|
|
Go to page [Previous] 1~2 | ||||||||||
griffindance Regular user 145 Posts |
The most mutton-headed drunken football fan can sing (well... in terms of tempo and words), stamp and clap their hands to the beat of the football chants. Once someone realises they can hear the music you can start giving them cues with the music. I may use dance related terms (jeté, plié, ronde de jambe...) but its just industry jargon. If you can move you can dance.
Now depending on how well you can retain dance and movement related information you may get away with a short rehearsal period to learn the choreography and the day of performance run through to remember it. Most non-dancers need quite a long rehearsal period and constant "top-up" rehearsals to keep their confidence up. Many dance instructors work at their own pace. They'll gloss over some of the industry jargon and expect you to know exactly what is happening. Once you've done the choreography through once they expect you to have it there after. Non-dancers need to be handled differently. What you remember one day may need to be re-taught the following day. As for Cleese, apparently he hated doing this sketch. When it was included in the live show most of the MPFC crew campaigned against it. After it was put back into the live show and they heard the audiences reaction, they realised it actually worked. It worked because Cleese had no idea how to move. |
|||||||||
Dougini Inner circle The Beautiful State Of Maine 7130 Posts |
I think that is also the comedy of watching ME! My friend's family ROARED at the sight of an out-of-shape twenty-year old, trying to do John Travolta! Haa haha! Griffin, where were YOU in 1977?
Doug |
|||||||||
griffindance Regular user 145 Posts |
Ok, I was real busy.
Everyone trying to copy Travolta in the seventies was beyond my powers of dance magic. |
|||||||||
Ray Pierce Inner circle Los Angeles, CA 2607 Posts |
There are some great comments above that I mostly agree with. The goal of any good staging or show direction is to make the artist look good. If you can't move well... don't. If you can, utilize it where it's appropriate.
In my illusion shows, I move on stage but I typically don't "dance". Keep in mind I'm a trained dancer who danced professionally for many years. Most magicians I know don't realize that I danced 3 seasons with the Dallas Met Ballet and also in Equity Musical Theater productions my whole life. Magic is mostly different than other theatrical forms. The focus is on the magic and how best to tell the story. There are only 2 exceptions to the "No Dancing" rule that come to mind for me in all of my years of performing. The first is my dancing cane routine. It is tightly choreographed along with my lead assistant (who is also a professional dancer) in a Bob Fosse style with a derby and the cane. It is performed silently, is only about 90 seconds long and is a perfect balance for the rest of my show. The only other one is my dream levitation segment which uses dance to tell a story. It is lyrical and fits the theme and style of what I do. Other than that, I let the magic speak for itself with well staged and directed movement. Yes, I always use professional dancers even if there is no dance in the show as they simply have better lines and know how to move well on stage. I'm sure I wasn't the first to have a dance number to open our touring show but I did for many years. For those of you who don't know, it's called "Production Value". It was typically a very high energy number transitioning into the opening production of me. As always... knowing how to stage and direct it to establish the energy and then seamlessly transfer that energy to the magician is vital. When I was the Magic Director for Caesars Magic Empire in Las Vegas, I had an illusionist come in with a 4 minute long dance number to open his show that was dreadful. He thought it gave him more flash but instead bored the audience as they kept thinking "Where is the magic?". It got cut very quickly. Again, it's all about scale. 4 minutes out of a 20 minute act is pretty bad. On the other hand 2 minutes out of a 2 hour show could be ok if well staged. Many magicians people don't ever think of staging a routine. That is a type of choreography that connects the broad movement patterns to the music. Unfortunately now, the "try and dance around" before the illusion is ubiquitous now as is the "Big pose with the assistant in a pool of light" cue at the end. It just comes from a lack of originality. They see someone really charismatic and strong do something on stage and then try and copy it without the passion and foundation behind it. I've always called it "icing a hollow cake". It looks ok at first but has nothing to back it up. Ultimately... just tell a good story.
Ray Pierce
|
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Grand illusion » » Dancing (12 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page [Previous] 1~2 |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.02 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |