Big Apple Art Event

This is a picture of the Big Apple in Columbia, South Carolina.

The shag is done to music that is a 4/4 count, but the person dancing to the shag does so to a 6 count. The dancer would count 1and 2 - 3 and 4 - 5 6.

 The Big Apple was originally known as the House of Peace synagogue.  The Big Apple of today was a house of worship which was destroyed by a fire in1915.  21 years later, the congregation was to big for the building and had to sell and move to a new location.  This happened in 1936.  That same year the property became reincarnated as the Big Apple Night Club.  This is where the dance craze from the summer of 1937 was born.  The Big Apple dance moved to New York by way of USC students.  This dance gained the attention of dance instructor Arthur Murray and Tommy Dorsey who wrote “The Big Apple Swing”. The Big Apple Club was closed and the dance was no longer popular by 1938. The former club was moved from its original location to the corner of Hampton and Park Street. The Big Apple still has original architecture and can even be rented out today for special occasions.  The Big Apple is a two story wooden building and has a metal roof.  The building was built for mostly Polish and Russian immigrants, so it is an example of Eastern Jewish architecture. The entrance has a large arch with stained glass windows surrounding it.  Both sides of the building have five windows with horseshoe arches.  The interior has a central recessed dome.  The dome has neon lights in the shape of a crescent moon and shooting stars.  There is also a balcony which was used as a spectator’s gallery during the time that the building was a night club.

The dance known as the shag did not evolve overnight.  The shag is a combination of the Big Apple, Varsity Drag, The Big Bottom, The Lindy Hop, and Jitterbug which led to the era of Swing dancing.  This eventually led to the birth of the Shag.  In North Myrtle Beach during the 1940’s, teenagers developed their own style of Sing that became known as the Shag.  Shag is slower than the West Coast Swing where the dancers do not bounce or hop. This dance is done in 4/4 time.  Billy Jeffers and Chicken Hicks are credited for developing the Shag that we know today. They slowed down the early fast swing tempo into a loose and easy dance.  In 1984, the South Carolina General Assemble made the Shag the official state dance.  There is a National Shage Dance Championship in Myrtle Beach annually.

Columbia Museum of Art Event

The photograph that I picked from the “Who Shot Rock and Roll” is one by Bob Gruen.  Gruen is an American and was born in 1945.  The photograph is of Tina Turner in 1970. The photograph was printed in1971.  The photograph is about three feet tall and one and a half feet wide. The photo is courtesy of Bob Gruen and is black and white.  The photograph is about fun where Tina is dancing around.  You can see movement in the picture.  Tina is on stage in a sparkly dress dancing around while singing. The photo shows Tina’s energetic and vibrant personality and the presence she has on stage when she is performing. In the photo, Tina is on stage during a concert singing and dancing.

The picture is a gelatin silver print. The gelatin silver print process was created by R.L. Maddox in 181 and was later redone by Charles Harper Bennet in 1878. This is a photographic process used with black and white films and printing papers. Suspended silver salts are in gelatin is coated onto a support material. These materials are light sensitive and are able to be exposed and processed even several years after being manufactured.  When the small silver salt crystals are exposed to light a few atoms of metallic silver are liberated. The amount of time and the temperature conditions control the contrast of the final image. The development is then stopped by neutralizing the developer in a second bath. Once the development is complete, the silver salts are removed by fixing them is sodium or ammonium thiosulphate.  Then, the print is washed in clean water.  At last, the final image consists of metallic silver embedded in a gelatin coating.

Bob Gruen couldn’t abide by the rule laid down by the music industry whereby photographers are allowed in the “pit” for the first three songs at a concert and then they have to leave before the makeup and sweat starts running down faces.  It is only when performers really get going that Gruen is interested in making live shots. Tina Turner is such an amazing performer with moves like no one else.  Gruen tried to capture some of that energy by leaving the camera open to a second exposure while the strobe lights where going off.

This is a picture of the photographer,  Bob Gruen.

Assignment # 6

The Baroque Period of Dance

The baroque period was from 1600 to 1750.  Baroque was derived from the Portuguese word barroco meaning misshapen pearl.  During this time dance, art, architecture, and music flourished.  The baroque period is characterized by dynamic movement, overt emotion, and self-confident rhetoric.  During the baroque period there was a tendency to blur distinction between the various arts. Louis XIV was a dancer in European History during this time.  At age 15, he appeared as Apollo, the sun king, in a ballet.  That is why he is still known as the Sun King.  This baroque period of dance is directly related to the baroque music.

Louis XIV, the Sun King

Why People Dance

People dance as a form of representation and self-expression.  Some people dance as a form of prayer, a way to stay fit, a way to spend quality time with a partner, or as a social interaction.  Dance is commonly expected to see during a time of celebration like at a wedding.  Sometimes people just dance for fun and as a hobby or interest.  Dance is also done by a way of performing. There are many types of dance and many of them hold different purposes.  An example would be the Butoh dance which is the dance of the dark soul and is an experimental Japanese dance.  This is different from Modern Ballet which is a 20^th century variation on classical ballet and is based on the teaching of George Balanchine.

People using dance as a form of exercise by doing Zumba.


One Non-Western Dance Art Form

One non-western dance art form is Polynesian dance. Polynesian dance can be seen and celebrated as a form of art on many islands from Hawaii to Tahiti.  This dance is a major part of many cultures.  His native dance to Hawaii is the hula.  The hula is performed at luaus and festivals. This dance was originally created by the Polynesians settled in Hawaii.  These dancers perform to a song or chant, and this is known as a "mele." Oftentimes the choreography acts out the words or emotion behind the mele. The two kinds of hula are Monarchy and Ai Kahiko.  There is a Polynesian Culture center on the island of Oahu that many tourists, including myself, visit to see this Polynesian dance and this culture.

Polynesian dancers performing a traditional Hula dance.