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Collaboration: Making Music For Dance

November 6, 2012 by 4dancers

4Dancers.org readers can download free music by Cory Gabel. Click here.

By now readers know that I am very much a fan of talking about music for dance. To that end, today we have Cory Gabel with us to talk about how an original piece is created for dance from his point of view…the music side!

1. Can you tell readers how you got involved with making music for dance?

Around 2002, I was transitioning out of my alternative rock band Limestone Rome. I moved into instrumental music and writing scores for film. Around that time I caught a great Pilobolus performance where they integrated all kind of modern rock, alternative, techno, electronica – all the styles I like to work in. Seeing the power of that music with dance a light bulb kind of went off – why don’t I write original music for THAT?!

cory gabel
Cory Gabel

2. What is your music like?

It’s such a cliche to say that’s it’s hard to categorize, but it truly must be – iTunes seems to put every release I come out in a different category! As far as musical styles, I combine elements of modern orchestral, industrial rock, electronic dance music, usually aiming for a fairly large, theatrical or epic sound. I always like to contrast those thick sonic textures with very minimal, simple sounding melodies of solo strings, piano or vocals. When my music gets reviewed or commented on, I often hear comparisons to Trent Reznor, Philip Glass, Moby, Danny Elfman and others.

3. What is the process of making music for dance like?

It really varies depending on the project and the nature of the collaboration. For more theatrical pieces, I may actually get involved with the development of the story, working with the artistic director to sketch out the acts and pieces and determining what styles and tempos of music will work for each. For pieces that are more thematic, the choreographer usually has an idea of what they’re looking for, and may even already have some music they’re working with. We talk about what is and is not working with what they have, really aiming to uncover the emotional core of what they’re trying to convey.

I almost always work remotely – so it’s lots of correspondence via phone and email – I send music as it develops, they send me back videos from rehearsals. It actually works very well!

4. What special considerations are there when working on projects such as these?

It’s recognizing that for the music to work at its best, it needs to be completely married to the dance that will be happening with it. Film music is meant to be felt emotionally, but not necessarily heard. Pop and rock music are their own sole attraction. But music for dance works when you really can’t imagine one without the other. I think that’s why many of the people I’ve worked with want to continue our collaborations – it’s hard to go back to picking out CDs and other music that weren’t written to perfectly compliment their choreography once they’ve seen how cool that can be!

5. What are the greatest challenges?

It seems increasingly hard for ballet and dance companies to commit to completely original works, I’m sure much of which is financial. Additionally, the idea of creating all new music, choreography, costumes, lighting, can seem a bit ambitious for many companies (and their boards!). So – navigating through all the conversations to get to the point where everyone says “let’s do it!” – that’s actually the challenge. In my experience, however, I’ve yet to have a project where everyone involved didn’t feel it was both creatively and financially successful at the end.

music for dance6. What about the rewards?

I absolutely love tech and dress rehearsals. It’s at that point that I finally get to see how the music that I’ve written and produced has also been the foundation for dozens of other creative people – dancers, choreographers, musicians, designers- to work their craft. Plus, I’m a junkie for the buzz before any kind of live performance – the nerves, the glitches, the last minute changes – that’s very much part of the thrill!

7. What’s next for you?

I’m collaborating again with Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre in Indianapolis, we’re going to re-stage and expand The Casket Girls (originally premiered in 2009) for Halloween 2013. I just completed Water Wars with Sonia Plumb Dance, and we’re also talking about a new production for 2013. I’m always having conversations with potential collaborators, which I can’t announce just yet, but I encourage dance companies of any size to reach out – I’d love to hear about your ideas for new works!

4Dancers.org readers can download free music by Cory Gabel. Click here.

The following clip is an excerpt-mix of nearly 20 original pieces written for dance by Cory Gabel.

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[soundcloud id=’39342032′ artwork=’false’]

Filed Under: 4dancers, Editorial, Music & Dance Tagged With: choreographer, cory gabel, dance, gregory hancock dance theatre, music, music and dance, music for dance, philip glass, pilobolus, sonia plumb dance, water wars

Dracula, Choreography & Artistic Ownership

October 10, 2012 by Ashley David

by Emily Kate Long

ballet quad cities
Ballet Quad Cities dancers Lauren Derrig, Kelsee Green, Margaret Huling, and Emily Kate Long

Last month I had the opportunity to return to the role of Mina Murray-Harker in Deanna Carter’s Dracula.  It was the season opener for Ballet Quad Cities when I joined the company in 2009, and my experience then was radically different from now. The process of re-learning got me thinking about the dancer’s function in the existence of a role. To remember and pass on steps is one thing, but what about the aspect of characterization? We must preserve, but we must also advance. Interpretation and personalization are inherent in live art. How can we go about our work in a way respects the choreographer’s wishes?

Dracula sets and props

Mina was the first real character role I ever danced, and Dracula was the first ballet I ever performed as a full member of a professional company. It was the beginning of my awareness of the huge clash between the academic, black-and-white (or, perhaps more appropriately, black-and-pink) framework I clung to as a student and the messy, splatter-colored, pick-your-own-adventure world of a professional career.

My professional performing experience up to that point had consisted largely of being the third-shortest girl in a line of umpteen in hundred-year-old tutu ballets. Conformity was the order of the day, and I quaked in my pointe shoes at the prospect of sticking out—being noticed usually meant you had done something wrong. We had a saying at Milwaukee Ballet among the trainees: “Know your role and shut your hole.”  Great for staying out of trouble, not so great for artistic self-discovery.

I had anticipated that professional life would just be an extension of what I already knew: take class and do as I was told, learn choreography and do as I was told, perform choreography and hope I didn’t get reprimanded afterwards. Feedback or not, there was always the nagging question of whether my work had been good enough. Little did I know that being an artist has a lot more to do with being honest and generous and responsible than about being right by arbitrary standards. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Finding Balance Tagged With: Ballet, ballet quad cities, choreographer, choreography, deanna carter, dracula, emily kate long, milwaukee ballet, mina murray-harker, tutu

A Chance To Dance = A Chance To Win

September 6, 2012 by 4dancers

by Catherine L. Tully

You may have noticed by now that Nichelle from Dance Advantage and I are helping to promote Ovation TV’s show, A Chance To Dance. What you may not know is that we are also giving away free swag and holding a contest for dance bloggers. Interested? Here’s the rundown on how to get involved:

1. Trivia Swag Giveaway – win some swag by answering the weekly trivia question on Twitter (search #actdtrivia and check the date).

Look for our trivia question starting today by searching #actdtrivia on Twitter! We’ll be doing a different giveaway each week based on the upcoming episode, so this week it will be for Friday’s episode at 10 pm ET.

2. Dance Blogger Contest – Yes–we’ve extended this fun contest to give more people the chance to answer! Enter to win a $25 gift card. Watch the upcoming episode and write a blog post about it. (Details here.) We’ll choose a random winner from the entries and promote your answer on our social media accounts–think publicity!

If you haven’t yet seen the show, I’ve included a bit of video below for you, along with a blurb about the overall idea. In terms of tuning in for the next episode, there are 3 ways to watch:

1.  Got Ovation?  Watch it on TV.

Find Ovation In Your Area.

2)  Also available On Demand as part of your paid TV subscription.

Here are the listings.

3)  Watch on Facebook.  Rent it Now!

About A Chance To Dance:

A Chance To Dance is an original Ovation TV series by the creators of SYTYCD. It follows Michael Nunn and Billy Trevitt, two of the UK’s most prominent contemporary dancers and choreographers, in their quest to create a new dance company for Nigel Lythgoe in just 28 days.

They have auditioned dancers from dance schools in Washington D.C.; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Austin, TX. The competition and the pressure have become intense as the final group heads to the dance mecca of Jacob’s Pillow, MA, where they must eliminate half the dancers and form a company for the grand finale: an original performance in New York. A Chance To Dance airs Fridays at 10PM ET/7PM PT on Ovation.

Here’s a quick peek at the last episode to catch you up, and a preview of the next:

Preview:

Even though I have a strong ballet background, Shepherd is my favorite character on this show. He was chosen because he had some stylin’ hip hop moves and because he showed commitment by getting time off from work to get to the audition. I just think he seems like a cool guy that is really passionate about dance. After all, in the last episode, he took a ballet class and simply struggled with it the entire time. I can’t imagine what that must have felt like–but it couldn’t have been good…he’s got guts!

This show is really one of the better ones out there in terms of dance–and I’m not just saying that because I’m helping to promote it. I really think it is well-crafted, and it raises some interesting points about having ballet as a foundation for dance in general. I’d like to toss that question out to readers…

Do you think it is necessary (or at least, preferable) to have a ballet background if you want to be a dancer?

I really do. But I’m also going to pull hard for Shepherd in this next episode! After all, everybody deserves a break in life…right?

A chance…to dance.

Disclosure-4dancers receives compensation from Ovation TV for promotion of A Chance to Dance.

Filed Under: 4dancers Tagged With: a chance to dance, Ballet, ballet training, billy trevitt, choreographer, contemporary dancers, dance advantage, jacob's pillow, michael nunn, nigel lythgoe, ovation tv, sytycd

Competition Dance: Maximizing Peak Performance Part II

August 21, 2012 by 4dancers

This week we are pleased to offer part II of the series on Maximizing Peak Performance for Competition…read part I here.

by Robin Kish MS, MFA

Photo by Catherine L. Tully

How often has it been a part of a dancer’s training to believe, “No Pain, No Gain,” “If you’re not sore you didn’t work hard enough,” and of course the best of all, “The Show Must Go On.”  It is a part of the dance culture to push as hard as possible with little regard for the short term or long term consequences.  I have heard countless stories over the years of dancers performing with sprained ankles, stress fractures in the lower legs, and pain levels that would make any sane person stop all activity.  At the end of all these stories, the tag line is usually the same, “I had to dance because my dance group, teacher, choreographer, studio, parent etc… was counting on me.”

This type of attitude is not unique to the dance population but is also prevalent in competitive sports.  The major difference here is most of the time athletes have athletic trainers, physical therapists, and many times team doctors that know how to keep the athletes going and when an athlete has hit their limit.  So how can a dancer decide when enough is enough and it’s time to seek help? [Read more…]

Filed Under: Competition, conditioning, Dance Wellness Tagged With: choreographer, competition dance, dance, dance wellness, flexibility, robin kish, somatics

Joffrey: Choreographers of Color Awards

August 19, 2012 by 4dancers

The Joffrey Academy of Dance, Official School of The Joffrey Ballet is excited to announce a call for diverse artists to submit applications for the Joffrey’s annual Choreographers of Color Awards. They are seeking original work developed by applicants with the hope that a diverse perspective will ignite creativity in new works.

Three winners will receive a $2,500 stipend and will have the opportunity to work directly with Academy Artistic Directors, Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik. The choreographers’ world premiere works will be showcased on The Joffrey Academy Trainees at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park and other venues throughout the year. To enter and for more details visit: www.joffrey.org/cofc

This is an exciting opportunity–all the best to those who enter! Please do pass the word…

Filed Under: Making Dances Tagged With: Alexei Kremnev, Anna Reznik, choreographer, choreographers of color award, joffrey academy, joffrey ballet

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