Little Red Rooster Flashcards
Analysis
What is the action content?
Strutting walk.
Grooming gestures ( Shrugging shoulders, cuff pulling, tie adjustment, slicking hair, brushing action).
Slow motion exaggerated walk.
Rooster like behaviours/movements (anthropomorphic).
Small fast running steps.
Skidding hops.
Inversion of knees.
Female dancers; provocative movements (hip swinging, arm drapes, curve, tilts, wraps)
What is the dynamic content?
Variation of speed - rapid shifts.
Abrupt changes in flow.
Grounded / Weighted.
Smooth Phrasing.
What is the spatial content?
Square pathway turning corners sharply.
Linear pathway.
Sudden drop to floor.
Travels more as music builds giving the sense of territory.
What is the relationship content?
> He approaches other men.
Men strut of DSR.
Stand off ‘territory’ like interaction.
Men stood at back ‘pack formality’.
Female enters performing feminine, provocative actions - duet with lifts/supports.
Trio with men from ensemble in lifts/supports/arabesques/leans. They abandon her and strut away.
Choreo devices and movement style content?
- Repetition of rooster strut and key motif throughout section
- Contrast between female and male choreo. Men = strong masculine energy , Female = provocative and flirty
- Ballet - classical lines, open chest and back
- Graham - curved lines, wrapping, grounded
- Folk dance - bowing
What are the Interpretations?
- Anthropomorphic content established to resemble animal mating rituals and dominance. Infused into choreo so not a literal representation.
- trio demonstrates poor treatmeant of women by men in the 60s. The brush he off
- territorial - male dominance, masculine energy
- narcissistic quality to performance . Concerned the appearance not to impress women but to compete with each other
- rock n roll movements. Inspiration from elvis.
Aural Setting?
Style - blues (Blues standard by Willie Dixon)
Tempo and Timing signature - 4/4, Slow
Volume and Rhythm - blues
Instruments - Slide guitar, acoustic guitar, harpsichord (at end), drums
Key Lyrics - “The dogs begin to bark, the hounds begin to howl”
Effect/How music enhances dance?
Animalistic lyrics correlate with animalistic movement.
Rooster strut correlates directly with rhythm.
Action of the jutting head relates to the action of a Rooster - matching title.
Rooster strut/rolling like a dog on its back.
Lighting?
Direction of Light - wash from above, cyclorama starts lighting up in reddish low intensity (when women entre)
Colour - cool toned white, warmer white - reddish hue on floor (women enter)
Intensity - low intensity, intensity increases (when women enter)
Effect - created shadows on the floor, shadowy darkness (when women enter)
Costume?
Male dancers:
- different brightly coloured long sleeve shirt w/ collar
- plain suit trousers in a dark colour (black/grey)
- belts (black/blue)
- black jazz shoes
- velvet jackets w/ lapels in a variety of colours
- different brightly coloured ties
- hair loosely slicked back
- complementing and contrasting colours
3 motifs performed in LRR
Rooster Strut
Rooster Jump
Tie Adjustment
explain the rooster strut
sustained steps as each foot drags behind with isolation of head and neck as it jerks forward (almost like a rooster). Body leaning forward with arms held still slightly in front of body and hands dropped down.
1. used as opening movement. Faces SR, he steps out onto his right foot and performs the rooster strut
2. key traveling motif recurring throughout sections
3. developed with side step to SL facing upstage with jerk of shoulders up.
What does the rooster strut suggest
- The rooster strut could mimic the way mick jagger moved across the stage (link to the Rolling Stones and 1960s pop culture)
- It also links to the sub themes of power, as he is trying to assert authority and dominance across the stage.
- Animalistic/Anthropomorphic content established to resemble animal mating rituals and dominance. It is
infused in the choreo so that it is not a literal representation
Explain the rooster jump
The male dancer performs an anphropromorphic jump. Facing towards stage right, he takes off his right foot (with his left leg already in a parallel attitude derriere), his legs perform a ‘flutter’ action one then the other (in the sttitude position). His arms held in front of body, bent and holding onto his lapels on his jacket. He lands the jump on his left leg. Before sliding onto the floor towards stage left and rolling onto his back and perforimg a dog like action, with his arms and legs up.
1. ‘dogs begin to bark’ linking to lyrics as movement is repeated twice in section
2. shows animalistic quality, doglike movement, wagging limbs in air
Explain the Tie Adjustment
Male dancers fix ties, pushing them from side to side at root of the tie, holding length with otis hand. Grooming hair with hands and brushing shoulders with sides of fingers. Directly looking at audience
What is the opening transition
- Male in blue blazer enters from SR
- 4 slow sustained stylistic walks (rooster strut) towards CS, sharply looks at audience
- continues in direction if travel. struts and after 4 counts, jolts backwards changing weight to being back
- continues strut
- 4 other male dancers standing stationary in naturalistic positions
