The American Dance Festival presents Dancing in the Light, a one-hour modern dance television program showcasing 6 historic dance compositions by African American choreographers. All of the dances were originally recorded for the Emmy Award winning series Free to Dance, a three-hour documentary that aired on PBS in 2001 as part of the Great Performances: Dance in America series. While Free to Dance uses select excerpts from the dances to inform it's narrative within a historical context, Dancing in the Light features six dances in their entirety or in the case of one work, a complete section. The dances include: Ostrich (1932) by Asadata Dafora, Barrelhouse Blues (1943) by Katherine Dunham, Strange Fruit (1943) by Pearl Primus, Mourner's Bench (1947) by Talley Beatty, Rainbow 'Round My Shoulder (1959) by Donald MC Kayle, First Section of D-Man in the Waters (1989) by Bill T. Jones.
K**R
Entertaining but too Short
A fine collection of short dances (and one excerpt) illustrating the high degree of accomplishment in the creation and performance of works by African Americans. Only 57 minutes long, as broadcast by PBS, it leaves one longing to see much more of the same. The current price, I note, is pretty steep for a Kultur disc, so I recommend seeking a used one (taking the risk, of course, of it not being in first class condition). It does have the positive effect of inducing one to seek out other representations of a high order of art.
J**N
A tribute to Black Dance in America, with some disappointments.
These six dance compositions are very beautifully performed and filmed. These are important dances that usually don't get attention like Ailey's"Revelations" or "La Valse." It's wonderful to see the complete "Ring 'Round my Shoulder," not just excerpts. I personally don't care for the Katherine Graham piece selected for this DVD. She had many more beautiful and gripping works than this. "Mourner's Bench" is beautifully performed; a bit more lyrical than the original by the choreographer, Talley Beatty, which makes it a performer's showcase rather than an expression of passion. I don't get Jones's "D-Man in the Water" at all. What the narrator says it's about doesn't seem to be meaning of the metaphor. Curious.
N**N
metaphor
The video has great selections of dance from earlier and contempoarary modern dance. Great soundtrack. The choreographers tell the story of lynches, chain gangs, lonliness, and mourning. The dancers are amazing. I bought this product to use in my classroom. This video gives students an opportunity to see dance that they could not see live. This video clearly illustrates that dance can tell a story that resonates with issues people struggled with historically as well as present day issues such as AIDS. Many students think dance is abstract or about fantasy life with princes and princesses and dreams of nutcrackers coming to life. Now, they know better. There is a lot of material here to make connections to social studies, literature, writing, drama and music standards for enhancing lesson plans. Highly recommend!!!
P**Y
Good Choreographers
This is a good tape to study different styles of choregraphy. I am participating in a class on different types of dance and I will definitly use this tape.
S**L
Great
I viewed the film and found it interesting and enjoyable. I have already loan this film to my dance choreographer John Ollom. I believe he might want to order this as well.
S**R
Wonderful performance pieces
Wonderful dance performances - Choreography is poignant and beautiful. Music and poetry are divine. Dancing is precise and control is astounding. Overall these performances are riveting, impassioned and very moving.
P**N
Four Stars
ok
C**N
Reception very good for the French
Reception very good for the French
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