I, question #6 provides insight regarding student purposes for enrolling in the class. 22 1.6.3 Selection of an Analytical Methodology
It was several months after the course had ended that continued reading and reflection on ways to evaluate and illuminate the possible benefits of critical writing in dance began to point me toward a useful methodology. The writings that the students had produced over the ten weeks of the course had been, in general, stronger than I had anticipated. In the absence of published research which actually examined or analyzed student writings about dance, I became curious about the substance of student writings; what they might reveal regarding the value of this kind of writing project; what might be exposed about the writing and thinking strategies students had employed in the construction of their texts; and what kinds of understandings about dance the writings made manifest.
A year or two earlier, I had attended a lecture offered by Ohio State University art educator Sydney Walker, who presented a method of content analysis she had employed to unravel student writings about art. I had also completed some coursework with ethnographer Laurel Richardson, who demonstrated a method of "line by line" analysis for deconstructing written transcripts of verbal discourse. Content analysis offered me a way to "break open" the texts students had produced in order to see what constituted them, what they might suggest for future course development in critical writing, and what kinds of issues they might exhibit as a group of individual texts composed in response to a common topic. Particularly, content analysis offered a method for scrutinizing and categorizing the underlying substance of student writings, one that could provide insight
23 about the similarities and differences between dance and art criticism, as well as one which could expose overlapping elements of the student writings which might illuminate future pedagogical applications.
1.6.4 Criteria for Text Selection
In addition to a variety of shorter writing exercises, the students had produced three major papers during the quarter of study. The first of these, an "aesthetic autobiography," based on a similar introductory assignment designed by Barrett, was eliminated since it was not an exemplar of dance criticism. The third and final paper was also ruled out, since it had offered students a choice between writing about two very different kinds of performance experiences. The second writing assignment, a paper written in response to a live concert consisting of works by a wide variety of choreographers, seemed to offer the desired uniformity to yield results from a specific method of textual analysis.
Produced midway through the course, this had been an assignment of a specific word-length, and had been designed to address a general audience of readers. In addition, the choice of this particular concert offered unusual and substantial benefits for future studies of a similar nature. In the first place, the concert consisted of many established works that had been professionally produced elsewhere, therefore extending the probability that professionally published criticism about some of the works might be located for later comparative purposes. Secondly, the concert had been professionally
24 videotaped and aired on local public television, thereby holding out the possibility of future studies which might be based on different communities of writers at various levels of expertise for comparative analysis.
1.6.5 General Design of the Analysis
Although the design of the analysis will be thoroughly discussed in chapter three, it is important to note that the framework for analysis emerged from a grounded process of inquiry, with categories arising from questions unique to the specific agenda of the study (Strauss and Corbin 273). The guiding research objective that framed the study was the desire to expose student understandings about dance. Analytical typologies for the analysis were structured to determine what kind of understandings about dance student writings would reveal, how similarities and differences among writers' understandings could be conceptualized, upon what kinds of information such understandings were based, and what critical activities were used to articulate these understandings.
Underlying these design elements was the agenda of extracting from the analysis knowledge about effective teaching practices for future course development in dance criticism.
Throughout the process of analysis, emergent typologies evolved and expanded, prompting additional questions, new analytical categories, and the necessity for ongoing revision, which will be thoroughly documented in chapters three and four. The process of sifting through the students' use of language remained a compelling and challenging pursuit throughout the study, offering insight about the process of writing about dance, as well as implications for pedagogy and for further research. Data about the particular
25 sources of information used to construct the students' texts, for example, emerged as an unexpected but enlightening category. It also became clear that the standard critical activities of description, interpretation, and evaluation provide only an outline of the writing enterprise, and that additional operations at work in the writings should be considered. In prying beneath these useful but limited standard categories by means of content analysis, a deeper look at the value of writing about dance comes into view, offering the potential to illuminate future analyses of professional dance criticism, or to open a method for comparative analyses of writings by dance viewers across levels of domain knowledge.
1.7 Need for the Study
There are a variety of potential benefits and related issues that need to be addressed regarding the inclusion of criticism in dance curricula. Among the benefits of practicing criticism in an educational setting are: a deepened appreciation of the intricacies of the art form; the formation of articulate spokespersons and spectators for dance; the sharpening of viewer observation skills; the heightening of a sense of engagement by the viewer, supporting what John Dewey has postulated as the difference between (active) perception and (passive) recognition;20 and the capacities for developing one's individual voice within a classroom community of multiple voices. Tools needed
20 This summary of Dewey's ideas was insightfully articulated in a 1993 article by Lavender and Oliver.
26 for developing these areas include the formulation and testing of effective teaching and assessment methods, the creation of critical exercises and textbooks, and the availability of audio-visual dance resources for use in the classroom setting.
As discussed in the background of the research problem and elsewhere in this document, there is a demonstrated need for the production of research that may strengthen curricular reform initiatives in dance. The necessity of contributing new knowledge to this area within the field of dance, therefore, holds within it a large measure of the significance of this study. Furthermore, it is expected that not only the results of the study but also the analytical instrument designed for it will have generalizability beyond the present application.
There has been as yet no research that systematically analyzes student writings about dance, an absence which relegates advocacy for curricular reform to the realm of speculation. The task of investigating such writings has the potential to inform the development of pedagogical methods and teaching materials both for similar populations of learners as well as the potential to illuminate the practices of a wider range of learners, whether novices within the dance domain or professional critics. Additionally, I believe that the analysis instrument may be useful in a comparative study, articulating differences between the writing practices of dance criticism and those within the visual arts.
1.7.1 Limitations of the Study
Although further work utilizing the analytical instrument designed for this study would be fruitful, the limits of this particular use are concerned with a specific population in a given time period and context. In addition, this particular study has congealed around
27 a population made up of a specific kind of learner, the student with a considerable base of domain knowledge in dance. Furthermore, the population itself was narrowed to eliminate papers by three of the twelve students enrolled in the course based on reasons of student writing-project selection and on writing ability: Two students who had performed in the concert chosen as the topic for this particular paper preferred the task of writing about a separate performance in which they could maintain more critical distance; one other student exhibited considerable writing challenges of a grammatical nature, making the textual analysis impossible to perform with the necessary reliability.
1.8 Overview of Chapters
This chapter has explored the background and context against which my study has been conducted. It has also provided a disclosure of my role and assumptions as researcher, while giving a characterization of the student population that generated the papers for my study. I have asserted that development of critical and theoretical curricular initiatives in dance studies have been slow to emerge in higher education, and I have offered a number of reasons why this situation exists; I have also speculated about the potential benefits of such coursework. Finally, I have sketched out the general design for my study, based on my belief that a systematic analysis of student writings will provide a means for discovering the kinds of understandings such writings reveal about dance.
Chapter 2 contains a review of various literatures that have informed my study.
Because the field of curricular offerings in dance criticism is an emerging area within the discipline, this study sits at the intersection of a number of discourses. This chapter is designed to locate and delineate those influences and connections, giving particular
28 attention to the fields of dance criticism, movement analysis, art criticism, and a variety of issues drawn from the discipline of art education, including cognitive and pedagogical research. In surveying the relationship between these discourses and the present study, the chapter will illuminate the constructivist basis of understanding that has fueled my inquiry. The chapter concludes with a brief introduction to the method of content analysis.
Chapter 3 resumes this discussion of content analysis, providing a detailed explanation of the methodology, foregrounding its procedures, and specifying the manner in which the method has been adapted for this study. The chapter
includes a sequential explanation of each step taken in conducting the analysis, and a thorough discussion of the terminology and conceptual basis for each of these stages.
Among the areas considered in this chapter are explanations of the typologies for analysis that form the coding sheets of the student papers, exemplars of the evolution and final version of the analytical instrument, and discussion of triangulation measures.
The chapter concludes with a complete set of coding sheets for one of the nine student papers.
Chapter 4 presents the data analysis of the student writings that form the core of the study. These writings, collected and analyzed on spreadsheets, comprise over 200 pages of raw data, and the chapter is designed to consolidate and synthesize these findings, providing narrative and visual representations of the analysis. Due to the volume of data, the chapter is sub-divided into two sections, the first one featuring analysis of the nine individual writers, and the second section examining the six dances about which they wrote.
29 Chapter 5 concludes the study with a discussion of the analysis, making connections between the analytical framework and cognitive research about the nature of understanding. A conceptual model of student understandings, derived from the analysis of the nine papers, is presented. The chapter includes a discussion of limitations of the study as well as suggestions for continued research, including the potential for additional uses of the analytical instrument developed for this study. Pedagogical insights and implications of my research are also presented.
30 CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
2.1 Introduction to the Chapter
Considering the relatively recent emergence of a substantive dance literature,21 my study is situated amidst a confluence of various discourses and their influences, inter- acting with the literatures of dance criticism and movement analysis; art criticism; art education, including cognitive research; and content analysis. In this chapter, I will delineate the ways in which I am relating to these discursive communities and attempt to make explicit the ways they have informed both the language and design of my study.
2.2 Literatures of Dance
The literature of dance grew steadily through the 20th century, and has accelerated and broadened since the 1980s (Daly Revolution 48). It is a broad field, including writings characterized by divergent perspectives, purposes and styles. For the aims of the study, I will confine my attention to two areas of this literature most directly related to the task at hand, the literature of and about dance criticism, and the literature of
21 See chapter 1, p. 5-6 for a brief summary of this conundrum. 31 movement analysis. The literature produced through the practice of dance criticism constitutes a body of writing that points toward effective strategies for reviewing and addressing performance. By reading this literature and by studying its fundamental principles, one can gain access both to an aesthetic record of performance and to the methods that have generated and supported it. The literature of movement analysis constitutes a valuable ally for observing dance, offering both a theoretical framework and a particular language for conceptualizing and articulating this essentially non-verbal experience. Together, scholarship in each of these areas has both permitted and informed the present study of student writings in fundamental ways.
2.2.1 Dance Criticism
Within the limited and diverse literature of dance, published criticism holds a place that is both substantive and vital. Due to the ephemeral nature of the art form and the historical absence of a widely accepted system of movement notation, it is to published works of criticism that dance scholars often turn as primary sources of dance knowledge and history. Film and video forms of documentation have contributed important source material in recent times, but these methods have been neither universally available, nor unanimously adopted, for a variety of reasons not central to the present discussion.22 Additional sources of dance knowledge have included oral tradition,
22 Although such issues as expense, expertise and — before the advent of digital technologies — longevity of these methods, have been cited as obstacles for preserving dance, it comes as a surprise to many outside the field that the medium of a two-dimensional moving image is not an altogether effective means for preserving or documenting the complexities of this three-dimensional art form. Consider, for example, the task of capturing the movement details of a group of twelve dancers, all of whom perform differentiated roles in a single work. Moving imagery offers great advantages, to be sure, and recently there has been increasing research in combining visual imagery with the notated record. 32 painting, drawing, sculpture, and photographs, as well as written accounts of fiction and non-fiction, including biographies, health and recreational manuals and educational resources. Still, it is not an exaggeration to suggest that without the written artifacts created by literary witnesses to the dance experience, there would be no historical record of dance at all in most cases.
2.2.1.1 The Growth of Dance Criticism
Earlier European dance critics such as Theophile Gautier and Andre Levinson, and writers such as Edwin Denby in the United States, have produced notable collections of writings about the dance of their times. During the fall of 1927, the publication of
American dance writing experienced a significant advance, when the practice of including dance criticism in newspaper dailies began almost simultaneously with the hires of John Martin at the New York Times, Lucile Marsh at the New York World, and
Mary F. Watkins at the Herald Tribune (Conner 1). The writings of dance critics such as
Martin, Clive Barnes, and Walter Terry, as well as forays into dance criticism by practicing music critics such as Carl Van Vechten, or theatre critics such as Michael
Kirby, established and continue to provide the foundation for the contemporary development of this literature.
A new generation of dance writers proliferated in New York and other major cities during the 1960s, attracting such journalists as Marcia Siegel from outside the dance domain, and the infusion of less conventional styles of writing as exemplified by the writing of Jill Johnston at The Village Voice. John Martin’s successors at The New
York Times have included such prominent writers as Anna Kisselgoff, Jack Anderson
33 and Jennifer Dunning, while Deborah Jowitt and Elizabeth Zimmer have followed Jill
Johnston at The Voice. New Yorker critics Arlene Croce and Joan Acocella, who has also published at the Wall Street Journal, and Nancy Goldner of The Nation have all produced extensive bodies of work.
Many published critics have also produced collections of their writings, and some have expanded upon their critical expertise to produce historical or theoretical texts, such as the recent biographies of choreographers Mark Morris by Acocella and Alvin Ailey by
Dunning; or historical works such as The Shapes of Change by Siegel and Time and the
Dancing Image by Jowitt. Critics have also contributed essays on a variety of dance subjects to diverse publications, and there has been growth in the creation of both popular and scholarly journals and magazines about dance, with topics ranging from criticism to marketing; anthropological studies to gossip columns.
In 1974, the Dance Critics Association (DCA) was founded, generating both newsletters and conference literature, and occasional publications about the art and practice of dance criticism written by the professional critics who belong to the association. This organization boasts a present membership of approximately two hundred individuals, and hosts an annual conference and workshop designed to bring together and inform practitioners at all levels of dance writing. A recent publication of that organization, entitled Looking Out: Perspectives on a Multicultural World, attests not only to the reach of DCA, but also exemplifies the theme of its annual conference of the same title, held in San Francisco during May of 1994.
34 2.2.1.2 Inadequate Critical Coverage
This breadth of critical output constitutes vital source material for scholarly research as well as for pedagogical purposes. Still, a 1999 study by the National Arts
Journalism Program at Columbia University reported that dance gets only “cursory” coverage in the American press and is rarely covered by a full-time critic (Miles and
McLennan). In August, 2002, during the revision of this chapter, New York Magazine announced the termination of its longtime dance critic Tobi Tobias, and declared that it will no longer review dance.23 In my own city of Columbus, Ohio, the presiding dance writer of the daily newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch, is a music critic, and additional pieces are written either by the theatre critic or by “stringers,” equipped with varying levels of dance knowledge. In spite of deep pockets of excellence, good writing about dance in mainstream publications remains relatively sparse, and most often coverage of dance performance in American newspapers is either neglected or parceled out as an after thought to theatre or music critics on staff.
2.2.1.3 Meta-Critical Works
Though the body of published writings about dance performance remains modest compared to other bodies of critical writing, there is a deeper lacking in the area of writings about dance criticism. To date, few works have been published that deal with larger issues about the practice of dance writing, and little has been done to develop
23Andrea Snyder (Executive Director, Dance USA), “Your Voice is Needed,” on-line posting, 12 August 2002
2.2.1.3.1 Indirect Pedagogical Approaches
Though not explicitly pedagogical in their objectives, some meta-critical works offer indirect perspectives for the teaching of dance criticism. What is Dance? Readings in Theory and Criticism, is a landmark anthology of writings on dance edited by Cohen and Copeland in 1982, and exemplifies the tendency for such anthologized works to devote a section to issues of criticism. This particular volume contains a section that includes six essays drawn from a selection of dance writers, all of whom have been referenced in the introduction to this chapter: Gautier, Levinson, Van Vechten, Denby,
Jowitt and Croce.
Another valuable collection of four articles on criticism by dance scholar Sally
Banes introduces her anthology, Writing Dancing in the Age of Postmodernism. Banes’ collection includes historical, theoretical, and practical information about the practice of writing about dance. Among her selections is a useful exemplar, “On Your Fingertips:
Writing Dance Criticism,” which provides explicit links between the traditional critical activities of description, interpretation and evaluation, and their value in the practice of dance criticism (24–43).
36 The Routledge Dance Studies Reader also contains a small section on “reviewing dance” that features, among other entries, an essay in which Siegel discusses the challenges of viewing dance forms from divergent cultures. Here, she acknowledges the influence of Laban training in her approach to dance writing, and also points to several other organizational devices she has found useful in viewing an embodied performance of any kind or any cultural derivation (Siegel Bridging 91-97). She refers to the construction of a lexicon for each piece,24 the identification of the structural elements and orchestration of parts in a work, along with the performance practices of its participants.
Siegel highlights the element of selection in the writing enterprise, and concludes that ultimately, it is the dance itself which informs the viewer about its constitutive properties.
Siegel’s essay points to another source of meta-critical works that often provide indirect pedagogical implications. Since the 1980s, multicultural awareness in educational research and publications has given rise to a number of works that address the problems of writing about dance forms from diverse cultural traditions. Deirdre Sklar’s "Five
Premises for a Culturally Sensitive Approach to Dance,” Brenda Dixon Gottschild”s
“Some Notes on Choreographing History,” and Sal Murgiyanto’s "Seeing and Writing about World Dance,” among others, exemplify this trend in recent scholarship, as does
David Gere’s previously cited anthology based on the DCA conference, Looking Out:
Perspectives on Dance and Criticism in a Multicultural World.
Several meta-critical works are even more specific in their scope, yet provide interesting perspectives on the critical enterprise. A recent volume, First We Take
24A small pamphlet, “Using Lexicons for Performance Research,” presents an explanation of this device by Siegel. 37 Manhattan, by British author Diana Theodores argues that the work of four selected
American critics ought to be considered “The New York School” of dance criticism.25
From this polemical perspective, Theodores provides an analysis of critical excerpts from four major dance writers, and includes interview material from each of the writers that point to some of their approaches to the writing task. Here, for example, one can learn that Jowitt (132) and Siegel (92) studied with New York optometrist Richard Kavner to improve their visual perception, or that all four writers acknowledge their debt to the earlier writing career of Edwin Denby. A notable revelation found in this volume attests to the lack of established procedures for practicing dance criticism, in the acknowledgment both by Siegel and her predecessor Edwin Denby that the lack of an accepted set of practices for writing about dance offered them the freedom of experimentation (96).
Lynne Conner added a valuable publication to this literature in 1997, Spreading the Gospel of the Modern Dance, which presents the history of three early writers of newspaper criticism, with an analysis of their writing styles and a discussion of the relationship of their output to the concurrent development of modern dance as an
American art form. Another recent work, “Making Dances, Making Essays: Academic
Writing in the Study of Dance,” collaboratively researched by Mitchell et al., reports on a project in the UK, which makes explicit links for students of dance between the practices of choreography and writing. Focusing on the similarities between the development of an essay and the making of a dance, the researchers advocate a socially oriented approach,
25The critics so considered are Marcia B Siegel, Deborah Jowitt, Nancy Goldner and Arlene Croce.
38 based on a model of personal identity formation by Rom Harré, and point to shared choreographic and writing skills, such as organization and selection of material.
Published in a volume edited by Lea and Stierer, which features the use of writing in
“new” contexts,26 their efforts both point to the lack of established methods and literature on the subject, and make a contribution to knowledge in this area.
Theses and dissertations which embrace a meta-critical approach to dance criticism include works devoted to an analysis of the work of a single writer, such as
Herthel’s 1966 dissertation on the critical methods of John Martin, or Tomko’s thesis on the writings of Carl Van Vechten, and those which take a comparative approach, such as
Meltzer’s thesis, which examines the work of Clive Barnes, Arlene Croce, Deborah
Jowitt, Elizabeth Kendall, Marcia Siegel, and David Vaughn.
Essays about their personal writing practices by professional critics, such as
Jowitt’s “A Private View of Criticism,” or Siegel’s “"Education of a Dance Critic: The
Bonsai and the Lumberjack,” also provide illumination on critical practice, as do occasional published interviews with writers of dance, such as Patricia Stöckemann’s conversation with Marcia B. Siegel in Ballett International or Walter Terry’s Dance
Magazine interview with John Martin.
26 Mary R. Lea and Barry Stierer, eds., Student Writing in Higher Education: New Contexts. (Buckingham: The Society for Research into Higher Education, 2000).
39 2.2.1.3.2 Pedagogical Approaches
As yet, however, there is not an extensive body of work devoted to the practice of producing dance criticism, and no classroom textbook which might be used in the service of an educator wishing either to improve the quality of dance writing in existing coursework, or to introduce curricular offerings in this area. Larry Lavender’s scholarship comprises the most comprehensive collection of work in this area, consisting of one book, a PhD dissertation, “Critical Evaluation in the Choreography Class,” and various scholarly articles. Wendolyn Oliver has also made a significant contribution, both in the article she co-authored with Lavender, "Learning to "See" Dance: The Role of Critical
Writing in the Development of Students' Aesthetic Awareness," and in her own PhD dissertation, “Dance Criticism in Education: An Event-Centered Pedagogical Model for
College Students.” Lavender’s Dancers Talking Dance presents a theory and detailed method of critical evaluation for students of choreography, which contains useful applications toward a more general pedagogy of dance criticism. Oliver’s PhD dissertation proposes a method for including critical writing in performance-based curricula, and argues for curricular change in this direction. The 1993 collaborative article by Lavender and Wendy Oliver contains important groundwork for advancing such curricular reform, but there has been little published follow-up to these ideas.
Recently, an anthology devoted to the teaching of writing in higher education included a report on a study conducted by Sally Mitchell et al. about the value of establishing parallels between choreography and writing for students of dance.
40 2.2.1.3.2.1 Lavender’s Model
Lavender’s book, Dancers Talking Dance, advances the argument that dance writing is an essential element in classroom studio practice. Theorizing that the act of writing about dance necessitates a period of reflection and organization that benefits the creators of dance in their involve-ment with the compositional process, Lavender delineates a procedure he has developed and tested in studio contexts. Adopting the acronym O.R.D.E.R. (observation, reflection, discussion, evaluation and recommendations for revision), the book methodically grounds and details these stages of
Lavender’s recommended classroom approach.
Lavender’s scholarship has been valuable in my own research in a number of ways. He has grounded his work in educational and philosophical contexts that have provided inspiration and support for my inquiries. In addition, he has established a foothold within the dance discipline for advocating writing as a vital tool for practitioners of the art form, has produced a body of literature on this subject, and has been a spokesperson at scholarly conferences about the need for dance writing in the curricula of institutions of higher education. Because of the longstanding reliance on studio practice as the central approach to academic dance studies, Lavender’s work holds important potential for influence in terms of curricular change, enabling the writing experience to occupy a place of importance within the dance domain. While I concur with his findings and support his commitment to incorporating the writing experience into studio practice, my own aim is to mine the writings produced by student writers in order to uncover the
41 understandings they reveal, and to seek an approach to teaching dance writing as a practice that is not explicitly linked to the context of choreographic work.
2.2.1.3.2.2 Oliver’s Model
Oliver’s concerns are aligned at many points to my own. Her dissertation confirms that there is little research that addresses a pedagogical foundation for the incorporation of dance criticism (Dance Criticism 35). Her assertion that “dance criticism may be written primarily for the education of the writer” (1) echoes my own convictions about the potential benefits of including writing in dance curricula, particularly with regard to the links between higher-order thinking skills of analysis and synthesis required in the writing process (2). Oliver’s approach to student criticism is driven by the tenets of discipline-based art education (DBAE) theory, which suggest that the way to teach students to write critically is to structure the writing project so that it imitates the practices of professional critics. While I do not disagree that there is a great deal to be learned about dance criticism from an investigation of professional critical practice, I have indicated previously that critics themselves often acknowledge the lack of prescribed rules for the practice of their craft.27 Oliver studies a group of critics and their writings and infers from those a set of guidelines on which she bases her pedagogical model. Again, I find value and inspiration in Oliver’s work, but what I am advocating
27 See pg. 38 for an acknowledgement of this situation by both Denby and Siegel, for example. 42 — not in opposition, but rather as a complement to this approach — is an examination of what students are actually doing when they write — as a means of exploring the value of this enterprise.
2.2.1.3.2.3 A Descriptive Approach
These important pedagogical contributions are closely related to my inquiry in various ways. As dance educators, we are all intent upon furthering knowledge about the critical writing experience in dance. I share many of the pedagogical beliefs and values promoted by both of these authors. What differentiates my approach in this particular study, however, is that these are fundamentally prescriptive approaches, while it is my intention to contribute descriptive research about dance writing. As Lavender and Oliver have done through their prescriptive models, I hope to inform curricular development by demonstrating the value and complexity of a set of existing student writings.
Furthermore, I am interested in the development of coursework in dance criticism that is not limited to a specific studio or staged context, such as the use of writing within
Lavender’s choreography classes, or the critical writing assignments designed to be incorporated within Oliver’s studio or history courses. By adding to these already existing models for teaching critical practice, I hope to deepen the knowledge and expand the conversation about the academic benefits of such curricular initiatives.
2.2.2 Movement Analysis
The quest to find a language capable of effectively capturing the transient, non- verbal experience of dance has proven troublesome for philosophers, dance historians,
43 critics and other scholars working to capture the art of dance for centuries. The task has proven sufficiently troublesome that the transmission of dance from one generation to the next has been obliged to rely largely on oral tradition while its primary artifacts have been pictorial or sculptural representations — thus relegating the understandings of a moving art to the limitations of memory on the one hand, and to those attributes which could be gleaned from still images on the other. Early attempts to devise methods of recording western theatrical dance yielded a variety of style-specific systems, such as the
Feuillet method28 of notation in the 18th century which was created not with preservation as its purpose, but as a self-teaching method. Similar to other attempts, this system of symbols is limited to the specific ballet and court dance vocabulary of its own period and tends to leave much to the imagination, especially for those not familiar with the historical particulars of its style.
2.2.2.1 Contributions of Laban
In the early twentieth century, an important breakthrough in these longstanding efforts occurred when Rudolph Laban produced a new system for recording movement, called Labanotation. A Hungarian-born dancer and theorist who rejected the hegemony of classical ballet and sought to free movement from the restrictions and conventions of any prescribed tradition, Laban worked to create a system capable of recording any human movement in order to produce a recording instrument not tethered to a particular style of
28This system, often referred to as the Feuillet-Beauchamps system, was originally published in 1700 in a volume called Choréographie by Raoul-Anger Feuillet.
44 dance, but one based instead on the universal movement capacities of the human body.
Laban’s system has continued to develop and expand into the present time, monitored and regulated through biennial meetings of an international group of practitioners and theorists known as the International Council of Kinetography Laban (ICKL), whose active multinational membership itself attests to the relative success of this system over its predecessors.
Laban’s principles have been effectively applied to the recording of a wide range of human movement, encompassing the physical habits of factory workers to the folk dances of many countries; from the movement of sports to various forms of theatrical dance, and even to the movement of animals. In addition to providing a means for recording the structural details of movement, Laban’s ideas have branched into several inter-related systems for movement investigation, such as the system now known as
Laban Movement Analysis (LMA), which is concerned with the dynamic qualities of movement and their many implications. Another branch, known as Motif Writing, has been adapted from the structured notation system to record the broad intentions of movement without all the detail, and has been useful in various pedagogical, research and creative applications.
2.2.2.2 Laban’s Influence
Because Laban’s work is multi-faceted, it has been adopted in a wide variety of research and higher education settings and has had a significant influence on the ways that many western dancers and scholars have come to conceptualize movement. Like any system of analysis, the Laban approach, once learned and practiced, has the capacity to
45 influence its practitioners’ awareness and conceptualization of movement, much the way the learning of a language sifts deeply down through the layers of understanding an individual speaker constructs of the world. Siegel, for example, has acknowledged that her awareness of the spatial, temporal and weight qualities of movement were heightened through her studies of Laban’s work, and that she has adapted this knowledge to inform both her perception and her writings about dance (Stöckemann 19). She has also commented on her own tendency to privilege the dynamics of movement, the placement of body parts, the spatial intentions of movement and other characteristics drawn from her Laban training:
I am Laban-trained . . . . The Laban systems draw attention to dynamics, the use of space and time and weight, to phrasing, transitions, the shape of the movement, parts of the body used or not used, and to the performer’s sense of the space through which he or she is moving (Bridging 94).
My own dance education has also been deeply informed by Laban’s work, as is the pedagogical orientation of the academic setting in which the papers were produced. In an important but perhaps unquantifiable sense, I, my colleagues and students are all to varying degrees inscribed by this way of conceiving movement and it is important to acknowledge that these ideas inform our teaching and learning in ways both subtle and profound.29 In the methodolgy for this study that is delineated in the succeeding chapter,
29 The pervasive influence of Laban’s work in the particular academic setting in which the student writings were produced occurs in both direct and indirect ways. While some student writers had taken course work in Laban’s notation system, others had encountered language and a means of analyzing movement based on Laban’s work, either in composition classes or in physical training (technique) classes, where Laban’s system of categorizing time, space, weight and flow enter the world of studio practice.
46 there are several components of the analysis that are concerned with movement and its description. Because this is a study cast in my own words about the words of student writers, the particular language that has shaped my thinking about movement is a central component of the project. Although a detailed explication of Laban’s terminology and approach to movement analysis is unnecessary, I will briefly review those principles of the system that have influenced the language in which the coding sheets of the student writings have been articulated.
2.2.2.3 Selected Principles of Laban
In Laban’s analysis of movement, the four movement factors which serve as the connective tissue of a given dance are time, space, weight and flow. In any dance, there is a temporal reality, which defines the duration of the event and also its internal rhythmic character. A dance always occurs in space, so that it is possible to examine pathways and levels of spatial usage, as well as attitudes towards space such as a direct, focused approach or a more flexible, multi-spatial approach. Dance also involves the use of weight, which can be characterized by various modifiers, such as lightness, buoyancy or strength. The final of these factors is flow, that property of movement which is concerned with the continuity of motion at any given time. A movement may be performed, for example, with a free-flowing quality, or it may be performed in a constrained, or bound manner.
Laban Movement Analysis (L.M.A.), as it is currently practiced, has been influenced by a variety of scholars and practitioners of the system. It revolves around the observation of four main categories, collected under the acronym B.E.S.S., which refers
47 in turn to aspects of the body, the dynamics of the body’s range of effort, the bodily use of space, and the formation of bodily shapes. The first component of this acronym refers to aspects of the body, such as the identification and actions of body parts used in a given performance, their relationship to each other and to the theatrical setting, and references to the sequencing of those relationships, including the initiation and conclusion of specific movement tasks. The second component refers to the effort expended by the body in executing a given movement, or the dynamic range of the movement performed, including the particularities of the body’s use of weight, the use of time, the flow of movement, and the space in which the movement occurs. The component of shape refers to the way in which the body interacts with its environment, and the component of space refers to the directions, pathways and levels of movement.
There are a variety of other analytical approaches to movement description that are based on Laban’s work. One model, set forth by Valerie Preston-Dunlop,30 conceptualizes a set of five body actions plus stillness as a blueprint for analyzing basic dance movement. In this formulation, non-weight-bearing bodily action is referred to as a gesture, a transfer of weight from one supporting body part to another is called a step, a traveling sequence of actions is referred to as locomotion, a change of facing of the body is called a turn or rotation, and an airborne action is referred to as a jump. These
30Preston-Dunlop’s work, A Handbook for Dance in Education, is an exploration of sixteen basic ,movement themes delineated in Laban’s 1948 work Modern Educational Dance. The material I am describing here is concerned with “Theme VI: The Instrumental Use of the Body and Technique,” featured in Preston-Dunlop on pp. 51 – 9.
48 fundamental categories for describing movement, which are expressive without being encumbered by the complexities of analytical jargon, were influential in my choices of language for categorizing movement in the coding sheets.31
2.2.2.4 Language Limitations
Although Laban’s particular methods of analysis have had both a direct and indirect hand in shaping this study, I hasten to add that it has been my habit and remains my belief that in helping students to write critically about dance, a more evocative and generally descriptive use of language is needed, one which puts the writers’ varying degrees of familiarity with dance to work, but challenges them to go beyond domain- centered language, whether Laban-influenced or otherwise. As I hope to demonstrate in chapter 3 as well as in the coding of student writings, I have limited my reliance on
Laban-based language, and attempted to remain transparent in my usage when I have borrowed from it.
2.3 Art Criticism
Because of the absence of extensive scholarship toward a methodology for dance criticism, I have turned frequently to the domain of art criticism, which provides a relative wealth of literature on this subject, from philosophical to pedagogical works.
Early authors and aestheticians such as John Dewey, Morris Weitz and Edmund Feldman
31I wish to reiterate here that this schema of Preston–Dunlop’s is one of many contained in her book, and not the only analytical tool based on Laban’s work. Other models may privilege the notion of balance vs. off-balance, for example; still others place emphasis on relationships between dancers, and so on.
49 established the foundations and laid important groundwork for the field. I have been more directly influenced by the work of Terry Barrett and Sydney Walker, art education scholars and critics of a more recent generation. Barrett’s numerous books and publications on the subject, along with his teaching, have exerted the greatest influence on my own thinking about critical writing as well as on my approach to teaching it.
Walker’s work in content analysis provided me with the basic introduction to this method, and has served as my primary guide in the application of those tenets.
2.3.1 Similarities and Differences
In designing this study, I have been guided by the knowledge that art critics have established, as well as by my growing interest in the differences between the practices of producing art criticism and those involved in the production of dance criticism. Although there is a great deal of shared terrain between the lexicon and practices of writing about dance and those of the visual arts, fundamental differences between them underscore the importance of creating a distinct pedagogical approach for the teaching of dance criticism. While both practices share a concern for line, shape, form, color, and spatial design, distinctions linked to the involvement of the moving human form must also be considered, if effective pedagogical practices are to be developed for dance criticism.
Postmodern choreographer Yvonne Rainer once remarked that “dance is hard to see” (68). Based on this statement, it follows that writing about dance is also a challenging endeavor. The transient nature of dance poses unique perceptual and linguistic challenges for its viewers. Unlike most visual art, dance disappears as it is being produced, existing only in its moment-to-moment unfolding in time and space.
50 While visual art offers the viewer the luxury of time in which to reflect and then write about it, dance evaporates into thin air, leaving no trace but the memories it has produced in the viewer. In this sense, even its “objective” reality might be called into question, since it eludes traditional validation and replication practices. Indeed, philosopher Paul
Ziff has questioned the likelihood that the moving target of a dancer, caught in a temporal situation that can never be exactly reproduced, and necessarily seen from a variety of positions in the performing space, could ever be considered with the same kind of expectations for validity that accompany statements about more stable art forms (Ziff
75). While many of the traditional procedures and theories which ground the practice of art criticism are useful, therefore, there is also a need to examine those procedures and practices which are specific to the elusive art form of dance.
2.3.2 Critical Activities
Whether critical writing addresses visual, aural, or performing, art, its task demands a use of language which is not relegated to any particular system or theoretical framework. I agree with art critic Edmund Feldman who advocates the use of ‘unloaded’ language (467) in describing an experience of art as well as with Barrett, who cautions that critical description has documentary value for persons who may only experience a work of art indirectly, through writing about it, and therefore demands accuracy.
(Photographs 17). Barrett thus calls for “carefully constructed language . . . which increases our understanding and appreciation. . . (36).” As mentioned previously, I strongly feel that a vocabulary weighted down by jargon or filtered exclusively through the lens of one theoretical perspective belongs to a type of discourse too specific for
51 criticism. Good critical writing is meant to inform a present or future reading audience not necessarily familiar with the specific terminology of a given area of artistic inquiry.
The activities of description, interpretation and evaluation in writing about art continue to form the core aspects in most guides on art criticism, and these traditional aspects of criticism have been applicable in both my teaching as well as in the formulation of categories for this analysis of student writings. To these, Feldman has added the critical activity of analysis, which he describes as a further refinement of description (Practical 28),32 and insists that criticism must proceed in a prescribed order: description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation. Barrett, who does not prescribe a specific order of activities, adds the activity of theorizing (Photographs 2),33 a useful category for pointing to governing assumptions about works of art. I have also found useful a distinction between internal and external information (Barrett Art 22), or intrinsic and extrinsic criticism (Copeland and Cohen 422), in creating the analytical framework for the student writings. Finally, the framework for my study has also incorporated into the battery of critical operations Sally Banes’ category of contextualization, the activity of placing a work of art in a larger landscape or network of specific external relationships
(Writing 25).
32 Barrett does not list this activity as a separate function from description in his textbooks for student criticism. Although I view it a useful distinction in principle, I agree with the conclusion in Oliver’s dissertation (117) that it is more often utilized by professional critics than student writers. I have therefore eliminated it from the categories of critical activities used in the coding sheets of the student writings.
33 Barrett ascribes the addition of theorizing as a critical activity to the work of aesthetician Morris Weitz. 52 2.4 Art Education
Both in the initial design of my study and in the revisions and conclusions I have formed in its enactment, my approach has been grounded in various studies from the expansive domain of art education. In reviewing the literature that has been especially valuable in my thinking about my study, I will consider the areas of cognitive research on the nature of understanding, on knowledge acquisition and learning transfer, and on the role of writing in the learning process.
2.4.1 A Constructivist Approach
The central research question that lies at the heart of this study is an inquiry about the kinds of understandings that student writings reveal about dance. Though it is widely assumed that understanding is an essential goal of education, it is a term which has multiple connotations, and I wish to ground my own approach to this complex concept within a constructivist perspective on teaching and learning, a cognitive model that is founded on the belief that knowledge acquisition is actively constructed by the knower.
2.4.2 Knowledge Acquisition
Dictionary definitions of understanding reflect its common usage as “a faculty of comprehension or reasoning,” (Oxford English Dictionary), “the capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination” (Random House), or “a mental grasp: comprehension, especially the capacity to apprehend general relations of particulars”
(Merriam-Webster). While these are useful definitions, closely allied with the nature of
53 my inquiry, I find that Jerome Bruner’s simple but eloquent rendering of the term, “to go beyond the information given,” both transcends them and is more specifically aligned with the context of an investigation into teaching and learning.34
These characterizations of understanding conflict with previous ideas about the nature of knowledge acquisition. In earlier ‘symbols systems’ and behaviorist theories about learning, educational practice was based on a characterization of the learner as the more passive recipient of an increasing supply of facts, which grew in complexity as they increased in quantity. Recent cognitive research counters these models with an opposing view of the learner’s role in understanding.
In Art, Mind and Education, Howard Gardner and David Perkins have collected a series of articles that have summarized much of this research, which underpins the research design for my study. Perkins, who has published numerous works on the subject of understanding, states that understanding is web-like, and that it “involves knowing how different things relate to one another” (114). For him, “understanding is a performance, a capacity to think and act flexibly with what one knows, distinguished from the more common view of understanding as a mental representation” (Wiske 7).
Vito Perrone, whose work is also featured in this collection, points out that what learners need to do is to “make new connections between their various worlds” (14). This premium placed on making relationships between elements of the learner’s experience is
34 Though I have been inspired by many of the writings of Bruner, this particular idea was referenced in a work by Perkins, and is a reference to Bruner’s 1973 work, Beyond the Information Given: Studies in the Psychology of Knowing.
54 a principle which guided my exploration of student understandings and, as I will argue later, is one of the primary reasons that work in criticism should be included in the dance curriculum.
Based on this more active conceptualization of the learner’s role in understanding, recent trends in educational practice call for the integration of “performance assessments,” activities which require the learner to stretch beyond information-gathering into a concrete demonstration of knowledge.35 Taking a similar stance, Perkins advocates a “performance view of understanding,” explaining that the broad implication of this view is that “developing understanding should be thought of as attaining a repertoire of complex performances [in which] attainment is less like acquiring something and more like learning to act flexibly (52). Fellow researcher Wiske adds that what is required for students to reach understanding is "reflective engagement,” which she characterizes as moving beyond simple recall or repetition of learned facts (76). My view of dance criticism in classroom contexts matches this sense of “performance,” and has informed my inquiry into the value and outcomes of student writings.
2.4.3 Domain Specificity
Previous views of cognition were also based on the notion that learning proceeds in basically the same way without differentiation among fields of study. Efland has referred to these as “content-free learning theories,” since all were believed to operate in exactly the same way, regardless of subject matter, (Cognition 138) a misconception of
35A very useful and multi-perspectival collection of research on this phenomenon in education research is found in Blum and Arter, including articles by the editors, Shavelson and Newmann. 55 considerable influence among teachers according to Richard Prawat (“Beliefs” 357). The works of more recent theorists, however, have demonstrated that there is a domain specificity about knowledge, which holds important consequences for teaching and learning (Perkins and Salomon 24; Koroscik “Understanding” 11). In addition, Efland cites further research by Spiro, Feltovich et al. which describes what they have called
“cognitive flexibility theory” (Efland “Spiral” 143). Among other indications, this theory suggests that while certain domains of knowledge such as physics or mathematics can be described as “well-structured” — amenable to highly propositional, hierarchical forms of instruction and organization, others such as various aspects of law, medicine and art can best be described as “ill-structured,” or more complexly organized domains that require a case-by-case approach for teaching and learning (Efland Cognition 121). Efland has developed a visual metaphor and corresponding model for these findings,36 which cast earlier learning theories into the form of a spiral curriculum, while current theories are represented by a lattice curriculum, connoting a constant pattern of crisscrossing information, thus fostering the making of connections (Efland, “Spiral”). This view of art as an ill-structured domain, which insists that knowledge is best acquired through exposure to a number of individual cases, lends the authority of cognitive research not only to my advocacy of writing about individual dance works, but also to the decision to build the study around a range of writings about a performance event.
36 Efland’s new work, Art and Cognition, which was instrumental in my thinking when it was still in manuscript form, has just been released at the time of this writing. In it, he goes beyond the lattice concept to yet another metaphor derived from city planning. This metaphor of “the hub” will figure in chapter 5.
56 2.4.4 Knowledge Transfer
Another stream of information in the area of cognitive research concerns those findings which substantiate significant differences between novice and expert learners and their respective uses of lower-order and higher-order thinking skills (Koroscik
Potential). Research about these differences has uncovered relevant information about variances in the organization of the learner’s knowledge base, strategies available to the learner for acquiring new knowledge, predictable pitfalls which indicate problems in the learner’s knowledge base, and the importance of learner disposition in the overall development of knowledge. This information, in turn, is integrally related to issues of domain structure, since patterns of involvement in these areas vary according to the type of knowledge domain under consideration. Integral to the framing of my study has been what Koroscik (“Understanding” 14), and others have defined as the most desirable learning outcome, the “coalescence” of all of this activity — the ability to transfer acquired knowledge to new learning situations. In chapter 5, I will argue that this notion of transfer has particularly strong ties to the work of criticism.
Efland maintains that the educational task now at hand is to embrace what he calls a neo-constructivist view of cognition, one which places the interconnectedness of ideas and works as its central goal, a task he suggests is most easily accomplished through the medium of language (Cognition 103). Jerome Bruner, credited with initiating the cognitive revolution in the late 1950s, in his recent works Actual Minds, Possible World and Acts of Meaning, has called for a return to the original impulse of that revolution, which he describes as the quest to understand learning not as a computational function
57 but as a meaning-making quest, accomplished through modes of reasoning that foreground the understanding and application of knowledge. Michael Parsons describes this change as a shift from epistemological to psychological concerns, emphasizing the idea of teaching for meaning rather than for the accumulation of conceptual knowledge.37
In summary, both my philosophy as an educator in general, and the design of my study of student writings in particular have been deeply influenced by a constructivist view of knowledge and understanding. Recent research about the active nature of knowledge acquisition, the domain specificity and complexly organized structure of dance as a disciplinary activity, and the emphasis on knowledge transfer as the most desirable outcome of the educational enterprise have conspired to shape my study in a variety of ways, as will become obvious in succeeding chapters.
2.5 Writing to Learn
We do not select our words simply in recognition of outer circumstances, but also to satisfy inner desires . . . By composing our language, we compose ourselves. (Gibson 17)
As a study which features the writings of students, my analysis has also been influenced by the literature on writing to learn, a discrete body of work which began to develop in the mid-1960s largely as a reaction to theories of learning that were based on a computational model of cognition. According to acknowledgments in Mayher et al.,38 the
37 Personal communication, March 1997.
38 John S. Mayher, Nancy Lester and Gordon M Pradl. Learning to Write; Writing to Learn. (Portsmouth, NH: Boynton, 1983). 58 trend began in Great Britain under the leadership of educator James Britton. In the United
States, Janet A. Emig was an early proponent of these ideas, which have also been espoused by Peter Elbow, Donald Graves, Walker Gibson and other researchers.39
Though explicit theories of learning are not always acknowledged by these authors, a constructivist perspective is implied in their views about the necessity for active, engaged learning by individually motivated learners.
Written primarily by and for teachers of English composition for elementary through college levels, this literature is filled with practical information and research, and carries implications for writing in all disciplines. Although a wide range of issues is addressed and various positions are taken, certain common assumptions and practices emerge throughout the literature. I found in this work validation of my own experiences with writing as teacher and learner, useful suggestions and applications for teaching dance criticism, and clarifications on writing assessment practices and classroom management strategies.
2.5.1 Fundamental Concepts
Writing-to-learn theorists define writing as “word choice on paper” (Mayher et al.
1), a definition which precludes copy-writing of any kind, multiple choice instruments, and even the written regurgitation of memorized ideas. The point is frequently stressed that the writer — unlike a speaker — can most often take words back during the formative stages of writing through erasure or disposal, until they are deemed
39 The work of these scholars is discussed in Mayher et al. Citations of works by the individual authors are also noted in the works cited section. 59 satisfactory. The writer confronts an empty page, actively determines the words that will be inscribed there, and shapes them through a process of revision and editing until satisfied. This reflective, creative process often involves a phenomenon which Britton describes as “shaping at the point of utterance,” as when a speaker in a social setting responds to the dynamics of his listeners to produce a thought which had not previously consolidated in his mind (Mayher et al. 5). Like E. M . Forster’s famous remark, “How can I tell what I think, till I see what I say?”40 Britton’s interest lies in the way thought can gel or develop in the very act of forming language to express it.
2.5.2 Related Aspects of Thinking and Learning
Several authors, including Emig,41 Mason and Washington, situate their perspectives on writing within the framework of other inter-related aspects of thinking, notably the additional language-based activities of reading, speaking and listening — and for Washington and Mason,42 remembering. Janet Emig, whose collection of essays attests by title to her affiliation with the ideas of Soviet psychologist Lev Vygotsky, claims that the writer is obliged to engage in what Vygotsky referred to as a “deliberate structuring of the web of meaning” (129). She cites Bruner’s three categories (Emig 126) for representing actuality — the enactive, the iconic and the symbolic — as significantly
40 E.M. Forster. Aspects of the Novel. (San Diego, CA: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1927).
41 Janet Emig. "Writing as a Mode of Learning." The Web of Meaning: Essays on Writing, Teaching, Learning and Thinking. Dixie Goswami and Maureen Butler, eds. (Upper Montclair, NJ: Boynton/Cook, 1983).
42 Jeff Mason and Peter Washington. The Future of Thinking: Rhetoric and Liberal Arts Teaching. London: Routledge, 1992.
60 linked in the writing act: “the symbolic transformation of experience through the specific symbol system of verbal language is shaped into an icon (the graphic product) by the enactive hand” (Emig 126). In addition, Emig points up the temporal qualities of writing
— its slowness compared to talking — and the characteristic necessity for the writer to shuttle back and forth among past, present and future through the editing and revising processes, thus connecting “the three tenses of [our] experience to make meaning” (129).
She proposes various alignments between reading, listening, speaking and writing, such as her division between the processes of creating and originating. Thus for Emig, in reading and listening one creates or recreates meaning from a text, while in speaking and writing one not only creates but also originates the text (124). Michael Parson’s research in the philosophy and history of art education has also provided grist for a study based on the use of language. Convinced that language essentially supersedes other media for understanding, Parsons writes:
. . . language is not just another medium to think with. It is unique because it is indissolubly merged with our understandings of the world in general. It embodies and represents our whole lifeworld, the horizon of meanings against which we live our life, the water in which we meaning-making humans swim (Cognition 83).
Also insightful with regard to my research has been Mason and Washington’s plea for a return to the values of rhetoric in higher education. Though they do not associate themselves specifically with the writing-to-learn school, they too imply a constructivist orientation to learning, which posits an active learner, attempting to build knowledge through meaning-making engagement with the content of study. Their individual analyses of the aspects of thinking are insightful and stimulating investigations
61 of beliefs that are often assumed or taken for granted in teaching. After examining them in turn, the authors conclude that writing is the most complex activity, consolidating the work of the other related aspects of thought:
Words on the page stay put in a way that sounds in the air do not. They have a kind of spurious stability. . . The writer can reread what he or she has written . . . With that development, it can become a means of taking stock of one’s thinking so far, to look back and ahead. To write is to call, “Time out, I am going to work this out for myself” (Mason and Washington 31).
In reviewing various strands of inquiry from the diverse literature of art education, I have tried to situate my study within a network of research that both undergirds and connects my work within a broader discursive community. I shall return to these concepts as I discuss their pedagogical relevance to the research findings of this study in chapter 5.
2.6 Content Analysis
Content analysis is a qualitative research method that provides a systematic means for extracting symbolic meaning from various kinds of data. In the chapter on data collection methods in Designing Qualitative Research, Marshall and Rossman point out that content analysis is a specialized instrument, “best thought of as an overall approach, a method, and an analytic strategy,” entailing the “systematic examination of forms of communication to document patterns objectively” (85). Walker,43 Callow,44
43 It was Sydney Walker who first introduced me to this research method. Her work "Thinking Strategies for Interpretation," published in Studies in Art Education 37.2, 1996 utilizes content analysis.
44 Kathleen Callow. Man and Message: A Guide to Meaning-Based Text Analysis. (Lanham, MD: UP of America, 1998. 62 Krippendorff45 and others who have used and written about this research tool explain that researchers using it must devise their own procedures, depending on the aims of their inquiries and the types of data being explored. In choosing a method for my inquiry, I found that content analysis permitted both a context-sensitive instrument, and a form of document review that was unobtrusive, enabling me to examine student writings without ongoing involvement of the students themselves. Its advantages as a method of analysis include its explicit procedures, which allow the research findings to be confirmed by the reader.
Klaus Krippendorff, Professor of Communication at the Annenenberg
School of Communication in Pennsylvania, defines content analysis as “a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from data to their context” (21).
Derived from the practices of journalism, this method has evolved into present uses that encompass such diverse fields of inquiry as sociology, political science, propaganda analysis, and advertising. Its methods are flexible enough to be used in the analysis of visual and non-verbal data, and have been applied to media as diverse as comic strips and political speeches; textbooks and radio broadcasts. In more recent research applications, this method has also been adapted for the analysis of characters in quantified units of television viewing (Krippendorff 31).
Walker has published some of her work with the methodology,46 and has taught the method, which accounts for my introduction to it. I have followed a systematic
45 Klaus Krippendorff. Content Analysis: An Introduction to its Methodology (Beverl;y Hills, CA: Sage Publications, 1980).
46Sydney R. Walker. "Thinking Strategies for Interpretation." Studies in Art Education, 37.2, 1996. 69-91. 63 procedure guided by her and informed by my readings of Krippendorff, Callow, and others. The details of this methodology and my particular adaptation of it for this study will be thoroughly explained in the following chapter.
64 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction to the Chapter
Content analysis is an established qualitative procedure that allows for the systematic extraction of symbolic meaning from diverse forms of data. As the central methodology for this study, it has enabled the kind of microscopic probing of texts necessary to fulfill the objectives of the research design — an examination of student papers for the purpose of illuminating what written responses to dance performance might reveal about student understandings of dance. Content analysis was selected as a tool for this inquiry because it offers the means to go beyond the data as physical phenomena, and to make inferences about their meaning as symbolic representations. It offers an unobtrusive tool that can be used without disturbing the setting (Marshall and
Rossman 86), and is capable of generating both qualitative and quantitative results.
Content analysis is a flexible methodology that obliges the researcher to customize the analytical instrument in order to address the aims of a given inquiry. In this chapter, I will unfold the particular design, aims, and underlying principles governing my analysis of student writings. My objective is to make transparent the specific practices and decisions that have driven and informed this study. The chapter will present a 65 description and explanation of the guiding principles of the methodology, as well as a detailed explanation of the kinds of conceptual and theoretical underpinnings that have particularized its formation as a means of inquiry for this study.
3.2 Preliminary Components of the Framework
As outlined by Klaus Krippendorff, an established practitioner and theorist of the method, preliminary components of a framework for content analysis include a description of the data as communicated to the researcher, the context of the data, and the ways in which the analyst’s knowledge partitions the reality of the data (26).
3.2.1 Description of the Data
The raw data as communicated to the researcher consist of a group of nine student writings, generated during the course of a class on dance criticism offered at the Ohio
State University in the autumn quarter of 1998. These papers were written in response to the assigned viewing of a dance concert produced October 29, 30, and 31, 1998 in
Sullivant Hall Theatre in Columbus, Ohio. Given the ephemeral experience that a concert of dance represents, the writings that the students composed, based on their experience of the concert, translate a part of their engagement with this elusive art form into document form, thus constituting “a linguistic representation of facts and experiences” of a non- verbal event (Krippendorff 43).
Each of the nine papers in this data pool is comprised of approximately one thousand words, and all nine papers respond to the same concert experience. The data thus offers a body of written work generated in response to a common artistic event.
66 Though the fact that the papers were to receive a grade is likely to have influenced the degree of attention that guided their construction and presentation, the writings were not selected for the study based on an assessment of quality. Indeed, the papers do not represent exemplary writing: they are the second, and final, drafts of papers written as class assignments, and they were produced without awareness — on the part of the researcher or the students — that they would become the objects of such sustained scrutiny.
3.2.2 The Context of the Data
Krippendorff points out that content analysis is inherently “context-sensitive,” that there must be “explicit or implicit correspondence between the analytical procedure and the relevant properties of the context” (49). In this study, both the context of the concert and the context of the classroom, including the data selection, and the composition of the study population, are significant in the evolution of the analytical procedures.
3.2.2.1 The Classroom Context
During the autumn of 1998, the student writers whose work constitutes the basis for the study were enrolled in a course in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State
University, called “Dance 691G: Aesthetics and Criticism.” As members of a classroom community in which a fixed number of participants were engaged in an enterprise of specific duration, the context for the study represents what is designated in qualitative research practice as a bounded study. That is to say, the classroom population of twelve
67 writers remained consistent, as did the requirements for class meetings: students met twice weekly for an hour and a half, over a time-limited, ten-week period of study. The content of the course involved ongoing critical readings, discussion and student writings about a variety of dance experiences.
3.2.2.2 The Concert Context
Guidelines for developing the papers for this study stipulated that each of the students produce a written response to a concert called “The Consigliere Collection.”47
Produced in partial fulfillment of requirements for an MFA degree in Dance, graduate student Jim Cappelletti selected the title of the concert in reference to a central character in a series of films known as “The Godfather” trilogy.48 As Cappelletti explains in a program note for the concert, the term consigliere means to advise, a function which
Cappelletti considered representative of his role as concert director while reflecting his
Italian/American heritage.
The role of advisor was an appropriate title for Cappelletti in this venture. He had elected to produce a “repertory concert,” a collection of works by various choreographers, rather than an evening of works by a single artist. As a specimen for a student critical writing assignment, the concert offered the probability of excellence:
Cappelletti had come to the Department of Dance after working professionally as a dancer, and his ambitious project was strengthened by ties he had to choreographers
47 See Appendix C for a chronological list and description of the components of the program for this concert.
48 These popular films, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, were released in 1972, 1974, and 1990. 68 outside of the department. As anticipated, his project yielded an exemplary evening of choreography and performance, and constituted an ideal subject for an engaging writing experience.
3.2.2.3 Data Selection
The course from which the study was derived included both critical readings and discussion, as well as a continual series of short writing assignments both in and outside of class. These shorter assignments were augmented by three more substantial papers, for which students were required to produce at least two drafts. Selection of this particular paper for analysis occurred approximately six months after the course had ended. The decision to analyze this paper among many others completed during the course of study, was guided by a number of considerations.
Criteria for selection began with a post-facto review of the nature and pedagogical objectives of each assignment, focused on a consideration of its potential with regard to the research question. Early in this process, I determined to make a selection from one of the three longer papers. Unlike the shorter assignments of the course, these writings had been edited and revised by the students, thus amounting to a writing sample that had been carefully considered, and providing a critical mass for the content analysis.
The first of the three assignments had been based on an exercise described as an
"aesthetic autobiography,” adapted from a course design by Terry Barrett, in which students could trace and articulate selected portions of their personal histories and thus reflect the developing process of their individual engagements with the art form of dance.
Pedagogically, the aim of this paper was to offer students an initial writing experience in
69 which they could enter the topic as experts, and at the same time immerse themselves in an experience of consciousness about their own aesthetic groundings in the art form about which they would be writing for the remainder of the course.
The second paper required that the students attend and write about a live performance of dance. Assigned near the midpoint of the quarter, the task in this paper was to draw from previous short classroom writing experiences based on filmed performances, and to develop a paper based on a full evening of live performance. The students were assigned to produce a paper directed to a general readership, in which they were to construct a general response to their concert experience. Given the assignments already completed and my pedagogical objectives at this point within the ten week period of study, the students were assigned to emphasize descriptive and interpretative writing, though the paper criteria49 had indicated that it would be acceptable for an evaluative sense to emerge through other writing choices.
The final paper returned, of necessity, to the medium of film,50 but proposed a reading audience with a deeper base of knowledge in the dance domain, such as the readers of an essay or scholarly article on a specific single work of dance. In this case, the students were given a choice of two substantive dance works for the assignment, both
49See Appendix D for the assignment as given to the students.
50I make this point because one of the considerations in developing coursework in dance criticism is the availability of dances to write about. In any given quarter in my own academic institution, for example, writing must be tailored around available performances, and then supplemented by film, rehearsals, and studio exercises
70 choreographed by prominent contemporary choreographers. They were asked to examine a specific aspect of the selected work, and to establish a persuasive point of view regarding that aspect.
The first paper was eliminated for this analysis, based on its personal content rather than a critical examination of a specific dance event. The third paper was deemed less desirable for two reasons. In the first place, it offered a choice of two dances about which to write and thus yielded a smaller sampling of papers for the purposes of comparative study. In addition, since the assignment had been based on a filmed record of dance, the writings it produced precluded the live engagement central to the ideal dance viewing experience, and was thus deemed less desirable for both research and pedagogical ends.
After careful consideration, the second of the three papers was selected as the best choice for analysis. In the first place, this assignment involved writing about a live event, precluding repeated viewings of the works under consideration, and thus more imitative of the actual task of a dance critic writing for a local paper. Secondly, as a repertory dance concert, this event brought together the works of six individual choreographers and thus offered a wide variety of movement styles and choreographic approaches for the writers to consider. Finally, the concert represented an exceptional graduate project, combining a strong cast of well-rehearsed dancers and a high level of choreographic offerings under the umbrella of a single concert.
In selecting this paper as the source material for the study, the open-ended features of the assignment also emerged as a significant factor. That students were not
71 guided to take an inclusive approach to all six dances on the concert program, nor asked to approach the dances in any particular order, held interesting possibilities for analyzing a variety of individual responses to the concert.
Another factor that guided the selection of this particular writing assignment was the potential that this concert held for future research, since it had been professionally video-taped for an airing on local public television, and could thus be used for subsequent inquiries. In addition, the range of choreographic offerings that comprised the concert extended the potential for future study, since the concert featured the work of several acclaimed artists, allowing for the possibility of a later comparative analysis, examining student writings about the concert works in relation to those of professional critics.
3.2.2.4 Limitations of the Data Selection
The selection of this paper was not without its own circumstantial challenges, however. Based on the goals of artistic director Cappelletti, the assigned concert was designed to appeal to a particularly general audience. In specifically marketing the concert to attract viewers not accustomed to watching dance, Cappelletti had attempted to optimize the experience of these viewers by inserting into the concert a series of video clips, providing “behind-the-scenes” rehearsal footage and interviews with each of the six choreographers and several of the performers. In addition to viewing the featured dances, audience members experienced the presence of a videotape introducing the concert itself, and each of the individual pieces comprising it. This unconventional addition introduced an element not usually present in the concert experience, and one that demanded special treatment within the design of the analysis, as will be seen shortly.
72 At the opening of the concert, then, and prior to each dance, a large video screen dropped down onto the stage area, and audience members were given a glimpse into the processes and purposes of the choreographers and dancers rarely available to a typical concert audience. This created an added element to which the writers would in turn respond in their papers; it also created an unusual source of information, from which the writers could draw in constructing their responses.
In terms of the research question, this added element necessitated special attention, since the source of information from which the writers could draw in responding to the performance became significant as a coding category. In my view, however, this addition also added a layer of richness to the assignment, and its potential drawbacks to the research design were outweighed by the advantages it offered and the outstanding quality of the concert itself.
3.2.2.5 The Study Population
The group of writers who produced the texts for this study represent a mixed group of writers, whose reasons for taking the course varied from the desire to strengthen perceived weaknesses in writing skills, to the desire to improve abilities in this area, to the desire to learn more about the analysis of dance or the practice of dance criticism.51
An upper-level offering, the course drew an enrollment that exceeded its limit of ten students. The final classroom population consisted of ten graduate students in dance,
51Appendix A consists of transcripts of the student questionnaires. Questionnaire I, question 6 is particularly relevant to this point.
73 including one man and nine women; and two undergraduate women: one third year dance major, and one fourth year Honors English major, who entered with a substantial background in tap dance.
3.2.2.6 Limitations of the Study Population
One paper was produced in response to this assignment by each of the pool of twelve writers in the classroom population. Because two of the writers were involved in the concert production, one as a performer and one as a lighting designer, they were unable to view the concert in its entirety and were given an alternate concert to attend, which came to be excluded from the analysis, since the difference in assignment precluded a comparative study. A third student’s work was eliminated due to pronounced grammatical challenges on the part of the writer, which surfaced as the course proceeded.
Because the sentence structure and syntax in this writer’s work were so incongruous, it was impossible to break the sentences down into the smaller segments adapted as the unit of measurement for the study, and inferences about the ideas expressed through this language were impossible to decode with an acceptable degree of confidence.
3.2.3 The Analyst’s Role in Partitioning the Data
Krippendorff asserts that the researcher is obliged to make explicit assumptions about the origin of the data, as well as assumptions about how the data and their environment interact (27). In the case of the present study, several points merit disclosure in this regard. The first of these is my own role as both analyst and instructor of the
74 course in which the writings were produced, thus casting the study as a form of “action research.”52 At the time when the papers for the analysis were produced, I had already established an interest in using the course as a basis for an undetermined study. Although the exact parameters of the anticipated project were unknown during the ten-week course in which the writings were produced, I had speculated that a case study of the course itself might become a research topic. As a result, I maintained records of many aspects of the progress of the course, including lecture and field notes, copies of all written work, grading records, and questionnaires conducted at the opening and closing of the quarter of study. In addition, permissions to use student work for the purposes of an undetermined study were sought and granted.53 In general, some of the data generated by these broad, early research intentions became an asset as the study progressed.54 As noted earlier, however, the selection of the papers used for this analysis was not known at the time the assignment was created, the writings were produced, nor the assessments of the papers within the structure of the course of study were made.
A second set of considerations about the ways in which my role as analyst partitioned the reality of the data concerns my position as educator within the study. I
52As a general term, “action research” suggests an interactive relationship between the researcher and the study population. Although the term is sometimes used to connote research in which the researcher and study participants work together to create social change in the lives of the participants (Marshall and Rossman, p.4), I am using the term simply to indicate an educational research model in which the researcher and teacher are the same individual.
53 See Appendix B for Human Subjects research protocol and permission form, a copy of which was signed and dated by each student.
54 Although all sources of data actually used in the study will be disclosed in turn, suffice it to say here that the questionnaires were useful in assembling a characterization of each writer, and the fieldnotes were also helpful in this regard.
75 bring to the classroom and therefore to this study an extensive base of knowledge in the dance domain, and this knowledge has informed both the design of the paper topic for the study, the choice of concerts for the assignment, and the knowledge of the discipline that
I bring to the reading and analysis of the papers. More specifically, it is important to note that I also attended the concert about which the students wrote, and therefore also bring my own viewing of the works and familiarity with the concert to my readings of their papers.
Although more will be said in the final chapter about the concentric layers of the hermeneutical circle which constitute the boundaries of this study, suffice it to say here that as instructor, my attendance at the concert about which the papers were written, became a significant factor in the framework and coding of the analysis. Krippendorff addresses this issue directly when he declares:
Evidence about the empirical connection between data and what is to be inferred from them is obviously important in any content analysis. . . . It is this knowledge that enables a researcher to place his data in a suitable context, to render them indicative of phenomena outside of themselves, and thus provides him with a logical bridge for making inferences. (172)
In summary, this specific study emerged from assumptions I have formed as a dance educator, arts advocate, and writer. In my personal experience as well as in my professional endeavors, whether writing about dance, or teaching its history, analysis or theory, I have found the writing experience an invaluable ally to the development of understanding. Not only does writing about dance oblige the writer to produce a verbal record in response to a non-verbal form, but it also induces the writer to organize her thoughts in a way not mandated by more casual speech acts following a concert. I believe
76 that this additional reflection on and organization of ideas through the writing process serves to enhance understanding about both the art form in general and the specific event in particular; furthermore, I believe that it holds the potential to foster self-knowledge.
These beliefs and assumptions guided both my design of the course in which the papers were produced, and the selection of a topic for the papers. My role as educator put me in a position to become familiar with the student writers and to join them in viewing the assigned concert.
3.3 Purpose for the Analysis
Krippendorff also makes the point that it is necessary to acknowledge that there is not any one, single meaning in a given message or collection of data. Because the same text or data field can be analyzed from multiple perspectives, depending on the aims, background and assumptions of the researcher and the context for the study, it is necessary to clarify the research target and to render it as transparent as possible in the presentation of the analysis.
In the present study, my interest has been to investigate what kinds of understandings about dance are revealed in student writings about the art form. In the introductory chapter, I described the relatively low incidence of curricular offerings designed to support such writing as well as the lack of scholarship to inform the development of these courses. Because there is no existing research based on student writings about dance, speculations about their value remains more theoretical than
77 grounded. For these reasons, I was particularly interested in “unpacking” a group of writings about dance, in order to look deeply at how they were constructed and what that might have to say about the value of such work.
3.3.1 Writings as Evidence
How does one investigate student understanding about a non-verbal form such as dance? One avenue for the analysis of understanding in dance studies is to look at the non-verbal products students generate in response to it. A learner interested in choreography might be evaluated through the compositions she creates; a notation student might be assessed by the movement he translates into notated form, or by the movement he recreates from a written score. As an advocate for the writing experience as a curricular activity, it interested me to go directly to texts produced by student writers, in an attempt to “open them up,” to take them apart to see how they are constructed, to examine post-facto how and what they might reveal about students’ understandings of dance. Content analysis offered an ideal tool for this exploration.
Ultimately, a dance education suggests an area of study in which the student comes to understand the form. Such an education might typically center upon performance, composition, history, notation or theory. In all cases, however, studies that allow the student to refine the ability to be articulate about the art form are useful, and might take the form of speaking or writing. Little has been codified, however, about how these pursuits might be approached pedagogically.
I have many opportunities to procure student writings on dance. In my work as an educator, I teach a variety of courses within the dance discipline, ranging from
78 undergraduate and graduate contemporary dance history courses, to dance criticism, to a graduate seminar dealing with “current issues” in dance and performance. In each of these courses without exception, I assign and receive papers. The texts for this particular study were selected from the course on dance criticism, a unit of study in which both speech and written activities form the central transaction of the coursework. This course seemed to have the most pointed association with what it is that has been absent from dance curricula, and therefore the potential to illuminate the possibilities and limitations for such work. In analyzing student understandings, I hope to produce evidence and gain insight into whether and how the writing experience is a justifiable and valuable one in fostering student understandings about dance.
3.4 Preliminary Procedures
3.4.1 Baseline Descriptions
Sydney Walker, a professor in Art Education at Ohio State University with expertise in content analysis, suggested several preliminary steps prior to conducting the analysis of the student writings. Following her recommendation, I first reviewed the video-taped document of the dances, and established a brief written description of each of the components of the concert. These summaries yielded a set of baseline descriptions of each dance, offering a view of the concert independent of the student writings. They have been integrated into the analyses of individual dances in chapter four, section two, where they precede the analysis of student writings based on each of the six dances of the concert.
79 3.4.2 Formation of Categories of Understanding
Walker also recommended that once I had created descriptions of the dances, generate an initial projection of what kinds of things I might expect student writings about them to reveal. Asking the question, “What kind of understandings about dance might someone gain by witnessing and writing about this concert and these dances?” I created an extensive list of ideas, based upon the descriptions of the dances I had produced, which became a means for conceptualizing the research questions for the coding sheets.
3.4.3 General Impressions of the Student Writings
Walker suggested one last preliminary step before embarking on the close readings of the student papers. Following this advice, I read each of the papers and recorded some general impressions about each of them before proceeding with the analysis. I recorded these impressions, and have used them to introduce each of the writers in Chapter four, section one.
3.5 Stages of the Analysis
Once these preliminary steps had been completed, the business of engaging in a close reading of the papers commenced. Initially, I began my approach to the papers by attempting to search for and color-code kinds of understandings, based in part on the list of potential understandings I had generated. This approach quickly proved ineffective,
80 however. I found that the writings were too dense to be approached in this way, and that understandings were often interwoven within a single sentence, amounting to overlapping color codes, which became difficult to decipher.
This initial stage eventually gave way to a more extensive analysis, yielding a series of questions that required breaking down the students’ sentences and developing the resulting coding sheets that were designed to guide systematic scrutiny of the papers.
In this and other ways, the design of the study was emergent in nature, with both ques- tions and categories for the analysis drawn out of the data, rather than superimposed from an a priori position at the outset of the study.
3.5.1 Emergent Questions
Questions that I wanted to answer in order to get at the underlying elements of student understandings thus arose gradually as I worked with the papers, and eventually resulted in the following list:
• What type of information is the student using in writing this paper?
• From what source of information is the student drawing this writing?
• What traditional critical activities does the student employ in writing this paper?
• What kind of understanding about dance does this writing reveal?
These questions then formed the basis of the coding sheets that were used to sort and quantify the answers to the questions.
81 3.5.2 Refining the Instrument
The initial analysis produced a variety of negative instances,55 which then became the source for additional theorizing and new categories for analysis. During the early process of analysis, the coding sheets were refined several times. Color-coding was used in the early stages both to label certain kinds of writing activities, such as the use of metaphor in the writings, as well as to mark a variety of elements that were troublesome or unclear. Although the color-coding system and several additional questions were later discarded in favor of a more transparent design, the early grounded stages of developing the instrument were formative in the final design and formulation of the coding sheets, which will be described in the following section.
3.6 The Coding Sheets
3.6.1 Units of Analysis
Content analysis methods can be applied to an indeterminate spectrum of research units. In the case of language “texts,” a line-by-line analysis can be conducted, or searches can proceed for individual words, phrases, grammatical elements, idiomatic elements, and key words, among others. The unit for an individual analysis can thus be tailored to the research project under consideration. In order to arrive at the answers to the research question specific to this study, it became clear that the unit for analysis
55A “negative instance” in qualitative research terminology refers to a piece of the research puzzle that is resistant to expected outcomes. Sometimes, these “pieces” remain recalcitrant and are disclosed as such in the research conclusion; in other cases, these initial obstacles yield refinements of the research design. This study, as is more often the case, yielded both of these outcomes 82 would be small, in most cases limited to a segment of each sentence. Initially, I attempted to conduct the analysis by isolating the complex subject and complex predicate, but most often these units had to be reduced further in order to answer the questions I was posing.
While individual words would not yield the answer to kinds of understandings student writings revealed, whole sentences, which vary in complexity, were in most cases too cumbersome. As the study developed, the research questions produced the coding categories for analysis, and these in turn determined the unit of analysis.
3.6.1.1 The Papers
For the purposes of the study, each of the twelve student writers was assigned an identification number. These numbers allow for writer confidentiality while also permitting the level of identification necessary to organize and present the research. The writer/identification number correlation is not known to anyone but the analyst and is not disclosed at any point in the study. Because three student papers were eliminated from the study, these numbers constitute gaps in the final list of coding sheets. The nine papers used in this study are therefore represented by the following identification numbers: n1, n2, n3, n6, n7, n8, n9, n10 and n12. These numbers, which are ascribed to the individual writers, each of whom produced one paper, are used interchangeably in the text of the study to represent both the writer and the writer’s paper.
83 3.6.1.2 Paragraphs and Sentences
As the basic unit for research, each of these papers was also numbered by paragraph. Therefore, the label “n3:P2” refers to the second paragraph in the paper produced by writer n3. Within each paragraph, individual sentences were also assigned a number, following the linear progression of sentences within the paragraph and then beginning again with each new paragraph until the end of the paper was reached.
Therefore, n6:P1/2 refers to the first paragraph by writer n6, and isolates the second sentence of that paragraph, whereas n6:P4/2 isolates the second sentence of the fourth paragraph, and so on.
3.6.1.3 Sentence/Segments
Within each sentence, any segments subdivided for separate analysis were also numbered in a sequential progression, so that n8 P4/5.3 refers to the third segment of the fifth sentence in the fourth paragraph written by n8. Proceeding in this way, every segment of each paper has been assigned a unique number, making it possible to pinpoint and retrieve any sentence segment of the nine papers analyzed in the study. In the chapters remaining, I will adapt the parenthetical citation convention of MLA style to identify all segments used as exemplars in the analysis in the same way: the writer will be identified by “n” and the number of the paper, followed by a colon, followed by a capital
“P” to indicate the paragraph number, followed by a slash to separate the sentence number, and further subdivided by a decimal point and the number for each sentence segment.
84 The guiding categories that comprise the coding sheets underwent an ongoing refining process as the study proceeded, eventually yielding the categories which are explained below. Each category is followed by the coding instructions used to assign the given student’s writing segment to that category. The categories will be described in the order in which they appear from the top of the coding sheet to the bottom, and from the left margin of the coding sheet to the right.
3.6.2 Coding Sheet Design: Horizontal Organization
The top of each coding sheet contains three rows of basic information, which regulate and identify the remaining rows of analysis of each student’s paper. These top tiers of the coding sheets identify the typologies that govern the remainder of the columns and rows of each sheet.
3.6.2.1 Row I
In the top left section of each sheet, there is a small area in which the number of the paper/writer is placed in bold, slightly enlarged type. Immediately adjacent and horizontal to this number is a section highlighted in Table 1 in grayscale, which displays the title, if any, of the student’s paper. Moving across the row to the immediate right is a number which represents the total word count for this paper. Thus, Table 1 represents the top row of each of the papers, with its corresponding category of information.
n # Title word of paper count
Table 1: Design for the top row of each of the coding sheets 85 3.6.2.2 Row II
Immediately beneath this row of information in each of the coding sheets is a row which provides the headings for the columns that are used to designate each category of information for the coding sheet. Each heading refers to a basic unit of information excavated in the analysis, which will be explained below. Table 2 represents the same format which is used in the coding sheet for each of the nine papers. In order to illustrate the relationship of this row to the one that preceded it, I have added it to the previous row
(see Table 1): n# Title word of paper count sentence/ type of info clarification source kind of critical segment of info understanding activity
Table 2: Design for the top two rows of the coding sheets.
3.6.2.3 Row III
Table 3 illustrates the third row, which is located immediately below the other two, and contains the paragraph number, the subject of the paragraph, and the word count for the paragraph: n # Title word of paper count sentence/ clarification type of info source of kind of critical segment info understanding activity P # subject of word count of paragraph paragraph
Table 3: Design for the top three rows of the coding sheet
86 3.6.3 Coding Sheet Design: Vertical Organization
In the following section, I will delineate each of the categories, with their corresponding coding questions, in turn. I will address the categories in the order in which they appear on the coding sheets, beginning with the left side of the sheet and proceeding to the right, beginning with the numbering column at the far left of the sheet.
3.6.3.1 The Numbering Column
Located at the far left edge of each page of the coding sheet, aligned immediately below the sections that contain both the number of the writer and the number of the paragraph, are the cells which identify the numbers of the sentence or sentence segment.
The numbering system is sequential, beginning anew with each new sentence. Thus, in
Table 4, the numbering system on the left indicates that the column will deal with sentence one, divided into three segments, and sentence two, divided into two segments:
sentence/segment 1.1 1.2 1.3 2.1 2.2
Table 4: Numbering system for sentence and sentence segments.
87 3.6.3.1.1 Micro-Numbering Issues
As the coding process evolved, special circumstances gave rise to two adaptations within the numbering system, both of which involve the designation “isolated word” or
“isolated phrase” under the “type of information” category of the coding sheets.
3.6.3.1.1.1 Isolated Words/Phrases
The first of these emerged as a result of what I would characterize as “embedded segments” — small units of meaning that could not be isolated from the larger clauses or sentences in which they appeared without changing their meaning, yet which connoted information distinct enough to be considered separately within the coding system. In these cases, I have employed an “A” and “B” system, which allows for an indication within the coding system that a given sentence segment has a numerical match, yet merits some distinction/s within the analysis. Table 5 exemplifies the procedure for treating such segments. Here, the word “upbeat” is considered as an embedded segment within its unit of analysis, because it is integral to the phrase, yet yields significant distinctions in the remaining column or columns of analysis. Note that square brackets are used to enclose the word within the “A” row, indicating that this segment will be treated as if the bracketed material were not present; subsequently, the segment is removed from brackets and given separate consideration in the “B” row. While the example shown in Table 5 gives a truncated view of the coding sheet, distinctions in both the “type of information” and kind of understanding” columns are already apparent.56
56Although these rows are abbreviated here, the complete coding sheet for n6 is included in Appendix F. 88 n8
sentence/ type of kind of segment clarification info understanding
P3 composer Set to the [upbeat] Argentinean and style 1.1a tango of Astor Piazzola of music music factual lively, a reference to isolated tempo and word: 1.1b upbeat mood music qualitative tempo and mood of the music Table 5: Exemplar of the numbering system for “embedded segments” of information.
3.6.3.1.1.2 Double Meanings
A second adaptation of the numbering system occurs when there is a “double meaning” for a given segment of the analysis. Similar to the “embedded segment” pattern, this special circumstance encountered within the analysis prompted the same kind of “A” and “B” treatment already discussed. In the case of double meanings, however, I have eliminated the square brackets and instead indicated the special circumstance by repeating the selected unit of analysis exactly, using italics rather than plain text. Table 6 exemplifies this procedure with an example from the paper of n12.
3.6.3.2 Sentence/Segment
In this second column from the left, the full text of the student paper is provided, in vertical format, from the top of the coding sheet to the bottom, exactly as it was
89 written. As indicated in Table 3.6, each paragraph is numbered, and within the paragraph, each sentence is numbered. Further division and numbering of sentences into segments
n12 sentence/ kind of segment clarification type of info understanding
P6 introduces the 1.1a Next on the runway work that follows program order empirical references"Ciona," the isolated phrase: title of essay. . . program order 1.1b Next on the runway hermeneutical
Table 6: Exemplar of the numbering system for “double meanings” within units of analysis. governed by their ability to provide a single answer to the question that defines each of the guiding categories. Thus, a sentence is divided when the answer to any of the remaining horizontal categories contains more than one response.
The following example from paper n2 (Table 7) provides a simple illustration of this function. In this opening sentence of paragraph two, the student has begun the writing with: “Six dancers in shiny, sleek unitards. . .” (n2: P2/1.1 – 1.2), a sentence which is subdivided immediately because it provides more than one answer to the coding question, “What is the general type of information considered in this segment?”57 Since the first part of this segment gives information about concert basics,58 and the second part deals with costume information, it has been subdivided into two parts at this point in the analysis.
57See Table 3.6 for a complete list of components that emerged within this coding category.
58 See Table 7 for a detailed explanation of this category 90 sentence/ type of info P2 segment 1.1 Six dancers concert basics
1.2 In shiny, sleek costume unitards
Table 7: Illustration of sentence division into two segments
3.6.4 Remaining Rows: The Research Questions
Below the top three rows, and to the immediate right of the sentence/segment columns for each paper, lies the bulk of the analysis. The remaining entries for each paper are sequentially displayed, interrupted only by a variation of the third horizontal row, identifying each new paragraph. Table 8. exemplifies the remainder of each coding sheet by presenting a distilled version of the structure for the first two paragraphs of the coding sheet for writer n6.
A Successful n6 Consigliere 752 sentence/ type of source kind of critical segment clarification info of info understandin activity Introduction.1 100 g P1 1 2 3.1a 3.1b 3.2 Introduction.2 77 P2 1 2.1 2.2
Table 8: Design for preliminary rows of first two paragraphs of coding sheet for n6, abbreviated to reveal structure. 91 3.6.3.3 Clarification
As the study got underway, so did the emergence of an informal habit that seemed to be necessary in answering each of the questions that constituted the coding system.
Essentially, this was a means for clarifying the meaning of each sentence/segment by restating it in other words.59 The excerpt featured in Table 9, selected from Brianna’s (n8) paper provides several examples of this process:
n6 sentence/segment clarification Introduction.1 P1 The idea of unification was evident the motivating concept of 4.1 synthesis was clear in Cappelletti’s choice the selections were made by the synthesis 4.2 director was clear to place the premium not only on the the director gave attention to the product, creation of a polished 4.3 performance but also on the process: he also placed value on the manner in which the 4.4 performance was developed each dance was preceded by documentary the concert featured video clips footage of the rehearsals, and interviews highlighting the process and with Cappelletti and the choreographers, as people leading up to the well as the dancers involved in the project. production 4.5
dancers involved in the project. Table 9: Exemplar of “clarification” category of coding sheet, excerpted from n8:P1/4.1-4.5.
59 With reference to my use of Laban-influenced language, the words selected for this task were carefully chosen to avoid that terminology. That is, in re-framing the sentence/segment, I took care to use what Feldman refers to as “unloaded” language (see p 51. of chapter 2 for a discussion of this situation.)
92 Though this step developed unconsciously, as a means of grappling with the students’ written material, it was not originally intended to become a part of the study. As the analysis proceeded, however, it became clear that this clarification process should be made transparent, leaving a record for anyone wishing to review the work.
It also became quickly apparent that there was an interpretive element involved in this process, one that would necessitate a “member check,”60 in which the writers of these papers could review the interpretations that had been made of their work and verify their accuracy. Thus, the clarification process became both the reason for and the means to enable the member checks. In analyzing the students’ writings, I found that I needed to come to terms with the material in my own words, to "re-state" the information in such a way that I could decipher it apart from the words of the writer — to complete the remaining functions, such as the Type of Information column and other categories.
3.6.3.3.1 “Member Checks”
Throughout the analysis, I took steps to triangulate the research methodology. In the case of the “clarification” section, I became acutely aware that, since I had explicitly reworded the statements of the writers, that this constituted an important interpretive element that would have an impact on the remainder of the analysis. I decided then to contact each of the writers after completing the coding sheets, and requested that they
60 60The notion of a “member check” refers to any procedure that allows a participant in a research study to review the work of the researcher. Frequently necessitated in the transcription of interviews, it is often cited in qualitative research literature. See, for example, Janesick, p. 216; Denzin, p.508 and 513; Lincoln and Denzin, 579 –80.
93 review my clarifications of their statements. Each of the writers was thus given the complete set of coding sheets that had been produced from his or her paper, and each of them reviewed the columns representing the sentence/segment and the corresponding clarification column. The writers were asked at this stage to mark any discrepancies found in my interpretations of the writing. As a means of tracking these incidences, I have retained my original interpretations in the coding sheets, and have noted the corrections made by the writers by enclosing the changes in asterisks. The changes requested by the writers were relatively small, but always significant. Most importantly, in all cases of discrepancy, it is the writer’s corrected version of these clarifications that guided the analyses, not my own.
3.7.1 Type of Information
This category is designed to provide a way of looking at the general type of information the student has brought into the writing assignment. As the first category to follow the actual sentence written by the student, it is intended to paint the type of information used by the writer in broad strokes. Answers to this category were generated by asking the question: “What, in general, is this segment of information about? What sort of thing does it deal with?”
Of all the coding categories, this one produced the most extensive list of possible responses. A complete, alphabetical listing of the types of information found in these papers is provided in Table 10, and a thorough breakdown of the number of times any of these items emerged, listed by component and by writer, is provided in Appendix F.
94 art/culture relationship director/dance relationship performer/ensemble relationship audience composition director/work relationship performer/set relationship audience/art relationship directorial role performer/work relationship audience/concert relationship history: dance performers' physical attributes audience/dance relationship history: music/dance audience/director relationship history: work production elements audience/music relationship (isolated word/phrase) program order audience/performer lighting program order/audience relationship lighting/meaning relationship audience/set relationship relationship publicity audience/work relationship lighting/mov't relationship publicity/audience cast selection lighting/performer relationship relationship set choreographer bio lighting/shape relationship set/meaning relationship choreographer/performer lighting/space relationship relationship sound choreographer/work mov't/costume/music/ sound/meaning relationship relationship meaning relationship choreographic comparison mov't/lighting/meaning statement: choreographer relationship choreographic process statement: director mov't/meaning relationship choreographic structure title/meaning relationship mov't/music relationship choreographic style title/set relationship mov't/music/meaning comparison of concert works relationship video concert basics mov't/set relationship video/audience relationship concert collaborators mov't/set/meaning video/concert relationship concert comparison relationship video/work relationship concert concept mov't/sound relationship viewer/concert relationship concert content mov't/space relationship concert documentation mov't: by category viewer/dance relationship concert structure music viewer/video relationship concert type music/meaning relationship viewer/work relationship costume nature of art form work/meaning relationship costume/meaning rela-ship nature of performance work/visual art relationship dance/culture relationship performer bio writer identification performer's skills director bio writing agenda director/concert relationship performer/concert rel-shp
Table 10: List of entries compiled from student writings for “Type of Information”
95 The extensive number of possible components of types of information proved unwieldy for the analysis, and was therefore collapsed into more general groupings of related components, delineated in Tables 8 – 14. In re-configuring these groups, I was guided by the list of types of information themselves. Five major groupings of information utilized by the student writers in their papers emerged from this category of data, which will be considered in individual groupings below:
• Audience/Performance Interaction
• Intrinsic Information
• Extrinsic Information
• Metaphysical Information
• Reflexive Information
3.7.1.1 Audience/Performance Interaction (API)
This broad category of types of information embraces any information found in the papers that is fundamentally concerned with the relationship between the spectator and the performance. Within the category, three sub-categories emerged, including general audience/performance interaction, particular audience/performance interaction, and meta-audience/performance interaction, each of which will be described and exemplified in turn. Table 11 provides a complete list of types of information in this designation.
96 AUDIENCE/PERFORMANCE INTERACTION
GENERAL: audience composition audience/art relationship audience/concert relationship audience/dance relationship audience/director relationship audience/music relationship audience/performer relationship audience/set relationship audience/work relationship lighting/meaning relationship mov't/costume/music/ meaning relationship mov't/lighting/meaning relationship mov't/meaning relationship mov't/music/meaning relationship mov't/set/meaning relationship music/meaning relationship set/meaning relationship sound/meaning relationship program order/audience relationship publicity publicity/audience relationship title/meaning relationship video/audience relationship work/meaning relationship PARTICULAR: viewer/concert relationship viewer/dance relationship viewer/video relationship viewer/work relationship META: dance/culture relationship art/culture relationship
Table 11: Three Types of API Information, listed alphabetically, by subdivision
97 3.7.1.1.1 API General
This subdivision of the Audience/Performance Interaction (API) category includes the majority of components that comprise the category. It includes two basic categories of types of information. The first of these, Section I, presents a list of those units of analysis that specifically refer to the existence of the audience as an element of the concert experience. Section II consists of those units of analysis that are concerned with the audience activity of making meaning.
3.7.1.1.1.1 API General: Section I
This group also incorporates any unit that deals with publicity, since publicity is a function of drawing an audience to the performance. Each of the components that constitute this sub-section of types of information is exemplified below. In order to clarify the labels for these components that make up the first section of the API category,
I have selected an example from the student writings to illustrate each component. The exemplar is in turn followed by the numbering information (in parentheses) which will allows the reader to trace the exemplar back to the corresponding student writing. In order to provide a context for the exemplified matter, it is sometimes necessary to include a bit of the preceding or subsequent sentence excerpt: in these cases, I will highlight that section of the phrase which has been designated with the type of label under consideration by the use of italics.
98 3.7.1.1.1.1.1 Section I Exemplars
• audience composition: “ . . .well-suited for its intended audience, those who are not familiar with modern dance” (n12: P1/2.5).
• audience/art relationship: “Those who hunger for insight into the artistic creativeprocess will have an opportunity to observe . . .” (n1: P1.1).
• audience/concert relationship: “The diversity of this collection was a successful formula for pleasing this audience” (n2: P3/1.3).
• audience/dance relationship: “ . . .is this what a dance novice should have to do when seeing a dance concert?(n7: P8/3.2).
• audience/director relationship: “ . . .and the standing ovation for Cappelletti on the final night was well-deserved” (n6: P2/3.3 – 4).
• audience/music relationship: “. . .the music of Bach returns to comfort the humorous visual and aural dissonance we experienced” (n8: P5/6.4).
• audience/performer relationship: “The film displayed humor and a genuine will on the part of those interviewed to share their enthusiasm for dance with the audience” (n10: P3/2.3 –4).
• audience/program order relationship: “A welcome respite from Hadley's piece was ‘Partial’. . . “ (n8: P5/1.1).
• audience/publicity relationship: “Due to a thorough advertising campaign from October 20-31, the Consigliere Collection was presented to sold out audiences” (n12: P3/1.2).
• audience/set relationship: "If you lose focus for one moment, [it] may roll off stage and kill somebody" (n1: P6/4.2).
• audience/video relationship: “At times, however, it seemed as though his desire to nurture the audience took priority over the works themselves . . . “ (n2: P8/3.1).
99 • audience/work relationship: “One doesn't often see Pilobolus' daring partnering . . .” (n3: P2/1.1).
• publicity: “ It was technically smooth and well-promoted” (n3: P1/2.6).
3.7.1.1.1.2 API General: Section II
The next sub-section of API information includes any unit of analysis that is concerned with the activity of meaning, since this is a function of the spectator interacting with the performance. Examples of each of the components that constitute this category, labeled as Section II, follow:
3.7.1.1.1.2.1: Section II Exemplars
• lighting/meaning relationship: “ . . .they join together and retreat into an indulgent sea of glowing red” (n2: P3/3.3a).
• movement/costume/music/meaning “Such foreign movement, in conjunction with relationship: the unstructured music and futuristic costumes, carried the dancers beyond the human realm” (n2: P2/4.4).
• movement/lighting/meaning “ . . .each dancer undulates one at a time relationship: like a luminous glow worm” (n1: P2/3.5).
• movement/meaning relationship: “The dancers' movements were at times contrastingly freeand energetic, suggesting youth, and memories of days gone by” (n12: P7/3.4 –5).
• movement/music/meaning “’Passing,’ choreographed by Ohio State relationship: University's dance faculty professor Susan Hadley speaks to our own life experiences as we observe life and death through movement and music” (n1: P4/1.3).
100 • movement/set/meaning relationship: “Indeed, man's environment responds to his every move” (n7: P7/7.1).
• music/meaning relationship: “I felt the dancers lacked the sexually charged confidence so apparent in the tango” (n6: P6/9.4).
• set/meaning relationship: “The prop itself (the "circle") looks and acts much like a gyroscope as its precision engineering allows it to come alive” (n9: P8/5.3).
• sound/meaning relationship: “. . .clearly defined spatial arrangements to a collection of sound effects and futuristic . . . music” (n10: P5/4.8a).
• title/meaning relationship: “Short, sweet, not more than the title suggests, the plum tarts are five young girls” (n12: P6/2.3).
• work/meaning relationship: “’Passing,’ choreographed by Ohio State University's dance faculty professor Susan Hadley speaks to our own life experiences” (n1: P4/1.2).
3.7.1.1.1.3 Overlapping Categories
Within this category, the second through sixth components listed include the word
“movement” within their designations. After careful consideration of this issue, I chose to privilege the meaning-making property within the component, thereby including these items in Audience/Performance Interaction, rather than placing them in the Movement and Choreography subdivision of Intrinsic Information. Though these components could have been appropriately included in either section, the decision was not arbitrary. As I will discuss later, one of the more stunning properties of language is the slipperiness of the boundaries between words, a reality which was inescapable in this analysis from start
101 to finish. My reasoning in making this particular choice was guided by the recognition that movement is so central to the dance enterprise as to be “understood,” even when it is not directly referenced. Accepting the presence of movement as a given ingredient, then,
I have chosen to foreground the audience/performance interaction when these components emerge in the text. Finally, as I will discuss in the final chapter, not only movement, but also the audience, the writers and myself as analyst are inextricably bound in the layers of interpretation for this study, rendering the divisions I am making here an organizational device, for the purposes of illumination and discussion, rather than an impermeable boundary.
3.7.1.1.1.4 Distinctions between Categories
Before proceeding further, I want to clarify several distinctions between related labels for the types of information categories I have used to analyze this material. In the coding system, the term “dance” indicates the art form as a whole, whereas the term
“work” is used to refer to a specific piece of choreography. With regard to the category
“audience/dance relationship,” for example, n10 writes that “audiences have most often enjoyed . . . full evenings of choreography by one person” (n10: P1/3.1a), a segment of writing which deals with the relationship between spectators and dance in a general way.
Later in the same paper, this writer makes specific reference to the dance “Ciona,” stating that “. . . as the dance progresses, we are treated to a display of precarious poetry” (n10:
P6/8.1a – 8.2a).
Similarly, a coding distinction has been made between the designation of
“viewer” and that of “audience.” When writer n6, for example, states that “applause from
102 the audience was warm-hearted and very enthusiastic” (n6: P2/3.1 –2), she is making reference to a reaction from the entire group of spectators. When writer n7, however, states that “with the rumors of people being turned away, my expectations were high”
(n7: P1/7.1 – 2), she is clearly specifying her own relationship to the concert experience.
These distinctions, which might be characterized as moving from “micro” to “macro” levels of reference, are consistently employed throughout the analysis.
3.7.1.1.2 API: Particular
This sub-category is comprised of those types of information that deal specifically with the relationship between the individual viewer — normally, the writer — and the performance, rather than with a generalized notion of the audience as a group. The components of this sub-category are represented below.
3.7.1.1.2.1 API Particular: Exemplars viewer/concert relationship: “Jim Cappelletti's concert did a rare thing for me” (n7: P8/1.1). viewer/dance relationship: “I realize immediately, the dance will never again be repeated as I see it now” (n1: P1/3.1). viewer/video relationship: “Despite yet another video introduction . . .” (n12: P9/1.1b). viewer/work relationship: “The lights go down immediately. I get chills” (n3: P5/6.6).
103 3.7.1.1.3 Meta-API
This final sub-category is small, but significant in its difference from the other two subdivisions. It is comprised of those types of information that deal with the relationship between performance and the extended public, beyond the confines of the audience attending the concert on a particular evening. The components of this subdivision are represented below.
3.7.1.1.3.1 Meta-API Exemplars dance/culture relationship: “I don't know if the real world can support a truly populist modern repertory dance company . . .” (n10: 10/5.2). art/culture relationship: “What about people of cultures where proscenium-oriented performance, as manifested in European-descended American culture, isn't the only form of expression?” (n3: P8/7.3 –4).
3.7.1.2 Intrinsic Information
The second broad category of types of information is that which encompasses any statement in the students’ papers that deal with the immediate concert experience. Within this category, three significant subdivisions emerged in the student writings, which I will discuss and exemplify separately:
• Movement and Choreography (Table 12)
• Concert and Concert Collaborators (Table 13)
• Theatrical Elements (Table14) 104 INTRINSIC INFORMATION
Movement and Choreography: choreographic structure choreographic style movement: by category Concert and Concert Collaborators: movement/space relationship Concert: performer/ensemble relationship concert basics performer/work relationship concert concept performer's skills concert content concert structure Table 12: Movement and Choreography concert type Subdivision of Intrinsic Information concert documentation program order Theatrical Elements: Concert Collaborators: cast selection costume choreographer bio lighting choreographer/performer relationship lighting/movement relationship choreographer/work relationship lighting/performer relationship concert collaborators lighting/shape relationship director bio lighting/space relationship director/concert relationship movement/music relationship director/dance relationship movement/set relationship director/work relationship movement/sound relationship directorial role music performer bio production elements performer/concert relationship set performers' physical attributes set/performer relationship statement: choreographer title/set relationship statement: director video video/concert relationship Table 13: Concert/Concert Collaborators video/work relationship Subdivision of Intrinsic Information
Table 14: Theatrical Elements Subdivision of Intrinsic Information 105 3.7.1.2.1 Intrinsic Information: Movement and Choreography
In this category, I have placed any statement that is concerned with the raw materials of dance, the movement of the body and its organization into the dance works that make up the concert experience. Culling these components from the list of types of information yields the following list, with its exemplars.
3.7.1.2.1.1 Exemplars choreographic structure: “The repetition and manipulation of this recognizable phrase was enough to provide a satisfying sense of clarity” (n2: P5/6.1 –2). choreographic style: “The first piece on the program "Ciona," . . . choreographed in 1973, was in Pilobolus- fashion a consistent show of dynamic athleticism” (n8: P2/1.2). movement: by category:61 “Dancers stream from the wings with even, sliding leaps, arms raised and heads upturned” (n3: P5/3.1 – 3.3). movement/space relationship: “What seemed to be the only interference of a completely successful piece was the apparent lack of space needed for the specific paths” (n6: P8/4.2). performer/ensemble relationship: “These six performers came across as a closely tied company . . .” (n9: P3/5.2). performer/work relationship: “These . . . dancers brought a sense of maturity and professionalism to a well choreographed, post-modern, piece” (n6: P6/2.4).
61 See p. 102 and Appendix G for a detailed breakdown of this category
106 performer's skills: “I was entranced by . . . Cappelletti’s sense of balance” (n12: P10/8.5).
3.7.1.2.1.2 Movement: by Category
Movement of the body, as the central medium of the dance experience, occupies a predictably substantial portion of the student writings. In proceeding through the coding sheets, I wanted to differentiate the kinds of movement components that the students chose to articulate. While my analysis of movement is informed by the systems and language of Rudolph Laban,62 I also resist the practice — both in labeling the student papers and in my discussion of them — of relying on a lexicon that is too specific to be generally understood.63 Movement categorization, then, is considered in two stages of analysis. At the first level, the category called “movement” is placed in the “type of information” cell, allowing movement references to be distinguished from other types of information in the student papers. Following a colon, an additional label distinguishes between thirty-four basic types of movement,64 providing a useful layer of analysis for characterizing the individual dances, as discussed in chapter 4, section II. These separate movement components have been organized into conceptual groups, identified and exemplified below.
62 This issue is discussed in chapter 2, pp. 46-7.
63 This issue is discussed in chapter 2, p.49.
64 I his secondary level of movement cataloguing is quite general. While it was not my intention to do a microscopic dissection of the movement component, this simple layer of analysis contributed to my analysis of the ways that language reveals student understandings about individual dances. 107 3.7.2.1.2.1 Group I:
Body Parts, Relationship of Body Parts, Body Actions, and Gesture body action: “Slippery, like a cosmic ocean, each dancer undulates” (n1: P3/2.2). body parts: “He flexes his muscles, and sends a violent ripple from his chest to his arms” (n3: P7/5.2a).
(facial) gesture: “. . .they surprised me by smiling serenely at the audience” (n3: P2/5.5). gesture: “. . . with a sequence of clearly executed gestures: wiping, smoothing, and looking” (n10: P9/2.3). locomotion: “Having traversed the space, the dancers have relocated in the upstage corner” (n10: P9/9.1). relationship of body parts: “The tendency for Hauser to off-set the torso from the hips” (n2:P5/3.2).
3.7.2.1.2.2 Group II:
Sequential Actions of the Body cause and effect: “ . . .to see directly the effects of a dancer's momentum, the transfer of energy as it is released from inside the body, and the reactions of the body when it receives impulses from an outside source” (n2: P7/4.2). initiation: “. . .or lead a movement with a smaller and usually less predictable body part . . .” (n2: P5/3.3).
3.7.2.1.2.3 Group III:
Performer Relationships contact: “Bodies balanced against one another in precarious positions . . .” (n6: P3/3.1).
108 performer/ensemble “‘Plum Tarts,’ on the other hand, featured distinctive relationship: characters, each trying to assert her presence within the group” (n2:P3/1.4).
3.7.2.1.2.4 Group IV:
Spatial Issues direction: “. . . But as they strutted toward the back of the stage. . .” (n7: P6/8.2). level: “. . .signified by a motif of looking up or off into the distance” (n2: P6/5.3). space: “. . .the young ladies end up in a line across the front of the stage. . .” (n12: P6/3.2 –3). spatial configuration: “. . . begins with six dancers connected by various body parts in a diagonal line” (n1: P2/1.3). spatial orientation: “. . . each phrase is continuously interrupted by one dancer’s gravitation towards the white light. . .” (n2: P4/2.3). spatial relationship: “They maintain a spatial relationship that symbolizes the Trinity” (n1: P4/2.4).
3.7.2.1.2.5 Group V:
Temporal Issues duration: “. . . and move on — all in three seconds' time. . .” (n2: P2/3.7a). time: “. . . as this woman walks slowly and steadily” (n12: P7/5.2).
109 3.7.2.1.2.6 Group VI:
Manner of Performance degree of challenge/ “. . .the potential of the body to take on nearly impossible difficulty: sculptural forms and architectonic shapes” (n8: P2/1.4a). degree of risk: “. . . of precarious poses and acrobatic dance phrases. . .” (n9: P3/3.4b). flow of movement: “The dancers' movements were at times contrastingly free” (n12: P7/3.2a). manner of performance: “. . .the dancers carefully carved the space around them” n6: P3/2.3a). performer demands: “. . . partnered lifts, requiring tremendous balance, strength and concentration” (n1: P2/5.6). use of energy: “. . .and the eventual burst of energy, whipping turns and quick jumps that follow” (n12: P8/3.4).
3.7.2.1.2.7 Group VII:
Genre and Style genre: “. . .brought a sense of maturity and professionalism to a well-choreographed, post-modern piece” (n6: P6/2.5). style: “Classical ballet lines layered with a modern dance movement style are carefully interwoven” (n1: P4/4.1a).
3.7.2.1.2.8 Group VIII:
Shape, Position, Stillness final image: “The ending is a startling use of one of these stillnesses” (n3: P5/6.1a). opening image: “He begins the dance standing on the floor, arms spread wide. . .” (n3: P7/4.1).
110 shape: “Eight dancers. . . held crouched positions on the floor” (n8: P6/5.5). stance: “. . .ladies. . . strike a pose” (n12: p6/3.4). stillness: “. . . they abruptly stop in sideways poses” (n3: P5/5.3).
3.7.2.1.2.9 Group IX:
Body/Set Relationships body/set relationship: “. . .the way in which Cappelletti ends the piece, trapped upside down within the framework . . .” (n2: P7/5.1a). movement/set “Feet wide apart, arms grasping the metal bars tightly . . .” relationship: (n8: P7/1.2). performer/set “The dancer stands firm and powerful, center stage, amidst relationship: the metalbars within the sculpture” (n7: P7/4.4).
3.7.1.2.2 Intrinsic Information: Theatrical Elements
The final sub-category of intrinsic information consists of that type of information concerned with the theatrical elements of the concert, such as lighting, costume, sound, music, set, and the video footage, which was an integral element in this concert. As with the other categories of type of information, these components emerged from the student writings.
3.7.1.2.2.1 Exemplars
• costume: “Cappelleti wears only a pair of flesh colored tights, is bare-footed, bare-chested . . .” (n12: P10/5.1).
• lighting: “Just when our interest is piqued, they join together and retreat into an indulgent sea of glowing red” (n2: P3/3.3).
111 • lighting/movement relationship: “At one point, she slowly makes her way towards the light” (n3: P4/5.1a).
• lighting/performer relationship: “. . . the dancer is revealed as the lights come up” (n10: P6/3.5).
• lighting/shape relationship: “. . .the saturated merlot hues softened, leaving us with the black silhouettes of five beautiful female bodies” (n8: P3/6.4a).
• lighting/space relationship: “. . . a source of light in the back corner of the stage beckons one woman” (n3: P4/4.2).
• movement/music relationship: “However, the choreography has to be strong enough to not only compliment the music, but shine through the music” (n6: P7/2.1 –2).
• movement/set relationship: “Gradually, the dancer manipulates the sculpture, its motion responding to physical movement” (n7: P7/8.1 – 2).
• movement/sound relationship: “. . .in clearly defined spatial arrangements to a collection of sound effects. . .” (n10: P5/4.7).
• music: “The music by Yaz Kaz hints at a Native American ritual, but clashing metallic sounds make it at once futuristic and ancient . . .” (n12: P10/7.1; 7.3).
• production elements: “. . .production elements by a student crew under the supervision of associate professor David Covey were flawless. . .” (n9: P9/3.2).
• set: “. . .it's formidable, made of two steel arcs about twelve feet across, set perpendicular to each other with inner supporting structures” (n3: P7/1.5 – 6).
• set/performer relationship: “and the Circle Walker, a large, circular sculpture criss-crossed with metal bars, which rolls and curves through the space when manipulated by the weight and touch of the dancer” (n7: P7/2.5).
112 • title/set relationship: “. . . with the large circular sculpture after which the dance is named” (n10: P6/1.6).
• video: “Scenes of dancers in various studios learning dance phrases is overlaid with the personal commentary of the choreographers . . .” (n9: P2/5.1 –5.3).
• video/concert relationship: “The program offered a wide variety of choreographic works intended for a non-dance specific audience, as well as an instructional black and white video between each piece” (n6: P1/4.1 – 4.3b).
• video/work relationship: “Although danced beautifully . . . were almost limited by the preceding video introduction” (n6: P5/6.6).
3.7.1.2.3 Intrinsic Information: Concert and Concert Collaborators
The next subdivision of the Intrinsic Information category of types of information is that which deals with student statements about the concert and those who participated in producing it. This category is further sub-divided into two units, which consider the concert and the concert personnel separately. Accordingly, I shall delineate each of the two lists of components individually.
3.7.1.2.3.1 Concert Exemplars
• concert basics:65 “Jim Cappelletti made a controlled debut in his role as Artistic Director in the presentation of the Consigliere Collection, An Evening of Repertory Dance, at the Sullivant Theatre of the Ohio State University” (n9: P1/1.1; 1.3 – 4).
65 This category is discussed in detail on pp. 111 – 12. 113 • concert concept: “The idea of unification was evident in Cappelletti’s choice to place the premium not only on the product, but also on the process” (n8: P1/4.1; 4.3-4).
• concert content: “The choreography presented was certainly varied, in line with the artistic director's intentions” (n10: P4/1.1).
• concert structure: “The evening concludes with a duet by Cappelletti . . .” (n2: P7/1.1).
• concert type: “. . .but Cappelletti's graduate project, an elaborate repertory concert . . .” (n2: P1/2.4a).
• concert documentation: “Cappelletti’s efforts also arranged to have the concert video taped by WOSU for future airing” (n12: P3/2.2 –3).
• program order: “A very wise choice as a program closer for several reasons” (n9: P8/2a).
3.7.1.2.3.2 Collaborators Exemplars
• cast selection: “In partial fulfillment of his MFA at the Ohio State University, and culling performers from the ranks of graduate and undergraduate students in the Dance Department . . .” (n10: P2/2.2).
• choreographer bio: “. . . choreographed by third-year graduate student Angie Hauser” (n8: P5/1.2b).
• choreographer/performer “She is objective in viewing the work relationship: choreographically, but becomes subjective to the experience when she is dancing with her peers, which she clearly enjoys” (n1: P5/9.3 –4).
• choreographer/work relationship: “Hauser has worked well within the trio structure, playing with unison, duets and solos . . .” (n6: P6/3.1 –2).
114 • concert collaborators: “Cappelletti's concert. . .brought dancers and choreographers together in collaboration” (n7: P2/1.2).
• director bio: “Though it was a sort of practice run for Jim Cappelletti, who plans to someday direct a professional repertory company of his own . . .” (n3: P1/2.3).
• director/concert relationship: “Nevertheless, the Consigliere has proven himself a skillful artistic director” (n2: P8/5.1). • director/dance relationship: “. . . had Cappelletti found a way to make our art form more accessible?” (n7: P1/6.2).
• director/work relationship: “As Jim mentions in his experiences with ‘Circlewalker’. . .” (n1: P7/4.1).
• directorial role: “Jim Cappelletti served as creative liaison between his company of dancers. . . and an array of choreographers” (n12: P2/1.3 –4). • performer bio: “The Consigliere himself closes the evening with. . . a signature solo from his Momix days” (n12: P10/1.7).
• performer/concert relationship: “The concert appeared well rehearsed. . .” (n9: P9/3.1).
• performers' physical attributes: “Five women of all different shapes and sizes” (n7: P2/3.6).
• statement: choreographer: “Tipton also states, "I think all the dances I make are sexy” (n3: P3/3.1).
• statement: director: “Cappelletti states in the first segment of the video that he wanted a concert that had ‘something for everyone’” (n3: P8/2.1 –2).
3.7.1.2.3.3 “Concert Basics” Category
The basic journalistic questions of “who, what, where, and when” account for a significant proportion of the student writings. Given that my search was focused on
115 understanding, however, I viewed this category as fundamentally propositional in nature, rather than a revelation of higher-order thinking about the concert. As I will demonstrate in chapter 4, this information is often derived from the program or from the video clips, and thus represents a reiteration of transmitted information, rather than a function of critical understanding, and it became expeditious to isolate this kind of information into a general category that I have called “concert basics.” Once the coding sheets were completed, I made a thorough review of this category in order to excavate its contents, and produced the following list of individual components, which delineates the range of information placed in this category (Table 15).
Who? What? Identification of concert personnel: Concert components: director video related presenters: WOSU-TV # of performers choreographers # of choreographers performers # of works composers relative size of works in concert set designer relative age of works in concert gender of performers titles of works roles of concert personnel program order of works sculptor/set designer year of works composer previous performance of a work affiliations of concert personnel concert title Professional/student status of concert size of cast personnel When? Where? Date of concert location of concert time of concert
Table 15: List of components that make up “concert basics” category of type of information, arranged according to journalistic questions, Who? What? Where? When?
116 3.7.1.3.Extrinsic Information
Extrinsic information refers to any type of information that is derived from outside of the immediate performance event. Although it is not a large category at this level of domain expertise, it remains a significant one, providing a means for inserting relevant personal knowledge into the discussion of the concert works (Table 16).
EXTRINSIC INFORMATION
choreographic comparison concert comparison history: dance history: music/dance history: work work/visual art relationship
Table 16: Extrinsic Information Category of Type of Information
3.7.1.3.1 Exemplars
• choreographic comparison: “This work is a "Cirque Du Solei"- like interface” (n9: P8/4.1).
• concert comparison: “She had seen Trisha Brown recently at the Wexner Center for the Arts and had seen Jim Cappelletti's MFA dance project with the Ohio State University's dance department.” (n7: P1/2.3).
• history: dance “Modern dance in the US has been primarily a movement driven by the idiosyncratic vision of choreographers” (n10: P1/1).
• history: music/dance: “Composer Philip Glass has been frequently used by choreographers this past decade, such as Twyla Tharp and Doug Varone” (n6: P7/1.1 – 1.3). 117 • history: work “Hauser, Cappelletti and Jacobs are the original dancers of this work, which has appeared at the American College Dance Festival and on other Ohio State University programs.” (n9: P6/3.4 – 5).
• work/visual art relationship: “This pair is introduced to the audience in a Da Vinci-like image. . .” (n2: P7/2.2).
3.7.1.4 “Metaphysical” Information
Yet another category of information exists in the students’ inclusions of metaphysical information. This term, sometimes synonymous with the word
“supernatural,” is used here in a more literal sense. Merriam -Webster defines the term to mean “highly abstract or theoretical;” “of or relating to the transcendent or to a reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses”; “of or relating to the system of principles underlying a particular study or subject.” Although metaphysical information represents only a small fraction of the types of information used in the student papers, it does occur in several instances, and thus required identification in the study (Table 17).
METAPHYSICAL INFORMATION
nature of art form nature of performance
Table 17: Metaphysical Category of Type of Information
3.7.1.4 Exemplars nature of the art form: “Possibly, Cappelletti underestimates how much of the meaning of the dance is inherent in not only the dance itself. . .” (n12: P4/6.2).
118 nature of performance: “. . . every dancer performing takes a risk and a chance in the dance. If your timing is off, it could be over” (n1: P7/2.4 – 3.1).
3.7.1.5 Reflexive Information:
The last category of information is that kind of writing which brings the writer directly into the written discussion. Like the metaphysical category, this component of the writing is small, but fulfills a function in the writing that cannot be conflated with any other. Here, the writer departs, however briefly, from writing about the concert: in a sense, s/he steps “out” of the discussion of the concert to introduce him/herself or to comment on the writing as it is evolving (Table 18).
REFLEXIVE INFORMATION
writer identification writing agenda
Table 18: Reflexive Category of Type of Information
3.7.1.5.1 Exemplars writer identification: "It's better than Trisha Brown," remarked a dance novice as she came into my office.” (n7: P1/1.3). writing agenda: “Of course, all this contextualizing is futile without the dances themselves.” (n10: P4/6.1-2).
119 3.7.2 Source of Information
This category is designed to excavate the variety of sources of information accessed by the student writers in constructing their responses to the concert. In dealing with a transient art form, which comes and goes without leaving an artifact for further scrutiny, I wanted to identify the sources employed by the writers in order to construct their responses. It is the first category to follow the “clarification” of sentence segments, and was driven by the question, “What source of information has this writer incorporated in constructing this segment of the paper?”
To be more accurate, this category might be defined as the "most likely" source of information, since it is not always certain from the papers what source material was actually used by the writer. Program information, such as the names of certain dancers, may have been available to the writers through personal knowledge, for example; the location and dates of the concert may have been known to the writer by means of public channels, such as posters or newspaper ads, rather than accessed through the program.
This uncertainty was of particular concern due to the unusual nature of the concert, which involved the use of video for much of the program information — in some, but not all, cases duplicating the information in the program itself.
In order to insure consistency in this portion of the analysis, I established a schema, based on consultations with colleagues as well as my own domain knowledge.
The resulting hierarchy of source selection privileges the most conventional source of information in those cases when the information could have been derived from more than
120 one source. If information appeared in both program and video,66 for example, I have listed the program as the source of information. In cases which could not be ascertained with certainty, I have marked the item with an asterisk, followed by a brief discussion of my reasoning in privileging one category over another.
The complete list of sources of information that emerged in the analysis is alphabetically listed below, followed by the definition of each item that guided the analysis, and illustrated with an exemplar for each source, derived from the student writings.
3.7.2.1 Source of Information Exemplars
3.7.2.1.1 Association:
Based on the definition “a state of being connected together as in memory or imagination,” (Oxford English ) this designation was applied to those segments of information which appeared to be derived from the writer’s memory or imagination.
"‘Plum Tarts" reminds me of the name of a Cover Girl lipstick I heard cheerleaders raving about in the 1980s” (n1: P3/1.2).
3.7.2.1.2 Awareness of Time:
This category is used when the sentence segment has been informed by the writer’s temporal awareness in viewing the concert.
66 Appendix C includes a description of the video clips along with the other program components 121 “A dancer could catch two people charging across the stage, hold them askew while spinning in a circle, put them down and move on — all in three seconds' time” (n2: P2/3.7a).
3.7.2.1.3 Awareness of the Writing Agenda:
This category is used when the writer interjects a statement acknowledging awareness of the writing task itself, as opposed to focusing on the events of the concert. “How can I write all the above and not even preface the relationship of the concert title ‘The Consigliere Collection’?” (n1: P7/1.1).
3.7.2.1.4 Cultural Knowledge
This designation is used when the writer taps into his or her source of general cultural knowledge or awareness.
“What about people of cultures where proscenium-oriented performance, as manifested in European-descended American culture, isn't the only form of expression?” (n3: P8/7.1 – 4).
3.7.2.1.5 Domain Knowledge
Based on research about distinctions in a learner’s ability to understand works of art depending on his or her status as a novice or expert learner.67 This category reflects those segments that are drawn from the writer’s base of knowledge in the dance domain, distinguishing those statements that could not be made by a novice observer of dance.
67 I have discussed this research in chapter 2, and included a listing of articles by Koroscik, Efland and other scholars who address this topic in the works cited section of this document. 122 “Beyond the University setting however, acquiring high quality choreography is not an easy task and certainly not inexpensive” (n10: P10/2.1 – 2.4).
3.7.2.1.6 Hearing
These sentence/segments are derived from the writer’s sense of hearing.
“. .. the first work of the evening, was originally choreographed by Pilobolus and set against a score of haunting, mechanical sounds by Jon Appleton” (n7: P5/1.4a)
3.7.2.1.7 Hearing and Observation
It is often the case when writing about dance that both sight and hearing have combined to generate a statement. In the case of this particular concert, with its use of video clips between dances, this designation was especially useful. Exemplars which demonstrate both the conventional instance of the interplay between music and movement, as well as information that has been accessed from the video clips, are included below:
“While the movements and changing spatial patterns were fast and seemed to keep time with the music” (n6: P7/4.3).
“The opening is a short video presentation of each choreographer's process in creating their unique works” (n9: P2/4.2).
3.7.2.1.8 Observation
This category designates those segments drawn from the writer’s sense of sight.
“They begin moving frantically downstage left, but each phrase is continuously interrupted by one dancer's gravitation towards the white light casting a narrow, diagonal path across the stage floor” (n2:P4/2.1a – 2.4).
123 3.7.2.1.9 Opinion
Viewing opinion as a “personal belief or judgement not founded on proof of certainty” (OED), this category is used to designate information accessed from the writer’s personal perspective.
“[The concert] was produced as professionally as any student concert I've seen” (n3: P1/2.4a).
3.7.2.1.10 Personal Knowledge
This category is used to indicate information in the text that is factual, but not available through the program, concert or video.
“Cappelletti is a Master of Fine Arts Degree candidate in his third and final year at OSU pursuing the ultimate goal of the directorship of a repertory dance company” (n6: P1/3.1b – 3/2).
3.7.2.1.11 Program
This designation is used to indicate the writer’s use of information provided in the program. Although this information was often included in the video clips as well, the program offered the writer an opportunity to check this kind of information during the writing process, and was therefore privileged as the more likely source of information.
“Our need to beat the time instead of seize the day was the theme explored in "Carpe Diem," a work by Susan Van Pelt” (n8: P6/1.2).
124 3.7.2.1.12 Public Knowledge
This category is used to indicate information not available by other means, but publicly available at the time of the concert.
“Excellent campus-wide publicity ensured that the first two nights saw willing customers turned away at the door” (n10: P2/3.1).
3.7.2.1.13 Self-Awareness
This designation is used to label those segments that are accessed from the writer’s own personal awareness during the viewing of the concert.
“The lights go down immediately. I get chills” (n3: P5/6.6).
3.7.2.1.14 Video
This category indicates that the writer has accessed the information used in a given segment from the video clips that accompanied this concert. Two exemplars are given: the first explicitly identifies the video as the source of information, while the second exemplifies the use of information only available in the video. As already discussed, the program is listed as the most likely source of information when the segment could have been derived from either source.
“The evening opened with a video-program, in which the audience was given a summary of each dance on the program” (n12: P4/1.4).
“Choreographer Allison Tipton likes to make dances that are ‘sexy.’" (n1: P3/2.2 – 3).68
68 Tipton delivers this information in the video clip that precedes her dance “Plum Tarts”
125 3.7.3 Kind of Understanding
As the central quest of the study, this category on the coding sheet attempts to characterize the kind of understanding about dance each sentence/segment reveals about its writer. Categories which describe this phenomenon, like the others, emerged from the papers, and went through several stages of refinement. A conceptual model for student understandings about dance will be presented in chapter 5, and is derived from the following categories.
3.7.4.1 Kind of Understanding Exemplars
3.7.4.1.1 Affective
This category describes a kind of understanding that is characterized by an emotion or a strong feeling. When a sentence segment suggests an awareness of an inner feeling on the part of the student, “affective” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“Just when I had begun to see the dancers as humanoids, able to submit to the group's communal momentum at any time, they surprised me” (n3: P2/5.4)
3.7.4.1.2 Conceptual
Based on the definition of concept as “an abstract or general idea, inferred or derived from specific instances,” (Merriam-Webster) this category describes an
126 understanding that is characterized by concepts or their formation. When a sentence segment reveals the formation of a synthesized idea, based on specific instances of dance,
“conceptual” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“Hauser performs in her own dance, adding her individual expression to a collective whole.” (n1:P5/8.2).
3.7.4.1.3 Empirical
This category indicates that the writer understands dance as a material phenomenon, one that has identifiable matter — bodies, clothing, and various production elements. When a sentence/segment reveals specific properties of dance that are derived from sensory information and experience rather than theory, “empirical” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“. . . one would suddenly peek out from amongst the group's mass of legs, while another would be momentarily left behind” (n2: P2/6.2 – 6.3a).
3.7.4.1.4 Factual
This category refers to a writer’s understanding that various facts — verifiable pieces of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred — can be brought to bear in writing about dance. When a sentence/segment refers to verifiable information that can be confirmed by the reader, “factual” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“‘Ciona’ (1973), choreographed by Pilobolus, was first on the program” (n6: P3/1.1).
127 3.7.4.1.5 Hermeneutical
Adapted from the philosophical concept of a “hermeneutic circle” of understanding, this category that refers to the writer’s acts of interpretation conceptualizing the spectator (writer) and the performance in an interactive sphere of meaning-making. When a sentence/segment indicates that the writer considers what he or she has seen to be about something beyond its material or manifested components,
“hermeneutical” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“Our need to beat the time instead of seize the day was the theme explored in ‘Carpe Diem,’ a work by Susan Van Pelt” (n8: P6/1.1).
3.7.4.1.6 Ontological
This category is used to characterize a writer’s awareness of the nature of dance as an art form. When a sentence/segment refers to inherent properties that make dance uniquely what it is, “ontological” is used to designate that kind of understanding.
“Although over twenty years old, this piece reminds us of the awesome physicality of movement” (n7: P5/2.3a).
3.7.4.1.7 Qualitative
Based on the notion of quality as a distinguishing attribute of something or someone, this category is used to characterize a writer’s statements about such
128 distinctions. When a sentence/segment characterizes the writer’s particular view of the manner in which something was accomplished, “qualitative” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“The Momix/Alan Boeding collaboration is a daring and imaginative ‘Circle Walker’” (n9: P8/1.2).
3.7.4.1.8 Reflexive
This category is used to characterize statements in which the writer refers back to him or herself. When a sentence/segment inserts a first-person awareness on the part of the writer as viewer of the dance event, “reflexive” is used to describe that kind of understanding.
“I realize immediately, the dance will never again be repeated as I see it now” (n1: P1/3.1).
3.7.4 Critical Activity
This category enabled me to plot the "standard" categories of critical writing alongside the others in order to see how they might align themselves with "kinds of understanding" and other aspects of the analysis.
As I have indicated in chapter 2, I have included the standard categories of description, interpretation and evaluation, used by Feldman, Weitz, Barrett, Banes and others, as useful components for this study. In addition to those, I have also incorporated
Barrett’s use of “theorizing” (after Weitz), and Banes’ use of “contextualizing.” Though
Feldman advocates the use of “analysis,” I have felt that this category was easily
129 subsumed by the other categories. Interestingly, Oliver eliminates this critical activity in her model as well, claiming that it is too sophisticated an operation for the average student writer.
3.7.4.1 Critical Activity Exemplars
3.7.4.1.1 Description
“As the lights come up we find the trio in a cluster to the right” (n12: P8/2.1 –3).
3.7.4.1.2 Interpretation
“Monkey agility registers in my mind, only to be replaced fractionally later by thoughts of weightless astronauts” (n10: P6/10.1a – 10.3).
3.7.4.1.3 Evaluation
“The strong opener, ‘Ciona,’ a staple of the Pilobolus company, was obviously a crowd pleaser” (n9: P3/1.1b; 1.3).
3.7.4.1.4 Contextualizing
“Composer Philip Glass has been frequently used by choreographers this past decade, such as Twyla Tharp and Doug Varone” (n6: P7/1.2 –3).
3.7.4.1.5 Theorizing
“Cappelletti's concert also brought another aspect, which for me successfully bridged that gap between elitist art and entertainment” (n7: P2/3.3).
130 3.7.5 Triangulation Measures
It cannot be stated emphatically enough that content analysis is a system that develops and becomes clarified through a constant redoubling effort, as information in one category is clarified and relationships are made between this addition or clarification and existing categories of information. The necessity of returning to the data again and again as the instrument and coding categories emerge and are filtered through evolving layers of analysis becomes one source of checks and balances within the research.
The member checks described earlier in this chapter also provided a measure of triangulation, in testing my emerging interpretations of the data against the perspectives of the student writers. The use of questionnaire data serves this purpose as well, as it provides information from the study population through a separate means from the papers themselves.
Once the coding sheets were completed, four complete sets of sheets were dispersed to four colleagues from both the dance discipline and that of art education, in order to test my consistency in applying the analytical framework to the research material. Finally, the need to continually search back through the individual coding sheets in the quest to find exemplars for the data analysis constituted a significant degree of
“sampling,” allowing me to check coding categorization of the students’ writing in a random manner.
131 For the purposes of illustration, I am including here one complete set of coding sheets, representing Laura’s paper n3 in its entirety (Table 19: pages 134 - 148). The remainder of the coding sheets are included as Appendix E.
132 n3 Something for Almost Everyone 1096 kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P1 Introduction 100 The Consigliere Collection, a [showcase] 1.1a of six dances, concert title; # of works concert basics in program factual descriptive indicates something about the nature of repertory concerts; isolated word: type of domain 1.1b showcase implies an "insider" view concert knowledge conceptual descriptive was an entertaining evening of the evening of dance was *intended 1.2 [proficient] dancing. to be* enjoyable concert/audience rel opinion qualitative evaluative mov't: manner of 1.3 proficient the dancing was of high quality performance opinion qualitative evaluative the director used the concert as a personal 2.1 Though it was a sort of practice run model for future projects director/concert rel knowledge conceptual descriptive 2.2 for Jim Cappelletti, identification of artistic director concert basics in program factual descriptive
133 who plans to someday direct a professional repertory company of his revelation of future goals of artistic personal 2.3 own, director director bio knowledge factual descriptive it was produced as professionally as any as a frequent observer of dance, she 2.4a [student] concert I've seen: finds this one exceptional production elements opinion qualitative evaluative isolated word: type of personal 2.4b student students produced this concert concert knowledge factual descriptive 2.5 it was technically smooth production details were flawless production elements observation qualitative evaluative personal 2.6 and well-promoted publicity was good publicity knowledge factual evaluative the publicity assured capacity personal 2.7 enough to fill the house every night. audiences each performance publicity/audience rel knowledge factual descriptive
Table 19: Coding Sheets for writer n3 kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity
The concert took place at the Sullivant dates and location of concert, 3.1 Hall Theater on Oct 28-31, 1998. which took place in the past concert basics in program factual descriptive involvement of outside community resources in concert; unusual addition of a video A video documentary produced by *between dances* during 3.2 WOSU accompanied the dances, concert concert basics video factual descriptive
3.3 allowing insight to audience members videos were helpful to viewers video/ audience rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative the main beneficiaries of the video component were the audience domain 3.4 that may not have been familiar novice viewers in the audience composition knowledge conceptual descriptive identification of movement domain 3.5 with modern dance. genre featured in concert mov't:genre knowledge conceptual descriptive 134 P2 Ciona 160 It's unusual to see the Pilobolus domain 1.1 One doesn't often see Pilobolus' mov't style audience/work rel knowledge factual descriptive the works of this company are characterized by distinctive relationships between/among domain 1.2a [daring] partnering dancers mov't: rel knowledge factual descriptive isolated word: the ways that dancers work mov't: manner of 1.2b daring together conveys risk-taking performance observation qualitative descriptive the bodies are characterized by a 1.3 and sculptural use of the body carved appearance mov't: shape association empirical descriptive Pilobolus works are usually domain 1.4 outside of that company's own shows, performed only by Pilobolus audience/work rel knowledge factual descriptive source kind of sentence/segment clarification type of info of info understanding critical activity kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity probably because the style is so the mov't style is closely domain 1.5 specific to Pilobolus associated with the company mov't style knowledge conceptual descriptive the mov't is challenging to mov't: degree of domain 1.6 and difficult to learn. replicate challenge knowledge qualitative descriptive This concert gave six [traditionally 2.1a trained] dancers # of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive implication that Pilobolus work requires "non-traditional" isolated words: personal 2.1b traditionally trained training performers' skills knowledge conceptual descriptive This piece gave the dancers an opportunity to attempt domain 2.2 a chance to try their hand (body?) something new performer/work rel knowledge conceptual descriptive performers lift each other in this 2.3a at the [perilous] lifts dance mov't: contact observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 135 the dancers support each other in mov't: manner of 2.3b perilous risky ways performance observation qualitative descriptive 2.4a and [inhuman] shapes reference to body formations mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive the bodily forms appear to be 2.4b inhuman other than human mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive It is rare for non-Pilobolus dancers to try to perform this mov't: degree of domain 2.5 usually only attempted by mov't difficulty knowledge factual descriptive the makers of "Ciona," the members of identification of choreographers 2.6 the Pilobolus company. and company concert basics in program factual descriptive 3.1a Six [silver-clad] bodies, # of dancers concert basics observation empirical descriptive isolated phrase: 3.1b silver-clad color costume observation empirical descriptive 3.2a [chiseled] by aqua and blue light, color lighting observation empirical descriptive sculptural appearance achieved isolated word: 3.2b chiseled through lighting mov't/lighting rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity bent themselves into symmetrical dancers' moved into well- 3.3a [sculptures]. defined, balanced designs mov't: shape observation empirical description the dancers seemed to be carved, isolated word: 3.3b sculptures like statues mov't: shape association hermeneutical interpretive Almost as soon as they had formed, dancers' shapes quickly 4a these sculptures [mutated]. transformed into new ones mov't/meaning rel observation empirical description suggests creatures other than isolated word: 4b mutated human mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive her images of the dance vanished almost as soon as they had 5.1 Just when I had begun to see registered viewer/work rel observation ontological descriptive at times the dancers exhibited 5.2 the dancers as humanoids, *pseudo-* human qualities mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the cooperative group activity is able to submit to the group's communal used to support the "humanoid" 136 5.3 momentum at any time, connotation mov't: rel, energy observation conceptual description suddenly, the dancers made an 5.4 they surprised me unexpected change viewer/work rel observation affective description facial mov't and quality, suggesting a shift in awareness *and a genuine human-ness (cf. 5.5 by smiling 5.2)* mov't: facial gesture observation empirical descriptive mov't conveyed a decidedly mov't manner of 5.6 serenely human tranquility performance association hermeneutical interpretive the facial gestures seem directed audience/ performer 5.7 at the audience. to the spectators rel. observation empirical descriptive source kind of sentence/segment clarification type of info of info understanding critical activity choreographic 6 This happened repeatedly. repetition was used as a device structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive They might have seemed at first like an analogy between the dancers 7.1 single-celled organisms and simpler life forms mov't/meaning rel. association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the dancers' activities of connecting and disconnecting from each other support the 7.2 dividing and joining each other analogy mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive connotes a liquid melange, as 7.3 in a primordial soup, well as a primitive state mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive but then suddenly they'd remind the a shift of "character" occurs in audience/ performer 7.4 audience the dance rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dancers' humanity is again 7.5 that they were only people, highlighted mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive a humorous, circus-like reference to the difficulty of the 7.6 doing tricks. mov't mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive P 3 Plum Tarts 116
137 1.1 Allison Tipton choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive the video which precedes each piece has been filmed for airing statement: 1.2 states in the WOSU video on a local TV station choreographer in video factual descriptive 1.3 about her dance, "Plum Tarts," title of dance concert basics in program factual descriptive I just want it to be big, and about energy choreographer's intention: to statement: 1.4 . . . . make a large, spirited work choreographer in video empirical descriptive 2.1a Five [ravishing] women number, gender of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive source kind of sentence/segment clarification type of info of info understanding critical activity isolated word: performers' physical 2.1b ravishing the performers are beautiful attributes observation qualitative descriptive isolated word: performers' phsical 2.1c ravishing the performers are wild attributes opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity battement, pirouette, and ronde de domain 2.2 jambe, ballet (French) terminolgy mov't: body actions knowledge empirical descriptive a colloquial expression, 2.3 with come-hither facial expressions. indicating seductive looks mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Tipton also states, "I think all the Tipton believes her dances statement: 3.1 dances I make are sexy. emphasize sexuality and allure choreographer in video hermeneutical interpretive statement: 4.1 And that's a good thing." She approves of "sexy" dances. choreographer in video qualitative evaluative Given her desire to make "sexy" The dance illustrates well her dances, this piece is an apt choreographer/ 5 appreciation for sex appeal. exemplar work rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 6.1a The dancers [prowl] the stage the dancers move about the stage mov't: locomotion observation empirical descriptive their mov't is predatory in a isolated word: 6.1b prowl sexual sense mov't: locomotion association hermeneutical interpretive
138 mov't: manner of 6.2 with slinky, their motion is sleek and smooth performance observation empirical descriptive the legs are rotated outward as 6.3a turned out [ballet] walks the dancers travel mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive this rotation is characteristic of isolated word: domain 6.3b ballet ballet mov't: genre knowledge conceptual descriptive and occasionally strike [mock- intermittently, the dancers pause 6.4a flamenco] poses. in specific positions mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive source kind of sentence/segment clarification type of info of info understanding critical activity these poses are unofficial isolated word: domain 6.4b mock-flamenco imitations of the Flamenco style mov't: genre knowledge conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the dance is sweet, tangy, and like a sugary dessert, without much it is saccharine, pungent and not 8.2 substance. very nourishing mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative P 4 Passing 148 Passing, choreographed by Susan 1.1 Hadley title; choreographer of work concert basics in program factual descriptive the dance portrays the depicts two women's struggle with the difficulties two women face in 1.2 death of their friend. losing a friend mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dance starts out with rapid 2.1 They begin moving quickly mov't mov't: time observation empirical descriptive their mov't extends into various 2.2 from the floor to the air, levels of space mov't: space observation empirical descriptive
139 the performers alternate between taking turns supporting and throwing tossing each other and bracing 2.3 each other. each other mov't: contact observation empirical descriptive choreographic 3.1 These repetitive movements these mov'ts are repeated structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive the dancers remain in a particular section of the 3.2 stay in one corner of the stage, performing space mov't: space observation empirical descriptive the repeated mov'ts in this a metaphor for the mundanity of daily confined area connote the 3.3 life. everyday events of life mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Death is present from the dance's an awareness of death is 4.1 beginning: established from the start mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive this presence is represented by a source of light in the back corner of lighting which comes from a 4.2 the stage particular location lighting/space rel observation empirical descriptive this symbolic presence of death lighting/performer 4.3 beckons one woman. draws one of the dancers rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity At one point, she [slowly] makes her the dancer travels toward the 5.1a way towards the light light lighting/mov't rel observation empirical descriptive the movement occurs at an 5.1b slowly unhurried pace mov't: time observation empirical descriptive the remaining pair of dancers 5.2 as the other two moves separately from her mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive they hurl their bodies in front of 5.3 throw themselves in her path her steps mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive they there is a fierce intensity mov't: manner of 5.4 with the abandon of about these actions performance observation qualitative descriptive the intensity of their actions is analogous to a mother's a mother laying down her life for her desperate attempt to save the life 5.5 child. of her child mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive writer specifies personal view of 140 6.1 My impression of the dance the work viewer/work rel self-awareness reflexive descriptive is characterized by this and other the dance was visually 6.2 evocative images stimulating mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive this was an unforgettable 6.3 that are burned in my mind's eye. viewing experience viewer/work rel self-awareness reflexive descriptive a downside of the piece is that it choreographic However, the organization of these rich moved too quickly from one part structure: use of 7.1 images was rushed: to another time opinion empirical evaluation at times, the simple, poetic statements occasionally, the mov't conveyed 7.2 they made clear and evocative messages mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpetive choreographic advanced too quickly to the next images gave way prematurely to structure: use of 7.4 section. the next segment time opinion empirical evaluative P 5 Carpe Diem 117 1.1 Susan Van Pelt's "Carpe Diem" choreographer, title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive the dance is generous in dynamic mov't: manner of 1.2 is an outpouring of kinetic energy. output performance observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 2.1 Nine dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the dance requires maximum 2.2 exhaust themselves, exertion from the dancers performer/work rel opinion empirical descriptive constantly moving one way and then there are continual changes of 2.3 the other. direction mov't: space observation empirical descriptive performers flow onto stage from 3.1 Dancers stream from the wings various entrances mov't: space observation empirical descriptive mov't: body actions, manner of 3.2 with even, sliding leaps, smooth. gliding mode of travel performance observation empirical descriptive uplifted gestures of head and mov't: body actions, 3.3 arms raised and heads upturned. arms space observation empirical descriptive another reference to sustained mov't: body actions, 4.1 These continuous leaps airborne mov't repetition observation empirical dsecriptive
141 suggest an unyielding progression of the constancy suggests the 4.2 time through years, even centuries. relentless mov't of time mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive refers to a point within the flow 5.1 But in the midst of of mov't mov't: time observation empirical descriptive 5.2 this river of time's constant flow, time analogy, reinforced mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive sudden moments of arrest; mov't: space, 5.3 they abruptly stop in sideways poses spatial orientation of body stillness, time observation empirical descriptive suggests timelessness and 5.4 like modern-day hieroglyphics message system mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the poses capture ordinary 5.5 that freeze in time everyday moments. mov'ts mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive The ending is a [startling] use of one of the piece ends with one of these 6.1a these stillnesses: "frozen" moments mov't: final image observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 6.1b startling the ending comes as a surprise viewer/work rel opinion affective descriptive at the moment the music ends, all the dancers observe a musical cue at 6.2 dancers ending mov't/music rel. observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity they focus suddenly on the mov't: gesture; 6.3 look sharply into their open palm, inside of their hands focus observation empirical dsecription suggests an important sense of 6.4 as if they'd lost something precious. loss mov't/meaning rel. association hermeneutical interpretive 6.5 The lights go down immediately. timing of final cue lighting observation empirical descriptive this is a profoundly affecting 6.6 I get chills. moment viewer/work rel self-awareness affective descriptive P 6 Partial 136 1.1 Angela Hauser's dance, "Partial," Choreographer; title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive suggests that Hauser has (had choreographic some fun) *thoroughly explored structure: the possibilities* (with) of the investigation of domain 1.2 plays with the structure form in making this work form knowledge conceptual descriptive choreographic
142 1.3 of a trio. the form of the dance is a trio structure: form observation empirical descriptive they vacillate btwn doing the same mov't together and choreographic 2.1 The dancers move in and out of unison, breaking into separate mov't structure: rel observation empirical descriptive the dancers' obvious awareness 2.2 hardly acknowledging each other of each other is minimized mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive even as their movements perfectly this continues even when the 2.3 coincide. mov't is precisely coordinated mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive the dance opens in a flowing 3.1 The beginning develops smoothly manner mov't: flow observation empirical descriptive the dance builds from a choreographic from a simple [gestural phrase] into a straightforward sequence of structure: domain 3.2a progression mov't into a more elaborate one development knowledge conceptual descriptive the mov't consists of non- 3.2b gestural phrase weight-bearing actions mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive the sequence expands into a traveling sequence in a specific mov't: space. 3.3 that moves down a diagonal. spatial direction development observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the dance becomes less 4.1 From here, a more unpredictable predictable audience/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive the flow of this section is less choreographic 4.2 and disjointed section begins continuous than before structure: contrast observation empirical descriptive
to the sounds of a radio as someone identification of sound source 4.3a [carelessly] flips through the stations. that accompanies mov't mov't/sound rel hearing empirical descriptive an awaited (outcome) *moment* Finally the dancers return to the in which the original mov't choreographic 5.1 beginning movement phrase, material is repeated structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive which has now become quite original material has come to 5.2 predictable. look very familiar audience/work rel observation conceptual descriptive They repeat this phrase three times, the dance ends with three choreographic 6.1 and the dance is over. repetitions of this sequence structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive choreographic 143 7.1 The ending moment the close of the piece is reached structure: ending observation empirical descriptive encapsulates the dancers' disconnected choreographic yet [strangely] unified relationship to earlier mov't and relationship structure: part/whole 7.2a each other motifs are restated rel observation conceptual description the connection among the isolated word: 7.2b strangely dancers is (unusual) *unnatural* mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the recapitulation occurs in one 7.2 in one single move: final motion mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive a dancer falls out of his final 7.3 a dancer topples out of his ending pose, position mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive the dancer is supported in this and is caught by the outstretched arm fall by another dancer, whose mov't: contact, body 7.4 of another arm is extended action observation empirical descriptive who isn't [even] looking in his the "catching" dancer doesn't 7.5a direction look at the "falling" dancer mov't: focus, rel observation empirical descriptive emphasizes the oddity of this isolated word: 7.5b even development mov't: focus opinion qualitative descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P 7 Circle Walker 175 1.1 Jim Cappelletti states reference to director concert basics in video factual descriptive in the video segment preceding the reference to video clip 1.2 dance component concert basics observation factual descriptive that "Circle Walker" is a dance that he asserts that the next piece 1.3 requires great skill. requires considerable ability performer/work rel hearing qualitative descriptive He could have let the sculpture [with 1.4a which he dances] speak for itself; his explanation was unnecessary set opinion conceptual descriptive he dances with a piece of 1.4b with which he dances sculpture performer/set rel. observation empirical descriptive it's an impressive piece of 1.5 it's formidable, sculpture set opinion qualitative descriptive
made of two steel arcs about twelve
144 feet across, set perpendicular to each 1.6 other with inner supporting structures. set material, size and shape info set observation empirical descriptive possibilities include swinging A dancer can swing on it, or stand from, entering into, and traveling 2.1 inside it and "walk" with it. with this sculpture mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive The dancer can even ride the Circle the sculpture can also move the 2.2 Walker dancer mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive as it rolls in arcing patterns across the the sculpture rotates in a specific 2.3 floor, path as it moves mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive manipulating the sculpture's path by the dancer's bearing influences 2.4 shifting his own weight. the direction of the sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive 3.1 It offers many possibilities, the sculpture has much potential set opinion conceptual descriptive the development of its potential choreographic but the choreography highlights is found to be limited structure: emphasis opinion conceptual descriptive the dance privileges special 3.3a the [tricks] that Jim can do maneuvers of the performer mov't/meaning rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the use of this word connotes the intention to dazzle the audience in the tradition of circus domain 3.3b tricks performance mov't/meaning rel knowledge hermeneutical evaluative rather than the inherent grace of the it doesn't showcase the intrinsic 3.4 sculpture. elegance of the sculpture itself mov't/meaning rel opinion conceptual evaluative He begins the dance standing on the mov't: opening 4.1 floor, dancer's opening positon stance observation empirical description mov't: gesture, body 4.2 arms spread wide arms are stretched part observation empirical description the arms function to stabilize the 4.3 to support the Circle Walker sculpture performer/set rel. observation empirical description 4.4 as it balances on one arc. position of sculpture set observation empirical description 5.1 He flexes his muscles, dancer contracts his muscles mov't: gesture observation empirical description
145 and sends a [violent] ripple from his there is a sequential consequence mov't: gesture, body 5.2a chest to his arms. through the upper body parts observation empirical description isolated word: connotes a fierce intention to this mov't: manner of 5.2b violent action performance opinion hermeneutical interpretive He begins to ride the sculpture as it dancer coasts with the 6.1 swings sculpture's rocking motion performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive mov't: gesture, body part, manner of 6.2 flourishing an arm he makes a showy motion performance observation empirical descrptive the arm action occurs at the top 6.3 at the peak. of the sculpture's moving arc performer/set rel. observation empirical description the circus-like atmosphere is a repeated occurence in this 7.1 Again, I feel like I'm at the circus. concert mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P 8 Conclusion 140 As a whole, The Consigliere Collection overall, the concert was was a [light, palatable] evening of composed of modern dance domain 1.1a modern dance. works concert structure knowledge conceptual descriptive the concert as a whole was 1.1b light, palatable easily "digested" concert/audience rel opinion qualitative evaluative Cappelletti states in the first segment a quote from the opening concert 2.1 of the video video-clip statement: director hearing factual descriptive concedes this as a significant 5.3 — granted, a wonderful inclusion addition to the audience audience/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative of a group usually alienated from the it addresses a group typically 5.4 dance world. separate from the dance scene audience/dance rel opinion conceptual descriptive questions concert value for a
146 But what about people [outside of the group she identifies as absent audience 6.1a university] environment, from the audience composition opinion conceptual evaluative isolated phrase: equates typical dance viewers as audience 6.1b outside of the university universtity insiders composition opinion hermeneutical interpretive posits that those outside this who would never even feel group would not even be at ease comfortable entering Sullivant Hall's entering the (university) concert 6.2 theatre? venue audience/dance rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive implies that other groups of people have been left out of audience cultural 7.1 What about people of cultures Cappelletti's "universal" formula composition knowledge conceptual descriptive where proscenium-oriented alludes to conventional western domain 7.2a performance, theatrical space audience/dance rel knowledge conceptual descriptive where proscenium-oriented reveals a theatrical convention 7.2b performance, of this concert audience/dance rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity American theatrical traditions as manifested in European-descended reflect the dominance of cultural 7.3 American culture, European immigrants art/culture rel knowledge conceptual descriptive points to Euro-centric bias in cultural 7.4 isn't the only form of expression? Cappelletti's concert choices art/culture rel knowledge conceptual descriptive This concert made dance more a final challenge to Cappelletti's 8 accessible for some, not all. statement audience/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative 147 CHAPTER 4
DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction to the Chapter
The primary data for this study consists of nine student papers of approximately one thousand words each, written in the context of a specific class assignment. As discussed in chapter 3, I have transferred these writings onto spreadsheets, subdivided and coded them through a process of content analysis, in accordance with the research design. I have drawn additional data from entry and exit questionnaires,69 completed by the student writers before and after the class that served as the context for the study, as well as from the recorded general impressions of each student’s paper that I made prior to beginning the analysis.70 In this chapter, I will present an analysis and interpretation of the data collected from these sources.
The coding sheets of the student writings have yielded a rich field of information, capable of sustaining inquiry in a variety of directions. My investigation here is limited to two major areas that pertain to the central research question, an inquiry about the kinds
69 See Appendix A.
70 See 3.4.3, p. 80 for a discussion of this stage of the analysis. 148 of understanding revealed in student writings about dance. This chapter unfolds the analysis through narrative and visual representation, encompassing separate investigations of the papers of individual writers, and the dances that were their writing subjects. It is divided into two sections, dealing with each of these analyses in turn.
Each of the sections is subdivided into smaller units, which are identified as individual sections are introduced. In both sections, I will examine separately the use of critical activities employed, the types and sources of information used, and the kinds of understandings that have emerged from the analysis of the writings. The first section includes a profile of each writer, summarizing his or her approach to the writing assignment, and discussing what the data suggests about the understandings revealed in each paper. In the second section, where the data is mined to unearth differences and similarities in the ways individual dances are considered by these writers, a description of each of the dances is included.
149 SECTION I: THE WRITERS
4.2 Organization of the Section
This section examines the work of each of the nine students in the study individually. In characterizing the work of each writer, I will draw from the knowledge I gained about the student over the ten-week teaching period; the general impressions I recorded of each paper prior to beginning the analysis; information from entry and exit questionnaires completed by the student at either end of the course period; and the coding sheets of the student writings.
The format for presenting the student profiles that introduce the individual writers will remain uniform. Each writer will be introduced through a brief narrative, constructed from the summary I developed about each paper before the analysis began, and supplemented by selected remarks that the students made about themselves in the entrance and exit questionnaires.71 This profile contains a discussion of the student’s writing practices, based on the papers themselves and on my work in the classroom with the student over the ten-week period of the course. Finally, the profile includes a visual composite and a discussion of the ways in which the coded paper reflects the traditional constellation of critical aspects of writing: description, interpretation, evaluation, contextualization and theorizing.
71A complete transcript of the questionnaires is found in Appendix A. 150 The next sub-section contains an examination of the types of information the student has accessed in developing the paper. This is followed by a sub-section that illuminates the sources of information from which the student drew in formulating the paper. The final sub-section concludes each individual analysis by exploring what kinds of understandings about dance the student’s writing reveals. Each of these sub- sections will be accompanied by a graphic representation, in the form of a pie chart, which displays the findings visually, showing the relationship of individual parts of the given analysis to the whole.
In characterizing each of the writers, I refer to the student and his or her paper by the coding number assigned for the purposes of the analysis. In order to personalize these portrayals, I also identify each student by a fictional name, and use this name as an alternative way of referring to the student. Thus, the first writer is designated by the name
“Dawn”; additionally, the designation “n1” is used throughout the study to refer both to
Dawn and to her paper. This convention allows for consistency of reference as well as anonymity for the writers.
4.3 Paper n1: Dawn
4.3.1 Student Profile
Dawn’s writing reveals a distinct pattern of understanding dance as an art form with deep resonances to personal experience, both in terms of the associations she brings into her writing, and in terms of a tendency, more pronounced than that of any other writer in the study population, to reference personal awareness in the viewing of the
151 concert and the writing of the paper. A reflexive and phenomenological style of writing characterizes Dawn’s paper, which also exhibits a balance in types of information between movement description and attention to the movement/meaning relationship. As is immediately evident in the words of her title, “Here Today . . . Gone Tomorrow,”
Dawn exhibits a tendency to make references to the nature of dance as an art form in her writing. With regard to traditional critical writing categories, Dawn’s focus is on description and interpretation. There is very little evaluative writing in this paper, which contains only slightly more evaluation than that of the least evaluative writer, n8 (Table
20).
Critical Activites: n1
interpretive 34%
descriptive 62% evaluative 4%
Figure 1: Critical Activities composite: n1
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Evaluation 4% 13% 12% 24% 15% 3% 21% 13% 8%
Table 20: Evaluative Activity of writer n1, n8
152 A relative latecomer to dance, Dawn discussed openly her battles with the confidence to pursue a profession in the field. As often happens with those who discover a late calling, she was passionate about her newfound interest, and brought to the classroom a refreshing enthusiasm, which is reflected in her writing. The introduction and conclusion to her paper are personal and engaging, as are many of the introductions to paragraphs dealing with individual dances. In her initial questionnaire, she acknowledged this proclivity, stating that “because dance is primarily an emotional and spiritual experience for me, I tend to write more about the larger overall experience, describing feelings more than technical thoughts.”
Dawn identified herself as a student who found the writing process difficult, and requested extra time to develop the first draft of each assignment, which she preferred to generate by hand rather than by means of a word processor. Among the nine papers, hers was the second shortest in length, submitting 935 words in response to a 1000-word assignment. It remains unclear whether her exclusion of one of the dances, Carpe Diem, was an oversight or an attempt to shorten her acknowledged labors with the writing process. In any case, she was the only writer to simply skip one of the dances: While two other writers elected to explicitly focus their attention on a specified number of dances, her omission of a single dance constitutes a notable exception. She has also devoted more than a third of her text to the dance Partial, a figure that represents the highest percentage
(36.7%) of total words in any paper devoted to one dance.
This paper contains the highest average words per entry rate of any writer in the study. The sentence segments from her coding sheets yielded an average of eight words
153 per segment, suggesting that she may be less efficient with language than her peers; at the same time, her writing also yielded the lowest number of total entries per paper (Table
21).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 21: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n1
4.3.2 Type of Information
Dawn is one of three writers in the group with a tendency to employ a self- conscious presence in her writing. The other eight writers, for example, elected at times to address the relationship between the audience and a specific work,72 which constitutes a degree of distance between the writer and the audience that Dawn’s writing does not reveal; nor does she step back from the concert as a phenomenon with specific reference to its content,73 as do most of the other writers. Rather, her writing reveals a kind of continual self-monitoring as the concert unfolds. She has a tendency to rely on program information, and her paper yields a relatively high number of entries categorized as
“concert basics,” constituting almost 15% of her writing. The types of information referenced in Dawn’s writing are represented in Figure 2.
72I am referring here to the designation “audience/work relationship” within the “Type of Information” category. See p. 92 –6 for a discussion of this designation, or Appendix G, to see how paper n1 compares with the others in this regard.
73 I refer here to the designation “concert content” in the same category. 154 Type of Information: n1
Reflexive Metaphysical Information 5% 1% Theatrical Audience/ Elements Performance 14% Interaction 35%
Concert and Concert Collaborators 23% Choreography and Movement 22%
Figure 2: Type of Information composite: n1
4.3.3 Source of Information
Dawn has a higher tendency than most of the student writers to bring personal associations into her discussion of the dances. Her introduction to the second dance on the program, Plum Tarts, exemplifies this inclination when she quips, “‘Plum Tarts’ reminds me of the name of a Cover Girl lipstick I heard cheerleaders raving about in the
1980s” (P3/1.1-1.2). As well, in her discussion of the dance Partial, she writes that the dance “reminds [her] of the busy rush hour in the midst of Manhattan” (P5/5.1).
155 Source of Information: n1
personal knowledge 2% self- awareness video 3% 4% program opinion 12% 31% hearing 2% hearing/ observation observation 1% 31% association 11% domain knowledge 3%
Figure 3: Source of Information Composite: n1
As in all of the papers, the two greatest sources of information in Dawn’s writing are observation and opinion, which in this case are almost evenly split. She makes more frequent reference to information found in the program than most of her peers, perhaps compensating for a lack of domain knowledge, which plays a smaller role in her writing than in that of most other students in the study (Table 22).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Program 12% 7% 5% 13% 5% 7% 9% 6% 9%
Table 22: Source of Information from program: n1
156 Though she is not alone in bringing an awareness of the self into the writing project, there are several writers who do not interject this element at all into their papers
(Table 23). In a generally descriptive passage about the dance Ciona, for example,
Source of Information n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Self-Awareness 3% 2% 3% 3%
Table 23: Self-Awareness as a Source of Information: n1
Dawn begins the description with an explicit acknowledgement of her own engagement:
“Instantly I am enticed by . . . vibrations in the music” (P2/4-4.1).74 A representation of the sources of information for n1 is found in Figure 3.
4.3.4 Kind of Understanding
More than any other writer in the study population, Dawn reveals a pronounced awareness of the nature of dance as a phenomenon. At nine entries, her writing yields the largest number in the ontological category: Only four other students made ontological statements, and the largest number of entries for another writer within that group was two
(Table 24).
74In selecting passages from students’ papers to illustrate a concept, it is often necessary to present a given excerpt embedded within its original sentence, so that the information makes sense in the present context. In cases such as this, I will clarify by adopting the convention of italicizing the segment that is relevant to the discussion.
157 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Ontological 8% 1% 1% 1%
Table 24: Ontological Understanding: n1
Dawn’s reflexive style of writing, characterized by a first and second person approach to the text, a tendency to look at the big picture, and an inclination to repeatedly re-introduce into the writing her own presence as a viewer, set her apart from the other eight writers in terms of the kinds of understandings her work reveals.
Kind of Understanding: n1
reflexive factual 2% 13% affective hermeneutic 1% 31% conceptual 11%
ontological 8% empirical qualitative 29% 5%
Figure 4: Kind of Understanding composite: n1
There is an almost equal distribution in Dawn’s tendency to understand dance both as an empirical and an hermeneutical experience, a correspondence that only occurs
158 in the understanding patterns of one other writer (n2) in the group (Table 25). Echoing the high proportion of concert basics and program information, her writing relies more on factual information and less on qualitative descriptions of the dance event than do the
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Empirical 29% 36% 40% 27% 37% 49% 33% 31% 44% Hermenutical 31% 32% 20% 12% 16% 23% 17% 17% 29%
Table 25: Empirical and Hermeneutical Understanding: n1, n2
others. Again, these tendencies may be related to Dawn’s relative inexperience with the physical practice of dance and dance composition. Figure 4 represents the kinds of understandings exhibited in the Dawn’s writing.
4.4 Paper n2: Renée
4.4.1 Student Profile
Renée’s paper reveals a confident writer who enjoys subtleties of language and is not timid in taking firm positions about various aspects of the concert. The sentence structures are nicely varied, the vocabulary is rich, and the transitions between paragraphs are carefully constructed. Moreover, there is a play on words revolving around the mafia connotations in the title of the concert, The Consigliere Collection, that makes an appearance in both the opening and closing of her paper. Although the students were
159 asked to give their papers a title, not all of the writers did so; Renée is one who did observe this requirement, and has cleverly entitled her paper to reflect this same wordplay derived from the title of the concert.
Renée is one of the two undergraduates who enrolled in the course and, as an
Honors candidate in the English Department, is the only student who had declared a major in an academic discipline outside of the Department of Dance. She did, however, enter the course with a substantial background in tap dance, which included both choreographic experience and professional teaching at several local studios.
In terms of traditional critical activities (Figure 5), this paper displays a similar pattern of emphasis on the descriptive mode of writing to that of n1; there is an increase in evaluative writing here, with a lower, though still significant, component of interpretation in the paper (Table 26). Renée structures the paper by addressing each dance in turn, enclosing these discussions between an engaging introduction and
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Description 61% 56% 70% 61% 65% 73% 61% 65% 62% Interpretation 35% 31% 18% 13% 17% 22% 18% 18% 28% Evaluation 4% 13% 12% 24% 15% 3% 21% 13% 8%
Table 26: Descrption, Interpretation and Evaluation: n1, n2 conclusion. There is a balance of attention given to each of the dances, with the exception of the second dance, Plum Tarts, which is allotted only 6% of the total number of words used for the paper. Paper n2 exhibits an average words per entry ratio as well as an average number of entries and number of words in the paper (Table 27).
160 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 27: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n2
Critical Activities: n2
interpretive 31%
descriptive 56%
evaluative 13%
Figure 5: Critical Activities Composite: n2
4.4.2 Type of Information
A comparison of the Type of Information composites reveals a similar overall pattern in the papers of n2, n1 and n7 (see Figures. 6, 2 and 22). Among all nine writers,
Renée displays the largest proportion of text that is concerned with the
Audience/ Performer Interaction (Table 28), and within that category, Renée has concerned herself more than any other writer with the audience/work relationship, exhibiting a tendency to draw the audience together into a communal act of viewing, forging a link between her own response to the concert and those of fellow spectators.
161 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Audience/Performance Interaction 35% 40% 31% 31% 38% 27% 26% 38% 36%
Table 28: Audience Performance Interaction: n2
This trend is a broad one, occurring in the discussions of a variety of the dances.
Examples include the following descriptive passage (P7/2.1), which refers to the relationship between the dancer and the sculptural element in Circle Walker: “This pair is introduced to the audience in a Da Vinci-like image . . .” as well as in a more interpretive excerpt about Passing, in which she states,” . . . we all bear the burden of carrying the dying to her destination . . .” (P4/5.2)
Type of Information: n2
Theatrical Elements Extrinsic 11% 1%
Concert and Audience/ Concert Performance Collaborators Interaction 17% 40%
Choreography and Movement 31%
Figure 6: Type of Information composite: n2
162 Renée’s writing reveals a strong eye for movement detail, with almost a third of her information falling under the category of movement description,75 a proportion that places this paper among those of the top three writers in this respect.76 The writing emphasizes structural elements, both at the choreographic level and in reference to the concert itself. She refers to both the costume and the lighting as elements of performance more than any other writer except n12, referring to the “shiny, sleek unitards” worn in
Ciona (P2/1.2), the white costumes worn in Carpe Diem (P6/1.5) and the black costumes in Passing (P4/1.4). More particularly, Renée foregrounds the role of costume in making meaning of the dances, such as in P2/4.3 when she refers to the “futuristic costumes” of
Ciona. Similarly, with regard to the lighting in Plum Tarts, she characterizes it as “. . . an indulgent sea of glowing red” (P3/3.3a-3.4). A representation of the types of information which constitute the Renée’s writing is represented in Figure 6.
4.4.3 Source of Information
As in all but the papers of two other writers (n6 and n9), Renée has drawn upon observation more than any other source of information in constructing this paper (Table
29). At 37.4% of entries, observation provides the information for more than a third of the paper, with opinion following close behind at 33.9%. Her incorporation of associative references, constituting 9% of her writing, a strong component of her source material, is
75 I refer to the designation “movement: by category” in the Type of Information column, discussed on pp. 102 –7, and also exemplified in Appendix G.
76 Although words such as “top” and “lowest” suggest connotations of value, I am using them simply in the quantitative sense throughout this chapter. 163 exemplified by such statements as “ [The dancers] offered small glimpses of frogs, kaleidoscopes, wind chimes, stacked tables, drops of water, and Willy Wonka's oompah- loompahs” (n2:P2/5). Given this writer’s involvement with the aural art of tap dance, it is curious that few of the entries in this paper are derived from the sense of hearing. A representation of sources of information in paper n2 is found in Figure 7.
Source of Information: n2
personal knowledge 1% public program video information 7% 3% 1% hearing opinion 2% 34%
hearing/ observation observation 37% 2% association domain 9% knowledge 4%
Figure 7: Source of Information composite: n2
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Observation 31%37%43%25%40%48%31%33%37%
Table 29: Observation as Source of Information: n2, n6, n9
164 4.4.4 Kind of Understanding
Though only slightly higher than that of n1, Renée’s paper reveals the highest tendency to emerge in any of the papers (32%) of understanding dance as a hermeneutical phenomenon (Table 30). This tendency comes into play whether discussing sound, as in her characterization of the changes in music as “. . . a desperate search up and down the radio dial . . .” (P5/2.2-2.4 ); the movement, as in a framing of the group’s movement as
“an effortlessly evolving sculpture . . . “ (P2/3.4a); or in addressing the relationship between the movement and the set in Circle Walker, which “. . . suggests a possible commentary on the relationship between man and machine. . .” (P2/5.7). Renée’s work shows a strong propensity toward understanding dance as an experiential phenomenon, with a high degree of reference to both the
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Hermenutical 31% 32% 20% 12% 16% 23% 17% 17% 29%
Table 30: Hermeneutical Understanding: n2
empirical and qualitative components of that category. Overall, Renée’s profile of understandings about dance is similar to that of writer n1 (see Fig. 4.4); the most significant difference emerges in a reduced pattern of foregrounding the factual in understanding, combined with a higher tendency to write about dance from a qualitative point of view. The visual composite of Renée’s understandings about dance is represented in Figure 8.
165 Kind of Understanding: n2
affective qualitative 1% conceptual 10% 13%
hermeneutic 32% empirical 36%
factual 8%
Figure 8: Kind of Understanding composite: n2
4.5 Paper n3: Laura
4.5.1 Student Profile
Laura’s writing is characterized by a strong sense of organization. She establishes
“throughlines” that recur through the paper, even as she considers each dance, one at a time.77 One of these throughlines is a circus theme that runs through the writing, emerging in phrases such as the one in which she reflects that the performers in Ciona would transform themselves from a variety of non-human shapes until “suddenly, they’d
77 Part of the lexicon of Stanislavski’s method of acting, I am borrowing this theatrical term, as a way of gesturing to the writer’s pursuit of a single objective or strand of meaning while considering various “scenes” of action — or in this case, a variety of distinct dances. 166 remind the audience that they were only people, doing tricks” (P2/7.2-7.4). A different kind of throughline is prefaced in the title “The Consigliere Collection: Something for
Almost Everyone,” in which the writer opens and maintains an ongoing question about the concert director’s attempt to provide something for everyone.
In spite of the fact that Laura is an undergraduate, and the youngest member of the class, there is a comfortable sense of authority in her approach to the writing project.
Her paper is threaded throughout with effective movement description. An obvious familiarity with the dance domain is evident through her incorporation of domain and personal knowledge, and the clarity with which she assembles her remarks about each of the dances suggests an attitude of confidence. Each paragraph is tightly constructed: vocabulary is carefully chosen, transitions between thoughts and paragraphs are seam- lessly executed, and there is an excellent variation in sentence structure and rhythm. The writing is a pleasure to read, and easily absorbed. Additionally, Laura is skillful in the use of metaphor, which enlivens and strengthens her text. This tendency is exemplified in passages such as the following description of Ciona: “They might have seemed at first like single-celled organisms dividing and joining each other in a primordial soup . . .”
(P2/7.3).
With regard to critical activities, Laura’s paper demonstrates the second largest use of description (Table 31). Like the majority of other writers in the study, she has structured the paper to address each dance as it appeared in the concert, framed with introductory and closing paragraphs. At 1096 words, she has used more words than six of the other writers in developing this paper. There is a clear balance in her treatment of the various dances, with the final piece, Circle Walker, commanding the highest percentage
167 Critical Activities: n3
interpretive 18%
evaluative 12% descriptive 70%
Figure 9: Critical Activities Composite: n3
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Description 61% 56% 70% 61% 65% 73% 61% 65% 62%
Table 31: Descriptive Activity: n3 of words at 16%. She falls in the lower third of writers in terms of the average number of words per entry, an indication that her sentences are densely packed with regard to the research questions, resulting in the need to break the segments frequently (Table 32).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 32: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n3
168 4.5.2 Type of Information
Laura’s writing is characterized by the highest proportion of information based on movement and choreography (Table 33). Furthermore, within that category, the paper contains the largest quotient of entries addressing movement description, as well as the
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Movement and Choreography 22% 31% 42% 21% 22% 38% 23% 20% 28%
Table 33: Movement and Choreography as Type of Information: n3
Type of Information: n3
Theatrical Elements 13% Audience/ Concert and Performance Concert Interaction: Collaborators 31% 14%
Choreography and Movement 42%
Figure 10: Type of Information composite: n3 greatest emphasis on choreographic structure. Her tendency to look at the structural aspect of choreography is typified in the following discussion of Partial: “The beginning 169 develops smoothly from a simple gestural phrase into a progression that moves down a diagonal. . .” (P6/3.1-3.3). Laura’s reference to theatrical elements, particularly those entries concerned with set design as an integral component of the concert, also emerges as a strong pattern in her writing. A composite of the types of information used to construct this paper is represented in Figure 10.
4.5.3 Source of Information
With 43.3% of her paper based on observed information, only one other writer
(n8) has relied more heavily on observation than Laura (Table 34). She incorporates a high degree of association in developing her response to the concert, and also brings some self-awareness into her writing. In writing about Carpe Diem, Laura reveals both
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Observation 31% 37% 43% 25% 40% 48% 31% 33% 37%
Table 34: Observation as Source of Information: n3 observation and self-awareness: “The lights go down immediately. I get chills.” (P5/6.5-
6.6) An example of the tendency to draw associations from observed information can be cited in her discussion of Passing: “These repetitive movements stay in one corner of the stage, a metaphor for the mundanity of daily life” (P4/3.1-3.3). This associative pattern continues in her section about Carpe Diem, as she writes that the dancers “ . . . abruptly stop in sideways poses, like modern-day hieroglyphics . . . “ (P5/5.3-5.4).
Laura’s writing is also characterized by the frequent integration of domain knowledge, augmented by personal knowledge, corresponding to a lower than usual
170 degree of reliance on program information (Table 35). Her discussion of Plum Tarts reveals not only this depth of domain knowledge, but points as well to her sophistication
Source of Information: n3
personal videoknowledge 3% program 3% 5% opinion hearing 22% 2%
association 11% domain knowledge observation 9% 43% self- awareness 2%
Figure 11: Source of Information Composite: n3 with language, as she breezily transposes a series of French ballet terms into verbs, simultaneously connoting the mildly sardonic attitude many writers exhibited toward this particular dance: “Five ravishing women battement, pirouette, and ronde de jambe, with come-hither facial expressions” (P3/2.1a-2.3). As an exemplar of her use of personal
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Program 12% 7% 5% 13% 5% 7% 9% 6% 9% Domain Knowledge 3% 4% 9% 5% 7% 3% 6% 14% 5%
Table 35: Program Information and Domain Knowledge: n3 171 knowledge, there is a passage about the concert director which brings into the writing two pieces of information not contained in the program or otherwise known to the larger audience: “Though it was a sort of practice run for Jim Cappelletti, who plans to someday direct a professional repertory company of his own . . .” (P1/2.1-2.3). A composite of the sources of information utilized in the writing of n3 is represented in Figure 11.
4.5.4 Kind of Understanding
Laura tends to understand dance as an empirical phenomenon. Her tendency to emphasize this aspect in constructing this paper corresponds to the high incidence of observation, which appears in the sources of information category.
Kind of Understanding: n3
reflexive qualitative 1% 9% affective 2% ontological conceptual 1% 16%
hermeneutical 20%
factual empirical 11% 40%
Figure 12: Kind of Understanding Composite: n3
172 The ratios of hermeneutical and conceptual understandings of dance are similar in this paper, and there is a similar degree of balance in the writer’s understanding of the qualitative and factual aspects of performance. In her discussion of Partial, Laura states that “. . . a dancer topples out of his ending pose, and is caught by the outstretched arm of another who isn't even looking in his direction” (P6/7.3-7.5a). Again, in writing set of
Circle Walker, Laura takes an almost strictly empirical approach to discussing the use of theatrical elements: “A dancer can swing on it, or stand inside it and ‘walk’ with it.
The dancer can even ride the ‘Circle Walker’ as it rolls in arcing patterns across the floor, manipulating the sculpture's path by shifting his own weight” (P7/2.1-2.4). Figure 12 presents a composite view of the kinds of understanding revealed in Laura’s paper.
4.6. Paper n6: Erin
4.6.1 Student Profile
Written using only 752 words, this constitutes the lowest number used in any paper, well below the assignment expectation of 1000 words. There is a strongly evaluative tone to the writing, which begins with its title, “A Successful Consigliere,” and continues throughout the text: Of all nine writers in the group, Erin has the highest
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Evaluation 4% 13% 12% 24% 15% 3% 21% 13% 8% Interpretation 35% 31% 18% 13% 17% 22% 18% 18% 28%
Table 36: Evaluative and Interpretive Activities: n6
173 tendency to evaluate the concert, at 24% of her paper (Table 36). Descriptive activity is also a strong component, and interpretive writing is lower than in most papers (Table 36).
There is also a small element of contextualization in Erin’s writing. Figure 13 provides a composite of critical activities in Erin’s paper (n6).
Critical Activities: n6
interpretive contextual 13%
evaluative 24% descriptive 61%
Figure 13: Critical Activities for writer n6
In her entrance questionnaire, Erin remarked that criticism should “ . . . set standards in the dance world for choreographers as well as dancers,” and should “. . . offer people an objective and informed opinion of dance.” The writing in this paper, though structurally and grammatically sound, fulfills these goals but remains somewhat sterile. Written entirely in the third person, its short, crisp sentences become almost formulaic. Her approach is analytical, displaying the second highest proportion of entries that deal with choreographic structure. There is an absence of metaphor, along with a 174 minimum of associative information. This paper, together with that of n9, contains the lowest proportion of movement description, which might have offset or supported the strong, evaluative thrust of the writing.
Erin considers each dance in its program order, with two paragraphs of intro- duction, consuming 25% of the writing, and one of conclusion. Although attention to each of the dances is fairly balanced, the last two works, Carpe Diem and Circle Walker, are awarded the most weight. At an average of 6 words per entry, this paper represents the exact average for the whole study population, and its low number of entries, second only to those of paper n1, corresponds to the low number of words used to construct this paper (Table 37).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 37: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n6
4.6.2 Type of Information
In keeping with her impersonal style of writing, Erin incorporates a high proportion of “concert basics” in assembling this paper. At 13% of all the types of information used, this paper outstrips all others except n1 in this regard. The paper also contains the highest number of references to the “audience/ concert relationship,” again pointing to Erin’s tendency to distance herself from the concert; conversely, there is no entry for the more personal “viewer/concert relationship. . . ” in this paper. At 6% of her
175 Type of Information: n6
Extrinsic 2% Theatrical Audience/ Elements Performance 23% Interaction: 31%
Concert and Concert Choreography Collaborators and 23% Movement: 21%
Figure 14: Type of Information composite: n6 entries, Erin’s reference to the movement/music relationship emerges as a significant component, the highest among all writers. A composite of the types of information found in Erin’s paper is represented in Figure 14.
4.6.3 Source of Information
The main categories to emerge as dominant in the source of information profile of Erin’s paper are opinion (36%), observation (25%) and program information (13%). In keeping with the evaluative tone of the writing, her paper displays the highest reliance on opinion of any paper in the group. Reversing the more typical predominance of observation over opinion in all but two of the papers, Erin’s writing reflects the lowest incidence of observation, and the highest ratio of opinion over observation (Table 38).
176 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Observation 31% 37% 43% 25% 40% 48% 31% 33% 37% Opinion 31% 34% 22% 36% 27% 17% 36% 28% 25%
Table 38: Observation and Opinion as Sources of Information: n6
Reliance on domain knowledge is low in this writing, though it is among the few papers to reference the student’s historical knowledge of the composer/choreographer relationship, exemplified in this passage which points out that “composer Philip Glass has been frequently used by choreographers this past decade, such as Twyla Tharp and
Doug Varone” (P7/1.1-1.3). Corresponding with the high percentage of information in the movement/music relationship, there also emerges the greatest reliance on the sense of hearing as a source of information for this writer (Table 39).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Hearing 2% 2% 2% 6% 2% 5% 4% 3% 4%
Table 39: Hearing as Source of Information: n6
In keeping with the tendency of this writer to adopt an objective distance in developing her paper, the writing incorporates a large proportion of information that is contained in the program. There is an absence of reflexive writing, and a low incidence of personal association brought into play in the discussion of the concert. Figure 15 represents the overall pattern of sources of information used in Erin’s paper.
177 Source of Information: n6
personal knowledge public video 3% information 4% 2% progam 13% opinion 36% hearing 6% hearing/ observation observation 1% 25% association domain 5% knowledge 5%
Figure 15: Source of Information composite: n6
4.6.4 Kind of Understanding
While Erin follow the group pattern of revealing a predominant empirical understanding of dance, in her paper this component represents the lowest proportion of any of the writers (Table 40). Rather, the conceptual and factual aspects of dance emerge as prominent in this paper, revealing an analytical approach to the writing.
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Empirical 29% 36% 40% 27% 37% 49% 33% 31% 44%
Table 40: Empirical Understanding: n6
178 Furthermore, the paper presents the largest ratio of any paper in the categories of both a factual and a qualitative understanding of dance (Table 41).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Factual 13% 8% 11% 22% 12% 10% 17% 14% 14% Qualitative 5% 10% 9% 17% 15% 4% 14% 9% 6%
Table 41: Factual and Qualitative Understanding: n6
Examples of the latter trend can be seen in such passages as her discussion of Ciona, in which “. . . the dancers carefully carved the space around them” (P3/2.3a), or as is more frequent in this paper, in evaluative excerpts as in her characterization of Circle Walker as “ . . . a wonderful end to the show” (P8/5.2). Finally, in keeping with the objecti- fication that Erin seems to favor with regard to writing about dance performance, her paper reveals the lowest proportion of hermeneutical understanding of any writer, at 12% of her composite perspective (Table 42). Perhaps in the quest to maintain critical distance, Erin views the meaning-making aspects of the art form too subjective to include. A composite representation of the kinds of understanding in the writing of Erin’s paper is found in Figure 16.
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Hermeneutical 31% 32% 20% 12% 16% 23% 17% 17% 29%
Table 42: Hermeneutical Understanding: n6
179 Kind of Understanding: n6
affective 2% qualitative conceptual 17% 20% hermeneutic 12%
empirical factual 27% 22%
Figure 16: Kind of Understanding Composite: n6
4.7 Paper n7: Kelly
4.7.1 Student Profile
Kelly’s writing reveals several distinctive characteristics, beginning with the structure of the paper. Rather than proceed in a linear fashion through the concert, dance by dance, Kelly has elected to eliminate three works from the concert in order to devote herself to the remaining selections. She prefaces her discussion of these works with four separate paragraphs of introduction that absorb nearly a third of the writing, one dealing with a view of the concert from the perspective of a fictional audience member, one describing the overall structure of the concert, emphasizing the collaborative nature of a
180 repertory concert, one describing the unusual addition of video intervals between the works of the concert, and one explaining that she will discuss only a specific number of works.
With regard to traditional critical activities, the emphasis remains on descriptive writing (65%), and Kelly falls among the upper third of the group in her attention to this activity. Interpretively, she falls in the lower third of the group at 17%, and she is in the upper third of writers to use evaluation (15%). Unique in Kelly’s composite of critical
Critical Activities: n7
theorizing 2% contextual 1% interpretive 17%
evaluative 15% descriptive 65%
Figure 17: Critical Activities Composite: n7 activities (Figure 17) is the tendency to theorize: although this accounts for only 2% of the writing, five out of the nine writers do not theorize in their papers at all (Table 43).
There is also a small but relatively significant degree (1%) of contextualization in Kelly’s writing (Table 43).
181 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10n12 theorizing 2% 1% 1% contextualizing 1%1% 3% 1%
Table 43: Contextualization and Theorizing Activities: n7
Newly arrived in the United States from Great Britain, this student brought with her a wealth of experience in writing and research, though she acknowledges in her entrance questionnaire that she had no formal training in criticism. She is articulate and adventurous in constructing her account, employing as a device the insertion of
“quotations” from a conversation with a fictional student, in order to consider the concert from the perspective of an audience member unfamiliar with dance.
At 1007 words, Kelly came the closest to approximating the assigned length for the paper. There is an air of confidence revealed in her decision to take a non-linear approach to the assignment, her use of metaphor, and her ability to derive ideas for the paper from an even-handed spectrum of types and sources of information. There is a slightly clipped approach to her sentence construction, thus yielding a slightly lower than average words per entry ration. At 177 total quantity of entries, her writing represents the median for the group (Table 44).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 44: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n7
182 4.7.2 Type of Information
The extended introductory material in this paper and the reduction of dances discussed to only half of the pieces that comprised the concert, yield a distinctive pattern of types of information used to develop the paper. Because Kelly elaborates on the structure of the concert, with particular attention to the element of video intervals between the pieces, there are more opportunities for her to include references to these
Type of Information: n7
Extrinsic Theatrical 1% Elements Audience/ 20% Performance Reflexive Interaction 2% 38% Concert and Concert Collaborators Metaphysical 16% 1% Choreography and Movement 22%
Figure 18: Type of Information Composite: n7 issues and fewer incidences of writing that give emphasis to the movement. There is also a comparison between this concert and another concert or concerts, a type of information not included in any other paper.
183 Kelly’s paper also displays the second highest rate of reference to the video, and is distinct from the other writers in that she voices a balanced and largely approving view of this innovation by the concert director. In her second paragraph of introductory material, for example, she points out one of the beneficial functions of this unique feature of the concert, when she notes that “. . . a video projection took us back in time, behind the scenes” (P3/1.2-1.3).
Kelly also theorizes about the apparent intentions of the director with regard to bringing to the theatre an audience not accustomed to attending dance concerts, employing a high component of information about the audience relationship to specific works, as well as strong showings in the categories of viewer/concert relationship and audience/video relationship. In the paragraph about Ciona, for example, she notes that the piece “stirred up an excited ovation” (P5/7.5a), a passage which not only attempts to characterize the audience, but in so doing, allows the reader to get a sense of what it was like to be in the theatre during the concert performances. She acknowledges her own relationship to the concert as well, theorizing along the way about the theme of her paper, alleged distinctions between art and entertainment: “Jim Cappelletti’s concert did a rare thing for me. It entertained me without burdening me with questions about what I saw ”
(P3/1.1-2.3 ). A representation of types of information in Kelly’s paper can be found in
Figure 18.
4.7.3 Source of Information
Kelly repeats the pattern of most writers in the study with regard to the two largest sources of information, employing a greater proportion of observation (40.3%)
184 than opinion (27.8%). Consider the following passage about Plum Tarts, which alternates back and forth between observation and opinion, achieving a blend at once fluid and effective: “. . . hips wiggling to emphasize their curves, these five striking silhouettes seemed to find a connection . . .” (P6/8.5a-8.8)
Source of Information: n7 self- awareness video 3% personal 5% opinion knowledge 27% 2% hearing/ observation 2% observation association 40% 7% program hearing 5% 2% domain knowledge 7%
Figure 19: Source of Information Composite: n7
This writer draws equally from personal associations and domain knowledge in fulfilling the next two most significant components of her paper. In a long descriptive and interpretive passage about Ciona, for example, she seamlessly tucks into her writing an association between the dancers and an image of “raging atoms” (P5/4.3). In a longer, metaphoric passage about this dance, she writes of “the human body as soft as putty, as sturdy as Lego bricks, as daring as Evil Knievel . . .” (P5/6.1-3). Similarly, her
185 knowledge of dance is effectively incorporated in excerpts such as the following, which allows her to present a long descriptive passage, deepened by reference to the larger issue of genre: “Using the familiar stance of the tango — long, low strides, an arm held forward, an arm held to the side, the chest lifted, an occasional flick of the head — these women interwove . . . “ (P6/4.1-4.3)
Two slightly smaller but still significant sources of information make their way frequently into Kelly’s paper, in the form of information that has been gleaned either from the program or the video footage. This pattern corresponds to her emphasis on the audience/video relationship. A composite of sources of information in the writing of n7 is represented in Figure 19.
4.7.4 Kind of Understanding
As with most of the writers, Kelly reveals a high level of empirical understanding about dance. Beyond that, however, her writing suggests an unusual balance of consideration for the hermeneutical, factual, qualitative and conceptual aspects of performance as well. In addition, understanding the affective aspect of viewing dance, revealed in word choices such as “surprising,” “thrilling,” and “infectious,” or phrases such as “ . . . at times we feel nervous about the speed and flow of this swirling power”
is revealed more prominently in this paper than in that of any other writer (Table 45). A representation of the kind of understanding in Kelly’s paper is found in Figure 20.
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10n12 Affective 1%1%2%2%4%1%2%3% 1%
Table 45: Affective Understanding: n7 186 Kind of Understanding: n7
qualitative affective 15% 4% ontological conceptual 15% 1% hermeneutical 16%
factual empirical 12% 37%
Figure 20: Kind of Understanding Composite: n7
4.8 Paper n8: Brianna
4.8.1 Student Profile
Brianna’s paper opens with a strong introductory paragraph, providing basic information about the concert as a whole, but also establishing a position toward it, which is not evaluative, but serves as a framework — about the evidence of "consolidation" she sees in the concert structure. At 1250 words, the paper not only exceeds the assigned word limit, but is the lengthiest treatment of the concert. The dances are considered in linear order, and treated in a balanced fashion, with the exception of Ciona, which is allotted 25% of the total word count. The paper ends with a short but effective conclusion.
187 The writing, though generally good, occasionally includes what appears to be a self-conscious word choice, like “precariousness,” or a an odd usage, such as "cartwheels were achieved. . . "Brianna has a keen visual sensibility, and the text is enriched with excellent movement description, and effective use of metaphor. Transitions between paragraphs are carefully chosen, and there is ample variety in sentence structure and rhythm. She appears to shirk evaluation, delivering the paper with the lowest amount of evaluative content and the highest ratio of descriptive material of any writer. Her interpretive remarks are usually subtle and spring almost seamlessly out of description.
The traditional critical activities composite (Figure 21) reveals the highest percentage (73%) of descriptive writing among all nine of the papers, along with the lowest percentage (3%)of evaluative writing (Table 46). The interpretive writing, which makes up 22% of this paper, is similar to most writers in the group. There are also traces
(1%) of contextualization and theorizing in the writing.
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 descriptive 61%56%70%61%65%73%61%65%62% evaluative 4% 13%12%24%15%3% 21%13%8%
Table 46: Descriptive and Evaluative Activities: n8
Although Brianna’s paper contains the largest number of words, it is closer to the group average with regard to the number of entries, yielding the second highest words per entry rate of 6.9 (Table 47). Perhaps this is an indication of occasional redundancies in word usage, such as the unnecessary double verb in “. . . . . program presented brought together a varied consortium of works . . . “ (P1/2.2), and a lack of efficiency in sentence
188 construction as in the cumbersome “ . . . the effect was a concert that, in part, revealed the work that is arrived at through the integration of input from artistic director, choreographers and dancers.”
Critical Activities: n8 theorizing 1% contextual interpretive 1% 22%
evaluative 3%
descriptive 73%
Figure 21: Critical Activities Composite: n8
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 47: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n8
4.8.2 Type of Information
Several features in the type of information category distinguish the writing of
Brianna within the study group. Most significantly, this paper contains the largest
189 proportion of movement description, combined with one of the highest ratios of entries that deal with the movement/meaning relationship. Additionally, Brianna incorporates
Type of Information: n8
Metaphysical 1% Theatrical Audience/ Elements Performer 17% Interaction 27%
Concert and Concert Collaborators 17%
Choreography and Movement 38%
Figure 22: Type of Information composite : n8
the largest percentage of references to music, including those that simply describe the music, as well as those which deal with the movement/music and music/meaning relationships. It is interesting to observe in this regard that Brianna had chosen to focus her dance studies in the areas of choreography and performance. Not surprisingly, then, this paper also ranks in the top third of students who attended to choreographic structure in their writing.
Given these high concentrations of movement description, Brianna’s writing exhibits the second to lowest use of information that characterizes the interaction between audience and performance (Table 48)). Also, the balance of information concerned with
190 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Audience/Performance Interaction 35%40%31%31%38%27%26%38%36%
Table 48: Audience/Performance Interaction Information: n8 the concert and concert collaborators on the one hand, and theatrical elements on the other is equal. In her entrance questionnaire, Brianna indicated her concern about incorporating these components, noting that what she might “. . . find most difficult is that when looking at a dance I not only have to write about the quality of movement,
[and] what the movement is evoking, but also how other elements (lighting, music, costumes) enhance the performance experience.” Evidence that the writing seems to address this goal can be cited in such passages as this introduction to the second work of the program: “Set to the upbeat Argentinean tango of Astor Piazzola, was Allison
Tipton’s "Plum Tarts" (P3/1.1a-2). Lighting and costume are effectively addressed in an excerpt from the same work, as Brianna remarks “. . . the saturated merlot hues softened, leaving us with the black silhouettes of five beautiful female bodies . . . (P3/6.3-6.4a). A representation of the types of information that constitute this paper is found in Figure 22.
4.8.3 Source of Information
More than all other writers in the study, Brianna draws the largest proportion of information (48%) from observation (Table 49). These visual phenomena range from descriptions of movement and performers, set design, costume details, and lighting, as well as to observed relationships among them. An excerpt about the first dance on the program, Ciona, exemplifies this pattern early in the text: “Six dancers dressed in silver
191 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Observation 31%37%43%25%40%48%31%33%37%
Table 49: Observation as a Source of Information: n8
unitards, repeatedly ran with full force gathering momentum to then propel themselves onto their partners’ pelvises attaching to waists, waists attaching to hips as though magnetic forces were hurling them onto one another” (P2/2.1-2.7).
Source of Information: n8
personal knowledge video program 2% 4% opinion 7% 17% hearing hearing/ 5% observation public 1% information association 1% 12% domain knowledge observation 3% 48%
Figure 23: Source of Information composite: n8
Following this major emphasis on visual information, there are significant entries in the categories of both opinion and association. With observation overshadowing
192 opinion by a dramatic ratio of nearly three to one, the incidence of opinion as a source of information displays the lowest rate among all writers at 17%. While the predominance of observation and opinion emerge as the two largest categories in all the papers, a further distinction of this paper is that it also contains the largest proportion of information drawn from association (12%). In the passage cited above, the observed description sets up an association between the relationships among performers and “magnetic forces.”
The following excerpt follows this pattern with another vivid movement description, culminating in an association, created through the use of simile: “ . . . two dancers attached at the waist and thigh of one dancer jut their heads forward and back like chickens” (P2/8.5-8.6). This recurrent coupling of observation and association create an evocative text that seems to bring back to life the performance experience of the writer.
Information found in the concert and information derived from hearing round out the core of Brianna’s information sources. The predictable significance of hearing in this paper corresponds to the frequency of information about the music and music/movement relationships. A composite of sources of information in Brianna’s paper is represented in
Figure 23.
4.8.4 Kind of Understanding
Brianna’s writing, in keeping with her tendency to foreground information derived from observation (48%) in the development of her text, is characterized by a corresponding tendency to understand dance as an empirical phenomenon (Figure 24).
Second in significance, however, is the writer’s understanding of the hermeneutical aspect of dance, which is represented in 23.3% of the writing. This kind of understanding
193 is revealed sometimes in a single word, as in this excerpt about one of the performers in
Plum Tarts, who “. . . gave a sharp turn of the head to dart a seductive look at the audience . . . ” (P3/3.4- 3.5a), or in more extended passages such as this introduction to the dance Passing: “Next on the program was Susan Hadley’s solemn and emotionally charged piece ‘Passing,’ choreographed in 1992” (P4/1.1a).
Also prominent in Brianna’s paper is the role that the conceptual (13%) and the factual (10%) play in her understanding of dance. These aspects are revealed in such statements as “The Consigliere Collection presented an eclectic assortment of repertory providing an opportunity for its members to sample the varied nature of modern dance and the collective nature of all theatrical productions” (P8:1.1-1.4). Conceptual statements offer Brianna an opportunity to organize the viewing experience, and to frame her extensive empirical information into an articulated whole.
Finally, there are small but significant components (3.9%) of qualitative and affective (1%) understanding that make a showing in this paper. Frequently connected to empirical understanding, these aspects serve to convey information about the manner in which actions are carried out, or the ways in which the concert affects the viewer. The following excerpt about Passing, in which the insertion of a single adverb changes the entire tone of the scene depicted, exemplifies the qualitative aspect of Brianna’s understanding: “The same dancer continually presses in to the light while the other two gently take hold of her hand . . .” (P4/4.1-4/2a). Whereas the qualitative writing allows
Brianna to present the nuances of actions taking place on the stage, the affective component allows her to give expression to the ways that those actions touched her as a viewer. Her discussion of Ciona demonstrates this affective component in passages such
194 Kind of Understanding: n8
affective qualitative 1% 4% conceptual 13% hermeneutic 23%
factual 10% empirical 49%
Figure 24: Kind of Understanding composite: n8
as the following: “Equally as stimulating were those sections of the piece where the momentum was put aside for moments like this. . .” (P2: 4.1 – 4.3). A composite representation of the kinds of understanding in paper n8 is found in Figure 24.
4.9 Paper n9: Nigel
4.9.1 Student profile
Nigel is the only writer who actually performed in the assigned concert and elected to write about it rather than select the alternate, as did writer n5. We discussed this issue from the outset, and since he appeared in only one of the works (Ciona), we
195 agreed that he could attempt the assignment. The resulting paper suggests a writer who is long on ideas and enthusiasm but short on proof-reading skills, especially with regard to verb tenses, preposition selection, repeated word usages, and agreement issues. In the entry questionnaire, Nigel acknowledged perceived weaknesses in his writing skills, stating that writing “causes me a large amount of anxiety. I have a very difficult time writing, and often become paralyzed at the thought of it.”
The paper begins with two introductory paragraphs, one to establish a general and positive point of view, and the next to provide more specifics about the concert as a whole. The body of the text then considers each dance in turn, allotting a fairly balanced distribution of words to each work. A paragraph of conclusion completes the paper. The writing exhibits good transitions between paragraphs, and a pattern of wrapping up the paragraph with a closing, usually evaluative summary statement. Nigel is not afraid to take a position regarding his preferences. At times, the language suggests the world of promotion and public relations, exemplified in word choices such as "crowd-pleaser"
"uplifting winner" and ". . . pushed the quality of the program back to the upper echelons"
— a language of publicity hype, which may be imitative, based on the nature of the assignment.
The paper runs slightly over the assigned word limit, containing 1067 words. In terms of traditional critical activities, Nigel constructs a response to the concert that relies on description (60.3%), combined with nearly balanced work in the evaluative (20.7%) and interpretive (17.2%) realms. Nigel joins only two other students (n6 and n10), who include a small component of contextual writing (1.7%) as well. The average words per
196 Critical Activites: n9
contextualizing 2% interpretive 17%
evaluative 21% descriptive 60%
Figure 25: Critical Activities composite for n9 entry in this paper falls almost exactly at the class mean of 6.0, placing this writer as the median exemplar for the study group. Table 50 shows the relationship of Nigel’s paper to the classroom population in each of these categories.
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 50: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n9
4.9.2 Type of Information
The type of information profile reflected in Nigel’s paper is distinct within the study group in that the Audience/Performance Interaction component is the lowest among the papers, representing 26% of the total writing effort. Correspondingly, this profile also 197 presents a larger proportion than other writers of information about the concert and concert collaborators, which is likely the result of personal knowledge derived from
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Audience/Performance Interaction 35%40%31%31%38%27%26%38%36% Concert and Collaborators 23%17%14%23%16%17%29%22%14%
Table 51: Selected Types of Information: n9 participation in the concert (Table 51). Additionally, Nigel’s paper contains the highest ratio of comments about both the director/concert relationship and the directorial role in shaping the concert. The following example, taken from the second paragraph of introductory material, illustrates this point: “Cappelletti chose a program . . . which he has either appeared in himself or has previously staged for other programs” (P2: 2.2 –
2.4). In keeping with this line of reasoning, n9 is only one of two writers to address the performer/ensemble relationship, outstripping the number of references in the paper of n2 by a three to one ratio. Additionally, the writing contains the second highest number of references to the performer/work relationship, and as further evidence that this pattern reflects Nigel’s dual involvement with the concert as both performer and writer, all but one of these performer-related entries is located in the work in which he danced,
Ciona. The pattern is best exemplified in the following excerpt, characterizing the dancers of this work as an intimate and cooperative group: “These six performers came across as a closely tied company as they displayed trust in the support of each other . . .”
(P3: 5.2 - 5.4).
198 Type of Information: n9
Extrinsic Information 2% Audience/ Theatrical Performance Interaction: Elements 20% 26%
Concert and Choreography Concert and Collaborators Movement: 29% 23%
Figure 26: Type of Information composite: n9
A high proportion of information about concert basics, combined with information regarding the content of the concert, reveals a writer who is interested in the concert as a whole event, rather than as simply a collection of individual works. Whereas most writers dispense with the introductory material quickly in order to get on with the business of describing its featured works, Nigel repeatedly draws the reader back to the bigger picture against which these dances are cast, illustrated in passages such as the following: “The works draw from the cache of fellow graduate students, Ohio State faculty and internationally renowned choreographers” (P2: 3.1 – 3.2). Along the same lines, this paper contains the highest ratio of entries highlighting the order of works on the program.
199 Finally, Nigel has devoted the largest proportion of text in any paper to a discussion of the set. These references encompass descriptions of the set, the performer/set relationship, and the set/meaning relationship. Again, it is curious that
Nigel’s involvement in the concert may be a significant factor here. Although he did not appear in the work which involved the use of the set (Circle Walker), he was instrumental in its construction. A composite of the types of information utilized in Nigel’s paper is represented in Figure 26.
4.9.3 Source of Information
Although Nigel retains the practice of the other eight writers of relying on the two primary sources of observation and opinion in developing his paper, here the balance swings slightly toward opinion over observation, a reversal of the pattern established by all other writers except n6 Table 52). While opinion is often linked to the practice of evaluation, as in the reference to Ciona as “visually stunning” (P3: 2.3), it is also
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Observation 31%37%43%25%40%48%31%33%37% Opinion 31%34%22%36%27%17%36%28%25%
Table 52: Observation and Opinion as Sources of Information: n9 frequently linked to the domain of interpretation, as in this closing passage about Carpe
Diem: “The message truly is ‘seize the day’ it might be your last” (P7: 4.4). In keeping with the evaluative tone of this paper, already hinted in the title “Consigliere Seizes the
Stage” as well as in some of the previously noted hyperbolic language choices, Nigel
200 Source of Information: n9
personal knowledge video 5% program3% 9% opinion hearing 36% 4%
hearing/ observation observation 31% 3% association domain 3% knowledge 6%
Figure 27: Source of Information composite: n9 harbors clear opinions about the concert and doesn’t hesitate to state them, employing opinion as a source of opinion in both evaluative and interpretive activities. Beyond the two major categories of observation and opinion, Nigel’s writing is characterized by an unusually balanced reliance on other sources of information. A notable exception is found in his higher than usual tendency to access program information, coupled with a relatively high inclusion of domain knowledge Table 53). In fact, this student supports his paper with an effective use of artistic contextualization more often than most writers in the study, whether through references to Ciona as “a staple of the Pilobolus group”
(P3: 1.3), or to the "Cirque Du Solei"-like interface” of Circle Walker (P8: 4.1). A representation of the types of information found in Nigel’s paper is found in Figure 27.
201 Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Domain Knowledge 3% 4%9%5% 7%3%6%14%5% Program 12%7%5%13%5%7%9%6% 9%
Table 53: Domain Knowledge and Program Information: n9
4.9.4 Kind of Understanding
Nigel’s writing bears a striking resemblance to the profile of writer n7 with regard to kinds of understanding. Although an exception occurs in a slightly lower tendency to consider the affective and qualitative aspects of dance, with corresponding
Kind of Understanding: n9
affective 2% qualitative 14% conceptual 17%
hermeneutic 17%
empirical factual 33% 17%
Figure 28: Kind of Understanding composite: n9
202 increases in factual and conceptual understanding, the profiles are the most similar of any two writers in the group. In Nigel’s case, there is parity between the hermeneutical and conceptual aspects of understanding, and a slightly lower though strong showing in his attention to the qualitative range of understanding. In keeping with his tendency to evaluate, and the reliance on opinion as a primary source of information, there is often an evaluative tone to the qualitative statements made in this paper, so that they reveal more about Nigel’s preferences than about characteristics of the works. To exemplify this distinction, consider the description of Circle Walker as “visually captivating” (P8: 3.1), whereas the dancers in Ciona are described as engaging “. . . in twelve minutes of precarious poses . . . ” (P3: 3.2– 3.4a). While the first example remains in the domain of opinion, providing qualitative information about the visual spectacle of the piece, the second is buttressed by observation, providing a sense of the challenging positions assumed by the dancers. A composite view of the kind of understanding represented in
Nigel’s writing is found in Figure 28.
4.10 Paper n10: Nicki
4.10.1 Student Profile
One of the immediate characteristics to distinguish Nicki’s writing from the others in the study is her insertion of five paragraphs, constituting nearly 40% of the word usage, of introductory commentary prior to dealing with the dances on the program. In the first of these statements, she provides some historical background about the art form, situating the present concert against a larger landscape. Next, she describes the context
203 and circumstances of the concert, beginning with the role of the director as MFA candidate fulfilling the requisites of his qualifying project. The following two paragraphs address the unusual element of video footage incorporated into the concert structure, with one detailing the novelty of this approach and the next one raising questions about its efficacy. Finally, there is a fifth paragraph which consists entirely of a brief segue into the dances themselves, ending with the self-conscious acknowledgment that, “Of course, all this contextualizing is futile without the dances themselves” (P5:1.1-2).
Nicki then goes on to address only three of the dances, arguing that the video footage has usurped her ability to engage authentically with the remaining dances. Of the three chosen works, Ciona is given 9% of the available text, Partial is treated to 16%, and Circle Walker is awarded 22% of the total word allocation. A substantial paragraph of conclusion finishes the paper.
A proficient writer, Nicki is clearly at ease with writing mechanics, well-educated within the dance domain, and self-possessed, with a strong sense of preferences about dance in general and this concert experience in particular. The text is lively and confident, written largely in the first person, with an underlying sense of humor, smooth transitions, and buttressed by a rich and evocative vocabulary. In the entry questionnaire,
Nicki characterized her objectives and concerns about writing in the following way: “I enjoy words and the pursuit of the most fitting way to put across ideas, finding the balance required to form sentences and paragraphs which are beautiful, lucid and succinct. The elusiveness of such balance is part of the passion of that quest.” In terms of the traditional critical activities (Figure 29), there is the usual configuration displaying an
204 emphasis on descriptive writing, followed by interpretive and then evaluative writing, with small but noticeable components of contextualizing and theorizing. The average
Critical Activities: n10
theorizing 1% contextual interpretive 3% 18%
evaluative 13%
descriptive 65%
Figure 29: Critical Activities composite: n10 words per entry rate is below the mean at 5.2, perhaps reflective of the density of Nicki’s sentences, while the number of entries is high, considering that at 1077 words, she has
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 54: Entries per paper and average words per entry: n10 only exceeded the limit by 77 words (Table 54). This is articulate writing, marked by bold and colorful language, in which no word choice is redundant or wasted.
205 4.10.2 Type of Information
Several patterns in this paper distinguish the types of information utilized in
Nicki’s writing from others generated by the study population. Although she joins most of the other students in privileging the Audience/Performance Interaction component of this category, her profile is mitigated by a substantial and well-balanced inclusion of information reflecting the movement and choreography component and the concert and concert collaborators component. Attention to theatrical elements is slightly lower, though still substantial. Additionally, there is a significant use of extrinsic information, as well as a small representation of reflexive information.
Owing to the lengthy paragraphs of introduction, in which the concert and its historical foundations are addressed in general, Nicki’s paper is developed with a higher than usual degree of information about the audience/dance, audience/concert, and audience/work relationships. Along these lines, there is also a strong quotient of writing which addresses the overall concept of the concert, and a pronounced degree of attention to the audience/video relationship.
Nicki is the only writer in the group to bring information about dance history into the writing assignment, as immediately exemplified in the opening passage of her paper: “Modern dance in the United States has been primarily a movement driven by the idiosyncratic vision of choreographers . . . ” (P1:1). This kind of statement not only provides contextual information against which the concert will be described, but also lends an immediate air of authority to the writer, establishing her as someone who knows the field and has the information necessary to address it.
206 Type of Information: n10
Extrinsic Reflexive 3% Theatrical 1% Elements 16% Audience/ Performance Interaction: Concert and 38% Concert Collaborators 22% Choreography and Movement: 20%
Figure 30: Type of Information Composite: n10
This authoritative voice is further developed through the injection of strong personal preferences about the concert and its various elements, established through two primary types of information. In the first of these, the viewer/concert relationship, Nicki brings her own voice and preferences boldly into the foreground. Consider this lengthy passage, in which she summarily dismisses further discussion of three of the works on the concert program, as follows: “’Plum Tarts’ by Alison Tipton, Susan Van Pelt's ‘Carpe
Diem’ and ‘Passing’ by OSU faculty member Susan Hadley contained more overtly expressive subject matter and our interpretation (I use the singular advisedly) was largely dictated by the preceding film clips” (P8: 1.1-1.8). Not only does Nicki make a surgical
207 elimination of half of the concert, but comments on her self-assuredness by explicitly adopting her own first person singular voice as a representation of the plural.
The second type of information that emerges as a formidable element in the authoritative tone of this writing comes wrapped in the lengthiest treatment of the audience/video relationship of any of the papers. Consider the following passage, in which Nicki speculates about the director’s decision to include this unconventional element in the production: “This provided a safety net for any audience member who might normally worry about what it 'means', or think they might not 'get it', but it also circumscribed the individual's engagement with the work” (P4: 4.1 - 4.4). Not only does she invest herself in a thorough treatment of this issue, but effectively separates herself from those in the audience whom she views as not having the confidence nor the authority to make judgments about the works themselves. A composite profile of the types of information in the writing of n10 is represented in Figure 30.
4.10.3 Source of Information
As with all other writers in the group, observation and opinion account for the primary sources of information in the development of Nicki’s paper. The two components of observation and opinion, which emerge as the most frequently cited sources among all writers, are again central in Nicki’s paper, with observation (33%) figuring slightly higher than opinion (28%). What is striking in this profile is the role that domain knowledge plays in the creation of the text. Occupying 14% of the composite of sources of information, this figure constitutes the largest proportion of domain knowledge to be accessed by any other writer, and again supports the authoritative tone of the paper.
208 Consider the mitigating influence in the relationship between domain knowledge and opinion, for example, in which domain knowledge accounts for 50% as much information as the category of opinion (Table 55). This passage from the conclusion of the paper shows the insertion of an opinion at the end of a lengthy revelation of Nicki’s familiarity with dance, showing the way in which these two sources of knowledge inform each other: “Furthermore, the stylistic challenge for a full-time company of dancers in faithfully performing a variety of works forged from different modern techniques and different conceptual bases is immense” (P10: 3.1 – 3.5).
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Opinion 31%34%22%36%27%17%36%28%25% Domain Knowledge 3% 4% 9% 5% 7% 3% 6% 14%5%
Table 55: Domain Knowledge, Opinion and Association: n10
Finally, Nicki’s demonstrated pattern of interweaving personal associations (7%) into the text adds color and authenticity to the paper, connecting the concert experience to the lived experience of the viewer in language that invites the reader into the evocative nature of the performance event. This kind of writing is exemplified in a pair of associations, featured in the following passage about the dance Circle Walker: “Monkey agility registers in my mind only to be replaced fractionally later by thoughts of weight- less astronauts” (P6: 10.1a – 10.3). A representation of the sources of information used in paper n10 is found in Figure 31.
209 Source of Information: n10
video personal 2% knowledge 4% hearing 3% opinion 28%
observation 33% program 6%
self-awareness 3% association domain 7% knowledge 14%
Figure 31: Source of Information composite: n10
4.10.4 Kind of Understanding
Nicki’s writing displays a well-rounded understanding of dance. Although the empirical basis for understanding this art form assumes its expected role of ascendancy
(31%), in Nicki’s case it is joined by supporting components in several other areas, most notably the largest incidence of conceptual understanding (26%) in any of the papers
(Table 56).
Whereas this high conceptual component of understanding, strengthened by a high incidence of factual understanding, could minimize the empirical understanding of the art form, it is supported by strong awareness of both the hermeneutical and the
210 qualitative aspects of understanding (Table 56). Nicki’s seamless interweaving of the conceptual, the qualitative and the hermeneutical is exemplified in the following passage:
"‘Circle Walker’ shifts from primal to industrial, expressive to abstract, insouciant to precarious . . . ” (P6: 2.1 – 2.5). Finally, an understanding of the affective element in
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Conceptual 11%13%16%20%15%13%17%26%5% Qualitative 5% 10%9% 17%15%4% 14%9% 6% Hermeneutical 31%32%20%12%16%23%17%17%29%
Table 56: Conceptual, Qualitative and Hermeneutical Understanding: n10 understanding dance makes its way into the text by way of Nicki’s confident assertion of her own experience as a viewer. In the following excerpt, she situates herself as a member of the audience, in a moment when the dancers’ actions caused an outburst of
Kind of Understanding: n10
affective qualitative 3% 9%
hermeneutical conceptual 17% 26%
factual 14% empirial 31%
Figure 32: Kind of Understanding composite: n10 211 laughter: “. . . then Hauser bumps into the third dancer Gina Jacobs and we laugh with relief” (P9/6.2 –3). More personally, Nicki describes her own engagement and uncertainty with regard to the ideas posed by the concert with the following revelation: “I don't know the answer . . . but I was certainly pleased to be forced into entering the debate.” A representation of the kinds of understanding revealed in paper n10 is found in
Figure 32.
4.11 Paper n12: Elena
4.11.1 Student Profile
Three general patterns emerge in Elena’s profile as a writer. First, she has taken the assignment and its intended audience to heart, taking care to address the assigned readership as one which is unacquainted with dance, and to provide them with an engaging account of the concert experience. This attempt to write an accessible document first becomes visible in the clever title of her paper, “Fall Arrival: TheConsigliere
Collection,” a play on the word “collection” in the concert title that invokes popular culture through the metaphor of a fashion show. The paper is immediately conversational in tone, opening as if Elena is involved in an actual dialogue with her readers: “No, it is not a new line of men’s clothing, . . .” (P1:1.1), she begins.
Secondly, Elena strives to present readers with an even-handed and balanced account of the concert, providing coverage of each dance on the program and taking time to describe the concert as a whole and to address the unconventional element of video
212 footage which it has incorporated. The dances are considered in the order in which they were presented, with a relatively democratic distribution of words allotted to each dance.
Finally, Elena, like only two others in the study population (n7 and n10), has elected to devote a substantial portion of her writing (24%) to four paragraphs of introduction. Here, she not only establishes the play on words with the concert title, but also provides some background on this particular type of concert, and avails herself of a brief opportunity to profile the concert audience and theorize about the role of the video component within the concert. Although she gives voice to serious problems posed by the video footage, Elena applauds both its apparent intention to educate the concert spectators and its innovation.
Elena has disregarded the word limit specifications for the assignment, delivering the second longest paper of the group at 1140 words. Both the high number of entries and the average words per entry rate point to a densely packed paper, necessitating frequent breaks of individual sentences into smaller segments in order to answer the research questions (Table 57). Combined with the high number of words, a picture emerges of this writer as someone who has a lot to say.
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 entries/paper 116 183 198 127 177 181 175 206 235 avg words/entry 8 5.7 5.5 5.6 5.7 6.9 6.1 5.2 4.9
Table 57: Entries per paper and average words per entry
With regard to traditional critical activities, Elena falls into the smallest third of the study group in using evaluative statements (8.5%), and the largest third in her use of
213 interpretive writing (27.7%). She joins five other writers who have provided some contextualization of the concert, and only three other writers in theorizing about it. A composite representation of critical activities in the paper of n12 is found in Figure 33
Critical Activities: n12
theorizing 1% contextual 1% interpretive 28%
evaluative descriptive 8% 62%
.
Figure 33: Critical Activities composite: n12
4.11.2 Type of Information
Like most writers, Elena invests the greatest proportion of her attention in information regarding the Audience/Performance Interaction (36%). Within this area, she exhibits a pronounced tendency to write about the movement/meaning relationship, second only to that of writer n1. As well, she integrates a significant portion of information about the video/audience relationship into her writing. Elena’s paper also exhibits the highest tendency among all writers to discuss the relationship between the
214 title and the meaning of a given work. In addition to the word play already noted, which juxtaposes the title of the concert with the title of the paper, this concern with titles is exemplified in writing such as the following passage, in which she summarizes her previous writing about Plum Tarts by characterizing it as “short, sweet, and not more than the title suggests . . .” (P6: 2.1–2.3).
Type of Information: n12
Extrinsic 1% Metaphysical Theatrical 1% Elements Audience/ 20% Performance Interaction:
Concert and 36% Concert Collaborators 14% Choreography and Movement: 28%
Figure 34: Type of Information composite: n12
The next largest component of information in this paper focuses on the component of choreography and movement, with Elena’s paper emerging among those of the top third of writers who place an emphasis on movement detail. Consider the following excerpt about Ciona, which points to the strength of this writer in recalling movement from the concert experience: “Two dancers bend at the hips and stand head to head, while two others climb onto their backs and balance, making subtle shifts, angular 215 and round . . .” (P5: 6.1 – 6.5); or this one about Partial: “At one point, during a breathey dance phrase, Cappelletti’s foot hits the floor like a lead weight” (P8: 4.1-4.3).
Also significant in the writing of Elena is her keen awareness of the spectrum of production elements in developing this paper. Among these, the paper foregrounds the element of video as a central component of the concert experience. Elena’s fourth paragraph of introductory material is largely devoted to a discussion of issues pertaining to this unconventional element. Though she begins with an excellent and even-handed description of the use of video in the concert, the crux of her argument begins to emerge in the following excerpt: “Though they left little to the imagination, the video intro- ductions gave the dancers a vocal and intellectual presence throughout the evening”
(P4: 3.1 – 3.3).
Elena also demonstrates the highest tendency of any writer to reference costume choices, lighting design and music in her writing. Information about lighting is brought into the discussion of four out of the six dances in this paper, finding its way into her writing about the dances Partial, Passing, Circle Walker and Plum Tarts. The following excerpt about Circle Walker exemplifies references to information about both lighting and costume: “Cappelletti wears only a pair of flesh colored tights, is bare-footed, bare- chested and bathed in red light from above” (P10: 5.1-2). Additionally, Elena devotes a good deal of the paper to information about music. Consider the following excerpt about
Circle Walker: “The music by Yaz Kaz hints at a Native American ritual, but clashing metallic sounds make it at once futuristic and ancient . . . “ (P10: 7.1 – 7.4).
Finally, there is a substantial inclusion of writing that deals with information regarding the performer/set relationship, placing this paper in the top third among all
216 papers that reference this kind of information. Again, this element is brought into Elena’s discussion of Circle Walker: “The dance lies in the geometry and choreography of the sculpture, as well as in the human being, creating imagery and movement together” (P10:
4.1-2). A composite of types of information for writer n12 is represented in Figure 34.
4.11.3 Source of Information
Elena’s writing reveals a general pattern of sources of information not unlike that of most other writers. As with the others, there is the typical sharing of the central information coming from a dual reliance on observation and opinion. As is most often the case, information derived from observation (37%) supercedes that from opinion (25%).
Interesting in this paper is the relatively small quotient of information accessed from the
Source of Information: n12
personal video knowledge 4% 3% program opinion 9% 25% hearing 4%
association 13%
observation domain 37% knowledge 5%
Figure 35: Source of Information composite: n12
217 video footage. Having problematized the role that this element played in the concert,
Elena seems to have taken pains to sidestep the inclusion of any information derived solely from that source. At the same time, the use of program information is higher than that used by most writers, and it should be reiterated that, in any case, there are many points at which the video duplicates information found in the video.78
A final component in the composite of sources of information used in Elena’s paper is the strong presence that association maintains throughout this text. The incidence of associative source material reaches the highest proportion among the study group
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10n12 Association 11%9%11%5%7%12%3%7% 13%
Table 58: Association as a Source of Information: n12 writers (Table 58), finding expression in single word choices, such as the choice of the word “spicy” to characterize the music for Plum Tarts (P6: 1.3a), as well as in extended passages of writing. Whether referring to a section in Partial as the three dancers becoming “a modern dance slapstick team” (P8: 5.2), or characterizing the movement of
Ciona as “. . . bodies transformed into cells or molecules, slowly shifting and balancing on and around one another with precision and care . . . “ (P5: 4.1–4.4), this writing is replete with the personal associations of its author. A composite of sources of information for n12 is represented in Figure 35.
78As stated in chapter 3, the designation of sources of information is in certain cases an educated guess. That is, the source listed is the most likely source of information, and I have adopted the strategy of privileging the program in cases where I had to select one or the other. All of this is to say that the ratio of program to video information in this case may be more balanced than it appears. 218 4.11.4 Kind of Understanding
Elena’s writing indicates that she understands dance as an empirical phenomenon
(44 %), resulting in a paper that is second only to that of n8 in its emphasis on this aspect of the art form (Table 59). Also significant in Elena’s profile is the role of the hermeneutical in her understanding of dance. Devoting 29% of her writing to a consideration of this aspect of understanding, this paper falls into the top third of writings
Writer n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 Empirical 29%36%40%27%37%49%33%31%44% Hermenutical 31%32%20%12%16%23%17%17%29%
Table 59: Empirical and Hermeneutical Understanding: n12 which foreground this kind of understanding. Consider the following example in which
Elena reflects first an hermeneutical and then an empirical understanding of the dance
Carpe Diem: “‘Carpe Diem" followed the lightheartedness of "Partial" with a wash of billowing, spinning, leaping, skittering dancers . . . (P9: 1.2 – 1.4).
In keeping with the high incidence of information gleaned from the program for the concert, Elena also exhibits a strong pattern of understanding the factual dimension of dance. This focus on the factual, however, is frequently tempered by the attention given to qualitative statements, such as the example in the following passage about Passing, in which she presents an awareness of the interconnections among the hermeneutical, the qualitative and the empirical: “We were constantly reminded of the fragility of life as one of the women subtly slides to the floor, exhausted and in need of rest” (P7: 4.1 – 4.5).
219 Kind of Understanding: n12
qualitative affective 1% 6% conceptual ontological 5% 1% hermeneutical 29% empirical 44%
factual 14%
Figure 36: Kind of Understanding: n12
A final component of significance in Elena’s paper is the level of conceptual understanding it reflects. Corresponding to the tendency to demonstrate empirical understanding in her discussion of the dances themselves, it is interesting that she brings the conceptual aspect into focus more frequently in her extended introductory and concluding sections of the paper, such as in this excerpt from the final paragraph: “For any first-time theater goers, I would say Cappelletti offered a helpful introduction to the world of modern dance and the potential to increase audience interest and support” (P11/
1.1 – 1.2). A composite of kind of understanding for n12 is represented in Figure 36
220 SECTION II: THE DANCES
4.12 Organization of the Section
In this section, I will examine differences in understanding brought forward by the six distinct dance works that comprised the concert experience. Because the writing assignment was based on a concert of works by more than one choreographer, these papers offer an excellent opportunity to explore the breadth of understandings elicited by individual works and to peer into the foundations of those understandings.
In conducting my analysis, I have drawn upon the coding sheets, which allow for separation of the individual dances, as well as on my own domain knowledge and familiarity with this specific concert and the dances that comprised it. I have also drawn from the baseline descriptions of each of the dances that I recorded prior to the analysis of the student writings,79 from which I have excerpted an abbreviated description at the beginning of each of the analyses. The six dances are considered in order of their appearance on the concert program. Following this descriptive information, each dance is examined in terms of critical activities, type of information, source of information and kinds of understanding revealed by the writings.
79 Appendix C contains these descriptions of both the dances and the video clips, according to the concert order. 221 4.13 Ciona
This piece, choreographed in 1973 by the Pilobolus company, is a dance for six people that lasts approximately twelve minutes. Wearing sleek gray costumes, the ensemble of dancers acts cooperatively for much of the duration of the piece in order to accomplish the series of group shapes and actions that forms the substance of the work.
There is an accompanying score of electronic musical sounds, which is used not as a rhythmic complement to the movement, but rather serves as a kind of atmospheric element, against which the dancers take on characteristics and make shapes not usually associated with human behavior.
Critical Activities: Ciona contextualizing 1% interpretation 19%
evaluation 6%
description 74%
Figure 37: Critical Activities composite for Ciona
All nine students elected to devote a portion of their writing to Ciona, with writer n8 devoting the largest share of her attention to this dance, while writers n6, n7, n10 and n12 assign to it the lowest word allotment. As shown in Figure 37, the traditional
222 critical activities composite reveals that nearly three quarters of the group’s writing about
Ciona is concerned with description, the highest ratio of descriptive writing about any of the six dances (Table 60). The remaining components of the composite show that nearly one fifth of the total writing about this piece consists of interpretive discussion, while only 6%, the lowest percentage of any of the dances, is given to evaluation. 1% of the writing about Ciona is given to contextualization.
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker descriptive 74% 59% 54% 72% 58% 66% evaluative 6% 12% 7% 8% 11% 10%
Table 60: Descriptive and Evaluative Activities: Ciona
4.13.1 Type of Information
The writing about Ciona finds its greatest emphasis (48%) in information about the movement and choreography. Movement details are foregrounded in the papers, with attention focused on describing the relationships among the performers, conveyed by such phrases such as “perilous lifts” (n3/P2: 2.3a), and “daring partnering” (n3/P2: 1.2a) or captured in the following excerpt from writer n2: “A dancer could catch two people charging across the stage, hold them askew while spinning in a circle, put them down and move on — all in three seconds' time . . .” (P2/3.1–3.7a). Frequent references to shape and spatial patterns formed by these relationships also distinguish the writing about the movement in Ciona, pointing to what writer n2 calls its “clearly defined spatial arrange- ments” (P2/3.1a–3.3a). Adjectives such as “geometric,” and verbs such as “morph”
223 (n9/P3: 3.6) and “mutate” (n3/P2: 4a) also attest to this emphasis on the changing shapes created by the relationships among the performers in this work.
27% of the writing about Ciona highlights the interaction between the audience and the performance. The movement/meaning relationship dominates this category, with various speculations about the meaning of the continually changing shapes that characterize the piece. An illustration of this trend occurs in the paper of n2, who writes
Type of Information: Ciona
Theatrical Elements 9% Audience/ Performance Concert and Interaction Concert 27% Collaborators 16%
Choreography and Movement 48%
Figure 38: Type of Information composite for Ciona that the dancers “. . . might have seemed at first like single-celled organisms dividing and joining each other in a primordial soup, but then suddenly they'd remind the audience
224 that they were only people, doing tricks” (P2: 7.1 – 7.6). There are also references that characterize the piece as a “good opener” or “crowd pleaser” with regard to the audience
(n9/P3: 1.1a; 1.3).
The third largest contingent of information brought into the papers about Ciona is writing that features the concert and concert collaborators (16%). In addition to basic concert information, such as program order, identification of the choreographer, composer and title of the work, this category of information supports the emphasis on the relationships among the ensemble. Several passages feature a concern with the performer/ensemble relationship and the performer/work relationship, such as the following example from writer n9, who states that “ . . . each dancer played a role of major structural importance throughout the piece” (P3: 4.3). Attention is also devoted to the difficulty of this work, with specific references to the skill the dance requires of its dancers, represented by word choices such as “precarious” (n6, n8, n9) and “perilous”
(n3), or in this characterization by writer n10, who notes that the “. . . piece placed great demands on the performers” (P5: 6.2).
With regard to the theatrical elements of Ciona (9%), information about the costumes and music is highlighted. Seven out of nine papers include information about the costumes for this work, and six out of nine refer to its musical accompaniment.
4.13.2 Source of Information
The writings about Ciona draw from a distinct palette of sources of information.
In the first place, the ratio of observation (52%) over opinion (16%) in these papers shows the greatest differential of any other dance featured on the program (Table 4.42).
225 Also striking is the incidence of association as a source of information in these writings.
No other dance commands a higher proportion of associative statements over those based on observation than Ciona (Table 61), which includes the greatest percentage of associative references of all the dances. In keeping with the previous characterization of
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker observation 52% 28% 44% 43% 39% 49% opinion 16% 30% 34% 25% 37% 23% association 17% 8% 6% 5% 8% 14%
Table 61: Observation, Opinion and Association: Ciona emphasis on the relationships and continual changes of shapes among the performers in this dance, the associations brought into the writings are largely concerned with articulating these characteristics of the piece. Although the range of associative sources is considerable, the two most frequent points of reference among the writers serve to illustrate this trend in the writing. The first addresses the importance of shape as an aspect of the dance, and emerges as a series of references to sculpture. Six out of nine writers make explicit connections to the art of sculpture in their writing, including verbs like
“chisel” and “carve,” nouns like “pillars” (n8:P2/67.3) and phrases such as “. . . sculptural use of the body . . .” (n3/P2:1.3), or “. . . an effortlessly evolving sculpture. . .”
(n2:P2/3.9a). The other prominent group of associations elicited by Ciona congeals around references to the forces of nature and evocations of life forms that are not human.
Illustrating this trend are phrases such as those in the writing of n1 that liken the dancers to “a cosmic ocean,” or “a luminous glow worm” (P2/3.2; 3.5), or the following litany of 226 Source of Information: Ciona
self- awareness opinion 1% association 16% 17% domain program knowledge 6% 4% personal knowledge hearing 1% 1% hearing; observation 2% observation 52%
Figure 39: Source of Information composite for Ciona associations in paper n2 asserting that the dancers “. . . offered small glimpses of frogs, kaleidoscopes, wind chimes, stacked tables, drops of water, and Willy Wonka's oompah- loompahs” (P2:5). Figure 39 presents a composite view of sources of information used in the writings about Ciona.
4.13.3 Kind of Understanding
Collectively, the papers about the Ciona reveal an empirical understanding of dance, with strong indications of qualitative and factual understanding also present
(Figure 40). Hermeneutical understanding is revealed as the next most frequent category,
227 manifested in the interpretive inclination of 19% of the writing. Conceptual understanding is reflected in 10% of the writings, such as in the characterization of this dance as a feat requiring “balance, strength and concentration” (n1:P2/5.6), and affective understanding is reflected in 3% of the papers, such as the testimony of writer n3 that the dancers “surprised” her (P2/5.4), or the statement in paper n6 that the dance resulted in
Kind of Understanding: Ciona
qualitative affective 11% 3% ontological conceptual 1% 10%
hermenutical 19%
factual empirical 8% 48%
Figure 40: Kind of Understanding Composite: Ciona
“a sense of anticipation” (P3/4.1). Reflexive understanding appears in only the paper of one student (n1), and thus eludes a percentage indicator. An ontological understanding of dance arises in one percent of the writing, a small but significant share, since many dances do not elicit this kind of understanding at all. This category of understanding is represented in the paper of n7, with a reference to the ability of Ciona to remind viewers
228 of “the awesome physicality” of movement (P5/2.3a), and again in a reference to the transient nature of the art form in the writing of n3 (P2/5.1).
4.14 Plum Tarts
This piece, choreographed in 1997 by Allison Tipton, is a dance for three women that lasts approximately three minutes. Dressed in dark tank tops and sleek-fitting black pants, the dancers embody the spirit and style of the tango by Astor Piazzola, which provides the musical accompaniment to the movement.
Like Ciona, discussions of this dance appear in the papers of all nine writers, though n10 does so only in passing, since she states that the video footage relating to this dance has “dictated” her interpretation of it. In the papers of n1, n2, and n3, this dance is given the lowest proportion of writing of the other dances considered. As revealed in the representation of critical activities used in these writings (Figure 41), Plum Tarts has elicited a significantly lower proportion of descriptive writing (59%) than Ciona, while featuring a 10% increase in interpretive writing and a doubling of the percentage of evaluative writing (12%), the highest ratio of evaluation of any other dance (Table 62).
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker evaluative 6% 12% 7% 8% 11% 10%
Table 62: Evaluative Activity : Plum Tarts
229 Critical Activities: Plum Tarts interpretation 29%
description 59% evaluation 12%
Figure 41: Critical Activities for Plum Tarts
4.14.1 Type of Information
As with Ciona, the largest component in the type of information category is concerned with movement and choreography, but here it is matched by a nearly equal emphasis in two of the remaining categories (Figure 42). Though one writer (n6) discusses this dance without reference to the movement, it is movement details that are foregrounded in the remainder of the writings, with emphasis directed toward the actions of specific body parts. In particular, the hips and arms are noted, as indicated in the following excerpt by writer n2, who refers to the “. . . coy flutterings of the arms, and seductive hip isolations” (P3/2.5a) that characterized the piece. The recognizable style of the tango in this work is also given attention in the papers, exemplified by the following excerpt, which blends stylistic information with references to body parts: “ . . . Using the
230 familiar stance of the tango — long, low strides, an arm held forward, an arm held to the side, the chest lifted, an occasional flick of the head . . .” (n7:P6/4.1 – 4.2). The dancers’ use of space is also a prominent feature in the writing about Plum Tarts, with
Type of Information: Plum Tarts Theatrical Elements 14% API 28%
Concert and Concert Collaborators 26%
Choreography and Movement 32%
Figure 42: Type of Information composite for Plum Tarts particular attention to patterns of advancing and retreating, as seen in the following excerpt by writer n8: “As the five dancers retreated one last time, each hip moving them towards the back . . .” (P3/6.1–6.2). Half of the writers who discuss this dance also refer to the choreographic structure of the piece, addressing the beginning and ending of the piece, and describing the intermittent divisions of the ensemble into solos, duets and trio work.
The second most frequent type of information to be considered for Plum Tarts consists in writings about the interactions between the audience and the performance. As in all of the dances, this component is largely devoted to discussions of the movement/
231 meaning relationship, exemplified in such word choices as “spicy” and “saucy” or in phrases such as the “come-hither facial expressions” (n3:P3/2.3) of the performers. Also prominent in this category is information pertaining directly to the audience/ performer relationship, such as the following characterization of the performers by writer n8: “Soon, four more dancers joined . . . endlessly directing inviting stares to their audience”
(P3/4.1–4.5a). Several writers also elected to bring the title of the dance into their discus- sions, such as in the following evaluative excerpt from paper n3, which ends the para- graph about this work with the statement: "’Plum Tarts’ seems to be a fitting title: the dance is sweet, tangy, and like a sugary dessert, without much substance” (P3/8.1–8.2).
Information about the concert and concert collaborators also commanded a significant portion of information in writings about Plum Tarts. Background information about the choreographer is highlighted in all but one of the papers, many of which inform the reader of the choreographer’s intention in making the work, as illustrated in this passage by writer n1: “Choreographer Allison Tipton likes to make dances that are
‘sexy’” (P3/2.1–2.3). In addition, Plum Tarts is the only dance from the concert to evoke writing that comments on specific physical attributes of the performers. Kelly’s paper o(n7) exemplifies this tendency, combined with a spatial reference, in the following excerpt: “ Five women of all different shapes and sizes entered the stage space individually . . .” (P6/3.1–3.3). Half of all references to the program order of the concert are featured in the type of information used in discussing Plum Tarts, as shown in the following passage, which asserts that “following ‘Ciona’ did little to support this weakest piece on the program . . .” (P4/2.1–2.3).
232 To round out the intrinsic information in the writings about Plum Tarts, references to theatrical elements are the least featured type of information in these writings (Table 63), occupying less attention than they receive in the writings about
Ciona. Lighting is the most often cited, finding its way into half of the papers, as
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker Theatrical elements 9% 14% 11% 15% 18% 41%
Table 63: Theatrical Elements as Type of Information: Plum Tarts exemplified by the following excerpt from writer n12, who notes that the dancers’
“ . . . hip swiveling figures become silhouetted against the hot red background” (P6: 3.8 –
3.10a). A smaller, though significant degree of attention is also devoted to discussions about the music. These passages are typically brief, primarily incorporated as a means of pointing out the tango style of the dance, as in this opening sentence by writer n8: “Set to the upbeat Argentinean tango of Astor Piazzola was Allison Tipton’s “Plum Tarts” (P3:
1.1a–1.2). There were no references to metaphysical or extrinsic information in the writings of all students who discussed this dance.
4.14.2 Source of Information
In keeping with the strong evaluative tone of the writings about this piece (Figure
41), the incidence of opinion edges slightly higher than observation when sources of information are considered in these papers. Other prominent components of the category include a higher than usual reliance on information from both the program (11%) and the 233 video footage (10%). Considering that no reference from the video makes its way into the papers about Ciona, for example, this percentage in discussing Plum Tarts is striking
(Table 64). Six of the eight students who wrote about this dance referred to a statement made in the video by the choreographer, Allison Tipton, about her predilection for
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker video 10% 3% 2% 1% 2%
Table 64: Video as Source of Information: Plum Tarts making dances that she feels are “sexy.” Each of the students who cited the interview recalled the exact state-ment with slight differences, as exemplified by this reference in
Source of Information: Plum Tarts
personal video knowledge 1% 10% opinion program 30% 11%
hearing 4% hearing; observation 4% observation association 28% 8% domain knowledge 4%
Figure 43: Source of Information for Plum Tarts 234 the paper of writer n6, who states that “ . . . in the video, Tipton referred to the work as portraying a woman’s sense of sexiness. . . “ (P4/2.1–2.3); whereas writer n3 reports that
Tipton says: "I think all the dances I make are sexy. And that's a good thing"
(P3/3.1–4.1). Both writers exemplify the pattern present in the other papers by going on to make hermeneutical remarks following this information.
Though less prominent than in the writings about Ciona, associative information plays a significant role (Table 65) in these writings as well. Laura (n3) sets up an explicit association by way of describing the movement style of the work, in the passage,
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker association 17% 8% 6% 5% 8% 14%
Table 65: Association as Source of Information: Plum Tarts
“Think of the confrontational feline style of MTV, toned down enough to be called modern dance” (P3/7.1–7.2), for example. Associations also emerge indirectly, in movement descriptions such as the following one from paper n12, which refers to the dancers’ “pouting hips and lips” (P6: 2.8a). Association is tapped as well by verb choices such as “prowl” and “strut” or adjectives such as “hot” (n12:P6/3.10) and “saucy”
(n1:P3/4.1).
The components of hearing, and hearing combined with observation, used to exhibit a stronger presence than in the writings about Ciona. Though much of this part of the writing is concerned with establishing a connection between the tango style of music
235 and the tango dance form, it becomes a significant source of information in revealing the students’ understandings of the work (Table 66). Often, there is the addition of a component of domain knowledge integrated into these statements, as illustrated in the following excerpt from the paper of writer n7: “While I found ‘Plum Tarts’ visually and rhythmically interesting, I felt the dancers lacked the sexually charged confidence so apparent in the tango . . . “ (P6: 9.1 – 9.4). Figure 43 provides a composite of the sources of information used in writing about Plum Tarts.
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker hearing 1% 4% 3% 9% 3% 2% hearing/ observation 2% 4% 1% 1%
Table 66: Hearing and Hearing/Observation as Sources of Information: Plum Tarts
4.14.3 Kind of Understanding
As a group, the papers about the dance Plum Tarts reveal a lower pattern of understanding dance empirically than the dance Ciona, with a stronger proportion of factual understanding and a smaller degree of qualitative understanding. There is a sharp rise in hermeneutical understanding, which comprises 30% of the composite of understanding (Figure 44), rivaling that of empirical understanding in writings about this dance. Conceptual understanding in Plum Tarts matches its corresponding representation in Ciona with 10% of the writings, and affective understanding figures in 1% of the papers.
236 Kind of Understanding: Plum Tarts
qualitative affective 6% 1% conceptual ontological 10% 1%
hermenutical 30% empirical 37%
factual 15%
Figure 44: Kind of Understanding for Plum Tarts
4.15 Passing
This piece, choreographed in 1992 by Susan Hadley, is a dance for three women that lasts approximately nine and a half minutes. The dancers are dressed in black pants and snug, fitted tops, and their movement unfolds into a narrative, in which one of the trio is dying and the others struggle to let her go. Accompanied by a score by Josquin, the dance is also dependent on the lighting design, which suggests death and beckons the dying performer into the upstage corner where she will eventually make her final exit.
Seven of the nine writers elected to write about this dance, with writer n9 allotting it the lowest share of his word limit. As displayed in Figure 45, the traditional critical
237 activities composite confirms the pattern of emphasis on descriptive writing (54%) that has characterized the other dances explored in this study. What emerges as distinct in the writings about Passing is the high ratio of interpretive writing (39%) that is featured,
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker interpretive 19% 29% 39% 19% 30% 23%
Table 67: Interpretive Activity: Passing higher than the ratio for any of the other dances (Table 67). Evaluative writing occupies only a small percentage (7%) of the overall writing about this dance, only slightly higher than that for Ciona. There is no contextualization or theorizing about this dance.
Critical Activities: Passing interpretation 39%
description 54%
evaluation 7%
Figure 45: Critical Activities composite for Passing
238 4.15.1 Type of Information
The writings about Passing reveal a pattern in which the choreography and movement component (38%) of information is almost identical to the component of information about audience/performance interaction (37%). References to concert and concert collaborators is the lowest (11%) representation of this component among the dances (Table 68), and the emphasis on theatrical elements is equal to that in the papers about Plum Tarts (14%), with lighting design carrying the greatest degree of attention within this category.
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker concert/concert collaborators 9% 14% 11% 15% 18% 41%
Table 68: Concert/Concert Collaborators as Type of Information: Passing
Movement details again make up the core material within the component of choreography and movement, with attention focused on relationships among the performers, body actions and manner of performance, and the use of space. The emphasis on the relationships among the three performers, which constitute the subject of this narrative work, are revealed in passages such as the following: “They first try leading her back by the hand, then resort to uncontrollably flinging their bodies to the floor in front of her” (n2/P4: 4.1 – 4.3), a section of the dance which is featured in four of the seven papers. Particular attention to the manner in which various actions are performed also emerges as significant in these writings, exemplified by the adverb “uncontrollably” in
239 Type of Information: Theatrical Passing Elements 14%
API Cooncert and 37% Concert
Collaborators 11%
Choregraphy and Movement 38%
Figure 46: Type of Information composite for Passing the preceding passage as well as in the following excerpt from the paper of writer n8:
“The same dancer continually presses in to the light while the other two gently take hold of her hand to lead her back to them only to more desperately throw themselves in her path later in the piece” (P4/4. 4.4a). The other movement component that is foregrounded here is the use of space in Passing. Spatial awareness emerges as part of the discussions in much of the movement description, including references to level, such as in “They begin moving quickly from the floor to the air, taking turns supporting and throwing each other” (n3:P4/2.1–2.3); and direction, as in “the opening frenetic movements constantly change facings . . .” (n8: P4/3.3a). As will be shown in the discussion that follows, there are other spatial references that come up in relation to the lighting design for this piece.
There is also a significant portion of writing about the movement and choreography of Passing that addresses the choreographic structure of this work. The 240 choreographic device of repetition is frequently noted, for example, as illustrated in this excerpt from the paper of n8: “Hadley primarily conveyed the tension of this event through the repetition of movement phrases . . . “ (P3/3.1–3.2).
Theatrical elements command a larger share of the writing about Passing than does information about the concert and the concert collaborators, a reversal of the trend
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker theatrical elements 16% 26% 14% 16% 13% 12% concert/concert collaborators 9% 14% 11% 15% 18% 41%
Table 69: Theatrical Elements and Concert/Concert Collaborators: Passing established in the writing about the two previous dances (Table 69). As indicated, there is a prevalence of information about lighting featured in the papers about this dance. Writer n2 develops the importance of this element and its relationship to the performing space early in her discussion of Passing, stating that the dancers “. . . begin moving frantically downstage left, but each phrase is continuously interrupted by one dancer's gravitation towards the white light, casting a narrow, diagonal path across the stage floor”
(P4/2.1a–2.4).
The other theatrical element to receive a significant share of attention in these writings is the use of music in the work. Like lighting, the musical accompaniment is framed as a critical element in the meaning-making aspects of the dance. The following passage in the writing of n8 illustrates the integration of music, lighting, movement, costume, and space in this work: “Juxtaposed against the lush melody of Josquin’s 241 composition were the strong and agitated movements of three female dancers dressed all in black, illuminated only by a bright shaft of light emanating from the upper corner of the stage (P4: 2.1a – 2.5).
Interactions between the audience and the performance, like the component of choreography and movement, merit slightly more than one third of the writing about
Passing. As in the discussions of the two other dances, these sections of writing deal primarily with the movement/meaning relationship, exemplified in statements such as the following passage from the paper of writer n1: “Classical ballet lines layered with a modern dance movement style are carefully interwoven to express the dancers' feelings, their relationship to each other, and to the music (P4: 4.1a – 4.3); or again in this excerpt from the paper of n12, who casts herself as a member of the audience in stating, “. . . we were constantly reminded of the fragility of life as one of the women subtly slides to the floor, exhausted and in need of rest (P7/4.1–4.5).
As in the writing about Plum Tarts, there is no presence of extrinsic, metaphysical, or reflexive writing in the papers about Passing.
4.15.2 Source of Information
The writings about Passing are drawn from a distinct constellation of sources of information (Figure 47). Observation and opinion again dominate the composite of sources, with observation (44%) commanding a greater share of the palette than opinion
(34%). These two components together are accessed so frequently in writing about this dance that they relegate other sources of information to only 22% of the overall picture, with program information and association leading the remaining field of possibilities.
242 At 6% of the sources of information used in writing about this dance, Passing looks more like Ciona, which utilized information found in the program to the same degree. Associative writing occupies a lower proportion of writing than either of the two
Source of Information: Passing personal knowledge self- video 2% awareness 3% program 1% 6% opinion 34%
association 6% observation domain 44% knowledge hearing 1% 3%
Figure 47: Source of Information Composite: Passing preceding dances, and is illustrated in excerpts such as this one from the paper of n3, who finds that the “. . . repetitive movements stay in one corner of the stage, a metaphor for the mundanity of daily life” (P4: 3.1 – 3.3), or again in this passage by writer n12, who makes a metaphor of the interruptions created in one dancer’s path by the others as follows: “. . . she never trips or misses a step, [and] their intense show of concern, fear, even love, are actually obstacles valleys, rivers, mountains over which the woman glides . . . “ (P7/6.1– 6.4).
243 Information gleaned from the video footage that preceded each piece on the concert is used sparingly here, and consists primarily of references to the interview with choreographer Susan Hadley, which was included in that footage. Two writers, n8 and n9, make reference to this clip, citing Hadley’s revelation that she had recently lost a loved one and had used this experience as inspiration for the making of Passing. The use of this source of information is clearly exemplified in the following excerpt from the paper of n8: “Next on the program was Susan Hadley’s solemn and emotionally charged piece ‘Passing,’ choreographed in 1992 shortly after experiencing the loss of a loved one”
(P4/1.2).
4.15.3 Kind of Understanding
In the group of writings about Passing, there is an almost even split between hermeneutical (37%) and empirical (40%) understandings about dance (Figure 48). The writings reveal only 1% of affective and reflexive understandings , and 3% of conceptual understanding balanced by the high ratio of empirical, qualitative (10%), and factual understanding (8%). There is no writing about Passing that reveals a direct awareness of the ontological understanding of dance.
Hermeneutical understanding about Passing attains the greatest incidence of usage in the writings of all nine of the papers. In the paper of n2, this kind of understanding is manifested in the opening sentence of the paragraph about Passing:
244 Kind of Understanding: Passing
affective reflexive 1% 1% conceptual qualitative 3% 10%
empirical 40% hermenutical 37%
factual 8%
Figure 48: Kind of Understanding for Passing
“Death is the subject for Susan Hadley's ‘Passing,’ performed by three women dressed in black” (P4/1.1–1.4); and the following extended passage by writer n12 confirms that hermeneutical understanding arises from various aspects of the production, including both the lighting and the costume choices for this work: “The darkly lit dance reflected the difficulty of accepting death in its own time. Though clad in black, the dancers' movements were at times contrastingly free and energetic, suggesting youth, and memories of days gone by” (P7/2.1–3.5).
Qualitative understandings about dance are also a significant factor in the writings about this dance, and these can sometimes be revealed by a single word choice, such as
245 the following verbs in an otherwise strictly empirical passage from paper n1: “Three female dancers toss themselves on the stage bursting with quick leaps and drastic collapses to the ground” (P4: 2.2a–2.3b).
4.16 Partial
This piece, choreographed in 1997 by Angie Hauser, is a dance for three performers that lasts about four minutes. The dancers wear loose-fitting dark pants and blue tank tops, and they begin the dance in unison with a series of very specific gestures.
This unison movement develops, breaks off into separate actions, then returns.
Meanwhile, the music shifts from Bach to a series of musical fragments that seems to emanate from a radio search. The dancers ignore this aural interruption and go on moving, until suddenly the Bach returns and they finish the dance in unison as they had begun.
All writers except n7 wrote about this piece, with both n1 and n9 bestowing on this dance the greatest portion of their attention. The critical activities representation
(Figure 49) reveals a composite that is strikingly similar to that of Ciona. Description commands the greatest share of the writing at 72%, with interpretation matching the
Ciona papers with the lowest percentage of all the dances (19%), and evaluative writing commanding only slightly higher than the evaluation of Ciona at 8%. Also like Ciona, a small degree of contextualization (1%) makes its way into the writings about Partial
(Table 70).
246 Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker descriptive 74% 59% 54% 72% 58% 66% evaluative 6% 12% 7% 8% 11% 10% interpretive 19% 29% 39% 19% 30% 23% contextualizing 1% 1% 1% 1%
Table 70: Critical Activities: Partial
Critical Activities: Partial
contextualizing interpretive 1% 19%
evaluation 8%
description 72%
Figure 49: Critical Activities: Partial
4.16.1 Type of Information
Similar to Ciona, the writing about Partial is concerned primarily (43%) with information about the movement and choreography. Movement details again emerge as the largest component of this category, with attention focused on body actions, with specific references to body parts used and gestures made; relationships among the 247 performers; the use of space; the flow of the movement; and the manner of performance.
In the passage which follows, writer n12 exemplifies the focus on body parts and actions:
“Their obviously blank faces are a contrast to their own arms wiping across the fronts of their bodies and the eventual burst of energy, whipping turns and quick jumps that follow” (P8: 3.1a–3.4). Relationships among the performers, also a significant strand of information considered in this writing, is illustrated in this passage by writer n3: “The
Type of Information: Partial
Extrinsic Theatrical 1% Elements Audience/ 15% Performance Interaction Concert and 26% Concert Collaborators 16%
Choreography and Movement 43%
Figure 50: Type of Information composite Partial
dancers move in and out of unison, hardly acknowledging each other even as their movements perfectly coincide” (P6: 2.1–2.3). Writer n10 combines attention to gesture with the relationships between performers and the use of space, as she writes: “This brief trio begins downstage with a sequence of clearly executed gestures: wiping, smoothing
248 and looking” (2.1–2.3). The “obviously blank” faces of the performers and the “burst of energy” referenced in the excerpt from writer n12, point to considerations in these writings about manner of performance and the flow of movement in this piece.
An unprecedented proportion of attention devoted to choreographic structure makes the writing about Partial exceptional within this group of dances. Writing entries about the structure of the choreography (28 entries) in this dance rival the entries about the movement/meaning relationship (31 entries), a pattern that emerges in the writings about no other dance. In the paper of n3, this consideration takes priority beginning with the opening sentence of the paragraph about this work, stating: “Angela Hauser's dance,
‘Partial,’ plays with the structure of a trio (P6/1.1–1.3). Weaving in comments about the relationships of the dancers and the use of space, the writer goes on to describe the development of this structure: “The dancers move in and out of unison, hardly acknowledging each other even as their movements perfectly coincide. The beginning develops smoothly from a simple gestural phrase into a progression that moves down a diagonal” (P6/2.1–3.3). Other writers attest to the significance of this concern as well, with 50% of the students who wrote about this dance commenting on the structure of the choreography.
Interaction between the audience and the performance commands the next largest component of the information composite about this Partial. Writer n1 brings this component into view immediately with her opening statement about this dance:
“. . . Choreographer and OSU MFA candidate Angie Hauser, connects us with our laughter in ‘Partial’ . . . “ (P5/1.1a–1.3). The focus in these writings on the movement/meaning relationship again emerges as the prominent concern within this
249 component, illustrated in this extended passage from the paper of n1: “Three dancers mix pedestrian, everyday movement with a stylized dance character to set an example of daily life. . . evident when the dancers appear to be moving in unison at the same tempo, then boom there is a slight crash of two bodies that acknowledge the incident but move on
(P5/ 2.1–4.5). The element of music in this work also figures in the movement/meaning relationship, as evidenced in this excerpt from writer n2: “Music by Bach provided book- ends to a middle section of static between various song segments, which sounded like a desperate search up and down the radio dial for the perfect tune” (P5/2.1–2.4).
The other two components of information, remarks about the concert and concert collaborators, and those concerned with theatrical elements, share almost equal billing in these papers (Table 71). With regard to the first of these, there are several references to the fact that the choreographer of the work also performs in it, for example, while four
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker theatrical elements 16% 26% 14% 16% 13% 12% concert/concert collaborators 9% 14% 11% 15% 18% 41%
Table 71: Theatrical Elements and Concert/Concert Collaborators: Partial writers comment on the place of Partial within the larger concert structure. Both of these trends are exemplified in this passage by writer n12, who opens her discussion of the dance by explaining “. . . the second half of the evening opened with Angie Hauser’s
"Partial," featuring Gina Jacobs, Cappelletti and Hauser herself” (P8/1.1–1.3).
250 The use of music takes center stage when examining theatrical elements discussed in these writings. Only one of eight writers (n1) who elected to discuss Partial ignores the role of music in this work. The following excerpt by writer n9 exemplifies this trend, while again bringing choreographic structure into the foreground of the paper: “A sense of development becomes evident at the end of the piece by means of a return to the original music, placement on stage at the polar opposite site to the beginning, and a similarity in movement” (P6/7.1–7.4). The pattern is also apparent in the following excerpt from writer n2: “A small, distinct phrase accompanied the classical music, visually complementing its compositional pattern” (P5/4.1–4.3).
A small portion of the composite also brings extrinsic information into the discussion through the writing of n9, who chooses to inform the reader about some of the history of this work: “. . . Hauser, Cappelletti and Jacobs are the original dancers of this work, which has appeared at the American College Dance Festival and on other Ohio
State University programs” (P6/3.2–3.5).
4.16.2 Source of Information
Observation (43%) and opinion (25%) clearly emerge as the central components in this spectrum of sources of information (Figure 50). While the proportion of observation is very similar to the pattern established in the writings about Passing (44%), the ratio of opinion is markedly lower than it is in the writings about all dances except
Ciona (16%). What is striking about this composite, however, is the significance of information gleaned through hearing, which accounts for over 9% of the information used in these writings., the highest among the dances. This trend is aligned with the
251 emphasis on music, resulting in more entries about this dance that arise from the sense of hearing than for any other dance (Table 72). Writer n9 is representative of those who
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker observation 52% 28% 44% 43% 39% 49% opinion 16% 30% 34% 25% 37% 23% hearing 1% 4% 3% 9% 3% 2%
Table 72: Observation, Opinion and Hearing as Sources of Information: Partial bring this kind of information into his discussion of Partial, stating that: “Frequency static, operatic arias, and pop music fade in and out, while the dancers maintain an even flow of movement . . .” (P6/6.1–6.2).
Association, domain and personal knowledge share a place of similarly modest significance in rounding out this composite. In the case of association, references are
made to the neutral facial expressions of the performers, using phrases such as
“obviously blank” and “deadpan” (n8/P5:2.1), which seem to contrast with the very specific movement descriptions noted by these writers. Writer n3 exemplifies the juxtaposition of these two elements in the following phrase: “The dancers move in and out of unison, hardly acknowledging each other even as their movements perfectly coincide (P6/2.1–3.1). Domain knowledge also makes an appearance as a source of information in writing about this work, illustrated in statements like this one from writer n9, who says that “ . . . a departure from convention came in the opening of the second half of the performance with Angie Hauser's "Partial" (P6/6.1–6.2). The inclusion of personal knowledge, more prominent here than in any of the other dances (Table 73), is 252 Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker personal knowledge 1% 1% 2% 3%
Table 73: Personal Knowledge as Source f Information: Partial
Source of Information: Partial
program self- 7% awareness hearing 1% opinion 9% personal 25% knowledge 3% association video 5% 2% observation/ hearing 1% domain observation knowledge 43% 4%
Figure 51: Source of Information composite for Partial attributable to the fact that the choreographer is a classmate of the student writers.
Information which characterizes the choreographer as “a third-year graduate student” exemplify this component of the writing (n8: P5/1.2b).
4.16.3 Kind of Understanding
The papers about Partial reveal a pattern of empirical understanding in empirical the papers matches that of Ciona at 48% of the writing, balanced by 9% of factual and 253 8% of qualitative understanding. Empirical understanding figures in the writers’ tendency to use the information based on observation in considering this dance. The following passage in the writing of n2 brings observed material into the forefront of the discussion, as she describes a section of the movement: “The dancers would wipe an invisible something off their bodies, foreheads, chests, and arms, look down, then suddenly upward. . .” (n2/P5: 5a).
Differentiating Partial from the previous dances discussed, is the significance of conceptual understanding (13%) within the composite of kinds of understanding about dance (Table 74). This work, more than any other dance from the concert program, evokes a tendency among the students to conceptualize in their viewing and writing, a
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker conceptual 10% 10% 3% 13% 5% 11%
Table 74: Conceptual Understanding: Partial pattern that closely corresponds with the proportion of attention given to writing about the choreographic structure of the work. The paper of n10 exemplifies this predilection in the following passage, which casts the movement/sound relationship of the work into a conceptual frame: “The movement becomes more arbitrary, quirky and surprising, shattering the unity and the clarity of form of the opening moments as the music hops along the radio dial” (P9/7.1–7.5). Writer n9 asserts that “this work is about movement in spliced disassociation within itself” (P6/2.1–2.2), while n8 claims that “. . . the dance was a witty exercise in deconstruction . . .” (P5/3.1 – 3.2) supporting this remark with
254 references to both the relationships of the performers and the musical accompaniment for the work: “ . . . without each other they seemed not just parts, but broken parts, and this is also cleverly conveyed within the changes of music (P5/3.3–3.4).
Kind of Understanding: Partial
affective qualitative 2% 8% conceptual 13%
hermeneutical 20%
factual 9% empirical 48%
Figure 52: Kind of Understanding Composite: Partial
Also of significance in the understanding profile elicited by this dance is the presence of hermeneutical understanding in these writings. The movement and choreographic structure, relationships among the performers, and the musical elements in the work, are all drawn into discussions of meaning in the writings about Partial.
Consider the following passage from writer n1, who follows a passage about the dancers nonchalantly bumping into each other with the following statement: “Just when you think things are going smoothly, you hit a bump in the road” (P5:3). This same moment in the dance becomes an opportunity for hermeneutical understanding in the writing of n10 as well: “Danced to an accompaniment by Bach, it all seems serious and controlled when 255 Cappelletti moves backwards and bumps into Hauser! And it was going so well!”
(P9/4.1–5). The paper of n12 illustrates the relationship of music to hermeneutical understanding in the following passage: It even contains a whacky radio sound track — opera, cello, country western, rock — seeming to imply that these little pieces of life are contained in the whole, and sometimes make for a very odd but manageable mix
(P8/8.1a–8.4).
There is a small but significant component of affective understanding that emerges in the writings about Partial, manifested in word choices such as “respite”
(n8: P5/1.1), “satisfying” (n2/P5: 6.3b), and in phrases like “. . . and we laugh with relief”
(n10: P9/6.3). Figure 51 provides a composite of the kinds of understandings in Parital.
4.17 Carpe Diem
This piece, choreographed in 1988 by Susan Van Pelt, is a dance for nine performers that lasts about eight minutes. The dancers are clothed in a variety of white costumes, some wearing skirts, others dressed in slacks and shorts. The movement is accompanied by a Philip Glass score that provides rhythmic counterpoint to the move- ment. It is a sweeping dance in which the ensemble travels back and forth across the stage, interrupted by sudden brief moments of stillness, and punctuated by the movement of solos and smaller groups that emerge from and return to the ensemble. The dance ends suddenly, along with the music.
Six out of the nine writers in the study included a discussion of this dance in their papers, with writers n1 and n7 abstaining and n10 writing only to dismiss the dance from
256 consideration, while writers n2 and n6 gave this dance their largest word quota. The traditional critical activities composite (Figure 52) reveals a pattern that most
Critical Activities: Carpe Diem
contextualizing interpretive 1% 30%
description 58% evaluation 11%
Figure 53: Critical Activities Composite: Carpe Diem resembles that of Plum Tarts, with descriptive writing (58%) dominating more than half of the composite, followed by interpretation at 30%, and evaluative writing filling out
11% of the papers.
4.17.1 Type of Information
The papers about Carpe Diem reveal a pattern that features the highest proportion of attention on the interaction between audience and performance of all dances (Table
75). Occupying 40% of the total composite, this component is dominated by
257 Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker Audience/Performance Interaction 27% 28% 37% 26% 40% 28%
Table 75: Audience/Performance Interaction: Carpe Diem discussions of the movement/meaning relationship, which breaks the precedents of the previous four dances by evoking more writing about the movement/meaning relationship than about movement itself. Passages such as “. . . The group also appeared to be listening to a more remote voice, signified by a motif of looking up or off into the distance . . .” illustrate this trend (n2:P6/5.1–5.3), as well as the following excerpt from the writing of n8: “Eight dancers, as though frozen in time, held crouched positions on the floor (P6/5.3–5.5). There is also a significant proportion of entries about the
Type of Information: Carpe Diem
Extrinsic Theatrical 1% Elements 18% Audience/ Performance Concert and Interaction Concert 40% Collaborators 13%
Choreography and Movement 28%
Figure 54: Type of Information Composite: Carpe Diem
258 audience/work relationship, exemplified by statements such as the following evaluative introduction by writer n9, who asserts that “. . . Susan Van Pelt's ‘Carpe Diem’ is an uplifting winner” (P7/1.1a– 1.3a).
The second largest component of information in the writings about Carpe Diem
is movement and choreography, though this sector of information is less referenced here than in the writings about most of the other dances, and the only piece which features more writing about the movement/meaning relationship than about the movement itself.
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker movement and choreography 48% 32% 38% 43% 28% 18% concert/concert collaborators 16% 26% 14% 16% 13% 12%
Table 76: Movement/Choreography; Concert/Concert Collaborators: Carpe Diem
References to the concert and concert collaborators is relatively low (13%) in these papers, second only to the writing about Passing (Table 76). At the same time, Carpe
Diem has inspired the second largest infusion of information about theatrical elements.
Movement elements in the foreground here are primarily concerned with space, and the actions of various body parts: “Dancers stream from the wings with even, sliding leaps, arms raised and heads upturned” (P5/3.1–3.5), and plays a crucial element as well in this passage by writer n12: “Choreographer, Susan Van Pelt created orderly lines, circles, entrances, exits, brief solos, duets and patterns of moving bodies that assemble and dissolve” (P9/3.1–3.4). More than any of the other works on this program, writers focused their comments on the use of time in Carpe Diem. This extended excerpt from 259 the paper of n8 reflects this concern: “Van Pelt orchestrated bodies to rush past our vision; a ceaseless play of entrances and exits. The flux of movement also had moments where time seemed partially suspended (P6/4.1–5.2). Other movement components highlighted in the papers about this dance are the flow of movement, relationships among the performers and the use of stillness. Consider this passage from the writing of n6, which attends to all of these elements, while again looking at the element of space: “The flux of movement also had moments where time seemed partially suspended: “Eight dancers, as though frozen in time, held crouched positions on the floor as one dancer turned in place. . .” (P6/5.1–5.6).
Providing a counterpoint to the low frequency of information about the concert and concert collaborators (13%), there is an emphasis on information about supporting theatrical elements (18%). In the case of Carpe Diem, these are overwhelmingly directed to the element of music, which is a featured aspect of every paper except that of writer n2. Writer n9 uses both music and lighting information to provide a general description of the dance as “. . . a large cast of ten, in white, on a white lit stage to an ethereal score by Philip Glass” (P7/2.1–2.4a). In the paper of writer n8. the element of music becomes a means of supporting her opening statement about the dual themes of the work: “The music of Philip Glass that accompanied the piece complimented both . . . its repetitious patterns evoking a meditative circularity; [and] its quick beating pulse urging movement onward” (P6/2.1–2.5a).
260 4.17.2 Source of Information
The collected papers about Carpe Diem produce a composite of sources of information that is both similar to and distinct from the composites for the other five
Dances (Figure 55). As is true about all the works, the two most prominent components featured are observation (39%) and opinion (37%), with the former exceeding the latter in frequency by only a small ratio. The next component of significance in this representation is shared by two areas of equal prominence, the use of program information and the
Source of Information: Carpe Diem
video 1% program self-awareness 8% 1% hearing 3% opinion 37%
hearing; observation observation 1% 39% association domain 8% knowledge 2%
Figure 55: Source of Information composite for Carpe Diem incorporation of association. These sources of information are represented in passages such as the following, which links program information about the composer with a description of the dancers as “. . . angels robed in white, pleasantly fleeing, flying and
261 gliding inside the music of Philip Glass” (n12/P9: 4.1 – 4.5). Writer n3 finds a poignant connection between the closing gesture of the performers and the evocation of loss in this passage: “. . . the ending is a startling use of one of these stillnesses: at the moment the music ends, all the dancers look sharply into their open palm, as if they'd lost something precious”(P5: 6.1a – 6.5).
Corresponding to the prevalence of information about music in this group of writings, there is also a significant component of information derived from hearing (3%), though some of the musical information enters the writings not through direct reference to hearing, but in the form of domain knowledge, as exemplified in excerpts providing contextualization for the work such as: “Composer Philip Glass has been frequently used by choreographers this past decade, such as Twyla Tharp and Doug Varone”
(n6:P7/1.1–1.3).
4.17.3 Kind of Understanding
The group of writings about Carpe Diem continues a strong pattern of empirical understanding of dance, with the level of awareness of the qualitative (7%) dimension of this experience only slightly higher than Plum Tarts (Table 77) the dance to show the
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker qualitative 11% 6% 10% 8% 7% 8% hermeneutical 19% 30% 37% 20% 32% 23%
Table 77: Qualitative and Hermeneutical Understanding: Carpe Diem
262 lowest frequency of this aspect of understanding (Figure 54). A factual understanding of dance emerges in these writings at the average level of approximately 9%. Hermeneutical understanding (32%) plays a strong role in the writings about this dance, second among all the dances only to Passing, with conceptual understanding reflected in 5% of the writing and affective understanding appearing in 2%, exemplified in phrases
Kind of Understanding: Carpe Diem
affective qualitative 2% 7% conceptual 5%
hermenutical 32% empirical 45%
factual 9%
Figure 56: Kinds of Understanding Composite for Carpe Diem such as this statement by writer n3, who closes her discussion of this dance with the statement, “I get chills” (P5/6.6). Ontological understanding does not emerge as a significant component of this writing.
263 4.18 Circle Walker
This piece, choreographed in 1985 by Alan Boeding, is a dance that lasts about eleven minutes. The dancer wears only a pair of white tights and performs with a large metal sculpture, also designed by Boeding to a musical score by Yaz Kaz. It is a dance which features the interaction between the sculptural element and the soloist.
Critical activities (Figure 55) for Circle Walker are dominated by descriptive writing (66%), followed by 23% of interpretive writing, a relatively high component of
Critical Activities: Circle Walker contextualizing 1% interpretation 23%
evaluation 10% description 66%
Figure 57: Critical Activities Composite: Circle Walker evaluative writing at 10%, and 1% contextualization. Much of the description is focused on the large spherical sculpture that is a part of the work.
264 4.18.1 Type of Information
The composite of types of information for the dance Circle Walker is striking in its emphasis on information about the use of theatrical elements (41%). The only dance
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker theatrical elements 9% 14% 11% 15% 18% 41%
Table 78: Theatrical Elements: Circle Walker
on the program to involve the use of a set design, Circle Walker is designed as an exploration of the relationship between a solo performer and a sculptural element, and this central characteristic of the work is dramatically reflected in the papers (Table 78).
The incorporation of information about theatrical elements, dominated by descriptions of the set itself, the performer/set relationship and the movement/set relationship, occurs in more than double the ratio found in writings about any of the other dances. This element is described by writer n12 as “ an immense spherical sculpture” (P10/2.4) and “a huge steel shell” (P10/6.1), and writer n12 informs us of the proportions of the sculpture relative to the performer when she states that the sculpture is “twice his size” (P10/9.1).
Writer n3 writes that the set “ . . . is formidable, made of two steel arcs about twelve feet across, set perpendicular to each other with inner supporting structures” (P7/1.5– 1.6).
265 Type of Information: Circle Walker
Extrinsic Audience/ 1% Performance Interaction Theatrical 28% Elements 41% Choreography and Concert and Movement Concert 18% Collaborators 12%
Figure 58: Type of Information composite: Circle Walker
The writers focus on information about the performer/set relationship, as exemplified in this passage by writer n3: “A dancer can swing on it, or stand inside it and
‘walk’ with it. The dancer can even ride the ‘Circle Walker’ as it rolls in arcing patterns across the floor, manipulating the sculpture's path by shifting his own weight”
(P7/2.1–2.4), or in this description by n6: “Cappelletti’s exploration of the sculpture, its space and inherent structure, and at times a certain nonchalant attitude toward it, made for a fascinating duet (P8/3.1–3.3a).
Interaction between the audience and the performance commands the next largest share of the writing (28%), with emphasis on the movement/meaning relationship. Writer n8 says that “’Circle Walker’ provided a metaphor for the relationship between man and machine, the tension and balance of their co-existence . . . ” (P7/3.1–3.3), an idea echoed
266 in many of the papers, as evidenced by this excerpt from writer n2: “The way in which
Cappelletti ends the piece, trapped upside-down within the framework, suggests a possible commentary on the relationship between man and machine” (P7/5.1a–5.2).
Other information that contributes to the strength of this component is the audience/work relationship, such as in this statement by writer n10, who claims that
“. . . the sheer virtuosity of the piece guaranteed a positive reception” (P7/2.1–2.2), or exemplified in this passage by writer n7: “It is hard to tell who is controlling whom, and at times we feel nervous about the speed and flow of this swirling power and the human shape caught in its center” (P7/12.1a–12.4a).
The choreography and movement component is small compared to the presence it commands in the writing about other dances, but the relationship between the dancer and sculpture is so integrated that discussion about the movement and set is intertwined. Still, examples such as the following give witness to the movement details of the work: “He flexes his muscles, and sends a violent ripple from his chest to his arms . . . ”
(n3:P7/5.1a–5.2a), and “ . . . climbing inside and out, running around and through, pushing and pulling and manipulating the near-spherical structure across the stage,
Cappelletti moves . . .” (n2:P7/3.1a–3.2).
Finally, these writings display a small but significant inclusion of information
(12%) about the concert and concert collaborators. There is a remark in the paper of n9, for example, that points to the placement of this dance in the context of the concert as
“ . . . a very wise choice as a program closer for several reasons . . .” (P8/2a). Remarks about the concert director also recur in these papers, since Cappelletti was both director of the concert and performer of this work, exemplified in the following comment by
267 writer n9, weaving together discussion about the overall concert structure with infor- mation about the directorial role: “The work is visually captivating, just as ‘Ciona’ was at the start; the music and lighting have a dark finality to them and Cappelletti himself performs the solo” (P8/3.1–3.4). The composite of types of information for Circle Walker is represented in Figure 56.
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker extrinsic 1% 1% 1%
Table 79: Extrinsic Information: Circle Walker
Circle Walker joins only two other dances from this program to garner the use of extrinsic information. This small but significant presence is represented in Table 79.
Interestingly, three of the nine students (n7, 8 and 10) bring into their discussions about
Circle Walker a reference to the work of Leonard Da Vinci.
4.18.2 Source of Information
Circle Walker has elicited writings that draw from the usual palette of sources, yet one which reveals a particular pattern unique to its specificity (Figure 59). Somewhat similar to the papers about Ciona, the relationship of the two most common sources amounts to a pattern dominated by a high reliance on observation (49%), with a relatively low incidence of opinion (23%): in both cases, Circle Walker is second only to Ciona in the prevalence of these two sources of information (Table 80). Furthermore, this pattern continues with regard to the use of association: at 14% of the writing, this component
268 also follows close behind that for the Ciona writing, which shows the highest ratio of associative text (17%). The following example from writer n10 illustrates the roles of
Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker observation 52% 28% 44% 43% 39% 49% opinion 16% 30% 34% 25% 37% 23% association 17% 8% 6% 5% 8% 14%
Table 80: Observation, Opinion and Association as Sources of Information: Circle Walker
Source of Information: Circle Walker
video self- program 2% awareness 7% 1% opinion hearing 23% 2%
association 14%
observation domain 49% knowledge 2%
Figure 59: Source of Information composite for Circle Walker both observation and association in the writing about this dance: “Centre stage, legs spread astride the sculpture held firm with wide-armed grip, the dancer is revealed as the
269 lights come up — Da Vinci's Man in three dimensions” (P6/3.1–3.6), whereas this excerpt from the paper of n9 exemplifies the fusion of opinion and association: “The always-in-control, almost too machismo Cappelletti masters his steel opponent only to be encased forever within it in the final tableau” (P8/8.1a–8.4).
Program information makes an average appearance in these papers at 7%, while domain knowledge and information gleaned from the video footage each provide the source for 2% of the information. Writer n12 uses both program information and domain knowledge in her introduction to writing about this dance: “Strangely, but appropriately the Consigliere himself closes the evening with "Circle Walker," a signature solo signature from his Momix days” (P10/1.1–1.7). While the title is available in the program, her knowledge of this dance as a “signature work” for Cappelletti, as well as her familiarity with the performer’s previous association with the professional company called “Momix” come from her domain base. On the other hand, the following excerpt from the paper of n10 makes explicit reference to information derived from the video, when she states that “ . . . the closing work was a solo for Cappelletti, although he spoke of it in the introduction as a duet . . .” (P6/1.1–1.4).
4.18.3 Kind of Understanding
The writings about Circle Walker manifest a tendency toward empirical understanding of dance (46%), with moderate components of factual (9%) and qualitative understanding (8%). Writer n6 combines empirical with qualitative and conceptual appreciated by everyone” (P5/1–5.5). Corresponding to the high number of references to the movement/meaning relationship in these writings, there is also a significant
270 representation of hermeneutical understanding that emerges in the papers. Writer n10 illustrates a blend of factual, hermeneutical, conceptual and qualitative understanding in the following passage: "’Circle Walker’ shifts from primal to industrial, expressive to abstract, insouciant to precarious” (P6/2.1–2.5), while writer n12 takes empirical
Kind of Understanding: Circle Walker
qualitative affective 8% 3% conceptual 11% hermenutical 23%
factual empirical 9% 46%
Figure 60: Kind of Understanding: Circle Walker perspectives as a point of departure for hermeneutical understanding in this excerpt:
“Standing inside the huge steel shell, he is at once protected and imprisoned. The music by Yaz Kaz hints at a Native American ritual, but clashing metallic sounds make it at once futuristic and ancient; machine and man (P10/6.1–7.5).
There is a small but noteworthy component of affective understanding that emerges in these writings, sharing with the papers about Ciona the highest level of this
271 Dance Ciona Plum Tarts Passing Partial Carpe Diem Circle Walker affective 3% 1% 1% 2% 2% 3%
Table 81: Affective Understanding: Circle walker kind of understanding among the dances (Table 81). This strand of understanding is revealed in excerpts such as the following passage from the writing of n12: “I was entranced by his circling and rocking, and in awe of Cappelletti’s sense of balance and fearlessness”
(P10/ 8.2–8.6).
272 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS
5.1 Overview of the Chapter
In the first chapter, I described the historical absence of critical writing as an area of emphasis in the curricular agendas of dance programs in higher education, situating myself both as an educator who has had repeated opportunities to observe the benefits of writing about dance, and one who is interested in promoting the inclusion of coursework in criticism within dance curricula. In the second chapter, I surveyed a variety of literary and research efforts that undergird and inform my inquiry into these issues, and concluded that a descriptive study of student writings about dance would offer a means to uncover what such writings might reveal regarding student understandings about dance.
The third chapter presented the methodology and design of the coding sheets and other research tools that yielded the data for my analysis.
In the fourth chapter, I compressed and discussed this data, provided examples from the student writings, and presented my findings in a series of visual representations in order to examine what they might yield regarding student understandings. My
273 objective here was to lay bare the writings to a degree not possible by means of a superficial reading, and to do so in a way that addressed what kinds of understandings the papers made manifest. My approach to this question has been grounded in a constructivist view of understanding as a learner’s ability to make links among disparate streams of information.
An integral element of my study proved to be the design of the analytical instrument itself, as the coding questions which determined my dissection of student writings became a means of discovering what the underpinnings of understanding in these writings are. Having rendered through narrative and visual means my findings, I want to ferret out what they suggest about student understandings of dance and to discuss how this information might inform educators about benefits and issues surrounding course work in dance criticism. In this chapter, I discuss some of the issues that emerged in my investigation, advance a conceptual model of understandings about dance based on the student writings, and articulate some implications for pedagogy.
5.1.1 Preliminary Remarks
The data has much to say about student understandings and about the value of critical writing about dance. As in the previous chapter, I will utilize an organizational scheme that parallels the major questions of the coding sheets, discussing the relevance of the data from types of information, sources of information, kinds of understandings, and critical activities. Primary features of my discussion include evidence of the complexity of the dance writing project, revelations about the multi-sensory nature of dance and the multiple points of entry it offers the writer; the value of critical writing as
274 an opportunity for engagement and expansion both inside and outside of the writer’s knowledge base; and benefits of writing about dance as a strategy for integrating the writer’s lived experience with other learning outcomes related to dance practice and education; and evidence that dance should be considered as an element within the rising field of visual culture.
5.1.2 Concentric Hermeneutical Circles: Viewing, Writing, and Reading
As discussed in chapter 3, I have borrowed the term “hermeneutical” to designate the kind of understanding that applies to writing segments concerned with meaning — segments that address what Barrett so aptly calls the “aboutness” of works of art (Art 71), as opposed to those which deal with other elements, such as conceptual or empirical understanding. Before proceeding with my conclusions, I want to extend my adaptation of this philosophical concept to frame the larger sphere of my investigation, invoking the notion of the “hermeneutical circle” as a representation of the entire process of viewing a performance event. This construct of a circle, embracing performers and spectators in a single, interactive frame, seems particularly appropriate for a study that examines responses to performance: for, as the data from the student writings clearly delineates, it is within the broad arena of audience/performance interaction that the enterprise of performance is situated.
275 Hermeneutic Circles
The Dance Event
The Viewers
The Papers
The Researcher
The Study
Figure 61: Hermeneutical Circles of the Study
By identifying this phenomenon both by name and through visual representation,
I mean to foreground its importance in any discussion of critical writing about dance, for it is within the dynamics of this conceptual, symbiotic circle that the performer/audience relationship transpires. In short, dancers perform, and viewers watch: where, then, does either meaning or understanding of the dance lie? It is neither within the action of performing bodies, nor within the viewer. Rather, the two are bound together, and the notion of understanding can best be conceptualized as a transaction which happens between the two.
In my study, the consequences of these hermeneutical circles of understanding and interpretation are embedded in layered strata of the analysis. Not only are performer and spectator encompassed in this conceptual enclosure but, as researcher, I am included at various layers within these concentric circles of hermeneutical understanding, both as
276 fellow viewer, and as reader of the student papers about that viewed experience. I refer here to the wider sphere in which I, as reader/researcher and fellow viewer, add another layer of interpretation to the student writings (Figure 59). As I disclosed in chapter 3, I felt it necessary to take on the additional measure of conducting “member checks” of my interpretations of the student writings before proceeding with the next step of the analysis, in order to off-set the notion of undue bias.
5.1.2.1 Pedagogy
I believe that this construct of a hermeneutical circle that encompasses the viewer and the performers in a dance event should also be valuable in developing a pedagogy of dance criticism. When students become aware that their roles as viewers are integral to the dance performance, there ensues a pedagogical mandate to encourage student engagement in the viewing experience.80 This concept also holds the power to forestall the idea that the choreographer or the dancers “own” the right to the meaning of a work since, within the context of a performance, the dancer’s actions become meaningful by virtue of the audience beholding them.
80 Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski has underscored this critical role of the spectator by conceptualizing the audience as a kind of “witness” to the performance event. See selections from Gortowski’s writings and essays about his contributions in Shechner and Wolford’s The Grotowski Sourcebook, (Routledge, 1997). 277 5.2 Types of Information
5.2.1 The Complex Nature of Writing about Dance
Much has been written about the complexities of trying to capture a fleeting and non-verbal art form and wrest from it the elements of verbal expression; I have referred to some of these issues within the my review of the literature in chapter 2, and have added my own voice to these concerns in chapter one. While I do not wish to reiterate these points here, I want to confirm and make tangible the complexity of the task by summarizing the breadth and interconnections among the types of information that emerged through my analysis of student writings about dance.
5.2.2 A Spectrum of Information
In writing about a single evening of dance, featuring one work by each of six choreographers, and framed within the context of a concert which consisted of approximately forty-nine minutes of dancing plus twenty-eight minutes of video footage, nine writers brought over ninety types of information into their written responses to this event.81 As described in chapter 3, and manifested in the coding sheets, these types of information ranged from various facets of the audience/performer relationship to discussions of the movement, concert, concert personnel, theatrical elements, and information extrinsic to the event.
81 See Appendix G for a complete breakdown of types of information, by writer.
278 While a dance is ticking by, the data indicates that its viewers are collecting and storing a wide range of sensory, conceptual, and associative information. They are absorbing information about interactions between the performance and the audience, including a range that incorporates their own positions as individual viewers, addresses the larger community of viewers assembled to witness the event, and includes speculations about the hypothetical “audience” beyond the confines of the particular observed event. They are gathering information intrinsic to this particular concert, including a broad range of detailed information about the choreography and movement, information about the concert itself and the many personnel involved in producing it, and about the various theatrical elements that have played their own complex roles in the overall production. To varying degrees the writers also consider information extrinsic to the event, such as related historical and cultural knowledge, and some also include what I have chosen to call metaphysical information, information that is philosophical in substance, such as musings about the nature of the art form.
Afterwards, in order to produce an act of writing, this range of information — stored almost entirely in the form of memories of the event — must be sorted out, organized and presented, not as individual types of information, but through an integrative process. In this process, the web of many strands of information gets translated, through the ordering practice of writing, into intelligible prose. This webbing effect is already visible at a micro-level, as writers typically incorporate a variety of types of information within a single sentence, indicating that a connection has been made between discrete parts. Even a cursory glance at the coding sheets provides evidence of these inter-connections, as exemplified in the following sample from the coding sheet of
279 Laura’s paper (n3), which features in a matter of three short sentences information that encompasses “concert basics,” the movement/meaning relationship, elements of movement including time, space and contact, and choreographic structure (Table 82).
P4 sentence/segment type of info 1.1 ‘Passing,’ choreographed by Susan Hadley concert basics 1.2 depicts two women's struggle with the death of their friend. mov't/meaning rel 2.1 They begin moving quickly mov't: time 2.2 from the floor to the air, mov't: space 2.3 taking turns supporting and throwing each other. mov't: contact 3.1 These repetitive movements choreographic structure: repetition 3.2 stay in one corner of the stage, mov't: space 3.3 a metaphor for the mundanity of daily life. mov't/meaning rel
Table 82: Variation in Types of Information: n3
5.2.2.1 Pedagogy
Within the literature on the constructivist view of knowledge, there are frequent references to the need for reflective engagement on the part of the student in order to make the necessary relationships among information to reach a state of understanding.
Returning to the notion that authentic assessments of learning occur when students demonstrate the ability to produce evidence of connections in their knowledge, understanding becomes a performance of learning. As discussed in chapter 2, reflective engagement to produce such understandings is necessary, and Perkins adds that these performances are “always something of a stretch; [requiring the learner] to ‘have to think about it’ – thus leading to advances as well as displays of understanding” (Perkins qtd in
Wiske 42).
280 5.2.2.2 Writing: A Performance of Understanding
Given the lack of a material object with which to walk away from the theatre after a performance, understandings about dance lend themselves to introspection, reflection, deliberation and finally — in the case of a writing assignment, production, or performance. While language does not provide an equation for the experience of movement, it offers a means to articulate one individual’s reaction to such an experience at a given time, in a particular situation. The student who is obliged to attend to dance with the focused attention required to create a piece of writing about that experience, has an opportunity to reach a new level of understanding about the dance viewed in particular and the dance discipline in general. My analysis offers evidence that in addressing performance through acts of writing, connections both personal and contextual can be made, standing to promote synthesis of the dance experience, and sharpen the skills required to engage in subsequent critical activity.
5.3 Sources of Information
5.3.1 The Multi-Sensory Nature of Dance
In chapter 2, I referred to cognitive research on the web-like nature of understanding, and its central dependence on the ability of a learner to know how different things relate to one another. The coding of my analysis permitted an excavation of the sources a student accesses in order to write about dance, and indicates that such acts of writing exemplify this kind of integration of knowledge from multiple sources, producing a body of evidence for the claim that dance writing requires a complex
281 interface between the lived experience of the writer and the phenomenon of viewing and writing about dance. In bringing together hearing and observation, opinion and personal knowledge, domain knowledge, association and self-awareness, the writer weaves a complex tapestry composed of multiple threads.
Dance is composed of human movement, and exists in many forms for a wide variety of purposes. The dances of The Consigliere Collection, which are the subjects for the student writings in this study, belong to a particular genre of western theatrical dance, called modern dance. For the viewer, this kind of dance involves the need to track a three-dimensional moving body or bodies, which interact with space and time in ways that are unique and specific to each given work.
In conventional performance settings for this genre, dancing bodies are enhanced by various theatrical elements, including costumes and make-up; and performances are typically presented in venues supported by technologies of lighting and sound. A viewer is met with a spectrum of sensory information in watching dance: costumes have shape, texture, color and often connote specific thematic, historical or character elements.
Lighting serves to focus the viewer’s gaze, to mold the moving shapes, establish mood, or even — as in the dance Passing, to play a narrative role in the dance. The performance environment may also contain a wide variety of elements of set design, as in the dance
Circle Walker, with its integration of an immense spherical sculpture. Furthermore, with the exception of the costumes and make-up, these production elements are as transient as
282 the movement itself: lighting plots change according to the designer’s cues; music evolves in a temporal frame that it shares with the movement; permutations and interactions among these elements vary exponentially.
The moving bodies of dance, its raison d’êre, add exponential complexity to this already rich field of information for the viewer. How many dancers are there? Are they men or women? Is gender even an important consideration in this work? In group dances, exemplified by five of the six Consigliere Collection pieces, how do the performers relate to one another, to the audience, and to the other elements of the performance? Directions, levels, patterns, and shape present compositional elements to track, as do the means for dividing time, whether rhythmically steady or unpredictable, syncopated or smooth. The manner of performing a given action may be direct and sudden, sequential or simultaneous; silky or jagged; a given performance of movement can suggest restriction or freedom, lightness or buoyancy or strength. Dance may tell a story or emphasize formal properties of the art form. A given dance or section of a work, may invoke a feeling, a place, or a time. It may celebrate a piece of music or commemorate a memory.
It may be silly, serious, sarcastic or sinister. The rules of modern dance are fluid, inherently innovative, always changing. The possibilities are innumerable, and the possible interactions among all these elements both infinite and evolving.
Enter the writer. In a live performance, there is only one chance to see the performance the same exact way. The viewer must learn from each dance what is important, and is obliged to track all its components as they unfold, committing to memory what cannot be stored any other way. This viewer cum writer arrives at the performance with his or her own set of preconceptions, concerns, physicality — in short,
283 lived experience. Observation and hearing are often cited as sensory channels for the dance experience, but tactile and kinesthetic responses are also part of the viewer’s equipment; associations, information from the program and publicity are also among the sources available to the writer.
5.3.1.1 Pedagogy: Multiple Points of Entry
This data about sources of information also substantiates a significant benefit for the learner, in demonstrating that there are multiple points of entry for the student confronted with the task of writing about dance. While observation and opinion emerge as the dominant sources of information, there is wide latitude in finding other points of access, including hearing, association, domain knowledge, personal and public knowledge, program information and self-awareness. A student like Nicki may draw upon her substantial knowledge of dance history, a writer like Dawn may bring to the experience a tendency to look inward, producing personal associations and drawing upon self-awareness; a writer such as Renée culls imagery from popular culture; Laura arrives with a well-developed sense of observation and a particular eye for choreographic structure. Students with a keen ear for sound may bring the music into the foreground of the writing experience, while others may focus on costume or lighting details.
This diversity in the means of approach stands as an important opportunity for a classroom of learners, allowing those with various strengths and weaknesses, or multiple kinds of intelligence (Gardner Frames of Mind) to find a way into the material that constitutes something called a dance. It also suggests that a pedagogy of dance criticism might illuminate this variety of means, empowering those who imagine that there is only
284 one “correct” way to discuss this art form — a widely held misunderstanding, according to my own experience as an educator. While most approaches to the teaching of criticism guide writers to embrace the activities of description, interpretation, evaluation, theorizing, contextualization, or analysis, it seems that an invitation to attend to a variety of sources for gathering the information for this enterprise may open new pathways for students with diverse histories and abilities.
Several findings that emerged in my analysis of student writings held new possibilities for pedagogical implementation, and I want to foreground two points that I have not found specifically enumerated in other texts on critical practice. I also want to identify an important missing piece of information from the results of the analysis and speculate on the reasons for its absence as well as the need to foreground it in teaching dance criticism.
5.3.1.2 Forging Connections between Writer and Dance: Association
Although I have not found this source of information emphasized in other texts on criticism, I want to discuss its role in the student writings I have analyzed, and argue for its inclusion as an explicit tool in teaching. Association, the act of bringing into the writing a reference to personal memories or experiences, constitutes the central means by which a student connects his or her lived experience with the viewing of performance.
When student writings draw out such personal material and relate it to the viewing of dance, this constitutes the forging of new connections between various aspects of their experience, a fundamental component in the constructivist view of understanding.
285 As evidenced in my analysis, students bring associations into their writing without invitation, since it had not occurred to me to identify or suggest this source of information in setting up the course or its assignments. What I noticed, however, in dissecting the papers, is that association is often the means for including metaphors in writing. As a teacher of writing, it is one thing to urge students to use metaphors in their writing; quite another to get them to produce them. In fact, generating metaphors for student writers seems to be akin to waiting for the proverbial pot to boil: it simply won’t happen on demand. I have since witnessed, however, by observing this connection in the writings I have analyzed, that by inviting students to attend to their associations during a performance and then bring them into their writing, metaphors appear with greater ease and frequency.82
To add to my argument for the explicit teaching of association as a source of information, I have observed that students receive this permission to allow their own experience into their writing with surprise, and then relief. It is empowering, after so years of the imposition that they write in the “third-person objective,” to discover that they need not check their histories along with their coats in the lobby before they enter the theatre. Furthermore, I suspect that in the ongoing temporal sequence of evolving sensory information of which dance consists, a student’s conscious tracking of associations that arise during the viewing of a dance may serve as a memory aid for specific moments of the performance.
82 Howard Gardner has noted that “metaphors presuppose the capacity to perceive relations among disparate phenomena” (qtd in Liu and Kennedy, “Form and Its Symbolic Meaning” 135). 286 5.3.1.3 Forging Connections between Writer and Dance Domain Knowledge
Domain knowledge, another source of information that emerged in the student writings, holds no claim here as a thing new or invented. In fact, it is a concept with which I became acquainted through research I have discussed in chapter 2, studies of cognitive theory by Koroscik, Efland and others. Koroscik lists differences in domain knowledge as a characteristic that distinguishes novice from expert learners, and having become familiar with this concept through her work, I found that it was a useful way for me to differentiate sources of information within the writings, allowing me to separate and identify strands of intrinsic information within the papers. Often, but not always, when students are employing what Banes calls contextualization (Writing 32) in their writing, they are drawing upon domain knowledge. Until it began to emerge as a significant component within the student writings, however, it did not occur to me how useful this component might be if explicitly identified as a resource for the writer.
Because it involves importing personal knowledge into the writing enterprise, it is similar to association in its potential capacity to empower the writer.
Conversely, it became clear in the findings of my analysis that the use of program, publicity and other factual information might be recognized as a sign that other sources of information are not being fully tapped, thus allowing an educator to focus the student’s attention toward awareness and development of these additional sources. I think of
Dawn’s writings, which provide a snapshot of a learner who has less experience in the dance discipline and who relies more heavily on information found in the video footage
287 and program information from the concert; or Erin’s writing, which though accurate, tends to be somewhat terse and dry, lacking in sensory information and interpretation of the concert works.
In Section II of chapter 4, I excavated from the writings tangible representation of the wide variety of dances that might confront an individual spectator, and indicated that specific works present viewers with what Efland, Feltovich and others have called a complexly-structured domain of knowledge (Efland “Spiral” 143). As manifested visibly in the charts that illustrate student integration of various types and sources of information, kinds of understanding and the critical activities employed to come to terms with the dance experience, demand a variety of strategies for and acts of understanding from each viewer. The viewer who is charged with producing a piece of writing about dance must connect the dots, so to speak, among diverse kinds of information accessed from many sources.
5.3.1.4 A Missing Piece Kinesthetic Information
There is at least one component that is conspicuously absent among the sources of information that emerged in my analysis, a component which I know is embedded within the writings, but which the coding questions failed to adequately bring to the surface. I refer to kinesthesia, defined by Merriam-Webster as “a sense mediated by end organs located in the muscles, tendons, and joints and stimulated by bodily movements and tensions; also sensory experience derived from this sense.”
288 I am convinced as a dance educator that one’s access to his or her kinesthetic response to movement during a performance provides a vital source of feedback for the writer. While watching dance, one is likely to experience a range of physical reactions: a dancer’s body thuds suddenly on the floor, and the viewer winces involuntarily; two performers engage in a duet that features highly sequential uses of the limbs and spine, and the spectator experiences a sympathetic softening in the torso; a group of performers hurls one of its members into the air, catching her in an extended position just before she falls headlong onto another dancer, and audience members experience a tingling along the neck or a shortening of the breath. These are some of many scenarios that can develop on the stage and their possible consequences among the viewers. Where is the evidence of this source of information in my analysis?
As a trained dancer and a viewer accustomed to palpable physical responses of my own in the theatre, I expected to be able to identify this source of information among the student writings and to substantiate its existence in my findings. Aside from occasional lines such as Laura’s statement “I get chills” (n3:P5/6.5), however, I could not pinpoint this kind of information with an acceptable degree of accuracy. I can theorize that kinesthetic feedback finds its expression in dynamic verb choices, evocative adverbs and adjectives, in tactile words and incidences of onomatopoeia. Given the design of the instrument I used, however, this information was invariably short-circuited by another source for this information. That is to say, in answering the coding questions I had designed, I found that I could almost always answer the question, “From what source did this information come?” by the identification of “hearing” or “observation” as the original channel of access for that information.
289 5.3.1.4.1 Pedagogy
Though I consider this a limitation in the design of the study, it leads me to the enumeration of three important concerns. First, the absence of kinesthetic evidence via my analytical instrument opens up a question for future investigation and analysis, through the design of an analytical method capable of identifying the incidence of this particular source material. Secondly, this missing proprioceptive component in the analysis has become, in its conspicuous absence, the impetus for a pedagogical recommendation — that dance educators should attempt to make students aware of this aspect, urging writers to infuse their language with word choices that evoke the kinesthetic nature of the art form. Finally, although I retain a healthy skepticism about the increasing prevalence of an ocularcentric bias in contemporary culture,83 the process of encountering this issue in the analysis points to a finding I would not have anticipated: it has led me to reconsider the preeminence of observation as a means for accessing dance, thus positioning dance as an important discipline within the emerging field of studies in visual culture.84
5.4 Kinds of Understanding
Having discussed two of the categories from the coding sheets which are designed to expose the underpinnings of student understanding, I come now to that category which
83 Future research into this issue points as well to an investigation of the role of synaesthesia, or the inextricable linkage of one sense with the experience of another.
84 Several recent works on this subject attest to this trend, including Martin Jay’s work Downcast Eyes, Heywood and Sandywell’s Interpreting Visual Vulture, Nicholas Davey’s work The Hermeneutics of Seeing, and Malcolm Barnard’s Approaches to Understanding Visual Culture. 290 directly addresses the expressed aims of my research by attempting to codify the kind of understanding a segment of the student’s writing reveals. Within this category, a multi- faceted model of understanding has emerged which suggests that a variety of possibilities exist for understanding dance.
5.4.1 A Conceptual Model
In this model (Figure 60), each of the eight kinds of understandings that emerged from the analysis of student writings is featured, along with a sampling of the kinds of questions the writer might ask in order to generate that kind of understanding. The model also juxtaposes these understandings and questions atop two, three-part conceptualizations that relate to the experience of dance: one foregrounds the fundamental unity of dance as an art form, locating within its contours the notion of art, art maker and makings, and the audience; the other indicating the general, the specific, and the personal nature of these articulated understandings.
The location of kinds of understanding within the model is intended to suggest a web-like sphere, in which its various aspects are related in open-ended ways. The placement of the triangular points listing art, art maker and audience is intended to gesture toward the placement of groups of understandings, thus suggesting that the hermeneutical, affective and reflexive understandings of dance tend to emerge within the personal, or audience point of view; ontological understandings tend to focus on the general nature of the art form; and the empirical, conceptual, factual and qualitative understandings about dance tend to emerge within writing that addresses the specific materials and persons who manipulate them. The lack of hard boundaries surrounding the
291 kinds of understandings is representative of the findings of my analysis: the ideas remain loosely clustered, issuing from a gray sphere which holds all the possibilities within the softened edges of its borders.
292 : A Conceptual Model of Understandings about Dance 62 Figure
293 5.4.1.1 Pedagogy: Variations among Learners
A view of these understandings among all the writers as a group shows both a clear pattern within the kinds of understandings most commonly revealed, as well as considerable latitude with regard to individual experiences of understanding (Figure 61), serving another tenet of performance understandings, which are marked by their capacity to signal variations from one learner to another (Perkins What? 43). With the
Kinds of Understandings
60% Affective 50% Conceptual 40% Empirical Factual 30% Hermenutical 20% Ontological Qualitative 10% Reflexive 0% n1 n8 n7 n6 n2 n3 n9 n12 n10
Figure 63: The Spectrum of Understandings among Writers
exception of Dawn (n1), for whom empirical and hermeneutical understandings emerge on an equal footing, empirical understanding clearly dominates among all other writers.
For most writers, hermeneutical understanding occurs in the second position, and there is a clear parallel correspondence in the relationship between empirical and hermeneutical
294 understandings. Although points of elevation and indentation occur in the lines representing conceptual, factual and qualitative understandings, these three strands emerge with roughly the same frequency among all of the writers. Ontological and reflexive understandings constitute the bottom of the chart, showing a low incidence of these understandings within the writings.
5.4.1.2 Pedagogy: Dance Criticism and Knowledge Transfer
Writing projects that invite inquiry or speculation, or pose a problem or an intellectual puzzle are more likely to invite thinking — extending one’s knowledge, formulating a new understanding for oneself, changing what one previously thought — than are rote-recall tasks, or what one student called “spitback” assignments. (Herrington 68)
I return again to some of the research on cognition referenced in chapter 2, and to the concept of knowledge transfer as the highly desired integration of other learning activities. As indicated in that chapter, I argue here that course work in dance criticism provides fertile ground for cultivating this kind of higher-order thinking activity.
5.4.1.2.1 From the Lattice to the Hub
This diversity of types and sources of information revealed by my analysis positions dance as what Efland and others have distinguished as a complexly organized domain, requiring a case-by-case approach for teaching and learning (Efland Cognition
121). As discussed in chapter 2, Efland casts knowledge acquisition for such domains in the metaphor of a lattice, by which students are given an opportunity to encounter material from various perspectives and at various stages of learning (Efland, “Spiral”). In
295 this view, understanding evolves in a crisscrossing pattern, with the learner’s expanding base of knowledge growing through increasing points of inter-connection among established areas of knowledge. Efland postulates this metaphor as more conducive to complexly-structured domains of knowledge such as medicine, law and art. 85
In subsequent work, Efland adds a third metaphor to these conceptualizations of knowledge acquisition, by borrowing an image from the world of urban planning
(Cognition 103). Citing work by Yang,86 Efland suggests that another way of envisioning effective curricular development exists in the metaphor of an airline hub. In this concept, the learner would be envisioned as making a series of forays into new areas of inquiry by means of regular stop-overs among a series of more centrally located hubs, regularly re- visiting established areas of domain knowledge as a means to take off on additional departures to unfamiliar destinations.
Borrowing from these metaphors, I want to argue here for the existence of curricular offerings in dance criticism as one among several central hubs within the larger system of dance studies. In the act of witnessing and writing about dance, the learner brings knowledge from a variety of other destinations within the system: a dancer’s ongoing physical training may serve to deepen the technical and kinesthetic information through which the viewing experience is enriched; studies in dance composition allow the viewer of dance to apply acquired knowledge from this area into work that occurs outside of the studio context, thus revisiting concepts learned in one hub by applying them in
86 G. Yang. “Exploration of Chinese Art using a multimedia CD-ROM: Design, Mediated Experience, and Knowledge Construction.” Unpublished PhD Dissertation, Columbus, OH: 2000.
296 another; studies in dance history, while useful hubs for other destinations in their own right, can also travel via journeys to the hub of dance criticism, appearing as domain knowledge, aiding in the writer’s contextualization of a viewed work; studies in movement analysis, while empowering the learner with greater awareness and ability to analyze the structural and conceptual details of dance, make the journey, through the dance viewer, into a performance event and enrich the writer’s ability to articulate what is going on in a given performance. Furthermore, this notion of a hub also provides a means to visualize the network in which a learner who gains expertise in critical writing, takes this knowledge back into the studio or the classroom where other studies are centered.87
Because work in dance criticism exists within in the medium of language, I believe that it can provide a kind of central terminal within the hub system as well. The development of skills in this area could allow the dance learner to take off with his or her dance knowledge, acquired through journeys among its many hubs, and make landings in other areas of inquiry, picking up additional cargo there for future travels, and allowing for visits to destinations where less is known about the many internal stop-over points.
Whether as casual tourist or professional ambassador in these new locales, the dance student possessed with focused experience in the more widely understood currency of language might be better prepared to strengthen and support developments occurring in the hubs back at the home port.
87 (See Questionnaire II # 6 for information about students who have found the experience of writing about dance, for example, valuable in the dance-making experience) 297 5.4.1.2.2 Beyond the Information Given: Knowledge Transfer and Dance Writing
The transfer of knowledge occurs when students should go beyond the accumulation of information to synthesize and apply what they know, and to extend it into other areas of knowledge, forging new connections. The constructivist view of learning, based on an active conceptualization of the learner’s role in understanding, suggests that educational practice should integrate activities that offer such opportunities for transfer.
Among the findings to emerge in my analysis of student writings, there is evidence that writing about dance provides this kind of activity, the ability to relate learning from one strand of information to learning in another. Returning to Bruner’s definition of understanding as “going beyond the information given,” my analysis provides a look at the sub-structure of this phenomenon. By excavating from the student writings their constituent threads of information, drawn from multiple sources, a kind of blueprint of knowledge transfer becomes visible.
Students of dance are required to learn a great many things in the course of their studies. Physical training requires that they develop a deep base of knowledge pertaining to the body, often supported by studies in anatomy and kinesiology, or the investigation of somatic practices such as yoga and body/mind centering. Systems of movement analysis, such as Laban’s theoretical and analytical framework develop an awareness of movement patterns and possibilities, and an ability to translate these into written and verbal form. Studies of dance history impart knowledge about the development and context of specific dance forms and styles, and a knowledge of significant artists and 298 artistic practices. Through the act of viewing and writing about dance, a student is placed in a position in which s/he can access and integrate information from these diverse areas of knowledge.
5.5 Critical Activities
Although this category of the research design was intended primarily as a means of aligning the results of the coding sheets to the established modes of writing about art, its inclusion has provided some interesting information that might be useful for educational practice.
5.5.1 Pedagogy
The close reading and categorization of the writings required by the method for my study confirms the usefulness of these activities for pedagogical purposes, but demonstrates that they do not account for all that occurs in the process of writing about dance, and suggests that the teaching of these traditional categories should be supplemented with other strategies and approaches. While description shares strong correspondences with the coding of empirical and factual understanding, interpretation with hermeneutical understanding, evaluation with qualitative understanding, and theorizing with conceptual and ontological understanding are strong, there is also a wide range of crossovers among these categories. Ultimately, the data suggests that more work needs to be done in order to understand the complexities of writing about dance, and to devise pedagogical activities that can enlighten and empower student writers.
299 5.6 Additional Limitations and Benefits of the Study
This intensive analysis of student writings about dance has yielded its pool of data from the papers of nine student writers, situated within the dance department of a large university in the midwestern region of the United States. The students who made up the study population were graduate or upper level students with substantial experience in the field of dance. Though this population represents a sample too small to make broad generalizations, it provided a group of papers small enough to allow a close reading and analysis of this kind.
As the first descriptive study of its kind, my study makes available not only the bare bones of these student writings for further research, but also a possible analytical design for further inquiry along these lines. Future work which might issue from this preliminary work includes studies which hone in on a specific category from the coding sheet, studies which use a similar or adapted coding structure to compare these writings with those of novice learners in the dance domain as well as with expert, professional writers. It is also possible that both the methodological design and the findings, with the resulting categories and coding constructs for delineating the elements of dance performance, may serve research in movement analysis.
5.6.1 The Slippery Specificity of Language
Language, the subject of ongoing post-structural discourse and debate in the closing decades of the 20th century, appears to both denote and elude fixed meaning at every turn. In the course of carrying out this analysis, I have often found it difficult to pin
300 single words into their respective coding cells, let alone sentence segments of varying lengths. I return again to the notion of a hermeneutical circle, in which I am caught, as researcher, along with the students who viewed the concert and produced the papers.
There are innumerable places among the coding sheets in which no amount of scrutiny or effort on my part would allow a definitive placement of a word, sentence segment or idea. In addition to the triangulation efforts of conducting member checks, and consulting with colleagues in the dance domain about my analysis in earlier stages, I point as well to the patterns that have emerged among the composites and comparisons as partial validation of my methods and conclusions.
5.6.1.1 Pedagogy: At the Level of Words
Among the findings from the kind of data that emerged in this study are some additional recommendations for student writers that ought to be considered in a pedagogy of dance criticism. The task of viewing dance and formulating intelligible ideas on paper about that experience requires the development of specific skills by the student writer. In addition to previous references to the incorporation of metaphor and onomatopoeia, and to the use of lively verb, adverb and adjective selections to evoke the tactile and kinesthetic aspects of viewing dance, there are other language-based pedagogical issues that ought to be considered in the teaching of dance criticism.
301 In particular, the results of the coding sheets point to the value of embracing a literal interpretation of Maher’s definition of writing as “word choice on paper.”88 In the process of allowing the coding questions to guide the division of student sentences into segments for the analysis, I repeatedly encountered the need to distinguish a single word from the rest of the segment because it introduced a shade of meaning which changed the timbre of the entire sentence.
5.7 Concluding Observations
Having reviewed and summarized these implications for pedagogy, two central concepts emerge as deeply embedded in the framework of my project. As guiding principles, I want to make them explicit as part of the summary of my findings and the implications of my work.
The first of these principles concerns what dance historian and critic Brenda
Dixon Gottschild describes as “the power of naming,” after the Bantu term nommo. In her revisionist history Digging the Africanist Presence in American Performance, Gottschild discusses the business of naming as a profoundly empowering act (11). This concept of nommo articulates a central aim of my own teaching, supporting my expectation that pedagogical aims will be served by plumbing the student writings to identify underlying elements of understanding. By naming these emergent fundamentals from the writings of
88 John S. Mayher, Nancy Lester and Gordon M Pradl. Learning to Write; Writing to Learn. (Portsmouth, NH: Boynton, 1983). 302 one group of students, I hope that educators will have access to research that enables them to increase the awareness of other students about the nature of writing about and understanding dance.
Implied in this first principle but also unstated to this point is a second principle underlining the nature and framing of my study. As an educator, I have arrived at a profound investment in the reciprocal nature of teaching and learning, the very substance of the mandate of a research university such as the one in which this study took place.
This conviction underscored the methodology of my study, a search for emergent principles within existing student writing products rather than a search for a prescriptive approach based on research outside of the student’s experience.
To write about dance is to participate in it, allowing students to connect a performance with their own accumulated knowledge and lived experience. Based on the findings of my analysis, I believe that this connecting component of criticism — the link between the self and the experience under consideration, the linking up of prior personal knowledge and experience with new information, and the links between class members through group discussion related to those experiences — comprise a powerful system which can enable understanding, learning, self awareness and the development of expertise and confidence. The language one accesses to describe the fleeting experience of dance becomes available through an individual process of meaning-making, which is in a sense a process of making the material one's own. Through the consistent activity of making word choices on paper about dance, benefits await for those who endeavor to participate in learning activities generated by course work in dance criticism.
303 5.8.1 Towards a Pedagogy of Dance Criticism: The Tangible Meets The Ephemeral
Out of thoughts, feelings and experiences arrives intelligible sound — words; out of the experience of watching performing bodies, critical writing. In both cases, the writer must formulate the thoughts and find the words. The results of this study demonstrate that these words and ideas come from individual acts of multi-sensory engagement and the intersection of those combined perceptions with one’s personal experience and sensibilities. All the imagery about discovery and excavation come into play as one watches a dance and attempts to capture some sense of it in language that is meaningful.
This study has given some substance to the claim that the multi-sensory art form of dance makes unique demands upon those who attempt to convey their experiences as spectators into written form. Although ephemeral, the data indicates that the materiality of dance is very specific and concrete, drawing upon sight and sound, while evoking personal associations, interpretive strategies, and thoughtful connections to the lived world beyond the stage or performance space. Writing about dance is a complex activity, which exists at the intersection of an active engagement in the present and the ability to access memory of that engagement through effective language choice and organization.
The cultivation of these faculties and the task of honing these skills seem to hold a valuable place in the curricula of dance studies at any level. Upon the blank page, where the ephemeral becomes tangible, await significant opportunities for student knowledge acquisition and application, and for the future of dance in the academic curriculum and beyond.
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315 APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRES I AND II
(ENTRY) QUESTIONNAIRE I:
PROTOCOL
1. present academic level:
2a. current major
2b: particular interests within major area of study:
3. extent of previous studio and performance experiences in dance, including length of time and types of experiences.
4. extent of previous non-studio experiences in dance, including length of time and types of experience.
5. previous studies undertaken in art or dance criticism.
6. reasons for enrolling in this course.
7. characterization of attitude toward writing in general.
8. characterization of attitudes toward writing about dance in particular.
9. Do you anticipate particular benefits in learning to write about dance?
10. Do you anticipate particular difficulties in learning to write about dance?
11, What are the functions of dance criticism? What kinds of things can/should it do?
316 12. How does the meaning or purpose of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know?
13. How does the value or quality of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know?
14. Additional thoughts or questions about the class.
RESPONSES, LISTED BY INDIVIDUAL QUESTION:
1: present academic level: n1: (almost) grad. 2nd year n2: undergrad rank 4 n3: undergrad rank 3 n6: grad, 1st yr n7: grad. 1st yr n8: grad. 1st yr. n9: grad. 2nd yr n10: grad. 1st yr. n12: grad 2nd yr.
2a: current major n1: Dance and Technology n2: English (Honors program) n3: Dance (Performance) BFA n6: Dance History /Notation n7: Dance notation/reconstruction n8: Dance (Choreography) n9: Dance (Choreography) n10: Dance n12: Dance and Technology/History
2b: particular interests within major area of study: n1: I am interested in learning and understanding the multitude of technologies available for documenting and preserving dance, its meaning, its purpose to the individual artist and to the field. Specifically, I will focus a great deal of my energies using video as a third eye to see, explore and uncover the multi- dimensions of dance perspectives in developing educational CD-ROMs.
317 n2: I am interested in learning forms of critical writing, especially as they apply to dance and the arts. n3: modern dance performance — acquisition of skills, artistry, that' s it. n6: I'm interested in dance history reconstructions, dance theory and philosophy, and criticism. Also, I'm interested in notation and technology, particularly Life Forms. n7: I'm particularly interested in reconstruction and directing from scores as well as performing repertory work, using the score to help gain greater understanding of a piece. I'm a passionate performer as well as researcher and enjoy putting both to use to discover as much as I can about a particular work and a choreographer's intention, point of view. n8: I'm interested in acquiring more knowledge in related fields (i.e. art history, music, etc. ) to enhance my concepts/ideas for dances. n9: The exploration of pop culture and choreography. Diversity and multi-media approaches to presentation in dance. Audience affinity for movement and testing those boundaries. n10: Critical analysis of dance using notation and technology as means of both accessing information and subsequently disseminating ideas about dance. n12: I am interested in using dance and multimedia as a form of historical and cultural performance and documentation. I am also very interested in film-making, cultural identity and representation in performance and film/video.
3. extent of previous studio and performance experiences in dance, including length of time and types of experiences. n1: I received my undergraduate degree in dance in 1991 from Western Michigan University. I began studio courses in choreography, modern, ballet, jazz and social dance there in 1988. During my three years I performed one duet, a group piece, and several solo works I choreographed. n2: little college experience — two years of elective classes; teaching tap to teens and preteens at local studio; currently forming small tap group. n3: ballet training age 12 -18 apprenticeship with modern company, age 18 Ohio State University dance major, 2 years types of performing include small ballet performances, full length ballets, learning and performing a new work, improvisation, alternative space performances.
318 n6: As a child, I took ballet and continued on through high school. I was a dance major at the undergraduate level and performed modern in both student and faculty works. n7: I've been dancing and performing since the age of six, although up until my undergraduate dance degree, I had no academic interest in dance — I hadn't ever seen a ballet! I've continued to train and perform as well as research and write about dance, and my taste and personal style have certainly changed. n8: I started to dance seriously (consistently) in junior high school at the age of eleven until the present. My biggest growth, however, occurred during my last four years as an undergraduate at UM-AZ. n9: BalletMet — contract dancer 3 years — rep company. Dance instructor — all ages, all levels, many techniques. Various independent contract work — as a dancer and choreographer. I consider myself a diverse dancer/choreographer (ballet, modern, tap, jazz, musical theatre) n10: Limited performance experience at undergraduate level and subsequently as a freelance community dance artist in UK. 3 quarters of regular dance classes; otherwise piecemeal studio experience. n12: 26 years of dance training — ballet, modern, jazz, liturgical, music theatre, tap and some folk. I have a B.A. in Dance from Adelphi University. I began professional performing around the age of 19. 4 1/2 years dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company; 1 1/2 years as rehearsal director (1989 - 1995). I have performed my own work since 1989 to the present.
4. extent of previous non-studio experiences in dance, including length of time and types of experience. n1: At WMU I took basic courses in dance history, notation, production, kinesiology and music for dancers. These courses were one semester each for two years. I don't recall many of the readings, however, I remember viewing many videos in pre and post modern history courses, such as Catherine the Great and The Troubadours and "That's Dancing." n2: on my own, I have tried to apply what I have learned about writing on literature and theatre (through English and Theatre classes) to dance performances I have seen. n3: age 17-18 — history of modern dance through readings and videos supplied by my teacher. At OSU, intro courses in dance major, such as Overview, African Diaspora and also history of 18th, 19th, and 20th century dance.
319 n6: In undergraduate work, I took six different kinds of dance history/criticism/ philosophy courses. I've read Jowitt, Banes, Cohen as well as many others. I've done reconstructions and philosophical papers. n7: All of my previous experience comes from my undergraduate degree in dance and work I have done since then — reaching up to five years. Coursework has included study, research, and 1000 word essays on particular styles of dance; eras; choreographers; some analysis and criticism; dissertation — 10,000 words; and some professional research work since graduating and personal work for own interests. n8: As an undergrad, I took courses in art history, US history, womens studies, religion (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu), gender studies, philosophy, sociology, psychology and literature — (among others). n9: Many hours of undergraduate work in dance although not a dance major. Manager - Administration for a dance company (2 years). n10: 3 years undergraduate study of dance: history/sociology/analysis. Final research project — 15,000 word dissertation looking at the conflation of art and life in the work of postmodern choreographer Michael Clark. Extensive work on Classicism/Romanticism/ Modernism and Post-Modernism as they pertain to dance. n12: Very little. Dance history, notation and "dance analysis" in undergraduate. Oral discussions with teachers or their commentary/discussions in classes. Personal reading of choreographer/dancer biographies since about 1986.
5. previous studies undertaken in art or dance criticism. n1: This course will be my first. n2: only informal papers on graduate concerts for my elective classes. n3: n6: One course I took was specifically in criticism, taught by Chrystelle T. Bond. I've also had to write critical reviews for most of the professional performances I've seen. n7: I haven't actually taken a course in criticism. Most of my work in criticism has come about through courses in dance analysis; having to write critically about my own work at the undergraduate level; and through reading and researching.
320 n8: I don't believe I've taken any courses in art or dance criticism, but have taken courses where we critically evaluated art and dance. n9: Arts 161 Dance Criticism = 0 n10: Foundation of my undergraduate studies was the Adshead/Layson text on Dance Analysis: Theory and Practice which provides a model for approaching a critical evaluation of a dance work. No studies at all of criticism in its broader journalistic sense. n12: Postmodernism with Vera Maletic, but this was only a portion of class content. None really. Personal reading — bell hooks and oral discourse with artist friends and collaborators in NY. Did an independent study with Karen Woods on cultural identity and representation of dancing bodies — reading, discussion, short writing (this summer). Used Desmond and Cooper Albright books.
6. reasons for enrolling in this course. n1: I recently took a Disabilities test here at OSU. I was experiencing difficulties reading and writing my first quarter of Au '97. The results showed a disability in the area of Fluid Reasoning (i.e. Reading Comprehension and Listening Comprehension). It was recommended for me to take a writing course to help improve my skills. n2: I want to take the more generalized lessons I have learned about writing and use them to focus on something I love. I am interested in pursuing a career on the more academic and theoretical side of dance, and I hope this class will help to give me some direction. n3: After taking Karen Woods' dance history class, I wanted a dance-related class that would challenge my writing and thought a little bit more. OSU GECs have been poor — I want a class where I can think more, prepare for grad school. n6: It sounded like something you could "sink your teeth into" intellectually. Every dancer has to deal with these issues. It's also a secret love of mine, and it sounded like a great way to start off my career at OSU. n7: Mainly to improve as a writer; to broaden my language in terms of writing about dance myself. Also to help train myself to remain open-minded in my research work — to not get bogged down with one point of view, but seek out alternatives that could completely open up doors on a particular issue. Also, without sounding corny, to find about my own tastes and what shapes them.
321 n8: Apparently I have not taken a course on criticism specifically so that was my primary reason. I'm interested in learning the style of writing that comes with criticism. n9: #1: To prepare self for written exam at end of graduate studies.
Hope that the course will enrich my knowledge of contemporary dance styles, choreographers . . . n10: Graduate level work is quite different from that done at undergraduate level. I wish to 'step up a gear' where my writing is concerned. It will be interesting to get another perspective on criticism. It' s been five years since I studied, so my writing skills need reviving somewhat. My long term focus is on writing about dance in some form so this seems a good place to start. n12: Because I want the tools (vocabulary, resources, background info) to engage in critical and analytical discussion, thinking and writing about dance. As an African American woman I feel the work of African American choreographers is trivialized, ignored or under-represented and acknowledged in dance literature at large.
7. characterization of attitude toward writing in general. n1: I love to write! My interest in creative writing is deep and sacred to me. I enjoy journal writing and poetry. However, I am aware of my weaknesses in comprehending the formal forms of writing, in which I believe will become strengths throughout this course. I am primarily a visual learner and hope to be able to write actualize my visions more clearly. n2: A painstaking process at times but rewarding in the end. It is sometimes much easier and clearer than talking. n3: I see writing as a way to organize thought. It's important to me to write almost every day. My own writing is immature — sometimes I'm challenged/frustrated by the difficulty of writing well. n6: I like to write — now. There was a time I hated writing, but was forced to do it. I love spell-check and have a problem with closing paragraphs, but even after being frustrated, I still enjoy it. n7: I guess I see writing as a form of expression, of communication; something which can inspire, conjure up emotion and feeling; be informative, be educational and thus expand our knowledge, alter our perspective, broaden our attitudes (that is, if we take the time to read). Personally, I'm quite passionate about writing — about
322 being able to creatively articulate myself — and communicate what I've discovered or experienced. I think of performing dance in the same way. n8: I enjoy writing in general — more academic than creative but I also enjoy the latter. I've found that invariably when I write I come away with a fuller understanding of the topic I have undertaken. n9: It causes me a large amount of anxiety. I have a very difficult time writing — I often become paralyzed at the thought of it. n10: I enjoy words and the pursuit of the most fitting way to put across ideas. Finding the balance required to form sentences and paragraphs which are beautiful, lucid and succinct. The elusiveness of such balance is part of the passion of that quest. Then again, sometimes (often) it's hell — frustrating and tiresome. n12: I love it. I have terrible handwriting and spelling, but am not afraid of freedom of expression. I also like, but rarely do anymore, creative writing. Would also like to gear my writing skills toward scholarly writing for newsletters, journals, etc.
8. characterization of attitudes toward writing about dance in particular. n1: I enjoy writing about dance when I am free to express my perceptions freely — without too many guidelines or structure. Because dance is primarily an emotional and spiritual experience for me, I tend to write more about the larger overall experience, describing feelings more than technical thoughts. n2: the most interesting and stimulating kind of writing for me, the best of both worlds. n3: There aren't many places to learn about writing for dance. It's important as a way for dance to hold a place in the arts and intellectual communities. n6: I find writing about dance very difficult. It's hard to write about something you only see once (if it's a review), or to discuss something that is extremely subjective. It is certainly intellectually stimulating. n7: I'm fairly confident about writing about dance from a research/historical perspective — formulating and articulating new discoveries, ideas, etc. I'm not confident about writing criticism — well, rather the process of putting down on paper what I've just seen — the details. I'm curious as to how dance criticism and analysis would change with a constant use of notation, floor plans to create a visual image.
323 n8: I'm looking forward to enriching my writing vocabulary as it pertains to critiquing dance. I feel that my writing is strong but my dance criticism could use more sophistication. n9: Writing about dance in particular is more difficult than I imagined (prior to doing so). I find myself caught in the same descriptive clichés. I also believe that some dance is not meant to be described in written verse — it exists in the physical/expressive plane. This makes criticism of it difficult for me. n10: My ideas about/understanding of dance only clarify when subjected to a vocal or literary articulation. Writing about dance forces me to question my own assumptions and to move away from the woolly, vague and general, to the sharp, distinct and specific — or to accept at least that my ideas are still unformed. n12: I find this very difficult because until recently I have had a hard time understanding or decoding writing about dance. Descriptive writing is confusing and not always accurate (reviews) — once I see a dance, I find it was nothing like I imagined from what was written about it. However, three writers I admire are Ann Cooper Albright, Brenda Dixon Gottschild and Jane C. Desmond.
9. Do you anticipate particular benefits in learning to write about dance? n1: I believe writing about dance will help me learn to describe the multitude of visual, kinesthetical and physical experiences of dance into words that are most appropriate for me to articulate what dance means to me on many levels. I know one day I will need the skills to write grants/proposals and documents in the professional world of dance. I hope this course will help me observe, think, and talk about dance with a deeper understanding of criticism and the choices of words we choose to communicate these thoughts to others.
note: Terry Barrett in his book Criticizing Photographs states "a judgment rendered without an understanding is irresponsive and irresponsible" (xi, preface). n2: Yes — learning how to view dance more critically, clarifying the thought processes that occur following a performance, and if I enjoy it as much as I expect, I hope there will be many benefits in the future. n3: Yes — I expect that an ability to write about dance will change the way I think about dances I see and make. I also expect to build on what I learn in this class with my own writing in the future. n6: It helps you to see dance in a different light and hopefully encourages you to be more objective when viewing dance. Also, it helps train the eye to look for things you wouldn't expect.
324 n7: Yes — being able to articulate on paper, through written language, something visual — a purely visual experience and its effects. Being able to paint a picture with words; being able to conjure up some idea of a kinesthetic experience through words. n8: Absolutely — because I am very passionate about it. I look forward to becoming even more articulate about its form in all its subtleties, implications and histories. n9: Absolutely, yes. It will continue to develop my appreciation and enjoyment of dance (increased quality of life). Writing will open creative venues to my own choreographic process. n10: Oops — kind of answered this above. Anticipate an increase in the above — also changes in the way I look at dance. n12: Yes. The ability to write articles and submit them for publication. The ability to discern areas of interest and importance to me as an active performer, young person, Black woman, choreographer, person interested in the general public's perception of and access to dance literature in academia — wow!
10. Do you anticipate particular difficulties in learning to write about dance? n1: My biggest challenge in learning to write about dance will be to focus my visual thoughts into clear, concise sentences. My disability in reading comprehension and listening comprehension effects my writing skills in a way that I seem to grasp abstract details and/or the essence of the larger picture (in a physical/emotional experience), however usually missing the main point. I also have difficulty with run-on sentences, as seen in this paragraph. n2: Yes — I am very inexperienced in dance history and criticism. Also, I am used to writing critical essays on books, not performing arts, so I anticipate that such a transition may be difficult. n3: Perseverance is usually my main difficulty in writing. Also, access to dance videos may be limited. n6: Establishing my own personal definition about dance, as well as my own philosophy, is always difficult. Without a clear understanding of these personal issues, your writing may not be clear. n7: Yes — being able to absorb detail. Being able to translate a visual and kinesthetic experience onto paper in an 'interesting' personal way. Being able to discard those first impressions so that personal judgment doesn't interfere too much; but being
325 able to make use of those first impressions to articulate "why" a certain reaction has occurred. n8: Perhaps what I may find most difficult is that when looking at a dance I not only have to write about the quality of movement, what the movement is evoking, etc. but also how other elements (lighting, music, costumes) enhance the performance experience. n9: All of the difficulties which come to mind relate directly to the form and format of my writing abilities. I feel I know a great deal about dance, I just have apprehension over writing about it. n10: Always the danger of becoming pretentious. Oh, new thought — surely the more I learn about dance writing the less the temptation/inclination to pretension will be. n12: Cannot tell just yet. So at this point I will say no.
11. What are the functions of dance criticism? What kinds of things can/should it do? n1: The functions might be decided by asking the questions: 1. What am I seeing? What is it about? How good is it? Criticism should not have negative connotations (Judgment Value). It should help us appreciate the art form, its meaning. I think the main functions of dance criticism is to provide our viewers, choreographers, performers, technicians and all those involved or not involved with the form, an opportunity to learn and understand the nuts and bolts of the creative process and the active production through Functions: 1. describing 2. interpreting 3. evaluating 4. theorizing. n2: Dance criticism serves to present analytical concepts and interpretations to an audience. Just like any other type of criticism, it could promote awareness and willingness to learn from the arts. n3: Dance criticism is often the basis for discussion about dance, bringing what happens on the stage into a situation where it can be dissected, discussed and analyzed. n6: Dance criticism is a form of historical documentation. It also helps set standards in the dance world for choreographers as well as dancers. Also, dance criticism helps raise awareness and interest in dance. It should offer people an objective and informed opinion of dance. 326 n7: Give a historical overview of a piece/choreographer, etc. Describe the piece to give the reader a vague visual idea (or strong visual idea!). Perhaps include some interpretation — especially if the historical and stylistic elements allow for this. Perhaps include a personal opinion relative to other things the critic has seen. Basically, create a visual idea, give historical fact, record and preserve a visual and kinesthetic experience. n8: I feel (and sometimes this is not the case) that dance criticism should be informative to its readers so that they are motivated to go and see the performance (or not see it if it ????). I'm still debating a bit on this issue but it could benefit from being more accessible to its readers. It's also good for posterity — if you want to find out about what critics thought about Cunningham's works when he first started, you could research that. n9: I really don't know. I suppose it's a means of better understanding intent of the choreographer.
A systematic way of breaking down the elements of its creation. Sometimes I believe it is understood as judgment of dance — but it should not be. n10: Criticism — as in newspaper reviews, etc. can serve to enlighten and educate the dance audience and to attract new members to that audience. It should have merit as a piece of writing in its own right.
Dance criticism should also be taken on the same level as literary criticism — all art should be subjected to the deepest level of scrutiny possible. n12: To place dance in a historical context. To place dance in a present day context. To document an artist's work and public reactions to it. To document significant changes, outcomes, deviations or patterns in choreography and performance and contextualize.
12. How does the meaning or purpose of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know? n1: This is my own personal thought on this question. I believe its meaning and purpose comes from a collection of personal/professional interpretations and experiences. I believe we all decide in the field or not in the field what it means to us as individuals, as a nation and internationally from our cultures. The underlying magic of movement comes from a source of energy and life, created beyond reason. Those who dedicate themselves to the field are able to articulate the aesthetics, history and foundations of movement, etc. But every human intuitively "knows" movement, experientially through the body, if living; through the spirit, if dead.
327 n2: I think that if there was one concrete answer for each of these questions, criticism would not exist. n3: It gets decided as it is conceived, by the choreographer. Also, it's decided by the dancer as it is performed, and by the viewer as he/she watches the dance. The meaning each ascribes to the dance is personal and subjective. It's also decided by the critic. n6: From a post-modern perspective, the meaning or purpose is determined by he choreographer, the dancers and the audience. That meaning could be different for each of these people, but no one's opinion or belief is invalid or more important than any other. n7: I think initially the choreographer makes these decisions, although these don't always become published fact. Some choreographers find it important to convey the meaning via a programme; others do not deem it important. So then, it comes to each dancer's interpretation of the choreography which then effects how they perform it. Then the audience forms a point of view regarding what they saw, each probably very different. Then, I guess as the average audience member doesn't record their perceptions, we are left with the dance critics, who I don't think always know — interpretation is a personal thing. n8: I would like to think that the meaning or purpose is determined by its creator(s) but because performance/creation is about interaction with those who view it, it is also decided by its audience. Critics often play a significant part in making or breaking meanings, and honestly I think it's somewhat disconcerting we have so much trust in what they know — but we trust it because they have studied the form in depth. This does not necessarily make them the primary validators of art. n9: This is a trick question. I couldn't possibly answer this. The answer, if there is one, would be based on so many different criteria.
Value is a socially imposed judgment based upon norms and a multitude of sociological criteria (historical personal criteria) n10: Wouldn't want to give any kind of definitive answer to this question — any number of people could have any number of responses and I am undecided as to my own view. Potentially meaning is situated at some point between creator and recipient and is influenced by the response of a 'community' consisting of other viewers, cultural mores, critical response, etc. n12: Each individual seeing the dance, based on how they interpret the information given to them by the choreographer and performers.
328 But — dance critics and historians are often the people who record and document it and I don't think they take poles amongst the audience members. Their opinions are personal and often biased (I feel) — not that this is bad, But, I think there should be a greater range of personal cultural experience among those whose work is published. In other words, not always older white women (who know each other) — youth and cultural diversity are good too.
13. How does the value or quality of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know? n1: Clear interpretations can increase our understanding and appreciation for the us qualities and value of a work(s). In depth training by educators and professionals can guide our thoughts about the value or quality of a dance but the effect/quality of a dance/performance from the perspective of the viewers should have the strongest decisions about the dance. (If the viewers cannot relate or get something out of it, then why are we doing it?) The main problem I see is we have many under-educated audiences (varying in levels of education or fields), who do not have the skills to articulate themselves. Which I believe if every audience had a little more insight into the details of the performance, was able to leave a feedback sheet — a sentence or two: "I felt this" or "I learned this" and why — the value or quality of what we produce or how we perceive it may change. n2: Everything is on an individual, personal basis — the results should be different for all participants. n3: This also is a subjective issue. Sometimes the public ascribes value to a dance because of what the critics write or even the ticket price. n6: The value or quality of a dance is decided by critics and audience members. The critics know by years of experience of watching and judging dance. The audience knows by whether they enjoy watching it, or have an emotional connection with a dance. Sometimes, the two don't agree. n7: I think these things are down to the critics/reviewers initially. And again their opinions are not definitive — neither are the audience opinions — Nijinsky's Le Sacre is a perfect example — booed off and later a legendary masterpiece. Over time, through a process of constant reviewing, general opinions may change according to taste, to the discovery of hidden facts, to what seems relevant in culture or society at a particular time. n8: Answer to this question is in # 12. n9: Ditto (arrow to # 12).
329 n10: Problematic issue when approached from our multi-cultural and post-modern perspective. Do we accept the creator's own agenda as the yardstick against which we measure? If not, how do we impose our own values upon the work? Is the notion of an objective 'value' still valid? etc. etc. I don't know, but it's an interesting issue. n12: Same as above.
14. Additional thoughts or questions about the class. n1: I did not begin dancing until I was in my mid-twenties. I wanted to be a dancer or choreographer because my first modern dance concert I viewed touched me kinesthetically. I could feel the passion, energy, joy and expressiveness from the performers who were dancing on a proscenium stage, and I was sitting many rows away from them. I felt as if my body. mind and spirit were moving with them simultaneously. Dance to me helps me embrace the dynamic range of human emotions that can express, enlighten, inform and teach us about the infinite (hyperbolic signatures) of human movement/nature. Dance is something we do and I'm learn only few choose to explore its potential — why not more?
Side note: I went to my first modern concert out of curiosity without prior knowledge of modern dance. I left that first concert knowing dance would be the core of my life.
I think people in general go to performances dance, theatre, etc. to "feel" the magic (the Love). I felt the magic and wanted to learn the process. I was inspired to express my creative inner self and share those ideas and experiences with others. Here I am! Yea!
criticism: "a way of becoming informed about art is by critically thinking about it. Criticism is a means toward the end of understanding and appreciating" (Barrett, pg.3). n2: I am expecting this class to be very challenging, especially considering that I am new to this department and my background is quite different from the others in the class. I am afraid that certain aspects of dance or dance criticism might be assumed to be previously understood, but may not be for me. n3: I hope to confront the issues posed by questions 12 and 13 again, and more thoroughly, through writing and dancing in this class.
My experiences, thoughts and writing about dance are still fairly unformed. I hope to find more shape for them through this class. But I'm beginning by admitting that I have a long way to go.
330 n6: I look forward to the readings and interesting discussions. It's always great when people can discuss and learn from one another's opinions/beliefs/ thoughts/feelings. n7: n8: I noticed that my answer in # 12 contradicts my answer in # 11, but this is precisely where I need to do some exploring. I'd like to come away from this class with a clearer understanding of criticism's part in determining (or not) meaning, purpose and function. n9: I am quite nervous about being in this course. I have always been told that I do not write well and I don't particularly like writing. I want to become more comfortable with it. I read very slowly and sometimes it takes me a while to formulate and present my thoughts on paper — This is why I think I should be in this course before approaching my written exams for graduation.
Additionally: I want to submit writing to dance journals. n10: n12:
331 (EXIT) QUESTIONNAIRE II
PROTOCOL
1. Have your expectations in enrolling for this class been met?
2.a Description of class impact on writing skills in general:
stayed the same improved decreased
2b Please comment on your answer
3a. Description of class impact on writing skills about dance in particular:
stayed the same improved decreased
3b Please comment on your answer
4. Have you experienced any specific benefits from writing about dance?
5. Have you experienced any specific difficulties in writing about dance?
6. Have you encountered any specific discoveries in writing about dance?
7. Has writing about dance increased your knowledge about dance in any way?
8. Has writing about dance had any impact on your other areas of interest in dance?
9. What are the functions of dance criticism? What kind of things can/should it do?
10. How does the meaning and purpose of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know?
11. How does the value or quality of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know?
12. Any additional thoughts about class experience.
332 DATA BY INDIVIDUAL QUESTION:
1. Have your expectations in enrolling for this class been met? n1: Yes. I'm inspired and encouraged to write with more depth and insight about dance. I feel I have fresh eyes and a new foundation for viewing that allows me to describe, interpret, analyze and evaluate the dance. Video viewings, class discussions, writing assignments and the Siegel residency have exceeded my expectations. n2: I was expecting to learn how to better look at dance, and I have. I was expecting to learn how to better write about dance, and I have. I was expecting to be exposed to a lot of dance and new ideas about dance and criticism, and I was. n3: I expected more work — more readings and more writings. I did expect to have meaty class discussions and we did have such discussions. n6: I wish that we would have been given more writing assignments (I understand why we weren't), but I enjoyed going through the process. It would also have been nice to analyze different writing styles of more critics. Our discussions were very thought-provoking. n7: missing data n8: Some have been and some have not — I certainly see dance different [sic] than I use [sic] to and feel my writing has reflected this change. I do think, however, that the class needs more criticism texts assigned to read (excerpts) so we really get a feel for the "art" of criticism. Maybe a coursepack with a variety of critical articles in it? n9: Yes, I felt the class would be much more work and more overwhelming than it actually was. I have found the process of reviewing dance to be enjoyable. n10: The question is far too subjective to attempt to answer. Meaning and purpose are in the eye of the beholder. n11: missing data n12: Initially, yes. But it seemed to have drifted from a course about criticism to dance writing. There seems to be a difference between the two. The how, what and why of criticism in regards to dance seemed to be replaced with an emphasis on technical writing a certain correct way.
333 2a. Description of class impact on writing skills in general: n1-6; stayed the same 8,10 improved 12: decreased n9: stayed the same improved — in a different way decreased
2b. n1: The mere openness and flexibility in the structure of this class has given me a sense of comfort and freedom to explore and express my ideas without fear of being "criticized." I learn and grow much more quickly in this environment. Candace's patience and attention to detail and suggestions have fostered and provoked my thinking about observing and writing about dance. n2: This is the first time in a long while that I actually took my time in writing papers. I learned that writing and revising and reading and writing again can really improve a paper. One of the main reasons my writing improved was because I got feedback from others before a paper was finished. Also, writing is usually better when it's something you want to write about. n3: For me, even beginning to write about dance was an improvement, since I hadn't done any dance writing before. I had nothing to lose. Some major things my writing needs (clarity, brevity, substantiation) were revealed to me, though we didn't do quite enough writing to work those things out. Also, this class redefined the idea that a paper (or any writing) is never really done. I liked the opportunity to work on my papers more. n6: The first few attempts at writing after a hiatus are always difficult. This class allowed me to work through my problems without feeling pressured. It also helped me re-visit certain aspects of my personal writing style which I did not necessarily want to do. n8: A lot of the editing that you did on my papers was extremely helpful — The suggestions you made for alternative sentence structures and punctuations are invaluable to me. n9: I learned a new way of observing and responding via my writing. This actually (in retrospect) came more easily than I thought. n10: The first task demanded that I write in a voice quite different from that in which I usually express myself on papers. I think this was a liberating exercise which freed me from some of the habitual patterns which can permeate my work. Also,
334 the detailed feedback with the opportunity to redraft and resubmit alerted me to the power of minor details in creating a cohesive piece of work. n12: Reading good writing has an impact on my own writing skills. We did not do a lot of it or do it consistently, but we wrote consistently. I feel my other courses and personal reading had a great impact on my writing and gave me some resources
3. Description of class impact on writing skills about dance in particular: n1-3: stayed the same improved decreased n6: stayed the same improved decreased n1: I feel my writing about dance is helping me to see and appreciate more clearly where I've been, where I am now, and where I'm headed with my passion and love to capture and preserve the essence of what we do as dancers, choreographers and teachers. Writing about dance helps me to affirm my thoughts and theories and has increased how I communicate what dance means to me in sharing our ephemeral art form with others. n2: I had barely written on dance in the first place, so anything would be an improvement, but I learned that there are so many approaches to the process and so many things to write about. Remembering these will certainly help me in the future as well. n3: See above. To be more specific, I started to see just how many vague objectives I'm inclined to use as a substitute for describing and interpreting the movement. I also began to feel "worthy" of writing about dance — it was no longer something I saw as only for the select few. n6: Whether this indicates that my writing about dance is rigid and inflexible, or refined and secure is beyond me. I suspect it's a little of both. But the biggest hindrance for my lack of improvement was the lack of writing. The only way to get better at something so difficult as writing about dance is to do it and to do it often. n8: See first response. n9: I have always discussed and written about dance, basically in the way I was directed to in this course. What is different is the knowledge I gained and the
335 definitions of the way I was writing. A greater understanding of description, evaluation, contextualization are one result. n10: Since my general writing skills have improved for the reasons stated above, then inevitably my writing about dance is better. However, I don't believe that my observational skills, my perception of dance, or the vocabulary I use to articulate these have improved. n12: Just doing it makes a difference. In-class discussion and hearing how others express themselves was very helpful. The feedback for my written work was appreciated but also a little intimidating (especially seeing a paper massacred with red typed insertions on the computer copy — this was totally depressing). My writing "skills," (grammar, structure) seems to be a personal problem/challenge, and I am getting help outside of class. But my ability and desire to write has improved (I need a secretary and editor!). My ideas have expanded and I feel I can better express what I see through writing. This is a triumph for me personally, and it is because of this course and includes the time spent with Marcia Siegel.
4. Have you experienced any specific benefits from writing about dance? n1: • Improved observation skills and formulas to hone in on looking at movement. i.e. lexicons. • My ideas and imagination in my writing have been stimulated and increased. I'm interested in furthering my writing skills and writing dance poetry. n2: I have learned what is important to me to include in a paper. I have learned that there are many options when writing about dance and each requires a different combination of those elements of description, analysis, etc. n3: I've become a little more interested in dances I see, because writing always makes a dance more meaningful to me. Instead of just writing a dance off by saying it was boring, I've been compelled to examine why I think it's boring. n6: Personally, I find my observational skills change. (I won't say improve, they just change). I also realize how different I write when talking about dance than let's say when I'm writing a philosophy paper. n8: I feel I have learned to articulate more on how to describe movement activity — I have also learned to look a lot more for patterns or things that stand out from it — really seeing — (in two words). n9: A very small part of me is looking at my own choreography in a different way. I am more aware of whether I am creating work with my viewers understanding of it in mind. I am more comfortable with creating more abstract work which elicits
336 a greater margin of thought on the viewer. Let them figure out what it means to them. I think writing about dance has increased my awareness of this in myself. n10: In writing about Tharp's The Little Ballet I have been reminded that repeated, detailed observation, the placing of a work in a specific context and the postulation of ideas about a work can bring enjoyment and appreciation of a work which at first glance holds no appeal. n12: Yes. I think it indirectly effects my teaching (dance) and my lecturing (Arts 161). I feel more secure about what I say and how I express it verbally. Writing is very intentional and personal. Putting my thoughts onto paper organizes my thoughts and this has helped in verbal expression as well as physical.
5. Have you experienced any specific difficulties in writing about dance? n1: • It becomes very difficult for me to separate my initial emotional response to viewing and writing about dance, to look specifically at "the movement," how they are moving. • Getting started on a paper without anconcerns outline me or —structure although I think I've accomplished what I wanted to without it. n2: I tend to be too wordy. It is also very difficult for me to write anything after only one showing. While this is not a problem yet, it will be once I start writing more about live dance. n3: I'm still afraid of being haughty or condemning in my writing. Also, I'm always hindered by the question, "By what authority do I write this?" We talked about it in class . . . I don't quite trust my eyes or my use of words. n6: I have lots of difficulties. The most prominent one, I would have to say, is balancing my strong opinions about dance with description. My second biggest difficulty is deciding what is appropriate for my audience — realizing what they know with what they don't know. n8: At first I feel there's just so much to write about! Where to begin! I have yet to develop a more structured way of looking at dance. I feel if I had a more structured plan I might be less overwhelmed by all of the info I have to absorb. n9: I make assumptions that the reader knows what I am talking about, therefore I believe I continue to leave out important information. This is information which I find tedious to put in writing because it feels arbitrary. n10: No difficulties, specifically — it can be an arduous, time-consuming process but occasionally inspiration will strike and the words are simply already there waiting to be typed.
337 n12: Yes, I run out of words, am bored by my usual lexicon and find I prefer to make things up that did not really exist just to have practice writing. Some of the viewings and performances were not very stimulating. Maybe that is why the writing was not always interesting (Cappelletti concert, freshman rep, Mark Morris, Lynn Dally).
6. Have you encountered any specific discoveries in writing about dance? n1: Writing about dance opens my expressive and communicative energies. Every aspect of dance becomes important, and has many layers and deserves attention. I'm beginning to make more associations, correlations/connections with my surrounding world and how the causes and effects of life are linked to dance and how I perceive dance, art and technology. n2: I have discovered that what I see is what I see and that is a perfectly acceptable writing topic. n3: Marcia Siegel was in part responsible for this, but so was the writing about the Cappelletti concert: I discovered (realized) that what we see is subjective, and when an audience watches dance, they don't see technique at all. I was a little jealous of non-dancer audience members at that point. n6: I have discovered how rich dance is in so many different ways. It has helped me with my own dancing in particular, as well as understanding the craft of choreography. Most importantly, however, it made me realize how fortunate I am to be a member and participant in this field. n8: I've enjoyed discovering that once I get started writing about the movements in a given piece, I can really articulate "evocatively" what I see. n9: I have found that I cannot sit back, take in and enjoy the dance the way I want to, but on the other hand writing about dance feels like I have contributed to the preservation of an otherwise ephemeral experience. n10: See response to # 4. n12: No, but still difficulties about writing in general. Also, I think historic background is very important, and I do not have as much as I would like in order to have a deeper analysis/observation of some of the dances we saw.
7. Has writing about dance increased your knowledge about dance in any way? n1: I've learned how unique and invaluable each individual's (my colleagues) thoughts, ideas, and contributions to dance have broadened my perspective. Sharing papers, and approaches to writing about dance increases my
338 understanding and point of view. There are so many areas of interest to me. Hearing and writing about the many sides increases my knowledge and understanding. n2: I've learned how unique and invaluable each individual's (my colleagues) thoughts, ideas, and contributions to dance have broadened my perspective. Sharing papers, and approaches to writing about dance increases my understanding and point of view. There are so many areas of interest to me. Hearing and writing about the many sides increases my knowledge and understanding. n3: Yes — more knowledge of other dance writers and other sources for dance writing. n6: Mostly it has helped me understand the many different ways choreographers structure a piece, and which of those ways are most successful. n8: Yes, I look more now to watch choreographic devices, patterns, etc. Sometimes these formal aspects give clues as to what the dance may be about. n9: I have greater knowledge of the dance pieces and choreographers presented in this course. I don't believe that writing about dance has really increased my knowledge in any other specific ways. n10: Not during this course, specifically. However, as an undergraduate writing about dance within various methodological frameworks, I came to appreciate how any dance can be understood on a variety of levels and was able to make connections in my writing between different genres, periods, choreographers, etc. This knowledge forms an environment in which I can attempt to "make sense" of unfamiliar work or practices. n12: Not really, but I have been really aware of how I see dance and how I express what I see/observe more so that what I know/feel as a dancer/director. I have also become more critical of myself. I also have higher expectations because I have higher regard for my opinion and what I observe. The "interpretation" section of class helped validate that "yes" I can interpret/assign meaning and not be a snob or authoritarian but feel secure about my sense of meaning.
8. Has writing about dance had any impact on your other areas of interest in dance? n1: Yes. Terry Barrett's book is helping me with my camera work. I have a new lens and way of looking that is inspiring. Seeing through a lens helps me articulate myself in my writing.
339 n2: Yes. Especially in concern with structure. When choreographing, I am more aware of what would stand out to a viewer. n3: I started to wonder how I'd write about more "out-in-the-world" dances. Is it necessary to write about non-traditional dance, and dance outside of the proscenium stage? Is it wrong to try to "academ-ify" that stuff? n6: I'd say that my interest in philosophy has a mutual influence with my writings about dance. There are many elements of philosophy that can (and should) be easily applied to dance and vice versa. Dance has also influenced the way I view art — specifically photography and sculpture. n8: Choreography, for sure. n9: I am more interested in what a dance has to convey. The more I study the composition of choreography, the notation of dance and the practice of writing about dance, the more interested I am in examining the purpose or message any dance has to present. n10: Writing about dance is my interest —not solely in a descriptive sense but with a view to its broader interpretation. n12: Not that I can notice right now. But I think it has subliminally. It will probably resurface at another time.
9. What are the functions of dance criticism? What kind of things can/should it do? n1: • To communicate and share descriptively with interpretation the forms of dance, their varied meanings and the infinite possible perceptions that can evaluate both artist and viewer. • To view and write honestly about dance — TO INFORM WITH APPRECIATION. n2: Dance criticism should describe what that individual writer saw and/or felt and/or thought after watching a dance. n3: To share understanding and insight and contextual information about a dance. It has the capacity to provoke deeper, clearer thought in the reader about dance. It has the capacity to make people see things about a dance that they didn't quite see on first viewing. It also has the capacity to make a dance look terrible and worthless. Dance criticism is also a vehicle for the writers own opinions and issues. A way to write about oneself. I'm not sure I think it should be.
340 n6: Dance criticism should serve as a historical record, as one person's informed opinion based on physical evidence about a choreographer's work, as an educational tool for those unfamiliar with dance, as a promotion of the artform in general, and as a guideline or watchdog for quality composition. n8: Honestly, this is still something I can't say without feeling as though I'm still figuring it out for myself. I have a feeling I'll be thinking about it for awhile as I watch more dance. But to state the functions that seem least problematic they would be to document — as accurately as possible — to give a well-articulated honest account. n9: Dance criticism is a very odd thing to me. I am still not sure that it is right to attempt to verbalize the intent of an artist who has chosen to express something in terms of another form of communication. If the artist had wanted to say something on any other way besides dance he would have done so. Therefore, I sometimes feel uncomfortable reading criticism of dance work (whether it is positive or negative). n10: First and foremost, newspaper/journal dance criticism must be, or at least aim to be, fine writing on its own account (I am thinking Edwin Denby versus Jack Anderson). I would like it to evoke not just the dancing but the whole performance. I want to know how the writer felt about the evening as a whole. While criticism can play a role in history/dance documentation/publicity these are not its primary functions. My view is that it should in some form capture and communicate the essence of a specific performance or performances. n12: Contextualize an artist's work. Offer other perspectives — cultural/gender/political. Aid in documenting live performance. Aid in historically documenting choreographers and performers and "genres."
10. How does the meaning and purpose of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know? n1: Every individual, their thoughts, ideas and perception of what they see and what they feel is valid and an important contribution to the work. I would hope everyone would feel free to bring their own ideas and their experience to help bring an increased understanding and broader interest to dance. n2: Anyone can decide (or not decide) the meaning and purpose of a dance, but remain aware that their meaning is theirs and only theirs. n3: The choreographer decides, and so do the dancers and the audience members. The choreographer may make that meaning really clear to everyone else by writing about the piece or through the title. The movement itself informs others about the
341 meaning. In the end, I think the meaning and the purpose of a dance is very subjective. So we just all assume that — and shut up, afraid to share our ideas. n6: To take a "postmodern" perspective, the meaning of a dance is determined by each individual who views the dance. One interpretation over another is no better than the other, although a trained critic might be closer to what the choreographer intends as the meaning. They know from what they perceive their senses reveal. n8: First the choreographer decides for themselves what the meaning is. Once it's presented, this still remains but the audience and critics can draw their own interpretations and express these. Choreographers know (and this is obvious) because they created it. Critics and audiences I don't think can really know unless they speak to the choreographer but they can certainly say why they felt the way they did about what they saw. n9: The question is far too subjective to attempt to answer. Meaning and purpose are in the eye of the beholder. n10: This question is too big for me to attempt an answer under time and space constraints. There is no single answer — no single group who decide upon meaning. Indeed, meaning shifts. n12: It is subjective, individual and personal. Whoever is doing the seeing, writing, discussing, thinking decides. That is why it is important (to me) that a variety (gender, sexuality, politics, artistic background, cultural background, age) of people are involved in the places that represent or provide for seeing, writing and discussing — i.e. newsletters, newspapers, journals, conferences, forums, lectures, etc.
11. How does the value or quality of a dance get decided? Who decides? How do they know? n1: Discussion of process, intent, historical context and experience (body, mind and spirit) plays a role in the quality. Everyone decides, everyone knows. n2: Again, each individual can place a certain value on each dance, based on what is important to them. The option also exists to refrain from placing different values on different dances and realize that all dance (and art in general) is valuable in one way or another. n3: It gets decided by the artist's reputation, often the ticket price, the review, the venue. I think this is what most dancers are afraid to share their ideas about. Meaning may be decided on by everyone to a point, but value is more often described
342 n6: To follow on the same track, the individual decides if something is "quality" for we all have our own standards of what "quality" is. A group consensus should be the guideline rather than the be-all-end-all of the definition of quality. n8: I would say critics and audience members. Good reviews may draw in crowds. If the dance is at best commercial entertainment, critics may dislike it but audience members might love it. It all depends on their reception of the work. n9: ditto. This is based so much on the personal experience of the viewer. A case could be argued based on education of the viewer but I am more convinced that everyone has something important to say about what they see. Commentary, regardless of its perceived viability, says so much about its origin and the person who expresses it. n10: As above. n12: Same as above.
12. Any additional thoughts about class experience. n1: Overall, obviously positively a wonderful encouraging experience. I hope this course will continue. I am especially interested in broadening the experience of our dance audiences through developing theory and having writing as part of a CD-ROM for Dance. I hope we can produce more informed dance writers and audiences. n2: There are so many ways of thinking, ways of seeing, and ways of writing. Everyone had so much to say, no matter what the topic, and I feel that this is one of the few arenas where they can actually have that chance. This experience has taught me that you need not be in a studio to learn to choreograph or dance better. Watching dance and discussing it and writing about it develops many skills on many levels, and the more opportunities to do so, the more classes similar to this, will make for a stronger department and stronger dancers and dance thinkers. n3: Despite what I wrote about sharing my ideas, I've become more willing to trust them, flesh them out by writing, and share them.
I'm more interested in reading about dance, and I have some ideas of how to start. n6: I enjoyed the readings and the writings about what we were discussing, but I never felt that we as a group surpassed the "politically correct" boundary. We were all a little preoccupied with saying the right thing or what dance writing is "supposed" to be than the validity of different styles, the controversy that they bring to dance writing, and how they enrich dance. The class seemed unopen to any other valid form than a description — or pure description, I should say —
343 approach. Perhaps examples provided in class rather than personal exploration of different critics would have leveled the playing field just slightly. n8: n9: I would like to have viewed and talked about more dance.
I also would like to have had an opportunity to comment on dance work by people in the class so that the whole experience could have been brought closer to the group. The reactions of choreographers to the commentary of people in class would have been interesting.
I would have liked criticism of my own choreography as well. n10: Class discussion was often frustrating but it would be hard to state exactly why. Perhaps because no single idea was ever discussed in full, or because we as class members had such fixed agendas that we failed to engage fully with each other's ideas. A lack of common ground in knowledge exposure to different dance artists and experience also confounded fruitful discussion, which is a shame since obviously there were many differing perspectives to be shared. n12: It would have been good to see more live professional performance. Even if it had been BalletMet or a musical. I know that would be difficult, but I find writing about video uninspiring in some ways. But video is also good because of the possibilities for multiple viewings. I just felt like we did not have enough material to criticize/discuss. Video seems kind of after-the-fact, frozen in time unless we are discussing/writing to analyze and contextualize history.
344 APPENDIX B: HUMAN SUBJECTS CONSENT FORM
345 APPENDIX C: DESCRIPTION OF CONCERT WORKS
The Consigliere Collection: An Evening of Repertory Dance
Directed by Jim Cappelletti
video clip Dances
video clip Ciona 1973 Pilobolus
video clip Plum Tarts 1997 Allison Tipton
video clip Passing 1992 Susan Hadley
video clip Partial 1997 Angie Hauser
video clip Carpe Diem 1988 Susan Van Pelt
video clip Circlewalker 19 Alan Boeding
346 SUMMARY OF CAPPELLETTI CONCERT opening video: (about four minutes)
The performance occurs in Sullivant Hall Theatre, where a capacity crowd mingles and waits expectantly in rows of seats. Suddenly, the house lights dim and a large rectangle of light appears towards the front of the theatre, a video screen on which dancers are seen in practice clothes, rehearsing in the studio, and Jim Cappelletti's voice discusses the concert we are about to see. In brief excerpts of video, we see and hear Jim and several of the choreographers as well as the Chair of the Dance Dept under whose auspices the concert has been produced, we see groups of dancers working on various phrases of movement, we see choreographers working with the dancers, and hear various testimonies extolling the hosting department, and explicating Jim's conceptualization of the repertory event. The clip ends with a brief credit, announcing the title of the concert and Jim's name. video clip: (about 5 minutes, including main credits*)
After conveying the concert title and director, the video screen shifts to two men, who seem to be rehearsing in a studio under the direction of a third. Through their interactions, we come to realize that the directing person is one of the choreographers of the piece, Michael Tracy of the Pilobolus Company. We glean from his conversation that there is more than one way to define dance movement, and that the particular signature of this company is to make dances that are more abstract and involve more gymnastic movement than those of many other companies. We also learn that Tracy values dance as a unique kind of human interaction, and that he especially appreciates the opportunity an intricate group dance like the one we're about to see provides — an opportunity to participate together and to rely on one another in an experience which wouldn't be feasible alone.
Ciona 1973 (about twelve minutes) Pilobolus
Jim Cappelletti Angie Hauser Michael Thomas Emily Pope Daniel Aguzzoli-Roberts Phil Stambaugh
Five dancers in shiny grey unitards form a diagonal line stretching from the lower left corner of the stage to its upper right. Connected at the wrist, they flail and twist against each other, forming a kind of slow-motion silver wave that shimmers in a soft shaft of light. From this moment evolves a series of
347 ever-changing shapes and patterns, the dancers now stretching like taffy, now suggesting the structure of a jungle gym, now forming a human slingshot, now a multi-tentacled squirming sea creature. Like a moving architectural exhibit, the gleaming grey shapes continuously permutate. In one humorous moment, a seated dancer finds herself enclosed between the towering legs of her comrades and manages to poke her head through these tall silver spikes, looking sharply side to side and then ducking back in for cover. Seamlessly, this configuration melts into another and yet another. The dancers swing and carry and climb on each other, sometimes working in pairs to launch a third dancer across the space, sometimes hurling themselves at full speed onto one another, jumping suddenly to attach themselves to the waist of a standing partner, like swatches of human velcro. The electronic score is as unpredictable and quirky as the movement, and together they seem to fashion an out-of-this-world experience, a strange new landscape where gleaming dancer-cells seem to form the primary tissue of creation, and individual beings adapt themselves to make marvelous things happen which could not exist without this communal malleability. Meanwhile, the spirit of Alwin Nikolais seems to hover approvingly in the wings. video clip: (about three and a half minutes)
A small square of light appears at the front of the theatre, and expands in size as we hear and see a woman giving directions to a small group of dancers in a studio. This is a rehearsal, and we come to discover that the speaker is Allison Tipton, choreographer and alum of the OSU Dept. of Dance, who has come to work with these dancers for one day, in which she will impart to them a dance she made in 1997. The dancers are in practice clothes, and the voices shift from Allison addressing the dancers, to Allison addressing us (through an unseen interviewer) and to the dancers addressing us in this same way. Jim Cappelletti appears also in some scenes of the video, conferring with Allison and the dancers. We hear the dancers talking about this particular process of learning a dance in one day and their concerns about being faithful to the choreographer's wishes as they rehearse in her absence. We hear the choreographer discussing the problems of communicating more than just the movement of the piece but also its musicality, its emotional qualities, its dynamics and energy, She indicates that she wants the movement to be larger than life, the dancers to occupy the space in a bold and dramatic way. She also states that her dances tend to be "sexy" and that she thinks it is powerful and good for women to move in a "sexy" way.
Plum Tarts 1997 (about three minutes)
Allison Tipton Angela Milena Clark Tara Victoria Consolmagno Gina Ferraro Romnee Hayes Jennifer Thomas
348 A single dancer enters on the diagonal, traveling backwards toward us from the upstage right corner, moving sharply and swiftly in long, low strides. She is soon joined by four others, who seize the stage from a variety of entrances to engage in a fast-paced and presentational dance, All are dressed in dark tank tops and sleek-fitting black pants which give off a subtle sheen in varying hues of purple. The music is a Tango, and there is much about the dancers' demeanor and movement which suggests this form with its deep lunges, quick turns of the head, frequent changes of direction and sweeping motion. The dancers form and dissemble various groupings, make and relinquish contact, move into and out of unison. Their strides are sometimes punctuated by sensual undulations of the spine and upper body, a sudden downward thrust of the arms, a flick of the foot. As quickly as it began, the dance comes to an end, and the five women coyly turn their backs to us, arms overhead and liquid hips swiveling rhythmically, as they slowly dissolve into silhouettes against the darkening distance. video clip: (about four minutes)
The screen of light again appears and slowly expands as we see first one, then three dancers practicing in a studio. We hear the voice of Susan Hadley, discussing the origins of the work we are about to see, which was inspired by a recent experience of the illness and death of a family member. She comments that choreographers often make dances out of their life experience, and that this loss had permeated her life during the six months before she was to begin work on this dance. She says that although some choreographers tend to begin working with movement and allow that to generate meaning for them, she usually begins with meaning, asking herself what she wants to communicate, and then searches for the movement vocabulary to accomplish it. While she is talking, the visual images shift from the dancers, to Susan, and back. At one point, Jim Cappelletti also appears in the film, apparently taking notes as Susan directs the dancers in the studio. We see Susan in street clothes, sitting in a chair or standing near the dancers, watching and apparently giving feedback. The dancers are in dance practice clothes; they listen to her and seem to work on the movement in response. Susan mentions that the challenge of the piece for the performers lies in the fact that it requires constant shifts of energy from being very active to being very subdued, and that it is this contrast which is crucial to the success of the work. Gina Jacobs, one of the dancers, also addresses this point in an interview, confirming that this aspect of the performance is indeed a challenge. Susan then remarks that she wants people who view her work to recognize themselves in her performers, and to be emotionally moved by her dances.
349 Passing 1992 (about nine and a half minutes) Susan Hadley
Gina Jacobs Angie Hauser Angela Milena Clark
The faint strains of choral music are heard, as a dim shaft of light appears, emanating from the upper left corner of the stage. Three women, clad in black pants and slightly varied black torso-hugging tops, enter from the downstage right corner and are encircled by a small pool of light. Immediately, they are actively engaged in a kind of non-stop romping: remaining close to the corner and very close to each other, they frolic and cavort, jumping, leaping, turning, rolling over one another, changing levels, directions and positions but always within very close proximity to each other — a tight little trio. The music, by contrast, is measured and slow, somber and haunting — a choir of voices singing sacred songs such as the "Agnus Dei" and "Benedictus." Suddenly, amidst their movement play, one of the dancers leaves the group and walks to the other edge of the stage, which is still darkened. The two companions fail to notice at first, and then pause to watch her quizzically as she returns to join them. They continue as a trio, but the movement has slowed to a more lyrical pace, with fewer descents to the floor, more languorous curves of the upper body, sweeping turns and leg extensions — again, performed in very close proximity to each other. The dancer who left before turns away again, but after a few steps, one of the others draws her back by the hand, and they resume their lyrical movement. This scenario is repeated, and by the third time, she gets a little farther from the group before she is returned. The others seem to regard her with confusion and concern, pausing in their own movement to watch her before one advances to lead her back. Eventually, they stop their activity in the corner, and adopt a new strategy as the lone dancer begins a long, slow path from this corner to the upstage left corner. As she walks, the other two take turns running just ahead of her and throwing themselves directly into her path, rising to clear the way just as her footsteps approach their crumpled shapes on the floor. Finally, as they near the end of this path, they turn and one of them takes her by the hand, again leading her back to the opening corner. They sit down now, holding her by turns in their laps before standing again in renewed attempts to seduce her back into dance, but these attempts grow less and less assertive. Each time her hand is released and she seems momentarily to be lured back into movement, but instead melts to the floor, as if too tired for dancing. One of them helps her up, and the cycle repeats. In one such attempt, both dancers lift the resting one from either side and with their support, she opens into a wide momentary leap at shoulder height, before again collapsing on the floor. Sometimes a different ploy is tried, and they attempt to join her on the floor for a rest, but the urgency to return to dancing calls them back up, and they try in vain to lure her into the trio. Eventually, the two become resigned to let their friend depart. Together, they walk slowly back into the diagonal path, which is lit by a thin white shaft of light, the
350 source of which seems to be shining brightly beyond the edge of the corner. Now the two dancers carry the third one, passing her back and forth in a slow but unbroken approach to the corner. One at a time, they lift her with obvious care onto the other's back, then into each other's arms, cradling her until at last they reach a point just shy of their destination, Here, they gently help her onto her feet and step aside as she runs swiftly into the light. The stage darkens on the gazing profiles of the two remaining dancers. video clip: (about four minutes)
This time, the screen reveals two dancers talking as they rehearse. one of whom makes a certain point by means of an onomatopoetic sound and gesture to convey her intentions, then returns to words. It soon appears that the sound-maker is the choreographer, and that there is a third dancer in the piece which is called "Partial." The choreographer discusses the familiar phenomenon of going to a dance concert in which a number of small works make up the evening's program, and her desire to make a small work which compactly contains its own beginning. middle and end, providing a sense of satisfaction in miniature. The piece, which she made in 1997, has been performed in several places, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and she comments on the satisfaction this relatively long life of the piece has provided, versus the more usual pattern in which the fruits of a long rehearsal period are presented in a single week-end; specifically, she remarks that there are things to be learned in performance which are different from those in rehearsal. She says that partial is a trio, but that she thinks of it more as a solo consisting of three parts, which sometimes break away independently and then re-assemble to reestablish the whole. As in "Ciona," Jim Cappelletti is featured here as a dancer, and he reveals that Angie allowed the dancers in the piece to have some decision-making power in the creative process, which he found a satisfying way to work. He notes also that this is the only piece on the concert performed by its original dancers.
Partial 1997 (about four minutes) Angie Hauser
Gina Jacobs Angie Hauser Angela Milena Clark
The lights come up on three dancers, standing in a tight triangle towards the downstage right corner. They are dressed in loose fitting dark pants and blue tank tops, and they begin making small discrete movements in unison, separated by short pauses, as the Bach cello music begins: They wipe their brows with one hand, then the arms drop back to their sides. Next they swipe this arm across the chest, and then against the opposite arm in similar fashion. They bend slightly forward, drawing circles in space with extended arms, and they lunge on one leg, flexing the foot at a cocky angle. The
351 pauses disappear as these actions give way to longer movement phrases, which in turn give way to variations in time, direction and individual developments, breaking the trio into its component parts, then reforming by a return to unison movement. Suddenly, a dancer traveling backwards bumps into another, but no notice is paid to this collision, leaving the viewer just enough time to speculate whether an accident has transpired — when another collision occurs, answering the question. There is a decidedly relaxed attitude in the performance, suggested by the swiping and dropping of the arms, the collisions, and now the matter-of-fact quality with which the dancers move into the central area of the stage. They break briefly into a funny little marching step, crawl around on all fours, dance in and out of unison. Their relationship seems sibling- like, comfortable and playful, and as a viewer, I find myself settling in for a good time. Just then, without any apparent change in the dancing, an unseen hand appears to be adjusting the radio dial in search of another station. The mellow strains of Bach disappear and are replaced by scratchy static, then a short segment of some unrecognizable rock tune, samplings of several popular vocalists, a few lines of "My Boyfriend's Back, " a bit of an aria, all interspersed with more static. The dancers maintain their nonchalant level of activity, against what seems to be an aural repetition of the earlier collisions. Soon, the invisible hand returns to the Bach, which has apparently continued playing on another channel so that moments later, the triangle reforms in the opposite corner of the space, the swiping motions are repeated without the pauses, two of the dancers catch hands on the arm drop, and the lights go out as the music ends. The dance seems to be a study about enjoying the process: John Lennon's saying "Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans" comes to mind, as the dancers continue their group and individual journeys, unfazed by the interruptions they encounter along the way. video clip: (about four minutes)
The video window begins to light up again, and the first image we see is a twirling figure, filmed at a slightly unconventional angle, emphasizing the feeling of motion. Against a background of music and continued movement, we hear a woman's voice as more figures fill the expanding screen, the largest number of dancers we have yet seen tonight. It is another rehearsal scene, and the choreographer, Susan Van Pelt, is talking about an intense experience she had one day driving in her car, listening to music which so excited her, she could "see" the dance in her mind's eye, and was compelled to pull off the road until the music ended. She describes this as the moment when this particular dance "gelled" in her mind, and then speaks of the way the dance was made very quickly once she got in the studio with some dancers. The implication is that this is not the usual process: that many dances are slow to come to fruition, require more deliberation. Meanwhile, the excitement with which she discusses this process seems to be echoed in the movement we are seeing. As she talks, the dancers are moving very rapidly, filling the space, turning, jumping, spinning, criss-crossing paths. A few of them stop briefly to work out a section, and as they do, they are smiling. Van Pelt says that in the
352 dance, she is exploring the dual nature of Time: the way that it passes by so quickly, that there never seems to be enough of it, yet there are moments which seem timeless. She remarks that when she was working with the dancers to recreate this dance, she noticed that they were continuously looking in the mirrors, checking their spatial positions. She urged them not to think visually about the piece, but rather to feel it, to let go of the mirrored images and surrender to the physical sensation of movement. She also speaks of the necessity to enjoy moving: that actual performance is too brief and fleeting, obliging the dancer to look to the rehearsal process itself for a large measure of satisfaction. Cappelletti appears again, this time we see him watching the rehearsal and taking notes; later we hear him talking with the dancers, reviewing Susan's instructions to them in rehearsal.
Carpe Diem 1988 (about eight minutes) Susan Van Pelt
Romnee Hayes Joan Nicholas-Walker Joy Havens Tara Victoria Consolmagno Daniel Aguzzoli-Roberts Gina Ferraro Angela Milena Clark Kimberly Porter Jennifer Thomas
As the lights come up, there is at once a chorus of singing voices and a tableau of still figures grouped in the upper right quadrant of the stage. All nine dancers are dressed in loose-fitting white clothing, some in shorts, others in pants, one dancer wears a skirt. A single dancer darts forward, performs a short phrase of rapid movement, then returns to the group. Another dancer does a similar phrase, also folding back again into the group. Soon, the entire ensemble is moving at once, each according to some individual design. Shortly, the dancers have spread out into the space, and their individual and collective motion continues, consisting largely of turns, skips, walks and runs. They skitter though the space, twirl, change directions, and roll on the floor, all punctuated with sudden brief periods of stillness, the dancers pausing in space just long enough for their shapes to register before continuing on. These comings and goings back and forth from the group continue, and along the way, soloists, duets, and other small groupings of shifting membership form briefly and then join in ensemble movement. Here and there, one dancer lifts or supports another in the ongoing flash of activity. Fleeting extensions of the arms into space or moments of outstretched abandon in the upper torso stand out amidst the rush of movement. Performers exit and enter the space frequently, and as a whole the dance seems to offer up a metaphor for life, with its blurring of events, its moments of rest and exhilaration, its peaks and valleys, and the continual reformation of individuals and groups. The dancers
353 often spring into the air on the downbeat of the music, providing a visually satisfying and energizing counterpoint to it. At times, the dance is reminiscent of some of Lucinda Childs' work with the music of Philip Glass, especially in the quick, shallow hops and leaps which interweave the dancers in straight and curved paths through the space. Without warning, in the midst of all this activity, the music and dancing come to a sudden stop and the lights go out, leaving the audience with a sense of breathless expectation and an awareness of the brevity of pleasure. video clip: (about four minutes)
For the final time, our eyes are directed to the video screen. This time, we see a small group of men, holding some kind of towering, curved metal framework, which they seem to be assembling. One man turns a wrench around a bolt on part of the apparatus, and we hear Jim Cappelletti explaining to the others some of the steps in putting this piece of sculpture together, He explains that Alan Boeding, the creator of both the sculpture and the dance, taught him the piece by first instructing him fully how to assemble the sculpture. We come to understand that dealing with the sculpture is a time- consuming and exacting process, from assembling it to dancing with it. Jim says that the sculpture, called "Circlewalker," is very much a collaborating partner in this work: as with another dancer, he experiences the same need to balance, to share weight, to control and anticipate his movement with respect to the movement of the Circlewalker. At some points during the assembly, he is standing inside of the sculpture. He says that when he first learned the dance, the Circlewalker controlled him, that it took time for him to learn how to manipulate it, and that dancing with it requires his total concentration. He ends by laughingly asserting that if he fails to focus his attention completely on the Circlewalker, it might roll off the stage and kill somebody!
Circlewalker Alan Boeding
Jim Cappelletti (about eleven minutes)
A dissonant chord of electronic music sounds in the darkness. Soon, the lights come very slowly up on the dimly illuminated figure of a man, surrounded by a network of intersecting curved metal arcs. The contours of the man and the large circular shape around him are all that is immediately visible, suggesting a reference to DaVinci's "Man." Cappelletti is bare chested, clad only in white tights. As the music begins to vibrate, he tenses his outstretched arms within the sculpture, pressing out to either side in order to grasp two of the curved shafts, and shakes the sculpture while standing firmly inside of it. The Circlewalker responds only faintly to these vibrations, revealing a sense of its weight and substance. Cappelletti begins to turn it slightly, from one side to the other, and the exertion required to stop it is obvious. Gradually, the light increases on the two figures, and a steady pulse is introduced into the minimal musical score. Cappelletti rocks the sculpture, curving his upper body forward and then arching backwards, all the while maintaining his taut-armed grasp on
354 the metal to either side. His focus remains serious and determined; his head turns from time to time, but always with a deliberate and clear motion. He turns the sculpture, pushing it forward on the diagonal, and then pulling it backwards. A kind of electronic drum-roll is added to the music, and Cappelletti rocks it, pushes and releases it, then grabs one of its uppermost rungs for a ride, pulling him into the air as it rolls forward from the impact. There is a sense of respect and suspense in his dealings with this giant partner — he handles it with reverence and finesse, bowing deeply in its direction at several points, as if acknowledging gratitude to a pleasing dance companion. He tugs it, sits, stands, lunges or rests inside of it, even rolls in it upside down. For very brief periods, he releases it, only to run around it or to gather some momentum to grasp it for a few seconds of flight or to perch on it in a handstand. Every motion Cappelletti makes produces a response in the Circlewalker, and he seems to proceed through an inventory of possibilities: Man in charge, sculpture in charge, man and metal as one. He winds himself through its architecture, grasping various parts in steady progression, folds his torso in half over one of its bars, as if it is a moving piece of gymnastic equipment. The Circlewalker itself continues to move, and not in a straight or entirely predictable path. As the lights dim and the music comes to an end, Cappelletti is suspended upside down at an angle inside of his sculpture. When the lights come up amidst enthusiastic applause, Cappelletti reaches out to touch the Circlewalker and it gently rocks beside him as he takes his bows.
* main credits after each video clip include the title and date of the work, and the names of the dancers. All other information, including music, costume, and lighting credits, are found only in the traditional program.
355 APPENDIX D: PAPER ASSIGNMENT
Dance 691F Paper # 2 Assignment:
Draft # 1 Due: Nov 4
Draft # 2 Due: Nov 16
See Jim Cappelletti's graduate concert: The Consigliere Collection October 29, 30, 31
You are a professional critic with an immanent deadline. Write a review of approximately 1000 words to be published in the Columbus Dispatch. Focus on description and interpretation, but defer explicit evaluation (of course an evaluative sense will become apparent in your other choices). You are writing to those in the Columbus metropolitan area who would be inclined to read such reviews.
As a source of inspiration, consider reading in advance a number of published critical writings by a particular critic whose style you would like to emulate.
Tell your readers what you think the work is about and why: what issues it raises, what thoughts it brings to you, how you feel in its presence. Assume that your reader has not seen the concert and describe what you need to so that the reader understands your reflections. Use a lively prose style, writing in a way that gets your reader involved. Indicate your response to the work by the tone of your writing: for example, we should be able to easily infer if you are enthusiastic about the work.
356 APPENDIX E: THE CODING SHEETS
357 Here Today . . . Gone Tomorrow: Cappelletti's Consigliere Collection 935 kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P1 Introduction 64 describes imagined seekers who have Those who hunger for insight awareness and understanding of the 1.1 into the artistic creative process complex nature of art-making audience/art rel opinion ontological descriptive the concert has something to offer to 1.2 will have an opportunity viewers audience/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive the concert permits a glimpse into the 1.3 to observe the making creative process audience/concert rel observation empirical descriptive of six dances during Jim Cappelletti's modern dance 1.4 concert. # of dances; director of concert concert basics in program factual descriptive Cappelletti and WOSU-TV presenting partners: private & 2.1 capture public/educational concert basics in program factual descriptive dance is complex, layered; getting to 2.2 the essence of each dance the heart of it requires effort nature of artform opinion ontological descriptive 2.3 through a screen viewing, the concert includes a video element concert basics observation empirical descriptive the video includes conversational 2.4 including interviews material video hearing empirical descriptive with the six choreographers' number of dances by individual 2.5 work presented. dance-makers concert basics in program factual descriptive
3.1 I realize immediately, a personal disclosure by the writer viewer/dance rel self- awareness reflexive descriptive the dance will never again be the transient temporal nature of dance 3.2 repeated as I see it now. makes each performance unique nature of artform domain knowledge ontological descriptive P2 Ciona 111 Ciona, choreographed by Pilobolus Director Michael title of work; choreographer; 1.1 Tracy, affiliation concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 1.2 begins with six dancers number of dancers concert basics observation empirical descriptive dancers connect at various places to connected by various body parts form a line from one corner of the mov't: spatial 1.3 in a diagonal line, space to another configuration observation empirical descriptive surrounded by a soft glow of 1.4 light. quality; function of light lighting observation empirical descriptive 2.1 Silvery, tightly woven costumes color; texture of fabric costume observation empirical descriptive uncover every curve of the costume exposes the shape of the 2.2 body. body costume observation empirical descriptive mov't: manner of 3.1 Slippery, the bodies slither performance observation empirical descriptive 3.2 like a cosmic ocean, connotes an expanse of water mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 3.3 each dancer undulates dancers make wave-like motions mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive
individuals in the group perform in mov't: 3.4 one at a time sequence individual/group rel. observation empirical descriptive mov't/lighting/ 3.5 like a luminous glow worm. connotes a shiny, wiggly creature meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive
4.1 Instantly I am enticed by viewer reveals immediate fascination viewer/work rel self-awareness affective descriptive the mechanical sound vibrations there is a machine-like quality to the 4.2 in the music, sound music hearing empirical descriptive counterpoint to the synovial contrast to the sound is provided by 4.3 movement the fluid mov't of the joints mov't/music rel observation empirical descriptive the joint mov't facilitates both sequential mov't and the defining of 4.4 of bodies melting and sculpting body shapes mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive 4.5 against each other's the performers make contact mov't: rel, contact observation empirical descriptive the manner of achieving these contacts makes the skin appear sleek 4.6 silky flesh. and slippery mov't: quality observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Movement qualities are the mov't is stimulating, *mildly* 5.1 provocative erotic mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 5.2 and vary in dynamic shifts contrasts are a noticeable feature mov't: energy observation empirical descriptive from quirky arm and leg non-weight-bearing use of specific mov't: body parts, 5.3 gestures body parts in eccentric, odd ways gestures observation empirical descriptive 5.4a with a [clever] sense of wit, mov't can be humorous mov't/ meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive in addition to their humor, the mov't isolated word: 5.4b clever choices are smart mov't/meaning rel opinion qualitative evaluative mov't: performer 5.5 to partnered lifts cooperative, weight-sharing mov't rels. observation empirical descriptive requiring tremendous balance, dance mov't can be physically and mov't: performer 5.6 strength and concentration. mentally challenging demands observation conceptual descriptive P3 Plum Tarts 66 1.1 Plum Tarts title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive reminds me of the name of a Cover Girl lipstick I heard cheerleaders raving about in the connotes "mainstream" active; 1.2 1980s. American young woman title/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 2.1 Choreographer Allison Tipton name of choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive references this choreographer's 2.2 likes to make dances creative process choreographer bio in video clip conceptual descriptive 2.3 that are "sexy." dance can foreground sexuality mov't/meaning rel in video clip hermeneutical interpretive 3.1a The dance has spunk, attitude this piece is energetic mov't: style, energy observation conceptual descriptive isolated words: 3.1b [spunk, attitude] this piece is bold, has "gumption" mov't: style, energy opinion hermeneutical interpretive the rhythms of the tango and the mov't 3.2a and links [well] in time are complementary mov't/music rel hearing/ observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 3.2b well the complementarity is pleasing mov't/music rel opinion qualitative evaluative 3.3 with Astor Piazzola's tango. genre and composer music in program factual descriptive 4.1 Saucy hues color connotes lively, seductive lighting association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 4.2 of red tones in the lighting color lighting observation empirical descriptive elicited the passions in the lighting cited as an impetus to 4.3 performers performer response lighting/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive who gave the piece its life and the dancers themselves are the 4.4 energy. mainstay of the piece performer/work rel opinion ontological descriptive P4 Passing 127 Passing, choreographed by Ohio State University's dance faculty title of work; choreographer, 1.1 professor Susan Hadley affiliation concert basics in program factual descriptive speaks to our own life the dance addresses essential life 1.2 experiences events work/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive as we observe life and death the integration of theatrical elements mov't/music/ 1.3 through movement and music. reflects the life cycle meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive 2.1 Three female dancers number, gender of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the dancers hurl themselves into the 2.2a [toss] themselves on the stage performing space mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive [bursting] with quick leaps and indicates speed and high contrast in 2.3a drastic collapses to the ground. spatial levels mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive isolated words: 2.2b; together, these verbs connote a sense mov't: manner of 2.3b toss and "bursting" of carefree, energetic abandon performance observation qualitative interpretive They maintain a spatial dancers keep a similar relationship to mov't: performer/ 2.4 relationship each other in space space rel. observation empirical descriptive this relationship connotes a religious 2.5 that symbolizes the trinity. triad mov't/ meaning rel. association hermeneutical interpretive 3.1 Josquin's composer identified music in program factual descriptive
3.2 Latin Hymn title of work music personal knowledge factual descriptive exemplifies the dancers' struggle to let go of a blood music suggests difficulties associated 3.3 relative or best friend with death mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity who is continually summoned the path toward the light represents 3.4 into the light. dying mov't/ meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive Classical ballet lines layered with a modern dance movement a mixture of dance genres is 4.1a style are [carefully] interwoven manifested in the piece mov't: style domain knowledge conceptual descriptive
the stylistic melange has been well- choreographic 4.1b carefully considered structure: rel of parts opinion qualitative evaluative the mov't is designed to be expressive to express the dancers' feelings, and to convey the relationships of 4.2 their relationship to each other, characters to each other mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive the mv't and music work together to mov't/music/ 4.3 and to the music. produce meaning meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive the mov't suggests a reciprocal Each woman and her movement relationship among the dance 5.1 is a mirror of other's giving self characters mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive able to nurture, and support the the relationships are based on 5.2 gift of life. nurturing mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive P5 Partial 343 Choreographer [and OSU MFA Graduate Candidate] Angie 1.1a Hauser, choreographer; affiliation concert basics in program factual descriptive and OSU MFA Graduate isolated phrase: 1.1b Candidate academic standing concert basics personal knowledge factual decsriptive 1.2 connects us with our laughter dance can remind us to laugh mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive 1.3 in "Partial." title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive 2.1 Three dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive mix pedestrian, everyday movement with a stylized dance mundane and stylized elements are 2.2 character juxtaposed mov't: style observation conceptual descriptive the mixture of styles evokes everyday 2.3 to set an example of daily life. experience mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Just when you think things are going smoothly, you hit a bump an everyday idiom is reflected in 3 in the road. mov't 'terms' mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive This becomes evident when the this idea is manifested in mov't 4.1 dancers choices mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive appear to be moving in unison dancers move together in space and mov't: time; rel. of 4.2 at the same tempo, time performers observation empirical descriptive then boom there is a slight crash two dancers suddenly bang into each 4.3 of two bodies other mov't: contact observation empirical descriptive moving bodies convey a sense of mov't: rel of 4.4 that acknowledge the incident communication without words performers observation hermeneutical interpretive 4.5 but move on. the dancers continue after the "crash" mov't: locomotion observation empirical descriptive This reminds me of the busy rush hour in the midst of the movement choices remind viewer 5 Manhattan. of a traffic pattern and place mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutic interpretive The tempo of this city remains constant amongst all the in spite of mishaps, the flow of 6 accidents. activity continues steadily mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive How many times do we get to experience the whole without connects quotidian interruptions to the 7 getting thrown a little off track? dance mov't mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Hauser performs in her own 8.1 dance, choreographer is also dancer concert basics in program empirical descriptive adding her individual expression to a collective individual dancers can have separate choreographer/ work 8.2 whole. roles while functioning as a group rel observation conceptual interpretive identifies choreographer's dual roles: She is objective in viewing the one which allows her to see the dance choreographer/ work 9.1 work choreographically, from the outside rel opinion conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity but becomes subjective to the alternatively, the experience choreographer/ work 9.2 experience sometimes becomes subjective rel opinion conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity when she is dancing with her this shift occurs when she enters her choroegrpaher/ 9.3 peers, work as a performer performer rel observation empirical descriptive choreographer shows obvious choroegrpaher/ 9.4 which she clearly enjoys. pleasure from participation performer rel opinion qualitative descriptive P6 Circle Walker 108 1 Man versus Machine. headline of an interpretive idea mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 2 Nature versus Science. headline of an interpretive idea mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive At the center of man and at the center of any machine crafted by man, is the power and conceptualizes that the power between control to balance the forces the "man" and his creations must be in 3 two generate. balance work/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive Circlewalker, sculpted and choreographed by Alan Boeding and performed by Jim title of work, names of 4.1 Cappelletti, sculptor/choreographer and performer concert basics in program factual descriptive captures the essence of the artform of dance can reveal the 4.2 DaVinci's discovery nucleus of an idea or discovery mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive that the center of gravity resides inside and outside the a specific scientific idea is evoked by 4.3 physiological body. the dance movt/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the personification of the sculpture Jim views Circlewalker as his opens an interpretation of the dance as 5 dancing partner. duet movt/set/meaning rel in video clip hermeneutical interpretive A clear relationship of trust and there is an apparent ease between the 6.1 comfort is established performer and his sculptural "partner" movt/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive implication that dancer and sculpture 6.2a in how he [integrates] himself become one physical entity performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive there is a physical as well as an emotional connotation here, based on isolated word: 6.2b integrates 6.1 performer/set rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive inside, outside, and around the dancer's spatial orientation to mov't: performer/set 6.3 sculpture. sculpture rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Circlewalker opens up the three 7.1 dimensional experience, the sculpture has a perceptual function mov't/set rel. observation conceptual descriptive transforming and transcending our ideas of movement, gravity, the dance expands the viewer's 7.2 time and space. perceptions mov't/ meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive P7 Conclusion 109
How can I write all the above acknowledges neglect of an important awareness of writing 1.1 and not even preface concert element writing agenda agenda reflexive n/a the relationship of the [concert title "The Consigliere references the connection between the concert title/ 1.2 Collection"]? title and the concert meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive concert title "The Consigliere 1.3 Collection" concert title concert basics in program factual descriptive Each dance in its own unique each dance has distinctive 2.1 way characteristics nature of artform opinion ontological descriptive ties into the simple and each dance belongs to a "family" of 2.2 profound fact ideas mov't/meaning rel opinion ontological interpretive that every dance created and all dancers and dances share certain 2.3 every dancer performing characteristics nature of artform opinion ontological descriptive takes a risk and a chance in the performance is not without nature of 2.4 dance. uncertainties performance opinion ontological descriptive time is an essential element; If your timing is off, it could be performance can have unwanted nature of 3.1 over consequences performance opinion ontological descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity and the next Consigliere may have to step up to take the an artist's unpredictable future is 3.2 challenge. related to this concert director/concert rel domain knowledge conecptual descriptive As Jim mentions in his 4.1 experiences with Circlewalker, reference to interview with director director/work rel in video empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity If you lose focus for one moment, [it] may roll off stage refers to the power of his sculptural 4.2 and kill somebody. partner; his need to concentrate audience/set rel in video conceptual descriptive
5.1 No need to worry, viewers should not be concerned audience/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative this concert is tightly focused this concert is focused and well 5.2 here and now. organized concert structure opinion qualitative evaluative
The Consigliere Collection: A n2 High-Profile Concert 1048 P1 Introduction 96 1.1 It's strange a statement of puzzlement viewer/concert rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 1.2 that Jim Cappelletti concert director, identified concert basics in program factual descriptive the director, as concert authority, has 1.3 chose to associate his concert exercised decision-making power directorial role domain knowledge conceptual descriptive title has surprising connotations to concert title/ 1.4 with a term linked to the mafia. crime underworld meaning rel in program hermeneutical interpretive I always thought the mafia had a tradition of being discrete and reflection on traditional meaning of concert title/ 2.1 secretive, concert's title meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive reference to entertainment imagery in concert title/ 2.2 like in the movies, popular culture meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive but Cappelletti's graduate Cappelletti is a graduate student; the 2.3 project, concert is his project concert basics in program factual descriptive the concert showcases works from 2.4a an [elaborate] repertory concert various choreographers concert type in program factual descriptive isolated word: 2.4b elaborate the concert is ambitious in scope concert content domain knowledge qualitative evaluative
2.5 this weekend at Sullivant Hall, timing of concert concert basics public knowledge factual descriptive concert title/ 2.6 was definitely seen concert was well-attended meaning rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity and certainly didn't keep many concert was straightforward in its concert title/meaning 2.7 secrets. content and approach rel opinion hermeneutical descriptive A repertory concert is like a this type of concert is constituted from 3.1 dance stew: a variety of "ingredients" concert type domain knowledge conceptual descriptive combining different works, each by a different choreographer, it will bring together works by various 3.2 into a single event. choreographers concert structure domain knowledge conceptual descriptive This particular collection this concert included six different 4.1 contained six distinct pieces, works concert basics in program factual descriptive corresponding with the idea of eclecticism commonly the variety inherent in a repertory associated with this type of concert usually provides an eclectic 4.2 production. mix; this one is no exception concert type domain knowledge conceptual descriptive P2 Ciona 168 1.1 Six dancers number of dancers concert basics observation empirical descriptive dancers wore skin-hugging, shiny 1.2 in shiny, sleek unitards costumes costume observation empirical descriptive these dancers appeared in the first 1.3 opened the concert dance of the concert concert structure observation empirical descriptive 1.4 with a Pilobolus piece, "Ciona." first dance title and maker concert basics in program empirical descriptive mov't: degree of 2.1 Difficult the dance is not easy to perform challenge opinion qualitative evaluative the work requires the attributes of an 2.2 athletic athlete, such as stamina, strength, etc mov't: style association conceptual descriptive 2.3 and geometric choreography reference to shapes made in dance mov't: shape association empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity presented simply and the dance was executed in a matter-of- mov't: manner of 2.4 unpretentiously fact manner performance observation qualitative descriptive there is contrast in the style of performance and the difficulty of the choreographic 2.5a is an [odd] juxtaposition. movement structure: contrast opinion conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the factual performance style seems paradoxical w/respect to the difficulty isolated word: 2.5b odd of the mov't viewer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive A dancer could catch two in this dance, one dancer secures the mov't: body action; 3.1 people bodies of two others relationship observation empirical descriptive mov't: spatial the two have approached with great pattern; quality of 3.2 charging across the stage, speed and momentum mov't observation empirical descriptive the grasping dancer maintains a mov't: body action; 3.3 hold them askew distance between the two bodies spatial relationship observation empirical descriptive the grasping dancer rotates quickly in mov't: body action; 3.4 while spinning in a circle, space spatial path observation empirical descriptive mov't: body action; 3.5 put them down the grasping dancer releases the others relationship observation empirical descriptive the mv't. sequence accomplished, the 3.6 and move on — dancer continues individually mov't: body action observation empirical description comments on the speed of these 3.7a [all] in three seconds' time actions mov't: duration awareness of time empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: 3.7b all suggests amazement at speed duration observation qualitative evaluation and [still] make the entire 3.8a process in spite of all this activity performer/work rel observation empirical descriptive again, emphasizes amazement at isolated word: 3.8b still dancers' accomplishments performers' skills opinion qualitative descriptive the dancers' mov'ts combine to look like an [effortlessly] suggest a shape which constantly 3.9a evolving sculpture changes mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive isolated word: mov't: the ease with which the dancers manner of 3.9b effortlessly "mutate" is noted performance observation qualitative descriptive 4.1 Such foreign movement, the mov't seems strange, unusual mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive in conjunction with the music of irregular meter combines 4.2 unstructured music with the mov't mov't/music rel. hearing; observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 4.3 and futuristic costumes, the costumes suggest science fiction costume association hermeneutical interpretive comined effect of mov't, music and carried the dancers beyond the costume suggests creatures who are mov't/costume/ 4.4 human realm, other than human music/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive likens dancers to creatures from some mov't/costume/ 4.5 as if they were an alien species other planet music/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive capable of transforming into these "creatures" can change their 4.6a any [identity] or shape. shapes at will mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't/costume/ 4.6b identity they can also change personae music/meaning rel observation hermeneutical interpretive They offered small glimpses of frogs, kaleidoscopes, wind chimes, stacked tables, drops of a litany of objects, literary characters, water, and Willy Wonka's and creatures and images from nature mov't/costume/ 5 oompah-loompahs. were suggested by the dancers' mov'ts music/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Scattered slices of realness and the dancers also conveyed intermittent humor brought the dancers back images of human activity, both funny 6.1 to human status; and otherwise mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive one would suddenly peek out conveys an image of one dancer from amongst the group's mass briefly peering through the others' mov't: body action, 6.2 of legs, legs relationship observation empirical descriptive while another would be conveys an image of one dancer mov't: rel of 6.3a momentarily [left] behind briefly separated from the group performers observation empirical descriptive connotes possible intentionality of the isolated word: 6.3b left (behind) group mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive This allowed each performer these latter glimpses of human some characterization and interaction play an important role in 7.1 personality relation to the rest of the work mov't/meaning rel. association hermeneutical interpretive this piece seems to focus primarily on 7.2 in an otherwise physical piece mov't (over expression) movt: style observation conceptual descriptive identification of conformity as a major 7.3 emphasizing conformity theme in the work mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P3 Plum Tarts 66 1.1 Plum Tarts, title of next work to be considered concert basics in program factual descriptive indication that this work differs from concert structure: 1.2 on the other hand, the previous one part/whole rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive unlike the previous work emphasizing conformity, this one highlights 1.3 featured distinctive characters, distinctions mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive each trying to assert her each dancer attempts to emerge as an performer/ ensemble 1.4 presence within the group. individual in this group piece rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 2.1 Allison Tipton's movement choreographer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive and Greg Catellier and Christine lighting designers named as 2.2 Chen's lighting collaborators lighting in program factual descriptive the mov't and light combined convey a sense of wildness in the female 2.3a brought [five] vixens to life dancers mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive isolated word: 2.3b five # of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the performers seem to beckon the audience/ performer 2.4 tempting the audience audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they move in an interactive spatial with weaving tangos,[coy] pattern while performing tango steps, mov't: style; spatial flutterings of the arms, and and exhibit a demeure lightness in the pattern; body parts, 2.5a [seductive] hip isolations. arm gestures and thrusts of the hips gestures observation empirical descriptive indicates flirtatious intentionality of isolated words: 2.5b coy . . . seductive performers mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive a point arrives when the performance audience/ performer 3.1 Just when our interest is piqued, reaches a climax rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive
the dancers converge and move away mov't: relationship; 3.2 they join together and retreat from the audience body action observation empircal descriptive the scene is awash with light, 3.3a into an [indulgent] sea suggesting a body of water lighting/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity
the intensity of color seems lavish, isolated word: 3.3b indulgent perhaps too much so lighting/meaning rel opinion qualitative descriptive the dancers are bathed in intense red 3.4 of glowing red. light lighting observation empirical descriptive P4 Passing 132 the next dance to be considered is 1.1 Death is the subject about death mov't/meaning rel in video clip hermeneutical interpretive 1.2 for Susan Hadley's "Passing," choreographer, title of dance concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.3 performed by three women number; gender of dancers concert basics observation empirical descriptive 1.4 dressed in black. color of costumes costume observation empirical descriptive They begin moving [frantically] 2.1a downstage left, spatial direction mov't: space observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: the speed and agitation of the manner of 2.1b frantically movement connote anxiety performance observation hermeneutical interpretive but each phrase is continuously the momentum of the mv't is 2.2 interrupted frequently punctuated mov't: flow observation empirical descriptive separate directional mov't of one mov't: spatial 2.3 by one dancer's gravitation dancer orientation observation empirical descriptive towards the white light casting a narrow, diagonal path across the color, shape, function and location of 2.4 stage floor. light lighting/mov't rel observation empirical descriptive All of the action occurs within the dance occurs within a specific 3.1 this boundary: spatial area mov't: space observation empirical descriptive beginnings of the slow and 3.2a [serene] journey an unhurried passage begins mov't: time, space observation empirical descriptive the mover seems to be calm, isolated word: mov't: unwavering in the choice to make this manner of 3.2b serene path performance observation hermeneutical interpretive
3.3 by Angela Clark the separate dancer is identified concert basics personal knowledge factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity mov'ts are characterized as urgent 3.4 and the desperate attempts efforts mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive of Angie Hauser and Gina 3.5 Jacobs other dancers identified concert basics personal knowledge factual descriptive mov't: space, 3.6 to bring her back spatial and relationship implications relationship observation empirical descriptive the space is read as symbolic: "their" 3.7 to their corner of life. corner equals life movt/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive
They first try leading her back two dancers attempt to lead a third, mov't: relationship, 4.1 by the hand, through hand contact contact; space observation empirical descriptive then [resort] to [uncontrollably] now these two thrust themselves mov't: body action; 4.2a flinging energetically quality observation empirical descriptive isolated words: intention, mov't qualities which imply mov't: manner of 4.2b resort . . . uncontrollably desperation and urgency performance opinion hermeneutical interpretive their bodies to the floor in front a dramatic image of bodies become mov't: space, 4.3 of her. obstacles relationship observation empirical descriptive previously described mov't actions are 5.1 When these tactics have failed, now summarized as futile "tactics" mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive joins audience to self in empathy with 5.2 we all bear the burden staged drama audience/work rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive
mov't: relationship, 5.3 of carrying bearing the weight of another's body contact observation empirical descriptive 5.4a the [dying] to her [destination], the end-point of a path is conveyed mov't: spatial path observation empirical descriptive one dancer is identified as "the dying;" destination is both spatial and isolated words: 5.4b dying . . . destination figurative mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive an unwavering and subdued approach; mov't: manner of 5.5 quietly and steadily a sense of somber determination performance observation qualitative descriptive conveys a dire situation, a sense of 5.6 with a chilling sense gravity mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 5.7 of duty and pain connotes obligation and anguish mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive P5 Partial 145 The only piece in the concert to be performed by its original uniqueness of this piece (wihin the concert structure: 1.1 dancers is "Partial," context of this particular event); title; whole/part rel in video clip factual descriptive choreographic 1.2 a trio the dance form is a trio structure: form observation empirical descriptive consisting of Cappelletti, Jacobs, and Hauser, the work's 1.3 choreographer. number and names of performers concert basics in program factual descriptive Music by Bach provided identification of composer, bookends to a middle section of description of the use of music at the static between various song beginning and end of the piece, with a 2.1 segments, noisy sequence in between music: structure hearing empirical descriptive which sounded like a desperate 2.2 search the sound connoted a sense of urgency music/meaning rel hearing hermeneutical interpretive 2.3 up and down the radio dial an elaboration of the middle sound music hearing empirical descriptive an assumed purpose of the sound 2.4 for the perfect tune. manipulation music/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive identifies a (mov't) pattern of 3.1 The tendency for Hauser choreographer choreographic style observation conceptual descriptive to off-set the torso from the hips mov't: rel of body 3.2 ever so slightly, details rel. of specific body parts, parts observation empirical descriptive 3.3 or lead a movement with identifies initiation of mov't mov't: initiation observation empirical descriptive a smaller and usually less the initiation comes from a small and 3.4 predictable body part, unexpected body part mov't: body part domain knowledge empirical descriptive 3.5 like an elbow, exemplifies specific body part mov't: body part observation empirical descriptive lends a [pleasant] quirkiness to the mov't choices give the piece an 3.6a the performance. idiosyncratic and unpredictable look mov't: style observation qualitative descriptive isolated word: 3.6b pleasant deems the "quirkiness" pleasing viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity A small, distinct phrase accompanied the classical links a specific, short mov't phrase 4.1 music, with the Bach piece mov't/music rel. observation; hearing empirical descriptive finds the relationship between sight 4.2 visually complementing and sound satisfying mov't/music rel. opinion qualitative evaluative reference to the choreographic 4.3 its compositional pattern. structure mov't/music rel. observation conceptual descriptive The dancers would wipe [an invisible something] off their bodies, foreheads, chests, and dancers' gestures are detailed, and the arms, look down, then suddenly spatial orientation of their focal points mov't: body action, 5a upward. is described space observation empirical descriptive seems to refer back to the "quirkiness" or unpredictability which isolated words: 5b an invisible something characterizes the piece mov't/meaning rel observation hermenutic interpretive
choreographic 6.1 The repetition repeated movement patterns are noted structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive choreographic and manipulation of this the movement material is subjected to structure: 6.2 recognizable phrase was a specific choreograophic device manipulation domain knowledge conceptual descriptive enough to provide a [satisfying] 6.3a sense these activities worked together audience/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative the combination of activities provided isolated word: 6.3b satisfying enjoyment audience/work rel opinion affective evaluative choreographic development made the 6.4 of clarity. dance clear audience/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative P6 Carpe Diem 170 In contrast to the images [of death] represented in the first contrasts present piece from previous 1.1a half of the concert, section of concert concert structure observation empirical descriptive the earlier work dealt with the subject isolated phrase: 1.1b of death of death mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 1.2 Susan Van Pelt's "Carpe Diem" choreographer; title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.3 celebrated life posits a theme mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 1.4 with a large cast size of ensemble concert basics observation empirical descriptive 1.5 dressed in white. color costume observation empirical descriptive The constant activity, variations 2.1 of gathering and dispersing, degree and general type of activity mov't: flow, gestures observation empirical descriptive created a strong sense of the mv't choices and # of dancers 2.2 community. made the dance seem communal mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive each dancer seemed to have 3.1 Everyone had their own voice, something distinct to contribute mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive which was articulated in a individuals emerged in separate mov't choreographic 3.2a [short] solo set against a crowd from the group structure: rel observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: 3.2b short the solos were brief duration observation empirical descriptive 3.3 of attentive peers. the group shows interest in the solos mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive This sense of mutual support another reference to the communal 4.1 among the dancers feeling mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dancers are fueled by their sense 4.2 provided the energy of community mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the high expenditure of energy viewed 4.3 so central to this piece. as vital to the piece choreographic style opinion conceptual descriptive extension of previous metaphor: in The group also appeared to be addition to their own "voices," listening to a more remote dancers seemed to attend to a more 5.1 voice, distant "voice" mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the "remote voice" inference is drawn 5.2 signified by a motif from a repeated mov't pattern mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive of looking up or off into the the recurrent mv't involves the mov't: body action, 5.3 distance dancers' focal point space, level observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Somewhere inside the lives of these dancers, a feeling arises that something has happened or is about to happen, something suggestion that the dancers convey a 6.1 that must be handled sense of immanent change mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive not only by them, but by the joins audience and performers audience/ performer 6.2 audience as well, together, awaiting this change rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive for we have become an integral reinforces the idea that audience is audience/ performer 6.3 part of this community. included in the drama posited rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive indicates that spectator need not Just a hint of these portents is become overly concerned about this 7.1 enough, however: drama audience/work rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative simply basking in the warm glow that the movement this mov't creates a very satisfying 7.2 emanates feeling mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive it's so satisfying that one wants to 7.3 is too refreshing to relinquish. remain for further enjoyment mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical evaluative P7 Circle Walker 155 1.1 The evening concludes with identifies this piece as final concert structure observation empirical descriptive a [duet] by Cappelletti and a sculpture by Alan Boeding identifies performer and sculptor/ 1.2a called "Circle Walker." choreographer; title of sculpture/dance concert basics in program factual descriptive isolated word: there are two partners in this dance choreographic 1.2b duet partners structure: form in video empirical descriptive refers to choreographer and sculpture isolated word: 1.2c duet as partners mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive This pair is introduced to the the first presentation of dancer and 2.1 audience sculpture audience/work rel observation empirical descriptive associates opening image with 2.2 in a Da Vinci-like image, renowned piece of art work/visual art rel association conceptual descriptive; kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity immediately signifying the possible unity of body and 2.3a [steel], dancer and object. the "duet" has various connotations mov't/set rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive the metallic sculpture is constructed of 2.3b steel steel isolated word: set observation empirical descriptive Climbing inside and out, running around and through, pushing and pulling and manipulating the [near- the dancer interacts with the sculpture mov't: body actions; spherical] structure across the in a variety of ways, causing it to space; 3.1a stage, travel through the performing space mov't/sculpture rel observation empirical descriptive 3.1b near-spherical sculpture shape isolated word: set observation empirical descriptive 3.2 Cappelletti moves identification of performer concert basics observation empirical descriptive while the audience sifts through connotes a multi-layered experience 3.3a all the [amazing] elements for the viewer audience/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive isolated word: 3.3b amazing the collection of layers is remarkable audience/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative of physics, technology, art, the dance links various ideas and 3.4 strength, and risk. concepts mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity choreographic One of the [most appealing] implication that this dance has many structure: part/whole 4.1a aspects of this piece features rel observation empirical descriptive among other features, this one is quite isolated word: 4.1b most appealing engaging audience/work rel opinion affective evaluative the piece offers something valuable 4.2 is the rare ability it affords and unusual viewer/work rel domain knowledge conceptual evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity to see directly the effects of a dancer's momentum, the transfer of energy as it is released from inside the body, and the reactions of the body when it receives impulses from elaboration of a specific physical mov't: cause and 4.3 an outside force. phenomenon clarified in this dance effect observation empirical descriptive The way in which Cappelletti ends the piece, [trapped] upside-down within the the final image of the dance shows the mov't: final image; 5.1a framework, dancer inverted inside the sculpture space; body/set rel observation empirical descriptive the dancer's position connotes a sense isolated word: 5.1b trapped of being confined against his will mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive suggests a possible commentary postulates that the closing image on the relationship between man reflects the impact of industrialization 5.2 and machine. on humankind mov't/meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive P8 Conclusion 110 1.1 The diversity of this collection the concert has much variety concert content observation conceptual descriptive concert organization was effective, 1.2 was a successful formula perhaps a model audience/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative links this success to this specific 1.3 for pleasing this audience. audience audience/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative Cappeletti has done an 2.1 admirable job director's success is noted audience/director rel opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity of exposing us to new and the concert has brought new and 2.2 different works, varied works of art to the audience audience/concert rel. observation conceptual evaluative informing us aesthetically, and encouraging us to become actively involved in the artwork it has educated the audience and has 2.3 surrounding us. encouraged audience engagement. audience/concert rel. opinion conceptual interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity At times, however, it seemed as though his desire to nurture the audience took priority over the perhaps education of the audience has 3.1 works themselves, been given undue priority. video/audience rel opinion conceptual evaluative the approach was somewhat 3.2 and we were bombarded overwhelming video/audience rel opinion qualitative evaluative by [unnecessary] information reference to the information given via 3.3a and contextualization. the video video/audience rel video conceptual descriptive the amount of information was more isoalted word: 3.3b unnecessary than what was needed video/audience rel opinion qualitative evaluative Through the use of reference to the content of the 4.1 documentary-style footage, concert's video element video in video empirical descriptive reference to the aural and visual the audience sometimes saw information provided by the video hearing/ 4.2 and heard clips video/audience rel observation empirical descriptive the video clips tended to overshadow 4.3 too much the dances video/audience rel opinion qualitative evaluative Nevertheless, the Consigliere has proven himself a skillful 5.1 artistic director still, the director is commended director/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative and, fortunately for the dance 5.2 world, the dance field is in luck audience/director rel opinion qualitative evaluative with reference to the concert title, the the prospects of a mafia career director will stay in dance and not join 5.3 are quite grim. the mafia audience/director rel association conceptual descriptive n6 A Successful Consigliere 752 P1 Introduction.1 100 On October 29, 30, and 31st, artistic Director Jim Cappelletti presented The Consigliere Collection: An Evening of 1 Repertory Dance. dates, director, title of concert concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding critical activity It was held at the Sullivant Theatre on Ohio State 2 University’s campus. concert location concert basics public info factual descriptive Cappelletti is a Master of Fine Arts Degree candidate [in his 3.1a third and final year] at OSU student status; affiliation director bio in program factual descriptive isolated phrase: 3.1b in his third and final year student rank and status director bio personal knowledge factual descriptive pursuing the ultimate goal of the directorship of a repertory he intends to direct similar concerts 3.2 dance company. professionally director bio personal knowledge factual descriptive The program offered a wide a broad selection of dances were 4.1 variety of choreographic works included concert content observation conceptual descriptive Conveys the expectation of a general intended for a non-dance audience, not particularly familiar 4.2 specific audience, with dance performance audience/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive [as well as] an instructional black and white video between the concert design included the use of 4.3a each piece explanatory video material video/concert rel observation empirical descriptive the inclusion of this phrase isolated phrase: 4.3b as well as underscores its atypical nature video/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive that guided the audience the video's purpose was to provide through Cappelletti’s process insight about the director's creative 4.4 and intent as artistic Director. process audience/video rel opinion conceptual dsecriptive P2 Introduction.2 77 Overall, Cappelletti was quite the concert was generally very 1 successful. effective director/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative Rumors of the performance being sold out every night and having to turn at least one advance information about the concert hundred people away the first indicated that the number of viewers 2.1 night, hadd seating capacity audience/concert rel. personal knowledge factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity brought lines to the box office the audience arrival was effected by 2.2 an hour before the show. concert reputation audience/concert rel public information factual descriptive the conventional form of the 3.1 Applause from the audience audience's approval audience/concert rel. hearing empirical descriptive was warm-hearted and very viewers responded in a positive and 3.2 enthusiastic, lively manner audience/concert rel. opinion qualitative interpretive and the standing ovation for viwers stood at the finale of the audience/ director 3.3 Cappelletti on the final night closing concert rel. observation empirical descriptive Cappelletti had earned this mark of 3.4 was well-deserved. energetic approval audience/director rel opinion empirical evaluative viewers were moved to respond in 4.1 People laughed and cried, various ways audience/concert rel hearing empirical descriptive but most agreed that they had on the whole, viewers seemed to share 4.2 seen an opinion of the concert audience/concert rel hearing empirical descriptive
4.3 a wonderful evening of dance. the concert was very satisfying audience/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative P3 Ciona 73 Ciona (1973), choreographed by Pilobolus, was first on the 1.1 program. title, choreographer of first dance concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the movement suggested sculptural 2.1a Moving like [liquid] sculptures, shapes mov't/meaning rel association empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: the way in which the mov't was manner of 2.1b liquid performed emphasized flow performance association qualitative descriptive who were not without a sense of these "sculptures" seemed at times to 2.2 humor, be amused mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dancers [carefully] carved performers approached the mov't: manner of 2.3a the space around them. surrounding space like sculptors performance; space observation empirical dsecriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity isolated word: mov't: the approach to space was executed manner of 2.3b carefully with conscious attention performance observed opinion qualitative descriptive Bodies balanced against one dancers used body weight and contact mov't: rel of 3.1 another for equilibrium performers, contact observation empirical descriptive dancers bodies formed configurations 3.2a in [precarious] positions in space mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 3.2b precarious these contacts seemed risky, unstable performer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive and then flung themselves into next, dancers hurled themselves aloft mov't: body actions, 3.3 the air with considerable force space observation empirical descriptive they acted with trust but without apparent plans or concerns for their 3.4 hoping to be caught somehow, outcomes mov't: performer rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive to the [futuristic] music of Jon 3.5a Appleton. identification of composer music in program factual descriptive the music connoted a time (perhaps 3.5b futuristic far) beyond the present isolated word: music association hermeneutical interpretive The result was a sense of the overall effect of this work 4.1 anticipation engendered a feeling of expectation audience/work rel opinion affective descriptive the piece also created a series of 4.2 and images pictures audience/work rel observation empirical descriptive which sculpted their way earlier sculptural reference extended 4.3 through the mind. to viewers viewer/work rel rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P4 Plum Tarts 95 Plum Tarts by Allison Tipton 1.1 was choreographed this year title, year of dance; choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive on dancers [chosen by the director made the selection of 1.2a Cappelletti]. dancers directorial role personal knowledge factual descriptive it's more common for the on dancers [chosen by choreographer to choose her own isolated phrase: 1.2b Cappelletti]. dancers directorial role domain knowledge factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity reference to the video clip preceding 2.1 In the video, this work video observation empirical descriptive introduces a quotation of statement: 2.2 Tipton referred to the work choreographer choreographer hearing factual descriptive as portraying a woman’s sense the content deals with women and 2.3 of sexiness. "sexiness" mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive It was the dancers’ responsibility to embody the each dancer had a particular 3.1 movement obligation in the piece performer/work rel in video conceptual descriptive to reveal each of their attitudes each dancer's point of view on toward their own personal "sexiness" was to be made apparent in 3.2 sexiness. the given mov't. mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive Tipton chose a [delightful] 4.1a tango by Astor Piazzola composer and genre music hearing empirical descriptive isolated word: 4.1b delightful the musical selection was pleasing audience/music rel opinion affective evaluative 4.2 for inspirational music. the music was a source of inspiration music/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive Perhaps it was a lack of performing experience on speculates that the performers may 5.1 behalf of the dancers, have been somewhat inexperienced performer/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative choreographic 5.2 or the lack of rhythmic diversity the use of time was rather predictable structure: time hearing empirical evaluative that would have enhanced the more varied use of time may have choreographic 5.3 overall choreographic structure, enriched the composition as a whole structure: time opinion conceptual evaluative but the piece fell short of its in any case, the dance was not quite 5.4 goal. successful viewer/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative
P5 Passing 76
Susan Hadley’s "Passing," 5.1 choreographed in 1992, choreographer, year, title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive
5.2 was a very clear statement the dance delivered a message mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity on the death of someone with 5.3 whom she was very close. it was about the death of a loved one mov't/ meaning rel. in video hermeneutical interpretive though the mov't was very well- 6.1 Although danced beautifully executed performer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative by Angela Milena Clark, Angie 6.2 Hauser, and Gina Jacobs, performers named concert basics in program factual descriptive refers to the movement component of 6.3 the movement vocabulary, the performance mov't: vocabulary observation empirical descriptive refers to the sound component of the 6.4 the music performance music hearing empirical descriptive refers to the lighting component of the 6.5 and the lighting design performance lighting observation empirical descriptive were almost limited by the the video clips had an adverse effect 6.6 preceding video introduction on the piece as a whole video/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative While Hadley’s stages of denial choreographer's exploration of the through acceptance were easily stages of dealing with death were 7.1 recognizable, quite clear mov't meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the video impeded the potential video was a limiting factor, for a personal interpretation of circumventing the freedom to interact 7.3 and association with the mov't. with the mov't in an individual way video/audience rel opinion conceptual evaluative P6 Partial 87 The first piece after intermission was Hauser’s choreographer, title and date, program 1 "Partial" (1997). order concert basics in program factual descriptive Performed by the [original] cast of Hauser, Cappelletti, and 2.1 Jacobs, dancers named concert basics in program factual descriptive this piece had been performed before, and these were the same performers 2.2 original who did it the first time concert basics in video factual descriptive 2.3 these beautiful dancers performers' skills admired performer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity to a well choreographed, [post- choreographic 2.5 modern], piece. the composition is successful structure: quality opinion qualitative evaluative the dance is categorized as isolated word: mov't: 2.6 post-modern postmodern genre domain knowledge conceptual descriptive choreographer/ work 3.1a Hauser has [worked well] choreographer's efforts are admired rel opinion conceptual evaluative isolated word: choreographic 3.2a [within] the trio structure, the dance is for three persons structure: form observation empirical descriptive isolated phrase: suggests that she's been innovative choreographer/ work 3.1/2b worked well within within this structural framework rel opinion conceptual evaluative [playing] with unison, duets and trio members are grouped in various choreographic 3.3a solos, ways structure: form observation empirical descriptive implies a [sense of sport] *or a child- isolated word: like spirit* towards the choreographic choreographic 3.3b playing process process opinion conceptual descriptive and utilized a gestural emphasizes the use of non-weight 3.4 vocabulary bearing mov'ts mov't: gesture observation empirical descriptive the gestures were not communicative 3.5 which was never literal in an everyday sense mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they remained a prominent element 3.6 and always significant. within the choreography mov't/ meaning rel opinion conceptual descriptive The music was neither essential the music was not an indispensable 4.1 nor extraneous, ingredient; nor was it superfluous mov't/music rel opinion qualitative evaluative and the different textures of the refers to variety in the surface 4.2 costumes appearances of fabric costume observation empirical descriptive these textures seemed to reinforce 4.3 enhanced other elements costume opinion qualitative evaluative the multiple textures of the 4.4 movement there were a variety of mov't qualities mov't: variety observation empirical descriptive 4.5 and use of space. the spatial approach was also varied mov't: space observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P7 Carpe Diem 121 1.1 Composer Philip Glass identifies composer concert basics in program factual descriptive has been frequently used by his music has often been paired with 1.2 choreographers this past decade, dance during the last ten years history: music/dance domain knowledge factual contextualizing identifies two prominent such as Twyla Tharp and Doug choreographers who have worked 1.3 Varone. with this composer history: music/dance domain knowledge factual contextualizing However, the choreography has Glass' music requires sound to be strong enough to not only choreography which can heighten the 2.1 compliment the music, music mov't/music rel. opinion conceptual evaluative the choreography needs to be 2.2 but shine through the music. autonomous mov't/music rel. opinion conceptual evaluative While admittedly a bold 3.1 attempt, this has been a strong effort mov't/music rel. opinion qualitative evaluative 3.2 Susan Van Pelt choreographer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive the music/ dance relationship 3.3 was unsuccessful in this venture disappointing mov't/music rel. opinion qualitative evaluative for her piece "Carpe Diem" 3.4 (1988). title, year of piece concert basics in program factual descriptive While the movements and refers to the mov'ts and the pathways mov't: body actions, 4.1 changing spatial patterns in space space observation empirical descriptive 4.2 were fast the tempo was quick mov't: time observation qualitative descriptive and seemed to keep time with 4.3 the music timing of music and mov't was similar mov't/music rel observation; hearing empirical descriptive there were not enough pauses in the 4.4 they lacked the stillness action mov't: stillness observation empirical descriptive required for an audience to pauses are essential for viewer 4.5 appreciate satisfaction audience/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative
the complex choreographic the form of the dance was choreographic 4.6 structure of the work. complicated structure: complexity observation qualitative descriptive The largest cast of the evening number of performers; relative size to 5.1 (nine dancers), others on program concert basics observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity however, enjoyed themselves the dancers had a good time 5.2 thoroughly on stage performing performer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive and entered into the work fully the dancers committed themselves 5.3a and completely. fully to the performance performer/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive and entered into the work fully value is implied in this level of 5.3b and completely. performer/work rel performer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative Carpe Diem was very well 5.4 danced and performed. the performers did an outstanding job viwer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative P8 Circle Walker/Conclusion 120 (25) The final piece of the evening was by Alan Boeding entitled title, choreographer, year, program 1 "Circle Walker" (1985). order of the work concert basics in program factual descriptive 2.1 Cappelletti performer named concert basics in program factual descriptive manipulated [and danced with] [a spectacular circular the performer's actions involved a 2.2a sculpture], functional kind of "handling" mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive the sculpture was an impressive round 2.2b a spectacular circular sculpture, sculpture isolated word: set observation empirical descriptive isolated phrase: 2.2c and danced with the sculpture acted as his "partner" mov't/set rel association hermeneutical interpretive 2.3 created by Boeding, the choreographer was also sculptor set in program factual descriptive there was musical accompaniment to 2.4 to the music this movement mov't/music rel hearing factual descriptive 2.5 of Yaz Kaz. composer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive 3.1 Cappelletti’s exploration dancer investigated performer/set rel. observation conceptual descriptive of the sculpture, its space and these possibilities included its spatial 3.2 inherent structure, and structural properties set observation empirical descriptive and at times a certain sometimes he exhibited an air of 3.2 nonchalant attitude toward it, indifference to it performer/set rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive refers to Cappelletti and sculpture as choreographic 3.3a made for a [fascinating] duet dance partners structure: form observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity isolated phrase: refers to Cappelletti and sculpture as choreographic 3.3b made for a [fascinating] duet dance partners structure: form association conceptual descriptive isolated word: 3.3c fascinating this unusual "partnering" was curious audience/work rel observation conceptual descriptive isolated word: 3.3d fascinating the interest it generated was positive audience/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative 3.4 between man and machine the partners symbolized a larger idea mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 3.5 (or is it man and himself?). deeper questioning of the symbols mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity What seemed to be the only interference of a completely only one flaw marred this very 4.1 successful piece was satisfying performance viewer/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative the apparent lack of space the stage area seemed too small for 4.2 needed for the specific paths the pathways the piece required mov't/space rel observation empirical descriptive created by Cappelletti and the the "partners" together traveled 4.3 sculpture. through the available space performer/set rel. observation empirical descriptive
5.1 A [wonderful] end to the show, this piece closed the concert concert structure: end observation empirical descriptive
isolated word: 5.2 wonderful it is viewed as an excellent closer concert structure: end opinion qualitative evaluative 5.3 this intense piece the dance provides powerful viewing audience/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive provided an important lasting suggests that this final dance is 5.4 image of the evening — representative of the evening concert structure: end opinion conceptual evaluative serious dance that can be this was an artictic experience with 5.5 appreciated by everyone. broad appeal audience/concert rel opinion conceptuual evaluative
The Art of Entertainment . . . n7 The Entertainment of Art 1007 P1 Introduction.1 106 kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity comparison btwn this performance opinion (of 1.1 It's better than Trisha Brown, and another concert comparison speaker) qualitative evaluative the comparison is ascribed to a viewer 1.2 remarked a dance novice new to dance viewer/concert rel personal knowledge conceptual descriptive
1.3 as she came into my office. writer reveals self as a professional writer identification observation factual descriptive She had seen Trisha Brown 2.1 recently timing of compared event elaborated concert comparison observation factual descriptive at the Wexner Center for the 2.2 Arts location of earlier performance concert comparison public information factual descriptive and had seen Jim Cappelletti's MFA dance project with the identification of director, his Ohio State University's dance affiliation, and the rel. of the concert 2.3 department to his degree concert basics in program factual descriptive
2.4 the evening before. timing of concert concert basics personal knowledge factual descriptive Better than Trisha Brown? inquires about comparison concert comparison opinion (of speaker) qualitative evaluative 3 4 In what way? I asked. requests specifics of comparison concert comparison qualitative evaluative I didn't understand some of Trisha Brown's work, the earlier (more professional) performance was somewhat puzzling viewer/concert rel hermeneutical interpretive 5.2 but the concert last night by comparison, this concert was opinion (of 5.1 was just fun to watch. accessible and enjoyable viewer/concert rel speaker) qualitative evaluative So, Trisha Brown versus previous dialogue reframed into an 6.1 entertainment opening concept for consideration audience/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual theorizing kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity or had Cappelletti found a way considers director's role in appealing 6.2 to make [our art form] to the viewer director/dance rel domain knowledge conceptual evaluative
isolated phrase: 6.3 our art form aligns self as a dance "insider" writer identification self- awareness conceptual descriptive acknowledgment that dance is often 6.4 more accessible? difficult to understand audience/dance rel domain knowledge qualitative descriptive What with this and the rumors talk had circulated that the audiences 7.1 of people being turned away, had overflowed seating capacity audience/concert rel personal knowledge factual contextualization acknowledges anticipation of an 7.2 my expectations were high. exciting performance viewer/concert rel self- awareness qualitative descriptive P2 Introduction.2 51 Cappelletti's concert "The Consigliere Collection: An 1.1 Evening of Repertory Dance," director, title of concert concert basics in program factual descriptive brought dancers and choreographers together in performers and dance-makers were 1.2 collaboration, highlighted as working partners concert collaborators domain knowledge conceptual descriptive with works by Alan Boeding, Susan Hadley, Angie Hauser, Allison Tipton, Susan Van Pelt, 1.3 and Pilobolus. choreographers identified concert content in program factual descriptive Cappelletti's concert also an additional element of the concert is 2.1 brought another aspect, highlighted viewer/concert rel observation conceptual descriptive which for me successfully the concert managed to straddle a 2.2 bridged breach for this viewer viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative that gap between elitist art and refers to a perceived rift between 2.3 entertainment. "high art" and "popular culture" audience/art rel domain knowledge conceptual theorizing P3 Introduction.3 144 As the lights dimmed before refers to the conventional lowering of 1.1 each piece, house lights before each dance lighting observation empirical description the concert included the use of video 1.2 a video projection footage video observation empirical description kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity use of video clips provided viewers took us back in time, behind the with an opportunity to view pre- 1.3 scenes, concert occurences video/audience rel observation conceptual description to the very place that dance is audiences could glimpse the creative 1.4 created process video/audience rel domain knowledge empirical description
video: choreographic 1.5 — The Dance Studio. dance creation occurs in the studio process rel domain knowledge factual description Here we are introduced to the audience "meets" the director, Cappelletti, the choreographers choreographers and dancers in the 2 and some of the dancers. studiom, via video video/audience rel in video factual descriptive We saw fragments of a year's clips also include footage of rehearsal 3.1 work process video/audience rel observation empirical description 3.2 with dancers rehearsing dancers are shown learning their parts video/audience rel observation empirical description including their struggles to master the 3.3 and making mistakes, material video/audience rel observation empirical description and choreographers giving us the artists also reveal their own 3.4 insight into their works thoughts about the dances video/audience rel in video factual description including their reasons for making the 3.5 and what inspired them. dances video/audience rel in video conceptual description importantly, the dancers were Essentially, we were introduced revealed as inventive, resourceful 4.1 to creative human beings, people video/audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive dancers exhibited traits with which audience/performer 4.2 not unlike ourselves. audience could relate rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive There were no illusions, no the dance was not, as many theatrical 5.1 pretensions, events are, about make-believe video/audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 5.2 a few comical moments, the dance also contained some humor video/audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive all feeding a bubbling these qualities combined to heighten 5.3 atmosphere of expectation. viewer anticipation video/audience rel observation empirical descriptive At times, though, these video fragments seemed to the video clips sometimes had too 6.1 overshadow the performance. dominant a presence video/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 6.2 They were often too long they tended to take up too much time video opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity and sometimes pre-determined at times the video revealed too much, the dance work before it was which the dance should have been left 6.3 shown. to do for itself video/audience rel opinion conceptual evaluative However, I commend In spite of these reservations, the 7.1 Cappelletti director is to be congratulated video/audience rel opinion qualitative evaluative on choosing such a simple and he has employed a streamlined but 7.2 effective device ingenious method video opinion conceptual evaluative to introduce a more realistic he has found a way to demystify the 7.3 view of the dance world. process of dance-making video/audience rel opinion conceptual descriptive P4 Introduction.4 43 Cappelletti's choice of dance the dance works selected by the 4.1 works director director/concert rel domain knowledge factual descriptive produced an interesting and the selection led to a satisfying 4.2 varied evening — concert of assorted dances concert content opinion qualitative evaluative there were some dance works that left me itching to satisfy my some of the pieces did not hold the 4.3 hungry stomach viewer's attention viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative and there were others that while other pieces were startling, 4.4 blasted my expectations away defying viewer's assumptions viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative with astonishing, thrilling some of the works caused profound 4.5 moments. amazement and excitement viewer/concert rel opinion affective evaluative she plans to highlight not all, but 5 I have isolated a few. specific dances writing agenda writing agenda empirical descriptive P5 Ciona 145 Ciona (1973), the first work of the evening, was originally 1.1 choreographed by Pilobolus title, program order, choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the dance is juxtaposd with a piece of 1.2 and set [against] a score music mov't/music rel observation; hearing empirical descriptive 1.3 of haunting, the music had an eerie quality music opinion affective interpretive 1.4a [mechanical] sounds electronic music was used music hearing empirical descriptive
1.4b mechanical the music had a metallic sound isolated word: music association qualitative descriptive 1.5 by Jon Appleton. composer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive 2.1 Although over twenty years old, notes age of piece concert basics in program factual descriptive the dance serves to reawaken an 2.2 this piece reminds us awareness audience/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive? of the [awesome] physicality of the piece highlights the corporeal 2.3a movement. nature of dance nature of artform observation ontological descriptive the physical demands of dance are isolated word: 2.3b awesome great viewer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive 3.1 Six dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive they wore light-colored, one- piece 3.2 clothed in pale unitards body-hugging costumes costume observation empirical descriptive mov't: manner of performers approached the space like performance; rel to 3.3 carve the space sculptors space observation empirical descriptive with [sculptural] designs and dancers make well-defined shapes and 3.4a patterns. spatial arrangements mov't: shape, space observation empirical descriptive reference to shapes that links them to isolated word: mov't: 3.4b sculptural another artform shape, space association qualitative descriptive Sometimes they are at times, the dancers make physical 4.1a [organically] connected, contact mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: 4.1b organically this contact appears natural, biological rel association hermeneutical interpretive each an important piece of the each dancer has an integral part to 4.2 overall puzzle, play in the whole performer/work rel association conceptual descriptive and sometimes like raging at other times, they resemble non- 4.3 atoms human particles moving wildly mov't: rel of dancers association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity
4.4 they split apart explosively. they detach with sudden intensity mov't: rel of dancers observation empirical descriptive there is a sense of rubbery resilience Bodies bound and spring from in the dancers' actions, which seem mov't: body actions, 5.1 nowhere, randomly motivated space, initiation observation empirical descriptive mov't: body actions, 5.2 fold over each other, they bend on top of or past each other rel observation empirical descriptive 5.3 melt together to become one, they appear to fuse into a single shape mov't: contact observation empirical descriptive they seem to be airborne, flinging mov't: body action, 5.4 fly through the air at each other, themselves at each other space, rel observation empirical descriptive and [calmly] balance in they make interdependent shapes 5.7a sculptured creations which arrive at a state of repose mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: this serenity contrasts with previous manner of 5.7b calmly images performance observation qualitative descriptive you never thought humanly the combination of activities seems 5.8 possible. beyond normal human capacities audience/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive The human body as soft as dancers' bodies become limp and mov't: manner of 6.1 putty, malleable performance association empirical descriptive mov't: manner of 6.2 as sturdy as Lego bricks, or solid and unshakablable performance association empirical descriptive or the dancers move in a fearless mov't: element of 6.3 as daring as Evil Knievel. manner risk association empirical descriptive With [deliciously] surprising 7.1a moments, the dance was unpredictable at times audience/work rel opinion affective descriptive the surprises were a wonderful part of isolated word: 7.1b deliciously the piece audience/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative 7.2 comical touches there were also moments of humor mov't/meaning rel observation hermeneutical interpretive the dance was geared to enliven the 7.3 and an infectious energy, audience audience/work rel observation affective descriptive Ciona was beautifully 7.5 performed, the dancers did an excellent job viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative 7.5a stirring up an [excited] ovation. the performance prompted applause audience/work rel. hearing empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity this outpouring of approval was 7.5b excited enthusiastic audience/work rel. hearing qualitative descriptive P6 Plum Tarts 194 the opposite kind of dance followed 1.1 In total contrast "Ciona" concert structure opinion conceptual descriptive came "Plum Tarts" (1998), choreographed by Allison 1.2 Tipton, title, year of work, choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive this was the sole dance on the and the only piece program created specifically for this 1.3 [choreographed for the concert]. concert concert basics in video factual descriptive statement: 2.1 Tipton explained the choreographer discussed the work choreographer in video factual descriptive her remarks were preserved on tape 2.2 in her video clip and biewed during the concert video in video empirical descriptive that she had wanted to create a piece about [the sexual qualities choreographer had a specific goal in choreographer/ work 2.3a in women]. mind rel in video conceptual descriptive she attempted to create a dance isolated phrase: 2.3b the sexual qualities in women concerning female sexuality mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive 3.1 Five women number, gender of dancers concert basics observation empirical descriptive notes variability in their physical performers' physical 3.2 of all different shapes and sizes dimensions attributes observation empirical descriptive (they did not begin in unison) *the entered the stage space dancers entered as distinct mov't: body actions, 3.3 individually individuals* rel of performers observation empirical descriptive against a lively tango by Astor 3.4 Piazzola. genre, quality of sound, composer mov't/music rel hearing; observation empirical descriptive Using the familiar stance of the draws on recognition of the ballroom 4.1 tango — dance form of the Tango mov't: style domain knowledge empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity long, low strides, an arm held elaboration of characteristic body forward, an arm held to the side, actions of the Tango, including levels, the chest lifted, an occasional arm positions, chest elevation and mov't: body actions, 4.2 flick of the head — head gestures style, rel domain knowledge empirical descriptive the dancers exchanged directions and mov't: rel of 4.3 these women interwove positions frequently performers observation empirical descriptive to create brief duets, trios, to set apart a soloist, or all dance their actions broke the ensemble into choreographic 4.4 together various groupings structure observation empirical descriptive Were these women trying to questions whether dancers strove to 5 assert their individual qualities? distinguish themselves mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive Were they competing for a 6 lover? were they construed as rivals? mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 7 I was not sure. indicates confusion as a viewer viewer/work rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive mov't: body action, manner of 8.1a But as they strutted dancers walked in a proud manner performance observation empirical descriptive this verb also suggests a sexual, isolated phrase: 8.1b But as they strutted presentational intention mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the dancers move away from the mov't: direction of 8.2 toward the back of the stage audience travel observation empirical descriptive choreographic structure: close of 8.3 to end, this marked the close of the piece piece observation empirical descriptive mov't: body part, 8.4a arms held [seductively] high, body parts, direction gesture observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: manner of 8.4b seductively intention of the mov't was to tantalize performance opinion hermeneutical interpretive mov't: body part; 8.5a hips wiggling body parts and action action observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity there is a strong cultural connection isolated phrase: 8.5b [hips wiggling] between this action and sexual allure mov't/meaning rel observation hermeneutical interpretive suggests that the dancers' hip mov't was designed specifically to showcase mov't: intention, 8.6 to emphasize their curves, their femininity shape opinion empirical descriptive the dancers' profiles were highlighted 8.7a these five [striking] silhouettes by darkening lights lighting/shape rel observation empirical descriptive their figures made a dramatic isolated word: 8.7b striking impression viewer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive audience/performer 8.8 seemed to find a connection, dancers managed to communicate rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive highlighting the absurdity of the the dance pointed to the foibles of 8.9 flirtatious being within us all. seductive behavior mov't/ meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive While I found "Plum Tarts" visually and rhythmically the dance offered engaging imagery 9.1 interesting, and use of time viewer/work rel observation, hearing qualitative evaluative the performers were missing an 9.2 I felt the dancers lacked important quality viewer/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative 9.3 the sexually charged confidence the expected bravura was missing mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive
9.4 so apparent in the tango. refers to Tango's sexual subtext music/ meaning rel. domain knowledge hermeneutical interpretive P7 Circle Walker 238 Circle Walker (1985) was conceived, designed, and choreographed by Alan title, year, choreographer and designer 1 Boeding. of work concert basics in program factual descriptive the form is a duet, a dance for two choreographic 2.1a It is [essentially] a duet performers structure: form observation empirical descriptive isolated word: suggests that there is an unusual choreographic 2.1b essentially feature of ths particular twosome structure observation conceptual descriptive between a male dancer (Jim one memeber of the duet is the show's 2.2 Cappelletti) director concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity and the Circle Walker, a large, the other is a huge piece of metal circular sculpture criss-crossed sculpture, circular, with intersecting 2.3 with metal bars, inner bars set observation empirical descriptive which rolls and curves through 2.4 the space the sculpture moves by rotation set observation empirical descriptive when manipulated by the set mov't is caused by mov't of the 2.5 weight and touch of the dancer. dancer performer/set rel. observation empirical descriptive choreographic 3.1 The opening image refers to first thing one sees structure: opening observation empirical descriptive 3.2 is striking. this opening impact is very effective viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluation 4.1a [Drowned] in red lighting, color lighting observation empirical descriptive connotes extreme saturation, intensity isolated word: 4.1b Drowned of color lighting association qualitative descriptive the dancer stands firm and 4.2a [powerful], performer's position is solid, stable mov't: stance observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: connotes strength and might, the manner of 4.2b powerful possibility of acting performance opinion qualitative descriptive 4.3 center stage, spatial location of performer mov't: space observation empirical descriptive amidst the metal bars within the Cappelletti stands inside of the inner 4.4 sculpture. labrynth of the sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive Cappelletti is stabalizing the movable 5.1 He balances the Circle Walker sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive he accomplishes this my extending his mov't: gesture, body 5.2 with wide, open arms, arms part observation empirical descriptive creating a perfect circular shape the resulting image is a circle 5.3 around him. surrounding a performer performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive This is Leonardo da Vinci's Dancer and sculpture are reminiscent 6.1 ['universal man'] image, of Da Vinci's work work/visual art rel association conceptual descriptive
the mov't and set suggest the concept isolated phrase: 6.2 universal man of "man" at the center of the universe mov't/set/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Da Vinci's art seems to have come to 6.3 living and breathing life mov't/meaning rel observation hermeneutical interpretive the surrounding sculpture is 6.4 with the world around him. representative of the world set/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive a clear cause and effect relationship Indeed, [man's] environment between the dancer and sculpture adds 7.1 responds to his every move. to the symbolism suggested mov't/set/meaning rel observation empirical descriptive by inserting "man" (i.e. Davinci's figure) into the place of "dancer," the isolated word: 7.2 man's two are equated mov't/set/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive (When Cappelletti makes the slightest As the dancer sends out a shiver motion . . . ) *When Cappelletti mov't: initiation of 7.3 of energy, initiates a ripple of motion, . . . * action observation empirical description (. . . the sculpture moves in response) the [whole] sculpture [vibrates] * the motion seems to extend from mov't: effect of body 7.4a in response. himself to the sculpture* action observation empirical descriptive following "shiver," these words give a isolated words: 7.4b whole . . . vibrates sense of the man's superior power mov't/meaning rel observation hermeneutical interpretive here, a sense of progression: dancer Gradually, the dancer slowly increases the force on the 8.1 manipulates the sculpture, sculpture mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive its motion responding to the sculpture moves in response to the 8.2 physical movement. performer's mov't mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive It rocks from side to side and it the sculpture moves laterally and 9 revolves slowly on its axis. spins mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive as the sculptural mov't continues to 10.1 As its motion increases, increase mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive the increased motion results in 10.2 so does its impending power, augmented force mov't/set rel observation conceptual descriptive this force is made obvious by visible through the muscular increased effort on the part of the 10.3 tension in the dancer. dancer performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Soon the dancer is climbing and swinging through the web of before long, the dancer is moving as if 11.1 bars; on a "jungle gym" mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive balancing high on top with he pauses at the top of the sculpture, 11.2 strong, direct shapes, assuming confident positions mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive and [letting] the motion of the sculpture take him through the force of the sculpture is now able 11.3a space. to carry the dancer performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive this sense of "allowing" the sculpture to move him suggests a shift in the isolated word: 11.3b letting power relationship performer/set rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive It is hard to tell [who] is there is confusion about which of the 12.1a controlling [whom], duet "partners" is in charge performer/set rel opinion conceptual descriptive the use of personal pronouns for both isolated words: 12.1b who . . . whom partners emphasizes the meaning performer/set rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive sometimes there is a sense of 12.2 and at times we feel nervous apprehension audience/work rel. opinion affective interpretive about the speed and flow of this 12.3 swirling power the force set in motion is intense movt: time, flow observation empirical descriptive and the human shape [caught] the dancer 's position remains inside 12.4a in its center. the moving sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive reverts to a sense of man as the isolated word: 12.4b caught victim, sculpture in control mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the result is an amazing viewing 13 Truly astonishing. experience viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative P8 Conclusion 86 Jim Cappelletti's concert did a the concert made for an unusual 1.1 rare thing for me. experience for this writer viewer/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative 2.1 It entertained me it was pleasantly engaging viewer/concert rel opinion affective evaluative 2.2 without burdening me and light viewer/concert rel opinion affective evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity with questions about what I 2.3 saw. it didn't make her think too hard viewer/concert rel self-awareness hermeneutical interpretive Not that I do not like solving 3.1 problems, thinking hard is fine viewer/concert rel self-awareness conceptual descriptive but is this what a dance novice should have to do when seeing a but would it be desirable for a new 3.2 dance concert? audience member? audience/dance rel domain knowledge conceptual theorizing I would have appreciated more something more provocative would 4.1 of an emotional challenge, have been better viewer/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative 4.2 but the use of video, references the incorporation of video video observation factual descriptive references the breadth of dances 4.3 the choice and variety of works included concert content observation empirical descriptive seemed to bridge a gap between offered a middle ground where it 4.4 art and entertainment, usually doesn't exist audience/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive keeping me and a full theatre spellbound for much of the the concert thus worked well for a 4.5 evening. widely diverse audience audience/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative n8 untitled 1250 P1 Introduction 138 Consolidation was evidently bringing parts together into a whole 1.1 central was thematic in this concert concert concept opinion conceptual descriptive it was a significant factor in the 1.2 to the artistic success concert's positive reception audience/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative of Jim Cappelletti’s graduate project “The Consigliere Collection: An Evening of 1.3 Repertory Dance” director and his status; concert title concert basics in program factual descriptive presented in the Sullivant 1.4 Theatre Oct. 29-31. concert location and dates concert basics public knowledge factual descriptive Under the artistic direction of 2.1 Cappelletti, Cappelletti directed the concert concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the program presented brought together a varied consortium of the concert consisted of a diverse 2.2 works. collection of dances concert basics in program conceptual descriptive Alan Boeding, Susan Hadley, Angie Hauser, Allison Tipton, 3.1 and Pilobolus comprised choereographers identified concert basics in program factual descriptive the motley assortment of the isolated dances come from a 3.2 choreographers for the project. diverse group of dance-makers concert collaborators domain knowledge conceptual descriptive The idea of unification was the motivating concept of synthesis 4.1 evident was clear concert concept observation conceptual descriptive the selections were made by the 4.2 in Cappelletti’s choice director directorial role domain knowledge factual descriptive to place the premium not only the director gave attention to the 4.3 on the product, creation of a polished performance concert concept observation conceptual theorizing he also placed value on the manner in 4.4 but also on the process: which the performance was developed concert concept observation conceptual descriptive each dance was preceded by documentary footage of the rehearsals, and interviews with Cappelletti and the the concert featured video clips choreographers, as well as the highlighting the process and people 4.5 dancers involved in the project. leading up to the production video/concert rel in video factual descriptive The effect was a concert that, in 5.1 part, these choices had a combined result audience/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive revealed the work that is arrived one consequence was a revelation of 5.2 at the process preparatory to the concert audience/concert rel in video conceptual descriptive through the integration of input from artistic director, the collaborative aspects of the 5.3 choreographers and dancers. concert were manifested concert collaborators in video conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P2 Ciona 311 The first piece on the program "Ciona," a Pilobolus piece opening piece, title, choreographer 1.1 choreographed in 1973, and date concert basics in program factual descriptive piece bore recognizable elements of 1.2 was in Pilobolus-fashion its choreographer choreographic style domain knowledge conceptual contextualizing a consistent show of [dynamic] lively and sustained physicality are 1.3a athleticism, featured mov't: style association conceptual dsecriptive isolated word: mov't: 1.3b dynamic the mov't is very energetic energy observation qualitative dsecriptive [the potential of the body] to take on nearly impossible sculptural forms and reference to emphasis on difficult mov't: shape, degree 1.4a architectonic shapes body positions of difficulty observation empirical descriptive isolated phrase: points to body's capacity for mov't: body 1.4b the potential of the body movement capability observation conceptual descriptive and [the precariousness of] bearing and sharing body the work features interactions and 1.5a weight. contact between dancers mov't: contact observation empirical descriptive
isolated phrase: 1.5b the precariousness of these interactions are noted as risky mov't: degree of risk observation qualitative descriptive 2.1 Six dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive 2.2 dressed in silver unitards, color, shape of clothing costume observation empirical descriptive the sound is characterized as one dancing to the pseudo- futuristic which intimates the (perhaps distant) 2.3 score future mov't/music rel hearing; observation hermeneutical interpretive 2.4 of Jon Appleton, composer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive locomotive action, speed, quality and 2.5 repeatedly ran with full force frequency mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity gathering momentum to then propel themselves onto their accumulated speed allowed them to mov't: energy, 2.6 partners; hurl themselves at other dancers contact observation empirical descriptive pelvises attaching to waists, they made contact thru various body mov't: bodyparts, 2.7 waists attaching to hips parts contact observation empirical descriptive as though magnetic forces were the strength of the contacts seemed 2.8 hurling them onto one another. inhuman mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical descriptive Cartwheels were achieved, not an action commonly performed as a mov't: body action, 3.1 alone but as duets: solo is done by two dancers rel of perfomers observation empirical descriptive each holding on to their mov't: body parts, 3.2 partner’s ankles, body contacts contact observation empirical descriptive one standing the other upside mov't: body action, 3.3 down. body positions direction, rel observation empirical descriptive 4.1 Equally as stimulating were these mov'ts were exciting viewer/work rel opinion affective evaluation choreographic structure: part/whole 4.2 those sections of the piece the dance had various discrete parts rel observation empirical descriptive (pauses in the mov't indicated) * where the momentum was decreasing speed in the mov't momentarily put aside for provided contrast to the previous 4.3 moments like this: quickness* mov't: energy observation empirical descriptive a quartet comprised of two four dancers, evenly divided by choreographic 4.4 males and two females. gender structure: form observation empirical descriptive The males, bent forward with mov't: body parts, 5.1 flat backs, the two men take a specific posture body action observation empirical descriptive 5.2 act as bases for two women their are used to support the women mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive the women steady themselves atop the mov't: body 5.3 who stand balanced on them. mens' backs action/stance observation empirical descriptive The two women transform to the female pair imitates the actions of 6.1 echo the men’s shapes the men mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive then continue to evolve in 6.2 stance variations. the positions continue to mutate mov't: shape observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Slowly the men come up to 7.1 standing, the men gradually become erect mov't: body action observation empirical description while the women negotiate to the women attempt to remain on the 7.2 stay on as long as possible men's backs mov't: rel observation empirical description mov't: body actions, until finally these two pillars the section ends in an effortless manner of 7.3 smoothly dismount. landing performance observation empirical description Amidst the force, strength and momentum of much of the a sense of power characterized much 8.1 piece of the mov't mov't: energy observation conceptual description but humorous images were 8.2 were moments of humor: interspersed viewer/work rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive a dancer [gets trapped] in the one dancer can be seen among the 8.3 other five dancers’ legs; legs of the others mov't: rel, body parts observation empirical description the dancer appears snared within a isolated phrase: 8.4 gets trapped "prison" of limbs mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive two dancers attached at the waist and thigh of one dancer two dancers ciontact a third and make mov't: contact. body 8.5 jut their heads forward and back discrete head actions parts, gestures observation empirical descriptive these actions make the dancers 8.6 like chickens. resemble chickens mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Apparent in the work’s content, if by "Ciona," cion is the word a conjecture about the meaning of the 9.1 that it derives from, title, based on the mov't material title/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive is the emphasis on exploring the different ways in which the much of the mov't seems to involve an convexities of the body meet interplay between hollow and rounded 9.2 the concavities. body shapes mov't: rel of bodies observation empirical descriptive If we extend our imaginations a 10.1 bit we can find the connection it is possible to make an association mov't/ meaning rel. association hermeneutical interpretive between those implications and how that relates to the creation the investigation of hollow and curved 10.2 of progeny, our cions. shapes meeting suggests reproduction title/meaing rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P3 Plum Tarts 160 Set to the [upbeat] Argentinean 1.1a tango of Astor Piazzola composer and style of music music in program factual descriptive lively, a reference to tempo and mood 1.1b upbeat of the music isolated word: music hearing qualitative descriptive was Allison Tipton’s "Plum 1.2 Tarts." choreographer, title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive From the interview that an interview with the choreographer 2.1 preceded the dance, was shown in the video clip video in video factual descriptive Ms. Tipton seemed primarily the choreographer indicated her choreographer/ work 2.2 focused on creating a piece purpose in creating the dance rel in video conceptual descriptive that evoked an assertive and she wanted to highlight a strong sense 2.3 powerful female sensuality, of feminine sensuality mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive 2.4 and it did just that. the piece accomplished this intention viewer/work rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative The piece began with a solo choreographic 3.1 entrance the dance opened with a single dancer structure: opening observation empirical descriptive
3.2 by Jennifer Thomas, individual performer identified concert basics personal knowledge factual descriptive mov't: time, body 3.3 who quickly assuming a lunge, body action, speed of mov't action observation empirical descriptive mov't: gesture, body 3.4 gave a sharp turn of the head body part gesture, speed part observation empirical descriptive this action results in the performer to dart a [seductive] look at the making visual contact with the audience/performer 3.5a audience. audience rel observation empirical descriptive the gesture was intended to be isolated word: 3.5b seductive provocative mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 4.1 Soon, four more dancers joined now there are five performers mov't: time, rel observation empirical descriptive advancing and retreating the dancers move toward and away 4.2 towards the audience from the spectators mov't: space, rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity choreographic 4.3 in duets and trios, the group divides into smaller units structure: form observation empirical descriptive lifting one another, pushing hips dancers interact and make contact, mov't: body actions, forward, turning with sharp emphasize the hips, turn with head contact, body parts, 4.4 shifts of focus, gestures and change focal points focus observation empirical descriptive endlessly directing [inviting] they keep constant eye contact with audience/performer 4.5a stares to their audience. viewers rel observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 4.5b inviting the eye contact is seductive mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dancers were suggestive of (harem slaves) *the painting "Le Grand 5.1 These were odalisques Odalisque"* mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 5.2 that had jumped they engaged in an airborne action mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive (as if springing to life at the sultan's beckoning) *from lounging, as in the out of their sedentary mode on painting, a female figure is rendered 5.3 the ottoman lounging on an ottoman* mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity to entrance us with their sensual they seemed intent on alluring the audience/performer 5.4 gusto. audience rel opinion hermeneutical inetrpretive As the five dancers retreated the dancers moved away from the mov't: body actions, 6.1 one last time, audience one final time space observation empirical descriptive each hip moving them towards mov't: space, body 6.2 the back, mov't of the hips is again emphasized parts observation empirical descriptive the saturated merlot hues the deep burgundy color became less 6.3 softened, intense lighting observation empirical descriptive leaving us with the black silhouettes of five [beautiful] dancers' bodies were profiled in black 6.4a female bodies. against the brugundy light lighting/shape rel observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 6.4b beautiful the women are pleasantly shapely viewer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P4 Passing 169 Next on the program was Susan Hadley’s [solemn and emotionally charged] piece program order, choreographer, title 1.1a Passing, choreographed in 1992 and year of work concert basics in program factual descriptive solemn and emotionally isolated phrase: 1.1b charged the piece is somber and intense mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity shortly after experiencing the the choreographer made the dance 1.2 loss of a loved one. following a significant death choreographer's bio in video hermenutical interpretive Juxtaposed against the [lush] melody of Josquin’s 2.1a composition composer, mov't/music rel hearing empirical descriptive
2.1b lush the melody was rich, full isolated word: music hearing qualitative descriptive were the strong and [agitated] the powerful and frenzied mov'ts were 2.2a mov'ts a contrast to the music mov't/music rel observation empirical descriptive there is a sense of inner disturbance isolated word: 2.2b agitated propelling the motion mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 2.3 of three female dancers gender, number of dancers concert basics observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 2.4 dressed all in black color of costume costume observation empirical descriptive illuminated only by a bright shaft of light emanating from 2.5 the upper corner of the stage. spatial orientation of lighting lighting observation empirical descriptive Hadley primarily conveyed the the choreographer emphasized the 3.1 tension of this event anxiety of losing a loved one mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive
through the repetition of her chief device in this aspect was choreographic 3.2 movement phrases: repetition structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the frantic beginning of the dance is the opening frenetic movements marked by frequent changes of 3.3 constantly change facings, direction mov't: space observation empirical descriptive one dancer begins to [lose her one performer's actions are modified mov't: body action, 3.4a strength] falling gently, as she begins to slowly collapse rel observation empirical descriptive connotes a weakening physical isolated phrase: 3.4b lose her strength condition, suggestive of illness mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive she is then perched on another collapsing dancer is supported by a 3.5 dancer's lap, fellow dancer mov't: contact, rel observation empirical descriptive this pattern of collapse and support is mov't: body action, 3.6 falls, gets placed again. repeated rel observation empirical descriptive The same dancer continually this dancer also moves firmly in the 4.1 presses in to the light direction of the shaft of light mov't/lighting rel. observation empirical descriptive while the other two [gently] two dancers grasp the other by the mov't: rel, body part, 4.2a take hold of her hand hand contact observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: the way the dancer is touched manner of 4.2b gently connotes a sense of tenderness performance observation qualitative descriptive the contact returns the dancer back to mov't: body action, 4.3 to lead her back to them the others rel observation empirical descriptive only to [more desperately] in a subsequent development, the two throw themselves in her path dancers will become obstacles in the mov't: body actions, 4.4a later in the piece. path toward the light rel observation empirical descriptive isolated phrase: the heightened attempt to change one mov't: manner of 4.4b more desperately dancer's path is read as urgency performance opinion hermeneutical interpretive choreographic But finally one last attempt [to a recurrent movement pattern that structure: final 5.1a move into the light] proves final takes place for the last time repetition observation empirical descriptive the dancer again has endeavored to isolated phrase: 5.1b to move into the light place herself in the shaft of lighting lighting/mov't rel observation empirical descriptive two dancers observe the third dancer's 5.2 and the two other dancers watch path mov't: rel, focus observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the observing dancers are 5.3 helpless and exhausted characterized as powerless and weary mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dancer they are observing leaves mov't: rel, body 5.4 as the other dancer exits. the performance area action, space observation empirical descriptive P5 Partial 141 A welcome respite from the next piece provided emotional program 1.1 Hadley's piece relief order/audience rel opinion affective descriptive was "Partial" choreographed by [third-year graduate student] 1.2a Angie Hauser. title, choreographer info concert basics in program factual descriptive info about the choreographer's isolated phrase: 1.2b third year graduate student academic standing choreographer bio personal knowledge factual descriptive Deadpan expressions accompanied (a movement dancers' faces conveyed a cultivated 2.1 vocabulary) humorless attitude as they moved mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive a movement vocabulary comprised of quirky asymmetrical leg lifts, wiping the mov't included odd, off-center leg mov't: body action, gestures, floor crawls, and feet gestures, crawling, and noisy foot body parts, gestures, 2.2 slaps smacks against the floor space observation empirical descriptive 2.3 that crashed loudly on the floor. the foot slaps were noisy mov't/sound rel hearing empirical descriptive the dance seemed a humorous 3.1 The dance was a witty exercise endeavor mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive choreographic it was dissembling in its construction structure: part/whole 3.2 in deconstruction — and approach rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive without each other they seemed the dancers seemed fragmented, 3.3 not just parts, but broken parts, fractured without each other mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive and this is also [cleverly] conveyed within the changes of this fragmentation was echoed in the 3.4a music. music music/meaning rel hearing empirical descriptive the way in which this fragmentation isolated word: 3.4b cleverly was picked up musically was skillful mov't/music rel. opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity The piece, which starts in as the dance begins, dancers perform choreographic 5.1 unison, identical mov't at the same time structure: rel observation empirical descriptive
is danced at first to an excerpt at first, the music that accompanies hearing; personal 5.2 from Bach’s cello suites the dance is a classical piece mov't/music rel knowledge empirical descriptive but as the dancers begin to but then the performers break away 5.3 separate from each other mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive (they begin to dance in separate ways) and create more cacophony with *reference to the sound produced by 5.4 their movement, the moving bodies* mov't/sound rel hearing empirical descriptive the sounds of someone searching for the right radio the music is replaced by the sounds 5.5 station come on. produced by various radio stations music hearing empirical descriptive As the dancers come together 6.1 again the performers rejoin mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive and resume some semblance of this seems to restore the previous 6.2 order, sense of order mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 6.3 the music of Bach returns the previous music also resumes music hearing empirical descriptive to comfort the humorous visual the return to the familiar mends a kind and aural dissonance we of upset incurred by the breakaway 6.4 experienced. section audience/music rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P6 Carpe Diem 174 Our need to beat the time instead of seize the day was the this dance deals with the human 1.1 theme explored relationship to time mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive in "Carpe Diem," a work by 1.2 Susan Van Pelt. title of work; choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive The music of Philip Glass that 2.1 accompanied the piece composer mov't/music rel in program factual dsecriptive
2.2 complimented both sensibilities, the music dually supported this theme music/ meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the minimalist style of the music is 2.3 its repetitious patterns based on repeated motifs music hearing empirical descriptive evoking a meditative the music lends itself to a 2.4 circularity; contemplative state music/ meaning rel. opinion hermeneutical interpretive its quick beating pulse [urging] its tempo and rhythm drive the dance 2.5a mov't onward. similarly mov't/music rel. observation empirical descriptive although music can't truly urge mov't, this language device is useful in connoting the compelling nature of isolated phrase: 2.5b urging . . . onward the music mov't/music rel opinion conceptual descriptive 3.1 A large ensemble cast of nine number of dancers is relatively high concert basics observation empirical descriptive a proverb dealing with addressing things as they come is inserted by way 3.2 (a stitch in time saves nine?) of conjecture mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 3.3 dressed in white color costume observation empirical descriptive mov't: body action, reference to speed, expansiveness of tempo; manner of 3.4 swept the stage in fast-paced travel performance observation empirical descriptive the dancers performed in pairs and choreographic 3.5 duets and trios. triads structure: form observation empirical descriptive the choreographer carefully organized choreographer/ 4.1 Van Pelt orchestrated bodies the mov't of the group performer rel observation empirical descriptive the dancers moved extremely quickly, 4.2 to rush past our vision; creating a visual blur mov't: time observation empirical descriptive a ceaseless play of entrances suggests a steady pattern of coming mov't: continuity, 4.4 and exits. and going off stage body actions, space observation empirical descriptive mov't: shifts in 5.1 The flux of mov't the continual changes action, flow observation empirical descriptive also had moments where time punctuations in the flow of mov't mov't: shifts in 5.2 seemed partially suspended: created a sense of stillness action, time observation empirical descriptive 5.3 Eight dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive 5.4 as though frozen in time connotes stillness in time mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity held crouched positions on the the larger group remained still at a mov't: shape, level, 5.5 floor low level on stage stillness observation empirical descriptive mov't: body action, 5.6 as one dancer turned in place, a soloist rotated around herself rel observation empirical descriptive performing a series of sharp, dancer performed many sudden mov't: time, body 5.7 hasty mov'ts and shapes. motions, creating brief forms in space actions, shape observation empirical descriptive Carpe Diem never really gave the dance failed to deliver on certain 6.1 us expectations audience/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative those moments where the dance the movement did not adequately 6.2 suggests seizing the day, fulfill the title concept mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive instead the title serves as a point the title has a more indirect function 6.3 of reference; in the dance title/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 6.4 suggesting, in its opposition the title connotes by contrast mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the quick tempo is a contrasting 6.5 to the fast-paced mov'ts, element mov't: time observation empirical descriptive how we otherwise allow the the dance indicates that we are 6.6 idea of time to seize us. controlled by time mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P7 Circle Walker 126 The final piece presented for the evening was "Circle Walker" choreographed by Alan program order; title, choreographer 1.1 Boeding in 1985. and year concert basics in program factual descriptive Feet wide apart, arms grasping 1.2 the metal bars tightly, stance, function of arms on sculpture mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive Cappelletti resembled a the dancer within the sculpture was modern-day version of Da reminiscent of a famous work of 1.3 Vinci’s “Man.” visual art work/visual art rel association conceptual descriptive Cappelletti maneuvered the elliptical structure from all its the dancer moved a circular piece of 2.1 points; sculpture from many points performer/set rel. observation empirical descriptive from the interior of the sculpture, his inside, he moved his hands from hands touched the metal bars, one at a 2.2 one bar to another time mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the motion of his arms caused the 2.3 steering its path backwards, sculpture to travel backwards mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive atop he leaned forward to create from above the sculpture, his leaning 2.4 momentum, forward provided force mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive from outside Cappelletti swung he also swayed from the sculpture on 2.5 from his arms, the outside of it mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive sending the Circle Walker the swinging caused it to move to the 2.6 sideways. side mov't/set rel. observation empirical descriptive Circle Walker provided a the dance presents viewers with an 3.1 metaphor analogy mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive for the relationship between the metaphorical reference deals with 3.2 man and machine: humans and their inventions mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the tension and balance of their in particular, it addresses the give and 3.3 co-existence. take of this relationship mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Indeed, machines could not be set into motion without human continuing the metaphor: it requires 4.1 input, human effort to make machines work mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity but once human inventions are but once started we constantly operative, the adjustment shifts to us, 4.2 adjust, the human makers/users mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the makers keep investigating, accumulating power, (and working within the limits of progress) *and continuing to explore, gain working within the constant tensions momentum and work within the inherent in the relationship between 4.3 parameters of advancement. progress and its limitations* mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive P8 Conclusion 31 The Consigliere Collection presented an eclectic assortment the concert included a wide variety of 1.1 of repertory existing dances concert content opinion conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the concert allowed a certain providing an opportunity for its experience for those who participated 1.2 members in it performer/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive this opportunity consisted in the to sample the varied nature of chance to experience the variety of the 1.3 modern dance artform performer/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive and the collective nature of all as well as the collaboration inherent in 1.4 theatrical productions. performance performer/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive Cappelletti Seizes the Stage in n9 "Consigliere" P1 Introduction.1 1.1 Jim Cappelletti artistic director identified concert basics in program factual descriptive this was Cappelletti's first directorial presentation, and it was conducted 1.2 made a controlled debut under certain constraints director/concert rel personal knowledge conceptual descriptive 1.3 of his role as Artistic Director identification of role concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity in the presentation of the Consigliere Collection, An Evening of Repertory Dance, at the Sullivant Theatre of the 1.4 Ohio State University. title, location of concert concert basics in program factual descriptive Cappelletti's presentation is in partial fulfillment of the Master of Fine Arts degree in the relationship of concert to academic 2.1 department of dance setting concert basics in program factual descriptive yet comes across as the that of a in spite of Cappelletti's student status, well seasoned artist and his concert appeared remarkably 2.2 administrator. professional director/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative If Cappelletti continues to if the concert's director does more 3.1 present work along these lines director/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity and produces work at such a high 3.2 evenings of this caliber, level director/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative concert is director's first attempt in 3.3 his initiation into directorship this artistic role directorial role personal knowledge factual descriptive Capelletti's career as director looks directorial 3.4 will be a swift success. promising achievement opinion qualitative evaluative P2 Introduction.2 The evening is a collection of the concert is composed of a variety 1.1 works, of dances concert content in program factual descriptive clarifies that this type of a concert is 1.2 a repertory, known as a "repertory" concert concert type domain knowledge conceptual descriptive many choreographers have 1.3 from a range of choreographers contributed works to this concert concert collaborators in program factual descriptive positioned at various levels in varying degrees of choreographic 1.4 their professional careers. experience are represented concert collaborators domain knowledge factual descriptive the artistic director assembled the 2.1 Cappelletti chose a program pieces to be performed directorial role personal knowledge factual descriptive he isolated dances which were known 2.2 of proven crowd pleasers to be successful audience/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity which he has either appeared in he had performed in some these 2.3 himself dances previously director/concert rel personal knowledge factual descriptive or has previously staged for or had directed them prior to this 2.4 other programs. concert director/concert rel personal knowledge factual descriptive dances were isolated from specific The works draw from the cache sources, including Cappelletti's of fellow graduate students, classmates and faculty from his 3.1 Ohio State faculty educational institution concert content personal knowledge factual descriptive and internationally renowned others were made by well-known 3.2 choreographers. professional choreographers concert content domain knowledge factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity The opening is a short video the concert begins with a video 4.1 presentation component video/concert rel observation empirical descriptive the video provides a glimpse of each of each choreographer's process choreographer's approach in making 4.2 in creating their unique works. these dances video observation; hearing conceptual descriptive Scenes of dancers in various the video includes images of the 5.1 studios dancers in various studios video observation empirical descriptive they are depicted while learning the 5.2a learning dance [phrases] mov't material video observation empirical descriptive isolated word: an "inside" term, referring to short choreographic 5.2b phrases sections of mov't structure domain knowledge conceptual descriptive is overlaid with the personal commentary of the at the same time, the video features 5.3 choreographers, the voices of the choreographers video hearing empirical descriptive Cappelletti's views on the work it also features comments of the 5.4 he is staging empirical director video hearing empirical descriptive and a brief plug for Ohio State's finally, it features a positive statement dance department by chair about the hosting dance department by 5.5 Karen Bell. a main administrator video hearing empirical descriptive Prior to the live appearance of each of the six works on the before each dance is performed on 6.1 program, stage, concert structure observation empirical descriptive short video pieces show the there is brief video footage process of each piece in various documenting various phases of its 6.2 stages of completion preparation concert structure observation empirical descriptive and display the work's title, each clip provides the usual choreographer and cast of identification info for the dance which 6.3 dancers follows video observation empirical descriptive as the lighting and music take the video then yields to the live 6.4 over in real time. performance just featured video/concert rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity The effect is a high tech the use of video technology offers an departure from reading alternative to information usually 7.1 everything in a program found only in the program video/concert rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive the use of video in this way is found 7.2 and is effectively engaging. to be very satisfying audience/concert rel opinion affective evaluative P3 Ciona 1.1a The [strong] opener, "Ciona," title of first dance concert basics observation factual descriptive Ciona is viewed as an effective isolated word: 1.1b strong opening for the concert viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative a staple of the Pilobolus this dance is regularly performed by 1.2 company, the Pilobolus company history of work domain knowledge factual contextualization apparently, concert viewers showed 1.3 was obviously a crowd pleaser. their appreciation of this work audience/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative 2.1 Visually stunning this dance is amazing to behold viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative mov't: style, degree 2.2 and athletically challenging, it is also physically demanding of difficulty opinion empirical descriptive the piece is both spectacle and the dance entertains but meets formal 2.3 high art. art criteria at the same time audience/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive 3.1 The six dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the dance makes claims on the 3.2 are demanded to engage dancers performer/work rel observation conceptual description
3.3 in twelve minutes length of piece concert basics personal knowledge factual description kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 3.4a of [precarious] poses pauses in the action occur mov't: shapes observation empirical description
these positions are difficult to isolated word: mov't: 3.4b precarious maintain degree of risk observation qualitative description 3.5 and acrobatic dance phrases the mov't is strenuous mov't: style association empirical description kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the shapes created by the dancers 3.6 as they continually morph constantly evolve into new shapes mov't: shapes observation empirical description dancers often evolve into spatial 3.7 into new geometric situations arrangements which are geometric mov't: shapes observation empirical description at other times, the spatial and micro-cellular looking arrangements have a more organic 3.8a patterns. "look" mov't: shape observation empirical description the terminolgy describing these and micro-cellular looking spatial arrangements also hints at a isolated phrase: 3.8b patterns. meaning for the movement choices mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive The dedication to reliance upon the dance required close cooperation performer/ ensemble 4.1 every individual in the group among its individual performers rel observation empirical description this committment within the group 4.2 was the most impressive was striking viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluation as each dancer played a role of major structural importance a strong feature of the piece was the 4.3 throughout the piece. integral participation of each dancer performer/work rel observation empirical description 5.1 These six performers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the indivduals in the ensemble seemed came across as a closely tied to have established a communal performer/ensemble 5.2 company relationship rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they exhibited a high degree of performer/ensemble 5.3 as they displayed trust confidence in each other rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive weight-sharing maneuvers were performer/ensemble 5.4 in the support of each other characteristic of this piece rel observation empirical descriptive (such close cooperation is un- common in dance performance) *the group achievement of such an rarely accomplished on the acrobatically physical aesthetic is 5.5 dance stage. what is rare* performer/work rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive P4 Plum Tarts 1.1 Allison Tipton's "Plum Tarts" title, choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the placement of this particular piece may or may not have been well among the five other works on the 1.2 placed on the program. program is considered program order opinion conceptual evaluative this dance came immediately after 2.1 Following "Ciona" "Ciona" program order observation empirical descriptive it was unwise to place this piece after 2.2 did little to support such a strong one program order opinion conceptual evaluative this weakest piece on the this was the least successful dance of 2.3 program. the evening concert structure opinion qualitative evaluative the choreographer thinks of the work Tipton describes the dance as as highlighting the sexual nature of statement: 3.1 "sexy" the performers choreographer in video hermeneutical interpretive an interview with the choreographer 3.2 and speaks, on video, appears on the video clip video in video empirical descriptive as if it has a certain the choreographer suggests that the 3.3 sophistication. work is very refined mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive Danced [well] by the cast of all this piece was comprised exclusively 4.1a women, of women concert basics observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: the dancers gave a successful manner of 4.1b well performance performance opinion qualitative evaluative choreographic Plum Tarts was lacking in the piece did not sufficiently progress structure: 4.2 development in any particular direction development opinion conceptual evaluative choreographic and came across more as a its presentation seemed rather structure: 4.3 hodgepodge unorganized development opinion qualitative evaluative (it dealt with typically female ways of moving) * the mov't choices here of stereotypical feminine served to reduce the concept of 4.4 movement "female" too narrowly mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the musical form and structure of the 4.5 in a tango. dance was a tango mov't: genre hearing; observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the pelvis moved actively from side to mov't: body part and 5.1 The hip swinging, side action observation empirical descriptive presentational attitude of the the dancers had a direct and showy audience/performer 5.2 performers relationship with the viewers rel observation empirical descriptive 5.3 was trite and empty it was superficial; hollow mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative 5.4 leaving a shell of a piece the dance was skeletal, unfulfilled viewer/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative more worthy of an undergraduate level dance this piece seemed sophomoric; and 5.5 recital. out of place in the concert viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative P5 Passing The [emotionally charged] "Passing," by Susan Hadley 1.1a came next title, choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive isolated phrase: 1.1b emotionally charged this piece (is full of) *elicits* feeling mov't/meaning rel opinion affective interpretive and pushed the quality of the this piece restored the concert to the program back to the upper level of excellence with which it 1.2 echelons. began viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative the dance explored (a specific range The piece [effectively] pulled at of feelings) *the feelings associated 2a the emotions which emerge with a particular human experience* mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the attempt to elicit a specific isolated word: 2 b effectively emotional response was successful mov't/meaning rel opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity when dealing with the death of the dance explores feelings on the loss 2.2 someone close. of a loved one mov't/meaning rel in video hermeneutical interpretive it is (surprising) *amazing* that the Somehow Hadley was able to choreographer could accomplish such choreographer/ work 3.1 develop a piece a piece rel opinion qualitative evaluative the dance addresses a common human 3.2 with a universal theme experience mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity using movement over emotional the dance relies on mov't rather than 3.3 display. obvious expressive methods mov't/ meaning rel observation conceptual descriptive the dance explores the range of classic Dancing Kubler-Ross' stages of responses to death, *as articulated by 4.1 coping with death, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross* mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 4.2 the trio there are three performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive performed a [consistently] the dancers portrayed an emotionally 4.3a heart-clenching scenario compelling situation mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they were successful in sustaining the isolated word: 4.3b consistently emotional level of the piece perofrmer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative of this inevitable human the dance deals with a universally 4.4 experience. applicable subject mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P6 Partial A departure from convention 1.1 came The next piece broke with tradition concert content domain knowledge conceptual descriptive the concert is divided into two parts, with the opening of the second and the writing will now address the 1.2 half of the performance second concert structure observation empirical descriptive 1.3 with Angie Hauser's "Partial." choreographer, title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive 2.1 This work is about movement the dance deals with mov't itself mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive in spliced disassociation within it is concerned with the characteristic 2.2 itself. of discontinuous mov't mov't/meaning rel observation conceptual descriptive like the previous piece, there are three choreographic 3.1 Another trio, dancers in this work structure: form observation empirical descriptive 3.2 Hauser, Cappelletti and Jacobs identification of performers concert basics in program factual descriptive the dance has been performed before, are the original dancers of this and these are the people who first 3.3 work, performed it performer/work rel in video factual descriptive which has appeared at the the dance has been presented at a American College Dance prestigious college event away from 3.4 Festival OSU history of work personal knowledge factual contextualization kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity and on other Ohio State it has also been done at OSU on 3.5 University programs. another occasion history of work personal knowledge factual descriptive the dancers start out together and then 4.1 The dancers stray from unison veer off into individual mov't mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive they move into a carefully organized mov't: rel, into an intricately coordinated pattern of air work, which creates and choreographic 4.2 jump in and out of duets then disrupts paired partners structure observation empirical descriptive while one individual is as each pair forms, one dancer is left choreographic 4.3 constantly solo at some point alone structure: form, rel observation empirical descriptive the dancers then return to three-way choreographic 4.4 and back to trio unison. unison mov't structure: form, rel observation empirical descriptive As unexpectedly as the change mov't: 5.1 in movement itself, there is a surprising shift in mov't unpredictability observation conceptual descriptive the music becomes attempts at the sound which accompanies this finding just that right song on a piece seems to be provided by the 5.2 radio dial. tuning function of a radio music opinion hermeneutical interpretive Frequency static, operatic arias, a wide variety of music genres is 6.1 and pop music fade in and out heard and then replaced music hearing empirical descriptive while the dancers maintain an at the same time, the dancers continue 6.2 even flow of movement without interruption or change mov't: flow observation empirical descriptive only sporadically interrupted in occasionally, the dancers' steady 6.3 the minutest of ways mov't is minimally punctuated mov't: flow observation empirical descriptive there are fleeting moments of with musical interpretation of complementarity btwn sound and 6.4 movement. mov't mov't/music rel observation; hearing empirical descriptive A sense of development choreographic becomes evident at the end of as the piece concludes, a progression structure: 7.1 the piece becomes obvious development observation conceptual descriptive by means of a return to the 7.2 original music, the opening music returns music hearing empirical descriptive placement on stage at the polar 7.3 opposite site to the beginning spatial design of opening is reversed mov't: space observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the closing mov't is similar to the 7.4 and a similarity in movement. opening mov't mov't: repetition observation empirical descriptive P7 Carpe Diem 1.1 Continuing on the positive vein, keeping the focus on the affirmative viewer/work rel opinion empirical evaluative 1.2 Susan Van Pelt's "Carpe Diem" choreographer, title concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.3a is an [uplifting] winner. this piece is very successful audience/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative isolated word: 1.3b uplifting the piece is upbeat, cheery audience/work rel opinion affective interpretive the number of performers is relatively 2.1 A large cast of ten, high concert basics observation empirical descriptive 2.2 in white, color costume observation empirical descriptive 2.3 on a white lit stage color lighting observation empirical descriptive to an [ethereal] score by Philip 2.4a Glass composer music in program empirical descriptive isolated word: 2.4b ethereal the music has a heavenly sound music/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity boasts striving to live in the light, to do good work and to be the piece suggests goodness, integrity, 2.5 pure joy. diligence and joy mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive
there is (constant, quick) *sweeping, mov't: time, manner 3.1 A continuous rush of dancers surging* mov't of performers of performance observation empirical descriptive performers are featured alone and in choreographic 3.2 in groups and as soloists various groupings structure: form observation empirical descriptive the mov't and music coexist in the 3.3a is a [good] match to a score work movt/music rel hearing;observation conceptual descriptive isolated word: 3.3b good the mov't complements the music movt/music rel opinion qualitative evaluative there is relentless repetition in the 3.4 of bombarding repetition. music music hearing empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity The dancers appear to be caught the performers seem to experience 4.1 in short bouts of personal strife brief periods of personal distress mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive however, the dancers continually manage to find release from these 4.2 but always break free concerns mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they make their way back to a blissful 4.3 to unrestrained celebration. state mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dance suggests that the time for The message truly is "seize the joy is the present; nothing else can be 4.4 day" it might be your last. counted upon mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P8 Circle Walker The Momix/Alan Boeding identifies two artists who have worked 1.1 collaboration together to produce the next work concert basics in program factual descriptive the next piece is a bold and ingenious 1.2 is a daring and imaginative work viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative 1.3 Circle Walker. title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive A very wise choice [as a there are various reasons why this program closer] for several piece works well at this point in the 2a reasons. concert concert content opinion conceptual evaluative 2b as a program closer this piece ends the show program order observation empirical descriptive The work is visually 3.1 captivating, this dance has strong eye appeal viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative in visual appeal, the closing piece 3.2 just as "Ciona" was at the start, echoes the opener concert structure opinion qualitative evaluative the music [and lighting] have a 3.3a dark finality to them the tonal component is ominous music opinion hermeneutical interpretive the darkened stage also suggests isolated word: 3.3b and lighting closure lighting opinion hermeneutical interpretive and Cappelletti himself 3.4 performs the solo. the artistic director is the performer directorial role in program factual descriptive This work is a "Cirque Du compares piece to the work of a choreographic 4.1 Solei"-like interface contemporary dance/circus company comparison domain knowledge conceptual contextualization kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity with a large spherical sculpture 4.2 on the stage. a round sculpture is part of the piece set observation empirical descriptive The prop itself (the "circle") looks and acts much like a the sculpture is similar in form and 5.1 gyroscope function to a gyroscope set observation empirical descriptive as its precision engineering 5.2 allows it the sculpture is carefully constructed set observation empirical descriptive the sculpture seems to be a "living" 5.3 to come alive part of the dance set/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive rotating and traveling within the the sculpture can move in various 5.4 arena of the stage. ways on the stage set observation empirical descriptive Cappelletti defies rational Cappelletti overcomes traditional mov't: degree of 5.5 movement possibilities on stage mov't limitations challenge opinion conceptual evaluative by grasping the sculpture in various as he becomes melded with the ways, he seems to become fully 5.6 sculpture in various holds. integrated with it performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive The sculpture becomes an the sculpture takes on a formidable 7.1 ominous presence role set opinion hermeneutical interpretive (it turns with great momentum) * its motions have their own 7.2a which [unforgivingly] turns consequences* set observation empirical descriptive another connotation of the sculpture as "live" partner: it can be forgiving or 7.2b unforgivingly not isolated word: set association hermeneutical interpretive and positions its rider in moments of direct near-misses the sculpture's rotations can put the 7.3 with the stage surface attached dancer in risky situations performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive and once rolling does seem the momentum of the sculpture in 7.4 unstoppable. motion is obviously powerful set observation empirical descriptive dancer appears to be completely in 8.1 The always-in-control, charge of sculpture performer/set rel observation qualitative descriptive almost too machismo dancer characterized as hyper- 8.2 Cappelletti masculine, in the stereotypical sense mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Cappelletti defies rational Cappelletti overcomes traditional mov't: degree of 5.5 movement possibilities on stage mov't limitations challenge opinion conceptual evaluative by grasping the sculpture in various as he becomes melded with the ways, he seems to become fully 5.6 sculpture in various holds. integrated with it performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive The sculpture becomes an the sculpture takes on a formidable 7.1 ominous presence role set opinion hermeneutical interpretive (it turns with great momentum) * its motions have their own 7.2a which [unforgivingly] turns consequences* set observation empirical descriptive another connotation of the sculpture as "live" partner: it can be forgiving or 7.2b unforgivingly not isolated word: set association hermeneutical interpretive and positions its rider in moments of direct near-misses the sculpture's rotations can put the 7.3 with the stage surface attached dancer in risky situations performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive and once rolling does seem the momentum of the sculpture in 7.4 unstoppable. motion is obviously powerful set observation empirical descriptive dancer appears to be completely in 8.1 The always-in-control, charge of sculpture performer/set rel observation qualitative descriptive almost too machismo dancer characterized as hyper- 8.2 Cappelletti masculine, in the stereotypical sense mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the sculpture is now cast as an 8.3 masters his steel opponent adversary, and the dancer as victor performer/set rel association hermeneutical interpretive only to be [encased forever] the piece ends with dancer inside of 8.4 within it in the final tableau. sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive connotes that the dancer ends up isolated phrase: 8.5 encased forever "imprisoned" within the sculpture performer/set rel association hermeneutical interpretive the sculpture is now cast as an 8.3 masters his steel opponent adversary, and the dancer as victor performer/set rel association hermeneutical interpretive only to be [encased forever] the piece ends with dancer inside of 8.4 within it in the final tableau. sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity connotes that the dancer ends up isolated phrase: 8.5 encased forever "imprisoned" within the sculpture performer/set rel association hermeneutical interpretive P9 Conclusion Cappelletti accomplished his the artistic director achieved what he 1 goal. set out to do in this concert director/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative A [well thought-out] the concert was assembled from 2.1a conglomeration of varied works various components concert content observation conceptual descriptive the concert components were selected isolated phrase: 2.1b well thought-out with care and intelligence concert content opinion qualitative evaluative he incorporated dances with appeal audience/ concert 2.2 with something for everyone. for a diverse audience rel opinion conceptual descriptive The concert appeared well the dancers seemed well-prepared for 3.1 rehearsed, the performance performer/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative production elements by a student crew under the students worked under a faculty supervision of associate advisor to handle the production 3.2 professor David Covey details production elements in program factual descriptive these production elements were 3.3 were flawless, perfectly executed viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative and the audience left speaking apparently positive comments from 3.4 very highly of the performance. the viewers were heard after the show audience/concert rel hearing factual descriptive Cappelletti understands the importance of his audience's the director seems to have a sense of 4.1 affinities what the audience wants audience/director rel opinion conceptual evaluative he delivers audience-pleasing work 4.2 without compromise of artistry. without diluting artistic quality audience/dance rel opinion conceptual evaluative I highly recommend seeing the work of this up and coming this director will have a successful 5 force in the dance world. career and his work should be seen viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity n10 untitled 1077 P1 Introduction.1 121 Modern dance in the US has the dance theater form under been primarily a movement discussion has evolved due to the driven by the idiosyncratic unique contributions of its 1 vision of choreographers. choreographers dance history domain knowledge conceptual contextualization
2.1 A family tree has sprouted a kind of genealogy has developed dance history domain knowledge conceptual contextualization from the rejection or extension of the work of a previous reactions to existing work have 2.2 generation. prompted this growth dance history domain knowledge conceptual contextualization As a result, [audiences have most often enjoyed (endured?)] consequently, viewers normally full evenings of choreography experience a concert of dances 3.1a by one person: composed by a single dance-maker dance history domain knowledge conceptual contextualization the audience reaction to such an [audiences have most often approach would be either pleasure or isolated phrase: 3.1b enjoyed (endured?)] forbearance audience/dance rel opinion qualitative contextualization evenings of a single movement the evening would be dominated by 3.2 style or choreographic vision. one style or one choreographer dance history domain knowledge conceptual contextualization if viewers favor the artistic sensibility If you like the aesthetic, then of the featured choreographer, they 4.1 great; will be pleased audience/dance rel domain knowledge conceptual theorizing conversely, viewers will be unhappy 4.2 if not, well then you're stuck. if they do not enjoy the featured artist audience/dance rel opinion conceptual theorizing Wouldn't it be great if you speculates about the desirability of a could spend an evening at the certain kind of theatrical dance 5.1 theatre experience audience/dance rel opinion conceptual descriptive seeing a variety of different an experience which would present a 5.2 dances, spectrum of dances audience/dance rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity some by choreographers with some dances would have been made 5.3 whom you are familiar, by familiar artists audience/dance rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive
5.4 others that are new to you? other works would be unfamiliar audience/dance rel domain knowledge conceptual descriptive You might not like everything in such a scenario, certain works 6.1 you see, might not appeal to you audience/dance rel opinion conceptual evaluative but most likely you would find but chances are you will enjoy something enjoyable among the 6.2 or appreciate something. offerings audience/dance rel opinion conceptual evaluative P2 Introduction.2 108 (personal assumption) *and refererence to the type of concert conversation with 1.1 With just these ideas in mind described above director/concert rel dircetor* conceptual descriptive 1.2 Jim Cappelletti artistic director identified concert basics in program factual descriptive has put together a repertory the ensemble he has assembled is 1.3 company called a repertory company director/concert rel domain knowledge factual descriptive Cappelletti has assembled a 1.4 and presented a concert performance with this ensemble directorial role in program factual descriptive the concert works were made at which spans nearly twenty-five various points in the last quarter of a 1.5 years of modern dancemaking. century concert content in program factual descriptive In partial fulfillment of his Cappelletti is producing the concert as MFA at the Ohio State an academic project; the degree 2.1 University, sought is named director bio in program factual descriptive and culling performers from the ranks of graduate and the director has chosen the performers undergraduate students in the from the pool of students in his 2.2 Dance Department, immediate academic situation cast selection perosnal knowledge factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Mr. Cappelletti's "The Consigliere Collection" surpassed expectations on a this concert was even more successful 2.3 number of levels. than expected, and in many ways. viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative Excellent campus-wide the concert was well-promoted 3.1 publicity throughout the university community publicity public knowledge factual evaluative ensured that the first two nights the success of publicity efforts saw willing customers turned resulted in potential viewers being publicity/audience 3.2 away at the door. closed out rel personal knowledge factual descriptive Moreover, the production values [on the evening I saw the in addition, the concert was quite 4.1a show] were extremely high. well-produced production elements opinion qualitative evaluative indication that the show ran for longer isolated phrase: 4.1b on the evening I saw the show than one night viewer/concert rel personal knowledge factual descriptive This was far from a student the show surpassed normal 4.2 concert in look and feel. expectations for student work viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative P3 Introduction.3 54
(domain knowledge) With a mind to reaching the director's goal was to appeal to new *and conversation 1.1 novice dance audience, and infrequent dance viewers director/concert rel with choreographer* conceptual interpretive Cappelletti chose to kick off thr director made decisions about the 1.2 with concert order program order domain knowledge factual descriptive a short black and white the concert began with an informative 1.3 documentary video program order observation factual descriptive contextualizing the evening's the video provided background 1.4 proceedings. information related to the concert video/concert rel in video factual descriptive As well as enlightening the the video provided information 2.1 uninitiated, helpful to new viewers audience/video rel opinion hermeneutical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity (personal response) *and observation of 2.2 the film displayed humour it contained some amusing footage audience/video rel audience response* hermeneutical interpretive and a genuine will on the part of it also reflected a generosity of spirit performer/audience 2.3 those interviewed among the artists it featured rel opinion conceptual descriptive these artists manifested an eagerness to share their enthusiasm for to communicate their excitement performer/ audience 2.4 dance with the audience. about dance with their viewers rel opinion conceptual descriptive P4 Introduction.4 117 The choreography presented the concert included dances of diverse 1.1 was certainly varied, kinds concert content observation empirical descriptive in line with the artistic director's this diversity was Cappelletti's aim in 1.2 intentions. producing the concert director/concert rel personal knowledge conceptual evaluative the range of dances presented 2.1 We were shown flippant trifles, included light, insignificant works mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative stirring, serious works were also 2.2 solemn evocations included mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive some works were investigatory in 2.3 and explorations nature concert content opinion conceptual descriptive these investigations focused on the 2.4 in form and movement. formal properties of dance concert content observation conceptual descriptive addresses the breaks between 3.1 Between each piece individual dances concert structure observation empirical descriptive more black and white footage 3.2 rolled these breaks were filled with video video observation empirical descriptive the video is designed to arouse 3.3 in order to whet our appetites interest in the dance it precedes audience/video rel opinion affective interpretive and to explain the it is also used to elaborate the 3.4 choreographer's intent. intentions of the dance makers audience/video rel in video conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the video information created self- This provided a safety net for confidence via knowledge in the 4.1 any audience member viewers audience/video rel opinion conceptual interpretive viewers sometimes become anxious who might normally worry about their abilities to understand the 4.2 about what it 'means', meaning of a dance audience/video rel domain knowledge hermeneutical interpretive sometimes they worry that they are not discerning the intended outcome 4.3 or think they might not 'get it', of a dance audience/video rel domain knowledge hermeneutical interpretive but it also circumscribed the this information, however, had a individual's engagement with tendency to preclude individual 4.4 the work. engagement audience/video rel opinion conceptual evaluative How can I respond to the dance questions viewer ability to react freely to a work audience/dance rel domain knowledge conceptual evaluative 5.2 when I have already been when that work has been explained in 5.1 told what it means? advance audience/video rel domain knowledge hermeneutical interpretive I don't know the answer to that writer can't find a satisfactory 5.3 question, response to this question viewer/concert rel personal knowledge conceptual interpretive writer enjoys considering the issues 5.4 but I was certainly pleased raised by this concert viewer/concert rel opinion affective evaluative to be forced into entering the writer enjoys considering the issues 5.5 debate. raised by this concert viewer/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive 11 P5 Introduction.5
Of course, all this review of writing 6.1 contextualizing reference to previous writing writing agenda agenda conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity is futile without the dances 6.2 themselves. the dance works must be privileged writing agenda opinion conceptual descriptive P6 Ciona 102 The programme opened and reference to the beginning and ending 1.1 closed of the concert concert structure observation empirical descriptive with works more overtly these dances featured motion itself concerned with pure movement rather than motion as a vehicle for 1.2 than expression. meaning concert content opinion hermeneutical interpretive 2.1 Ciona dates from 1973 title, date of work concert basics in program factual descriptive when it was created the work was made by several artists choreographer/ work 2.2 collaboratively working together rel domain knowledge factual descriptive 2.3a [by the company] Pilobolus. identification of choreographer/s concert basics in program factual descriptive the name "Pilobolus" refers to a dance 2.3b by the company company concert basics domain knowledge conceptual descriptive This was [acrobatic] Star Trek the work is compared to a popular sci- 3a on stage. fi tv show mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive connotes a very gymnastic style of movement, featuring strength, isolated word: mov't 3b acrobatic flexibility and daring style association conceptual descriptive the dancers wore body-hugging, one- 4.1 In shiny silver unitards piece costumes in bright silver costume observation empirical descriptive 4.2 the six dancers number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the movement had an architectural sensibility, conveying rocking and stability under precarious mov't: rel, body 4.3 balanced and cantilevered, circumstances actions observation empirical descriptive there was stretching and sequential 4.4 rippled and span, movement mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive there was also a child-like sensibility: dancers steadied themselves, lowered braced, frog-squatted and into leap-frog positions, and ran 4.5 jogged around in an athletic manner mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity in clearly defined spatial they moved in precise directions and 4.6 arrangements shapes mov't: space observation empirical descriptive the movement was juxtaposed with an 4.7 to a collection of sound effects assortment of sounds mov't/sound rel rel hearing empirical descriptive and futuristic [gloopy spangle] 4.8a music. the sounds evoked a sci-fi ambience sound/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive there is an elastic, *childlike* quality isolated word: 4.8b gloopy in the mov't/sound rel mov't/sound rel association conceptual descriptive *references a bright, glittery visual sense associated with the mov't/sound isolated word: 4.8c spangle rel* mov't/sound rel rel association conceptual descriptive
5.1 I laughed quietly, the piece was somewhat amusing viewer/work rel self- awareness affective descriptive
5.2 unsure of the humour. the cause for humor was ambiguous viewer/work rel self- awareness hermeneutical interpretive
6.1 More certain am I what was more clear, however. . . viewer/work rel self- awareness reflexive interpretive that this piece placed great . . . was that this dance was physically 6.2 demands on the performers very challenging performer/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive and, aside from a couple of even so, there were only fleeting 6.3 shaky moments, petrformance difficulties performer/work rel observation empirical evaluative 6.4 it was very well executed. in general, performance was excellent performer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative P7 Circle Walker.1 218 the last dance of the concert will be 1.1 The closing work discussed concert basics in program factual descriptive the final piece is for one person, who choreographic 1.2 was a solo for Cappelletti, happens to be the artistic director structure: form observation conceptual descriptive although he spoke of it in the however, Cappelletti referred to it 1.3 introduction differently performer/work rel in video factual descriptive choreographic 1.4 as a duet he referred to it as a dance for two structure: form hearing conceptual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the scuplture was his partner, therefore the dance was a kind of 1.5 with the large circular sculpture "duet" performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive the title of the dance matches the title 1.6 after which the dance is named. of the sculpture title/set rel in video factual descriptive 2.1 Circle Walker title of dance (and sculpture) concert basics in program factual descriptive the dance varies from suggesting a sense of primitive existence to one 2.2 shifts from primal to industrial, which is more machine-oriented mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the work varies from an emotive sensibility to a concern with formal 2.3 expressive to abstract, properties mov't: style opinion conceptual descriptive it sometimes manifests a carefree, 2.4 insouciant casual sensibility mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive mov't: element of 2.5 to precarious. and at other times risky risk observation qualitative descriptive location of performer, parts and mov't: body parts, 3.1 Centre stage, legs spread positions identified action, space observation empirical descriptive the dancer's legs are situated upon the 3.3 astride the sculpture sculpture, to either side performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive the body maintains this position through the support of outstretched 3.4 held firm with wide-armed grip, arms, which grasp the sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive the performer comes into spectator's the dancer is revealed as the view with the gradual introduction of lighting/performer 3.5 lights come up light on stage rel observation empirical descriptive - daVinci's Man in three reference to a renowned visual work work/visual art 3.6 dimensions. of art by Leonardo Da Vinci reference association conceptual descriptive the music has a rhythmic, pulsating 4.1 The percussive music throbs quality music hearing empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity (the firmness of the dancer's stance gives way to a vibrating motion) *brought on by the tension of his 4.2a and the dancer [quivers]. gripping motion* mov't: gesture observation empirical descriptive in addition to vibration, this word suggests an affective component — isolated word: mov't: 4.2b quivers fear, awe, effort, etc. gesture association hermeneutical interpretive mov't: body part, gesture, manner of 5.1 The head turns sharply: body part, action and temporal quality performance observation empirical descriptive within the sculpture, the dancer (suggests both predator and prey) *is 5.2 Man is caged but also hunted. both trapped and free* mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 6.1 His weight shifts the dancer transfers his weight mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive his weight transfer causes the 6.2 and the circle walker rocks. sculpture to move back and forth performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive 7.1 We know that soon there is a sense of anticipation audience/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive Man and machine will move as the performer is expected to move 7.2a one together with the sculpture performer/set rel opinion empirical descriptive the use of the capital "M" for man and "machine" for sculpture connotes an interpretive as well as a physical isolated phrase: 7.2b Man and machine meaning mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the sense of expectation creates a 7.3 and are caught in anticipation. compelling experience for viewers audience/work rel self awareness affective descriptive As the dance progresses we are soon, the spectators are presented with 8.1a [treated] to a display a showing audience/work rel observation empirical descriptive there is a positive sense of reception isolated word: 8.1b treated in this word choice audience/work rel opinion affective evaluative 8.2a of [precarious] poetry the dance is evocative and eloquent mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity isolated word: mov't 8.2b precarious the movement is daring, risky risk observation qualitative descriptive as Cappelletti threads and swings over and through the he weaves and sways within and 8.3 rolling apparatus. around the now moving sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive there are moments when the dancer 9.1 Lofty moments of suspension seems almost airborne performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive at other moments, the dancer turns 9.2 contrast with deep inversions. upside down performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive Monkey agility registers in my the dancer's movements at times 10.1a mind conjure the image of a monkey mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive refers to the nimble movement of the Monkey agility registers in my dancer (swinging through the bars of isolated phrase: 10.1b mind the sculpture) mov't: flexibility observation empirical descriptive only to be replaced fractionally this connotation is quickly supplanted 10.2 later (by another) mov't/meaning rel observation empirical descriptive other motions are gravity-defying, as in space: the writer therefore by thoughts of weightless *contrasts "techno-primal" qualities of 10.3 astronauts. the work* mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive at yet another moment, the Just as I'm thinking conjoined dancer/sculpture combination 11.1 twins, suggests "Siamese" twins mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive suddenly, the dancer releases the 11.2a the duo separate - sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive this choice of words recalls the sense of sculpture and dancer as "partners" isolated phrase: 11.2b the duo separate — or (cf. 11.1) sharers of one body mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 11.3 dancer tosses the circle walker the performer casts off the sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive from downstage right to far the spatial path of the sculpture is 11.4 upstage left. delineated performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive 12.1 With rapidity there is a sense of speed . . . mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity . . . as the sculpture travels back across the stage through a rocking 12.2 it rocks its way across the stage motion mov't/set rel observation empirical descriptive 12.3a but Man is already there the performer awaits this motion performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive the archetypal use of "Man" again adds meaning to this action: the dancer's anticipation of the sculpture isolated phrase: 12.3b but Man is already there implying mastery mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 12.4a to catch it [nonchalantly] performer clasps the sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: this is accomplished casually, with manner of 12.4b nonchalantly ease performance opinion hermeneutical interpretive the accomplishment occurs with one 12.5 with one hand. hand mov't: rel, body part observation empirical descriptive The dance dwindles with the the piece comes to an end as the light 13.1 light fades lighting/mov't rel observation empirical descriptive leaving the male figure and 13.2 apparatus the dancer and the sculpture remain performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive the closing image connotes 13.3a once again enmeshed. inseparability performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive in addition to describing a physical reality, enmeshment connotes isolated phrase: 13.3b enmeshed symbiosis performer/set rel association hermeneutical interpretive P8 Circle Walker.2 33 Cappelletti made an [astute] reference to the director's choice in 1.1a programming decision ordering the dances director/concert rel observation conceptual descriptive isolated word: 1.1b astute his decisions are viewed as savvy director/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative he closed the show with 1.2 to end with this work. "Circlewalker" program order observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity it required an extremely high level of technical achievement on the part of mov't: degree of 2.1 The sheer virtuosity of the piece the dancer difficulty opinion qualitative evaluative this level of virtuosity typically 2.2 guaranteed a positive reception. pleases an audience audience/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative specifies a particular night of the 3.1 Indeed, on Saturday show (the closing night) concert basics observation factual descriptive the audience awarded a [lavish] the spectators rose to their feet as this 3.2a standing ovation. work brought the concert to an end audience/concert rel observation; hearing empirical descriptive
this display of approval is viewed as isolated word: 3.2b lavish (ostentatious) *perhaps excessive* audience/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative Plum Tarts, Carpe Diem, P8 Passing 40 1.1 Plum Tarts by Alison Tipton, title and choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.2 Susan Van Pelt's "Carpe Diem" title and choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive and "Passing" by OSU faculty 1.3 member Susan Hadley title, choreographer and affiliation concert basics in program factual descriptive this group of dances dealt with more contained more overtly literal or obviously communicative 1.4 expressive subject matter content concert content opinion hermeneutical interpretive the viewers' understanding of these 1.5 and our interpretation works audience/concert rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive writer acknowledges grammatical choice as intentional (a critique of the 1.6 (I use the singular advisedly) video element) viewer/concert rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative the meaning of the dance was foisted P8 was largely dictated upon the viewer audience/concert rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the video footage explained the meaning before the viewer 1.8 by the preceding film clips. experienced the dance video/concert rel in video empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity P9 Partial 176 introduces a dance which differs from 1.1 By way of contrast those previously discussed concert structure opinion conceptual descriptive Partial, choreographed last year by [graduate student] Angie title, choreographer, year of 1.2a Hauser composition concert basics in program factual descriptive the choreographer is a graduate isolated phrase: 1.2b graduate student student choreographer bio personal knowledge factual descriptive provided plenty of scope for this dance was not easily given an 1.3 interpretation, obvious meaning audience/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative engaging my interest on many the writer found it a compelling work 1.4 levels. for various reasons viewer/work rel opinion qualitative evaluative three dancers perform this relatively choreographic 2.1 This brief trio short work structure, time observation empirical descriptive the dance starts with the dancers in the 2.2 begins downstage downstage area mov't: space observation empirical descriptive the dancers perform a series of very with a sequence of clearly precise, non- weight-bearing executed gestures: wiping, movements: they brush away 2.3 smoothing and looking. something; they straighten, they stare mov't: gestures observation empirical descriptive The trio start to move through 3.1 space the three dancers begin to travel mov't: locomotion observation empirical descriptive using a clean, rather spare they moved in a straightforward, 3.2 vocabulary. sparse manner mov't: vocabulary observation empirical descriptive Danced to an accompaniment the mov't was juxtaposed with music 4.1 by Bach, by Bach mov't/music rel hearing empirical descriptive 4.2 it all seems serious the dance seems dignified, somber mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive mov't: manner of 4.3 and controlled it also suggests the quality of restraint performance opinion empirical descriptive when Cappelletti moves mov't: direction, 4.4 backwards but one dancer changes direction locomotion observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity his mov't causes a clash with another 4.5 and bumps into Hauser! performer mov't: contact, rel observation empirical descriptive writer adds personal reaction of 5 And it was going so well! surprise mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive continues to reflect the 6.1 But no, unpredictability in this piece mov't/ meaning rel observation hermeneutical descriptive then Hauser bumps into the the dancer previously bumped now 6.2 third dancer Gina Jacobs clashes with another mov't: contact, rel observation empirical descriptive
6.3 and we laugh viewers respond with laughter audience/work rel self- awareness affective descriptive it is reassuring to realize that the 6.4 with relief. crashes were intended audience/work rel self-awareness affective interpretive The movement becomes more the motion grows increasingly 7.1 arbitrary, unpredictable mov't: flow opinion conceptual descriptive 7.2 quirky the mov't seems peculiar mov't: flow, shape observation qualitative descriptive 7.3 and surprising, it is unexpected mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive shattering the unity and the clarity of form of the opening these qualities destroy the previous choreographic 7.4 moments sense of order and control structure: contrast observation empirical descriptive as the music hops along the meanwhile, the Bach has changed to 7.5 radio dial. the sounds of searching the radio mov't/music rel hearing empirical descriptive 8.1 The movement is perplexing the dance is confusing mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 8.2 and funny it is also amusing mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive mov't: manner of 8.3 and beautifully executed, the performance of it is excellent performance opinion qualitative evaluative comments on the brevity of the 8.4 and before there is time section mov't: time opinion empirical descriptive the brevity makes it difficult to absorb 8.5 to really take this all in, what is happening audience/work rel observation empirical descriptive 8.6 Bach is back. suddenly, the earlier music returns music hearing empirical descriptive the dancers have moved across the 9.1 Having traversed the space, stage mov't: locomotion observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity thus, they have ended in a new the dancers have relocated in position in a new spatial area, the 9.2 the upstage corner. upstage corner of the stage mov't: space observation empirical descriptive
The opening gestural sequence the earlier body actions of wiping, choreographic 10.1 is repeated, smoothing and looking recur structure: repetition observation empirical descriptive and then a few more times they continue to repeat, but with more 10.2 getting faster. speed mov't: time observation empirical descriptive choreographic 11 It is finished. the dance ends structure: ending observation empirical descriptive P10 Conclusion 103 1.1 Cappelletti's concert names empirical director of concert concert basics in program factual descriptive the concert used an innovative 1.2a was a [bold] experiment concept concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive isolated word: 1.2b bold it was daring in its approach viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative the concert is judged to have been a 1.3 which succeeded success viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative in bringing modern dance to a the concert drew larger than usual 1.4a [wide] audience. crowds of spectators each night audience/concert rel observation factual descriptive implication that so large an audience was also broad: including viewers who do not normally attend dance isolated word: 1.4b wide events audience/concert rel opinion hermenutic interpretive The situation may be different outside Beyond the University setting of the university, where this concert 2.1 however, occured concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive refers to the task of gaining acquiring high quality permission to use exemplary 2.2 choreography choreographic works concert content domain knowledge conceptual descriptive
2.3 is not an easy task access to these works is difficult concert concept domain knowledge factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity there are substantial costs involved in 2.4 and certainly not inexpensive. procuring and producing such works concert concept domain knowledge factual descriptive Furthermore, the stylistic Problems would also arise regarding challenge for a full-time the mastery by one ensemble of many 3.1 company of dancers choreographic styles concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive in faithfully performing a authentic representations of these 3.2 variety of works styles would be difficult concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive forged from different modern these works arise from very 3.3 techniques distinctive methods of training concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive they also emanate from different ways 3.4 and different conceptual bases of thinking about dance concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive 3.5 is immense. these challenges are formidable concert concept opinion qualitative evaluative Besides these questions of In addition to these practical 4.1 feasibility, challenges concert concept opinion conceptual evaluative there is the problem of changing there is the issue of changing 4.2 patterns of viewing expectations in the audience concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive refers to those people who have been 4.3 within the dance community. identified as the viewing public concert concept domain knowledge conceptual descriptive I don't know if the real world there is uncertainty about whether the 5.1 can support larger culture would sustain . . . dance/culture rel opinion conceptual descriptive . . . such a company, producing works a truly populist modern of various choreographers with wide 5.2 repertory dance company, audience appeal concert concept domain knoweledge conceptual descriptive 5.3 but I certainly think it should. Expresses supports of such an attempt viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative
Fall Arrival: The Consigliere n12 Collection 1140 P1 Introduction 49 No, it is not a new line of men’s addresses "collection" in its fashion concert title/ 1.1 clothing, context meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive nor has it any connection to refers to the explicit origin of concert title/ 1.2 organized crime. "consigliere" in concert title meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity The Consigliere Collection is, identifies the title by name, and concert title/ 2.1 in fact, prepares to give its intended meaning meaning rel in program factual descriptive it is a concert of dances created by 2.2 an evening of repertory dance many choreographers concert type domain knowledge factual descriptive it is a concert which will present 2.3 with a variety of modern dances varied dances concert content domain knowledge factual descriptive well-suited for its intended the dances have been isolated with a 2.4 audience, particular audience in mind audience/concert rel domain knowledge qualitative descriptive the audience is identified as viewers those who are not familiar with unaccustomed to dance concert audience 2.5 modern dance. attendance composition domain knowledge conceptual descriptive P2 Introduction.2 46 The Ohio State University Dance Department MFA affiliation, professional status of 1.1 candidate, empirical director concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.2 Jim Cappelletti empirical director identified concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.3 served as creative liaison his job was to act as a creative link directorial role in video factual descriptive between his company of on one hand, he linked an ensemble of 1.4 dancers dancers . . . directorial role domain knowledge factual descriptive the dancers were isolated from the selected from within the OSU Ohio State University Department of 1.5 dance department Dance cast selection personal knowledge factual descriptive and an array of choreographers the spectrum of dance-makers 1.6 which included included concert collaborators in video factual descriptive Alan Boeding, Susan Hadley, Angie Hauser, Allison Tipton, list of choreographers whose works 1.7 Susan Van Pelt and Pilobolus. appear in this concert concert basics in program factual descriptive P3 Introduction.3 43 Due to a thorough advertising refers to high-level publicity for the 1.1 campaign, October 20-31; concert, and dates publicity personal knowledge factual descriptive the Consigliere Collection was the concert was attended by publicity/audience 1.2 presented to sold out audiences maximum-capacity audiences rel personal knowledge factual descriptive the concert occured in a specific 1.3 at Sullivant Theater campus location concert basics in program factual descriptive the heavy attendance represented a a triumph for modern dance at significant achievement in this 1.4 Ohio State. theatrical context audience/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative as director, Cappelletti accomplished 2.1 Cappelletti’s efforts a great deal directorial role personal knowledge conceptual descriptive
he organized video documentation of also arranged to have the the concert by a local public television concert 2.2 concert video taped by WOSU station documentation personal knowledge factual descriptive thus the concert can be viewed after concert 2.3 for future airing. its stage performances documentation public knowledge factual descriptive P4 Introduction.4 137 references the beginning of the concert structure: 1.1 The evening opened concert opening observation empirical descriptive the opening component was video 1.2 with a video-program, footage video observation empirical descriptive in which the audience was 1.3 given a summary the video provided an overview audience/video rel in video empirical descriptive individual dances were featured in the 1.4 of each dance on the program. video video observation empirical descriptive 2.1 These three to five minute duration of video segments video observation empirical descriptive the footage contained information and 2.2 video infommercials promotion of the individual pieces video opinion hermeneutical interpretive the public television station also 2.3 were also produced by WOSU, produced these segments video personal knowledge factual descriptive and consisted of interviews with the footage contained interview clips 2.4 the choreographers with the dance-makers video in video empirical descriptive and footage of the dancers and it also showed the performers and 2.5 choreographers dance-makers video observation empirical descriptive they were featured during 2.6 in the rehearsal process. preparations for the concert video observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity Though they left little to the the video footage did not leave much 3.1 imagination, room for viewer interpretation video/audience rel opinion conceptual evaluative the video was used to acquaint the 3.2 the video introductions viewer with the performers video in video empirical descriptive
this permitted (an unusual familiarity with the performers' voices and ideas) *another dimension of knowledge of gave the dancers a vocal and the performers than is usually 3.3 intellectual presence availiable to viewers* video/audience rel opinion empirical descriptive this (familiarity) *additional "presence"* permeated the concert 3.4 throughout the evening. experience video/concert rel observation; hearing empirical descriptive 4.1 Unfortunately, it was regrettable that viewer/concert rel opinion qualitative evaluative a video preceded each dance video footage came before each piece video observation empirical descriptive these segments (were clumsy and intrusive) *disturbed the continuity of 4.2 and made for an awkward the performance* video opinion qualitative evaluative and pedantic segue into each they created didactic transitions 4.3 work. between pieces video opinion hermeneutical evaluative The attempt to make modern the intention of using video to 5.1 dance more user-friendly increase accessibility for the viewer video/audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive has released people from the this has precluded viewers' 5.2 possibility of thinking, *independent* thinking video/audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive it interferes with (seeing or feeling the dances without prejudice) *personal seeing or sensing for imaginative interaction with the 5.3 themselves. work* video/audience rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive Possibly, Cappelletti perhaps the director has not given the 6.1 underestimates audience due credit audience/director rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative how much of the meaning of the dance is inherent in not only the a dance can be best understood by 6.2 dance itself, experiencing it *directly* nature of the artform opinion ontological theorizing kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity but in the individual’s it is also a result of the viewer's own 6.3 imagination and experience. unique background and associations audience/dance rel opinion ontological theorizing
P5 Ciona 102 As the projection screen rose the equipment on which the video was 1.1 out of sight, shown is now retracted from the stage video observation empirical descriptive the performers fill the performing 1.2 dancers moved into place. space mov't: locomotion observation empirical descriptive the writer interjects approbation, welcoming the sight of live bodies in 2 Human beings, yes! place of video footage viewer/work rel opinion affective evaluative Ciona, choreographed by 3.1 Pilobolus, title, choreographer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive is a sextet for two women and choreographic 3.2 four men number, gender of performers structure: form observation empirical descriptive who become androgynous the dancers' gender differences seem 3.3 beings to merge in this piece mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they wear close-fitting, one-piece 3.4 in sleek silver unitards. silver costumes costume observation empirical descriptive Bodies transformed into cells or the dancers seem to represent 4.1 molecules, biological particles mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the dancers alternate weight-bearing slowly shifting and balancing positions, using each other for mov't: rel, contact, 4.2 on and around one another stability time observation empirical descriptive mov't: clarity of 4.3 with precision dancers' mov'ts are clean and exacting performance observation empirical descriptive performers worked with attention and mov't: manner of 4.4 and care. awareness *of one another* performance opinion empirical descriptive (the) *these* bodies (seem) *are* extraordinarily limber, and the Incredibly flexible and dancers seem to have command over mov't: range of 5.1 controlled bodies their every mov't motion, control observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity bodily activities included inverting were upside down, curled, themselves, coiling, enclosing and 5.2 wrapped and stretched — extending into space mov't: space, shape observation empirical descriptive writer interjects a rhetorical expression of incredulity at the 5.3 “How did they do that?”— dancers' actions viewer/work rel observation conceptual evaluative these things were visible but seemed impossible to writer along with rest of audience/performer 5.4 right before our eyes. spectators rel personal knowledge empirical descriptive a duet is singled out from the larger choreographic 6.1 Two dancers ensemble structure: form observation empirical descriptive mov't: body part, 6.2 bend at the hips their torsos fold over forward gesture observation empirical descriptive their bodies facing each other, this ends with their heads hanging near 6.3 and stand head to head, each other mov't: body part rel observation empirical descriptive now another couple of dancers mount while two others climb onto their bent torsos and stabilize mov't: rel, body 6.4 their backs and balance, themselves parts, support observation empirical descriptive this involves small changes in the making subtle shifts, angular distribution of weight, resulting in mov't: body actions, 6.5 and round. shapes both straight and curved shape observation empirical descriptive P6 Plum Tarts 118 introduces the work that follows 1.1a Next on the runway "Ciona," program order in program empirical descriptive references the title of essay (using the language of fashion to discuss the program order) and foreshadowing isolated phrase: 1.1b Next on the runway treatment of the next dance program order in program hermeneutical interpretive was Allison Tipton’s Plum 1.2 Tarts, choreographer, title of work concert basics in program factual descriptive danced to a [spicy] [Astor 1.3a Piazzola] tango. musical form identified mov't/music rel hearing factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity there is a zesty, spirited, perhaps sexual sensibility about the musical isolated word: 1.3b spicy accompaniment mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive
1.3c Astor Piazzola composer identified isolated word: music in program factual descriptive 2.1 Short, it was a brief dance mov't: time observation empirical descriptive satisfying, palatable, without being 2.2 sweet, particularly substantive mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive refers to the title, again suggesting the 2.3 not more than the title suggests, dance is pleasant, but not substantial title/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the plum tarts are five young 2.4a girls identifies number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive the plum tarts are five young the performers represent plum tarts. a isolated phrase: 2.4b girls coquettish reference to young women mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive they stand high on the balls of their mov't: body part, 2.5 on tip-toe feet action observation empirical descriptive with [playful] shaking, the dancers wiggle and jerk, make 2.6a twitching, pointing, directive gestures with their hands mov't: gestures observation empirical descriptive isolated word: mov't: they execute these motions asif they manner of 2.6b playful are having a good time performance opinion hermeneutical interpretive mov't: gestures, body 2.8a [pouting] [hips] and lips, their mouths make a pursing gesture parts observation empirical descriptive there is also a sulking, seductive isolated word: 2.8b pouting connotation to this word mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the hips, not normally described as "pouting, are described here in a lilting, arcing mov't, and are thus included in this sense of seductive isolated word: 2.8c hips sulking mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive at the same time, the legs make mov't: gestures, 2.9 amidst a series of high kicks several *energetic* arcs upwards space observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity
2.1 and smooth turns. and they pivot fluidly mov't: body actions observation empirical descriptive identifies the dance as a particular 3.1a [Full of] tango [attitude] form of ballroom dance mov't: style domain knowledge empirical descriptive the performers exude dramatic qualities often associated with the mov't: manner of 3.1b full of . . . attitude, Tango performance domain knowledge hermeneutical interpretive these females finish the dance in the 3.2 the young ladies end up in a line formation of a line mov't: space, rel observation empirical descriptive the line occurs in the portion of the 3.3 across the front of the stage, stage (close) *closest* to the audience mov't: space observation empirical descriptive the performers [assume] *execute* 3.4 strike a pose, specific bodily shapes and positions mov't: stance observation empirical descriptive they pivot so they face away from the 3.5 turn their backs audience mov't: body action observation empirical descriptive suggestively and seductively to they turn in an overtly provocative audience/performer 3.6 the audience manner rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive they move in a line toward the back mov't: body action, 3.7 and file up stage, area of the stage space observation empirical descriptive where their hip swiveling as they reach this destination, their mov't: body part, 3.8 figures pelvises rock from side to side gesture observation empirical descriptive here, their bodies fade to darkened 3.9 become silhouetted against shapes lighting observation empirical descriptive the shadow fidures are juxtaposed 3.10a the [hot] red background. with deep red lighting lighting observation empirical descriptive in addition to referring to the vibrancy of the color, this word also connotes isolated word: 3.10b hot of "sexy" lighting/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive a *tongue-in-cheek* warning to 4 Do not be alarmed. viewers not to be apprehensive mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive reference to interview with statement: 5.1 Tipton explained choreographer choreographer in video factual descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the statement was made in the video 5.2 in the preliminary video, segment which preceded the dance video in video empirical descriptive she feels it’s good for women to Tipton indicated that she values statement: 5.3 be sexy. "sexiness" in women choreographer in video empirical descriptive writer indicates a state of ambivalent reflection on this (point) *particular 6 Hmm... representation of sexiness* viewer/work rel opinion hermeneutical evaluative P7 Passing 141 1.1 Susan Hadley’s "Passing," title, choreographer concert basics in program factual descriptive 1.2 was a somber work the dance was of a serious nature mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dance was presented with religious 1.3a set to [sacred] music music mov't/music rel hearing empirical descriptive in addition to its descriptive function, this information also sets a context for isolated word: 1.3b sacred meaning mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 1.4 by Josquin. composer identified music observation factual descriptive the (performers worked with low amounts of light) *performing space 2.1 The darkly lit dance was dimly lit* lighting observation empirical descriptive
2.2 reflected the difficulty the darkness connoted hardship lighting/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive of accepting death in its own it is very hard to resign oneself to 2.3 time. death when it arrives mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive in spite of the fact that the dancers 3.1a Though clad in black, wore black costume observation empirical descriptive suggests the color normally connotes 3.1b Though clad in black, death costume/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the dancers' movements were at mov't: body actions, 3.2a times [contrastingly free] their mov'ts were free-flowing flow observation empirical descriptive their mov'ts (sometimes collided with the serious quality emphasized by the isolated phrase: costumes) * werequite uninhibited by mov't: manner of 3.2b contrastingly free comparison* performaance association hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 3.3 and energetic, the mov'ts were fast-paced and lively mov't: energy observation qualitative descriptive 3.4 suggesting youth, these qualities connoted youthfulness mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive this connoted a spirit of remiiniscing 3.5 and memories of days gone by. within the dance mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive We were constantly reminded the dance constantly connoted life's 4.1 of the fragility of life tenuousness mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the mov't of one female dancer is mov't: rel of 4.2 as one of the women referenced performers observation empirical descriptive a discrete action is performed, as if the dancer does not want to draw mov't: manner of 4.3 subtly attention to it performance observation qualitative descriptive mov't: body action, 4.4 slides to the floor the action is a smooth descent space observation empirical descriptive the dancer appears to be extremely 4.5 exhausted and in need of rest. fatigued mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive One [intriguing] passage takes refers to a particular segment of the choreographic 5.1a place dance structure: section observation empirical descriptive isolated word: 5.1b intriguing this passage is especially interesting viewer/work rel opinion qualitative descriptive as this woman walks slowly and this performer travels in an unhurried mov't: rel, 5.2 steadily and determined manner locomotion, time observation empirical descriptive she moves in the path cast by a strong 5.3 along a beam of light ray of light lighting observation empirical descriptive at the same time, the other two 5.4 as the other two women dancers have a separate action mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive they take turns (flinging their bodies) mov't: rel, body 5.5 alternate hurling themselves *throwing themselves down* actions, quality observation empirical descriptive these actions are performed with mov't: manner of 5.6 violently fierceness performance opinion qualitative interpretive their destination is the ground, (just 5.7 to the floor in front of her. ahead of) *blocking* the dancer's path mov't: rel, space observation empirical descriptive the dancer in the beam of light mov't: rel, 6.1 She never trips or misses a step, proceeds unwaveringly locomotion observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity refers to the obvious worry, and their intense show of concern, perhaps fondness, of the other two 6.2 fear, even love, dancers mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive their concerns, manifested through are actually obstacles valleys, their interference with her path, 6.3 rivers, mountains represent real physical obstacles mov't/ meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive extends the metaphor by indicating the solo dancer travels easily over 6.4 over which the woman glides, these obstacles mov't/ meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 6.5a making the [inevitable] journey, the solo dancer follows a destination mov't: locomotion association hermeneutical interpretive it is a journey which she cannot help isolated word: 6.5b inevitable but pursue mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive she travels with ease and without a mov't: manner of 6.6 smoothly, gracefully show of effort performance observation qualitative descriptive 6.7 and confidently. and with a definite sense of purpose mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P8 Partial 163 an intermission has divided the The second half of the evening concert into two parts and now the 1.1 opened concert resumes concert structure observation empirical descriptive 1.2 with Angie Hauser’s "Partial," title, choreographer of work concert basics in program factual descriptive featuring Gina Jacobs, 1.3 Cappelletti and Hauser herself. performers identified concert basics in program factual descriptive reference to the fact that the opening of the piece is signaled by lights 2.1 As the lights come up appearing in the space lighting observation empirical descriptive the three dancers become apparent to choreographic 2.2 we find the trio the viewers structure: form observation empirical descriptive they are grouped to one side of the 2.3 in a cluster to the right. stage mov't: space, shape observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the performers' facial expressions are Their [obviously blank] faces overtly neutral, as opposed to their mov't: body parts, 3.1a are a contrast to their own arms arms gestures observation empirical descriptive faces don't seem to "fit" with the arms, which seem active and engaged isolated phrase: 3.1b obviously blank by contrast mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive wiping across the fronts of their the arms slide forcefully along the mov't: body parts, 3.3 bodies fronts of their bodies gesture observation empirical descriptive this leads up to a sudden outpouring and the eventual burst of of vigor, very quick rotations, energy, whipping turns and *conveying a sense of flinging,* and 3.4 quick jumps that follow. culminate in a series of rapid jumps mov't: energy observation empirical descriptive mov't: time, at a certain momemt in the progress of sequence of action, At one point, during a breathey the piece, there is a light, airy manner of 4.1 dance phrase, sequence of movement performance observation empirical descriptive suddenly, one of the dancers strikes mov't: rel, body part, 4.2 Cappelletti’s foot hits the floor the floor with his foot body action observation empirical descriptive the strike against the floor is heavy, mov't: manner of 4.3 like a lead weight. pronounced performance hearing empirical descriptive
Hauser and Jacobs are also the other two dancers now begin mov't: rel, body part, [struck with] the lead foot striking their own feet against the action, manner of 5.1a [syndrome] floor performance observation empirical descriptive there are humorous connotations in this language, as if the pair of dancers has been "infected" — disease-like — isolated phrase: 5.1b struck with. . . syndrome by another's mov't mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive the humorous subtext continues as the and the three become a modern dancers, again referenced as a unit, 5.2 dance slapstick team. are likened to comedians mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive Now we see that Hauser is revelation that the choreographer is 6.1 poking fun making a dance "joke" audience/work rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity she chides the genre of modern dance 6.2 at the severity of modern dance. for its traditional seriousness mov't/meaning rel domain knowledge hermeneutical interpretive Partial begins to look like this dance begins to resemble small 7.1 snippets of ideas, bits of ideas or thoughts mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 7.2 movements as well as physical actions mov't/meaning rel opinion empirical descriptive and it seems to provide slight glimpses into relationships 7.3 and relationships. between/among people mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive It even contains a [whaky] radio the dance incorporates a sound 8.1a sound track component derived from radio music hearing empirical descriptive this sound component is zany and 8.1b whacky surprising isolated word: music opinion hermeneutical interpretive — opera, cello, country the sound includes various musical 8.2 western, rock genres music hearing empirical descriptive seeming to imply that these this collage of sound implies a little pieces of life are contained connection between disparate 8.3 in the whole, experiences music/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive and sometimes make for a very that oddly grouped experiences can 8.4 odd but manageable mix. still work as a unit mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P9 Carpe Diem 131 [Despite yet another] video even though there is another video 1.1a introduction, clip before the next dance . . . video in video empirical descriptive conveys a level of annoyance with the isolated phrase: 1.1b despite yet another video clips viewer/video rel opinion qualitative evaluative 1.2 Carpe Diem followed title of next dance concert basics in program factual descriptive this piece contrasted with the casual 1.3 the lightheartedness of "Partial" quality of the last work mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive this new piece had an onrushing, with a wash of billowing, floating feeling about it, with an spinning, leaping, skittering emphasis on skimming, turning and mov't: time, manner 1.4 dancers, airborne work of performance observation empirical descriptive 1.5 nine in all, number of performers concert basics observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity the dancers exude energy and ssem to 1.6a energy and light! illuminate the space mov't/light rel observation empirical descriptive this characterization has a spiritual or emotional connotation as well as the isolated phrase: 1.6b energy and light! physical mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive this dance is a departure from recent 2.1 A refreshing change works viewer/work rel domain knowledge qualitative evaluative usually, there are not so many 2.2 to see so many dancers on stage performers together in a single work performer/work rel observation empirical descriptive in a constant state of perpetual the performers are moving 2.3 motion. continuously mov't: flow observation empirical descriptive 3.1 Choreographer, Susan Van Pelt choreographer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive the dance make precise geometric 3.2 created orderly lines, circles, shapes, mov't: shape, space observation empirical descriptive the group enters and leaves the performing area, dissolves into entrances, exits, brief solos, smaller units of two and three dancers choreographic 3.3 duets moving together structure: form, rel observation empirical descriptive the dancers create recognizable spatial and patterns of moving bodies configurations in motion, that become 3.4 that assemble and dissolve. clear and then fade mov't: space observation empirical descriptive 4.1 Angels the dancers suggest heavenly spirits mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 4.2 robed in white they wear flowing garments of white costume observation empirical descriptive [pleasantly] fleeing, flying and they move in slippery, quick strides, mov't: locomotive 4.3a gliding seeming at times airborne actions observation empirical descriptive inspite of their speed, they seem to be isolated word: 4.3b pleasantly at ease, content mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive the dancers seem to be enveloped by 4.4 inside the music the sound mov't/music rel hearing empirical descriptive 4.5 of Philip Glass. composer identified music in program factual descriptive there are recurring patterns (*mildly 5.1a Repetitious, critical*) music hearing empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity there are recurring patterns (*mildly 5.1b Repetitious, critical*) isolated word: music hearing empirical evaluative the music and mov't convey a sense of but trasncending, both the rising above the ordinary, and are music and the dance are in personified to indicate the high mov't/music/ 5.2 search of a higher plain. spiritual quest of their intentions meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive Throughout the celestial the dance evokes a sense of heaven, 6.1 celebration, and suggests festivity mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive there are moments of in addition, the piece is marked by 6.2 tenderness; gentleness and caring mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive there are actions which resemble 6.3 an invitation, a caress. solicitation, an embrace mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive performers spend a great deal of this 6.4a No matter how high they fly dance airborne mov't: air work observation empirical descriptive isolated phrase: 6.4b No matter how high they fly flight used here too suggest risk mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 6.5 or how fast, in spite of the speed of their travel mov't: time observation empirical descriptive 6.6a no one is left alone; no dancer is abandoned mov't: rel observation empirical descriptive while describing a physical reality, this phrase also refers to the isolated phrase: 6.6b no one is left alone individual in the community mov't/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive a performer seems continually someone is there to catch each available when needed to support 6.7a fall. another dancer mov't: rel, contact observation empirical descriptive while describing a physical reality, someone is there to catch each this phrase also refers to the isolated phrase: 6.7b fall. individual in the community mov't/meaninr rel association hermeneutical interpretive P10 Circle Walker 176 1.1 Strangely, but appropriately it is odd but also seems suitable viewer/work rel opinion conceptual evaluative reference to the artistic director - 1.3 the Consigliere himself "advisor" concert basics in program factual descriptive concert structure: 1.4 closes the evening he ends the concert ending in program empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity 1.5 with "Circle Walker," title of final work concert basics in program factual descriptive choreographic 1.6a a [signature] solo a dance for one performer structure: form observation empirical descriptive refers to a work closely and uniquely 1.6b signature associated with a person or company performer/work rel domain knowledge conceptual contextualizing Cappelletti used to perform this work when he danced with a professional 1.7 from his Momix days. company performer bio domain knowledge factual descriptive his expertise and finesse as a 2.1 Cappelletti’s skill and artistry performer are referenced performer's skills opinion qualitative evaluative manifested as strength and Performer's abilities are equated with 2.2 beauty, physical power and visual appeal mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive indicates the amiguity of his as he manipulated/is relationship with the sculpture: it is 2.3 manipulated by difficult to say which moves the other performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive the set consists of a huge circular 2.4 an immense spheric “scuplutre” sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive by artist/choreographer Alan 2.5 Boeding. sculptor and choreographer identified concert basics in program factual descriptive 3.1 Circle Walker defies description the piece is difficult to categorize viewer/work rel opinion conceptual descriptive it has gymnastic or acrobatic and in that it is not gymnastics, other characteristics associated with 3.2 acrobatics or a sport. sports, yet it isn't those phenomena mov't: genre opinion conceptual descriptive The dance lies in the geometry the dance is characterized by the and choreography of the *inseparability of the architecture and sculpture as well as the human mov't of the (sculpture) *Circlewalker 4.1 being and the dancer* performer/set rel observation conceptual descriptive creating imagery and movement these two "partners" create kinetic and 4.2 together. visual basis of this piece performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive Cappelleti wears only a pair of he dances in nothing but a pair of flesh colored tights, is bare- skin-colored tight, his torso 5.1 footed, bare-chested (unclothed) *sensuously exposed* costume observation empirical descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity his body is surrounded by red lighting and bathed in red light from which shines down on him from high 5.2 above. in the performing space lighting observation empirical descriptive Standing inside the huge steel Cappelletti is surrounded by the metal 6.1 shell arcs of the sculpture performer/set rel observation empirical descriptive he is at once protected and the sculpture appears to (enclose) 6.2 imprisoned. *shield* him, yet entrap him set/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive 7.1 The music by Yaz Kaz composer identified music in program factual descriptive hints at a Native American the music suggests a particular 7.2 ritual, cultural identification and event music/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive there are also discordant, metal-like 7.3 but clashing metallic sounds components music hearing empirical descriptive this juxtaposition of musical elements make it at once futuristic and creates a sound which connotes both 7.4 ancient; past and future music/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive it seems both mechanistic and 7.5 machine and man. humanistic music/meaning rel association hermeneutical interpretive choreographic 8.1 By the end of the piece, as the piece draws to a close structure: ending observation empirical descriptive
8.2 I was entranced the dance is spell-binding viewer/work rel self- awareness affective evaluative the performer made circular paths and mov't: body action, 8.3 by his circling and rocking, rocked the sculpture space observation empirical descriptive the performance engendered deep 8.4 and in awe admiration viewer/work rel opinion affective evaluative dancer's ability to maintain 8.5 of Cappelletti’s sense of balance equilibrium is noted performer's skills observation empirical evaluative 8.6 and fearlessness. performer's actions are daring mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive 9.1 The sculpture is twice his size, the sculpture is larger than two of him performer/set rel rel observation empirical descriptive
he manipulated this giant sculpture 9.2 yet he handled it with calmness with ease performer/set rel rel observation qualitative descriptive kind of critical sentence/segment clarification type of info source of info understanding activity (he showed a kind of admiration for the sculpture) *in the presence of his "partner," he became humble and gave 9.3 and even praise. homage.* mov't/meaning rel opinion hermeneutical interpretive P11 Conclusion 34 addresses those who have not been 1.1 For any first-time theater goers, regular performance patrons audience/concert rel opinion conceptual descriptive I would say Cappelletti offered a helpful introduction to the director has assembled a useful first 1.2 world of modern dance experience in modern dance concerts audience/concert rel opinion conceptual evaluative the show also could serve as a source and the potential to increase to build a larger, more enthusiastic 1.3 audience interest and support. audience for dance audience/dance rel opinion conceptual evaluative This was an important this concert has definitely been a 2 contribution indeed. significant offering audience/concert rel opinion empirical evaluative APPENDIX F: TYPE OF INFORMATION ANALYSIS BY WRITER type of information # of entries total entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 art/culture rel 2 2 audience composition 5 1 6 audience/art rel 1 1 2 audience/concert rel 3 4 4 8 4 3 4 6 5 41 audience/dance rel 5 2 1 11 2 21 audience/director rel 3 2 3 1 1 10 audience/music rel 1 1 2 audience/performer rel 4 2 2 3 1 2 2 16 audience/set rel 1 1 audience/work rel 10 4 2 8 1 4 8 1 38 cast selection 1 1 2 choreographer bio 1 2 1 1 5 choreographer/performer 2 1 3 rel choreographer/work rel 3 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 11 choreographic 1 1 comparison choreographic process 1 1 2 choreographic structure 1 7 14 10 5 9 8 6 7 66 choreographic style 3 1 4 comparison of concert 1 1 2 works concert basics 17 18 16 16 13 17 18 13 16 144
462 type of information # of entries total entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 concert collaborators 1 2 2 1 6 concert comparison 5 5 concert concept 4 13 17 concert content 2 1 3 1 7 7 1 22 concert documentation 2 2 concert structure 1 6 1 4 3 5 3 3 26 concert type 3 2 1 1 7 costume 2 4 2 2 1 3 1 1 4 20 costume/meaning rel 1 1 dance/culture rel 1 1 director bio 1 1 1 3 director/concert rel 1 1 1 1 1 4 4 13 director/dance rel 1 1 director/work rel 1 1 directorial role 1 2 1 3 1 3 11 history: dance 5 5 history: music/dance 2 2 history: work 2 2 (isolated word/phrase) 6 29 22 18 21 18 15 19 22 170 lighting 3 4 2 1 3 2 3 6 24 lighting/meaning rel 1 1 2 4 lighting/mov't rel 1 2 2 1 3 9 lighting/performer rel 1 1 2 lighting/shape rel 1 1 2 lighting/space rel 1 1 mov't/costume/music/ 4 4 meaning rel
463 type of information # of entries total entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 mov't/lighting/meaning 1 1 rel mov't/meaning rel 25 34 27 11 10 32 21 21 44 225 mov't/music rel 3 4 1 7 2 8 3 2 3 33 mov't/music/meaning rel 2 1 3 mov't/set rel 1 1 3 3 7 6 2 23 mov't/set/meaning rel 1 3 4 mov't/sound rel 1 1 5 7 mov't/space rel 1 1 mov't: by category 24 46 64 15 35 60 21 33 58 356 music 4 2 5 4 6 2 10 33 music/meaning rel 2 1 1 3 1 4 12 nature of artform 4 1 1 6 nature of performance 2 2 performer bio 1 1 performer's skills 1 1 2 4 performer/concert rel 3 1 4 performer/ensemble rel 1 4 5 performer/set rel 2 5 3 10 1 6 16 7 50 performer/work rel 1 3 9 1 6 4 2 26 performers' physical 2 1 1 4 attributes production elements 2 2 1 5 program order 4 3 3 10 program order/audience 1 1 rel publicity 1 1 1 3 publicity/audience rel 1 1 1 3
464 type of information # of entries total entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 set 4 5 4 2 8 23 set/meaning rel 1 1 2 4 sound 1 1 sound/meaning rel 1 1 statement: choreographer 4 1 1 2 8 statement: director 2 2 title/meaning rel 1 5 1 3 4 10 title/set rel 1 1 video 1 1 1 5 1 8 1 15 33 video/audience rel 7 1 2 15 16 6 47 video/concert rel 1 2 1 1 3 2 1 11 video/work rel 1 1 2 viewer/concert rel 1 1 15 1 11 1 30 viewer/dance rel 1 1 viewer/video rel 1 1 viewer/work rel 1 1 6 4 8 4 8 4 9 45 work/meaning rel 2 2 work/visual art rel 1 1 1 1 4 writer identification 2 2 writing agenda 1 1 2 4
465 APPENDIX G: MOVEMENT BY CATEGORY
Ciona mov't entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 totals body action 3 6 1 7 3 1 21 body parts 5 3 8 contact 1 1 1 1 5 2 11 degree of challenge 1 1 1 3 degree of difficulty 1 2 1 1 5 degree of risk 1 1 1 3 direction 1 1 duration 2 2 energy 1 1 4 6 facial gesture 1 1 gesture 1 1 2 individual/ group rel 1 1 initiation 1 1 locomotion 1 1 manner of performance 1 2 3 3 4 1 2 16 performer demands 1 1 rel 2 4 3 2 6 6 1 2 26
466 Plum Tarts mov't entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 totals body action 1 2 2 4 4 13 body part actions 1 1 2 body parts 3 1 3 7 contact 1 1 energy 2 2 focus 1 1 genre 2 1 3 gesture 1 2 3 locomotion 2 2 manner of performance 1 1 2 4 rel 1 3 2 1 7 shape 1 1 space 3 4 7 spatial configuration 1 1 stance 1 1 style 2 1 1 2 1 7 time 2 1 3
Passing
mov't entries n1 n2 n3 n8 n12 total body action 2 1 1 5 3 12 body parts 1 1 contact 2 1 1 4 energy 1 1 focus 1 1 flow 1 1 locomotion 3 3 manner of performance 1 4 1 2 4 12 Performer? space rel 1 1 quality 1 1 2 rel 4 1 8 6 19 space 6 2 1 2 11 spatial orientation 1 1 spatial path 1 1 style 1 1 time 1 2 1 4 vocabulary 1
467 Partial mov't entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 totals body action 1 1 4 1 1 3 11 body parts 2 1 4 7 body part rel 1 1 contact 1 1 2 4 direction 1 1 energy 1 1 focus 2 2 flow 1 2 2 5 genre 1 1 gesture 1 1 2 4 initiation 1 1 locomotion 1 3 4 manner of performance 2 3 5 rel 2 3 2 2 2 2 13 shape 1 1 2 space 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 8 style 1 1 2 time 1 2 1 4 unpredictability 1 1 variety 1 1 vocabulary 1 1
468 Carpe Diem mov't entries n2 n3 n6 n8 n9 n12totals body action 1 3 1 6 11 contact 1 1 duration 1 1 final image 1 1 focus 1 1 flow 1 2 1 4 gesture 1 1 2 level 1 1 2 locomotion 1 1 manner of performance 2 1 1 1 5 rel 1 2 3 (repetition) 1 1 shape 2 1 3 space 1 4 1 1 2 9 stillness 1 1 1 3 time 1 1 4 1 2 9
469 Circle Walker
mov't entries n1 n2 n3 n6 n7 n8 n9 n10 n12 totals body action 1 2 1 4 body part actions 1 1 body parts 3 3 6 body/set rel 1 1 cause and effect 1 1 degree of challenge 1 1 degree of difficulty 1 1 degree of risk 2 2 effect of body action 1 1 final image 1 1 flexibility 1 1 flow 1 1 genre 1 1 gesture 4 1 3 8 initiation 1 1 manner of performance 1 1 2 4 mov't/set rel 1 1 opening stance 1 1 performer/set rel 1 1 rel 1 1 space 2 1 1 1 5 stance 1 1 style 1 1 time 1 1
470