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Dance Concert Critique: Essay Example

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Dance Critique Essay | Essay About Dance Critique, Dance Concert Critique Essay

December 3, 2021 by Prasanna

Dance Critique Essay: In today’s busy life, people find ways to relieve stress. One of the ways is to observe and enjoy a dance performance. It can be a solo performance by some eminent artist or maybe a group performance by some troupe. There are persons who are quite knowledgeable about dance and critically review the performance to evaluate the quality of the dance and recommend it to the general public. They are the dance critiques who aim at evaluating the techniques, atmosphere, and aesthetics of dance. A dance critique must have the aptitude to watch, listen, and experience the performance with an open mind and involvement.

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Long Essay on Dance Critique

The Elements of Dance

Some basic elements that form the structure of dance performance and creative movement are body, action, space, time, and energy. A thorough understanding of this concept would help the dance critique to identify the core characteristics when reviewing a dance performance. The critique has to focus on the posture or body movement of the dancers that make the presentation elegant and graceful. The gestures made by hands and eye movements convey the feelings and connect well with the audience. Timing or rhythm is a very important aspect of dance to get the synchronized effect that emphasizes the subject. It is like a pattern that follows the mood of the dance.

The Process that a critique follows

The process of critical review of dance requires analysis of several elements and the dance critique must have the ability to explain or clarify the qualitative aspect of all these factors. The review by critique should include the following descriptions about the dance:

• Movement: The flexibility of body actions and gestures by the dancer
• Choreography: The structure of dance and position of dancers
• Space: The movement of dancers through the space
• Performance: The technical and expressive abilities of dancer
• Music: The effect of music to evoke an emotional response
• Staging: The costumes, lighting, and sets used to compliment the performance

A dance performance review by a critique includes some systematic steps as below to explain the performance with detailed analysis.

• Give a general description of the dance performance including the name of the performance, choreographer, the place of dance performance, and the dance style.
• Describe the overall atmosphere created by the performance and put emphasis on characteristics that attracted the most attention. Evaluate the costume, light, decorations, and musical arrangements.
• Discuss the style and choreography, and how it contributed to the overall performance.
• Evaluate the input of the dancers in terms of their techniques, level of skills, and how they synchronize with music and each other.
• Put your own views on the organization, performance, choreography, and other production elements.
• Summing up the opinion backed up by actual experiences and impact on the intended audience.

While reviewing a solo performance, the dance critique must look into the strength and mobility of a dancer to work with different parts of the body together. A good dancer must possess a highly developed skill to know and control the position and state of the body, weight, and balance in motion. The critique should be attentive to every single movement or phase of movements that reflect the style and intention to convey the theme of dance effectively to the audience.

The Outcome 

A dance critique must focus on assessing a performer’s capabilities as well as highlighting the shortcomings and weaknesses. The intention should be not to discourage but to help learn the art and work on areas of improvement for new performers and choreographers. The dance critique can guide the budding artists to formulate new ways for self-improvement and excel in the art form.

Short Essay on Dance Critique Essay

The Role of critique

Dance is not just a physical performance; it’s a representation of social, cultural, and historical outlook. Dancing is a crafted skill attained through dedication, discipline, motivation, determination, and focus. Dance performance critique must acquire a great deal of understanding about the art of dancing. Their honest review and detailed analysis help others to visualize the dance performance without being present there. It builds interest and responsiveness about this particular performance, its style, and its intention. The dance critique needs to have the ability to see the dance not only as a source of entertainment but also realize how it encompasses a great amount of emotion and passion. A good dance performance receives appreciation from the audience because the movements and gestures connect with them. A particular dance can touch the audience on not just a superficial level, but more on an internal level.

A review by dance critique must contain description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation about the subject. A description includes the dance piece, whether it’s an individual or group performance, the settings, costume, and music. The analysis can be done on the choreographic process, costume, and background to establish the theme of the dance. Interpreting the dancer’s choreographic styles and the meaning of these conventions can be part of the interpretation process. The evaluation stage gives the overall opinion about the impact of the performance with special mention to individual skills as well as collaborative effort and coordination, as applicable.

A dance performance is the product of creativity, motivation, discipline, and perseverance. It demands physical fitness, stamina, and resilience from a dancer. So the dancer deserves any form of appreciation that improves his/her confidence and self-belief. A dance critique must keep this in mind while presenting his opinion and views.

FAQ’s on Dance Critique Essay

Question 1. What is the role of a dance critique?

Answer: The main role of a dance critique is to evaluate the quality of the dance on the basis of certain parameters and recommend it to the intended audience.

Question 2. What should be the responsibilities of a dance critique?

Answer: The dance critique must put forward his views with detailed analysis and supporting research and must ensure his opinions are not biased.

Question 3. How can dance critique help the performer in self-improvement?

Answer: A dance critique represents the view of the audience and expresses his expert opinions which help the dancer analyze his own performance and work towards improvement.

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The Opening Act: Friendships

The Passage of Time: The Time Between

An artistic exploration of mental struggles: unseen injuries, artistic diversity: messages in movement, reflections on dance styles and personal preferences, exploring dance as a form of narrative expression, challenges in interpreting dance: a call for dance appreciation, conclusion: a multifaceted exploration of artistic expression.

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Free Dance Essay Examples & Topics

Dance has been a part of human civilization and culture for centuries. It is one of the best tools for entertainment and communication. What’s more, people choose it as a way of self-expression, a hobby, or an occupation. There are many types of dances. Some are well-known (tango, hip-hop, salsa, ballet), while others are less familiar to most people (kathak, kabuki, electronic dance).

When writing an essay about dance, you can write about any type if the assignment allows doing so. Due to the variety of dances, topic selection can take a long time. However, even after choosing the right idea, it is not always clear how to start your essay on it.

First of all, we recommend looking at the samples. You need to read some dance essay examples and pay attention to their structure. It also gives you an opportunity to polish or change the topic to write about.

Besides, our team has prepared a small guide on writing a dance essay. We have listed several ideas which will help you to write it as well.

If you need to write an essay on dance, it will probably be a narrative or descriptive one or even a critique of some sort. However, even the most creative academic papers have a rigid structure. So, you have to write a 5-paragraph essay. In this section, we will tell you how to do it.

To write an exemplary dance essay, you should follow these rules:

• Developing a solid structure is your goal. It is vital for the reader’s understanding and evaluation of your essay. You’ll need an introduction with a thesis statement, 2-3 paragraphs with arguments and examples, and a conclusion. Creating a good outline will help you to stay focused and follow the structure. Here is how you can do it:
• At first, read some background information about the style that interests you. Take some notes when you are watching a dance performance. Try to focus on small technical details as well as on your impression.
• Decide what you are going to describe in your body paragraphs. Each of them should highlight one idea. Remember that the first sentence of a paragraph is a basis for the supportive sentences after it.
• Write down a short summary of your central paragraphs. Focus on the main thoughts and keywords. It will help you to create the introduction and conclusion. Look at your notes once again to make sure you haven’t forgotten anything.
• Descriptions are vital for your paper. Note everything you notice about the movements, choreography, music, costumes, scenery, props, and performance. Think about your personal response to what you see. Even if you write a narrative essay, you should focus on these aspects.

Provide your interpretation of the dance. Identify all the people whose performance you describe and use examples to support your assumptions. Connect what you’ve seen with your previous studies or experiences.

• The style of your essay should be on point:
• Use descriptive language. Action words should describe the qualities of the movements. Use vivid adjectives to describe the qualities of the details you notice.
• Describe the actions in the present tense. But if you have chosen to write using past forms, don’t mix tense in the essay.
• Follow the requirements of your educational institution. They may include a specific font, margins, and title pages. And don’t forget to write from the third-person perspective.
• Check your grammar and spelling. Exclude repetitive sentences or phrases.
• Leave the paper for a couple of hours and reread it. It should help to notice the possible flaws.

Having figured out the basic rules, we can move on to ideas for an essay on dancing. In this section, we have collected topics that you can use for inspiration or practice.

We suggest the following dance essay topics for your consideration:

• Why is dance a form of art?
• What makes a good dance?
• National dances among African ethnicities.
• How folk dance reflects the culture of a nation?
• The history of hip-hop dance.
• The importance of dance in my life.
• The origin of Waltz and its significance.
• The influence of modern dance on society.
• The theory of seven movements in dancing.
• The best dance performances in history.
• The benefits of dancing for older people.
• Teaching dance to young children is beneficial to their development.
• Contemporary types of dance in Asian countries.
• What are the disadvantages of a dancing career?
• How does dance appreciation vary among different generations?
• Dance as a way of socialization in high school and college.
• How to critique a dance concert?

Thanks for reading till the end! Below you will find dance essay examples. Studying them will help you look at the topic from different angles and understand how to start writing your own paper.

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Modern dance in the united states, “rebellions in everynight life” by delgado and muñoz, the ballet “cave of the heart”, the “bellyache” dance by billie eilish, performance art: dance concept, flamingo or flamenco dance, ballet, pavane, and bourée dances in praetorius’ “terpsichore”, dancing movement: review, music industry: celia cruz.

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Ballets: “Carmen” and “In the Upper Room”

Alvin ailey’ and alexander pushkin’ views on the modern dance.

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Swan Lake Choreographed by Matthew Bourne

The csn fall dance concert, 2008 beijing olympics performance, belly dancing: why the world knows little about it.

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Dancer Alvin Ailey: Techniques and Artistic Choices

Dance: alonzo king lines ballet.

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Chicano Folklore: Mexican Folk Dance

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Modern Dance by Jiri Kylian

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Concert Critique Guidelines

A critique is a statement of your point of view. You should develop your ideas so that the reader can visualize and understand the dance as you observed the performance.

Include your name, title of the performance, course name and number, and date submitting paper in the upper right hand corner of you paper.  Please NO COVER SHEET.

Your paper should be a five paragraph essay, typed, 12 font, double-spaced, with one-inch margins.  Make sure to proofread and make necessary revisions.

1.   Introduction

State the name title of the company performing, choreographer, location, date and time of the performance.  Any other pertinent information such as ‘world premier’, etc. may be included here.

2.  Description

Describe the dance in detail.  This paragraph should communicate how the dance looked and sounded.  Be aware of space, levels, shapes, rhythm, time and dynamics. Look for interrelationships among the movement, such as: repetition and variation of the movement theme, organization into clear sections, and the dance relationships of the dancers. How does the dance relate to the audience? Is the energy projected out or does it draw the spectator in? Is the dance narrative or non-narrative? What are the costumes, lighting, accompaniment, and stage atmosphere?

3.  Analysis

This is your interpretation of the dance.  State the dance genre and style (remember

 that many contemporary choreographers combine different styles).   Determine the  

choreographer's intent.  Do you believe that the choreographer chose to allow the

medium of movement to be the message or does the movement tell a story or convey a

 specific message or statement?

4.  Evaluation

This paragraph conveys how well the choreographer fulfilled his/her intent.  Your

personal opinion and judgment is the basis for this paragraph.  Was the dance successful? 

Why or why not?  Was the choreographer successful in communicating her/his idea?

 Were the dancers technically proficient at performing the work?  Did the lighting, set

design, costumes, and music enhance or diminish the dance?  Although your opinions are

important here, be aware of your own biases.  Be specific in supporting your likes and

5.  Context/ Conclusion

How does this dance connect to other dance performances that you have experienced or learned?   How does it connect to dance history and current trends of dance making?  Would you recommend this performance to others?  Would you attend more performances by this company or by other dance companies in the future?  How did this experience affect your ideas about dance as an art form?

A Few Tips:

Be on the lookout for unsupported general statements like "This dance was very pleasing and beautiful to me. I liked it very much." When you see such an unsupported statement, ask yourself "why" and then fill in the rest of the paragraph to explain your point.

What are first reactions and what do you remember most? Do not be afraid to be honest with your opinion.  Avoid being vague-- "The dancers were good." Remember you are reviewing not reporting. There are no "wrong" responses.  Narrow your thesis. Do not write a summary of every dance in the concert. Limit your writing to only the most important material. After seeing the concert, you may find that one or two works, or something about the style of the choreographer in general is most interesting, evocative, provocative, intriguing, etc.—this is where you should center your writing. What interested you most? What made you feel the most? What made you most want to get up and move? These ideas will make the assignment more interesting for you to write, and more interesting for me to read. J

While you watch the concert, it may be helpful to be aware of several possible issues on which you might focus your paper.

• Does this dance make me feel anything? —Good, bad, uncomfortable? Even if you don’t know why, don’t discard the emotions or physical sensations your mind or body is feeling while you watch a dance. Do your best to describe them anyway. Sometimes, dance can evoke feelings directly, as if bypassing the brain. You may not ever truly understand where they come from, but they are still worth addressing, even if only in the form of a question. 
• Does the piece communicate to you? Look at the title, any program notes, the costumes, the lighting—does it seem as though it is meant to tell a specific story or theme? Maybe not—consider that some dance work is not meant to be narrative and is for pure design, architecture, sculpture—something more abstract than a story. However, even in this case, it still may say something to YOU.
• Avoid looking for what you think the dance is "supposed" to mean, rather concentrate more on what it is to you.  As for looking for "meaning," I find it helpful to think that watching dance is more like reading a poem than like reading a play. Often choreographers use movement as a metaphor since it cannot easily "say" things in the same kind of intellectual detail as words.

Stay focused on YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE.  Be Subjective; write in the first person "I felt," "I saw," "this meant to me…" Avoid pretending that you are writing an objective observation of a factual event. Everything you see goes through your own private filter. Yes, there may be similarities in how people respond to common events, but I am most interested in what your personal experience is, not what you think is the norm or the common view. Just do your best to honestly offer your own perspective, both with the humility to recognize that others will have equally valid differing opinions, but also with the confidence that your take on it is just as good or "right" as a New York Times critic.