Subject Matter Flashcards
List and explain some of Larbi’s starting points for creating Sutra
-Larbi suffered from physical, mental and creative fatigue due to the success of his work Zero Degrees made in collaboration with Akram Khan
-he sought solace in the Shaolin temple as it was an escape from the western world and its pressures
-he went to the Shaolin temple in 2007 to practice with the monks, and the temple leader was interested in the arts. Larbi learnt about the differences between the eastern and the western world such as the monks strict, disciplined lifestyle, calm and serene atmosphere
-Larbi’s interest in Bruce Lee and Kung Fu was a starting point as one of his major influences was about the release of energy, spirituality, and discipline
-recycling energy though life and death
-the staff- a Buddhist symbol of authority and the superior staff techniques of the monks
-the transformation of the monk’s martial arts practice into a unique system of physical and mental cultivation
List and explain some of the sources of movement that Larbi used for Sutra
-Shaolin Kung Fu= traditional forms such as the Drunken Fist, staff and sword fighting, and animal forms
-Buddhist philosophy
-interactions with the set of boxes created by Gormley= movement created through improvisation tasks
-improvisation from Shi Yandong (dong dong) as he was still a child so had a lot of creative freedom
-the musical score
-Larbi’s hybrid form of contemporary= made up of yoga, contortion, contemporary, eurocrash, tai chi, hip hop, pedestrian movement
-French sign language
-conceptual imagery
List and explain some of the key themes explored within Sutra
-Buddhist philosophy
-contradictions and juxtaposition of the mind and body
-East vs West
-Old China vs new China
-freedom and containment
-building and destroying
-transformation
-Larbi’s spiritual journey and journey of acceptance whilst at the temple, as well as the experience of being a foreigner
List and explain Sutra’s style that Larbi created
-conceptual dance theatre
-manipulation of visual images
-interaction with the physical setting
-exploration of social and political themes through the use of the constituent features
-gestural movement vocabulary
-yoga, hip hop, contemporary, animalistic movement, contortion, pedestrian movement
-Kung Fu including the use of weapons such as the sword, staff, monkey pole, spears
-narrative thread
-conceptual imagery
-mutual coexistence with the music
What does the title ‘Sutra’ actually mean? And how is this significant to the work?
-it means thread in Buddhism
-the whole way throughout the dance the theme of a thread can be seen whether it’s the transition of the boxes from each section, use of reverting canons, the passing down of ideas
