Director/Choreographers and the Impact of the Role on Development of Musical Theatre - Research Paper Example

Director/Choreographers and the Impact of the Role on Development of Musical Theatre al Affiliation Director/ChoreographersBlom & Chaplin (2002) define a choreographer as a person who has the duty of staging dances and musical scenes in a musical creation. The choreographer gives the music a sense of movement which in turn provides it some visual outlook. Initially, the writers and the producers had the concept about a given musical work and the work of the director was just to stage shows and supervise rehearsals so that it could shine through. Directors later on started to also work as choreographers and this gave them increased control over the entire creative process. The importance of the directors and choreographers started to be appreciated in the late 1920s. This was a period that was witnessing a change in how dance was being taken within the music industry. Seymour Felix is among the first choreographers who realized that dance and the plot needed to go hand in hand in musicals. The dance was to aid the plots, character development and in the long run enhance and boost the spirit of the show or any musical creation. Felix began his role as a choreographer by convincing Florenz Ziegler who was the producer of Whoopee! that they needed to incorporate dances which would contribute to the overall outcome and outlook if the creation. Seymour Felix went ahead to device and develop dances which unfolded consistently with the plot of the creation (Kislan, 2005). The devised dances came out as if they were dramatic units themselves instead of just being mere body movements. The impact was very well received and it opened a new way for the dance specialists to play a key role in musical creations. The first choreographers played a big role in integrating dance into unified visual effects. However, their work was more appreciated in commercial dancing than in musical theater. An example of a successful integration process done by the first choreographers was in Pal Joey (Kislan, 2007). In this creation, the dancing enhanced the overall environment and also projected the characters without reducing the entertainment values which were prized in the shows then. During that time, flashy values were highly regarded and the mere fact that the choreographer was able to project the characters and unify the movements of the dances with the plot ensured that the piece was widely accepted and appreciated. With the importance of dances in the character development and the advancement of the plot being recognized, more and more famous directors/choreographers started to emerge. Bob Fosse, Jerome Robbins and Gower Champions are just some of the famous people who advanced the role of dance in music (Kislan, 2005). According to Kislan (2005), Jerome Robins always had the belief that any person who controlled the movement would then be controlling the show. His belief was quite apparent in the West Side Story in which he allowed himself to be moved by intense passion of an adolescent teenage boy. Later on, he left commercial dancing to take part in choreography with the New York City Ballet. His exit gave rise to another key choreographer in the name of Bob Fosse who furthered the integration of dance in music. Kislan (2005) remarks that Bob Fosses had a unique talent and ability to manipulate and tamper with the contributions of the writers so that he could make the materials applicable to his own choreography and staging desires. His ability to create distinct and personal styles earned him public approval and acceptance. Gower Champion on the other had was not very personal in his choreography the way Fosse was. Nether was he material oriented like Jerome Robbins. However, he was able to sustain his classical scenes for a long time. Blom & Chaplin (2002) states that Gower used dancing to embellish and extend the already existing motions in a piece of musical creation. Impact of the New Role Development of Musical Theatre Today, choreographers work with various people so that they can develop and interpret the ideas of a writer and come up with a finished performance. With this, they have taken the overall control on the production process as they work with other people in the musical development process. In most instances, thee choreographer is taken to be an individual who merely creates the dancing routines which are then followed by dancers in a performance. Bremser & Sanders (2011) takes this as a very shallow description of the work that they do in the current music environment. Their duties have expanded and the impact can be seen in the increased importance that is currently placed on dance in various creations and performances. The role of the choreographer today is modelled around the creation of sequences of dances and other movements which are meant to bring the story to life. In order to play this role, they are required to have an in-depth understanding and knowledge of the musical theater. It includes understanding of acting, score composition and the overall production process. It is for this reason that the choreographers supplement their training in formal dances with some kind of education in musical theater. With this kind of knowledge and understanding they are able to act hand in and with the directors, the set designers and a large group of dancers with diverse dancing abilities and capabilities. Marsico (2011) notes that in the current musical theater, director/ choreographer must get an understanding of the vision of the show including the pacing, the selected style and the script. It not only allows them to integrate their ideas into the overall process but to also supports and enhances the vision of the creator of that particular piece. They do this by making the dances and the movements in the work to be part of a larger picture. Ref points out the choreographer does not always have to work in such limited spaces in musical development by supporting the vision of the writer or the creator of the piece. In other instances, they are accorded a great deal of freedom. Even in such cases, they have to ensure that whatever they come up with supports the story, the characters and the intent of the musical work. When working as part of the production team, they will always be required to collaborate with the set designers, the lighting team and the costume designers to create more appealing visual value. The impact that this group has had in development of the musical theater can also be seen in the way sequence of movements are today devised and structured when creating dance work. In the current world and music theatre, it is the sole duty of the choreographers to come up with movement materials that draw from individual dancing creativity and styles so that they can enhance the artistic intent of the creation (Marsico, 2011). In other cases, the choreographer achieves this goal by inventing new movements and teaching it to the dancers. With the presence of several choreographers in the industry, new dancing styles and movements are coming up from every corner of the globe. The evidence of this can be seen in the diversity in the dances and movements which can be found in different musical creations today. Despite the fact that the movements may not always be new, the director/choreographers have used their skills to manipulate and repurpose these movements with the outcome appearing as something new. With the choreographers being allowed to take part in the selection of the dancers, they are able to choose those who will perfectly fit into their choreographic visions and ideas both in terms of movement and performance (Blom & Chaplin, 2002). This has brought about the synchronization and streamlining of the dances and movements in musical creations which are being produced in the modern times. The new role of the director/ choreographer has also impacted on the approaches used to come up with movements and dances in the musical theater creations. Initially, dancing was all about moving the feet and other body parts in line with the tune of that particular creation. The choreographers have taken this to a completely new dimension through the way they approach the dancing component of music and the way they come up with the ideas to be passed on to the dancers. Majority of these people rely on evidence based approaches so that they are sure that the outcome of their work is in line with the writer’s artistic intent. Marsico (2011) remarks that once a dance or movement idea has been found, there is a great deal of research which is done before it sis passed to the dancers. This contrasts the old time where little amount of prior work was involved. Directors/ choreographers carry out historical, musical and movement research so that they get the required information about a particular movement and the clear approach which will ensure that the goals are achieved. When they decide to carry out the movement research with the dancers, they will have a better understanding of the ideas and the effect is seen on the overall outcome of the dances. The role of the directors/ choreographer has evolved with the passage of time. They are no longer tasked with only coming up with dancing routines or supervising rehearsals. In the current musical world, they are part and parcel of the production team and their ideas have greatly contributed to the unification of movements with the plot and characters thus giving the work greater visual appeal. References Blom, L & Chaplin, T. (2002).The Intimate Act of Choreography. Pennsylvania: University of Pittsburgh Press. Bremser, M. & Sanders, L. (2011).Fifty Contemporary Choreographers. New York: Routledge. Kislan, R. (2005).The Musical: A Look at the American Musical Theater. New York: Applause Books. Kislan, R. (2007). Hoofing on Broadway. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall Press. Marsico, K. (2011). Choreographer. North Mankato: Cherry Lake Publishing. Read More