West Side Story Dance Analysis
From LoveToKnow Dance
A West Side Story dance analysis is a unique way to look at this classic movie and Broadway history from start to finish.
A Little Background
To understand dance language of West Side Story, you must first understand the history behind this incredibly popular play. First brought to the New York stage during the 1950s, the original writers and producers were creating a (then modern-day) Romeo & Juliet scenario, focusing on the prejudices and rivalries faced between different ethnic and religious groups. For the Shakespearean characters Romeo and Juliet, it was the Montagues and the Capulets. For Tony and Maria, the two leading roles in West Side Story, it was the Sharks and the Jets – two warring street gangs representing New York’s middle class Caucasian population and the influx of Puerto Rican migrants into the area. Racial and cultural tensions run high throughout the story, which sets the stage for plenty of fired up dancing with strong meaning in every move.
In 2009, West Side Story returned to Broadway for the first time in over 30 years, and with this new version of the classic musical, the racial issues were raised to the next level with dancers singing in Spanish and cast members on the Puerto Rican side of things all genuinely Latino. With this new authenticity and modern twist on things, today’s dancers still continue to deliver a powerful and poignant message.
The Sharks and the Jets
The choreography found in both stage and movie versions of West Side Story is varied throughout the production. However, some key dancing is found in the scenes dealing with the two neighborhood gangs of boys, the Sharks and the Jets. These scenes are excellent examples of ensemble musical theater dance (also called 'character' dance), with sections of performers in complete unison. Using some simple West Side Story dance analysis, you will find this tight synchronization representative of the allegiance the street gangs held for each other. They travel and function as one solid unit against their enemy, and this is expressed strongly through the men’s dancing.
In these street scenes, you will also find classic 1950s Broadway moves, which symbolize the time period in which this play was first produced.
Slum Life Beauty
In all areas of the plot, West Side Story has long been credited as a musical that truly requires dancers to tell the story through movement rather than words. Many theatre critics have pointed out that even with intricate ballet, West Side Story uses the bulk of its dancing to capture the ugly and neurotic life of racism that existed so strongly in New York City’s slums. Ballet is also able to capture the beauty found in the love and passion between Tony and Maria, the two adolescent stars.
West Side Story also gives an intuitive view of how different ethnic groups view each other. One dance (“America”) uses movement to explain how a Puerto Rican views America as care free, frivolous and more than slightly silly.
West Side Story Dance Analysis: Communicative Dancing
Although each dance clearly conveys either a cultural or romantic message, you don’t need to wait until the big production numbers to see dance express an opinion. Through something as simple and deliberate as muscle tension and release, we sense and understand the uneasiness of the main characters as they are forced to associate with people and social situations with which they are unfamiliar.
Finally, dancers cast in West Side Story productions usually possess great athletic and acrobatic ability, as leaps and turns in the air are often used in the choreography to represent thickening plots and heightened moments of action.
Check out a stage version of West Side Story when it comes to your town, or rent a copy of the movie to view for yourself all the ways dance is used to tell a story that is timeless and meaningful in message.
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© 2006-2009 LoveToKnow Corp.
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