"Stomp Out Loud" theatre review.

Sean Fitzjohn "STOMP OUT LOUD" THEATRE REVIEW "Stomp Out Loud" is a musical production. It combines elements of physical movements, musicality, rhythm and pace to bring you the stunning performance of "Stomp Out Loud". The unique musicality and movement of Stomp lies in the range of everyday objects it employs to achieve its effects: this is a show that finds sound in manipulating everything from broomsticks to matchboxes, toilet plungers to plastic carrier bags, cigarette lighters to water cooler containers This play is almost entirely based on physical movements, but the director cleverly uses techniques such as contrasts in atmosphere and setting. For example, certain scenes would be given a more sinister feel to it, by use of lighting, sound and props. "Stomp Out Loud" has no fixed setting, but instead it uses several different settings and many of them are linked in one way or another (the kitchen following into the water phonics scene through the drainage system). It is music and dance and performance. It has characters and a theme, though no cohesive plot. There are no words spoken throughout the show, though grunts and body sounds contribute. Within each "scene" there is a bit of a story. The main idea, however, is that a group of people (or just one individual) are wondering, "How could I make music from this?". They try, and succeed. As they succeed, more and more

  • Word count: 1267
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Vespers choreographed by Ulysses Dove.

Choreographed by Ulysses Dove Vespers is choreographed by Ulysses Dove and means 'Evening Song'. It portrays 6 aspects of his grandmother. He tries to compose a modern day view of an old person. He used noises during the rehearsal process to help keep the time of the music. The first part of the piece shows spirit and prayer. Costume The costume all the way through the piece is set in a long black dress. The colour could be to symbolise the way his grandmother always used to go to church and maybe the dress could be what she used to wear while she was there. Their dresses look very effective whilst dancing because of all the turns. They could be wearing dresses also because when they are doing some long balances, people can't tell when there wobbling as the dress covers it. Set and Lighting The dance looks like it is set in an empty warehouse. It looks like the space is never ending as you cant see any of the walls. All you can see is a shaft of light coming in from a window. When the dancer starts dancing, the light expands and looks like its coming from right above her. In section 2, the dance is set at the very edge of the warehouse, so you now can see the wall. The lighting is very different in this section of the dance. Whereas before the surround was very dark and just one spotlight for the dancer, the whole room is lit with a very dim light. Half way through

  • Word count: 849
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Critical Analysis of Thriller - Michael Jackson

Critical Analysis Thriller- Michael Jackson In my Expressive Arts class we are studying the topic dreams and nightmares, so were given the video Thriller to analyse. Thriller was made in 1983, and is one of the best music videos ever made. The video thriller contains a spectacular dance sequence, plenty of drama and story, and most importantly the actual song itself. The dance moves, costumes, music, settings, and lyrics in some way all relate to the theme of dreams and nightmares. The general synopsis of the video begins with Michael and a young lady in a horror film, walking through the woods. After a conversation he then tells her he is different, then as the moon appears from the clouds he turns into a werewolf. They go into a chasing scene and he finally catches the girl. This will build tension, and make the audience feel scared and nervous. Then we see Michael and the girl in the cinema as they are watching the horror film. They decide to leave and the song Thriller begins. They walk down the street and past a graveyard; this is when a voiceover comes in as zombies rise from their graves. We then see Michael and the girl surrounded by the zombies. Then Michael suddenly turns into a zombie too. Then there is a dance sequence. The girl runs to a deserted house and the zombies get in. Michael is slowly coming towards her, then it seems she wakes up and finds herself

  • Word count: 986
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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American Musicians

American Musicians Music is a form of entertainment, which allows you to express yourself in new and outlandish ways. Music has been around for hundreds of years. American musicians, I believe, are the most unique of them all. Three very different twentieth century American musicians have influenced and made astounding contributions to today's music style. Let me introduce you to Aaron Copeland, Louie Armstrong, and Elvis Presley. Aaron Copland was the son of immigrant Jewish parents from Poland and Lithuania. He was born in Brooklyn ("Copland, Aaron (1900-1990)") in 1900 ("Aaron Copland Biography") and lived to become one of the great American composers. Aaron Copland, one of the oldest American classical musicians, has made a great contribution to this society. He studied in Paris with Nadia Boulanger ("Copland, Aaron (1900-1990)"). Copland's best works consist of his concerts and ballets ("Aaron Copland Biography"). Some of his ballets were Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring, and Rodeo. His most known orchestral work was Fanfare for the Common Man ("Copland, Aaron (1900-1990)"). For his contributions to American Culture, President Johnson awarded him the Medal of Freedom. Copland was not only a composer but also a conductor, teacher, and author. Copland died on December 2, 1990 at the age of 90 ("Copland, Aaron). Louis Armstrong was another great American

  • Word count: 815
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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English Language – Eyewitness account

English Language - Eyewitness account The magnificent chandelier hung from the middle of the ceiling like a bat, staring at the polished white marble ground. Flamboyant decorations were placed or hung around the enchanted room. Tables with neatly laid Versace dining ware surrounded the dance stage made out of lustrous wood. Underneath each table was a red carpet neatly embroidered with flowers. Pillars held the ceiling up high as if they were gigantic spikes adorned with fine carvings of Chinese goldfishes and lotuses. Guests and diners had filled the massive hall either gossiping or dancing the waltz along with the three-beat Blue Danube by Strauss. I gazed at the grand ceiling noticing the fine embellishments. Guests danced perfectly with the beat, finely and exquisitely. There were large Italian style curtains with thin silk nets. Double doors had been bordered with extravagant gold and the handles resembled a number of ribbons bunched together. The room had astonished me from the time I entered till then. The light-peach coloured walls had given me a gracious and overwhelming impression. I was delighted to enter the hall, observing the dresses and tuxedos that brushed past chairs. The room made each guest feel very royal and majestic and certainly dazzled me. The music stopped. Then the acoustics of the room echoed a great sound. It was from the corner of the dancing

  • Word count: 1002
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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African dance music.

Contents Map of Africa 1 Definitions 2 African drums and other instruments 3 Styles of African dance music 6 African dance rhythms 7 Map of Africa Definitions Polyrhythm - two or more rhythms heard simultaneously. Mnemonics - a device for remembering something. Syncopation - the accentuation of a beat that is normally weak or unaccented.. Cyclic - circular, recurring in cycles. Call and response - when one person sings and a crowd repeats. 2 African drums and other instruments Beautifully carved rosewood doumbek. They look and sound wonderful. Bolt tuned for easy adjustments. And the heads can easily be replaced if needed. Fun drum! Great bass snare drum. From Ghana, similar to Nigerian Djun Djuns. They are lightweight and made from a single piece of hardwood carved thin and headed with goatskin. Traditionally played in the same position as a talking drum, in the armpit, and comes with the traditional curved stick. The brekete has a rawhide or string snare on each head which can be pulled loose when not wanted. Typically the drum is covered with African cloth. The brekete can be very easily tuned by adjusting the leather "tuning lace" on each pair of main

  • Word count: 641
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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This essay describes how I have worked towards and performed four pieces of practical work using all three art forms. (Drama, dance, music, and a final piece that is a mixture of all three arts

Lee Rowlett Performance studies This essay describes how I have worked towards and performed four pieces of practical work using all three art forms. (Drama, dance, music, and a final piece that is a mixture of all three arts). Each piece must be three minutes long and we have around two months to improvise, rehearse and perform the four pieces. We were given five 'key words' to follow as a sort of guide line for our pieces. There was a different set of guide lines for each art form. These consist of... Music - rhythm, melody, harmony, timbre, texture. Dance - motif, action, relationships, dynamics, space. Drama - dialogue,1 characterisation, physicality, proxemics, tension. These fifteen rules do interconnect between the arts which I will explain during this essay. We started our performance studies classes by learning about and experimenting with improvisation as well as learning about the five rules for each of the arts. We then began to look for the five rules in our dance / musical / drama pieces. We experimented with the five rules in our improvised pieces and all so broke down each of the rules to find out exactly what they can cover. Now we split ourselves in to groups and began to experiment using improvisation for the final performance.2 In dance we sat as a group and planned out linking moves that used all of our five rules, and then put them together by

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  • Word count: 1306
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Scott Of The Antarctic: my composition

Music Coursework Charlie Partridge 10wa3 Scott Of The Antarctic: my composition Robert Falcon Scott was an explorer who led an expedition to the South Pole. The film tells of his expedition with motorised snow sledges, ponies and dogs; the feeling that they could master the elements. This first 'theme' I have used in my composition. To make the beginning of the piece sound jolly, happy and determined. To do this I used an adventurous melody, with a steady tempo. I created an upbeat rhythm on the snare drums which also can count for the sound of the ponies hooves trotting up and down the slopes. I have created a feeling of unawareness of any doubt and negativity. An ascending modal scale works well for the beginning of my piece to create an atmosphere and a sequence of notes which I develop into a countermelody for the strings and percussion and various woodwind. The percussion repeats a 4 bar rhythm all the way through the first theme. This demonstrated Scott's desperation for a glorious victory and to raise the flag in the North Pole. Then the warm strings are introduced to a 4 bar ascending modal scale which they then play and repeat. I alter the tune and increase the tempo. To join the warm strings, comes the flute. Now, since the flute can become a high pitched instrument, I use the flute to play my simple tune yet an

  • Word count: 892
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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Changes and Developments In Te Use Of Tonality In Musicals From Showboat to Sondheim

Changes And Developments In The Use Of Tonality In Musicals From Showboat To Sondheim Tonality, although a simple fundamental aspect in all pieces of music, can have considerable influence on music in numerous ways. Major tonality can be used to convey a mood of happiness. Minor tonality can be well used for setting a melancholy tone. Atonal or chromatic music conveys moods of extremity, such as tension and chaos. In the world of musical theatre, these moods are an essential part of the music to really enhance the book in a way that cannot be matched by words alone. The use of tonality, though, like many other aspects of musical theatre has developed and matured greatly over time to become a mightily useful tool in the creation of musical theatre mastery. This is most obvious in the works of Jerome Kern, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. Jerome Kern's Showboat is the masterpiece that transformed the way that people think about the modern musical and revolutionised the way in which they are written. The musical introduced a well-devised plot and clever lyrics, which Kern wrote music to. The score of the musical was no longer simply an accompaniment to the lyrics and the plot; it was far more intricate and clever. It was used as a means of subtle implication and to give strength to the plot and the characterisation. In this play, Kern decided to represent the

  • Word count: 1612
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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'Where the Scattering Began' is a poem written by Merle Collins.

Where the Scattering Began 'Where the Scattering Began' is a poem written by Merle Collins. In this poem she uses many clever techniques such as rhythm changes, diction, repetition and personification. She uses these techniques in order to make the poem more interesting to read and effective. The poem is about how she has left her home and come to a new place called London. She talks about her memories and how she is still united with her race though she is abroad. However, she has changed some things about herself such as her name and language. She describes these changes as being the 'Scattering'. Rhythm changes are used throughout the poem in order to obtain a variety of rhythms and keep it interesting. We know the pace of the rhythm by looking at the punctuation that Collins uses. For example, the comma after the word 'here' in the first line tells us that we must pause before continuing to read. However, the third line of the poem has no commas so we know that it should be read fairly continuously. The rhythm of the poem changes slightly in line sixteen. "We come with intonations that reshape languages we have been given". This is because, the previous lines were telling us how she feels she has lost a lot and this line now tells us what she has been given. So now the rhythm picks up a bit of pace. We can also predict the rhythm by looking at the overall mood of

  • Word count: 725
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Music
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