Dance performance review assessment
Review of a professional dance performance
Requirements
Word length – 500 words only – not including the credits of the production (date, theater,
company, choreographer, key performers). These should be listed on the cover
sheet of the review.
Include your name and ID in a coversheet along with the credits for the show
View Kathak Dance Performance by Akshatha Amin (Nataraja Festival 2020):
Video link: Kathak Dance Performance – Akshatha Amin | Nataraja Festival 2020 |
Indian Classical Dance | TIDE – YouTube
DO NOT PLAGARISE FROM OTHER WEBSITES, BLOGS etc. – IMMEDIATE
FAILURE IF YOU DO SO.
Points to note:
Writing style and genre
In a review, you do not include footnotes and references.
Mention the context, describe, analyze and evaluate the performance but do not include
these headings in the critique; they are guidelines to help you.
Use either italics or “… “marks for titles.
Write numbers under 14 out in full and generally use a formal style of writing.
Watch out for mistakes with the use of English – particularly tenses and singular/plural.
Make sure you include ‘the’ when talking about a subject. For example, ‘the daughter’,
‘the mother’ and ‘the dancers’.
You can vary the name of the performer instead of repeating it many times – for
example, the daughter, she, the younger dancer, Gao Yanjinzi
Be careful of the tense you write in – the performance is in the past from your point of
view.
Read it through for ‘readability,’
Content
Use imagery and metaphors that back up your description and analysis
Your research might support your understanding of the performance but there is no
need to refer to this in the review – essentially it is your own opinion and
interpretation of the show,
If you are reviewing a show with several dance works you should include them
all in a general overview in your introduction; in a case of up to a triple bill (3
works) all should be given equal space. However, for more than that you could
feature one or two that really stand out but in your conclusion this should be
contextualized within the whole programme. Remember that you (and the
audience) are viewing the whole programme and your writing should reflect
this.
Develop a personal style
Make it a more exciting read for the public and generally newspapers of on-line sites
require a more ‘catchy’ style – have a look at some reviews to look at the style some
writers use.
Try working with shorter sentences at times to make the style a bit more ‘catchy’ and
interesting to read.
Conclusions
The conclusion is your evaluation –critique the strengths and weaknesses of the
performance.
ASSESSMENT
These areas are important to cover and add up to the total mark rather than being allocated
small percentages each – some dance performances will lend themselves to focus more on one
aspect than some of the others.
Clarity of arguments – justify what you liked and disliked
Application of knowledge of the dance form/genre – clear description of the
performance and staging
Application of critical analysis, theories of aesthetics, criticism and evaluation
Writing style – correct use of terminology for dance, sentence structure, grammar.
Point of view – personal perspective and individual style.