Assignment 3 - Analysis of West Side Story Dance PDF

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Assignment 3 - Analysis of West Side Story Dance...

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WEST SIDE STORY JEROME ROBBINS Jerome Robbins was born on October 11, 1918 in New York, USA. His name at birth was Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz, and he legally changed his last name later in life to Robbins. Jerome’s family later moved to Weehawken, New Jersey. When Jerome was an adolescent, the stock market crashed in 1929 which ultimately led to the Great Depression, the deepest and long lasting economic down turn in the history of the Western industrialised world. This led Jerome to leave school due to economic hardship with his father's business. WW2 out broke in 1939 and lasted until 1945, when Jerome was in his 20's. He initially studied with his sister’s modern dance instructors, and after leaving school he decided to pursue a full-time dance career. Jerome joined the company of Senya Gluck Sandor, a leading exponent of expressionistic modern dance. His dance style is very dramatic theatrical as seen in West Side Story. The influences from Jerome’s past that you can see in his style are his training and growing up during the Great Depression and WW2.

SUMMARY     

Title: Prologue Duration: 6.5 minutes Choreographer: Jerome Robbins First Performed: 1961 Music: West Side Story Soundtrack by Leonard Bernstein

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Formal Structure: Episodic

EXPRESSIVE INTENTION The prologue of West Side Story introduces the two rival gangs that the film’s Romeo and Juliet based storyline follows. One of the gangs, The Jets, are a group of all white low-socio class teenagers who are symbolised as the Montages from Shakespeare’s original play. Their opponents, The Sharks, are a group of immigrant Puerto Rican young adults who represent the Capulets.

INFLUENCES ON EXPRESSIVE INTENTION 

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The storyline of the film: West Side Story’s plot had an influence on the expressive intention. The movie is based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, and features two rival gangs – the Jets and the Sharks. The Jets, are a group of all white low-socio class teenagers are symbolised as the Montages from Shakespeare’s original play. Their opponents, the Sharks, are a group of immigrant Puerto Rican young adults who represent the Capulets. Teenage Gangs: The existence of teenage gangs and their violent and bitter rivalry over girls/territory, the racial tension, and the warfare between different gangs to settle disputes. Immigration in America in the 1950’s

INFLUENCES ON MOVEMENT VOCABULARY 

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Training: Jerome Robbin’s background in jazz and ballet. He initially studied classical ballet as well as modern and jazz dance. He started off his career performing ballet then later moved onto musicals. In 1939, Robbins joined the corps de ballet of Ballet Theatre (later American Ballet Theatre), where he soon drew notice for comic and character roles. Personal movement style: Jerome Robbin’s personal movement style is a combination of balletic form, athletic style and jazz movements which formed a technical and masculine style. The changes and developments in the musical genre: As WSS was not about dance or dancers, the movement had to be appropriate yet still convey the intent. For example,  Reaching upwards, leaps, turning and running all demonstrate the repressed tension and energy within the gang members  The clicking of fingers symbolize a calm, relaxed state achieved by the gang

INFLUENCES ON FORM 

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Dance background: Jerome Robbin’s ballet background affected the structure of the dance. The use of solos, duos, trios as well as groups of dancers is evident throughout the dance work. Music: The music which is composed by Leonard Bernstein, consists of drawn out brass instruments (for exaggeration) along with moments of silence that help to transition between sections and form a unified composition.

INFLUENCE ON PRODUCTION ASPECTS 

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Set: The dance takes place on the streets of Manhattan, New York, an area of low socio-economic status and a place that gangs of the 50s could hangout. The performance environment was realistic and the large scale of the set created atmosphere for the dance. Lighting: The lighting utilised was also realistic. The use of natural daylight from the sun allowed for varied use of camera angles and assisted in the conveying of the intention. Costumes: The choice of costume also reflects the 1950’s. The use of jeans and t-shirts reflected popular teenage dress of the era. Props:

Props used in Prologue of West Side Story include a lemon and a basketball. These everyday items created a sense of realism....