Review Assignment #2:

FIRST DRAFT DUE November 3rd: Go see Dance Africa or OR attend a ShawChicago performance of Major Barbara and write a 5-6 page review of the performance you choose, taking into consideration all that we've read and discussed thus far. 

Your review should certainly address the structure, aesthetics, and ideologies that surface within the overall performance. Focus on a particular issue or theme the performance deals with and explain how aesthetics (costumes, lighting, physical movements, colors, music, etc.) and structure (use of space and people, length of performance, use of narrative and/or music at certain moments, choreography, etc.) reflect that issue or theme. You may approach this review in any way you chose, utilizing a more personal, subjective tone, a more analytical, scholarly tone, or a combination of both.  

* Keep in mind the basic elements and components of a review: summary, analysis, argument (your opinion and why), erudition or ‘outside' knowledge, (your) tone and voice. 

* Make sure you pick up a program at the performance, so you will be able to reference names and performance titles when you write your review. 

The following are just a few suggestions that will help you decide how to approach your review (you can use some, all, or none of them – choosing your own):  

• Were you struck by any one performance within the set of performances? Why? (you may focus your review primarily on one piece, but you must compare/contrast it with the performance in its entirety). What issues or concerns surfaced during the performance? 
• What is the performance saying about these issues and how? Think about narrative: what story or set of stories did the performance address, and how do those narratives reflect ideological issues? 
• How did the performance use aesthetics (colors, voice, props, costumes, lighting, etc.) to further enhance or give power to the issue it addresses? (or in what ways did it not do those things?) 
• How did the structure of the performance (or piece that you focus on) reflect narrative issues? Think about structure in all its forms (e.g. narrative structure, the arrangement or positioning of the dancers, the ways in which dancers and/or props interact and are placed, what image/movement the dance began or ended with, transitions made, use of space, etc.). 

** Always, always back up your thoughts with some example, quote, or explanation.