The video that is the focus of this paper is on the dance called “Memory of a Lost Memory” performed by the Dallas Black Dance Troupe. The Troupe is on its 41st year of performance, and began the splinter group Encore (formerly known as DBDT II) for the purpose of giving elite dancers from around the country an outlet for their creativity and uniqueness so audiences have something new to view during performances. This specific performance is performed by the Encore group and mixes several techniques in space, time and energy into their dance. These qualities combine to create a spellbinding performance that anyone, whether schooled in the technical aspects of dance or not, can truly appreciate in this video.
The first element that will be analyzed in the performance is space. Throughout the first 7 minutes of the video the dancers are very close together which means they have fixed points to stay on while dancing. This gives the impression of a tight-knit, close performance which is almost stationary on one space of the stage. However, at the 8 minute mark of the video, the dancers begin to spread out, using more of the stage and are not fixated on the specific point they had been earlier in the dance. The last portion of the dance is very fluid-like and uses more of the space on the stage. The end of the performance gives the audience the impression that the memory has been regained and is being shown in the large space the dancers are now using.
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"Memory of a Lost Memory".
The second element that will be analyzed in the performance is time. At the beginning of the dance there is a noticeable slower pace which is kept up during the first 7 minutes of the video. As the performance progresses past this mark, the pace picks up into a faster tempo, giving the dancers an opportunity to speed up their movements. There is a great deal of twirling and other types of rhythmic movement during the last minutes of the performance, which gives the dancers a graceful look on the stage. There are periods during the entire dance where the performers are still for a few seconds at a time to give the tempo time to adjust to its next phase in the performance.
The energy during the performance was varied at different stages of the dance. It began as slow, deliberate moves with all of the dancers but then progressed into a high energy performance. The dynamics of the dancers changed with the changes in the music. If the music was slow, the movement was slow and when the music sped up so did the dynamics of the dancers. Everything in this aspect of the dance looked flawless as the transition in dynamics occurs throughout the performance. It looks as though the dancers had to practice a great deal in order to seamlessly transition between dynamics in the performance.
In summary, the overall performance of the dance troupe was excellent. The elements discussed in this paper combined well to make an outstanding performance. The music was appropriate to the dance which was choreographed for it, and the dancers knew when to transition to different elements when changes were necessary. There are other elements not discussed in this essay which also made this a superior performance, but overall the ones covered are the key elements on this performance being as successful as it is. If given the opportunity to view the DBDT II in person this writer would take the chance to do so. They are an excellent dance troupe who deserves the awards they have received over the years.
