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01739

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Arts Humanities

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Oct 30, 2023

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Show Information : 1. Name of show: a. Sophisticated Ladies (1981) 2. Name of song(s)/dance number(s) a. “It Don’t Mean A Thing” with Phyllis Hyman and tap dancers Gregg Burge and Hinton Battle. 3. APA citation for video YouTube. (2008). It Don’t Mean A Thing". YouTube. Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-usB_frZQ0&t=277s&ab_channel=Rmasa i. 4. Choreographers a. Donald McKayle (playwright), Al Cohn (orchestrator), Duke Ellington (composer) 5. Dancers a. Tap dancers Phyllis Hyman, Gregg Burge, and Hinton Battle. - Comments about what makes this dance special : Watching this dance made me feel energized because of how much energy there was in it, specifically when Phyllis Hyman had her dress flairing around and the exoticness of her dress. The brightness and blue color of the dress was very nice to see. It was very different from the a normal dance that I have seen, I enjoyed the uniqueness. The symmetry from the male tap dancers was very appealing to the eye. They also had on bright colored outfits, wearing bright orange. They were always moving their arms and legs and the sounds of their tap dancing added to the exuberance. Toward the end of the dance, they were doing very energetic solo and duo dances. Aside from the dancing and the colors, the voice of Phyllis Hyman when she was singing was incredible and moving. C. Dance Influences - This is the major part of your assessment… When reading about Florenz Ziegfeld Jr, I learned Ziegfeld was known for being able to have girls elevate his products by having them be works of art rather than just in the background dancing. In this Sophisticated Ladies , Phyllis Hyman is highlighted through flashy colors, dancing, and singing. It is just her on stage, so there is nothing else anyone could possibly look at, almost forcing viewers to appreciate her and her dancing. This starts at 1:30, where she opens up with her swaying her dress to the side. Ziegfeld did a very good job of matching what was going on in society with his plays. For example, when World War I was going on, he included patriotism in his works. Ziegfeld was the first person to invite a black performer on stage. In Sophisticated Ladies , Hyman is a black woman and it likely can be accredited to Ziegfeld and his ways of being different and innovating the dance industry for allowing a black woman to eventually be one of the main characters in a dance. The tap dancing reminded me of

when we had learned about Early American Stage Dance, as tap dancing roots from hornpipe. The hornpipe involved quick and rhythmic footwork, pretty much the same as tap dancing. The dancing was very similar and just as mesmerizing. I felt like the line dancing was similar to how the Rockettes were. The male tap dancers were all synchronized and were one of the main attractions of the shows, not just some side or back-up act. I believe that their evolutions to dance may have played a role in the dancing seen in Sophisticated Ladies . At 2:32 it seems so much like the Rockettes where they all walk out together where they are wearing the exact same things.

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