OSAT Dance (178) cheat sheet

Laban Movement Analysis uses four categories-Body, Effort, Shape, Space. Effort has four factors: weight (strong/light), time (sudden/sustained), space (direct/indirect), and flow (bound/free).

Space descriptors: level (high, middle, low), direction (forward, backward, sideward, diagonal), pathway (straight, curved, zigzag), size (large/small), and shape (curved, angular, twisted).

Stage geography: downstage is nearest the audience, upstage is farthest, and stage right/left are the performer's right/left when facing the audience; center stage is the midpoint.

Demi-plié keeps both heels on the floor; grand plié lowers until the thighs are near horizontal, with heels staying down in second position and lifting in first, fourth, and fifth.

Alignment ideal in standing: ears over shoulders, shoulders over hips, hips over ankles, neutral pelvis, and weight balanced over the tripod of the foot.

Turnout is hip external rotation; turnout forced from the knees or feet stresses the knee joint and is a common source of dance injury.

Warm-up raises muscle temperature and blood flow; cool-down maintains circulation and reduces venous pooling after intense exertion.

Performance quality terms: projection (energy reaching the audience), focus (where the dancer looks or aims), phrasing (shape over time), musicality, dynamics, and stamina.

Common stage spaces: proscenium arch, apron (downstage of the curtain line), wings (offstage sides), fly space (above), and trap room (below).

Compositional forms include AB (binary), ABA (ternary), rondo, theme and variation, canon, accumulation, chance, and narrative or abstract structures.

Choreographic devices: repetition, retrograde, inversion, augmentation, diminution, fragmentation, unison, canon, contrast, and distortion.

Motif and development: a short phrase is stated, then varied through changes in space, time, energy, level, facing, or number of dancers.

Improvisation types: free (no constraints), structured (score or prompt), contact (weight sharing), and site-specific; improvisation generates material later set as choreography.

Principles of composition: unity, variety, balance, contrast, transition, climax, proportion, sequence, and harmony.

Spatial design elements: floor pattern, level, facing, grouping, stage picture, and diagonals used to create dynamic focus.

Chance procedures: Cunningham and Cage used coin tosses, dice, and the I Ching to determine sequence, spacing, and duration.

Contact improvisation, developed by Steve Paxton in 1972, uses shared weight, rolling contact points, and momentum rather than fixed partnering patterns.

Feedback in the creative process: works-in-progress showings, peer critique using descriptive rather than evaluative language, and video review for revision.

1661: Louis XIV founded the Académie Royale de Danse in Paris, the first institution to codify ballet technique; the Paris Opera Ballet developed from the Académie Royale de Musique (1669).

Romantic ballet (c. 1830–1850) featured pointe work, white tutus, and supernatural themes: La Sylphide (1832, Taglioni) and Giselle (1841).

Marius Petipa codified the full-length classical ballet: The Sleeping Beauty (1890) and the 1895 revival of Swan Lake with Lev Ivanov.

Ballets Russes (1909–1929), directed by Serge Diaghilev: The Rite of Spring (1913, Nijinsky/Stravinsky) provoked a riot at its Paris premiere.

Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) rejected the corset and pointe shoes, dancing barefoot in tunics with natural, torso-driven movement inspired by Greek ideals.

Denishawn (Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn) trained Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman and is a root of American modern dance.

Martha Graham technique centers on contraction and release; signature works include Lamentation (1930) and Appalachian Spring (1944, Copland).

Doris Humphrey's fall-and-recovery principle and her book The Art of Making Dances (1959) shaped modern dance composition pedagogy.

Merce Cunningham used chance and independence of music and dance, collaborating with John Cage; Judson Dance Theater (1962) embraced pedestrian movement, and Yvonne Rainer's No Manifesto appeared in 1965.

Typical class sequence: warm-up, barre or center technique, across-the-floor progressions, a culminating combination, and cool-down.

Motor learning stages: cognitive (verbal, error-prone), associative (refining, fewer errors), and autonomous (automatic, attention free for expression).

Feedback types: intrinsic (proprioceptive) versus extrinsic (teacher, mirror, video); effective feedback is specific, timely, and directed at correctable actions.

Formative assessment is ongoing and used to adjust instruction; summative assessment occurs at the end and measures achievement against standards.

Rubrics list criteria and performance levels; criteria must be observable and measurable, such as 'knees track over toes in plié'.

National Core Arts Standards processes: Creating, Performing, Responding, Connecting; each has anchor standards and grade-level performance indicators.

Differentiation modifies content, process, product, or environment based on readiness, interest, and learning profile.

Bloom's revised taxonomy order: remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create; 'create' aligns with composition tasks.

Safety and liability factors: appropriate flooring (sprung floor with marley), adequate spacing, hydration, and written injury policies; choreography fixed in a tangible medium is copyright-protected.