For this assignment, choose one of the two following videos to review
Anna Teresa De Keersmaker, Rosas dans Rosa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=vlLZExpgBOY&list=PL3PZUXwEt5of3JKVwpWhrum6QoCiG2RII&index=22&t=0s (Links to an external site.)
Jerome Bel, Pichet Klunchun and Myself
http://www.jeromebel.fr/index.php?p=2&s=10&ctid=8 (Links to an external site.)
Write a review of once of the dance pieces you viewed as if you were a journalist writing for a broad but
educated public. Include the names and details of the production (author, director, venue), and discussion of
the strengths and weaknesses of the piece that could let a reader know whether they want to go see it or not.
Do some research and place the piece and broader style of the dancing into a larger cultural context.
Also critique your own point of view: why might you like one aspect of the piece and not others.
GIVE direct examples of the piece, describing the movement, to back up any statements you make.
You do NOT have to describe every moment, give 2-3 examples to back up what you are trying to say.
Some points to consider:
• Staging choices — was their use of the physical space effective?
• Sound/music, sets/costumes — how did the various design choices serve the piece?
• Do you get a sense of the choreographer? Is there a vision for the piece? Did it succeed?
• What was the affective charge of the piece? What did it make you feel? What does this teach you about
your own positionality in relation to the piece.
• How is ethnicity performed? Where might this kind of dancing come from? Do you notice kinesthetic
traces of other kinds of dances within the dance you are watching?
• How are gender roles performed?
• What kind of body does the dancing privilege?
Identify at least two aspects of the piece that succeeded (in your view), and two that did not. Justify your
assertions.
Here are some examples of good theater/dance reviews. Look at them for a sense of their writing tone,
attention to detail, and balance of description and opinion.
http://www.thedancecurrent.com/review/yellow-towel
http://www.njarts.net/dance/new-bill-t-jones-dance-theater-piece-vividly-depicts-a-refugees-journey/
On a Spanish-language Marquez, http://theater.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/theater/reviews/love-in-the-time-ofcholera-at-the-gramercy-arts-theater.html
On Book of Mormon, http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/theatre/2011/04/04/110404crth_theatre_lahr