Text 5 Professional Performance Dances

Text 5
Pre-reading activity.
Discuss the following questions.
1. What do you understand by saying “Professional performance dances”?

2. What Professional performance dances are you acquainted with?
3. Are Contemporary dances considered as types of Professional performance
dances?
Professional Performance Dances
Performance dance (also known as concert dance or theatre dance in

the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed
in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is
usually choreographed and performed to set music.
Professional dancing was first introduced in the early years of Italian Renaissance
when music, dance, arts and poetry started to rise in popularity after the millennia of
medieval stagnation. Refined by the efforts of the France and Russia, ballet became
the premier technical concert dance. Hailed as one of the most revered and most
complicated dance of all time, ballet continued its rise to worldwide domination. In
the modern times, many other professional dances came to be, such as Contemporary
dance, Modern Dance, Concert dance, but none of them managed to surpass the
complexity, physical strain, and heritage of ballet.
Ballet - Ballet is without any doubt one of the most highly technical and famous
of all performance dances. It was originally created in the 15th century Renaissance
Italy, but it received popularization in countries such as France and Russia. It has
since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary
based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the
foundational techniques used in many other dance genres and cultures. Ballet has
been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated
their own cultures and as a result, the art has evolved in a number of distinct ways.
It’s incredible popularity and influence has had a profound impact on techniques
found in many other dances, and has even morphed the cultural histories of many
countries around the world. Ballets are choreographed and performed by trained ballet
dancers. Traditional classical ballets are usually performed with classical
music accompaniment and use elaborate costumes and staging, whereas modern
ballets, such as the neoclassical works of American choreographer George
Balanchine, often are performed in simple costumes (e.g., leotards and tights) and
without the use of elaborate sets or scenery.
Contemporary dance - Contemporary dance is a highly complicated type of

modern performance dance that originated in the mid-20th century as an alternative to
classical dance styles (such as ballet), modern styles (free dance) and Jazz dance. Its
focus on free leg movement, strong stress on the torso, disordered choreography,
unpredictability, multiple and simultaneous actions, improvisation, and non-
standardized costumes, sets, and lighting has pushed this dance into the forefront of
modern art dance scene. Contemporary dancers strive to connect the mind and the
body through fluid dance movements. Contemporary dance stresses versatility and
improvisation, unlike the strict, structured nature of ballet. Contemporary dancers
focus on floor work, using gravity to pull them down to the floor. This dance genre is
often done in bare feet. Contemporary dance can be performed to many different
styles of music. Pioneers of contemporary dance include Isadora Duncan, Martha
Graham, and Merce Cunningham, because they broke the rules of the strict forms of
ballet. These dancer/choreographers all believed that dancers should have freedom of
movement, allowing their bodies to freely express their innermost feelings.
Modern Dance - Modern dance is an influential performance dance that
originated as a reaction against the classical ballet and its movement style. Shaped by
many factors in late 19th and early to mid-20th century, modern dance evolved into a
popular free dance style that includes elements of performance art, release technique,
improvisation and contact improvisation. Modern dance is a broad genre of
western concert or theatrical dance, primarily arising out of Germany and the United
States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern dance is often considered to
have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet. Socioeconomic
and cultural factors also contributed to its development.
Throughout the 20th century, sociopolitical concerns, major historical events, and
the development of other art forms contributed to the continued development of
modernist dance in the United States and Germany. Moving into the 1960s, new ideas
about dance began to emerge, as a response to earlier dance forms and to social
changes. Eventually, postmodern dance artists would reject the formalism of modern
dance, and include elements such as performance art, contact improvisation, release
technique, and improvisation.
Concert Dance - Concert dance (also known as stage dance) is any

choreographed dance that is performed for an audience, usually at the theatre or an
organized gathering setting with the presence of set music. It is a polar opposite of
social or participation dances, where participants can freely dance how and when they
wish. Most popular concert dances are Acrobatic dance, Tap dance, Classical Indian
or Persian dances and others.
Glossary
Theatre setting թատերական ներկայացում

Stagnation անգործություն, լճացում
To hail համարվել, հռչակվել
To revere հարգել, մեծարել, երկրպագել
To surpass գերազանցել, առաջ ընկնել
To evolve զարգանալ, էվոլյուցիայի ենթարկվել
Profound impact խորը ազդեցություն
Elaborate հատուկ ձևավորված, մշակված
Tights սեղմիրան հագուստ (թատերական)
Torso իրան, մարին
Unpredictability անկանխատեսելիություն
Simultaneous actions միաժամանակյա, համաժամյա
Fluid dance movements պարային ճկուն շարժումներ
Versatility բազմակողմանիություն,
փոփոխականություն
Performance art կատարողական արվեստ
Rejection, rebellion մերժում, ապստամբություն
Contribute to the development նպաստել զարգացմանը
Concerns մտահոգություններ, ( այստեղ նաև`
գործեր)
Eventually վերջիվերջո
Improvisation հանպատրաստից ստեղծագործություն
Post-reading activities.
Task 1. Choose the right answer.
1. The verb “refine” is closest in meaning to

a. Redefine
b. Improve
c. React
d. Impose
2. Ballet is without any doubt one of the most famous of all …….
a. Jazz dances
b. Hip-hop dances
c. Performance dances
d. Modern dances.
3. Which word is synonymous to the word “staging”?
a. Performance
b. Playing
c. Presentation
d. Participation
4. Concert dance is a polar opposite of social or

a. Modern dances
b. Contemporary dances
c. Street dances
d. Participation dances
5. According to the text hailed as one of the most revered and most complicated
dance of all time,
a. ballet continued its rise to worldwide domination.
b. ballet has been globally influential.
c. ballet has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance
genres and cultures.
d. ballet has been taught in various schools around the world.
Task 2. Are the sentences True or False?

1. In the Concert dance the participants can freely dance how and when they wish.
…….
2. We may say that, only socioeconomic factors contributed to the development of
Modern dances. …….
3. Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham broke the rules of the
strict forms of ballet. …….
4. Contemporary dance’s main idea is to connect the mind and the body through
fluid dance movements. …….
5. Professional dancing was first introduced in France and Russia. …….
Task 3. Match the words with their definitions.

1. Influential a. increase sth. or add to sth.
2. Requirement b. having a lot of power on sb./sth.
3. Rebellion c. the action of resisting control
4. Contribute d. things that are depended on or needed
5. Millennia (millennium) e. a period of 1000 years
Task 4. Fill in the gaps with the given words or word-combinations.

(Inspiration, theater companies, corseted ballet costumes, performed,
dancing career)
Isadora Duncan
Angela Isadora Duncan was an American and French dancer who ……………. to

acclaim throughout Europe. Born in California, she lived in Western Europe and
the Soviet Union from the age of 22 until her death at age 50, when her scarf became
entangled in the wheels and axle of the car in which she was riding.
Duncan began her ……………………….. at a very early age by giving lessons in
her home to neighborhood children, and this continued through her teenage years. Her
novel approach to dance was evident in these early classes, in which she "followed
her fantasy and improvised, teaching any pretty thing that came into her head". A
desire to travel brought her to Chicago, where she was auditioned for many
………………………….., finally finding a place in Augustin Daly's company. This
took her to New York City where her unique vision of dance clashed with the popular
pantomimes of theater companies.
Duncan's philosophy of dance moved away from rigid ballet technique and
towards what she perceived as natural movement. To restore dance to a high art form
instead of merely entertainment, she strove to connect emotions and movement:
Duncan took ……………………. from ancient Greece and combined it with an
American love of freedom. Her movement was feminine and arose from the deepest
feelings in her body. This is exemplified in her revolutionary costume of a white
Greek tunic and bare feet. Inspired by Greek forms, her tunics also allowed a freedom
of movement that ………………………….. and pointe shoes did not. Costumes were
not the only inspiration Duncan took from Greece: she was also inspired by
ancient Greek art, and utilized some of its forms in her movement.
Task 5. Translate the following sentences.
1. Բալետն այսօր ամենալայն տարածում գտած պարերից է, որն

ի սկզբանե զարգացել է Ռենեսանսի դարաշրջանի
Իտալիայուն. այն ունի իր ուրույն բառապաշարը՝ հիմնված
Ֆրանսերեն տերմինաբանության վրա:
2. Բեմական պարը դա ցանկացած բեմադրված պարն է՝
նախատեսված հանդիսատեսի դատին ներկայացվելու
համար ընտրված որոշակի երաժշտության ներքո:
3. Կանտեմպը ի հայտ է եկել 20-րդ դարի կեսերին որպես
դասական պարերի այլընտրանքային տարբերակ, որտեղ
հիմնական շեշտը դրվում է իմպրովիզացիայի և
բազմաբովանդակության վրա:
4. Ընդունված է համարել, որ Ժամանակակից պարերի
զարգացման համար հիմք են հանդիսացել մի շարք սոցիալ-
տնտեսական և մշակույթային գործոններ. դրանք մեծապես
առաջացել են իբրև մերժում կամ նույնիսկ ապստամբություն
դասական պարերի դեմ:
5. Կատարողական պարերը կամ ինչպես ընդունված է նաև
անվանել Բեմական կամ Թատերական պարերը, ի հայտ են
եկել Իտալիայում, սակայն հետագայում մեծ տարածում և
հանրահայտություն են ձեռք բերել ի շնորհիվ այլ երկրների՝
Ֆրանսիայի և Ռուսաստանի:
Task 6. Speaking activity.
Read the passage about Modern dances and answer the questions.
Modern dance is usually performed bare feet and does not require specific
costumes or shoes, but prefers unconventional costuming. It also rejects the upright,
erect posture of the body and instead favors a more free or relaxed style of dancing.
The interesting fact about this dance form is that, dancers use their body weight to
enhance dance movements. This dance form also encourages to break the preset dance
rules and design your own movements to evoke various emotions and moods like
passion, anger, love, humor, ecstasy, and many others.
1. What do you think what is the main difference between the Ballet and Modern
dance?
2. What do you prefer practicing- strict dances with rules, like the Ballet or no
rules, no specific costumes like that in the Modern dances?
3. What do think which of these dances can better express the dancers’ emotions?

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Text 5

Discuss the following questions.

1. What do you understand by saying “Professional performance dances”?

Professional Performance Dances

Performance dance (also known as concert dance or theatre dance in

Contemporary dance - Contemporary dance is a highly complicated type of

Concert Dance - Concert dance (also known as stage dance) is any

Theatre setting թատերական ներկայացում

Task 1. Choose the right answer.

1. The verb “refine” is closest in meaning to

4. Concert dance is a polar opposite of social or

Task 2. Are the sentences True or False?

Task 3. Match the words with their definitions.

Task 4. Fill in the gaps with the given words or word-combinations.

Angela Isadora Duncan was an American and French dancer who ……………. to

Task 5. Translate the following sentences.

1. Բալետն այսօր ամենալայն տարածում գտած պարերից է, որն

Task 6. Speaking activity.

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