Fancy Free

Question 1

Who composed the music for Fancy Free?

Answer 1

Leonard Bernstein

Question 2

What styles are within Fancy free?

Answer 2

Ballet
Jazz (Jazz influenced ballet)
Pedestrian movement
Social Dance

Question 3

Who designed the costumes for fancy free?

Answer 3

Oliver Smith, allowing for a collaboration between dance and design

Question 4

What production was used for fancy free?

Answer 4

‘On the town musical’, Technicolor, showing technological advancements.

Also use of MGM studios for filming.

Similar to Gene Kelly’s works ( SITR filmed at MGM).

Question 5

What audiences did Fancy free resonate with?

Answer 5

Resonate with wartime audiences by focusing on youthful and carefree adventures of sailors.

Question 6

How does fancy free show both high art and popular culture.

Answer 6

High art- Classical music and ballet

Pop culture - Plot, themes.

Question 7

What is the synopsis of fancy free.

Answer 7

3 sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York City looking for companionship. They try to get attention of women, get in a fight over them, and ultimately repeat their search. They embody wartime youthful energy.

Question 8

Catch section within Fancy Free

Answer 8

The three male dancers begin in a second clear with hands on their shoulders and faces towards each other. They then take three walks back with exaggerating arms representing soldiers this is towards upstaged left. After this they perform a grande Bateman with their right hand on their head and left out was their direction of the kicks which goes towards stage right. the centre male performs A tore en l’aire and it’s caught mid air with his hands placed on his head. The music is a loud and sustained classical orchestra with the addition of jazz instruments. Throughout the scene there examples of direct correlation both being with the kicks and catching the male mid air. The men are dressed in sailor outfits and the setting is both a bar setting with a bartender which has a warmer colour scheme and an outside area with a cooler colour scheme and a light.

Question 9

What are some interpretations for Fancy free?

Answer 9

Post World War 2 audience and so can relate to the characters within the musical.

Relate to vaudeville shows with its uses of comedy

Relates to Jerome Robinson’s stylistic feature of characterization.

Links to Jerome Robinson’s influence of ballet from Balanchine

Question 10

Gallop section of Fancy free movement example

Answer 10

As dancers interlock arms they quickly gallop up stage. They perform 2 gallops first in the direction of diagonal right then to the diagonal left this is then followed by a lean back with two walks back into a kick on the left leg they then turn on one leg and run to the outside of the bar. The music is similar to other sections but at a slightly higher pitch using more wind instruments and string instruments and this section represents the men fighting for the woman’s love.