Miss Humphrey and Mr. Weidman established new principles of technique, and choreographed many works together. Their principles of technique involved gravity – fall and recovery, and sustained, suspended, and vibratory movement. Among the dances they created for theater are Lysistrata, School for Husbands, and Alcina Suite. Mr. Weidman's own dances for the Humphrey /Weidman troupe include: Candide, Atavisms (Bargain Counter, Stock Exchange, Lvnchtown), The Happv Hypocrite, Traditions, Kinetic Pantomime, Flickers and A House Divided; and the autobiographical dances, On My Mother's Side and And Daddy Was A Fireman. After Miss Humphrey's retirement in 1945, Mr. Weidman continued to create dances, perform and teach.
Unlike the Charleston that has a forward movement, the jitterbug has steps to the side and on the 5th and 6th count, and you do a rock step to the back. Although a lot of repetition is in both Charleston and jitterbug dances, the Charleston does not require the counting of the steps. Both of these jazz dances are energetic and performed to high tempo music, but the body moves differently. They do however process some of the same aspects as folk and modern dance. They are all free flowing dance styles.
This year on April 10th, 2013 marked my first year in attendance of Kinetic Expressions which was put on by Berea College’s own Artist in Modern Motion. Upon arriving at the show, my expectation was limitless because a few of my fellow classmates were performing that night. I watch these dancers every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and knew of the charisma and uniqueness my classmates always brought to the dance floor. I couldn’t imagine what the energy level was going to be like in an actual live performance. There were many performances that I enjoyed and they ranged from different types of dancing to the expressions they portrayed.
He had a screen test by M-G-M, he appeared in the film Kiss Me Kate (1953). Since Kiss Me Kate was a highly original dance number, this led him to his first job as a choreographer. It was the Broadway hit directed by Jerome Robbins, The Pajama Game (1954). A little while later he met Gwen Verdon, who was a talented dancer. The two collaborated on several hit shows such as, Damn Yankee (1955, film 1958), New Girl in Town (1957), and Redhead (1959).
They were all rehearsed and the performance was really good. The dancers excelled in their performances. All the dancers put 110% in the dance; they all had the right facial expressions of what was going on in the dance. The dance was choreographed by the students and it was really good.
At about 24 years of age, Hanya Holm saw a recital of Mary Wigman. After training in Germany, she worked at Mary Wigman’s Central Institute in Dresden as a dancer and teacher and later co director. In 1929 she danced the princess in one of the early productions of Stravinsky's The Soldier's Taleher first major solo part for which she did her own choreography. At that time she was not yet quite sure whether to become a dancer, choreographer, or teacher. In 1931 she opened a Wigman school in New York City, which became the Hanya Holm Studio in 1936.
The female dancers are very slim and the male dancers appear to be very strong, this makes it easier for the contact work within the dance. For example, again in section two a male and female dancer are positioned centre stage. The male dancer is knelt on the floor and the female dancer sits on his knee. This shows passion as it could be seen as flirtatious/something that you would expect a couple to do. The male dancer then lifts the lady over his knee until she is standing up; this could show power as the male dancer is creating the movements for her and therefore has control.
The laughing, to deep thinking, to the astonishing scene that nobody seen coming, was all part of the experience the audience took part in. The characters were dressed apprioately at first sight for the time period. The 1960’s wasn’t as classy as the modern era. The hair was flowing, the clothes were dragging, and the energy was extravagant. Joey, who played one of the main characters, was one who brought the play to life the most.
Two texts that show belonging are Strictly Ballroom by Baz Luhrmann and Isolated by Ben Borken. In strictly ballroom to belong in the world of ballroom dancing a person must compromise their own self-expression. Luhrmann shows belonging through the use of techniques, lighting, music, costumes and camera angles. In the opening scene the film begins with the music ‘The Blue Danube Waltz’, the camera pans from the dancers’ feet to full body shots but in slow motion. The friendship between the dancers backstage immediately establishes that these people belong together through their love for dance.
The Charleston was performed as early as 1903 in the Southern States. As time went on it was being used as a regular cotillion step and finally made its way, as we know it today, into Harlem stage productions by 1913 says James P. Johnson. Henry “Rubber legs" Williams says it was the first dance he won a contest in the mid-teens. The show called “Shuffle Along” also had some Charleston dancing, but not yet recognized as such, they were just referred as the fastest dancers ever seen or a Colored Cast Revue. It was introduced to the theater going public at the New Amsterdam Theater in New York when the "Ziegfeld Follies," staged a dance act that featured the Charleston.