UC Irvine

ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS

Analysis between Ballroom and Ballet in Vienna Waltzes, Lecuona, and Tango Pasión

By

Chanel Kostich

Master of Fine Arts in Dance

University of California, Irvine, 2020

Professor Alan Terricciano, Chair

My research explores how Ballet and Ballroom influence each other choreographically through a close examination of several choreographic works from the companies New York City Ballet, Grupo Corpo, and Tango Pasión. I discuss the crossover in these works through movement analysis, narrative synopsis, and timeline analysis of the excerpts. My interview with Rodrigo Pederneiras, choreographer for the Brazilian Dance Company Grupo Corpo, provides an additional context as I compare his own claims about his creative process with my perceptions about his use of Ballroom dance in his Contemporary Ballet work.

This research explores the crossover between Ballet and Ballroom through the choreographic works Lecuona, Tango Pasión, and Vienna Waltzes. In collaboration with the dancers, I created a choreographic work inspired by this research to demonstrate the bidirectional influence that brings the two artforms together.