strong language Flashcards
background/overview
Strong Language was a collaborative piece by Richard Alston that focuses on structural complexity within the piece using 12 dancers. Alston’s collaboration with John Marc Gowans establishes Gowans use of Accompaniment with a direct correlation to the movement content.
accompaniment
The accompaniment used in Strong Language was a collaboration between Alston and Gowans in which John Marc Gowans produced a soundscore that was described as a “rhythmic collage of sounds, parts of it stringing together separate sounds like odd objects evenly spaced on a bracelet.” This soundscore was produced by adding these “odd objects” to a computer system and were manipulated into a digital form in which sounds like a girls voice shouting “hey” and traffic sounds were looped, increased in pitch or reversed. Each section changes in its accompaniment to match the movement content. For example, in the male sextet, there is a jazz influence in the accompaniment as it has the use of African drums/bongos to highlight the weighted and grounded movement. This is seen in particular as the dancers perform a box-like action in which their hands move from the left to the right as a beat is created by the drums. This signifies Alston’s use of direct correlation between movement and accompaniment. The choice of ‘everyday, pedestrianised’ sounds amplifies the complexity of the work and is a device that could highlight Alston’s stylistic features. He was interested in wanting more abstract elements to his works which is echoed through the use of accompaniment and therefore the movement content as a result of the relationship between music and movement.
movement content
The work features 7 sections; Opening Section, Female Quartet, Male Sextet, Septet, Duet, Male Quartet and Strumming. One key section is the Male Sextet that has a jazz influence in the movement content which can be seen as the lines are much more angular and the movement has a loose element to it. For example, the dancers are facing downstage right as they pause and lift their right leg up to second as they fall off it and recover to stand on their right leg with their left leg lifted to second and their left arm is straight up by their ears with their right arm straight out to second. This conveys the jazz element to the section through the use of classical jazz lines and the idea of fall and recovery. This is significant for the work because it could be used to enhance Alston’s style. Furthermore, the septet contrasts with the jazz elements of the sextet as it instead has many more springy elements to it. For example, one motif is when the dancers are tilted down and facing the right with their backs to the audience as the left arm is pointed straight down to the floor and the right arm is bent with the elbow in the same line as the left arm but pointed to the ceiling when they step onto the ball of their right foot and then transfer to flat on their left which is repeated 3 times whilst slowly travelling backward. This highlights the contrast in style for each section as the use of a springier element is clearly conveyed through the subtle ball change motif in the septet section. This use of a range of styles within the work can be used to emphasise the choreographer’s complex approach to the work and links to his stylistic feature of the music and movement having a strong relationship.
structural complexity
One of the main focuses of Strong Language is Alston’s use of structural complexity through multiple groupings and using many choreographic devices. For example, the use of multiple groupings is evident during the Septet as the females are in a line downstage right whilst the rest of the group are performing. This is significant because it could be used to indicate the intricacy of the approach that the choreographer has taken when structuring the work and highlights the range of methods that he has used to do so. Furthermore, the structural complexity of the work is predominantly as a result of the use of choreographic devices in which Alston has included repetition, accumulation, climax, unison, canon, counterpoint, variation, motif development and new material. These are incorporated into every section, in particular counterpoint and repetition. For example, in the sextet, counterpoint can be seen when three dancers perform a circular spring that takes them into a half-turn which finishes in a lunge, as they do this, the other three dancers perform a grand battement on relevé which takes them into a pirouette as they finish in a arabesque. This is significant of Alston’s stylistic features within the work because it makes it a much more abstract piece and it emphasises the complexity in not just the structure, but with the movement and accompaniment. In addition, the use of repetition is particularly evident during the last section, “Strumming” as three dancers repeat one motif in a horizontal line where they perform two circular springs, each turning halfway, and fall forwards onto their right leg with their left leg in a coupé behind them and their bodies fall over their legs and their arms directly above them, hovering above the floor. As a consequence, the choreographic devices used within the work reinforce Alston’s intention with his work to signify the correlation between dance and music and the ability to have complex structural elements.
