Artificial Things

Question 1

Choreographer

Answer 1

Lucy Bennett

Question 2

Company

Answer 2

StopGap Dance Company

Question 3

Premiere Date

Answer 3

5th February 2014

Question 4

Dance style

Answer 4

Inclusive Contemporary Dance

Question 5

Dancers

Answer 5

4
2 x M
2 x F

Question 6

Structure

Answer 6

Narrative

3 scenes (we only study scene 3 - the aftermath)

Duets/Contact/Solo

Question 7

Aural Composer and Overview

Answer 7

Worked with Andy Higgs interested about his Piano composition.

He used both inside + outside of piano.

Collaborative process in making music, he improvised when dancers did.

Recorded snowy soundscapes (paper snow)

‘The sunshine of your smile’ - song, extracts feature throughout

Final section uses full song at the end

Question 8

Costume Designer and Overview

Answer 8

Anna Jones in charge of designing.
Sparse + washed-out.
Lots of skin on show.
Paint dripping down → refers to stimulus.
Colour scheme is wintery.
Females in dresses, men in formal trousers + formal tops.
Jacket worn at end

Question 9

Lighting Designer and Overview

Answer 9

Designer = Chahire Yavrovan.
Filmic look
Gradual build of light → side Light.
Not many sharp changes.
Warm sunrise builds throughout piece → side light.
Spotlight at end for solo
Yellow, white, blue.
Sepia tones

Question 10

Performance Environment

Answer 10

Proscenium arch stage.

Question 11

Choreographic approach

Answer 11

Collaborative approach with the dancers. Ideas taken from Laura in the wheelchair are translated by the standing dancers.

Question 12

Set Designer and Staging

Answer 12

Goran Djurovic influence.
Set within artificial world.
Display cabinet on stage.
Framed within stage.
Vitrine = display cabnet + 2 stools.
Anna Jones = designer.
Paper snow on floor.
Headless mannequin.
Crudely painted backdrop

Question 13

Starting point/stimulus

Answer 13

A snow covered urban landscape with an isolated figure on a collapsed wheelchair
View from far away - snow globe
Dancers personal experiences
The paintings of Serbian artist Goran Djurovic also influenced the costumes

Question 14

Choreographic intention/theme

Answer 14

Characters coming to terms with life’s limitations
Living with confinements + being subject to the gaze of ‘the other’
Being restricted by a snow globe
Sorrowful but peaceful scene + finding resolution by coming together - live with individual regret