Swansong Flashcards
When was Swansong choreographed?
1987 for London Festival Ballet (now English National Ballet)
Music?
Philip Chambon. An electro-acoustic score of original, sampled and digitally reproduced sounds (eg grated metal and soft vocalising). The unaccompanied section increases the tension of the work.
Design?
Christopher Bruce. Swansong is set on a bare proscenium arch stage (minimal) and the only piece of set is a wooden chair set DSR. The chair is used as a seat, a weapon, shackles, a shield, prison bars etc… The costume is realistic and timeless which supports the narrative of the work. Interrogators- uniform, baseball hats in second section. Victim- jeans and a red t-shirt, red nose in second section. All 3 dancers wear black split soled dance shoes.
Lighting?
David Mohr. White wash focuses the attention to the chair, and shifts when the victim is alone to a diagonal shaft of light, using a gobo, from USL
What is the stimulus of Swansong?
Bruce was very aware of the work of Amnesty International and wanted to say something about the situation of the prisoner of conscience. Alternatively, the image was saying goodbye to something and for Bruce, it was saying goodbye to dancing.
Structure?
Episodic with 7 sections
Dance style
Eclectic- jazz, social dance, tap, music hall/ vaudeville show dance, ballet
Prisoner motif
Sat on the chair CS, a strong, high pitched beat is heard in the accompaniment as the prisoner hinges forwards at the hips into a tabletop position (Graham technique- the pelvis initiates the movement) with the right arm extended forwards and the left arm out to the side. There is a feeling of expansiveness in the neoclassical arabesque arm line (Bruce’s eclectic style). Then, they slowly sit up with a cautious expression and look towards the corridor of light USL. After looking towards the empty chair, then to the guards who are in a stillness as if looking over the prisoner’s dead body, he swiftly turns to face DSR and does a grand plié in fourth position with wing-like arms, which I think is inspired by classical ballets such as Swan Lake, where a swan is also used as a symbol for death. There is a slight contraction in the upper body.
Who choreographed it?
Christopher Bruce
A quote from Bruce
“My dance was just trying to interpret the experiences of those who were arrested, imprisoned and kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time.”
