5 Tips on How to Write a Dance Review with Sample Paper
There are many types of review papers that critics write. Musicians write music reviews, movie critics write movie reviews, and dancing enthusiasts write dance reviews. Writers can write music and movie reviews even if they are not experts or fans of the mediums. When writing this type of paper, however, the reviewer should have at least a basic background in dancing to be able to compose a meaningful and well-written paper. Still, teachers may still ask their students to write dance reviews. A student without any knowledge or interest in dancing will have to quickly learn how to write a dance review. Read through this article to get some tips on how to write a dance review.
What Is a Dance Review?
A dance review focuses on evaluating a dance performance. Similar to music, this form of art is subjective. A genre of dancing may look dreadful to others and amazing to some. This is why it is preferable that someone who has abundant knowledge in dancing and its genres, write this type of paper. Individuals who have no prior knowledge about dancing will have difficulty understanding how to write a dance review. They may look at a dance review template and find unfamiliar dancing terms.
Knowing how to write a dance review is essential for a reviewer since they are going to rate the performance and tell readers if it is worth watching. A dance performance may have a story-telling component, a reviewer who knows how to write a dance review will analyze how the dancing resonates with the plot. The reviewer should also discuss the performance’s choreography, costumes, props, music, lighting, and other technical aspects. This is why reading articles to learn how to write a dance review is essential.
Tips on How to Write A Dance Review
A dance review is a review paper similar to movie and music reviews. Knowing how to write a dance review will teach a person how to write other review papers. The difference will be on the subject of discussion. Dancing has many genres or forms such as ballet, ballroom, hip hop, and more. One thing to note in writing the paper is that reviewers should construct their reviews in a simple manner. Reviewers can look for a standard online template and follow it. This will help readers easily understand the paper and avoid misinterpretations. Here are some more tips on how to write a dance review:
1. Attend and watch the dance performance
The first and most important tip is to attend the dance performance. This is crucial especially if the performance or the show is only available for a limited time. Of course, due to the Internet becoming a basic necessity , the reviewer may be able to watch the performance online. However, watching a live dancing show will give a reviewer more things to talk about. They will be able to see details that will often be unavailable when watching online. Reviewers should consider this tip on how to write a dance review as the first step of writing the paper.
2. Write down notes during and after the show
While watching a performance, reviewers should actively take notes. This may be difficult to do when a reviewer is watching a live performance since they won’t be able to pause or rewind a particular part. To solve this, a reviewer should bring a template that they can look at while watching the performance. The template can be a simple questionnaire that the reviewer can use as a reference when taking down notes. The template can include questions like:
- What is the main plot of the show?
- What is the title of the show?
- How skillful are the lead dancers?
- Does the set design fit the story and theme of the performance?
- What form of dancing did the performers dance?
- Which part of the performance is the best?
3. Research about the performance
Doing background research is an essential step for any written works. The reviewer should research the dancer and the choreographer. A reviewer may notice that a dancer is not performing well, further research may reveal that the dancer was suffering from an injury during the performance. This can change the whole perspective of a paper and the reviewer might need to revise some of their notes. Researching sample templates can also help a reviewer construct a better paper. They may even find a more effective dance review template to use.
4. Look beyond the dancing
The reviewer should look beyond the dancing and observe the other aspects of the show. The main part of the paper should be the evaluation of how well the dancers performed a specific dance form. However, the paper should also include feelings that the dancers express while dancing. How the change of music tone affected the dancing’s tempo. The reviewer should include a question like: “what is the message behind the dancing performance” in their dance review template.
5. Proofread the dance review
The last tip is finalizing and proofreading the paper. A reviewer can do this by using applications to check for grammatical and typographical errors. They can let the paper sit for a while and maybe look through their template to check if they missed any vital information. Once the reviewer has rested they can check their paper with fresh eyes and locate any mistakes. This is also the time to fact-check the paper. If a reviewer is really dedicated to producing a high-quality paper, they can opt to hire a professional proofreader to proofread their work.
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Dance Review Sample
A reviewer can watch a dance performance live or online. Online dance performances give reviewers the option to rewatch and analyze the performance carefully. Here is a sample dance review of a ballet youtube video:
Review of Sergei Polunin's “Take Me to Church” Dance Performance
Sergei Polunin’s “Take Me to Church” was an entrancing composition. Director/photographer David LaChapelle directed the emotional performance and director/actor Jade Hale-Christofi choreographed the fluid but structured movements. This artistic composition used Hozier’s hit song “Take Me to Church”. The channel David LaChapelle Studio released the performance video on Youtube on February 10, 2015. The performance only presented a single dancer, however, Sergei Polunin was more than enough to express the ecstatic beauty behind the darkly-themed music.
Sergei Polunin’s entrancing performance manifests his mastery of ballet and his own body. Certain parts of the performance showed Polunin leaping into the air as if gravity gave him permission over it. From the fluidity of his footwork and the graceful movements of his arms, one can notice that he has taken the song to heart and is expressing its meaning through his body. His excellent physique also aided in the aesthetics of the composition. It was as if a classic painting came to life and began dancing to his heart’s content.
The setting for the performance was an empty church, rid of its cemented walls, glass mosaics, and large altar. Polunin was dancing inside the wooden church structure, its empty halls - his playground. Looking deeper, one can notice that the wooden walls acted as barriers to stop Polunin from dancing any further. It was as if he was imprisoned, attempting to express himself, yet the church’s wooden walls forbade him. There are also parts of the performance that implies the character’s frustration. As Polunin leaps forward and closes in into the wooden walls, he places his arms over his head and grabbing his hair in frustration. This detail makes sense since the song “Take Me to Church” is about the singer Hozier’s frustration towards the persecuting eyes of the Catholic Church.
Sergei Polunin also showed his raw strength during the parts of the performance where he is lying on the ground. He is able to move his body without effort, lifting his torso only through the strength of his core. There were also parts in which Polunin drags his lower body through the raw strength of his arms. This strength along with his flawless agility astonishes the viewer and sends them to a trance-like state, in awe of the artistic athletics that Sergei Polunin demonstrates.
Sergei Polunin’s “Take Me to Church” is a masterpiece that any art enthusiast will appreciate. It showed the amazing athletics a person can do with their body. It succeeds in captivating the viewer using the dancer’s athleticism and skills alone. The combination of the emotional music and the skillful performance created a magnificent work of art that transcends any of the modern dancing that pop culture has produced. Sergei Polunin’s performance gave justice to the beautiful ballet dancing form. It is emotional, entertaining, and captivating to the soul.
Dance Review Paper Writing Service
The tips on this article and the sample paper should help any reviewer write a well-written review paper. However, some still find writing a complicated task. To solve this, a reviewer can find writing services online such as the ones available in CustomEssayMeister. Individuals can hire writers to create custom essays and other types of papers. Students who are having a difficult time completing a paper can rest easy and let professional writers do the work. Students can set deadlines and our writers will provide a high-quality paper.