How To Analyse Dance Performance

On October 22nd, 2016 I attended the Celebrate Forsythe Dance performance at The Music Center and downtown. This performance consisted of three major ballet companies all performing pieces choreographed by William Forsythe. The first dance, Pas/Parts 2016 performed by the San Francisco Ballet struck me immediately as unique as all the women were wearing what appeared to be normal colored leotards in the front, had striking jewel-toned colors on the back. The men were dressed in black and other colors but none of their outfits were consecutive. The music was strange and uncomfortable to me as it had such impossible counts to dance to. It seemed as though the dances were relying more on feeling than counts for timing. This music was very mixed …show more content…
At first I thought the costumes were more traditional as well but I was wrong! Tutus were flat and bouncy, and the female dancers wore beautiful bright green leotards. The male dancers wore natural brown leotards and all together, the dancers looks like cattails and lily pads. I noticed a lot of trios in this piece and this added to the fun, playful feeling. Finally, the third dance, Artifact Suite, performed by the Houston Ballet was by far one of the strangest and creative things I have ever seen. The stage was set with one scores of giant lamps coming only from the stage right side, casting shadows and highlights on every dancer’s body. These costumes were minimal, I almost thought all the dancers were naked. The very large ensemble framed the featured dancers which was very aesthetically pleasing to me. Some dances were separated by the curtains dropping and bring lifted and almost instantly the dancers would be in a totally new shape. This was very impressing and made me think about what great discipline the Houston Ballet possessed. This piece had a mix of solo, duets, and very large group dances and this was interesting to me as I often do not think of ballet as a large group