Dance Stage 2 Work Samples

Transcription

1 Dance Stage 2 Work Samples SAMPLE Assessment Outline Unit 2A DANCE (2013): POPULAR CULTURE (Time allocation: 3 x approx 80 minute sessions per week for approximately 15 weeks, sequential delivery) Assessment type Assessment type Due dates Outcomes coverage O1 O2 O3 O4 Performance/ Production (P/P) 50% (40 60% 1 CONTEMPORARY DANCE Part A Contemporary dance technique, performance, safe dance and journal Part B Practical exam (set solo work, structured improvisation & interview) 2 CULTURAL DANCE Spanish & Indian dance technique, performance, safe dance group class dance 3 SMALL GROUP CHOREOGRAPHY Communication of ideas, choreography, team work, performance, design and process records, production role and evaluation of own dance work (showing popular culture from a time period) Week 2 Term 2 Exam week (in Semester One) Week 2 Term 2 Week 2 Term 2 & Week 3 Term 2 Marks = 57 Marks = 65 Marks = 52 20% Marks = 30 30% 4 CRITICAL REVIEW A critique of the dance work Ochres by Bangarra Week 6 Term 1 Marks = 42 Response (R) 5 EXAM Written exam all content of Unit 2A Exam week (in Semester One) Marks = EXTENDED ANSWER Part B In-class extended answer question based on research from the case studies Week 11 Term 1 5% Marks = 30 Investigation (I) 20% 6 CASE STUDIES Part A (i) Case study on an Australian Dance Company ADT (ii) Case study on choreographer Graeme Murphy Week 10 Term 1 Week 8 Term 1 Both Marks = 14

2 SAMPLE Assessment Outline MANEA SENIOR COLLEGE Unit 2B DANCE (2013): AUSTRALIAN DANCE (Time allocation: 3 x approx. 80 minute sessions per week for approximately 15 weeks, sequential delivery) Assessment type Assessment type Due dates Outcomes coverage O1 O2 O3 O4 1 CONTEMPORARY DANCE Mock practical exam - Extended sequence in genre of own choice (+ process records) - Set solo work - Structured improvisation - Interview (+ journal responses to interview Qs) Prac Exam 100 Marks Performance/ Production (P/P) 50% (40 60% 2 Ballet Technique A series of exercises and sequences in Classical Ballet technique 3 SMALL GROUP CHOREOGRAPHY & WARMUP/COOLDOWN Part A Communication of ideas, choreography, team work, performance, design and process records production role and evaluation of own dance work (set solo as a group dance) Part B Design and present a safe dance warm up or cool down (jazz or contemporary dance) Week 1 Term 4 Week 9 Term 3 Term 3 (through) 52 marks 30 Marks 20 Marks Response (R) 30% 4 CRITICAL REVIEW Critical review and evaluation of a dance work Australian Dance Theatre BREC 5 WRITTEN EXAM Written exam (on whole Dance course) Week 5 Term 3 Exam week 40 Marks 100 marks 6 EXTENDED ANSWER Part B In-class extended answer question based on research from the case studies Week 9 Term 3 5% 30 Marks Investigation (I) 20% 6 CASE STUDIES PART A (i) Case study Bangarra Dance Company (ii) Case study on Garry Stewart and - His contribution to Australian dance Week 6 Term 3 Week 8 Term 3 Both 12 marks

3 2013 Eisteddfod Participation

4 Theory Component - Sample Australian Dance Theatre Australian Dance Theatre (ADT) is Australia's oldest and most prestigious professional contemporary dance company. It is one of the first full-time professional dance companies that travels overseas. The Australian Dance Theatre s style is very diverse, influential and thought-provoking and their dance works cover various topics and themes. It has broadened horizons for dance in Australia and gathered a wide audience base. 1. Where is the company based? The Australian Dance Theatre was first established in Adelaide, South Australia and is still there today. 2. What genre and style does the company perform? The main genre of dance that they perform is contemporary but with fusions of gymnastics, martial arts and breakdancing. 3. The history and development of the company ~When was the company formed? It was established in 1965 by Elizabeth Dalman. ~Why was the company formed? Although Elizabeth Dalman already had another dance company that she owned and ran, she wanted to open a company that is cutting edge and will open the horizons for provocative contemporary dance. It also allowed people the opportunity learn dance at a higher level. ~What does the company do? Who is their target audience? The aim of the company is to entertain its audiences with innovative and stimulating productions and to get the general public to learn to love dance. Today the company attracts a fairly extensive audience ranging from the young to elderly. ~How is the company funded? Surviving initially on box office takings, sponsorship from company members and income from the Elizabeth Dalman School of Modern Dance, the company built a significant repertoire and Australian audience base which enticed funding from state and federal governments. The company offers educational classes to the general public and also gets income from tours and performances. ~Who is the present artistic director? Garry Stewart is the present director and has been for the last 13 years. He started his first dance training at the Sydney City Ballet Academy in 1983 and then moved onto the Australian Ballet School a year later. His first time choreographing was a piece for Australian Ballet School called Untitled. He has danced with the Queensland Ballet, Expressions Dance Company, The One Extra Dance Company and The Sydney Theatre Company. Stewart has worked on many independent projects and as a freelance choreographer.

5 ~Who were the previous artistic directors, what duration were there directorships, what was the company s style under their directorship and what were there famous works? Elizabeth Dalman was the first artistic director of the Australian Dance Theatre from 1965 to 1975 and she also choreographed the company s first piece Hallucinations (1966). In the company s halcyon years of 1977 to 1985, Jonathon Taylor was in control. Leigh Warren was in power of the company in 1987 to 1992 where he made the company more experimental and different. The company s most innovative years were guided by Meryl Tankard in 1993 to 1999 which was then passed onto the short-term artistic director, Bill Pengelly who was in directorship from May until December The company s current director is Garry Stewart who has been in directorship since ~How and why has the company changed over time? The company has gone through numerous changes since it was first funded in 1965, and these alterations have developed the company into what it is today. The Australian Dance Theatre has gone through several artistic directors with each being completely different from the other. Each director changed and moulded the company to their own personal style and how they thought the company should be focused. Also details such as costuming, lighting, staging, props and music have developed and changed over time. When the company was first funded in 1965 they wouldn t of had the same ideas and resources that they would today. As the technology and talent developed in the arts industry so did the company as they would become more and more available to the visions that they would have in their head. ~How many dancers are in the current company, what is their dance background? There are currently 9 dancers in the company; Kimball Wong, Daniel Jaber, Kyle Page, Amber Haines, Jessica Hesketh, Scott Ewen, Zoë Dunwoodie, Matt Roffe and Samantha Hines. All of the dancers have a background of classical and contemporary dance with only some taken interest in other genres. Kimball started his dance training by studying A levels in Performing Arts and Dance and then going on to completing a three year diploma in Performing Arts. He joined The Australian Dance Theatre in 2007 and has been involved in over 11 productions. Daniel joined Australian Dance Theatre in 2004 at the age of 18 and has created two works for the company. Kyle studied dance at the Australian Dance Performance Institute, and has since achieved a Bachelor Degree through the Adelaide College of the Arts and united with The Australian Dance Theatre in Amber trained at the Victorian College of the Arts, graduating in 2006 as the recipient of the Mary Orloff Prize for Most Outstanding Dancer. She officially joined the Australian Dance Theatre in Jessica started her dance training at the Brent Street Studios' Talent Development High School and continued her studies at Ev and Bow Dance Training Centre. She was the runner up in the final of the 2009 season of So You Think You Can Dance. Scott trained at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (Dance) and a Certificate II in Music Theatre. In his concluding year, Scott received the Hawaiian Dance Award for the most outstanding graduate. He joined the company in Zoë's dance training began in her hometown Mona Vale, NSW Australia then in 2009 she moved to New Zealand to study at the New Zealand School of Dance. Matte started his dance training at the Cowra Ballet School in New South Wales and in 2007 he attended the Australian Talented Youth Program. He authoritatively joined the Australian Dance Theatre in Samantha began her dance training in New South Wales as a commercial dancer at Ettingshausens Dynamic Arts and then found her passion for contemporary dance at Ev and Bow. She integrated with the Australian Dance Theatre in November ~What dance works have the current company performed under the present artistic director? When and where were they staged? The company s newest production, Proximity, premiered at the 2012 Adelaide festival and in the same year, Be Your Self was premiered. Collision Course is one of the company s pieces where it is played through a projector and it is screened in art galleries and on the side of buildings. It features people from different fields of activity such as; martial artists, rugby players, gymnasts, athletes, wrestlers, capoeira dancers, breakers (breakdance), boxers, jive dances and contemporary dancers, colliding mid-air. G which was first premiered in 2008 is Garry Stewarts classic contemporary remakes of Giselle and it is still being

6 performed today. It is a favourite with Australian audiences as it is a famously known story. Garry Stewart has also choreographed (with the help of his dancers and guest dancers) Nought, Multiverse 3D, Worldhood, Ignition, Devolution, Vocabulary, Nascent, Nothing, Held, The Age Of Unbeauty and Birdbrain. ~What themes/topics do the dance works cover? The dance works cover subjects from recreating classic fairy tales into modern contemporary pieces to experiencing death and loss to what the media has done to society. The most controversial piece that The Australian Dance Theatre has produced is The Age of Unbeauty. The work is inspired by our inhumanity towards and how media and society has affected us as a whole. Then they have pieces which are quite the opposite like Collision Course where it is a prerecorded production of bodies continuously colliding. The Australian Dance Theatre is an extremely diverse company that can cater to any inclination. ~What social, historical, political, cultural, and/or economic factors have influenced the company? One of the biggest influences on the company is government funding and the arts are not the highest priority especially during times of a recession. Grants are hard to maintain from the government when there are other competitive areas such as health, sport, building and education which usually are in favour. These factors not only influence the company in a literal sense but also in their dance works. We can see this through pieces like; The Age Of Unbeauty, Birdbrain and Be Your Self. ~Where has the company toured? The company has built a substantial repertoire with not only national but international acclaim with tours to North America, Europe, Asia, India, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. ~What are the present and future directions of the company? The company is currently touring with the piece G by Garry Stewart to WA, ACT and NSW. Although this is one of Stewart s older pieces it is a crowd favourite and has been reworked to be staged again. 4. What are the successes, strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities for the company? The Australian Dance Theatres biggest strength would have to be the current artistic director himself, Garry Stewart. Stewart has managed to uphold his position with the company and all of his pieces are clear and with strong intent. He pushes his dancers to be their very best and has sculpted the company into one of Australia s most well-known dance companies. The company wanted to give back to the community so they created programs to raise money for HIV and AIDS and indigenous people. The Australian Dance Theatre is the only Australian dance company to be invited to perform at Théâtre de la Ville in Paris which is a great honour. The company s biggest downfall was when it forced to temporarily close in 1975, and went into recess for 18 months. This was the time when Australia went into recession and could not receive their funding from the government any longer. Another weakness was when Meryl Tankard became artistic director of the company and changed the company s name to the Meryl Tankard Australian Dance Theatre which caused conflict and anger between many people. 5. What is special about the company? How does it stand out from other companies? The Australian Dance Theatre is different to other companies because their dancers are not only trained in classical and contemporary dance but also in gymnastics and break-dancing. This adds an exciting fusion of the genres and makes the company stand out from others. The result of these combinations creates work that is fast, aggressive, technically demanding dance fraught with risk and charged with urgency.

7 6. How has the company contributed to the development in dance in Australia? The Australian Dance Theatre has had a large impact on dance today with its fusion of genres inspiring dancers everywhere. By touring internationally they are making a name for Australian dance and getting their name out there. The Australian Dance Theatre was one of the first companies to develop dance-ineducation program where they toured around schools in Australia. It gave children who hadn t been exposed to modern contemporary dance experience and knowledge about it. 7. How does the company benefit society? The theatre does many fundraisers to increase money for causes such as children s disabilities and HIV and AIDS. This much needed money helps the causes greatly and goes toward research and funding. By offering classes to schools and also to the general public, the dancers and teachers of The Australian Dance Theatre can share their knowledge and experience. It brings all age groups and the general public together to watch dance and come to appreciation of dance because of their unique and exciting style. References Also used class handouts.