The Dance Behind the Story

The Dance Behind the Story

Tara-Maria Abela

English 203

Final Research Paper

Zinnia Shweiry

6 January 2012

ABSTRACT

“As you dance, you tell stories with just your eyes and your gestures. We all express emotions through our bodies, we just don’t realize it. So we are using it as an art form, but it’s something that people do every day of their lives,” (Cotal, 2011)

The origins of dance date back to the dawn of every civilization. As cultures developed, music, instruments and dancing evolved, creating for each an organized aspect. For example, ballroom dancing evolved from European influence whilst the salsa and the cha-cha evolved from Spanish and Latin American cultures (Shaddy, 2011). Dance is an art form as old as the ballet through which stories can be depicted.

Since the 1930’s when George Balanchine choreographed the Rodgers and Hart musical On Your Toes, dance in musical theater has been used to tell a story (Holden 2002). Balanchine, one of history’s most famous ballet choreographers, used classical ballet and jazz dance to create the musical’s beautiful dance numbers. The choreographer used dancing to convey a key aspect of the plot. His decision was unprecedented on the stage. From here, using dance as a tool to convey a story only grew (Holden 2002).

Agnes de Mille created in Oklahoma!, one of the most successful musicals of all time, choreographies that not only contributed to the plot, but also revealed aspects of the characters. Expressive dance was being customized to fit the demands of musical theater (De Mille Productions, 2002).

Around the same time, producers like Arthur Freed gave dance a new face in movie musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain, The Band Wagon, and An American in Paris. Freed recruited the likes choreographers who encouraged to create dances that were the center of the production.

In the 1950’s, Hollywood was copying Broadway, but Broadway continued to produce new hit musicals that integrated music, dance, and...