Cedar Dance Animations presents

The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms by Janet Randell

Foreword to The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Foreword to The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms by Merce Cunningham

“The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms by Janet Randell opens up new vistas in dance for the existing and next generation of dancers and choreographers. I recommend the Guide as it demonstrates in an imaginative way how computer technology can be harnessed as a valuable and innovative working tool for dance.”

Extract from the Foreword to The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms by Merce Cunningham.

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

Introduction the The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Introduction to The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms by Tom Calvert

“As one of the team that created DanceForms, I strongly recommend that anyone setting out to use this software should start with the tutorials in Janet Randell’s Tutorial Guide.“

Extract from the Introduction to The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms by Professor Emeritus Tom Calvert.

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

Tutorial 1 of The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Tutorial 1 Introduction to The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

This tutorial gives you a flavour of what you can do in DanceForms and presents different features of Janet Randell’s Guide. The tutorial consists of a video called Overview of Creative Possibilities (available free) plus 5 introductory Video Tutorials. It includes Janet Randell’s example animations, still shots and narrative, including clips of Merce Cunningham’s work applying DanceForms and computer technology in a way unique to his genius.

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Tutorial 1 Contents

Video Tutorials

Introduction to Tutorial 1

An Overview of Creative Possibilities

Module 1 What You Can Do in DanceForms

Section 1 A New Interaction between Choreographers and Dancers

Section 2 View and Create Dance in the Four Windows; use Interactive Tools

Section 3 Use DanceForms as a Digital Choreographic Sketchpad

Section 4 Choose Your Own Approach to Choreography in DanceForms

Section 5 From Digital Choreography to Live Performance; Creative Possibilities

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

Tutorial 2 of The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Tutorial 2 How to Get Started with The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

“This tutorial is remarkable in the way it lets you build your compositional skills while having fun.” (Tom Calvert). Tutorial 2 consists of a series of Video Tutorials designed for easy viewing across different media, created for all levels of users from beginners to advanced. There is also a Library of Study Files, and two comprehensive PDF resource files: Tasks and Exercises and the Tutorial Guide Companion.

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Tutorial 2 takes you step-by-step through DanceForms, explaining the main functions, controls and menus with illustrative animations, still shots and voice-over. The tutorial’s aim is for you to use DanceForms as a digital choreographic notepad to create movement sequences, working from computer to the dance floor.

Tutorial 2 Contents

Taking You Step-by-Step Through DanceForms – Build Up your Compositional Skills

Video Tutorials

Module 1 Starting from Scratch (2 Sections)

Module 2 Stage and Score Windows: Introduction (5 Sections)

Module 3 Dance Figure and Drawing Styles: Stage and Studio (3 Sections)

Module 4 Have a Go at Basic Animation 1: Getting Started (5 Sections)

Module 5 The Performance Window: Introduction (1 Section)

Module 6 Quick and Easy Options for Viewing the Dance Figure (10 Sections)

Module 7 Colour and Figure Options (5 Sections)

Module 8 Handling Controls to Play an Animation: The Control Panel (4 Sections)

Module 9 Have a Go at Basic Animation 2: Using Palettes To Create Dances (6 Sections)

Module 10 Four Windows Guide: The Stage Window (10 Sections)

Module 11 Four Windows Guide: The Score Window (7 Sections)

Module 12 Have a Go at Basic Animation 3: Create an Instant Dance (1 Section)

Module 13 Four Windows Guide: The Studio Window (8 Sections)

Module 14 Have a Go at Basic Animation 4: Creating Positions / Animations in the Studio (7 Sections)

Module 15 Four Windows Guide: The Performance Window (2 Sections)

Module 16 Have a Go at Basic Animation 5: From Palettes to Mocap Sequences (2 Sections)

Library

PDFs – Tasks and Exercises (406 pages); Tutorial Guide Companion (300 pages);
Study Files – includes Animation and Music Libraries

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

Tutorial 3 of The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Tutorial 3 Build up your Dance Composition Skills 1

Tackling DanceForms from a different perspective, this tutorial builds on existing skills, and introduces new digital techniques. It consists of a series of Video Tutorials, and a library of Study files. Tutorial 3 presents the three Key Choreographic Elements of shape, space and time.

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The aim is to enable the user to become more confident in creating complex dance sequences involving additional dance figures, which can move in more complex patterns, directions and paths, with accompanying music.

Tutorial 3 Contents

Introducing New Digital Techniques and Key Choreographic Elements: Shape, Space, Time

Video Tutorials

Module 1 Introduction to Tutorial 3 (1 Section)

Module 2 Tutorial Guide to Playing a Simple Dance Sequence (1 Section)

Module 3 How a Dance Sequence Works in DanceForms (1 Section)

Module 4 Key Choreographic Element 1 – Shape (1 Section)

Module 5 Key Choreographic Element 2 – Space (5 Sections)

Module 6 Key Choreographic Element 3 – Time: Introduction (1 Section)

Module 7 Key Choreographic Element 3 – Time continued (5 Sections)

Module 8 Key Choreographic Element 2 – More about Space: Altitude (4 Sections)

Module 9 Key Choreographic Element 1 – More about Shape: Palettes and Movement Shapes (4 Sections)

Module 10 Key Choreographic Element 1 – More about Shape: Palettes and Choreography (3 Sections)

Module 11 Key Choreographic Element 1 – More about Shape: Palettes and Dance Animations (2 Sections)

Module 12 Key Choreographic Element 1 – More about Shape: Adapt Movement Shapes (4 Sections)

Module 13 Key Choreographic Skill For Mastering DanceForms 1 – Snap (5 Sections)

Module 14 Key Choreographic Skill For Mastering DanceForms 2 – Keyframes (3 Sections)

Module 15 Key Choreographic Skill For Mastering DanceForms 3 – Mirroring (3 Sections)

Module 16 Key Choreographic Skill For Mastering DanceForms 4 – Moving and Rotating (1 Section)

Module 17 More About Time – Timing and Musicality (2 Sections)

Module 18 Key Choreographic Skill For Mastering DanceForms 5 – Shortcuts for Editing Digital Dance (2 Sections)

Library

PDFs and Study Files

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

Tutorial 4 of The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Tutorial 4 Build up your Dance Composition Skills 2

This tutorial focuses on exploring more about shape (Key Choreograph Element 1). It consists of a series of Video Tutorials plus a library of Study Files. Tutorial 4 demonstrates how to position the joints of the virtual dance figure and how to digitally choreograph specific poses using the main controls in the Studio Window, the ‘engine room’ for digital choreography.

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Tutorial 4 includes guidelines for quick and easy choreography incorporating the principles of the 3 anatomical planes of motion. Randell brings these to choreographic life in Motion in Three Planes, performed by live dancers, to music by J S Bach.

Tutorial 4 Contents

Digital Choreography: explore Positioning Joints, Poses and Shape in the Studio Window

Video Tutorials

Module 1 Introduction to Tutorial 4 (1 Section)

Module 2 Choreograph Poses Using the Dance Figure in the Studio Window (2 Sections)

Module 3 Options for Choreographing Poses in the Studio Window (5 Sections)

Module 4 More about Positioning the Joints of the Dance Figure (5 Sections)

Module 5 Three Planes of Motion (6 Sections)

Module 6 Visualizing the Rotation of Joints in the 3 Planes of Motion (1 Section)

Module 7 More about Moving Joints and Body Parts in Combination (2 Sections and Exercise)

Library

PDFs and Study Files

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

Tutorial 5 of The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Tutorial 5 Getting Inspired by DanceForms

Tutorial 5 is about getting inspired by DanceForms, creating and discovering new possibilities of choreographing movement using both digital and live dance. It includes Randell’s Dancing Forms for Eight, a complete animated digital dance for eight dancers, to Pachelbel’s Canon in D.

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There are accompanying Video Tutorials and dance study resource material based on the dance, Dancing Forms for Eight, with performances and variations by live dancers of varying ages and levels, including a Dance For All version. There are also videos of creative improvisations, variations and choreographic studies for digital and live dance set out side by side, including Percussive Bytes. In Dance by Chance performed by live dancers to gamelan music, Randell explores the adaptation of selected and random poses from her animated sequences moving along different pathways, inspired by Cunningham’s work.

Tutorial 5 Content

Discovering New Possibilities for Choreographing Movement Using Digital and Live Dance

Video Tutorials

Module 1 Dancing Forms For Eight – for digital and live dance (2 Sections)

Module 2 Teaching/Learning Randell’s Dancing Forms For Eight (3 Sections)

Module 3 Dancing Forms For Eight, Performed by Live Dancers in Costume (1 Section)

Module 4 Dancing Forms For Eight, animation in 14 Sections (14 Sections)

Module 5 Bringing Dancing Forms For Eight to Life (2 Sections)

Module 6 Percussive Bytes (14 Sections) Module 7 Percussive Bytes For Four (1 Section)

Module 8 Dance Variations on Dancing Forms For Eight (5 Sections)

Module 9 Choreographing Digitally: Taking Digital Dance Further – Experimental Live Dance (2 Sections)

Module 10 Choreographing Digitally: Taking Digital Dance Further – Experimental Live Dance Continued (2 Sections)

Library

PDFs and Study Files

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

One complete package: The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms

Complete Package: The Tutorial Guide to DanceForms including the Foreword, Introduction and Tutorials 1 to 5

One complete package is now available which contains the entire Tutorial Guide to DanceForms consisting of the Foreword, Introduction and Tutorials 1 through to 5 including all supporting files.

The entire Guide is packaged as a bundle

DanceForms

Visit Credo Interactive http://www.credo-interactive.com/ for a free download of DanceForms 2.0, choreography software