American Jazz Simple

Question 1

Origins of jazz

Answer 1

African dance
Minstrel shows
Cake walk
1920 social dance
Vaudeville (variety show/ follies)
Burlesque (sexy)
European influences

Question 2

Characteristics of jazz

Answer 2

Low COG
percussion
Isolations
Syncopation
Parallel pirouettes
High kicks
Body leading from torso and pelvis 
Traveling
Quick, little steps

Question 3

1920’s social dance examples

Answer 3

Shimmy
Charleston
Black bottom
Snake hips
Lindy hop

Question 4

Who is jack coke known as and why?

Answer 4

The farther of jazz because he influenced lots of people

Question 5

Characteristics of Jack Cole

Answer 5

Low to the floor, upright torso
Plié
Fusion of modern and bharanatyam 
Isolations
Bursting leaps from floor
Knee slides

Question 6

What is kismets date?

Answer 6

1955

Question 7

What did Jack Cole study?

Answer 7

Modern, ballet and ethnic dance

Question 8

Where do we see African dance in kismet?

Answer 8

2 male dancers drag run smoothly on a low level.
They full plié into an explosive jump.
Sudden claps with arms above their heads.
Controlled head isolation in unison.
Throughout this they have finger and thumb together showing inseam technique.

Question 9

What year is sing sing sing!?

Answer 9

1947

Question 10

Where do we see slides and explosive jumps in sing sing sing!?

Answer 10

4 men slide and jump 4 times in a circle

Question 11

Who was Bob Fosse influenced by?

Answer 11

Jack Cole, Fred Astaire and Jerome Robins

Question 12

What is significant about Bob Fosses child hood?

Answer 12

Dad worked in night clubs meaning he spent a lot of time there leading to him performing in vaudeville and broadway

Question 13

What themes does Fosse tend to explore?

Answer 13

Darker and grittier than other musicals at the time

Question 14

How did Bob Fosse revolutionize the use of camera?

Answer 14

Fast cuts, closeups on body parts

Question 15

What makes fosses works so recognizable?

Answer 15

Sexualizes dancers, empowers women, use of props

Question 16

Why does Fosse use props?

Answer 16

To cover his imperfections (black, hats and canes, pigeon toes)

Question 17

What year was sweet charity?

Answer 17

1966

Question 18

What year was pyjama game?

Answer 18

1953

Question 19

What year was cabaret?

Answer 19

1972

Question 20

What year was Chicago?

Answer 20

1975

Question 21

What is the section steam heat from?

Answer 21

Pajama game

Question 22

Motif from steam heat

Answer 22

3 dancers drop into pigeon toes with head down.
Pop up pushing hat up.
(Black suites)

Question 23

Who was Agnes De Mille known as and why?

Answer 23

The mother of musicals because she revolutionized using dance to further the plot

Question 24

What is significant about Anges De Milles dad?

Answer 24

He worked on Hollywood and told her she wasn’t pretty enough to act or do ballet

Question 25

What happened after she created the dream batter in rodeo (1942)?

Answer 25

She was hired to choreograph for Oklahoma! (1943)

Question 26

What year was Oklahoma! created?

Answer 26

1943

Question 27

An example of showing emotion in Oklahoma!

Answer 27

Laurey leaps with pointed toes to show she is happy

Question 28

What happens in Oklahoma’s dream ballet

Answer 28

Laurey is overjoyed to see Curley and expresses her love towards him via pas de doux. Leads to a wedding but soon turns dark as just enters and turns the dream into a night mare

Question 29

What year is carousel?

Answer 29

1945

Question 30

What is carousel about?

Answer 30

Lovers who get fired from their jobs and elope. They find out she if pregnant and he commits a robbery with the police turning up. He tries to escape and falls on his own knife dying in her arms. 15 years later her is aloud down from heaven to see him daughter and wife

Question 31

How is her attraction to him shows in carousel?

Answer 31

She sits in a lyrical 4th and shimmies her shoulders, sweeping her left her hand over her face to sweep her hair away. Flutters her eyelashes while looks over her shoulder to him

Question 32

Who was Jerome Robbins influenced by?

Answer 32

Agnes de Mille

Question 33

What year was west side story?

Answer 33

1961

Question 34

What was west side story’s stimulus?

Answer 34

Romeo and Juliet, gangs in NY and racial tension in america

Question 35

How is the theme of conflict shown in the prologue of west side story?

Answer 35

Use of focus. On a basket ball court- teams. Physical theatre fight at end in pairs later stopped by police.

Question 36

What is the story line of wear side story?

Answer 36

2 gangs. Make from jets and female from sharks fall in love. Fight (racism throughout). Death

Question 37

Jazz motif in the prologue of west side story

Answer 37

3 sharks step ball change twice then step turn step in unison. Travels across a large space with a low COG. Quickly with high energy and clear space with clear focus and intention in the direction they’re going. (Also see: kicks, leaps, pirouettes, extended arms)

Question 38

Where do you see musical theatre in west side story?

Answer 38

The section America starts with acting between Anita and Bernardo leading into a sing dialogue about Anitas dislike for Peuto rico and Bernados for America. This is often used in broadway as a smooth transition between the singing, dancing and acting. Anita also uses actions to match her words (eg. “always the population growing” she gestures a pregnant stomach)

Question 39

Where do you see Latin American dance in west side story?

Answer 39

the section dance at the gym is performed by the sharks to show proudness of their heritage. Stand in a huddle USR and suddenly turn round. Girls are in front line holding bunches up skirt, right hand strong above head with wrist flexed and palm facing upwards (flamingo)

Question 40

Where do you see social dance in west side story?

Answer 40

Dance at the gym includes 1950s social dance (lindyhop and jitterbug). Jets stand in 2 horizontal gendered lines. They step towards each other jittering their head forwards and back sharply

Question 41

What year is fancy free?

Answer 41

1944

Question 42

What is fancy free about?

Answer 42

3 wartime sailers on leave in NY trying to pick up girls and dancing competitively to win them

Question 43

Sailor 1 motif (ballet and jazz)

Answer 43

Balletic jeté with left leg cowards towards DSL (arms extended with left above head and right out to side). Jazzy turn in parallel lifting one foot into a high retiré.

Question 44

How does fancy free start?

Answer 44

Enter USR, cartwheel and assemble facing the back. | They each add their own movement such as a jump with arms above head or a grand jeté en tournant

Question 45

When where minstrel shows popular?

Answer 45

1850’s

Question 46

When did vaudeville become popular?

Answer 46

1870’s

Question 47

When was the Charleston formed

Answer 47

1920’s

Question 48

When did silent movies become talkies?

Answer 48

1920’s

Question 49

What did the 1930’s depression cause broadway practitioners to do?

Answer 49

Go to Hollywood

Question 50

1939-1945 entertainment was used for escapism of what?

Answer 50

The war

Question 51

When were the broadway golden years and who pioneered new narrative musicals?

Answer 51

1943-1959 | Rodgers and Hammerstein

Question 52

When did Agnes de Mille and Gene Kelly’s Careers peak?

Answer 52

1940’s

Question 53

When did Jack Cole and Jerome Robins’ careers start?

Answer 53

1940’s

Question 54

What did teenage gang culture in the 1950’s lead to?

Answer 54

New ideas like West side story

Question 55

When did Fosse appear with his style?

Answer 55

1960’s