Cry essay elements of dance
Question: Explain how the elements of dance are used in Alvin Ailey’s Cry to engage the audience. For example space/time/dynamics, relationship
In 1971, Alvin Ailey created one of his best-known ballets ‘Cry’ as a birthday present for his mother Lula Ailey. Ailey dedicated it to ‘all black women everywhere, especially our mothers.’ The three-part ballet was to popular and gospel music by Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro and Chuck Griffin. The Ballet is interpreted to display the hardship and servitude women faced, the anger and rage as a result of agonies of slavery; to the ecstatic state of grace, pride and joy for their cultural heritage for all that is worth triumphing for like their children. Cry has been engaging audiences since 1971 as its intensions attract the attention from international audiences being recognized as a memorable dance that holds up by itself no matter who the dancer is.
Cry begins with the symbolic depiction of servitude with the dancer is shown to be to be wearing a large white garment, which evokes her purity in the dark world of slavery she is forced in in. She begins the performance with angst walking in a melodramatic fashion then she dance with proudness and determination shown in her straight confident posture; and finally her strength and power are evoked in her fast sequence of Chaine’ turns and her sharp and angular Grahamesque arms. This first act demonstrates that she has overcome her issues with slavery and takes pride in her culture knowing she is not alone. She evokes this emotion by staying towards the front of the stage to captivate the audience’s attention.
In the first act, Ailey used a cloth prop to demonstrate different objects used by the slaves. The cloth is used as cleaning cloth on the floor where the dancer scrubs the floor on her hands and knees to the dynamic change of a shawl and headdress which demonstrates what the rich would wear, her ancestry and a sense of formality. The tensions in angular
In 1971, Alvin Ailey created one of his best-known ballets ‘Cry’ as a birthday present for his mother Lula Ailey. Ailey dedicated it to ‘all black women everywhere, especially our mothers.’ The three-part ballet was to popular and gospel music by Alice Coltrane, Laura Nyro and Chuck Griffin. The Ballet is interpreted to display the hardship and servitude women faced, the anger and rage as a result of agonies of slavery; to the ecstatic state of grace, pride and joy for their cultural heritage for all that is worth triumphing for like their children. Cry has been engaging audiences since 1971 as its intensions attract the attention from international audiences being recognized as a memorable dance that holds up by itself no matter who the dancer is.
Cry begins with the symbolic depiction of servitude with the dancer is shown to be to be wearing a large white garment, which evokes her purity in the dark world of slavery she is forced in in. She begins the performance with angst walking in a melodramatic fashion then she dance with proudness and determination shown in her straight confident posture; and finally her strength and power are evoked in her fast sequence of Chaine’ turns and her sharp and angular Grahamesque arms. This first act demonstrates that she has overcome her issues with slavery and takes pride in her culture knowing she is not alone. She evokes this emotion by staying towards the front of the stage to captivate the audience’s attention.
In the first act, Ailey used a cloth prop to demonstrate different objects used by the slaves. The cloth is used as cleaning cloth on the floor where the dancer scrubs the floor on her hands and knees to the dynamic change of a shawl and headdress which demonstrates what the rich would wear, her ancestry and a sense of formality. The tensions in angular