Rambert Flashcards
When was soda lake performed by rambert
1986
When was Pierrot lunaire performed by rambert
1967
When was lonely town lonely street performed by rambert
1981
When was death and the maiden performed by rambert
1984
When was wildlife performed by rambert
1984
When was ghost dancers performed by rambert
1981
When was swan song performed by rambert
1995
When was Norman Morrice artistic director
1966-1974
When was john chesworth artistic director
1974-1981
When was Robert north artistic director
1981-1986
When was Richard Alston artistic director
1986- 1992
When was Christopher Bruce’s artistic director
1994- 2002
When was Norman Morrice sent to America by Marie rambert
1962 to train with Martha graham
What were the aspects of going back to the ballet club days in 1966
Nurturing choreographers
Reducing the company to 18 soloists
Triple bills and shorter works
Regular performances
New choreographers from abroad
Preserving old works
When did Glen Tetley come to the company
In 1967 for 4 weeks
What is an influence of Bruce’s interest in social issues
Norman Morrice who was AD during Bruce’s training was interested in social issues
What other shows and companies did Tetley dance in
On the town
Toured with Joffery ballet
Toured with Martha graham company
What were Tetleys influences
Myths
Music
Literature
Fast paced climatic structure comedia de arte
Collaboration
Theatrical
What is Tetleys catch phrase for his type of dancers
Muscular blend of ballet and graham
Who danced as Pierrot
Christopher Bruce’s
Themes of Pierrot lunaire
Dark dramatic humour
Mime
Fusion of modern and ballet
Acrobatics
Themes communicate realism and human connection
Contribution of Pierrot lunaire to the company
Introduced a more modern dance style
Established Bruce as an exceptional performer
Drew on narrative and characterisation
Describe a ballet motif in Pierrot lunaire
Travelling towards the stage right
he does four poses to retire commencing on his left leg .He circles his
arms to hold flexed palms
either side of his head. His upper body
contracts to the left with a slight tilt. After the
fourth pose he steps on his right leg to
diagonal upstage right and turns to end
facing the front with his leg in arabesque and
his arms out to the side at shoulder height.
Graham technique in Pierrot lunaire
Pierrot stands with his right leg extended
upwards onto the scaffolding. His right arm is
reaching upwards, and he looks towards it as
he ripples it up and down. Simultaneously, he bends and straightens his left leg. He then pushes his
arm downwards, as his leg bends inwards
and his spine curves, before circling his arm
and leg back around towards the back of the scaffolding
Characterisation in Pierrot lunaire
He places his right
palm on his forehead in despair and makes a
very distinct, painful facial expression.
Opening his mouth whilst looking at his hand
on his head. He proceeds to perform 3 runs
forward towards the downstage left corner
and on the third run he places his left leg on
the floor, lowering his level and making him
closer to the ground as if he has fallen over in
a distraught fashion. He opens his arms out
either side of his body and looks up to the
ceiling, opening his torso to the audience and above to give a feeling of sacrifice
What did john chesworth do as artistic director
Promote the creation of new works
Expand rep with guest choreographers
Started school outreach programmes to get kids into dance
What are norths origins
Studied architecture at central school of art
Trained at royal ballet school
Trained with london contemporary dance school and then LCDT
Graham technique
Cunningham
Mattox for jazz
Impacts north had on the company
Excited audiences with narrative works
Broaderened audiences
Introduced new styles
Colaberated on production
Highlighted the importance for physicality , musicality and drama
Describe jazz in lonely town and lonely street
In the first section the dancers make a square
formation and dance in unison. They step hop
towards stage left with their left legs in parallel
retire, right arm out in front of them at 90
degrees. They then step onto the right leg and
turn to the front taking three steps and then
turning to stage right,then another three steps and turn to face upstage
Describe ballet in lonely town and lonely street
In the third section the female dancer turns with her left leg in attitude around the male
dancer as he holds her left arm in 4th position.
She turns around his back and runs upstage
right before they both of a coupe turn with their
right leg.
Describe use of music in lonely town lonely street
In the fifth section, the song says the lyrics “and
when i looked at you, you looked at the ground”
during this part of the dance the two dancers
are under a piece of scaffolding. The male
dancer runs in front of the female dancer to
look at her and she looks at the ground slowly
walking away from him.
Who was LTLS originally created for and when
Janet smith dance company in 1980
How is LTLS described
Slick and fast jazz
What does LTLS tell the story of
Lonely people in a big city and each section is from a different persons point of view and position in the city
How many sections and dancers in LTLS
7 and 7
Influences of LTLS
Isolation rejection and betrayal in section 1
Abuse
Loniness
Architectural background influenced the set to look like a run down city
NYC influenced the dancers grid like formations in section 1
popular music
Who does the aural setting in lonely town and lonely street
Bill withers
Why do dancers bow at the beginning of death and the maiden
To acknowledge that they are going to make a statement about death and they are accepting it
Why do dancers fall for no reason in death and the maiden
To show that death can happen at any second
Describe the motif between death and the maiden when he is killing her
death and the maiden are centre stage facing diagonally down stage left. He is
behind her and grabs her upper arm causing her to contact slightly and lift her arms
slightly. Death leans back, removing his hands and bringing them above his head to
hit the maiden on her right side. She tilts her head back and lifts her arms up to fall
forward onto the floor taking two steps. Death then moves behind her again, lifting
her up
by her right arm and using his left arm to hit her on the neck.
What is death and they maiden about
Exploring the emotions of a young girl who is being taken by death
She moves from fear and resistance to accepting her fate
What happens in the two sections of death and they maiden
Premonitions - violent thrashing , distractions
Conversations - duets , fear , comfort , fight , acceptance
Influences of death and the maiden
Death and the maiden is a piece of music by Schubert which is a string quartet in d minior ( a sad tune )
A poem called death and the girl which is a conversation where he says he wants to rock her gently to sleep in his arms
Norths car crash where he thought everything went in slow motion
Style in death and the maiden
Graham
Ballet
Gestures
Folk
Narrative
Graham in death and the maiden
The maiden is seen facing stage left and
contracts her torso dramatically and bows
her head before spiralling her arms above
her head into a spiral of her torso turning to the floor with dramatic effect
Ballet in death and the maiden
All dancers in unison do a jump into a
wide second and then perform a coupe
turn and move upstage left, they then stop
and do a deep, grand plie with their arm
outstretched and the other arm down by
their side
Folk in death and the maiden and what it shows
The motif performed in accumulation includes a box
step with one foot flexed balanced on their
heel. They change their focus to the floor
as they flop their heads to the floor heavily
every time they take a step over their
flexed foot. Their arms are extended out in
a relaxed second position and they move
their elbows on each step in a
flailing/waving position
The use of folk dance and accumulation
presents the dancers as a community who
are all equally frightened of death and how
sudden it can occur as they all begin to join
as one group, perhaps believing if they stick
together and comfort one another it will be
harder for death to take them.
who taught alston release technique
mary fulkerson
origins of richard alston
went to eton but dropped out and went to art school
trained with london comtempory dance school
went to america to train in cunningham
influences of alston
cunningham
mary fulkerson
music
art and physical settting
fredrick ashtons tradegy of fashion inspired him to dance
alstons style
cunningham = weight shift ,lines , flat palms, angles , direction changes , ballet bottom half , contemp top half, twist , tilt , arch , curve
rythum
dance for fance sake
release technique - grounded
impacts of alston on rambert
im;plementing cunningham company class
continued colaberation
abstract rep
nurtured talent - mark baldwin who was in soda lake and went on to become AD
invited choreographers from abroad
however his work was hard for audiences to understand so they began to get smaller
origins of soda lake
originally supposed to be for a BBC show but it never come to be
inspired by a minimalist sculpture by nigal hall of the mojave dessert in north america
nigel made drawings that got progressively simpilar that reflected the occasional markers in the vast space
influences of soda lake
martha grahams work “frontier” from 1935 using a similar japanese sculpture
the loud silence in the desert which hall experienced
mary fulkersons release technique
what are the important elements of the sculpture in soda lake
it sits like an anchor in the space and the dancer is continuously pulled towards it
balance
channels space upwards
downward pull
the pole hovering creates and intense silence
how does the dancers costume reflect the sculpture in soda lake
it is plain black and minimalist like the structure as if the dancer is part of it
describe and expalin the big bird motif in soda lake
The dancer is facing the stage right. At the same time he slowly lifts his arms straight out in front of him to end in a high V, his left leg is slowly raised to arabesque just below 90 degrees with a flexed foot.
Alston chose this movement as his choreographic intent was to reflect the landscape and creatures in Nevada, where the sculpture was influenced from. The distorted arabesque references the birds which are found in this area and the slow transition into the position reflects the quiet, calm and empty atmosphere.
describe and explain the sentinal in soda lake
The dancer is downstage left facing the audience. He has his weight forward on his hands and his knees bent so his feet are in the air and he is balancing. Slowly he reaches his left arm forward, it is straight was a flat palm, and ends at ear height.
Alston chose this movement as he believed it showed someone looking out over a territory which links back to the key influence of the Soda Lakes in the USA which was vast open spaces drawn by Nigel Hall in order for him to create the sculpture.By looking out over the territory in this position it is like the dancer is a guard.
describe and expalin tracing the elipse in soda lake
The male dancer stands under the ellipse facing stage right. He is standing on his right leg and his left leg is pointed behind. His arms are in second arabesque with his left arm high pointing to the ellipse. He slowly circles around it anti clockwise reaching into an upper back bend and side bend.
Alston chose this movement as it allows the sculpture to become part of the dancer. The dancer is continually drawn back to it as it is an anchor in the space which is key to the dance. By circling the ellipse the dancer is channeling space upwards and it could be interpreted that it is the sun which is the centre of everything.
aural setting of soda lake
silence
so the dancer goes by instinct instead of being lead by the music
impacts of soda lake
encouraged alston to go on to make wildlife
origins of wildlife
its an imaginary kingdom and the dancers are its inhabitance but there is no narrative
its starting point was colabeoration between alston , neigel osbourne and richard smith
influences of wildlife
richard smiths sculpture called yellow pages
the way kites hang in the space influences the music
exotic dances and different cultures
graham technique
a cunningham piece called rain forest
style of wildlife
abstract
uses musical score for structure
balllet
graham
cunningham
lines
rhythmic
sharpe angles jaggered edges
movement shows highlights in music
impacts of wildlife
celebration of coalberation
first time showcaseing richard smiths art in theatre which encouraged a new audience
interesting music
how are the dancers an extension of the set in wildlife
they are wearing the same colour unitards as the kites
what sounds can be heard in wildlifes aural setting
Eskimo singing , sharp stuttering trumpet , bird catching song , african dance , tribal music , flute , light harmonic strings , wind instruments
describe dance and design motif in wildlife
Three dancers are led in the pigeon position, stage right with their left leg bent. They then roll onto their back and extend the right leg into the air before bending it and crossing it over the left leg. The dancers push themselves up into the lung position and look up as the kite is lowered above them. The dancers turn to the back , stand up and in a taller lung with the left leg they reach their right arm up to the kite
describe cunningham in wildlife
The dancer pivots round clockwise in attitude to face downstage left with his left leg, arms out to the side and head down. He then moves into a contraction of the torso before doing an explosive stag leap. He lands with his left leg in front in a parallel
4th position, left arm straight diagonally pointing down and his torso contracted.
describe use of music in wildlife
The trio start in a diagonal line downstage left. On the sound of a horn being blown the first dancer does a step turn, step leap into a side leap facing the front. He opens his arms to second and then hugs them back in again. The second and third dancer repeat the same step on the following horn noises
origins of christopher bruce
trained at rambert
pierrot lunaire soloist
started dancing age 11 because he got polio
influences of christopher bruce
social and political issues
music
collaberation with designers and composers
glen tetley
human right s
style of chirstopher bruce
narraative
episodic
eclectic
tap
social
gestures
simplistic set
cyclical structure
rondo
impact of christopher bruce
back to blending graham and ballet
more interesting and accessible works
raising awareness
close link with amnesty international
increased company to 25 dancers
