Dance Appreciation 2303: Analysis of Collin County Dance Performance

This essay provides an analysis of the Collin County Dance Performance, specifically the 'Swing with Me' track dedicated to Norma Miller. The performance, held on May 10th, 2019, was choreographed by Courtney Mulcahy and incorporated key choreographic elements like time, space, movement, and energy. The dancers' skillful movements, posture, and positioning contributed to the lively and entertaining nature of the dance, which was further enhanced by the lighting in the concert hall. The essay deduces that the dance was primarily for entertainment, with underlying romantic undertones conveyed through the dancers' interactions. Ultimately, the author found the dance both entertaining and educative, offering insights into the features of a successful performance. Desklib provides access to similar past papers and solved assignments for students.

Student’s Name
Instructor’s Name
Dance Appreciation 2303.section #
Date

Dance project
The dance selected for this project is the Collin County Dance Performance where the
dancers performed the track ‘Swing with me’ which is dedicated to Norma Miller, a famous and
legendary American lindy hop dancer and choreographer who is commonly known as the Queen
of Swing. This dance was performed on 10th May 2019 in one of the famous concert halls in
Collin County. The choreographer of the dance was Courtney Mulcahy. The dance was very
moving and entertaining where all the audiences really enjoyed the performance.
The choreographer of the dance was highly-experienced in her artistic work and was well
equipped with the knowledge and skills required to achieve a successful performance. In the
dance, the choreographer and the dancers consider the choreographic elements such as time,
space, movements, and energy as required to make sure the dance conveys its intended message
effectively (Yung 505-517). The dancers observe the time factor appropriately where the dance
is not too long to bore the audiences or too short not to satisfy the audiences. The choreographer
was perfect in her timing where she gave the dance an adequate time to satisfy the demands of
the audiences. On space, the choreographer was keen to make sure the dancers got enough stage
space where they could perform their dance comfortably. On energy, all the dancers had enough
energy to perform which could be told from their countless back and forth movements and
rotations which they portrayed on stage. Where the dancers were supposed to move forward or
backward or rotate they did so uniformly and efficiently which could clearly tell the audiences
that the dancers were experts in their stage work.
To consider the actual movements of the dancers, it can be seen that in the entire dance,
the dancers moved slowly and quickly at different times as the rhythm of the dance changed and
did so very swiftly demonstrating their great dancing skills. Their changing movements could tell

the messages being conveyed by the dance (Briginshaw). On the posture and positioning, they all
took an upright posture but could bend slightly where required and kept on exchanging their
positions as the dance progressed. The dance was very lively, and the dancers tried as much as
they could to make the dance appealing and entertaining to all the audiences. The concert hall
was lit as required by some colored lights which gave the concert hall a conducive performing
environment which could be enjoyed by everybody. Indeed, the dancers’ efforts of entertaining
the audiences were successful, which could be deduced from the cheering and the jovial moods
which filled the concert hall as they performed.
From the kinds of movements seen in the dance, it can be deduced that the dance was
mainly meant for mere entertainment where a dancer attracts or welcomes another dancer for
them to dance together. However, if we go into deeper details, dance can be seen as a romantic
dance which is meant for lovers to dance together. The dance evokes some romantic feelings to
the audiences. The way the dancers move their bodies and hold each other’s hands and bodies
while dancing helps me to deduce that there is a romantic message conveyed by the dance
(Gilbert).
To conclude the project, I can say that to me, the dance was not only entertaining but also
educative. It helped me to learn some of the basic features and requirements of a good
performance, and so, when I’ll be involved in any dance, I’ll offer the best as learned which will
be of great help to my audiences.

Works Cited
Briginshaw, Valerie. Dance, space and subjectivity. Springer, 2016.
Gilbert, Anne Green. Creative dance for all ages. Human Kinetics, 2018.
Yung, Bell. "Choreographic and kinesthetic elements in performance on the Chinese seven-string
zither." Ethnomusicology 28.3 (1984): 505-517.