DANCE 3402 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Onnagata, Bugaku, Kimono
26 Nov 2018
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Document Summary
Ballet has come to embody a blend of spectacle, music, and physical virtuosity in the pursuit of a highly stylized ideal of social behavior. Japan"s kabuki presents a spectacle with elaborate costumes and utilitarian props, vivid sound effects and ethereal of musical accompaniment, grand gestures, & subtly modulated expression. Explore the conflicts that arise bw desire and duty in a convention - bound society. Both dances are considered classical forms of dance theatre. Both threatened with extinction through official disapproval, audience apathy , or artistic sterility. Both offer twin mirrors that reveal the underlying processes which theatrical dance forms evolve into classics. Ballet dancers spend great energy to conceal things from view. The sweaty physicality, the sinewy strength, the ever present risk of injury, strain of maintaining balance and control, precision for smooth partnering. Kabuki no attempt to minimize the physical nature of the performer"s art. Ballet"s vocab evokes an ideal of beauty.
