Synthesizing Dance and Conducting Pedagogy for Heightened Creativity
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Inspiring Sound: Synthesizing Dance and Conducting Pedagogy for Heightened Creativity on the Podium By Matthew Dean Schlomer A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts (Wind Conducting) at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON 2012 Date of final oral examination: 2/7/12 The dissertation is approved by the following members of the Final Oral Committee: Scott D. Teeple, Associate Professor, School of Music James Smith, Professor, School of Music Dr. Teryl Dobbs, Assistant Professor, School of Music/Department of Curriculum & Instruction Kate Corby, Assistant Professor, Department of Dance Mary A. Brennan, Professor Emerita, Department of Dance i To my wife, Katie, and children, Claudia, Roy, and Evelyn. You have not only made this endeavor possible, but a wonderful journey we have shared together. Thank you for your tremendous support. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank: my mentor, advisor, and colleague, Scott Teeple, for his profound artistry and unwavering encouragement to seek out new information and opportunities; Dr. Mary “Buff” Brennan for her insights, sense of adventure, and the most delightful conversations in Lathrop Hall; Professor Kate Corby and Mary Hayne for your creative and patient instruction in moving the body expressively; Dr. Teryl Dobbs for your high standards and warm encouragement; and Professor James Smith for your mentorship and generosity of time and insight. I would also like to acknowledge my family and friends that helped and encouraged me in so many ways during the writing process: Gabriel and Christine Reilly, David and Michelle Schlomer, Paul Schlomer and Erin Grunze, David and Sarah Melander, David (Billy) Hagedorn and Marjolein Eweg, my parents Duane and Barbara Schlomer, Harold and Kathleen Hagedorn, and my colleagues and friends, Erik Jester and Paul Bhasin. iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .....................................................................................................ii CHAPTER ONE Introduction............................................................................................................................1 Need for Study..................................................................................................................3 Questions...........................................................................................................................5 CHAPTER TWO Literature Review-Conducting .............................................................................................6 Summary................................................................................................................................31 CHAPTER THREE Dance Pedagogy in Higher Education ..................................................................................33 Margaret H’Doubler..........................................................................................................38 Summary...........................................................................................................................49 CHAPTER FOUR Dance Curriculum ................................................................................................................51 Movement Analysis .........................................................................................................54 Somatics ...........................................................................................................................67 Dance Improvisation ........................................................................................................77 Summary............................................................................................................................84 CHAPTER FIVE Implications for Conducting Pedagogy .................................................................................86 Margaret H’Doubler .........................................................................................................88 Movement Analysis .........................................................................................................89 Somatic Learning .............................................................................................................93 Dance Improvisation ........................................................................................................100 Summary...........................................................................................................................102 CHAPTER SIX Conclusion and Implications..................................................................................................104 Implications for Future Scholarship..................................................................................109 Closing Remarks ..............................................................................................................112 APPENDIX ...........................................................................................................................114 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................................116 iv TABLES 1 Undergraduate Dance Curriculum: University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2010-2011 53 2 Traits associated to the Bartenieff Connectivity Patterns 58 3 Rudolf Laban’s Effort States 62 4 Rudolf Laban’s Action Drives 62 5 Integrating Bartenieff Connectivity Patterns into Traditional Conducting Texts 96 v FIGURE 1 Developing and Sharing the Internal Image Via Physical Expression 11 1 CHAPTER ONE Introduction The mysteries of the soul are revealed in the movements of the body. –Michelangelo 1 Conducting is an art where sound is influenced through physical manifestations born in silence. Translating aural imagery into physical gestures is often left to intuition with some saying only the naturally coordinated can become renowned conductors. 2 Many studies of conducting dissect the movement components of the successful conductor, but they address the necessary skills from the standpoint of a musician who has learned to move like a conductor. I believe the ideal is for a conductor to become an expert of expressive movement who is motivated by a profound understanding of the music.3 My project examines pedagogical discourse regarding teaching movement and the use of the body in conducting. Conducting scholarship based on Laban’s (1942) movement theories are explored and interrogated (Aubin, 2010; Bartee, 1997; Billingham, 2001; Gambetta, 2005; Hibbard, 1994; Miller, 1988; Yontz, 2001). Next, this body of information is compared to the pedagogy and scholarship in the discipline of dance, especially the development of skillful and expressive movement (Brehm, 1988; Brehm and McNett, 2008; Campbell, 2004; Kassing and Jay, 2003; Wilson, Hagood, and Brennan, 2006). Finally, I will present the implications of my project and the possibilities for incorporating dance pedagogy into conducting pedagogy. 1 Mary Bond, The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit, Stand, and Move in the Modern World (Rochester: Healing Arts Press, 2007), 16. 2 Erich Leinsdorf (1981) refused to teach conducting, saying, “the motions are of no consequence.” (p. 169). Emily Green addresses this misconception in her 1961 article, “On the Teaching of Conducting,” in the Music Educators Journal. 3 Haynes (1994) makes a full review of conducting textbooks to analyze their approach to non-technical, or expressive, conducting. 2 The traditional path to becoming a conductor varies in training but, with almost no exceptions, begins by performing on an instrument or voice at a high level (Sousa, 1988; Champman, 2008). As performers step into conducting roles, most struggle to express their musical ideas physically; subsequently, the capacity of their music-making is considerably less than they possess on their original instrument (Spencer, 2000). Conducting pedagogy is a relatively young discipline, joining higher education after World War II (Baker, 1992). The method of conducting pedagogy adopted in this era became more objective and is now considered traditional conducting pedagogy. Traditional conducting pedagogy addresses the transitional awkwardness from instrument to podium by teaching beat patterns and conventions to manage a variety of organizational situations: fermati , tempo changes, etc. (Baker, 1992). Unfortunately, by the time conducting students reach the point of performing an entire work, they are confined by patterns or have isolated portions of their body to compensate for their lack of coordination. The music’s expression is far from the conductor’s mind and a sense of expressive helplessness leaves them and their ensembles artistically unfulfilled. 4 The ultimate impact of gesture is the sound it creates. Informal observation reveals that many conductors have the ability to use purely technical gestures, and obtain barely a minimal level of success. This lack of proficiency in displaying and evoking expression hinders the ensemble from truly reaching its potential, however. Although a conductor may have spent time mastering the score through recordings, hours at the keyboard, and in rehearsal, he is unable to communicate to the ensemble his or her image of the sound or the composer’s intent. 5 Although able to perform maturely on the musical instrument they have studied for years, a beginning conductor’s physical representation of the music is more elementary and 4 Alan Lee Baker, “Creating Conductors: An Analysis of Conducting Pedagogy in American