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Look at commercial music and find examples of contemporary dance techniques used with in them. Analyse the effectiveness of this and comment on the purpose.
What is commercial music
“Commercial music can be defined as any music produced that is being marketed directly to the general public by any medium” (1). It refers to anything which is non- classical, you will find this on any mainstream radio station. A commercial song entails of “strong, catchy melody, and a structure that provides a balance of variety and repetition” (2).
What is contemporary dance
Contemporary dance is very expressive, it combines elements of various genres of dance such as classical ballet, modern and jazz. Contemporary “developed during the mid-20th century and is still very popular today”. (3). Contemporary dance pioneers include; Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham and Isadora Duncan, these contemporary dancers all believed that “dancers should have freedom of movement, allowing their bodies to freely express their innermost feelings” (4). This style focuses on improvisation, versatility and creativity. Contemporary dance is effective in many ways, when performed simultaneously with commercial music. These two styles have been fused together in many successful music videos.
Chandelier- Sia
Not to be cliché but we have to talk about Sia’s song Chandelier. “It has one of the year’s most compelling music videos, to boot” (5) and the “music video is a must-see"(6) Some may argue that the video only got craze because of the famous dancer Maddie Ziegler. Well, we can't ignore the fact that she definitely added to the hype, but I think it was the way that the two concepts of commercial music and contemporary dance had come together like never before!
Maddie’s purpose is to be Sia’s inner child. She behaves reckless, in relation to Sia’s words ‘party girl’ and ‘I want to swing from the chandelier’. This is effective as a child is role playing alcohol and drug abuse, possibly even suicide! The audience are made to feel on edge and uncomfortable. Someone said “I found the dancing in the Chandelier video so disturbing” (7). Speaking of disturbing, Maddie is seen wearing a nude skin tight leotard to look like flesh. This was concerning to the audience and definitely caused a lot of controversy. The lighting is dark and eery, adding to the ‘abandoned house concept’ and matches the video’s theme.
At the beginning Maddie is seen dead- still hovering in a door way. She then performs abstract, repetitive movements giving the impression she is under the influence. Although the dancing is very manic and almost ugly, it is still clear to see the contemporary dance technique. She performs turns, leaps, tricks and flips and exaggerated contractions. This routine was choreographed, even though it looks like she is improvising and spiralling out of control.
My take on ‘Chandelier’ is that it's an autobiographical video as Sia has spoken frankly about her previous issues with alcohol and drug abuse. The apartment represents herself which is troubled, neglected, and messy, whilst “Ziegler’s insane dance moves and endless child-like energy perfectly embody the reckless abandon with which the storyteller is living her life” (8). It is clear contemporary works well with commercial music as ‘chandelier’ was branded to be a song a video “that defined the decade” (9).
Thinking out loud – Ed Sheeran
'Thinking out loud’ is evidently a success as it has over had “3.3 billion views” (10) on YouTube, making it the 17th most viewed video on the site. The music video “received four nominations at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year and Best Male Video” (11).
‘Thinking Out Loud’ is a commercial song, it is influenced by blue eyed soul and is a love ballad. Ed describes it as a "walking down the aisle song"(12) as it is very romantic. In the lyrics, he is reflecting on "getting older and fidelity and love in a fairly conventional context"(13). This video in particular shocked the audience Unlike his previous videos, where he kept a low profile, he actually took the lead role. He performs a contemporary dance with Brittany Cherry, who was a former contestant on ‘so you think you can dance’.
The Relationship between the two is clear that they are acting as a couple who are completely in love with each other. This is conveyed as they are doing a beautiful contemporary, contact duet, where he lifts, throws and catches her to show an element of trust. The emotion and movements are expressive and gorgeous to watch. The eye contact between the two is strong to highlight how intimate they are with one another. The dim, golden lighting adds to the theme of wholesomeness. It creates a soft dreamy- like feel, just like her stunning white floaty, dress, whilst he wears a suit. The choice of costume and setting is very wedding- like.
The song and video were bound to be a success as the lyrics in the song are so relatable to everyone. The dancing in the music video is very generic and mainstream, not to mention so beautiful to watch!
References
(1) Author: IMRO Admin, (date created: 2016), Page title: what is commercial music. {Available at: What is Commercial Music? - IMRO} (Accessed: 21/ 10/21)
(2) Author: Kohola,R, (date created: 2012), Page title: The Herold, {Available at: What is commercial music? | The Herald} (Accessed: 21/ 10/21)
(3) Author: Bedinghaus, I, (date created: 2019), Page title: What is contemporary dance, {Available at: What Is Contemporary Dance? (liveabout.com)} (Accessed: 21/ 10/21)
(4) Author: Bedinghaus, I, (date created: 2019), Page title: What is contemporary dance, {Available at: What Is Contemporary Dance? (liveabout.com)} (Accessed: 21/ 10/21)
(5) Author: Kritselis, A (date created: 2014) Page Title: Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is A Must-See, Available at {Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is a Must-See Visual Depiction of Addiction — VIDEO (bustle.com)} (Accessed 22/10/21)
(6) Author: Kritselis, A (date created: 2014) Page Title: Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is A Must-See, Available at {Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is a Must-See Visual Depiction of Addiction — VIDEO (bustle.com)} (Accessed 22/10/21)
(7) Author: Kritselis, A (date created: 2014) Page Title: Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is A Must-See, Available at {Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is a Must-See Visual Depiction of Addiction — VIDEO (bustle.com)} (Accessed 22/10/21)
(8) Author: Kritselis, A (date created: 2014) Page Title: Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is A Must-See, Available at {Sia's "Chandelier" Music Video Is a Must-See Visual Depiction of Addiction — VIDEO (bustle.com)} (Accessed 22/10/21)
(9) Author: Atkinson, K (date created: 2011) Page title: Songs That Defined the Decade: Sia's 'Chandelier, Available at {Sia's 'Chandelier': Songs That Defined the Decade | Billboard | Billboard} (Accessed at 22/10/21)
(10) Author: YouTube, (date created: 2014) Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (Official Video), [online video] available at {Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud (Official Music Video) - YouTube} (accessed:20/10/21)
(11) Author: Smith, C (year published:2014) Article title: “ten things we learnt about Ed Sheeran on his visit”, Newspaper title: 3 News.
(12). Author: Gisbone, H, (year published: 2015) article title: "Ed Sheeran: from boy next door to biggest-selling artist of the year", newspaper title: the guardian.
(13) Author Strutz, C (date published: 2015) Article name:"2015 MTV Video Music Awards Nominees Revealed: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran & More". Newspaper title: Billboard.
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