Thread: Troupe performances - what do you like?

What do you like best in a troupe performance? What do you like best when you ARE in the performance?

I love when the troupe is perfectly synchronized, and when they do a complex dance to complex music. I like the sort of moving theatre aspect - when there are groups that split off and then rejoin.

I cringe when they play zills and they're not all together...ouch, hurts my ears.

Being an ATS gal at heart, the complex/perfectly synchronized part is not the #1 on my list. Instead, I love to see the energy between the dancers. When I see a smile flashing across faces after a successful transition that matches the music and the energy of the piece, that makes me happy. Hey, I even enjoy it when I discover how a dancer smoothly and skillfully recovers from a mistake without throwing off the performance. I tend to get a wee bit bored when things are too polished and perfect.

Same with costuming - I appreciate when things match, but with a bit of wiggle room for personal touches.

both is important. It's got to be polished, it's got to be fun, too.
Different bodies' dynamics are always an individual thing so it's well worth working on synchrony, for differences will always be there. The timing needs to be perfect. It's nice if there are some impro bits either for all or for some. In our troupe sometimes it's no fun always putting attention on being on the right spot or standing in the right angle with the person in front of me, sometimes it doesn't feel like dancing at all, but when we perform (it rarely works perfectly) we're having a blast!

(1) Consistent professionalism--everybody looks like they achieved approximately the same level of dance proficiency, staging, costuming, etc. It's distracting to see one person doing the routine differently or badly, standing out of position, or wearing an outfit that doesn't match, if she's not the teacher/soloist.

(2) Speaking of...unless you are doing a BDSS-style, elaborate multi-role choreography with alternating soloists, have everybody doing COMPARABLE dancing, if everybody is not doing the SAME dancing. Teachers, if you want to be a star, do a solo. You are not Gladys Knight, and your students are not your Pips.

(3) Not too much "drill team." A little variety in the choreography makes it more interesting to watch. If your students are not advanced enough to learn different sequences of moves or mirroring, then at least vary their orientation on stage so it looks different now and then. If you want to go full-on "drill team," then you better rehearse like crazy. Bad synchronization is not pretty: see (1).

The usual rules apply to each member of a group, just like they would to a soloist--don't wear an ill-fitting costume, don't get on stage if you don't know your routine, and don't play zills if you can't play zills.

i love working with groups

not in order, but some things i like (and some i dont)

1. communication. with each other and the audience. dancing with each other, and not just ignoring each other. doesnt mean they have to look at each other. but being aware of the other dancers is also a necessity to keep formations.

2. i love making "stories". drama/theatrics.

1 & 2 => expression!!!!!!!!!!

3. interesting geography, use of space, position towards each other, lines, switches, use of different hights, etc

4. synchronicity, doesnt have to be perfect, but a large group doing the same, WITH gusto, can be beautifull. i'm currently experimenting with putting dancers really close together, doing the same. (poor students...).

and related to this: choreograph the arms and facial expressions!!! or guideline them.

5. costuming!!!!!! i hate seeing troupes in illmatched, everybody is just wearing what they already have stuff. I dont like it when students are all wearing there own semi pro costume in styles and colours all over the place. i prefer putting them in student outfits then. I realise they want to wear their "real" costumes. but not as part of the troupe they wont. i spend a lot of time thinking about and researching costuming for my girls. same goes for matching level of make up.

6. Variation. i agree with above "not too much drill team".

7. dont put people on the stage and choreo's that shouldnt be there. but that is very situation-dependent.

Originally Posted by artemisia_danst

i love working with groups

4. synchronicity, doesnt have to be perfect, but a large group doing the same, WITH gusto, can be beautifull. i'm currently experimenting with putting dancers really close together, doing the same. (poor students...).

haha, so far I'm loving the class ,r:; and I'm sure the others do as well ..g.:

Originally Posted by Adiva84

haha, so far I'm loving the class ,r:; and I'm sure the others do as well ..g.:

Yes we are!! ..l;,

As a troupe dancer, my #1 love is communication between the dancers. I can make accomodations for so many other things, but when I watch a troupe dance, I want to see them dance together, not just side by side. I started with a tribal troupe and that was my favorite thing about dancing with them and I still miss that level of intimacy - they are still my dear friends because of the bonds we made in rehearsal and onstage. I love that I've found that same level of communication in The NDC. I love to catch eyes with a fellow troupe member onstage ... and smile because we love this dance and each other. We even whisper things to each other sometimes.

When I can see another group of dancers performing that way, it makes me really happy because I know how awesome it feels. I've cried watching troupes dance. (I get misty each time I watch Kallisti Tribal dance, but that's because I still remember what it's like to dance with them.)

If they are not 'dancing together.' These two words cover a lot of ground, I know. Oddly enough, erratic spacing between dancers distracts me as much as any other asynchronous activity.

I am impressed when a group is in perfect synchronization. It's neat to watch... esp with a larger group. I like to see intricate moves in sync and smiles on everyone's faces.

I was at an event with a lot of troupes last week. My favorite troupes had dancers with warm smiles regardless of skill. There were some girls that were good (and some newbs) who did not smile at all and had frown faces. These girls looked bored or upset or tired and uninterested in dancing... girls like that are distracting from the group.

I really like troupes that interact with each other, rather than just standing side by side doing the same moves.

There are three of us in our tribal fusion troupe, so we're pigs to choreograph. We work very hard on ensuring that we move around a lot, changing places, swapping out the lead, adjusting position on stage. I've seen other baby troupes make the error of having their one 'good' dancer at the front, and the others lurking behind her. That doesn't seem like a troupe to me, more Gladys and her Pips, as someone remarked.

A personal bugbear, being of generous proportions myself, is seeing the fat/tall chick stuck at the back. I've seen this happen in way too many groups. I'm sure a lot of it is down to confidence, but there also seems to be a trend to put the 'prettiest' people at the front, regardless of actual dance ability.

I'm also a big fan of co-ordinating costumes. Not neccessarily identikit, because what suits A may look awful on B, but at least in the same ballpark, rather than one in a bedleh, one in full tribal and another in jeans and a hip scarf.

I really like it when a troupe has a cohesive style when presenting the choreography. What I mean by that is that arms and level changes are at the same general height, steps are the same size, and energy level is consistent among the dancers. I've seen some of troupe choreos where it just looks like a bunch of different dancers doing their own solo simultaneously.

Dynamic, sometimes asymmetrical floor patterns. This is what differentiates a troupe from a class group to me (in class groups there's little commitment so the amount of moving around you can do can be severely limited.)

But otherwise, troupe or class group, the rest holds true: good face, sense of relaxation, interaction, costumes that work together and skirts that hit the top of the foot!

I like it when the dancers switch places sometimes so everyone gets a chance to be in the front. I also enjoy it when the choreography embraces the troupe format and has fun with it like "call and answer" and taking turns etc.
Cohesion is very important. Having someone make a minor mistake is less noticeable than everyone having their arms different.

I especially love good turning -- everyone facing the same way (or not, as the dance demands), but not when everybody is sort of haphazard.

I agree with loving the dancer interpersonal connection, and when there's some sort of story being told that's integral to the performance.

I think most people covered the general technical aspects...but I think what I look for the most in a troupe is if they are having fun! I love to watch troupes do different stage patterns, different combinations, complex choreographies, and be in sync of course. But if it looks like business as usual on their faces, it doesn't hold my attention as much as a troupe doing a simpler choreography but having a blast.

I have to say, I feel very lucky to be part of a troupe that has a lot of fun together on and off stage, and I really really hope that energy is translated to our audience. We have whole chatty conversations when we are doing our Saudi dance since we end up pairing and doing shoulder shimmies at one another, giving us ample time to talk. I think in our last rendition a person in the wing couldn't figure out where the giggling was coming from, and then realized it was us on stage!

check out the soulfire drum solo on youtube. it's together and it's fun, there's interaction... everything (i assume that's why they won ^_~)

It really bothers me when one student is markedly better or worse than the rest of the group. (For some reason a group led by a teacher that is much better doesn't throw me.)

And I love it when someone recovers well from a mistake without losing her confidence. I get all nervous with the flub, and when things carry on, I feel better.

I also like elements or effects of group choreography that would be impossible for a soloist to achieve, such as group floor patterns.

I actually don't like when it is too synchronized and robotic. I like to see individuals dancing together. When the group and choreography is put together in a way that everyone is an important part of the dance and can't be missed. I like little solos and formations. And as others have said, seeing joy of dancing.
The same thing goes for dancing in a troupe.

Originally Posted by maurazebra

If they are not 'dancing together.' These two words cover a lot of ground, I know. Oddly enough, erratic spacing between dancers distracts me as much as any other asynchronous activity.

Poor spacing also detracts from group presentation for me. Good spacing comes with time and practice, some people do have it instinctively. With my students, some classes are too close and some drift apart...interesting to me how the group dynamics shift.
My classes this year have a tendency to be too close for some reason, the rows and between the dancers even, and we laugh about it and they say, we just want to be close! It is a nice feeling, and it does help them to understand how spacing is important and revealing to the mood of the dance. It's been interesting to help them move farther apart - but not TOO far!

With my troupe, we have been together a long time so a lot of the "mechanics" come easier. Still always striving for new goals. Last night in practice, I was watching group (sitting out upcoming performances due to a fractured arm grrrr). At one point, there are several drum accent changes in seuence of moves, with different arm placement. They were drilling the arm changes to achieve that synchronocity, and you know how you hate the robotic look. So when they practiced again, there was a perfect moment of arms flowing naturally through the sequences - because the combination of practice, understanding the music, and getting the "feeling", in synch, that almost brought tears to my eyes (mama pride).
That's what I like about group dancing.

hehe, i didnt mention having fun as that, well, thats like the most selfevident one i guess. sterile is horrible

There is a teacher in El Paso that puts 12 -14 advanced students on a small stage and they are amazing! The use of the stage, the change ups and the flow is so beautiful to watch. Not like watching 12 soloists at all. more Like watching ocean waves break and recede.

Originally Posted by anala

There is a teacher in El Paso that puts 12 -14 advanced students on a small stage and they are amazing! The use of the stage, the change ups and the flow is so beautiful to watch. Not like watching 12 soloists at all. more Like watching ocean waves break and recede.

Love it!

A few things that we always strove for in my troupe that really worked well:

1) Everyone gets a turn being front and center. It's fair and it's more interesting. We would occasionally have mini solos where one person was dancing their part alone while the others danced as a kind of backup, but in a non-traditional way such as having their back to the audience and doing a grapevine across the stage while the soloist does something more intricate up front.

2) Change up the lineup, use different patterns, find interesting ways to change, have dancers break off from the main group, etc. keeps things interesting. I get bored watching a group that doesn't change up the order enough. If they don't change at all it makes me think they must not be skilled enough dancers to do it.

3) Make use of smaller accents in the music. A single beat that was tossed in by the drummer, an unusual melody, etc. pick up on the small things and use them. It makes the choreography look more polished.

4) Similar costumes. They don't have to be exact, but totally different costumes is distracting. Keep the basic outfit the same (all wear Melodia or trumpet skirts or whatever)

5) Do something different. It doesn't have to be something big, but come up with SOMETHING you've never done before. A new move or combo, a different type of music, a new prop or a new way to use a prop, something to make it fresh. When we did a feather fan piece we made sure that we used the fans in a non-traditional way. We didn't want it be a typical feather fan piece, and it came out great and set our piece apart from all the others that used the exact same prop.

6) Don't do the same set of moves over and over and over, or do the same move over and over and over. If you want to do the same thing multiple times, make it a little different each time. Do it in a different formation, or a different angle... something different. I can't stand watching 6 minutes of a 30 second set of moves being repeated 6 times without any change!

Originally Posted by zumarrad

... skirts that hit the top of the foot!

seems like such a small thing, and yet, so important.

Desert Sin blows me away. Their pieces are so creative, not just the dancing and choreography, but their costuming/sets/lighting. Always so interesting.

My absolute pet peeve is to see a troupe of dancers onstage all doing the same dance, side by side, for the entire song.

I expect to see student groups doing that, of course.

But a troupe should be making USE of the number of bodies onstage, not dancing side by side doing all the same things. That looks like a school of fish to me.

If there's more than one body onstage, and it's not because they're students who need the security of numbers, then there should be a REASON for having more than one body.

So I like to see the dancers interact with one another. Move around into different formations, different levels, different patterns. I like to see the dancers reflect the instruments -- maybe a back row of dancers is bringing the percussion to life while the front row embodies the violin, for instance. Or taking turns doing mini-solos, each in a different style or with props.

I like to see dancers acknowledge each other onstage, with a glance, a smile. If some dancers are holding still while one or more are moving, the still dancers should generally be watching the moving dancers.

I like to see coordinated costumes, but it's also nice if there's a little individual variation. Gives the eye something to take in if each dancer is at least a little bit unique.

I really like it when I can't tell who the director/teacher/leader of troupe is.

This stems from the opposite also being true--I am not as interested in watching one person clearly being the lead dancer for an entire troupe set. I have seen some doozys (almost seeming like worship of the troupe leader!). But really, I like not being able to tell way more than I dislike the 'dance around the leader' choreography, if that makes sense.

This thread is really thought-provoking for me, as I'm in a student/amateur troupe at the moment and have been feeling increasingly angsty about whether we're actually any good (due to spending too much time on Bhuz!). We are working a lot on floor patterns and spacing at the moment, and it's making a huge difference to our performances. One bugbear for me though, is the one dancer who absolutely can't tell clockwise from anticlockwise. I recently saw some videos of a few of our performances, and a lot of the time she is turning the wrong way, and it's really distracting, but I feel awful about constantly pointing it out ,f::.

I like group performances where there is a good balance between synchronicity and individuality (eg in ATS when there is a chorus line doing simple hypnotic moves whilst a small group dance in front).

Originally Posted by Lauren_

My absolute pet peeve is to see a troupe of dancers onstage all doing the same dance, side by side, for the entire song.

I expect to see student groups doing that, of course.

But a troupe should be making USE of the number of bodies onstage, not dancing side by side doing all the same things. That looks like a school of fish to me.

If there's more than one body onstage, and it's not because they're students who need the security of numbers, then there should be a REASON for having more than one body.

So I like to see the dancers interact with one another. Move around into different formations, different levels, different patterns. I like to see the dancers reflect the instruments -- maybe a back row of dancers is bringing the percussion to life while the front row embodies the violin, for instance. Or taking turns doing mini-solos, each in a different style or with props.

I like to see dancers acknowledge each other onstage, with a glance, a smile. If some dancers are holding still while one or more are moving, the still dancers should generally be watching the moving dancers.

I agree. I really enjoy a group of dancers being together in a song but moving seperatly at times, it makes it more dynamic and interesting.

Same thing with costumes.. They're great coordinated but they need some unique bits too!

I also like when two styles of dance can be incorporated together. :)