Michael Jackson Approach To Dance Drama Essay

Michael Jackson Approach To Dance Drama Essay World-renowned for his influence on the international music and dance scene, Michael Jackson is an iconic figure in the entertainment industry. His talent in being able to fuse his music and dance style together so seamlessly was probably one of the reasons for his booming success as an artist. The transformation and influence that he had brought about in the entertainment industry, dance included, might very well be the greatest legacy that any solo artist had ever left behind. Michael Jackson, as great a dancer as he was, had surprisingly no formal dance training throughout his career. He was completely self-taught and worked very much in isolation when it came to perfecting many of his famous dance moves (Beers). He had a strong ability as a child to absorb and imitate what he saw quickly. Lacking a formal education, as Michael went around performing, he learnt by watching. Michael Jackson said that the greatest education in the world is watching the masters at work and that was what he did, making the best of his circumstances as a child. He was a perfectionist in many aspects, including dance, spending hours refining his steps and moves till they were flawless before they were presented on stage. Michael Jacksons dance style was influenced by a wide range of people and styles, from RB artists to ballerinas, from jazz to street dances and African-American indigenous styles. He was creative in the way he brought different techniques of various dance forms together, taking whatever he saw and liked in other dances and making them his own (Roy). Eventually, the dance style that became uniquely his spanned a wide range dynamically, from fluid, smooth dance movements to sharp, angular and accented ones. His smooth dance style was visually appealing in that his movements were so connected they just seemed to flow from one to another. At the same time, his signature movements, such as the moonwalk, posed a sense of mystery to the audience as to how it could be done, especially since he seemed to be able to do it so effortlessly. What made the moonwalk so intriguing was that walking, which we are all so familiar with, lifting one foot and putting it in front of the other, could in fac t be done without lifting a foot off the ground at all. Perhaps it was the desire of uncovering the mystery and mastery of his steps that sparked off so much interest in learning them. At the opposite end of the spectrum was his strong accented style of dancing, like that of the robot dance. The movements were a lot less connected and much more punctuated. His accented style of dancing involved intricate bodywork and precise isolation. Even with such a range of movements in his dance vocabulary, there was a certain consistency in his dance style: visual appeal. Though many of his movements and lines were angular and not exactly beautiful and sophisticated like ballet was deemed, there was something about them that was captivating. Despite the seeming simplicity in some of his movements, there was a certain groove and swing in his steps, emphasized by his music that made him such an amazing performer. As a result of his talent in both music and dance, his music and dance style complemented each other to bring out the uniqueness of his style that made him stand out as an artist of his time. Michael Jackson was born with a talented and creative mind. His creation of dance movement was closely intertwined with his creation of music. In his movement creation, he not only goes with the music, in some cases, he goes against the music as well, giving diversity to the fusion of music and dance. He varies his movements and music in terms of rhythm, for example syncopations, or differing emphasis in music and movements. For example, he chooses to do many short and sharp movements during the silence in the music. His accented movements are usually done along with the bass beat of the drums in his music but sometimes, he chooses to leave out certain accents and hit only some of them. On the other hand, sometimes when there are many accents in his music, he chooses to do the opposite with his movements, changing to the smooth style of his dance rather than the accented style. His choreography also catered very aptly to the lyrics and content of his songs, exemplified by the movemen ts that likened to zombies choreographed for the song Thriller. This is an example of versatility in his choreography to suit his music and probably was an added factor to success. Such an integration of choreographic movements and music allows the essence of Michael Jacksons style, both in music and dance, to stand out and complement one another at the same time. Another element that he incorporated into his music and dance was the element of theatre or drama. In his music videos, he combined song, dance and drama together such that many of his music videos had storylines, almost like a miniature movie or musical, as in Smooth Criminal. If it was a live concert, he used over-the-top costuming, massive visual elements and even incorporated acrobatic stunts such as having aerialists in his performances. All these were technically complicated and required much technical support (Jackson). As an artist, Michael Jackson strived for perfection by always pushing the limit of complexity and intricacy in what he did and produced. He worked and created with the aim of wanting his audience to feel a sense of awe and wonder watching his works, live or on film. One of the moves he was best known for, the anti-gravitational lean, was one of the stunt that achieved that aim and was evidence of his strive in his artistry. The uniqueness of his works was in t he perfection he desired in every aspect of his art form, music, theatre, dance and acrobatic elements. Michael Jacksons approach to dance was a relatively holistic one, he incorporated various diverse elements to enhance the effect of his dance. His career, being a singer, songwriter, dancer and actor, created the platform for him to develop dance, not as an isolated entity but as part of a larger picture that included music, drama and other visual elements. Its Relation and Impact on Dance Michael Jackson was one of the pioneers who paved the way for dance on film, introducing the commercialization of dance in the later part of the twentieth century. Though dance had already existed in other films such as West Side Story and Singin in the Rain, Michael Jacksons music videos markedly pushed dance in film to the next level through the exploration of camera movement and video-editing skills in the developing computer age (Genne 140), along with his extensive use of props, over-the-top costumes and sets as well as dramatic effects. Before Michael Jacksons music videos, camera movements were limited to a planar view and kept mostly to one level. Michael Jacksons videos introduced a 3-dimensional view with varying camera movement, along with explorations of different levels. In some of Michael Jacksons videos, some of the screenshots were pulled as high as a few storeys. The video-editing skills required to produce the dramatic effects that his music videos had were also con siderably phenomenal, when put in contrast to what had been produced in the past. These progresses enabled audiences to see a fuller picture of dance on film as it was now less 2-dimensional and somewhat closer to seeing it in real-life. With the social and political climate of America at that time, street dance had become popular as a form of self-expression. America was still experiencing the aftermath of World War II and undergoing social changes. Advances in civil rights were taking place and African-Americans began to rise in society as the number of black members in Congress increased. Street dance was generally associated with the African-Americans and was an expression of the freedom from discrimination that they were slowly experiencing. Such dances began to appear on film, taking dance beyond the studios and even beyond the streets. As Michael Jacksons works gained popularity, his music videos added new dimension and development to the existing dance on films as he was an African-American himself and represented not only the rising of the African-American population but also the coming of a new genre of dance on film, street dance or what is now called hip-hop. In many of Michael Jacksons dances, he incorporated strong elements of popping and locking, as well as isolation techniques. These have very strong influences on the hip hop genre of dance that we know of today. At that time, when Michael Jackson first commercialized the technique of popping and locking, it was coined the term robot dance and was very popular amongst the audience. The unveiling of Michael Jacksons robot dance gave new vocabulary to street dance, which eventually gave rise to hip-hop. Hip-hop today has opened up into several different genres such as popping and locking, and break-dancing, all of which still have tinges of Michael Jacksons influence visible in their styles. Michaels success as a musician and singer attributed to his worldwide influence.. The style of his dance complemented his songs so well that these two elements came together as a package for Michael Jackson as he built his image as an artist. This was possible due to his success in commercializing his music videos which included the aspect of dance. His works were so well-received globally and many sought to imitate what Michael Jackson was capable of doing. His works tug at the heartstrings of audiences and convey Michael Jacksons emotions genuinely through his songs and dance. Moreover, through his years of experience, he recognized what audiences wanted through a performance. They (referring to the audience) just want wonderful experiences, they want escapism. We want to take them to places theyve never been before, we want to show them talent like theyve never seen before. says Michael Jackson. He realized what his audience wanted and sought to deliver exactly that, setting him a part from the other artists of his time.

Tcl 201 Midterm

Questions: 1. Taking your information from Katherine Benton-Cohen’s book, Borderline Americans, write an essay on how the term â€Å"American† became synonymous with â€Å"white† in Cochise County during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Start by discussing the nature of relations between Mexicans and whites in the different sections of the county during the 19th century. How did relations change over time and what factors led to those changes?In answering these questions, you should pay some attention to changing demographics but focus on how mining companies’ interest in exploiting its labor force, the Bisbee Deportations, and the aftermath of the deportations led to the creation of â€Å"one county, two races. † Borderline Americans covers distinct situations that occurred in Cochise county where the definition of being American was pursued based on what benefited the Anglos in the area. IN areas such as in Tres Alamos, there were situation s of intermarriage.In Bisbee, there was the dual-wage system the separated Mexicans from Americans, and in Tombstone, Anglos and Mexicans would come together to combat native Indians. Yet, when Mexicans wanted to put their American civil rights to action, Anglos would counter act them by saying how they were not American enough. a. In Cochise County, â€Å"corporations and governments exerted enormous influence over the creation of racial categories† (pg. 14). Everyone fought over what defined race and who could benefit from the term (pg. 14). b. In Tres Alamos, Anglos and Mexicans were friendly towards one another for political reasons. In theory. New Spain’s elite was Spanish, but in a sparsely settled frontier area, people who were Spanish-speaking, wealthy, or landed qualified as being Spanish, and thus—in the context of American racial codes—white (pg 28). c. In other areas in Arizona such as in Tucson, Anglo cowboys and Mexicans joined forces to com bat the native Indians (pg. 63). d. In Bisbee, there still existed a dual-wage system. Here, Mexicans were paid less than the Anglo men despite their skills. Corporations ruled the community, so they set the define line of who was worthy to be American and who was not based on pay (pg. 07). Dual wage system. I. Spanish American Identity: a. â€Å"The Spanish American identity in New Mexico was conceived in myth and is sustained by memory† (pg. 212). i. The Spanish American identity was an illusion that Nuevomexicanos created and lived up to during the late years of the 19th and early 20th century. b. It originates from its diverse â€Å"struggles against political and social marginalization, and was nurtured by a burgeoning tourist industry, a Hispanophilic cultural movement, and locally authored histories and scholarship† (pg. 2). i.The Spanish identity came out of years of political and social suppression. Nuevomexicanos wanted to define their racial identity, and by identifying with their Spanish origins they could argue their â€Å"purity of blood† and distinguish themselves from being â€Å"Indian† or â€Å"Anglo†, claiming identity to their European roots which was racially white, and moving away from their ‘mixed-blood Mexican immigrant identity, yet identify with their attachment to the land (by way of conquest) (pg. 16-17). ii. In summary, there was no such thing as a Spanish American identity.This was a mythical race that Nuevomexicanos created for their benefit. Nuevomexicanos hung to their Spanish roots because it gave them the power to identitify with their European roots, disassociate themselves from their Indian and Mexican immigrant roots, and still gain the privilege of enjoying social and civic equality with Anglo Americans (pg. 16). II. The White perception of Nuevomexicanos during the immediate years following the Mexican-American War. a. Anlgo’s questioned as to whether or not the Mexican-Ame rican people of New Mexico were ‘fit’ enough to be granted full U.S. -citizenship. i. The media of the time was a great example of how Anlgo’s viewed Neuvomexicanos. They mentioned how Mexicans â€Å"still â€Å"professed a deep hostility to American ideas and American policies. † Rather than assimilating into the nation cultural and political mainstream, the newspaper noted, these Mexicans stubbornly clung to their habits, political affiliations, and semipagan religious practices; they abhorred all things â€Å"American† and had little resolve to show their patriotism during the war . . (pg. 1). † 1. Anglo’s felt that Mexican’s would never be able to be loyal to the American government, and therefore they should not be granted U. S. citizenship. The media only added to this notion. b. Mexicans, because they were a mixed race, were also viewed as rebels and ‘political subversives’, and many U. S. officials such as S enator John C. Calhoun felt that they had â€Å"inherited the worst characteristics of both races, and to be â€Å"unfit† for U. S. citizenship or for self-government† (pg. 53). i.To many US Anglos, Mexicans were biologically predisposed to be savages and incapable of being loyal citizens to the United States. III. White’s views of Nuevomexicanos, New Mexico and statehood, and white migration and tourism to New Mexico. a. When Nuevomexicanos began to take claim to their â€Å"Spanish† European race, and attempt to move away from their Indian or Mexican identity, Anglo’s began to be more accepting of the state and its people. i. â€Å"The statehood debate illustrates how racial perceptions and relations played a major role in the formation of the Spanish American consciousness† (pg. 3). 1. Representative Joseph M. Root lobbied for New Mexico to gain statehood and he said how â€Å"Their race or â€Å"blood mixture† was of little conse quence to their ability to govern† (pg. 56). ii. New York Representative William H. Seward was a vocal supporter for New Mexico, and he said a speech referencing Nuevomexicanos to their Spanish roots. 1. â€Å"By praising the Spanish colonial past, Seward implied that New Mexico’s Indians and Nuevomexicanos heralded from a genteel, colonial society characterized by Christianity and racial order† (pg. 7). b. Nuevomexicanos began to redefine themselves as â€Å"Spanish† in ethnic origin and â€Å"American† in nationality (pg. 92). i. Other Anglos who were collaborating with Nuevomexicanos for their acceptance into statehood emphasized their Spanish American identity and â€Å"transformed New Mexico into the tourist capital of the Southwest, a Mecca for â€Å"American† immigrants and visitors who delighted in Spanish and Indian cultures† (pg. 2). 1.By Nuevomexicanos adopting a Spanish American identity, they not only gained support from o ther Anglo leaders, but they were also socially accepted and their ethnic background became a new tourist attraction for other Americans to come and see. IV. Romanticization of the Spanish past by Hispanophilia. a. â€Å"Hispanophilia was born of a desire to return to a simpler way of life that, in fact, had never been all that simple . . . It was an ideology (pg. 147). i. This was a way for the Spanish Americans to be proud of their racial background, yet at the same grounds have the acceptance they desired from the Anglos. . Many US Anglos from other states still feared the rumors about Mexicans and their violent characteristics. In an effort to move away from such misconceptions, Nuevomexicanos with the help of boosters, promoted their Spanish American identity, which then gave birth to Hispanophilia. This notion allowed them to create a â€Å"fantasy heritage† that was acceptable for Anglos and yet gave them the ‘acceptable means of defining their historical identi ty’ (pg. 148) V. Nuevomexicanos and their Spanish American Identity a.Nuevomexicanos used their new Spanish American identity to their advantage, for it was their only way of regaining control over their ‘declining political fortunes, land base, and language’ (pg. 148). i. From Hispanophilia came the birth of Hispanidad. 1. â€Å"Hispanidad entailed claiming ownership, most notably, of Hispanic heritage, language, values, beliefs, and culture† (pg. 171). ii. They also came to use this to their advantage by demonstrating how Spanish Americans were equal to Anglos in racial hierarchy, yet they kept their Spanish distinction from that of the Anglo’s.

Master Conjugation of the French Verb Aller

The French irregular verb aller (to go) is one of the most frequently used of all French verbs. Pronunciation Be very careful about the pronunciation of this verb. In more formal French, there are many liaisons in the spoken  conjugation, such as: Nous allons is pronounced  Nous Z-allons.Vous allez is pronounced Vous Z-allez. One common mistake that beginners make is  mistakenly saying,  Je va  instead of  Je vais.  To master the use of  aller as a French person would, both in terms of pronunciation and speed, try training  with audio recordings. Compound Tenses Some verbs also use  the auxiliary verb à ªtre to form their passà ©-composà ©Ã‚  (past compound) and other compound tenses. Thats the case with aller,  and it doesnt translate literally in English. Je suis allà ©(e)  Ã‚  I went, I did go, I have gone This is something quite difficult to master for English speakers, so make sure you study this thoroughly. Agreement Why do we write allà ©, allà ©e, allà ©s or allà ©es? The answer: Because it takes à ªtre as an auxiliary verb, the past participle allà © agrees with the subject, just as an adjective would. Anne est allà ©e.  (Anne is a girl; add an e for the feminine.)Pierre et Paul sont allà ©s.  (Masculine plural; add an s to the main verb.)Anne et Marie sont allà ©es. (Feminine, so add an e; plural, so add an s.) Note that any extra E or  S will be silent, therefore allà © is always pronounced the same, as for aller and allez. Conjugated in the  Indicative Mood Present/Prsent Present Perfect/Pass compos je vais je suis all(e) tu vas tu es all(e) il va il est all nous allons nous sommes all(e) vous allez vous tes all(e/s) ils vont ils sont alls Imperfect/Imparfait Pluperfect/Plus-que-parfait jallais jtais all(e) tu allais tu tais all il allait il tait all nous allions nous tions all(e)s vous alliez vous tiez all(e/s) ils allaient ils taient all(e)s Future/Futur Future Perfect/Futur antrieur jirai je serai all(e) tu iras tu seras all il ira il sera all nous irons nous serons all(e) vous irez vous serez all(e/s) ils iront ils seront alls Simple Past/Pass simple Past Anterior/Pass antrieur jallai je fus all(e) tu allas tu fus all il alla il fut all nous allmes nous fmes all(e) vous alltes vous ftes all(e/s) ils allrent ils furent allsls furent alls Present Cond./Cond. Prsent Past Cond./Cond. Pass jirais je serais all(e) tu irais tu serais all il irait il serait all nous irions nous serions alls vous iriez vous seriez all(e/s) ils iraient ils seraient alls Conjugated in the  Subjunctive Mood Present Subjunctive/Subjonctif Prsent Past Subjunctive/Subjonctif Pass que jaille que je sois all(e) que tu ailles que tu sois all(e) quil aille quil soit all que nous allions que nous soyons all(e) que vous alliez que vous soyez all(e/s) quils aillent quils soient alls Subj. Imperfect/Subj. Imparfait Subj. Pluperfect/Subj. Plus-que-parfait que jallasse que je fusse all(e) que tu allasses que tu fusses all(e) quil allt quil ft all que nous allassions que nous fussions all(e) que vous allassiez que vous fussiez all(e/s) quils allassent quils fussent alls Pronunciation Tips The words jaille, tu ailles, il aille, and ils aillent are all pronounced like eye in English.   Jaille j eyeTu ailles tu eyeIl aille il eyeIls aillent ils Z-eye Note that nous allions and vous alliez keep their al  sound. Conjugated in the  Imperative Mood   Present Imperative/Impratif Prsent Past Imperative/ Impratif Pass (tu) va (tu) sois all(e) (tu) va (nous) soyons all(e)s (vous) allez (vous) soyez all(e/s) Infinitive Mood Present Infinitive/Infinitif Prsent Past Infinitive/ Infinitif Pass aller aller Participle Mood Present Participle/Participe Prsent Past Participle/Participe Pass Imperfect Participle/Participe P.C. allant ayant / tant all/e/s Etant all/e/s Idiomatic Expressions Aller  is used with many expressions. Here are some examples: Jy vais.  Ã‚  Im going.Allons-y.   Lets go.On y va ?  Ã‚  Shall we go?Aller en voiture  Ã‚  To go by carÇa va ?  Comment allez-vous  ? Comment vas-tu ?  Ã‚  How are you?Sen aller  Ã‚  to go awayAller chercher  Ã‚  to go get, to get, to fetch Near Future Tense When we talk about an event that is very close in time, or almost certain to happen, we use the futur  proche (near future)  tense, as in these examples:   Dans deux semaines, je vais rentrer chez moi.   In two weeks Ill go home. (close in time)Je suis enceinte. Dans six mois, je vais avoir un bà ©bà ©.   Im pregnant. Ill have a baby in six months. (its almost certain). How to Memorize Conjugations Concentrate on the most useful tenses (prà ©sent, imparfait, passà © composà ©), get used to using them in context. Then once youve mastered them, move on to the rest. As with any new language, practice makes perfect. There are many liaisons, elisions, and modern glidings used with French verbs, and the written form may mislead you into using the wrong pronunciation. If you dont have a study partner to practice with, an audio guide is the next best thing. Youll learn how to conjugate verbs properly and pronounce them correctly.​

Community Based Theory Effectiveness For Alzheimer s Disease

Introduction Taking into account the fact that the problem of mental diseases has been very vividly discussed in the recent years, there is a need to provide a psychological research based on the methods of curing mental disorders. In order to provide a practical part of the analysis there is a need to refer to my personal experience. Having worked as a caregiver at Quality Care AFH, I have had enough experience with people requiring personalized care. The main psychological problems or diseases I came across when working there are mainly mental, such as memory problems, or illnesses which resulted from deep emotional traumas. So, the present research will be based on the†¦show more content†¦Jose M. C. de Almeida and H. Killaspy argue that the combination of pharmacological health programs with social curing programs is the most effective way of curing mental disease: â€Å"One of the main reasons why the rate of longer-term mental health service development is so often insufficient ha s to do with the lack of co-ordination between health services and services provided by other sectors, in particular the social sector.† (Caldas de Almeida, Killaspy, 2011) One of the examples from my care giving practice can be the work with senior people who suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. There was a case with one of the patients having Alzheimer’s disease combined with partial memory loss. The man used to walk in unbuttoned shirts because he was either unable to button them or he was too irritated to do that. I was advised by colleagues and came to the conclusion that at least in order to lower the patient’s level of irritation group or personal discussions of the problem are required. Even though it was to some extent emotionally difficult to conduct successful discussions with people suffering from mental disorders conversation in the group of different women and men suffering from one disease really helped. Moreover, there were some walks with a couple of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease as well as a number of picnics. This really helped patients to see the actual results of medication and their overall emotional state. Moreover, each social care