adt and birdbrain Flashcards
brief background information on adt
- in 1965 Elizabeth Cameron Dalmon founded ADT
- aim: to open the horizons for provocative contemporary dance
- critics were divided over the new adventurous approach
- education was key
what is adt’s mission
- to provoke, inspire, excite, challenge, entertain and stimulate
- to create dance that is an intelligent progression of the art form to engage audiences around the world
biographical information on Gary Stewart
- artistic director of adt
- choreographed first work in 1991
- trained with Australian ballet school
- danced with various companies
choreographic intent of birdbrain
- deconstruction of the traditional ballet swan lake
- non narrative (doesn’t attempt to tell original story), explores various themes from the ballet and about the culture of classical ballet in general and manipulates and deconstructs them in a contemporary way
where is swan lake seen in birdbrain
- setting
- themes
- portrayal of swans
- classical ballet technique
- mocking traditional arms
- balletic arms / turnout
- choreography
where has Stewart commented on classical ballet in birdbrain
- expresses constraints of ballet and restrictions that ballet holds
- shows through swans and baron von brothbart that swan lake only shows the fairytale version
explain the choreographic structure of the work
- unlike romantic ballet, birdbrain is non-narrative
- original story has a clear structure/ perspective, single character, interesting plot
- bb: episodic structure, 12 sections, each has a different intention / explores new themes, deconstructs narrative
- clear contrast can be made, aswell as a link between the two
explain element of body
5 metamorphosis:
- spinning / circling movements, draws on baron von brothbart / contorted body positions, cyclical nature of transforming, cathartic / traumatic
11 the lovers
- high velocity / frenetic, hurling into air / floor / each other, gravity driven, need for humans to find unions amongst obstacles / lengths they’ll go to for love
what is virtuosic movement
- movement which is impressive because of the high level of skill involved
- adt shoes a different but equally impressive type of virtuosity compared to ballet technique
explain dance element of dynamics
6 icons:
- white swans (continuous, flowing, slow, little manipulation, elongated, innocence). black swans: sharp, quick, darting, attacking, fast, heavily manipulated, swan claw, use of gravity / momentum, evil)
7 swords:
- slow lunging, thrusting, slow collapse / contraction, continuous / sustained, contrasts ballet sword fight
explain element of dance space
2 classicism:
- pas de deux, traditional formations, role reversal, incorporating SL, manipulating and deconstructing themes explored
5 metamorphosis:
- back of stage, overseeing action, own territory, mysterious, elevated, intimidating, powerful, always there controlling their every move
explain design element of costume
words on t-shirts:
- most sections, shows characters / themes / setting, challenges gender roles
- e.g love, lovers, duped, doomed, lake, H2O, water, woods, Odette, odile, corps, drama queen
9 archery:
- school / military uniform (hierarchy within ballet), feudal hierarchy, paralleling institution and discipline, corps de ballet = same, soloist = unique and individual costume
explain the design element of projections
4 swans:
- ballerinas who’ve played parts of Odette and odile appear in scrolling fashion
7 swords
- video of ballerina, zooms in on eye
- idealised romantic love is in her head
- reinforced: colourful exploding images (make fun of romance)
8 emotional world
- line drawings of ballerinas (contrasting raw physical dancers on stage with romanticised ballerinas)
give examples of choreographic devices
- unison: typically used in romantic ballets
- fragmentation: deconstruction of 32 fouettés
- motif: ugly swan hands, inverted / contorted movement
