Primary Research
For my primary research I am planning to find out more about people’s perspectives regarding dance. The way I want to do this task is to ask a few people some questions, including actual dancers. The reason I am going to ask people who practice dance and also people who don’t, is because I want to see the differences and how dance is seen through people’s eyes.
To analyse the differences, I am going to have 2 same questions and one different. The third question will be different because it’s not only about the similarities/differences, but it’s also about, for example, the experience of a dancer, which I want to find out about.
Questions for people who are not dancers:
Do you think that you have to start dancing as young as possible to succeed?(Why?)
Do you believe that dance is for everyone? (Why?)
If you would be a dancer, what kind of dance would you like to practice?
Munevver Sila: Starting at a young age can help you to gain experience. but if you have a talent in dance no matter what age you start you will be successful.
I think dance is for everyone because everyone has got their own reason to dance. For example, some could dance because they are happy and some could dance to lose weight.
I don’t know what type of dance I would like to practice if I was a dancer, because I never thought of a career in dance.
Questions for dancers:
Do you think that you have to start dancing as young as possible to succeed? (Why?)
Do you believe that dance is for everyone? (Why?)
Can you describe your experience as a dancer?
Faith (contemporary dancer): My opinion is that it does not matter how old you are when you start, it is about how much effort you put in and whenever you push yourself to be the best. Dance is for everyone as it is a way for oneself to express themselves and be free. My dance experience began when I was 8 years old when I attended a ballet class. I have been doing those classes ever since but I had only started thinking about dance as a career a few years ago from doing GCSE dance. I enjoy being able to forget about reality for the time that I perform as I think of dance as an escape for me.
Marshall (ballet dancer): I think you need, not only start at a young age, but start young and have the right king of training. The problem with the ballet classes that we are given as children, is that it’s just for fun. You need to either have the money for private lessons or know people in the industry if you want to pursue it as a career. If we start young, we can learn everything as quickly as possible, so that we can improve quicker than the people in our classes and stand out to get the roles we desire.
It is possible to have a career starting later but it does make it harder, you need to put a lot more work into it and even then you won’t have as much experience as the others, you’re automatically at a disadvantage. I think dance is for everyone but can’t be pursued as a career for everyone. People often see the dance community as a place where there are multiple disorders present and can’t get a proper job. However, it’s the opposite though, there are a few problems people suffer of, you need to be strong to be a dancer. You can’t be overly emotional, you need to take criticism and a lot of disappointment. If you can’t take any of that, then dance isn’t for you. But most importantly, you need to have the passion, see it on your face and in your body, you need that connection, you need that commitment to leave everything behind and focus on dance.
I started dance classes when I was around 6 years old, I was also interested in it but it had also helped me get out of another club which I hated. I went to many classes but I didn’t realise I could do this as a career. I’ve been in carnival performances, different showcases and competitions. I’ve done ballet, tap, contemporary, jazz, hip-hop, ballroom and character. I hadn’t thought about making my passion into a career, one could say a little too late, when I was 15. Even then I was sure what style I wanted to do until recently, at 17.
After having a look at what each person wrote, I could easily know who the dancers are, if they wouldn’t be categorised. I can clearly see the passion for dance in what the dancers have written and it’s normal that the people who don’t dance wrote less because if you never thought of having a dance career then you wouldn’t know what to write when it comes to writing about something you don’t practice often.
Secondary research
For my secondary research I am going to review a few choreography skills to determine whether I could advise the dancers playing in my film to add those dance moves to their choreography. I am saying ‘their choreography’ because I decided that it’s better if I let them choose the music and the choreography, whether it’s someone else’s choreography or they create their own. I considered letting them choose because they are dancers after all and they will know better what would fit. However, I let them choose the song, but I had to give my opinion if the song will fit with the story/plot. For example, one of the dancers chose a good song, however it did not quite fit with the theme of the film as it’s supposed to be more of a sad song rather than a faster song.
This is the video I am going to review for the contemporary dance:
The first thing I really like is the song as it’s slow and beautiful. It transmits a touching message of a fighter and her dance skills are incredible. I’ve been searching a lot of dance videos, and I think this is one of the best ones I found.
One of the things I like most about this choreography is that she syncs right to the music. I advised the girl doing contemporary dance in my film to have a choreography where she moves to the beat, because I believe that if a dancer moves in sync with the music, it creates a more powerful message.
I also like that the shots are taken close to her face, most probably to show the emotion on her face and as the choreography progresses, the camera is being moved further away from her. I will use a similar technique when I will film, however there is one thing that concerns me and that is the lightning. I am concerned that the lightning will affect the video and the dancer as the audience will not be able to see the dancer’s face. I will have to somehow film so the lightning focuses on the dancer.
The studio in the video has the mirror facing the window so the lightning reflects on the dancer, however in the studio I am going to film the mirror is not opposite the window so the lightning will be different.
This is the video I am going to review for the ballet dance:
The first thing I notice is that the video starts with someone down with the lift, and I think it’s actually a good intro as it’s casual but effective. They start with some stretches to show how ballet dancer get warmed up, which is what I am planning to do when the ballet dancer’s story is next, after the contemporary dancer has done the choreography. I want to show just a small part of a ballet dancer’s routine.
Another thing I like about this video is that the videographer films closely to show how the dancer moves. The videographer films mainly the feet when the ballet dancer jumps in the air, which after seeing this I think I am going to take the example and try to do the same.
I do like how the editor has added slow motion to the jumps, and I think it’s important to add slow motion to dance to show the details of the ballet dance for example.
The video above is specially created with slow motion for details in ballet. 25 seconds in the video, we can notice how the man’s feet are so on point.
The video captures more moves than a full choreography, which does not match my project as I would like my film to have full a choreography, rather than moves in slow motion. My film tells stories to it would not make sense just to show some ballet moves, although they do have potential, and it would work best for documentaries.