Perfect by Motionhouse Flashcards
Who is the choreographer?
Kevin Finnan
How many performers are there?
5 (3 female, 2 male)
Who is the set designer?
Simon Dorman
Who is the lighting designer?
Mark Parry
Who did the accompaniment?
Sophy Smith and Tim Dickinson
Who designed the costumes?
Claire Armitage
Who made the film?
Caroline Bridges
What date did Perfect premier?
28th January 2005
How many sections are there?
13
What is the dance style?
Combines dance theatre and aerial work
Strong physicality and contact work
Contemporary
Uses and defies gravity
What is the choreographic style?
Collaborative (Finnan and dancers)
Physically adventurous and filmic
Give a summary of Perfect
About time-the way we witness it, how it shapes us and affects relationships
Waiting, nurturing and growing
Fear of ageing and our race against time
Describe the accompaniment
Important role in the emotional language of the production
Combination of ‘found’ sound and newly composed scores
Reflects the dynamic of the piece
Describe the costumes
Women- short black dresses
Men-black trousers, white shirts
Simple, gender-specific, everyday clothes with clean lines and shapes
Adaptations to allow the harnesses to be used
What contribution do the costumes have?
Allows the dancers to move easily
Looks like everyday clothes that don’t make a statement
To compliment the work and not detract from the theme
Describe the lighting
Yellow and purple
Sometimes bright other times dim-some sections of the stage highlighted more than others at times
What contribution does the lighting have?
Draws the focus around the space
Shows the passing of time
To compliment the movement
What contribution does the accompaniment?
Creates a mood/atmosphere
Sometimes build tension
What is the structure of the dance?
Episodic
Describe the set
Box frame set
Sand filled
A sheer gauze starts as backdrop and bought forwards
A paper screen
What props are used?
Sand Rakes Watering cans Slings Paper Benches Ladders
What happens in section 1 -Spirits of time?
A snapshot of daily life (Sunrise-sunset)
Starts with Helen lying down stage left
Junior and Vanessa enter wearing white to contrast Helens black and blend into the background/film
Sense of spirituality
Describe the movement in section 1 and what it represents
Isolated hand movements/gestures to show the manipulation of time/playing with the sands of time
Describe the visual setting in section 1
Restricted area at the front
Sand coated floor
Screen/film with purple image
What happens in section 2 -Shadows?
Helen moves and a shadow mirrors her behind the screen (Unison)
Stuart enters, the shadow goes to him, Helen stays away (showing rejection)
Stuart performs anguished solo
Shadow goes back to consoling
Is it a memory?
Describe a section where lighting is used for effect
In section 2 lighting is used to create shadows to represent our memories
Stuart is made large to create a sense of intimidation
Describe the movement used in section 2 (and what it shows)
Arms wrapped around torso (consoling)
Sinking away from Stuart (rejection)
Stuart’s anguished solo (negative relationship)
Describe a section using unison
In section 3, we see the legs of the dancers moving in unison to add humour and liveliness to the piece
Hopping, shuffling, turning and jumping are common movements
What happens in section 3 -Legs?
(Can only see legs due to paper)
Females are dancing together but bought to a halt when male legs are seen and two females leave, male pair suddenly disappear, leaving the female pair dithering
The section is about assumptions
Explain how music is used to contribute to the mood of a certain section
In section 3 -legs music is used to create an upbeat and rhythmical atmosphere with a humorous mood
In section 4 -faces music is used to make the atmosphere more frantic as you the ageing process become more clear
What happens in section 4 -faces?
Screen projects ageing faces, small area below the screen for dancers
Lots of floor work- commonly dominant in contemporary dance
Impression of an hour glass with scooping sand and gradually releasing
Screen gradually disintegrates
Describe section 5 -time flies
include details of movement
Male dancers appear to fall from the sky
High energy movements-jumps, leaps, rolls
High energy partner work
Dive with total abandonment
Benches add another level
Hand gestures repeated from section 1
Demonstrates jealousy in relationships and conflict (using 3 women 2 men)
What happens in section 6 -garden?
First time that you see the full stage
Theme is nurturing, relaxed
Rows of flowers from front to back
Raking the ground and watering plants-reinforcing time use
Movements become more complex finishing in jealousy from Wendy towards Vanessa and Junior
What happens in section 7 -loops?
Slings are released-aerial imagery
Sense of waiting and longing for the garden to grow
As the music changes to be more upbeat dancers cross and intersect
Boys Vs. Girls- Wendy is excluded
Uniformity of flowers eventually lost
What happens in section 8 -Wendy’s solo?
Wendy does an anguished solo
She realises what is happening between Junior and Vanessa, is it emotional fallout or her imagination?
A reprise of an earlier duet with Junior but now danced as a solo
Describe how the gauze is used in Wendy’s solo in section 8
Adds emotional atmosphere
It is moved from upstage to downstage to represent the drift between her and Junior
What happens in section 9 -Hands of time?
Film of a huge hand which appears to push, squash, scoop and pick off the dancers one by one (leaps off benches, falls flat to floor)
Section is lit from the sides so film and dancers are lit
What happens in section 10 -pregnant pause?
movement
Ladders against backdrop for men to climb
Girls pile sand on their stomachs to represent the foetus
One relationship is nurturing and the other seems more complex
How the women wait is different to the men- males watch the event from above, women are shown to be low and earthy
What happens in section 11 -Rakes?
Props and relationships
Opens with 2 duets
Male dancers use rakes to show their role in nurturing for their families
Props used as physical support
Starts with duets in unison and then the fragility of Stuart and Helen’s relationship becomes clear as a contrast to Junior and Vanessa’s supportive relationship
Stuart leaves Helen and Wendy engages with him
What happens in section 12 -Suspension in time?
Slings are released
Wendy is suspended first (in time) as other slings are released
Aerial image to suggest suspension in time/in limbo
Dancers get ready for finale
What happens in section 13 -Slings
Climax Purple background, yellow floor Tension builds Accumulation, swings get bigger Eventually gets into unison in swings Mimicking pendulum Ticking music
