Dance: art form and evolution
Rebecca McCormac / Photo Credit: Scott Allen
Copyright Notice: Photo provided by Rebecca McCormac. Used with full permission.
Copyright Notice: Photo provided by Rebecca McCormac. Used with full permission.
Important Note: The interview is a straight cut / paste from an interview request to Ms. McCormac.
Ms. McCormac,
Thank you very much for your valuable time. Surreal ValeCity is seriously looking forward to attending/ covering VERTERE. Honestly, this will be the first dance theater performance for myself and Surreal ValeCity. Very curious about several aspects on dance as an art form. How the idea for VERTERE was formed and evolved. To learn more about CoreDance Contemporary and dance studios/schools in general.
Thank you very much for your valuable time. Surreal ValeCity is seriously looking forward to attending/ covering VERTERE. Honestly, this will be the first dance theater performance for myself and Surreal ValeCity. Very curious about several aspects on dance as an art form. How the idea for VERTERE was formed and evolved. To learn more about CoreDance Contemporary and dance studios/schools in general.
Dance, art form / physical fitness / just cutting loose and enjoyment, has been an essential part of most societies and cultures. Am I correct in this statement?
Rebecca: Yes!
How has dance, as an art form, evolved? Especially during recent history. By recent history, I mean the past 20 – 30 years.
Rebecca: I would say that due to the invention of Social Media and the popularization of Reality Television, dance as an art form has become more commercialized. These days people have access to dance performance in a 2-Dimensional way through television shows such as; “World of Dance”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, “America’s Got Talent”, “Dancing with The Stars” etc. and also, the YouTube Platform. The difficulty I have is that as an artist commercialization is not really what I am striving for. I think these types of shows, platforms make more of the population aware of dance, which is a great thing, but do they help dance evolve as an art form?
Artistically I think that collaborative processes and different spaces for dance are what has helped dance to evolve as an art form over the past 20-30 years. Artistic Directors and Choreographers are finding new and inventive ways of conceiving work and presenting work to push the boundaries of what dance is. Today, dance artists collaborating with visual artists, composers, multi-media artists and the like has become more of the norm. In a small way I think we do this to keep our audiences engaged. People are so used to being stimulated and if we want to draw them to live performance art this is one way we can compete with the commercialized opposite that they have easy access to in the comfort of their own homes.
There are a large number of independent dance studios / schools. How have they changed and evolved?
Rebecca: CoreDance Contemporary would be classified as a 501-c(3) Contemporary Dance Company, not an independent dance studio/school. I am however, the Assistant Dance Director at an independent dance studio/school in Sparta, NJ and would say that the evolution of this type of establishment has certainly changed since I was a student doing my training. Growing up I attended both a commercial studio (think Tap/Jazz/Lyrical) and a conservatory (think Classical Ballet/Modern) and at both of these institutions I had one core teacher for all of the styles I trained in. These days independent schools/studios tend to hire teachers that are specialists in individual genres. This means that a student could have a learning relationship with as many as six or more teachers who are responsible for their training. In my opinion this evolution has both negatives and positives. To make this type of learning environment work, both consistency and communication between teachers is vital.
How difficult is it for smaller, independent, dance studios / schools to survive and attract people?
Rebecca: My dance artists and myself discuss this point all of the time. I actually alluded to this in your second question. It is very difficult for small (not-for-profit) dance companies to attract new audiences and patronage. There is an oversaturation and not enough audience members to go around. A great deal of the time it is dancers supporting dancers. I think we keep going because we can’t not. We love what we do!
In your opinion, dance as an art form, is it growing, stagnant, fading away?
Rebecca: I have to believe that it is growing! Creating dance art is what I aspire to do for the rest of my life.
Is choreography the hardest part of a dance performance?
Rebecca: I wouldn’t say that. When talking about dance performance our reference should be towards the dance artists/performers who have taken to the stage. By this stage in the process the devised choreography should already have been computed to the dancers’ muscle memory and the dancer should then be emoting the theme/concept of the work they are performing to the live audience who has come to see them perform.
My choreography lends itself to athleticism and is heavily partner centric. Therefore, I would say that the hardest part of a dance performance for my dance artists is consistency and energy output. Adrenaline during performance can change both of these things and cause situations to occur that normally wouldn’t in the rehearsal process.
Dance, like other art forms, has many different styles and genres. What are some examples? Especially what most people have not heard of, examples: Ballet and Tap.
Rebecca: With the continued evolution of dance there are a great deal of new genres emerging. Most of these are interdisciplinary and have grown out of a merging of two more common styles. Examples include; Hip Hop, Breakdancing, House Dance, Crumping, Contact Improvisation, Lyrical, Acrobatics, Contemporary Fusion.
Rebecca: Yes!
How has dance, as an art form, evolved? Especially during recent history. By recent history, I mean the past 20 – 30 years.
Rebecca: I would say that due to the invention of Social Media and the popularization of Reality Television, dance as an art form has become more commercialized. These days people have access to dance performance in a 2-Dimensional way through television shows such as; “World of Dance”, “So You Think You Can Dance”, “America’s Got Talent”, “Dancing with The Stars” etc. and also, the YouTube Platform. The difficulty I have is that as an artist commercialization is not really what I am striving for. I think these types of shows, platforms make more of the population aware of dance, which is a great thing, but do they help dance evolve as an art form?
Artistically I think that collaborative processes and different spaces for dance are what has helped dance to evolve as an art form over the past 20-30 years. Artistic Directors and Choreographers are finding new and inventive ways of conceiving work and presenting work to push the boundaries of what dance is. Today, dance artists collaborating with visual artists, composers, multi-media artists and the like has become more of the norm. In a small way I think we do this to keep our audiences engaged. People are so used to being stimulated and if we want to draw them to live performance art this is one way we can compete with the commercialized opposite that they have easy access to in the comfort of their own homes.
There are a large number of independent dance studios / schools. How have they changed and evolved?
Rebecca: CoreDance Contemporary would be classified as a 501-c(3) Contemporary Dance Company, not an independent dance studio/school. I am however, the Assistant Dance Director at an independent dance studio/school in Sparta, NJ and would say that the evolution of this type of establishment has certainly changed since I was a student doing my training. Growing up I attended both a commercial studio (think Tap/Jazz/Lyrical) and a conservatory (think Classical Ballet/Modern) and at both of these institutions I had one core teacher for all of the styles I trained in. These days independent schools/studios tend to hire teachers that are specialists in individual genres. This means that a student could have a learning relationship with as many as six or more teachers who are responsible for their training. In my opinion this evolution has both negatives and positives. To make this type of learning environment work, both consistency and communication between teachers is vital.
How difficult is it for smaller, independent, dance studios / schools to survive and attract people?
Rebecca: My dance artists and myself discuss this point all of the time. I actually alluded to this in your second question. It is very difficult for small (not-for-profit) dance companies to attract new audiences and patronage. There is an oversaturation and not enough audience members to go around. A great deal of the time it is dancers supporting dancers. I think we keep going because we can’t not. We love what we do!
In your opinion, dance as an art form, is it growing, stagnant, fading away?
Rebecca: I have to believe that it is growing! Creating dance art is what I aspire to do for the rest of my life.
Is choreography the hardest part of a dance performance?
Rebecca: I wouldn’t say that. When talking about dance performance our reference should be towards the dance artists/performers who have taken to the stage. By this stage in the process the devised choreography should already have been computed to the dancers’ muscle memory and the dancer should then be emoting the theme/concept of the work they are performing to the live audience who has come to see them perform.
My choreography lends itself to athleticism and is heavily partner centric. Therefore, I would say that the hardest part of a dance performance for my dance artists is consistency and energy output. Adrenaline during performance can change both of these things and cause situations to occur that normally wouldn’t in the rehearsal process.
Dance, like other art forms, has many different styles and genres. What are some examples? Especially what most people have not heard of, examples: Ballet and Tap.
Rebecca: With the continued evolution of dance there are a great deal of new genres emerging. Most of these are interdisciplinary and have grown out of a merging of two more common styles. Examples include; Hip Hop, Breakdancing, House Dance, Crumping, Contact Improvisation, Lyrical, Acrobatics, Contemporary Fusion.
Wrapping up part 1. Like I said, curious about the actual art form. Like video interviews, kind of typed the questions as I thought of them. Makes it a little more fun!
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