A Level Dance Welcome to the resources to help prepare you for Dance A Level at Cronton Sixth Form College. We are very much looking forward to seeing you at enrolment and for you to join our Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts in September.
In Year One you will study:
- The Origins of American Modern Dance (1900 – 1945) - Appalachian Spring (Martha Graham, 1944) - Approaches to choreography - Performance Skills In Year Two you will study:
- Rambert Dance Company (formerly Ballet Rambert) - 1966 – 2002 - Rooster (Christopher Bruce, 1991) - Group Choreography - Performance Skills in the style of specific practitioners Each A Level has three timetabled lessons per week as well as additional sessions (rehearsals, revision) and for A Level Dance two of your lessons plus all rehearsals will be timetabled in our new fully-mirrored dance studio with Harlequin sprung-floor, integrated sound-system and video projection and your theory lessons will take place in our very own performing arts classroom. Trips & Visits – as part of your dance studies you will have the opportunity to attend many theatre trips to local theatres such as The Lowry and Theatre Clwyd as well as venturing further afield to the West End in London and every two years we have an A Level Performing Arts trip to New York where we visit the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. We have also been involved in recent visits to UCLAN and Edge Hill University and we have many universities who come in and deliver workshops including Falmouth, UCLAN and The Arden. Extra-curricular activities – as an A level Dance student you will be part of our Centre of Excellence for Performing Arts where you will be encouraged to get involved in one or more of our three major productions each academic year which in the past have included Les Miserables, A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde, Copacabana, Evita and Phantom of the Opera. All of our major productions are performed in our very own 330 seat brand new theatre – The Cronton Playhouse.
A Level Dance Trip to Amsterdam where we spent the day with Netherlands Dance Theatre.
If you have any questions about enrolment then please speak to the school liaison team by emailing [email protected]
If you have any questions about studying A Level Dance then please contact Sharon Graham at [email protected]
Topic 1 – The Origins of American Modern Dance (1900 – 1945)
At the beginning of the 20th century America did not have a tradition of professional ballet and therefore innovators appeared who would contribute to the development of modern dance. There was more freedom in the costumes worn and the dances were performed barefoot to concert music. Female performers displaying strong, independent personalities emerged, such as Loie Fuller, who led the way in her use of modern stage lighting and Isadora Duncan who developed the use of natural movement. Ruth St Denis was interested in an eclectic range of styles and the Delsarte system, which was concerned with the relationship between movement and expression. Her partnership with Ted Shawn led to the creation of a dance company and the Denishawn school. Among the students of the school were Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman. American modern dance developed as a means of showing individualism and, in contrast to ballet, stressed angular asymmetries combined with aggressive and earthy qualities. In the early development of modern dance the importance of music and art was minimised. During the 1930s a new generation of dancers began to concern themselves with psychological and social issues in their choreography. Modern dance developed independently in America and Germany. Mary Wigman toured America in the 1930s and later sent Hanya Holm to America to open a branch of the Wigman school. After leaving Denishawn, Martha Graham began her own choreographic development, encouraged by Louis Horst. Her technique was based on the act of breathing and the principles of contraction and release. Following her years with Denishawn, Doris Humphrey established her own group with Charles Weidman. She based her technique on the principles of fall and recovery. The development of modern dance was helped by the support of American universities such as Bennington, which helped to accelerate the acceptance of modern dance as a distinct art form.
Below are a range of websites that would be useful to support your understanding of the early developments in American Modern Dance
First Generation American Modern Dance Practitioners:
Isadora Duncan: https://isadoraduncan.org/foundation/isadora-duncan/
Loie Fuller: http://timelapsedance.com/about/loie-fuller/
Ruth St. Denis: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ruth-St-Denis
Second Generation American Modern Dance Practitioners:
Doris Humphrey: https://www.pitt.edu/~gillis/dance/doris.html
Martha Graham: https://marthagraham.org/
Once you have read about each of the American Modern Dance pioneers you can fill this helpful table in below which will prove useful when it comes to studying the practitioners in more detail (I have started the first one for you):
Practitioner Movement Style & Characteristics Themes Explored in work Important Dance works created by the practitioner
Isadora Duncan Free dance, no set vocabulary or Greek Mythology, real-life Dance of the Furies (1905) technique, spontaneous and often emotions and events, personal March Funebre (1913) looked improvised, dance was an themes expression of self.
Loie Fuller
Ruth St. Denis
Doris Humphrey
Martha Graham
Topic 2 – Rambert Dance Company (formerly Ballet Rambert) 1966 – 2002
The 1960s saw the start of a process to introduce modern dance to Britain. Ballet Rambert played a key part in this development and 1966 heralded a period of change in the company. Marie Rambert was encouraged by Norman Morrice, associate director, to make changes to the company, relating to the company size, the preservation and creation of works, the inclusion of Graham technique in the dancers’ training, the involvement of guest choreographers and teachers, and the development of the touring schedule. When Morrice left in 1974, John Chesworth continued Morrice’s policies with the promotion of new work from company members and the expansion of the repertoire through guest choreographers. He was also instrumental in developing Rambert’s educational activities. Christopher Bruce became associate director in 1975 and then associate choreographer in 1979. From 1975 to 1985 there were links between Ballet Rambert and London Contemporary Dance Theatre through the use of choreographers eg Robert North and Richard Alston. In the 1980s the repertoire of Ballet Rambert focused on the work of three British choreographers: North, Bruce and Alston. North directed the company from 1981 to 1986 and was keen to develop the physicality, musicality and dramatic quality of the dancers. Alston became resident choreographer in 1980 and artistic director in 1986, consolidating the Cunningham influence. The name of the company changed to Rambert Dance Company in 1987. Bruce returned to the company in 1994 as artistic director until 2002 and continued its development with the inclusion of a range of techniques, new works, guest choreographers and a repertoire of neo-classical and modern works.
Below are a range of websites that would be useful to support your understanding of developments at Rambert between 1966 - 2002
Rambert Dance Company: https://www.rambert.org.uk/
Robert North: https://www.rambert.org.uk/performance-database/people/robert-north/
Richard Alston: https://www.richardalstondance.com/richard-alston-dance-company-touring-contemporary-dance-company
Christopher Bruce: https://www.rambert.org.uk/performance-database/people/christopher-bruce/
Once you have read about each of the practitioners associated with Rambert you can fill this helpful table in below which will prove useful when it comes to studying the practitioners in more detail:
Practitioner Movement Style & Characteristics Themes Explored in work Important Dance works created by the practitioner
Robert North
Richard Alston
Christopher Bruce
Technical & Performance Skills
As you will have limited access to dance classes at this time it is really important that you are keeping active during this period so please find below a links to an ‘at home’ technique class that you may wish to try at home (only complete the exercises if you are fit and well enough to do so and modify exercises according to how much space you have).
James Wilton at home class:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJjETIHOcSQ
Martha Graham Vocabulary: “19 poses for the 19th amendment” – an opportunity to learn some Martha Graham vocabulary which will help your understanding when you come to study Graham as part of your A level Dance course. You may even end up using some of the movements in your own solo performance exam in year 2!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyQsSc-eFK0