Stylistic features of Alvin Ailey

Styles
1. Jazz
2. Broadway
3. Modern
  1. Horton
  2. Graham
  3. Dunham
4. Ballet
5. Social dance
6. Ballet bottom and horton top
Physical setting
1. Costume
  1. Every dancer has a unqiue costume
    1. Helps show character, setting time or era
      1. Flowers- Jumpsuit helps show the 60s
2. Set
  1. minimal and abstract
3. Props
  1. Heavily used- often symbolic or helps show character
    1. Wade in the water- Unberella shows the priest
4. Lighting
  1. Tends to be used to show the time of day- Revelations and For birds- with love
Aural Setting
1. Mainly direct correlation or Music visualisation
  1. Sometimes syncopation and counterpoint is used
2. Like to use gospel or blues/jazz music
  1. This help show his childhood memories and heritage
3. Ailey liked to use Duke Ellington's music
Choreographic devices
1. Repetition of Motifs
2. Motif Development
3. Transitions- Cry
4. Use of Broadway Climaxes - sometimes used as fake cliamxs- Blue Suites
Choreographic process
1. Creates a section
  1. Develops it to suits the dancer
2. Reforms the piece every time they are reperformed
Subject Matter
1. Blood memories
  1. Childhood- texas- Blues suite
  2. Faith- Revelations
2. African Heritage
3. Civil rights
  1. Slavery- Cry
  2. Not overally political

Resource summary

	Created by Luke Thompson about 9 years ago