DANC 101 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 4 Lecture 1 Definitions 1 Raking of the Stage or the Audience Space where the seats ascend upwards 2 Proscenium Stage performers separated from audience by wall curtain Cutout is the arch where you can see the performance 3 Arena Stage Williams Bryce sunken stage 4 Center stage the most powerful point on the stage or the place that draws the most focus 5 Downstage any space in front of center stage closest to the audience 6 Upstage any space behind center stage furthest from the audience 7 Stage right from the dancers perspective facing the audience any space on the right 8 Stage left from the dancers perspective facing the audience any space on the left 9 Apron area in front of the closed curtains where people can still perform orchestra can come up and be in level with this area It is difficult to light 10 Cyclorama cyc was a circular thing it is hung upstage It is opaque made with duck cloth It is always white so that the lights are reflected to the audience Allows performers to go from side to side without being seen 11 Scrim hung anywhere on the stage in front of the cyc depending on how its going to be used loosely woven black mesh that you can see through Helps you focus light bounces off of it 12 Backdrops back of performance give a performance a theme or scenario 13 Wings offstage right and left 14 Legs curtains that hang down several depending on the stage size 15 Borders short curtains that hang up above the stage they frame the stage 16 Batons steel or composite metal poles that are at the top of the stage unit Legs borders cyc scrim backdrop lights 17 Trees if it is in the wings it is hung on trees Lights are hung on three levels facial or top shin busters and mid trees are grounded 18 Orchestra Pit in front of the apron can be raised to be even with it however it usually is down 19 Light Booth in the upstage audience downstage actors Operators sit side by side in the booth By hand 20 Spot for Dancers a focal point by the light booth so a dancer can turn spin etc without getting dizzy Always red 21 Lighting essential to every performance Front Light flattens you out Back Light halo effect Top Light hits top makes circle Side Light most natural gives 3 dimensional Directional Light Spotlight humanly operated have to know choreography and pay attention so dancer is always lit 22 Specials circles of light showcase areas not specific dancers 23 Color makes big difference most flattering is a light pink kind of flesh tone works for every skin tone 24 Gels over 900 colors made with acrylic material and the gels color the lights 25 26 Set Pieces brought in and carried out primarily by the stage crew stairs bed table and chairs Props dancers carry on and off with them they use them in dance Gobos Color of Lights Indicates Mood Time of Day Location NOT genre or music Live Music versus Recorded Music live doesn t happen that much it is expensive but it is a better experience Artistic Collaborators Lighting Designer electricians who belong to the union Costume Designer tutus and leotards street clothes body sacks exc Set and Scenic Designer stage placement how props are going to be moved set etc Composers and Musicians if dance has original music PRIMITIVE PERIOD Up to 3 000 B C before we spoke read conversed Earliest art form evidence in caves in France All cultures all classes it is indigenous to the human being Dances of Imitation creatures especially birds Imitation Often of Nature wind water fire rain earth etc or Living Creatures birds wolves bears etc Celebration birth harvest hunt death sun Celebration Dances include those to honor births deaths marriages coming of age etc Initiation into adulthood trials Medicine to heal Medicine Dances performed to appease the gods ward off evil spirits and protect individuals or groups from danger or disease Commemoration passing ancestors things in the past Spiritual Connection to communicate to gods Dances with Spiritual Significance also done to honor or appease the gods and to give thanks for rain sun a good harvest a good hunt etc Primitive Music chanting bells rattles early variations on drums and reed instruments very basic Facts of early primitive dance Costumes or Clothing were often animal skins hides and fur feathers Dancers were predominately male Women fed and cared for children Patterns were often circular circle of life Movements or steps were natural not technical and included running hopping skipping jumping leaping twirling tumbling walking rocking undulating swaying stomping etc DANCE WAS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE before the advent of spoken language Proof that dance existed in primitive cultures is found in a series of rock cave paintings from the Paleolithic Age 30 000 10 000 B C E a painting in a tomb depicted a harvest dance Dances were often ritualistic and passed down or taught in the absence of a common verbal language the movement of the body could express thoughts and feeling No narrative in the early dances of the primitive period THE ANCIENT PERIOD 3 000 B C to 400 A D Periods or Eras overlapped with aesthetic sensibilities permeating each successive era Civilizations began to develop spoken language written language organized religion centralized governments class systems artistic advancements in theater literature music visual arts and dance Greece o Apollonian dance praised Apollo the sun God and Dionysus the god of wine and Dionysian dance a pyrrhic tradition A pyrrhiche or pyrrhic tradition Greece Rome and China military patterns on a battlefield slaves Strongest military leaders were required to take dance while home Rome o Mime mime also pyrrhic traditions o Center of civilization o Creating roads bridges and water systems o Formal language and a written connection formed o Created better and more sophisticated instruments o Dance was more meaningful and there were more organized religions China o Court Dance the upper class dance was ballet o Dragon dance literature o Lion dance powerful existed in a community o The Silk Road sold and traded far and wide so they traveled a lot and danced about it o Bharata Natyam an ancient temple dance still practiced today that required grace skill and stamina known for exact head and eye gestures intricate footwork and symbolism 1940s Temple dance approved for secular viewing academia and in the theatre Areas of Ancient Civilization included the Middle East Asia Africa the Mediterranean Greece and Rome heavy duty
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