Lauren's+Research+Paper

Dance is a diverse concept and used in different ways in cultures. Dance helps people to express their emotions and tell stories through movement. Through the movements, dancers can deliver various strong emotions depending on how they execute the dance and if the performer can commit their mind, body, and soul. Essentially, dancing is a nonverbal way to communicate through rhythm and music. The way we see dance depends on the style we select. An elegant and powerful type of dance, ballet, is typically female dominant. Styles such as hip-hop are viewed as masculine, strong, and mainly for males. James Brown said, " This is a man's world…but it wouldn't be nothing, nothing without a woman or a girl" (Looseleaf, 2011). Brown's quotation can be directly related to dance because dance isn't a matter of a certain gender dominating over the other in different types of dance, but it is a matter of finding a balance from males and females working together to create a type of harmony called the art of dance. There are many assumptions made from dancing but they are made equally about men and women. From an article called "A Female Force" by Victoria Looseleaf, she interviews women that have advanced themselves to becoming directors of dance companies and learns about their roles in comparison to those of males. She interviews Karen Kain, the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada, who has worked under the company's founder, Celia Franca. Kain recalls Celia being "very tough and very nurturing at the same time" (Looseleaf, 2011). In the end, men and women both have qualities that are necessary in order to be successful. Alex Wong auditioned for the show only having extensive training from a ballet company in Vancouver. He is a very strong ballet dancer and remains very masculine while doing so. Even though he does beautiful turns and leaps in the air, it remains masculine and resilient. While Alex remained further into the competition, one of the challenges was hip-hop. It was a big challenge for him to convert from ballet to hip-hop. He was eventually able to do so, resulting in one of the best performances ever seen on "So You Think You Can Dance." Beat Freaks, a dance crew that participated in "America's Best Dance Crew." Beat Freaks is one of the few girl groups that have competed and have continued on to the final round. Season three of "ABDC" evolved into a battle of the genders. The final round was between Beat Freaks, a girl crew, and Quest Crew, a male crew. Many people were angry that Beat Freaks didn't win and would often resort to blame it on being biased due to gender. I voted for Quest Crew but I never took gender into consideration. There are many requirements for ballet that oppose to those for hip-hop. Ballet requires the most flexibility while similar alternatives to ballet such as jazz, modern, and lyrical dance require the most endurance. Hip-hop also demands a lot of endurance due to the high-energy and fast-paced movements, but requires the least amount of flexibility (Buxton, 2007). This may vary depending on the types of dances, the intention of the message to be delivered, or the theme. Ballet may be assumed a feminine dominant style because the “desired look” is a narrow and slender structure. A person with narrow hips that is slender is assumed to be a girl. When men participate in ballet, they tend to fit into this body type description. The men that participate in ballet aren’t necessarily feminine because of their slender build, but ballet is easier for individuals with a certain structure. For men such as football players that have a more full build with bulky muscles may have a more difficult time learning ballet because it would be harder to do certain moves. Men with heavier structures may be restricted from certain movements and positions because of the muscles. The association with certain genders to particular types of dance has to do with the demands of a certain body type that makes that style of dance easier. Hip-hop is often linked with breakdancing, which requires them to have a muscular build that will allow them to support their weight on their hands, sometimes even their heads. Bibliography Buxton, Dianne M. "Ballet: Diet and Energy Requirements, Professional Ballet Dancer, Ballet Dancers." //AllExperts Questions & Answers//. The New York Times Company, 24 July 2007. Web. 9 May 2011. . Kay, Lauren. "HIP-HOP DUDES and Divas." //EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page//. May/June 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2011. . Looseleaf, Victoria. "A Female Force." //EBSCO Publishing Service Selection Page//. March 2011Web. 13 Apr. 2011. .