Freda Miller Modern Dance Musician, 1911-1960 Remember Modernism? Soon after women won their right to vote, they began the audacious exploration of dance as their own art form. Women were often their musical collaborators, as well. Here I'll introduce you to a significant one: Freda Miller. The staples of suburban dance studios seem to reference [...]
On a whim, I looked up “November 18” in music history and discovered a coincidence of composer birthdays. 11/18/1680 is the birthday of Jean-Baptiste Loeillet. 11/18/1860 is the birthday of Ignacy Jan Paderewski. Maybe I'm easily amazed, but that was enough to get me going. Loeillet The Loeillet soubriquet has been a bit confusing for [...]
https://youtu.be/bO0sgeLDujY Here's a clear example of the Jaques-Dalcroze method in practice, specifically addressing technique to help musicians step seamless equal durations.
Misty Copeland - Photo Rosalie O'Connor Not everything is about technique. CBS reran a 60 Minutes segment about ABT soloist Misty Copeland tonight. When asked, "What caught your eye?" American Ballet Theatre Director, Kevin McKenzie, replied: "She has a proportion to her body and she has a response to music -- a visceral response [...]
Thoughtful little animation from Born to Learn, part of John Abbott's ambitious 21st Century Learning Initiative.
This video (it will load here in a minute or so) shows an approach to early childhood education that values children's natural, inborn drive for play as key to development. After all, what children find fun is exactly what they need to be doing in order to thrive -- that's the design of evolution. There is no [...]
Three videos I assigned my Music for Dance class to watch… They encompass a lot of the ideas we've been working with. Baroque.me - Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1, visualized by Alexander Chen: Rendition of the "Little" Fugue in G Minor by Stephen Malinowski: 1934 film of Doris Humphrey's choreography - "Air" from [...]
Here is a wonderful clip from a 1925 German film titled Wege zu Kraft und Schönheit (Ways to Strength and Beauty). I'd seen a few seconds of the Jaques-Dalcroze Hellerau footage in another film, and asked Dalcroze/dance historian Selma Odom about it. She knew the film right away. This is a clear example of the [...]
An interesting series of dance videos was posted on YouTube some years ago. They show the Isadora Duncan Dancers, probably in the 1970s, performing Duncan's choreography. Isadora choreographed with a natural sense of music. She favored the Romantics, especially Schubert and Chopin, and used simple movements, like skipping. Her sense of phrasing is very clear [...]
Divisions of 12 from MDale on Vimeo. This video is from the 2012 Institute for Jaques-Dalcroze Education. Jack Stevenson taught and played for the exercise.