Annotated Working Draft & Hotspots - Dance

Component Assignments:

1. Communication and Persuasion in Dance Reviewing and Grant Writing
In this post, I focus on the idea that while dance is an art form that largely communicates solely with the physical body, it also needs verbal communication and written words to thrive. I explain how dance reviewing and grant writing are two main ways dance relies on verbal and written communication for feedback and growth.

2. Storytelling in Dance
This post tells how storytelling in dance often comes in the form of telling stories to explain the creative process that goes on behind-the-scenes when creating a work. Audience members don't often see dance choreography in its "work in progress" phase. They normally see it in a polished finished state, ready for performance. Stories can give background as to how a piece of work came to be.

3. History of Dance: A Long Standing Art Form in a Nutshell
This blog post explains how the art of dance is not something new to us, neither is communicating about it. Throughout the centuries, people have communicated about dance for different reasons and in different ways. Dance developed to a point where we could now critique it and discuss it in a more academic setting. But dance has always been a part of human culture.

4. Institutional Authority and Communication in Dance Teaching and Training
In this post, I explain an authoritative institution that communicates the qualifications, certification, and basis for which we teach dance and how we train students. I also use a story based on true events to show how one can be involved in and communicate about dance in different ways.


Hot Spots:

1. Hotspot #1: In the Field - We use dance because it expresses something that transcends words. But words help take dance to a higher level of maturity and sophistication. Dance reviewing is critical in giving feedback to help grow and develop a dancer or a choreographer. Communication about dance has to be more objective rather than the subjective, "I liked it," or "I didn't like it." Writing or talking about dance needs to be able to pull evidence from the movement itself and try to push away personal opinions or biases.

2. Hotspot #2: Personal - Storytelling is something I rely on a lot when choreographing. A lot of people look at works of choreography and if they don't "understand" it or immediately pick up on "what it was about", then they often retreat to the opinion of "I didn't like it." Storytelling needs to come through words to give explanations of our creative process and also come through the movement as we try to relate our inspiration to the audience.

3. Hotspot #3: Historical - Dance has evolved to fulfill different needs of a civilization, whether it had to do with religion, status, or emotional confusion. We have to understand why our society today needs dance, and how we use it, in order to understand how we communicate about it and what things are being said.