BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Dance & Music 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which 20th-century choreographer collaborated extensively with composer John Cage, famously allowing chance to determine the relationship between movement and sound?
- Merce Cunningham (Correct answer)
- Martha Graham
- Alvin Ailey
- Paul Taylor
Correct answer: Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham and John Cage developed a revolutionary partnership where dance and music were created independently and juxtaposed by chance.
Question 2: In flamenco music, the term 'compás' most directly refers to:
- The rhythmic cycle or metric pattern underlying a form (Correct answer)
- The melodic ornaments sung by the cantaor
- The guitar's harmonic progressions
- The dancer's footwork technique
Correct answer: The rhythmic cycle or metric pattern underlying a form
Compás is the rhythmic cycle or meter specific to each flamenco form (palo), such as the 12-beat cycle of soleá.
Question 3: The waltz rose to social prominence in the early 19th century primarily because it was the first popular ballroom dance to feature:
- Partners dancing in a closed embrace (Correct answer)
- Improvised footwork
- Syncopated rhythms
- A duple meter
Correct answer: Partners dancing in a closed embrace
The waltz was scandalous because couples held each other in close physical contact (closed position), unlike earlier minuets and contredanses.
Question 4: Which American choreographer is best known for creating 'Revelations' (1960), a landmark modern dance work set to African American spirituals?
- Alvin Ailey (Correct answer)
- Twyla Tharp
- Jerome Robbins
- Agnes de Mille
Correct answer: Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey created 'Revelations' for his company Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, drawing on African American cultural and spiritual heritage.
Question 5: The Viennese waltz differs from the slow waltz primarily in its:
- Significantly faster tempo (Correct answer)
- Use of minor keys
- 4/4 time signature
- Absence of turns
Correct answer: Significantly faster tempo
The Viennese waltz is performed at a much faster tempo (roughly 58-60 measures per minute) compared to the slower modern waltz.
Question 6: In West African drumming traditions that underpin much dance music, which concept describes the interlocking rhythmic parts that create a composite texture?
- Polyrhythm (Correct answer)
- Homophony
- Cantus firmus
- Heterophony
Correct answer: Polyrhythm
Polyrhythm—multiple independent rhythmic layers sounding simultaneously—is foundational to West African music and its diaspora dance traditions.
Question 7: Which Italian Baroque composer wrote a large collection of dances for solo violin that were widely used in dance instruction during the 17th century?
- Arcangelo Corelli (Correct answer)
- Claudio Monteverdi
- Antonio Vivaldi
- Alessandro Scarlatti
Correct answer: Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli's sonatas and trio sonatas included dance movements (allemande, corrente, sarabande, giga) that were influential in both musical and dance pedagogy.
BM or BMus Bachelor of Music Dance & Music 3
Which 20th-century choreographer collaborated extensively with composer John Cage, famously allowing chance to determine the relationship between movement and sound?