The Role of Dance in Representation and Contextualization of Culture - Assignment Example

Dance The role of art more so dance in representation and contextualization of culture can scarcely be over d. In any dance, the social, cultural, historical and even contemporary framework of the performance can be witnessed upon a rich background tableau. This is because the choreography will always- explicitly or otherwise, intone aspects of the directors’ or even participants’ cultural ideology as well as reflections of the world as they see it through the movements and plot if one is included. However, the content of a performance is not automatically correct in its representation; sometimes a dance may lack veracity and end up either misrepresenting or marginalizing cultural assumptions construed within or without its motions. This paper will focus on representation vs. misrepresentation of cultural identities through the two videos analyzed. For them to be effective, they must be searched for authenticity which can be identified through the fact that they portray realistic and historically valid view points and they are successful in delivering their message and creating the impression they were intended to. While conceding that a dance in many cases serves to center the focus on a specific culture or cultural outlook on stage, it can also be conversely used to marginalize. The world of contemporary and even ex post facto performances has been characterized by stereotypes most concerning racial identities and perceptions. In many cases, this has resulted in either marginalizing or misrepresenting cultural outlooks and in this paper, the extent to which the two dances cited either represent or misrepresent cultural issues or fail to do so will be examined. The west side captures the gang conflict that characterizes America in the 50’s with white Caucasian gangs fighting with their Puerto Rican counterparts supposedly for dominance in the streets. The dance was initially brought to the stage by writers and producers whose intent was to recreate a modern day Romeo and Juliet story. Their key focus was the prejudices that faced ethical, racial and religious groups in the United States during this period. While in the case of Romeo and Juliet, it was the Montagues vs. the Capulets, on the other hand, in the West side story, it was the two leading gangs in New York, Sharks vs. Jets. These were representative of the middle class New York population vs. the influx of Puerto Rican and Mexican families that were taking a hold in what was traditionally “white turf”(Cohen). Throughout the story, racial and cultural tensions run high, which prepares the stage for fired up and exciting dancing with strong, very suggestive and overt meanings in each move. In both the stage and movie versions, the choreography is varied throughout the production; nevertheless, there are some key moves in scenes simultaneously depicting the two gangs. These scenes embody, the traditional ensemble musical theatre, which is also known as character dance carried out in complete unison in some sections of the dance. The tight synchronization is a characteristic of the allegiance the street gangs held for each other in that they travel as one solid unit against their enemy. This is expressed through the men’s dancing in which at some point a member of one racial group are outnumbered and bullied by the rival group. However, when they get the advantage of numbers in subsequent scenes, they once again take up the upper hand and this goes on and off not unlike a see saw with each side alternatively getting dominance until a free for all ensues and the police arrive. The plot of west side story is a musical that requires dancers to tell the whole story entirely through movement as opposed to words (Dance On). Theater critics have pointed out that the dance uses intricate ballet to capture the unpleasant and xenophobic life of intolerance that characterized New York slums. While the dance does not seek to portray any specific racial or cultural attributes of one of the communities in the dance, it shows the culture of violence and discrimination that characterizes New York in the 50s and early 60s. Its authenticity is underscored by the fact that in addition to representing the cultural tensions effectively, its storyline is genuine and historically viable and relevant. In the sixth lesson, the dance is Brklyn Flex: Spyda’s hat trick, the moves and choreography are largely freestyles since he performs most of the motions on his own. The dance and the video in general are representative of the black American role in dance, traditionally, there have been numerous stereotypes and misconceptions about the nature of African American dance. It has been portrayed as violent and essentially non-conformist, this is however proven to be a misrepresentation; at least in this particular clip. Spyda is a talented and highly decorated dancer whose main attraction is the “hat trick” in which he carries out a series of highly synchronized and precise acrobatic moves with a hat hence the name. The motions include aspects of break dancing and dramatic dances but most of what he does appears to be “ad libbed”. The introductory part of the clip shows the artist moving around his old neighborhood and introducing the interview to his friends and family seeking to give the viewers some insight into his past life and how it has influenced his career. The video later shows SPYDA in his house rehearsing and training for some acrobatic dance moves with his group members (“Bklyn Flex: Spyda”). These clips are representative of the fact that “black” dance is just as sophisticated and requiring as much practice as convectional Western ones such as salsa and ballroom dancing. One major misconception about the street dancing genre is that the artists are simply uneducated and uncouth youths engaged uncoordinated and uncultured movements. However, a closer look at the moves in the clips prove these wrong, the dancing requires constant practice and it is no less authentic or cultured than the convectional forms. In addition, it is reflective of the intercultural metropolis in which most of the artists have been brought up, given that many actually leant street dancing on actual streets. The two dances are as different as any pair of performances separated by more than half a century can be most notable is the fact that the cultural setting in terms of participants and issues are radially distinct from each other. The west side dance appears more choreographed and harmonized in the conventional sense, its Broadway background casts it as dramatic dance directly attempting to mimic a normal story telling narrative. The SPYDA performances on the other hand are culturally autonomous in themselves since they only represent the actions of the individual dancer. However, they are set in a background of acute cultural and social complexities in the projects, the main performer tries to draws a connection between his inspirations to make dance with the desire to make a better life for himself away from the violence of the streets. It is worth noting that most of the performance is next to a shoreline with a blue background and very serene setting. This is in acute contradiction with the violent streets in the west side video, however in a sense it could assumed that the violence depicted in the Westside video is basically what the SPYDA video is trying to escape through dance. In conclusion, it can be said that the biggest difference between the two videos is that SPYDA shows how music can be used to escape and to substitute violence while the other uses dance to give form and shape the violence that rent the streets of New York. Both are however similar in that they explore the theme of cultural challenges facing Americans of different races and use dance as vessel to rechanneled the energies that are otherwise employed in the quest for violence. Works Cited BKLYN FLEX: SPYDA. Thrash Lab.. 2012. YouTube Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp2tc6aitmc&feature=youtu.be Cohen, Patricia. Same City New Story. New York Times. 2009. Web. August 22 2014 Dance On. “West Side Story”; Prologue Official Full Number 50th Anniversary. 2011. YouTube Video Read More