Between Commercial Dance and Dance in Higher Education
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE Bridging the Gap: Between Commercial Dance and Dance in Higher Education THESIS submitted in part partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF FINE ARTS in Dance by Christian John-Devi Vincent Thesis Committee: Associate Professor Loretta Livingston, Chair Professor Mary Corey Assistant Professor Sheron Wray 2015 ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ©!2015!Christian!John1Devi!Vincent! ! DEDICATION) ) ! TO!! ! ! Manzella!Vincent,!Benjamin!Vincent!and!Benjamin!Vincent!Jr.! ! ! in!recognition!of!their!love!and!continued!support.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ) ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv ABSTRACT!OF!THESIS v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER!1:!!THE!FOUNDATIONAL!FORMS!OF!COMMERCIAL!DANCE! 5 ! CHAPTER!2:!!SPECIALTY!SKILLS!AND!SUPPLEMENTAL!CLASSES!FOR! 17 THE!COMMERCIAL!DANCER! ! CHAPTER!3:!!FEMININITY!AND!MASCULINITY!IN!COMMERCIAL!DANCE! 28 ! CHAPTER!4:!!THE!USE!OF!HAIR,!HEELS,!AND!THE!FACE!IN! 44 COMMERCIAL!DANCE! ! CONCLUSIONS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ) ) iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS) I!would!like!to!express!my!sincerest!appreciation!to!all!the!dance!teachers,!professors! and!educators!that!have!taken!a!genuine!interest!in!my!education!and!improvement!over! the!years.! I!thank!the!dance!professionals!Carmit!Bachar,!Brian!Friedman,!Lauren!Gaul,!JoAnn! Hunter,!Scott!Jovavich,!Lisa!Lindholm,!Terry!Lindholm,!Rhonda!Miller,!Elizabeth!(Liz)! Ramos,!Desmond!Richardson,!Jamal!Sims,!Jamal!Story,!and!Charlie!Sutton!for!taking!part!in! this!research.!! I!am!thankful!to!the!University!of!California,!Irvine!dance!department!faculty,!for!their! positive!contributions!to!my!research!knowingly!and!unknowingly.!The!information!I!have! gained!from!each!and!every!faculty!member!has!enhanced!my!dance!life.! I!thank!Professor!Mary!Corey!and!Assistant!Professor!Sheron!Wray!for!agreeing!to!be! on!my!thesis!committee.!Their!intelligence!and!in1depth!understanding!of!dance! historically!and!culturally!is!truly!admirable!and!has!enhanced!my!research.!! My!deepest!appreciation!goes!to!my!thesis!Chair,!Associate!Professor,!Loretta! Livingston,!for!not!only!being!an!exemplary!educator!but!also!an!incredible!human!being.! She!has!been!a!supportive,!understanding,!intuitive!and!efficient!mentor.!I!feel!fortunate! that!I!was!under!her!guidance!throughout!my!research.! Lastly,!I!thank!my!mother!Manzella!Vincent,!father!Benjamin!Vincent,!and!brother! Benjamin!Vincent!Jr.!They!have!been!a!source!of!constant!love!and!support!in!my!life.!! ! ! ! ) ) iv ABSTRACT)OF)THE)THESIS) ) Bridging!the!Gap:!Between!Commercial!Dance!and!Dance!in!Higher!Education! By:! Christian!John1Devi!Vincent! Master!of!Fine!Arts!in!Dance! University!of!California,!Irvine,!2015! Loretta!Livingston,!Chair! ! Commercial!dance!is!employment!in!which!dancers!are!hired!to!perform!in!and!on! film!and!TV,!music!videos,!corporate!events,!advertising!campaigns,!musical!artist’s!tours,! exhibitions,!industrials,!Broadway!and!for1profit!venues!such!as!Las!Vegas!nightclubs.! Many!dance!programs!in!higher!education!have!a!concert!dance!focus!(ballet!and!modern),! and!do!not!have!a!curriculum!that!fully!prepares!dancers!for!the!commercial!dance!sphere.!! Arts!based!qualitative!research!was!utilized!for!the!pedagogical!intent!of!furthering! dancers’!knowledge!with!regard!to!commercial!dance,!so!that!they!have!an!embodied! understanding!and!can!make!a!living!in!the!field.!!Interviews!were!conducted!with!dance! professionals!Carmit!Bachar,!Brian!Friedman,!Lauren!Gaul,!JoAnn!Hunter,!Scott!Jovavich,! Lisa!Lindholm,!Terry!Lindholm,!Rhonda!Miller,!Elizabeth!(Liz)!Ramos,!Desmond! Richardson,!Jamal!Sims,!Jamal!Story,!and!Charlie!Sutton.!The!interviews!with!the! professionals!gave!rise!to!pertinent!topics!and!information!that!can!help!create!more! versatile!and!marketable!dancers!for!all!facets!of!the!commercial!dance!world,!and!be! implemented!into!university!dance!departments. v Introduction !My inspiration to be a professional dancer was first and foremost motivated by all types of music. The first time I really responded to music through dance was at the age of three. My mother had taken me to an Earth,Wind & Fire concert and she said I danced all night in the stadium until I blackened my little, white socks. Growing up, I was also inspired by popular media and pop music icons. I watched music videos of Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Madonna and Paula Abdul, and these images inspired my desire to dance on film and tour around the world with recording artists. My mother put me in tap dance classes which led to my desire to study jazz, hip-hop, ballet, modern, Latin dance, and various forms of vernacular dance. Who knew that years later, as a professional dancer, I would dance in stadiums around the globe, performing onstage with world renowned artists like Madonna, Britney Spears, Shakira, Ricky Martin, Prince, and Gloria Estefan. What caught my attention as a child was the union of my body rhythmically moving to music, and the sense of belonging and community I felt when dancing with others who seemed to experience the same feeling. It was the feeling of the union of my spirit, the music and community, all mixed together that filled my soul. What caught my attention as a young dancer in my formative years was the look of strong, attractive dancers in films, music videos and on television, dancing with artists to whom I loved to listen, while almost appearing super human doing so. However, what I capitalized on as a performer as an adult was my versatile training and ability across various forms of classical and vernacular forms of dance, as well as my capacity to create an appropriate image for whatever dance job I sought to attain. The energy (spirit) I feel when I dance, my love for dance on film and for musical artists, along with my 1 versatility and ability to portray a strong physical image, are the attributes that make me valuable in the commercial dance world. By “commercial dance” I am referring to dance employment in which dancers are hired to perform in and on film and TV, music videos, corporate events, advertising campaigns, musical artist’s tours, exhibitions, industrials, Broadway, and for-profit venues such as Las Vegas nightclubs (Guarino and Oliver 28). For years I enjoyed a career dancing, choreographing for film, television and stage work, acting predominantly on film and television and touring with artists. I attribute much of my sustaining success to my diversified dance training in both concert and commercial dance. Education has always been an important part of my progression in the dance world. I earned my Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from the concert based dance program at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. My undergraduate college level dance education was invaluable because it broadened my concepts of dance, improved my skills in classical dance forms like modern and ballet, made me a more knowledgeable and articulate dance educator, and gave me a degree that has benefitted me in education and employment. Conversely, my undergraduate education in a primarily concert based program did not fully prepare me for the commercial dance realm. My college training supplemented the commercial training I received from commercial dance studios, workshops and intensives. While earning my master’s degree at the dance department of the University of California, Irvine, I started to ponder what information/training dancers should be receiving to work in the commercial dance sector. While teaching many young dancers across the United States and Canada, I found that many of them found it challenging to find college level dance programs with a commercial dance focused curriculum. In addition, I personally encountered 2 many dance educators at the college level who had a limited knowledge of dance outside of the realms of ballet or modern, not to mention a somewhat negative attitude to dance which did not fall in the realm of concert dance. While researching my thesis, I was told by two educators in higher education that university dance is for the maintenance of the classics and not for commerce. However, I believe that dance curricula can be expanded to include training that would help inform dancers seeking an education to advance them into a commercial dance career. Given my history in university dance programs and commercial dance, I am interested in furthering dancers’ knowledge with regard to commercial dance styles and topics, so that they have an embodied understanding, and, moreover, can make a living in the field. I am hoping to contribute information that may supplement programs that are concert dance centered, thus creating more marketable dance professionals that can compete in the ever–changing concert and commercial dance worlds. Simply, I want to see young dancers with the same aspirations I had be prepared to enable their dreams to come to fruition through dance education at the university level. The purpose of this study is to understand what skills emergent dance artists must have to successfully work in the commercial dance world. The data was compiled through interviews conducted with thirteen commercial dance professionals (dancers, agents, choreographers, teachers). In addition, I have added my own stance or anecdotal information drawing from my seventeen-year career as a commercial dance professional. Once these skills are identified, they could be implemented in American dance degree granting programs interested in preparing