Shadows Flashcards
Choreographer
Christopher Bruce
Company
Phoenix Dance Theatre
Dance style
Modern Dance Technique. Combination of classical and contemporary dance language.
Styles express themes shown in the work
Starting Point/Stimulus
Arvo Pärt’s ‘Fratres’ for violin and piano was the starting point.
Choreographic Intention/Theme
A political message, inviting the audience into the world of a family coming to terms with deprivation, poverty and what is waiting beyond the door.
Family waiting to get their call to camp
Horrors of Eastern Europe in WW2 - also other conflicts context
Dancers
4
2 x M
2 x F
Choreographic approach
Bruce does not prepare movement in advance - preferring to be influenced by and weak with the dancers
Structure
Semi-narrative. Each character has their own moment → solo or duet
Aural Composer and Overview
Eastern European music → about their history + culture
minimalistic
steeped in human suffering
Arvo Pärt → Fratres.
Wanted dance + music to link directly
Aural composer and overview of ‘Shadows’
Costume designer and overview
1930s-40s era
Traditional + old — clearly gendered
Plain + simple - worn out + dull — muted colours = war
Mother = floral dress — muted colours + patterns
Children at end — coats too big
Father = formal shirts + waistcoat
Daughter = pleated skirt + white blouse
Lighting designer and overview
Metaphorical or literal shadow — pass by
Symbolising danger + fear
Lighting obscured as though someone walks infront
Side lights
Downstage bright
Performance environment
Atmosphere created
Audience engaged in atmosphere
To be interpreted however
Set designer + staging
Table
Bench
2x stools
Upstage left props as well
Hat stand with clothing
Luggage for end
Shadows link staging/set to stimulus
Family: four seats, the stools are higher for the children
Poverty: minimal furnishings in kitchen - table + stools are wooden and basic
Fear of what lies outside: table dragged towards downstage right, tipped over and used as barricade by son in front of imaginary door + son hides behind it
Shadows link staging/set to lighting
Black box set enables white side lighting to stand out and create shadow
Shaft of light is clearly visible on black floor in son’s solo
Simplicity of set, lacking colour mirrors simple shite sidelighting
Shadows link staging/set to location
Furnishings suggest a family home
Shadows link staging/set to mood
Black box set and minimal furniture create a tense, sad mood
Shadows link staging/set to era
Coat stand is a traditional item and suggests a bygone era
Shadows link staging/set to movement
Table is used to stand on and lie on to create different levels, tab,e is placed far upstage to give dancers room to move
Shadows link costume to stimulus
Poverty: muted, faded colours suggest clothing is old and tired. Cotton fabric suggests low status. Rolled up sleeves of men suggest manual labour
Oversized coats at end suggest hand-me-downs/can’t afford clothes that fit
Shadows link costume to age
Mother’s hair in a bun + floral tea dress suggests maturity.
Daughters hair in ponytail suggests youth.
Father has shirt neatly tucked in and a traditional waistcoat suggesting he is older than other male dancer
Suggests family (stimulus)
Shadows link costume to era
Mother’s dress is 1940s design due to the puffed shoulders, fitted waist, flared skirt and floral design
Shadows link costume to gender
Gender specific: dress, skirt, trousers
Shadows link costume to location
Cotton fabrics + pastel colours, with collarless shirts and a waistcoat are typical of 1940s Eastern European rural clothing
Shadows link costume to movement
Flared skirts allow for ease of movement and also add to flow of movement when dancers turn
Shadows link lighting to stimulus
Poverty: lighting lacks colour and is low intensity, supporting the idea that family have very little as they wait in darkness
Fear: white sidelighting creates a mood of tension, mystery and anxiety, supporting the idea of fear
Shadows link lighting to set
The lighting helps to create the illusion of a door downstage right. Offstage white sidelights at low level throws a bean across the floor, suggesting back door is open
Shadows link lighting to mood
Dark and sinister, the lighting drops to very low intensity at the end, leaving dancers in silhouette. Creates a sombre, poignant mood
Shadows link lighting to pathways
Beam of light in son’s solo creates a pathway for him to dance along from DSR to USL
Shadows link lighting to narrative
Lighting helps to tell the story eg door has opened for sons solo, low lighting at the end symbolic of the family meeting their fate
Coat stand is not lit until the very end, when it appears the story is moved forward as the family get ready to leave
Shadows link lighting to highlights dancers
Spotlight on family at table at start, sidelighting sculpts body
Shadows link aural setting to stimulus
Fear: music is in a minor key which sets an ominous tone for work
Violin plays rapid, agitated, shrieking notes when children perform, which suggest anxiety and fear, sometimes anger. Parents perform to calmer music, suggesting they are maintaining control. All this hints at family.
Shadows link aural setting to mood
Variety of moods
Daughter: fear, anxiety, terror
Mother/father duet: calm, romantic, peaceful in 1st half but then anxious in 2nd
Son = anger
Shadows link aural setting to structure
Music varies for each section although main theme returns developed each time
Low piano notes end each section and mark a section change
Shadows link aural setting to character
Dynamic of each section supports each character. Anxious and angry for children help to show they are young, whilst calmer and more controlled for the parents helps to show they are handling situation as adults
Shadows link aural setting to movement
Distant relationship at end when family get ready to leave
Close relationship at other times: eg daughter works closely with rapid dynamic and erratic melody as she shifts direction this way and that. Son works with the pauses in his solo to hold positions
Shadows link props to stimulus
Family: one item of luggage per family member
Poverty: suitcases are old and battered
Shadows link props to era
Suitcases are old fashioned brown leather, possibly 1940s
Shadows link props to narrative
Suitcases are vital for understanding that family are leaving. Holocaust Jews were permitted one item of luggage per person
Shadows link number/gender of dancers to stimulus
Family: gender is important for creating a family and number is important for understanding this is a small family not an extended one
Also important to understanding relationships between family members
Shadows link number/gender of dancers to structure
Each section has different number of dancers: solo, trio, duet, solo, solo, duet, quartet - important for seeing emotions of each family member as dance progresses - link to character
Movement ends as it began with all four dancers seated around table
