Section 1- Text and Gesture Flashcards
Describe what Khan is wearing. Why?
Khan wears a loose fitting brown t-shirt with khaki green fisherman trousers. Khan wears these colours as they are earthy and grounded which matches his personality. When performing sufi turns, the trousers flare out which enhances the movement.
Describe what Larbi is wearing. Why?
Larbi wears a light grey long sleeve t-shirt with navy blue fisherman trousers. Larbi wears these colours as they are representative of the sky and water which matches his philosophical personality. When performing sufi turns, the trousers flare out which enhances the movement.
Describe the physical setting in the first section.
What themes/questions is section one most useful for?
- use of text and gesture
- theme of identity
- theme of conflict
- audience reaction
- collaborative process
Describe the gesture that goes with ‘…very very powerful’
The two dancers are sat cross legged either side of centre stage with their elbows resting on their knees and hands clasped under their chins. On the word powerful, the dancers change their focus from down over their right knees to looking directly at the audience. They say powerful with a very strong dynamic and take a momentry pause after ‘powerful’ to emphasise the gesture. The sudden change of focus towards the audience gives a sense of intimidation to reflect how Khan felt when the guards looked at him.
Use for theme of conflict and communication.
Describe the gesture that happens on ‘and they really were soulless’
On the word ‘soulless’ the dancers rub their thumbs of their righthand in a circular motion against their other fingers. This choice of word could be interpreted as the guards are acting as emotionless figures just doing a job like how the casts are an empty shell of them.
This links to section 12 and the very end of section 13.
Describe the gesture that happens on ‘I already felt this tension’
On the word tension the dancers have their hands clawed in front of their chest, palms facing in. They vibrate their hands backwards and forwards quickly to show the build up of emotions that Khan is trying to explain. This gesture is one that is used by Khan in his everyday life so demonstrates the creative process of Larbi recording Khan.
Describe the gesture that is assigned to ‘passport’
Passport has been given the gesture of the thumb being pressed against the fingers and this resting against the palm of the other hand. It is said many times throughout the section. The gesture can be seen to physically represent holding on to a passport showing how much this ‘pece of paper’ means to him.
Use for the theme of identity
Describe the gesture that the dancers do on ‘between a good life and a bad life, between life and death’
The dancers hold one hand high and the other low, fingers pinched as if holding their passports. They then replace each hand in turn. This shows the two opposites.
Use for theme of identity and zero
Describe thes gesture that happens on ‘It’s amazing how much power a passport holds!’
The dancers greate a zero shape using their thumb and first finger.
Use for the theme of zero
Describe the gesture that is used whenever the dancers talk about ‘eyes’
The dancers hold their second and third fingers up towards their eyes. This is an intimidating gesture as it implies that the guards see everything.
Describe what happens when the dancers say ‘you are under my control and you know it’
The dancers start with their hands clasped, elbows resting on their knees. On the word ‘you’ they put their two first fingers together and point them towards the audience. They then wag them up and down. This can be interpreted as an action of a gun, showing the literal power that these guards have over the civilians or it can be seen do be a deliberate point aimed at Khan, singling him out for being different.
