DANCE APPRECIATION LECTURE OUTLINE – WEEK ONEImportant to Mark Calendars Now for Mandatory Performances Submit Athletic Department Schedules ImmediatelyNote that posting of lecture outlines on blackboard will be made by the weekend prior to the scheduled week of classes. Save these to use as study guides for exams and quizzes.General Stage/Theatre InformationProscenium Stage - Arena StageStage Directions – From Perspective of Performers – Downstage, Upstage, Stage Right, Stage Left, Center Stage, Gradation of Stage DirectionsApronCyclorama (cyc)ScrimBackdropsRaking of the Stage or the Audience SpaceWings – Legs - BordersBatons - TreesOrchestra PitLight Booth“Spot” for DancersLighting: Front Light, Back Light, Side Light, Overhead Light, Directional Light Spotlight, Specials, Color, Gels, GobosColor of Lights Indicates Mood, Time of Day, LocationLive Music versus Recorded MusicSet Pieces – PropsArtistic Collaborators:Lighting Designer, Costume Designer, Set and Scenic Designer, Composers and Musicians, Other CollaborationsPrimitive Period – Up to 3,000 B.C.Dances of: Imitation Celebration Initiation Medicine Commeration Spiritual Connection Imitation Often of Nature (wind, water, fire, rain, earth, etc.) or Living Creatures (birds, wolves, bears, etc.) Primitive Music – chanting, bells, rattles, early variations on drums and reed instrumentsCostumes or Clothing often animal skins, hides and fur, feathersDancers were predominately malePatterns were often circularMovements or steps were natural, not technical, and included running, hopping, skipping,jumping, leaping, twirling, tumbling, walking, rocking, undulating, swaying, etc.Celebration Dances include those to honor births, deaths, marriages, coming of age, etc.Medicine Dances performed to appease the gods, ward off evil spirits and protect individuals or groups from danger or diseaseDances 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.DANCE WAS A WAY TO COMMUNICATE before the advent of spoken languageProof 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 danceDances 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 feelingNo narrative in the early dances of the primitive periodTHE ANCIENT PERIOD – 3,000 B.C. to 400 A.D.Periods or Eras overlapped with aesthetic sensibilities permeating each successive eraCivilizations began to develop: spoken language, written language, organized religion, centralized governments, class systems, artistic advancements in theater, literature, music,visual arts and danceGreece – Apollonian dance and Dionysian dance; a pyrrhiche or pyrrhic traditionRome – Mime, Pantomime, pyrrhic traditionChina – Court Dance, Dragon dance, Lion dance, the Silk Road “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 symbolism1940s – Temple dance approved for secular viewing – academia and in the theatreAreas of Ancient Civilization included the Middle East, Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean, Greece and RomeDancers often were womenDances often geometrical and symmetrical – representing a balance between soul, body and mind and a balance in the cosmosDance still honoring or paying homage to the gods and consistently being used to communicateText:Part l – The Art of Dance – Chapter 1 – “Dance as an Art Form”Part 4 – Related Topics – Chapter 11 – “Dance Production: Behind the Scenes of a Dance Concert”VideoDancing: The Power of DanceAmerican Indian Dance TheatreClassical Indian