Music: What's hard to choreograph?

[Hollywood Ballet]

There doesn't seem to be a forum per se for choreography or music, so I'm posting this here, probably mistakenly

Hoping others might share what they have found is the most difficult music to choreograph or dance to. Minkus and Tchaikovsky ballet music seems pretty straightforward, and there is much more demanding music. I'm finding the Adagio of Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez to be a real challenge. Any of the piano music from the Romantic Period is tough, because of the rubato and the breathy, suspended quality this requires in the dancers- the Ballade #1 in G minor by Chopin, for example, is a beast. Another hard one was Shostakovich's Prelude and Fugue #12- the prelude wasn't too tough, being a very measured (and beautiful) passacaglia, with exquisite counterpoint, but the fugue was insane, being molto allegro, in irregular 5/4 time which starts out irregular and gets more irregular as it goes. One dancer quit in frustration over that one!

Wondering what music others find tough, from a technical or even an artistic standpoint (I would find it hard to dance to gangsta rap, for example, because I don't like the nonstop profanity and misogyny).

[Clara 76]

Moving this to:

 

Ballet Books, Movies, Videos, Music, Ballets

 

In my opinion, music that is difficult to dance to can be anything you don't like/feel, and music that repeats too much. I don't really find the weird timing difficult- 5/4 doesn't phase me- but stuff that's too electronic (In the Middle comes to mind) and drones on would bother me as a dancer, choreographer (which I make no claims to being... ), and especially, an audience member.

[Hollywood Ballet]

I agree with you on both points, that music that leaves one emotionally or spiritually cold can be very difficult to get fired up for...and music that repeats too much, definitely! Brings to mind that infuriatingly repetitious "Bolero" by Ravel, wherein the only discernable dynamic change is that it gradually gets louder. It did inspire Lars Lubovich to choreograph a duet for it, but the dance infuriated me more because I didn't feel like there was any resolution. But perhaps that was Lubovich's point, since there is no resolution in that $#%#% piece of music. Grrr, just thinking about it, I can hear it, and it's like fingernails on a blackboard!

 

Anyway...what were we talking about again?

[missvjc420]

Wow, this is funny, as I've been choreographing to both Bolero and Concierto de Aranjuez for a long time (I started with solos in choereography class in high school) and apparently, such thinking runs in cycles in the ballet community, as OBT has Bolero (choreographed by Nicolo Fonte) and Bejart also did that- Plizetskaya adored it. I had a cassette of that with the 1812 overture, and a few other classics, that I played incessantly after I got them for my 13th birthday. On the other hand- as a child of the millenium, I really appreciate ambient and electronic music and play with ensemble work for it- although I have yet to try it out on bodies other than my own.

[Hollywood Ballet]

Supposedly one woman, upon hearing the Bolero played for the first time, declared that Ravel was mad. To which Ravel replied that she had understood the composition.

 

All of Ravel's remarks about Bolero indicate that it was an intentional exercise in minimalism, though the term hadn't really been invented yet. I guess my personal tastes are very anti-minimalist. I like the big ABA compositions, the pinnacle of which, for me, are Schubert's D959 and D960 adagios, and much of Chopin.

 

Interesting that you mention the 1812 Overture, as I would think that is in direct contrast to Bolero. The 1812 Overture is a late Romantic composition, and shares the Romantic tendency toward dynamic extremes on all levels- a tendency which I like, because it lends well to dynamic extremes in choreography. So much of the abstract ballet that is prevalent now- Ek, Kylian, Forsythe, etc., is set to music that to me has little dynamic contrast, so I see these virtuosic dancers doing all this incredible movement to...wimpy music, repetitive or minimalist. Philip Glass and that ilk. They might as well dance in silence. But, different strokes!

 

Someone told me a joke a while back:

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Philip Glass....Philip Glass...Philip Glass...ad infinitum..."

[Victoria Leigh]

I'm not a fan of Bolero either, however, Torvill and Dean made it quite memorable, and even historic, in their ice dancing choreography.

[Liz Power]

Someone told me a joke a while back:

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Philip Glass....Philip Glass...Philip Glass...ad infinitum..."

 

Hollywood Ballet, you should look up David Ives's one-act play "Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread"—I think you'd definitely appreciate it.

 

Back to the topic...the head of the music department at my school wrote the head of the dance department a string concerto as a gift—a backhanded gift, really, as she was then obliged to choreograph to it. I was one of the featured dancers in the mini-ballet she created and for some reason the second-to-last movement was a waltz in 5/4 time. It was SO hard to keep the counts straight because the accent changed every measure...I'm sure it seemed like a cool idea at the time....

[Hollywood Ballet]

I'm not a fan of Bolero either, however, Torvill and Dean made it quite memorable, and even historic, in their ice dancing choreography.

I believe that was the only perfect score ever given for an ice dancing comp, wasn't it?

[Victoria Leigh]

I don't remember, but would not be at all surprised.

[mydarlindancer]

I must add that "Bolero" can be boring because it never modulates. I have wondered if it would be something altogether lovely if it took a journey into another key.

 

And ditto your thoughts on Torvill and Dean, Miss Leigh.

 

Hollywood, liked your knock-knock joke!