Influences on Intention Flashcards
Example 1: Influence
One influence on the intention was Wheeldon was influenced by the original 1865 novel, written by Lewis Carrol and wanted to stay true to its original characters. Wheeldon explains he had “a respect for the original tale’s essential ingredients.” The Royal Ballet commissioned Christopher Wheeldon to create the work and assembled a team to bring it to life. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, (commonly shortened to Alice in Wonderland) is a 1865 novel written by English Author Lewis Carrol and tells the story of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world populated by peculiar creatures. In chapter three of the novel, Alice swims in a lake of her own tears with a variety of strange creatures including a dodo, a mouse, a duck, a lory and an eaglet. To lift everyone’s spirits, a caucus race is arranged – a race where everyone runs in a circle with no clear start or finish. Wheeldon was heavily influenced by the original text, which resulted in a scene both chaotic and comical where the creatures are running randomly around, crossing paths and showing a race with no defined course, rules or…
Example 1: Effect/Impact
Wheeldon was heavily influenced by Lewis Carrol’s original tale, as seen throughout the Caucus Race in the insertion of gesture and mime. Gestures such as running, and swimming help to communicate how Alice meets the creatures and then participates in a caucus race with them. For example, in section A, the creatures perform swimming like gestures, where the animals circle their arms forwards one after the other, whilst moving through the water to suggest freestyle, before turning around and moving backwards whilst circling their arms, to suggest backstroke. This ties into the original narrative because in Lewis Carrol’s tale, this is where Alice meets all the creatures, after swimming through a pool of tears.
Example 2: Influence
One influence on intention is how Wheeldon took inspiration from romantic ballets. Romantic ballet is an era in ballet in which romanticism in art and literature influenced the creation of ballet. Romantic ballets where experienced in three main phases: The zenith phase from 1830-1840, the decline phase from 1850-1880, and the revival phase in the 1890s prior to Diaghilev.Romantic ballets are supernaturally inflicted stories that are told through dance. Many supernatural themes are embedded throughout these ballets to create a sense of mystery and fear. This fondness for supernatural and even eerie elements is a hallmark of most romantic ballet narratives. Wheeldon has been dancing from a very early age, and has therefore been exposed greatly to a number of romantic ballets.
Example 2: Effect/Impact
