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MODERN DANCE
Modern dance is a term usually referring to 20th-century concert dance, although
it has also been applied to a category of 20th-century ballroom dances. Modern
dance refused classical ballet's stress on feet as the primary catalyst for dance
movements. It, instead, put stress on torso employing such elements as contactrelease, floor work, fall and recovery, and improvisation. It was usually performed in
bare feet, often with non-traditional costuming.
Origins
In the early 1900s two American female dancers, as well as one German female
dancer,
started to rebel against the rigid constraints of Classical Ballet. Shedding the
authoritarian
controls surrounding classical ballet technique, costume, and shoes, these early
modern dance
pioneers focused on creative self-expression rather than on technical virtuosity.
Modern dance
is a more relaxed, free style of dance in which choreographers use emotions and
moods to
design their own steps, in contrast to ballet's structured code of steps. It has a
deliberate use of
gravity, whereas ballet strives to be light and airy.
Characteristics of Modern Dance
Modern dance encourages dancers to use their emotions and moods to design
their own steps and routines. It is not unusual for modern dancers to invent new
steps for their routines,
instead of following a structured code of technique, as in ballet.
Another characteristic of modern dance in opposition to ballet is the deliberate use of
gravity.
Whereas classical ballet dancers strive to be light and airy on their feet, modern
dancers often
use their body weight to enhance movement. A modern dancer rejects the classical
ballet
stance of an upright, erect body, often opting instead for deliberate falls to the floor.
Modern Dancers Today
Modern dancers use dancing to express their innermost emotions, often to get
closer to their inner-selves. Before attempting to choreograph a routine, the modern
dancer decides which emotions to try to convey to the audience. Many modern
dancers choose a subject near and dear to their hearts, such as a lost love or a
personal failure. The dancer will choose music that relates to the story they wish to
tell, or choose to use no music at all, and then choose a
costume to reflect their chosen emotions.
Modern dance avoids any set bases or a set vocabulary of steps such as ballet or
Oriental,
Hindu etc. but does use all these ideas along with the dancers natural ability and
dance
training. Because of this, Modern dance is often misunderstood by the onlooker, as
occasionally they can not figure out what is happening. By the 1950s, Modern dance
was
firmly established in the dance world.
TANGO
The tango is a partner dance that originated in the
1890s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border
between Argentina and Uruguay, and soon spread
to the rest of the world.
The word "tango" seems to have first been
used in connection with the dance in the 1890s.
Initially it was just one of the many dances, but it
soon became popular throughout society, as
theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the
suburbs to the working-class slums, which were
packed with hundreds of thousands of European
immigrants, primarily Italians, Spanish and French.
In the early years of the 20th century,
dancers
and
orchestras
from Buenos
Aires
travelled to Europe, and the first European tango craze took place in Paris, soon
followed by London, Berlin, and other capitals. Towards the end of 1913 it hit New
York in the USA, and Finland. In the USA around 1911 the word "tango" was often
applied to dances in a 2/4 or 4/4 rhythm such as the one-step. The term was
fashionable and did not indicate that tango steps would be used in the dance,
although they might be. Tango music was sometimes played, but at a rather fast
tempo.
The Tango consists of a variety of styles that developed in different regions
and eras of Argentina as well as in other locations around the world. The dance
developed in response to many cultural elements, such as the crowding of the venue
and even the fashions in clothing. The styles are
mostly danced in either open embrace, where
lead and follow have space between their bodies,
or close embrace, where the lead and follow
connect either chest-to-chest (Argentine tango) or
in the upper thigh, hip area (American and
International tango).
Different styles of Tango are:
argentine,
Tango canyengue, Tango Oriental
Uruguayan tango,
Tango orillero,
Tango
Tango
Tango liso,
Tango salon,
Tango camacupense (Angola),
milonguero
(Tango
apilado),
Tango
Nuevo (New Tango), Show Tango (also known
as fantasia), Ballroom tango, Finnish tango.
Famous tango singers:
 Carlos Acuña Argentina (1915-1999) was known for his deep, high and
expressive voice. His foreign travels brought him success in Uruguay, Mexico,
Italy and Spain, where he became a close friend of the exiled Juan Perón.
 Néstor Fabián
 Carlos Gardel
 Roberto Goyeneche
 Julio Sosa Uruguay (1926-1964) from Uruguay was one of the most important
tango singers during tango's unhappy years in the 1950s and early 1960s.
VIENNESE WALTZ
Viennese Waltz (German: Wiener Walzer) is the
genre of a ballroom dance.
What is now called the Viennese waltz is the
original form of the waltz. It was the first ballroom dance
performed in the closed hold or "waltz" position. The
dance that is popularly known as the waltz is actually the
English or slow waltz, danced at approximately 90 beats
per minute with 3 beats to the bar (the international
standard of 30 measures per minute), while the Viennese
Waltz is danced at about 180 beats (58-60 measures) a
minute. To this day however, in Germany, Austria, Scandinavia, and France, the
words Walzer (German for "waltz"), vals (Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish for
"waltz"), and valse (French for "waltz") still implicitly refer to the original dance and
not the slow waltz.
Technique and styles
The Viennese Waltz is a rotary dance where the dancers are constantly
turning either in a clockwise
or anti-clockwise
direction interspersed with non-
rotating change steps to switch between the direction of rotation. A true Viennese
waltz consists only of turns and change steps. Other moves such as the fleckerls,
American-style figures and side sway or underarm turns are modern inventions and
are not normally danced at the annual balls in Vienna. Furthermore, in a properly
danced Viennese Waltz, couples do not pass, but turn continuously left and right
while travelling counterclockwise around the floor following each other.
The competitive style Viennese Waltz has a reduced amount of steps: Change
Steps, Passing
Changes, Hesitations, Hovers, the Contra Check, Natural and
reverse turns.
International Style Viennese Waltz is danced in closed position. The syllabus is
limited to natural and reverse turns, Changes, Fleckerls, Contra Check, Left Whisk,
and canter time Pivots.
American Style Viennese Waltz has much more freedom, both in dance
positions and syllabus.
WALTZ
Waltz is one of the five dances in the Standard
(or Modern) category of the International Style ballroom
dances. It was previously referred to as Slow Waltz or
English Waltz.
It is a Waltz dance and danced to slow,
preferably 28-30 bars per minute (84-90 beats per
minute), waltz music. Preferably, the 1st beat of a
measure to be accented. Waltz music is in 3/4 time.
Most of the basic figures have 1 step per 1 beat,
i.e. 3 steps per measure. Advanced figures may have
4-6 steps per measure, and this, coupled with various turns, makes the dance very
dynamic despite the relatively slow tempo. At the same time, advanced dancers often
use slow steps and elegant poses to create contrast (sometimes referred to as "light
and shade").
Waltz is usually the first dance in the Dancesport competitions in the
"Standard" category.
The dance is danced exclusively in the closed position, unlike its American Style
counterpart.
Like all dances of Standard category, it is a progressive dance.
Waltz is characterized by the pendulum swing body action. Other general
elements of ballroom technique important for Waltz are foot parallelism, rise and fall,
contra body movement and sway.
SAMBA
Samba
is a Brazilian dance and musical genre
originating in Bahia, Brazil, and with its roots in Rio de
Janeiro and Africa via the West African slave trade and
African religious traditions. It is recognized around the
world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival.
Although samba exists throughout Brazil – especially in
the states of Bahia, Maranhão, Minas Gerais, and São
Paulo – in the form of various popular rhythms and dances
that originated from the regional batuque, the samba is
most frequently identified as a musical expression of
urban Rio de Janeiro, where it was born and developed between the end of the 19th
century and the first years of the 20th century.
During the first decade of the 20th century, some songs under the name of
samba were recorded, but these recordings did not achieve great popularity.
However, in 1917, "Pelo Telefone" ("By Phone") was recorded, and it is considered
the first true samba. The song was claimed to be authored by Ernesto dos Santos,
best known as Donga (musician), with co-composition attributed to Mauro de
Almeida, a well-known Carnival columnist. Actually, "Pelo Telefone" was created by a
collective of musicians who participated in celebrations at the house of Tia Ciata
(Aunt Ciata).
"Pelo Telefone" was the first composition to achieve great success with the style of
samba and to contribute to the dissemination and popularization of the genre. From
that moment on, samba started to spread across the country, initially associated with
Carnival and then developing its own place in the music market.
The modern samba that emerged at the beginning of the 20th century is
predominately in a 2/4 tempo varied with the conscious use of a sung chorus to a
batucada rhythm, with various stanzas of declaratory verses. Traditionally, the samba
is played by strings (cavaquinho and various types of guitar) and various percussion
instruments such as tamborim.
From the year 2000 onwards, there were some artists who were looking to
reconnect the most popular traditions of samba. The cases of Marquinhos of
Oswaldo Cruz and Teresa Cristina, were, among others, the ones that contributed to
the revitalization of the region of Lapa in Rio de Janeiro. In São Paulo, samba
resumed the tradition with concerts in Sesc Pompéia Club and with the work of
several groups, including the group Quinteto em Branco e Preto which developed the
event "Pagode da Vela" ("Pagoda of Sail").
Instruments commonly used in samba:
Acoustic guitar/Seven-string guitar, 4-string banjo, Bass guitar, Cavaquinho,
Chocalho,
Cuíca/Kweeca,
Snare drum, Trombone,
Drum kit,
Keyboard instruments,
Trumpet.
Samba performers:
Adoniram Barbosa (1912-1982) singer and composer
Alcione Nazaré, (1947 -) singer
Ari Barroso, (1903-1964) singer and composer
Beth Carvalho, (1946 -) singer
Braguinha, (1907-2006) singer and composer
Carmen Miranda (1909-1955) singer, dancer, actress
Cardboard (1908-1980) singer and composer
Clara Nunes, (1943-1983) singer and composer
Edson Ribeiro (1967 -) musician, composer and player
Elizet Cardoso, (1920-1990) singer
Elza Soares (1937 -) singer
Saxophones,
Fernanda Porto (1965 -) singer and composer
Jamelão, (1913-2008) singer
João Nogueira, (1941-2000) singer and composer
Jorge Aragão, (1949 -) singer and composer
Noel Rosa, (1910-1937) singer and composer
Paulinho da Viola, (1942 -) singer and composer
Pixinguinha, (1897-1973) singer
Grupo Revelação, (1991 -) singer and composer
Rumba
Rumba is the slowest of the five competitive
International Latin dances: the paso doble, the
samba, the cha-cha-cha and the jive being the
others. This ballroom rumba was derived from a
Cuban rhythm and dance called the bolero-son; the
international style was derived from studies of dance
in Cuba in the pre-revolutionary period.
The modern international style of dancing
derives from studies made by dance teacher Monsieur Pierre (Pierre ZurcherMargolle), who partnered Doris Lavelle.
The international ballroom rumba is a slower dance of about 120 beats per
minute which corresponds, both in music and in dance to what the Cubans of an
older generation called the bolero-son.
All social dances in Cuba involve a hip-sway over the standing leg and, though
this is scarcely noticeable in fast salsa, it is more pronounced in the slow ballroom
rumba. In general, steps are kept compact and the dance is danced generally without
any rise and fall. This style is authentic, as is the use of free arms in various figures.
The basic figures derive from dance moves observed in Havana in the prerevolutionary period, and have developed their own life since then. Competition
figures are often complex, and this is where competition dance separates from social
dance.
PASODOBLE
Paso Doble, or pasodoble, (literal meaning in Spanish:
double-step) is a traditional dance from Spain march-like musical
style as well as the corresponding dance style danced by a
couple. It is the type of music typically played in bullfights during
the bullfighters' entrance to the ring (paseo) or during the passes
(faena) just before the kill. It corresponds to the Pasodoble
dance (traditional and ballroom).
PasoDoble is a lively style of dance to the duple meter
march-like pasodoble music. It is modelled after the sound,
drama, and movement of the Spanish and Portuguese bullfight.
Famous bullfighters have been honoured with pasodoble tunes named after
them. Other tunes have been inspired by patriotic motifs or local characters.
Traditional
Pasodoble is based on music played at bullfights during the bullfighters'
entrance (paseo) or during the passes (faena) just before the kill. The leader of this
dance plays the part of the matador. The follower generally plays the part of the
matador's cape, but can also represent the shadow of the matador, as well as the
bull or a flamenco dancer in some figures. Its origin dates back to a French military
march with the name “Paso Redoble.” This was a fast paced march, which is why this
is a fast-paced Latin American dance modeled after the Spanish bull fight. Bull
fighting was well-known around this time.
Ballroom
A significant number of Paso Doble songs are variants of España Cañi. The
song has breaks in fixed positions in the song (two breaks at syllabus levels, three
breaks and a longer song at Open levels). Traditionally Paso Doble routines are
choreographed to match these breaks, as well as the musical phrases. Accordingly,
most other ballroom Paso Doble tunes are written with similar breaks (those without
are simply avoided in most competitions).
Modern pasodoble dance can be combined with other main four dances of
Latin-American program: Samba, Cha-cha-cha, Rumba, Jive, especially during final
performances of ballroom dance champions.
Famous pasodobles:

Amparito Roca

El Beso

El gato montés ("Wild Cat") from the opera with the same name

El Relicario

España Cañí ("Gypsy Spain")

Islas Canarias named after Canary Islands.

La Gracia de Dios[1]

Feria de Manizales (unofficial hymn of the Colombian city, Manizales)

Manolete, named after Manolete.

La Morena de mi Copla

Plaza de las Ventas

Paquito el Chocolatero. The tune has a dance of its own.

Sombreros y Mantilles

Suspiros de España

Que Viva España

Valencia

La Virgen de la Macarena
Jive
In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4
time that originated in the United States from AfricanAmericans in the early 1930s. It was originally
presented to the public as 'Jive' in 1934 by Cab
Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the
Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance. Glenn Miller
introduced his own jive dance in 1938 with the song "Doin' the Jive" which never
caught on.
Jive is one of the five International Latin dances. In competition it is danced at
a speed of 176 beats per minute, although in some cases this is reduced to between
128 and 160 beats per minute.
Many of its basic patterns are similar to these of the East Coast Swing with the
major difference of highly syncopated rhythm of the Triple Steps (Chasses), which
use straight eighths in ECS and hard swing in Jive.
The basic step (Jive Basic) is a six beat pattern, comprising eight weight
changes.
Leader: Normally the male
Counts 1&2 - Chasse to the left (Triple step)
Counts 3&4 - Chasse to the right
Counts 5 6 - Rock step: left foot step back, right foot
The follower's steps are mirrored. Normally the female
Overall Jive is a dance and is the faster version of the swing. A lot of kicks are
used in jive with a bouncy type movement using the balls of the feet a lot. It is an
American dance originated from the Jitterbug dance, and it is danced without the lifts
and acrobatic elements. Jive is a fast and energy-consuming dance. It is normally the
last dance danced at competitions because of the energetic style.
FOXTROT
The foxtrot or fox trot is a smooth progressive
dance characterized by long, continuous flowing
movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big
band (usually vocal) music, and the feeling is one of
elegance and sophistication. The dance is similar in its
look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a 4/ 4 time
signature instead of 3/4 .
Developed in the 1910s, the foxtrot reached its
height of popularity in the 1930s, and remains practiced
today.
The dance was premiered in 1914, quickly catching the eye of the husband
and wife duo Vernon and Irene Castle, who lent the dance its signature grace and
style. The exact origin of the name of the dance is unclear, although one theory is
that it took its name from its popularizer, the vaudeville actor Harry Fox.
W. C. Handy ("Father of the Blues") notes in his autobiography that his "The
Memphis Blues" was the inspiration for the Foxtrot. During breaks from the fast
paced Castle Walk and One-step, Vernon and Irene Castle's music director, James
Reese Europe, would slowly play the Memphis Blues. The Castles were intrigued by
the rhythm and Jim asked why they didn't create a slow dance to go with it. The
Castles introduced what they then called the "Bunny Hug" in a magazine article.
Shortly after they went abroad and, in mid-ocean, sent a wireless to the magazine to
change the name of the dance from "Bunny Hug" to the "Foxtrot." It was
subsequently standardized by Arthur Murray, in whose version it began to imitate the
positions of Tango.
When rock and roll first emerged in the early 1950s, record companies were
uncertain as to what style of dance would be most applicable to the music. Notably,
Decca Records initially labeled its rock and roll releases as "foxtrots", most notably
"Rock Around the Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets. Since that recording, by
some estimates, went on to sell more than 25 million copies, "Rock Around the
Clock" could be considered the biggest-selling "foxtrot" of all time. Today, the dance
is customarily accompanied by the same big band music to which swing is also
danced.
Over time, the foxtrot split into slow and quick versions, referred to as "foxtrot"
and "quickstep" respectively. In the slow category, further distinctions exist between
the International or English style of the foxtrot and the continuity American style, both
built around a slow-quick-quick rhythm at the slowest tempo, and the social American
style using a slow-slow-quick-quick rhythm at a somewhat faster pace. In the context
of International Standard category of ballroom dances, for some time the foxtrot was
called "Slow Foxtrot", or "Slowfox". These names are still in use, to distinguish from
other types of foxtrots.
QUICKSTEP
The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the
standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance
is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with
syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is
danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal
events. Quickstep was developed in the twenties in
New York and was first danced by Caribbean and
African dancers. Its origins are in combination of slow
foxtrot combined with the Charleston, a dance which
was one of the precursors to what today is called swing dancing.
The Quickstep is English in origin, and was standardized in 1927. While it
evolved from the Foxtrot, the Quickstep now is quite separate. Unlike the modern
Foxtrot, the man often closes his feet and syncopated steps are regular occurrences
(as was the case in early Foxtrot). Three characteristic dance figures of the
Quickstep are the chassés, where the feet are brought together, the quarter turns,
and the lock step.
This dance gradually evolved into a very dynamic one with a lot of movement
on the dance floor, with many advanced patterns including hops, runs, quick steps
with a lot of momentum, and rotation. The tempo of Quickstep dance is rather brisk
as it was developed to ragtime era jazz music which is fast-paced when compared to
other dance music.
By the end of the 20th century the complexity of Quickstep as done by
advanced dancers had increased, due to the extensive use of syncopated steps with
eighth note durations. While in older times quickstep patterns were counted with
"quick" (one beat) and "slow" (two beats) steps, many advanced patterns today are
cued with split beats, such as "quick-and-quick-and-quick, quick, slow", with there
being further steps on the 'and's.
Cha-cha-cha
The cha-cha-cha, or simply cha-cha, is the name of
a dance of Cuban origin.It is danced to the music of the
same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist
Enrique Jorrín in 1953. This rhythm was developed from
the danzón by a syncopation of the fourth beat.
Cha-cha-cha may be danced to authentic Cuban
music, or to Latin Pop or Latin Rock. The music for the international ballroom chacha-cha is energetic and with a steady beat. The Cuban cha-cha-chá is more sensual
and may involve complex polyrhythms.
Styles of cha-cha-cha dance may differ in the place of the chasse in the
rhythmical structure. The original Cuban and the ballroom cha-cha-cha count is "two,
three, chachacha" or "four-and-one, two, three".
In traditional American Rhythm style, Latin hip movement is achieved through
the alternate bending and straightening action of the knees, though in modern
competitive dancing, the technique is virtually identical to the International Latin style.
In the International Latin style, the weighted leg is almost always straight. The
free leg will bend, allowing the hips to naturally settle into the direction of the
weighted leg. As a step is taken, a free leg will straighten the instant before it
receives weight. It should then remain straight until it is completely free of weight
again.
Cha-cha-cha is one of the five dances of the "Latin American" program of
international ballroom competitions.
In general, steps are kept compact and the dance is danced generally without
any rise and fall. The modern ballroom technique of Cha-cha-cha (and other ballroom
dances) does undergo gradual evolution, particularly in competition dancing, but in
essence is still firmly based on its Cuban origin in the 1950s.
ROCK
Rock music is a genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the
United States in the 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the
1960s and later, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its
roots in 1940s' and 1950s' rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues
and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of other genres such
as blues and folk, and incorporated influences from jazz, classical and other musical
sources.
Musically, rock has centered around the electric guitar, usually as part of a
rock group with bass guitar and drums. Typically, rock is song-based music usually
with a 4/4 time signature utilizing a verse-chorus form, but the genre has become
extremely diverse and common musical characteristics are difficult to define. Like pop
music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other
themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis.
Rock and roll
The foundations of rock music are in rock and
roll, which originated in the United States during the
late 1940s and early 1950s, and quickly spread to
much of the rest of the world. Its immediate origins
lay in a melding of various black musical genres of
the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel
music, with country and western.
Debate surrounds which record should be
considered the first rock and roll record. Contenders
include Goree Carter's "Rock Awhile" (1949); Jimmy
Preston's "Rock the Joint" (1949), which was later
covered by Bill Haley & His Comets in 1952;and
"Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats (in fact, Ike Turner and his band
The Kings of Rhythm), recorded by Sam Phillips for Sun Records in 1951.
It has been argued that "That's All Right (Mama)" (1954), Elvis Presley's first
single for Sun Records in Memphis, was the first rock and roll record,[26] but, at the
same time, Big Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll", later covered by Haley, was
already at the top of the Billboard R&B charts. Other artists with early rock and roll
hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis,
and Gene Vincent.
The sound of rock is traditionally centered around the electric guitar, which
emerged in its modern form in the 1950s with the popularization of rock and roll. The
sound of an electric guitar in rock music is typically supported by an electric bass
guitar pioneered in jazz music in the same era, and percussion produced from a
drum kit that combines drums and cymbals. This trio of instruments has often been
complemented by the inclusion of others, particularly keyboards such as the piano,
Hammond organ and synthesizers. A group of musicians performing rock music is
termed a rock band or rock group and typically consists of between two and five
members.
Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated
rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four.
HIP – HOP
Hip hop music is a music genre consisting of a
stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies
rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.
It developed as part of hip hop culture, a subculture
defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping,
DJing/scratching, break dancing, and graffiti writing.
Other elements include sampling (or synthesis), and beatboxing.
Hip hop as music and culture formed during the 1970s when block parties
became increasingly popular in New York City, particularly among African American
youth residing in the Bronx. Block parties incorporated DJs who played popular
genres of music, especially funk and soul music. Due to the positive reception, DJs
began isolating the percussive breaks of popular songs. This technique was then
common in Jamaican dub music, and was largely introduced into New York by
immigrants from Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean, including DJ Kool Herc,
who is generally considered the father of hip hop.
Breaking
Breaking, an early form of hip hop dance, often involves battles, showing off
technical skills as well as displaying tongue-in-cheek bravado.
In 1924, Earl Tucker , a performer at the Cotton Club, created a dance style
which would later inspire an element of hip hop culture known as b-boying. Breaking,
also called B-boying or breakdancing, is a dynamic style of dance which developed
as part of the hip hop culture.
Breaking was documented in Style Wars, and was later given more focus in
fictional films such as Wild Style and Beat Street. Early acts include the Rock Steady
Crew and New York City Breakers.
Hip Hop culture has had extensive coverage in the media, especially in
relation to television; there have been a number of television shows devoted to or
about hip hop.
There have also been a number of hip hop films, movies which focused on hip
hop as a subject. Some of these films include: Boyz n the Hood, Juice, Menace II
Society, Notorious, and Get Rich Or Die Tryin'.
RAP
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be
broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is
separated into “content”, “flow” (rhythm and rhyme), and “delivery”. Rapping is
distinct from spoken word poetry in that it is performed in time to a beat. Rapping is
often associated with and a primary ingredient of hip hop music and reggae, but the
phenomenon predates hip hop culture by centuries. It can also be found in alternative
rock such as that of Cake and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rapping can be delivered
over a beat or without accompaniment. Stylistically, rap occupies a gray area
between speech, prose, poetry, and singing. The word (meaning originally "to hit") as
used to describe quick speech or repartee predates the musical form .
Rappers use the literary techniques of double entendres, alliteration, and other
forms of wordplay that are also found in classical poetry. Similes and metaphors are
used extensively in rap lyrics; rappers such as Fabolous and Lloyd Banks have
written entire songs in which every line contains similes, whereas MCs like Rakim,
GZA, and Jay-Z are known for the metaphorical content of their raps. Rappers such
as Lupe Fiasco are known for the complexity of their songs that contain metaphors
within extended metaphors.
There are two kinds of freestyle rap: one is scripted (recitation), but having no
particular overriding subject matter, the second typically referred to as "freestyling" or
"spitting", is the improvisation of rapped lyrics. When freestyling, some rappers
inadvertently reuse old lines, or even "cheat" by preparing segments or entire verses
in advance. Therefore, freestyles with proven spontaneity are valued above generic,
always usable lines.
Battle rapping, which can be freestyled, is the competition between two or
more rappers in front of an audience. The tradition of insulting one's friends or
acquaintances in rhyme goes back to the dozens, and was portrayed famously by
Muhammad Ali in his boxing matches. The winner of a battle is decided by the crowd
and/or preselected judges. According to Kool Moe Dee, a successful battle rap
focuses on an opponent's weaknesses, rather than one's own strengths.
The strongest battle rappers will generally perform their rap fully freestyled.
This is the most effective form in a battle as the rapper can comment on the other
person, whether it be what they look like, or how they talk, or what they wear. It also
allows the rapper to reverse a line used to "diss" him or her if they are the second
rapper to battle. This is known as a 'flip'. Jin The Emcee was considered 'World
Champion' battle rapper in the mid-2000s.
Representatives of rap are NWA, Tupac, Notorious BIG, Eminem, Dr.Dre,
DAS efx, Wu-tang clan, Snoop Dogg, Nas, Mobb Deep, Warren G, Nate Dogg,
Coolio, Rakim, Big L.
Though the majorit rappers are male, there have been a number of female rap
stars, including Lauryn Hill, MC Lyte, Lil' Kim, Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah, Da Brat,
Eve, Trina, Nicki Minaj, Khia, M.I.A., Foxy Brown, and Lisa Lopes from TLC. There is
also deaf rap artist Signmark.
Contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is a popular form of dance which developed during the
middle portion of the twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the
dominating performance genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world,
with particularly strong popularity in the U.S. and western Europe. Although originally
informed by and borrowing from classical, modern, and jazz styles, it has since come
to incorporate elements from many styles of dance,[1] but due to its popularity
amongst trained dancers and some overlap in movement type, it is often perceived
as being closely related to modern dance, ballet and other classical concert dance
styles.
Contemporary dance draws on both classical ballet and modern dance,
whereas postmodern dance was a direct and opposite response to modern dance.
Merce Cunningham, initially a student of Martha Graham, accompanied his dance in
April 1944, with music that was composed and performed by John Cage.
Cunningham is considered the first choreographer to "develop an independent
attitude towards modern dance" and defy the ideas that were established by it.
Cunningham made over one hundred and fifty works for his dance company and his
pieces have been incorporated into ballet and modern dance companies
internationally.
Cunningham's key ideas include:
 Contemporary dance does not refuse the classical ballet's leg technique in
favor of modern dance's stress on the torso
 Contemporary dance is not necessarily narrative form of art
 Choreography that appears disordered, but nevertheless relies on technique
 Unpredictable changes in rhythm, speed, and direction
 Multiple and simultaneous actions
 Suspension of perspective and symmetry in ballet scenic frame perspective
such as front, center, and hierarchies
 Creative freedom
 "Independence between dance and music"
 Dance to be danced, not analyzed
Innovative lighting, sets, and costumes in collaboration with Andy Warhol,
Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns.
Other pioneers of contemporary dance (the offspring of modern and
postmodern) include Ruth St. Denis, Doris Humphrey, Mary Wigman, Francois
Delsarte, Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Paul Taylor, Rudolph von Laban, Loie Fuller, Jose
Limon and Marie Rambert.
There is usually a choreographer who makes the creative decisions. He/she
chooses whether the piece is an abstract or a narrative one. Dancers are selected
based on their skill and training. The choreography is determined based on its
relation to the music or sounds that is danced to. The role of music in contemporary
dance is different than in other genres because it can serve as a backdrop to the
piece. The choreographer has control over the costumes and their aesthetic value for
the overall composition of the performance and also in
regards to how they influence dancers’ movements.
Dance techniques and movement philosophies employed in contemporary dance
may include:

Contemporary ballet

Alexander technique

Bartenieff Fundamentals

Contact improvisation

Dance improvisation

Franklin-Methode

Hawkins technique

José Limón technique

Horton technique

Humphrey-Weidman technique

Graham technique

Cunningham technique

Corporeal mime - Étienne Decroux technique

Pilates

Release technique

Yoga

Sullivan Technique
BREAKDANCING
Breakdancing is a style of street dance that originated among AfricanAmerican and Puerto Rican youths in New York City during the early 1970s.The
dance spread worldwide due to popularity in the media, especially in regions such as
South Korea, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan. While diverse
in the amount of variation available in the dance, b-boying consists of four kinds of
movement: toprock, downrock, power moves, and freezes. B-boying is typically
danced to hip-hop and especially breakbeats, although modern trends allow for much
wider varieties of music along certain ranges of tempo and beat patterns.
Dance elements
There are four primary elements that form b-boying. These include toprock,
downrock, power moves, and freezes.
Toprock generally refers to any string of steps performed from a standing
position. It is usually the first and foremost opening display of style, though dancers
often transition from other aspects of b-boying to toprock and back. Toprock has a
variety of steps which can each be varied according to the dancer's expression (ie.
aggressive, calm, excited). A great deal of freedom is allowed in the definition of
toprock: as long as the dancer maintains cleanliness, form, and the b-boy attitude,
theoretically anything can be toprock.
Downrock (also known as "footwork" or "floorwork") is used to describe any
movement on the floor with the hands supporting the dancer as much as the feet.
Downrock includes moves such as the foundational 6-step, and its variants such as
the 3-step. The most basic of downrock is done entirely on feet and hands but more
complex variations can involve the knees when threading limbs through each other.
Power moves are acrobatic moves that require momentum, speed,
endurance, strength, and control to execute. The breaker is generally supported by
his upper body while the rest of his body creates circular momentum. Some
examples are the windmill, swipe, back spin, and head spin. Some power moves are
borrowed from gymnastics and martial arts. An example of a power move taken from
gymnastics is the Thomas Flair which is shortened and spelled flare in b-boying.
Freezes are stylish poses that require the breaker to suspend himself or
herself off the ground using upper body strength in poses such as the pike. They are
used to emphasize strong beats in the music and often signal the end of a b-boy set.
Freezes can be linked into chains or "stacks" where breakers go from freeze to
freeze to freeze in order to hit the beats of the music which displays musicality and
physical strength.
GALLERY