View the half-hour dance Revelations, and write a paper of 7-10 pages length which addresses this question:

How does the dance Revelations (Ailey, 1960) convey concepts of religion and social order?

The dance has four distinct sections. You may write in depth about one or two sections, or attempt to treat the entire dance as a whole. You might write about the use of basic compositional techniques (weight, spacing of dancers, focus, effort) or you might write about the overall effect of viewing the dance. You may wish to check some source material for information about the dance; you may consult my entry in the Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History available in the Humanities Library at REF / E185.E54 under "Alvin Ailey and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater." The videotape is available in the Humanities Library "An evening with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater" GV1786.A42.A48 1986. You may write about either the 1962 or the 1986 version of the dance, and view either or both versions to prepare your essay.

Your paper must be typewritten, double-spaced, and thoroughly edited for spelling and grammar. Composition counts! Try to make your writing lively and informative. Be sure each paragraph has a central idea, and that each sentence has a subject and verb.

Remember, this paper should be treated as a writing exercise: grammar, spelling, and punctuation will count. All work submitted must be typewritten, double-spaced, and formatted according to Modern Language Association style. Your paper must include a properly formatted bibliography and endnotes. For details of MLA style, see the Guide for Writing Research Papers at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/557/01/.