Dance Composition: A Practical Guide to Creative Success in Dance Making (Performance Books)

✍ Scribed by Jacqueline M. Smith-Autard

• Publisher: Methuen Drama
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 257
• Series: Performance Books
• Edition: Pap/DVD
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

Dance composition – the discipline that translates ideas into dances – is an important part of dance education. This book, a bestseller for over twenty years, is a practical guide to creative success in dance making and is a popular textbook for all those who are interested in dance composition, from secondary school to university.  This new edition includes a DVD with video taken from Choreographic Outcomes, a groundbreaking advanced technology resource pack aimed at comprehensively improving students' choreography. The book has been revised, redesigned and expanded. Reference to the DVD examples are made throughout the book and new assignments based on the video material are included.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover......Page 1
Contents......Page 4
Preface......Page 7
Acknowledgements......Page 9
Introduction......Page 10
Dancing and composing dances......Page 12
Dance as art......Page 13
Methods of construction......Page 14
The nature of dance composition......Page 15
Teaching dance composition......Page 17
Section 1......Page 24
The basic language of movement......Page 26
Choice of content......Page 27
Literal movement into dance content......Page 30
Exploring a range of movement......Page 31
Movement and meaning......Page 32
Stylising the material content......Page 34
Section 2......Page 36
Stimuli for dance......Page 38
Types of dances......Page 41
Mode of presentation......Page 45
Improvisation......Page 46
Arrangement of material......Page 50
What is a motif?......Page 51
Development and variation of a motif......Page 52
Repetition as a constructional element......Page 54
Types of motif......Page 57
The dance design in time......Page 59
The dance design in space......Page 60
Motif in composition......Page 63
The group as an expressive element......Page 64
The time aspect......Page 65
The space aspect......Page 70
Design in time......Page 75
Organisation of the form......Page 78
Motifs......Page 82
Variation and contrasts......Page 83
Climax or highlights......Page 84
Proportion and balance......Page 86
Logical development......Page 87
Unity......Page 88
Understanding the term style......Page 90
Factors affecting the style of a dance......Page 91
How to stylise a dance......Page 95
Meaning of terms - improvisation and exploration......Page 98
Free and limited improvisation......Page 100
Improvisation in framework compositions......Page 104
Guiding improvisation visually......Page 106
Improvisation as process in composition......Page 108
The role of evaluation in improvisation......Page 109
Meaning of terms......Page 111
Alternative movement contents and eclectic trends......Page 112
Themes and reading of themes......Page 117
Alternative and experimental approaches to dance composition......Page 121
Section 3......Page 130
The creative process......Page 132
Phases in creativity......Page 136
The creative process in dance composition – an example......Page 137
Phase 1 – the impulse to create......Page 138
Phase 2 – working with the medium......Page 140
Phase 3 – realising the final form......Page 142
Phase 4 – presentation and performance, and Phase 5 – response and evalution......Page 145
Summary and conclusion......Page 146
Section 4......Page 150
Resource-based teaching/learning......Page 152
New technologies......Page 155
Differences in use of DVD and CD-ROM/DVD-ROM technologies......Page 156
A CD-ROM resource: Chorographic Outcomes – improving dance composition......Page 157
Resource-based teaching/learning – practical assignments using the DVD......Page 166
Resource-based teaching/learning using new technologies......Page 180
Section 5......Page 184
Performance to deepen understanding of composition......Page 186
Aims of this section......Page 187
Methods of improving dance performance......Page 189
A DVD-ROM resource: Vocalise – improving dance performance......Page 192
Resource-based teaching/learning – practical assignments using the DVD......Page 197
Section 6......Page 218
Imagination and intuition......Page 220
Imagination in relation to the stimulus......Page 221
Imagination during composition......Page 222
Intuition......Page 224
Evaluations......Page 227
Conclusion......Page 238
References......Page 242
Technology resources......Page 248
B......Page 252
E......Page 253
J......Page 254
P......Page 255
U......Page 256
W......Page 257