Final piece.
I have been thinking of talking female desire through three mediums: Film/Vedio, theatrical performing and dance. Trying to use their unique story-telling languages to decribe female desire from characters. Hope can examine how text and costume can be purify and change to apply to the characters.
Here, a special thanks to Magda, who reminded me the amazing play and novel 'Les Liaisons dangereuses'.
Once in my second year, I was a rehearsal assistant of this play production.
I was amazed by those characters and the lines came from their mouths.
Those strong desire and love has been written perfectly and extremely, but still present the most guenuin personalities like the people aroud us. The novel was written in 1782 by Choderlos de Laclos, and now it's still cutting the edge.
I will adopt two different characters from it. Monologues will be taken from the novel.
Also, will look the play with the same name written by Christopher Hampton, 'Quartet' written by German playwright Heiner Müller. Films: Les Liaisons Dangereuses (1959 and TV Series 2003), Dangerous Liaisons (1988) and Volmont. Dance: Rosas.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Saturday, November 18, 2006
A question after Central Saint Martin's MA Scenography graduates' performance。
Couldn't say more than "interesting" to describe the performance, really.
Apart from standing all night during the performance and trying to concentrate after the critical studies lecture and cross course crits all day, I quite enjoyed the vibe there, evoked me the all times: watching all the student works, which were called "experimental theatre pieces".
And here comes the question, rather than being critical to the performance. A critical quesiotn that I have been asking myself since I started studying theatre and knowing performances.
How much should I bare for the lack of perfection from student's work (of course, nothing could be perfect!)?
Since the "experiment" has no longer exist anymore in theatre because there is always somebody doing the thing that we think is experimental and even much better than we do. So I would say that is a method we are using to approach or achieve what we want, rather focussing on creating a "new form" or "experiment".
Luckily, the graduates from CSM did not give that feeling of they want to show a new form of theatre to fresh our eyes and mind. But unfortunately, I saw too many major mistakes that shouldn't happen to a MA graduate student or even for a current MA level student. What I saw was like the students' pieces from the first or second year in my university in Taipei.
Very typical:
Interesting and somehow quite fresh and amazing ideas, concepts, texts.
Lack of knowledges in how to control a performance.
Immature skills of acting, blocking and directing directions, not only in performance but occured during rehearsals.
So I always try to see performaces as many as I can, to know how and what people are doing now in theatre, not matter good or bad, I learn more than just thinking in front of the desk and reading text, but every single elements they are using.
And I always question my self while I was in different level, even now I am a MA student. The problems and mistakes should come out with a higher level but not like a BA student. Therefore I am alerted by my lack of that.
I was trained to be professional, so I shall be and have to be.
Be critical to my self and keep a self awareness like an actor.
Never, never and never enough....
Apart from standing all night during the performance and trying to concentrate after the critical studies lecture and cross course crits all day, I quite enjoyed the vibe there, evoked me the all times: watching all the student works, which were called "experimental theatre pieces".
And here comes the question, rather than being critical to the performance. A critical quesiotn that I have been asking myself since I started studying theatre and knowing performances.
How much should I bare for the lack of perfection from student's work (of course, nothing could be perfect!)?
Since the "experiment" has no longer exist anymore in theatre because there is always somebody doing the thing that we think is experimental and even much better than we do. So I would say that is a method we are using to approach or achieve what we want, rather focussing on creating a "new form" or "experiment".
Luckily, the graduates from CSM did not give that feeling of they want to show a new form of theatre to fresh our eyes and mind. But unfortunately, I saw too many major mistakes that shouldn't happen to a MA graduate student or even for a current MA level student. What I saw was like the students' pieces from the first or second year in my university in Taipei.
Very typical:
Interesting and somehow quite fresh and amazing ideas, concepts, texts.
Lack of knowledges in how to control a performance.
Immature skills of acting, blocking and directing directions, not only in performance but occured during rehearsals.
So I always try to see performaces as many as I can, to know how and what people are doing now in theatre, not matter good or bad, I learn more than just thinking in front of the desk and reading text, but every single elements they are using.
And I always question my self while I was in different level, even now I am a MA student. The problems and mistakes should come out with a higher level but not like a BA student. Therefore I am alerted by my lack of that.
I was trained to be professional, so I shall be and have to be.
Be critical to my self and keep a self awareness like an actor.
Never, never and never enough....
Monday, November 13, 2006
Thomas Ostermeier's Berlin Schaubühne production- Blasted (Zerbombt)。
How can it be banal but effective on stage? Here it is, German hit the Brit’s play!
Sarah Kane, a playwright who you can only read her by now, is one of my all-time favorites. In “Blasted”, she used simple plots and characters in it, but to express a strong concept by both language and story. We usually expect to see how they are going to do with those sex related scenes and directions. How real they should be to convince us and buy their bills?
It was no such surprise from Thomas Ostermeier, how he deal with all that we want to see on stage. For a theatre student ‘s view, he was using ordinary ways to present those parts on stage, apart from skipping it, he did give a direction to solve it, though I would say it was normal. Here comes the point, why there should be anything new or amaing to shock or entertain audience, as long as there is something which expresses exactly what u want through texts, actors, set, lighting and so on. This is a great play I saw that clearly transformed what the play intended to communicate and say to us.
The stage has a huge turntable underneath the set (a hotel room). The use of it is quite poetic, especially the scene Ian and Cate have sex and the explosion after the soldier comes. Came with explosion was not only just the turning room but with all the ashes felt from top of stage. Very beautiful images on stage indeed.
The lighting has an interesting design, and almost became the main visual element after the explosion, a massive wall full of four rolls of fluorescent lamps hanging up-centre of the stage. And it had various lighting textures followed by different lightness and darkness in the space. When the time it was off and on (or other way round), it showed the special effect only from fluorescent lamps.
Acting is another part that actors provoked the sense of terror and ordeal to us by using normal actions and lines from Kane, but I could tell they were fully equipped and prepared for the characters. Deep but simple, like a fresh tasty juice ads: “Nothing Added”.
Those I mention above aren’t very new or special from the history of theatre or performance, but that way he used it and combined those elements were successfully tell me both he and Kane want to express indeed.
I like this play very much.
I love Sarah Kane.
Sarah Kane, a playwright who you can only read her by now, is one of my all-time favorites. In “Blasted”, she used simple plots and characters in it, but to express a strong concept by both language and story. We usually expect to see how they are going to do with those sex related scenes and directions. How real they should be to convince us and buy their bills?
It was no such surprise from Thomas Ostermeier, how he deal with all that we want to see on stage. For a theatre student ‘s view, he was using ordinary ways to present those parts on stage, apart from skipping it, he did give a direction to solve it, though I would say it was normal. Here comes the point, why there should be anything new or amaing to shock or entertain audience, as long as there is something which expresses exactly what u want through texts, actors, set, lighting and so on. This is a great play I saw that clearly transformed what the play intended to communicate and say to us.
The stage has a huge turntable underneath the set (a hotel room). The use of it is quite poetic, especially the scene Ian and Cate have sex and the explosion after the soldier comes. Came with explosion was not only just the turning room but with all the ashes felt from top of stage. Very beautiful images on stage indeed.
The lighting has an interesting design, and almost became the main visual element after the explosion, a massive wall full of four rolls of fluorescent lamps hanging up-centre of the stage. And it had various lighting textures followed by different lightness and darkness in the space. When the time it was off and on (or other way round), it showed the special effect only from fluorescent lamps.
Acting is another part that actors provoked the sense of terror and ordeal to us by using normal actions and lines from Kane, but I could tell they were fully equipped and prepared for the characters. Deep but simple, like a fresh tasty juice ads: “Nothing Added”.
Those I mention above aren’t very new or special from the history of theatre or performance, but that way he used it and combined those elements were successfully tell me both he and Kane want to express indeed.
I like this play very much.
I love Sarah Kane.
The Cholmondeleys and The Featherstonehaughs- Yippeee 2006。
Maybe too amazing for me to bare it during 100 mins non-stop shocking and waiting!
The beautiful spelling for these dance companies caught my eyes as well as my ears. After some research of the companies, I got even more interested in their performance.
It was a big feast for both visual languages and sound, and still has their own style of choreographing. On the stage, there wasn’t many sets on it, simply took all the tabs and legs off, exposed the stage behind the proscenium. There were 8 (or 10) booms (or small scaffolds) with lighting on them. Music band (DJ set) was at up-centre. Very much like a post-modern style.
Costume was outstandingly designed by Simon Vicenzie. The style and amount of its own evoked me the colour and senses of circus. Alien’s shapes, full of funny and interesting ideas just like they were really having fun with clothes and no restriction with diaphanous trousers from which dangle an extra leg, ropes of pearls that come accessorised with gas masks and padded taffeta skirts that sport kangaroo tails.
Choreography was also having its strong compelling weirdness-- chug in geometric formation; exotic tableaux are fringed with slowly fanning arms and legs; hands dance an exquisite kaleidoscope. But the cast never looks fully human, sometimes reverting to primitive animal mannerisms, sometimes simply twitching through ghostly, residual dance memories.
But in reality, I really could not bare for all the performance with lots of period which wasn’t a dancer standing out while they were busy changing their clothes on the stage. I would say it was totally an ordeal for me being an audience. Influenced by that feeling, I could not even enjoy the visual part since I was so tired of waiting and getting bored with that “post-modern” style of performance.
The beautiful spelling for these dance companies caught my eyes as well as my ears. After some research of the companies, I got even more interested in their performance.
It was a big feast for both visual languages and sound, and still has their own style of choreographing. On the stage, there wasn’t many sets on it, simply took all the tabs and legs off, exposed the stage behind the proscenium. There were 8 (or 10) booms (or small scaffolds) with lighting on them. Music band (DJ set) was at up-centre. Very much like a post-modern style.
Costume was outstandingly designed by Simon Vicenzie. The style and amount of its own evoked me the colour and senses of circus. Alien’s shapes, full of funny and interesting ideas just like they were really having fun with clothes and no restriction with diaphanous trousers from which dangle an extra leg, ropes of pearls that come accessorised with gas masks and padded taffeta skirts that sport kangaroo tails.
Choreography was also having its strong compelling weirdness-- chug in geometric formation; exotic tableaux are fringed with slowly fanning arms and legs; hands dance an exquisite kaleidoscope. But the cast never looks fully human, sometimes reverting to primitive animal mannerisms, sometimes simply twitching through ghostly, residual dance memories.
But in reality, I really could not bare for all the performance with lots of period which wasn’t a dancer standing out while they were busy changing their clothes on the stage. I would say it was totally an ordeal for me being an audience. Influenced by that feeling, I could not even enjoy the visual part since I was so tired of waiting and getting bored with that “post-modern” style of performance.
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Rosas Danst Rosas。
Rosas Danst Rosas
A film by Thierry De Mey (Belgium)
1997, 35 mm colour
A minimalism-dance masterpiece!
I have to say as a performer, this is the kind of piece I want to perform. Starts with four girls, from floor to the chairs and then occupy all the space by those simple movements, the hands through hair, frown, pull jumper over shoulder, turn head and even a sigh, composed to a dazzling phrasing like poem. Her purified, calm and chastening compositions make me not just enjoyed the moments but the aftertastes that I every time think of it. The strong feelings of the desire from female bodies and feminine gestures are evocative of some parts of Pina Bausch’s works but in a gentle or even more delicate way just like poem.
Regards to my research or would say my interest in costume. It’s a example that I think very successful for dance on screen. Very clear, simple on lines and style that easily connect to “dancer” seemed banal, but in fact, very effective on a kind of language using minima feminine elements in colours and style but provoked that part mainly by movements and compositions.
Minimalism have been using for applying to every kind of arts and designs for decades, even now some people feel fed up with it and started to crticise it, still, in terms of the shapes and ideas that contain so many things and keep in simple, can be fabulous and outstanding. Especially this piece was repertory in live performance in 80s’, but can be fantastic even nowadays.
Little things and ideas could now be totally new for performance. Just depend on how we apply them into our own pieces and if it is reasonable and do mean something that relate to what we want to express or not. At least, for me, a performance is a way that we communicate by using different languages. It is very important to look at what audiences feel and how much they get from us. From Rosas, I leanrt and inspired a lot and make me feel like to narrow down my research more, just like minimalism does!
A film by Thierry De Mey (Belgium)
1997, 35 mm colour
A minimalism-dance masterpiece!
I have to say as a performer, this is the kind of piece I want to perform. Starts with four girls, from floor to the chairs and then occupy all the space by those simple movements, the hands through hair, frown, pull jumper over shoulder, turn head and even a sigh, composed to a dazzling phrasing like poem. Her purified, calm and chastening compositions make me not just enjoyed the moments but the aftertastes that I every time think of it. The strong feelings of the desire from female bodies and feminine gestures are evocative of some parts of Pina Bausch’s works but in a gentle or even more delicate way just like poem.
Regards to my research or would say my interest in costume. It’s a example that I think very successful for dance on screen. Very clear, simple on lines and style that easily connect to “dancer” seemed banal, but in fact, very effective on a kind of language using minima feminine elements in colours and style but provoked that part mainly by movements and compositions.
Minimalism have been using for applying to every kind of arts and designs for decades, even now some people feel fed up with it and started to crticise it, still, in terms of the shapes and ideas that contain so many things and keep in simple, can be fabulous and outstanding. Especially this piece was repertory in live performance in 80s’, but can be fantastic even nowadays.
Little things and ideas could now be totally new for performance. Just depend on how we apply them into our own pieces and if it is reasonable and do mean something that relate to what we want to express or not. At least, for me, a performance is a way that we communicate by using different languages. It is very important to look at what audiences feel and how much they get from us. From Rosas, I leanrt and inspired a lot and make me feel like to narrow down my research more, just like minimalism does!
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Michael Clark Company-Mmm。
A naughty, funny and clever choreographer ON STAGE.
Had a very enjoyable evening with Michael Clark at Barbican Centre.
For me it was not a masterpiece kind of dance, but it was very amusing by all the languages which appeared on stage. From dancers, movements, stage, lightening, costume, music to projection. I could imagine how amazing when this piece first showed in 1992. The important thing is I could feel that he enjoys having fun within his works and himself. And also he got many artists and designers involved and collaborated within his company, tried to give the dance pieces more energy and fresh air.
One of my friends who is a dancer now doing internship in a dance company based in London went with me tonight (and Magda as well), as her “professional” opinion, she didn’t like it. The reason is she thinks that Michael Clark didn’t “choreograph” at all. Those movements just like body excises and basic technique training compositions appeared on stage. But I think that’s the one of the most interesting parts, which is he did not create any new composition but using basic movements (for people who’s not dancers, like me for instance, those “movements” are not as basic as daily actions we have) as one of the languages on stage. Therefore his work had a complete and strong ideal in overall but not only focused on “dance”.
The costumes contained loads of fashion elements indeed, and they are all surprisingly working in his pieces. The shapes, styles fitted what the dance intended to express. The colours were all going with the lightening and stage perfectly. Even in the repertory, which all the dancers were naked with a shape of hand warmer from early 20th century around their hand and “down there” was amazing. How successful on costume design you would ask, and the answer is: Very, even my dancer friend who doesn’t like the performance likes the costume a lot!
Had a very enjoyable evening with Michael Clark at Barbican Centre.
For me it was not a masterpiece kind of dance, but it was very amusing by all the languages which appeared on stage. From dancers, movements, stage, lightening, costume, music to projection. I could imagine how amazing when this piece first showed in 1992. The important thing is I could feel that he enjoys having fun within his works and himself. And also he got many artists and designers involved and collaborated within his company, tried to give the dance pieces more energy and fresh air.
One of my friends who is a dancer now doing internship in a dance company based in London went with me tonight (and Magda as well), as her “professional” opinion, she didn’t like it. The reason is she thinks that Michael Clark didn’t “choreograph” at all. Those movements just like body excises and basic technique training compositions appeared on stage. But I think that’s the one of the most interesting parts, which is he did not create any new composition but using basic movements (for people who’s not dancers, like me for instance, those “movements” are not as basic as daily actions we have) as one of the languages on stage. Therefore his work had a complete and strong ideal in overall but not only focused on “dance”.
The costumes contained loads of fashion elements indeed, and they are all surprisingly working in his pieces. The shapes, styles fitted what the dance intended to express. The colours were all going with the lightening and stage perfectly. Even in the repertory, which all the dancers were naked with a shape of hand warmer from early 20th century around their hand and “down there” was amazing. How successful on costume design you would ask, and the answer is: Very, even my dancer friend who doesn’t like the performance likes the costume a lot!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tutorial with Simon Vincenzi。
It was nice to have tutorial with Simon.
Things seem to have a way out from only in my brain and computer.
I am going to print the images out and start mapping them, see if it’s going to be the route I planned in brain. I know it will definitely change, but it’s still exciting that to discover how these will be changing by visualizing them.
Rough thoughts moving forward:
Took the fiction as a staring point. Taking the vibe of the book, and looking for more female characters from both other fictions and different plays, also looking at some poems and lines which suit the characters and the atmosphere that I adapt from “Grey Souls”. Visualize that by finding paintings and images, and start mapping them on wall to create another kind of mixture story for my performance. Keep it even more simple in a sentence will be:
“The performance will gather many characters from different sources who are all having a grey soul in their own story. ”
Things seem to have a way out from only in my brain and computer.
I am going to print the images out and start mapping them, see if it’s going to be the route I planned in brain. I know it will definitely change, but it’s still exciting that to discover how these will be changing by visualizing them.
Rough thoughts moving forward:
Took the fiction as a staring point. Taking the vibe of the book, and looking for more female characters from both other fictions and different plays, also looking at some poems and lines which suit the characters and the atmosphere that I adapt from “Grey Souls”. Visualize that by finding paintings and images, and start mapping them on wall to create another kind of mixture story for my performance. Keep it even more simple in a sentence will be:
“The performance will gather many characters from different sources who are all having a grey soul in their own story. ”
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Have to Start。
GREY SOULS (Les âmes grises)
Philippe Claudel (French 1962-)
This is ostensibly a detective story, about a crime that is committed in 1917, and solved 20 years later. The location is a small town in Northern France, near V., in the dead of the freezing winter. The war is still being fought in the trenches, within sight and sound of the town, but the men of the town have been spared the slaughter because they are needed in the local factory. One morning a beautiful ten year old girl, one of the three daughters of the innkeeper, is found strangled and dumped in the canal. Suspicion falls on two deserters who are picked up near the town. Their interrogation and sentencing is brutal and swift. Twenty years later, the narrator, a local policeman, puts together what actually happened. On the night the deserters were arrested and interrogated, he was sitting by the side of his dying wife. He believes that justice was not done and wants to set the record straight. But the death of the child was not the only crime committed in the town during those weeks. More than one record has to be set straight. Beautiful, like a fairy story almost, frozen in time, this novel has a hypnotic quality.
Want to use this story as the inspiration and base of my final work.
These two words are very attractive to me, either to separate them or put together. They are both containing sadness and a massive power of being a simple noun. Look through the book, I found the story was not only very gloomy just as the title of the fiction, but also visualized, which I saw there was like a painting on a vast canvas with different tonal grey, and all the characters were in the painting, still and quiet. There was snow all over the painting, and made the colours of characters became thousands of dots on them, just like Suerat’s painting. Beyond the painting there was a shadow as the shape of a top hat cover the painting, changing its brightness with the plot… The all locked in the frame, in the freezing winter.
Grey, the colour, evokes me of London. Varies tones of grey, some is beautiful but some is like taking all the happiness I have got. It is not black or white, but always neat and soft, which you will never notice you are in it.
Souls give me the idea of characters from plays or fictions directly, especially the ones who die, disappear or exist in a spiritual way. Loneliness extremely silent, light, and very feminine.
From here, I am going to have a journey in my own winter wonderland.
Please do tell me if any thing, story, or person has the similar quality of what I just described.
Continuing ......
Philippe Claudel (French 1962-)
This is ostensibly a detective story, about a crime that is committed in 1917, and solved 20 years later. The location is a small town in Northern France, near V., in the dead of the freezing winter. The war is still being fought in the trenches, within sight and sound of the town, but the men of the town have been spared the slaughter because they are needed in the local factory. One morning a beautiful ten year old girl, one of the three daughters of the innkeeper, is found strangled and dumped in the canal. Suspicion falls on two deserters who are picked up near the town. Their interrogation and sentencing is brutal and swift. Twenty years later, the narrator, a local policeman, puts together what actually happened. On the night the deserters were arrested and interrogated, he was sitting by the side of his dying wife. He believes that justice was not done and wants to set the record straight. But the death of the child was not the only crime committed in the town during those weeks. More than one record has to be set straight. Beautiful, like a fairy story almost, frozen in time, this novel has a hypnotic quality.
Want to use this story as the inspiration and base of my final work.
These two words are very attractive to me, either to separate them or put together. They are both containing sadness and a massive power of being a simple noun. Look through the book, I found the story was not only very gloomy just as the title of the fiction, but also visualized, which I saw there was like a painting on a vast canvas with different tonal grey, and all the characters were in the painting, still and quiet. There was snow all over the painting, and made the colours of characters became thousands of dots on them, just like Suerat’s painting. Beyond the painting there was a shadow as the shape of a top hat cover the painting, changing its brightness with the plot… The all locked in the frame, in the freezing winter.
Grey, the colour, evokes me of London. Varies tones of grey, some is beautiful but some is like taking all the happiness I have got. It is not black or white, but always neat and soft, which you will never notice you are in it.
Souls give me the idea of characters from plays or fictions directly, especially the ones who die, disappear or exist in a spiritual way. Loneliness extremely silent, light, and very feminine.
From here, I am going to have a journey in my own winter wonderland.
Please do tell me if any thing, story, or person has the similar quality of what I just described.
Continuing ......
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Stephen Petronio Company。
The strength came through dancers were surprisingly powerful and tense.
Just like the choreographer spoke loud and hard.
Repertory:
Lareigne (1995)
Bud Suite (2006)
Bloom (2006)
From these repertories, I could see the choreographer has some special preferences of compositions. Laregne is full of power, from music to movement. Frankly, I would say it was a bit like a normal dance piece, though could see how amazing the dancers are well trained both in body build and techniques. And I don’t know the meaning of the title of the repertory, maybe that is the reason that I don’t really get what is this all about. The Bud Suite was more interesting to me, still quite strong movements and compositions which started from two male dancers. I saw how relationship goes between lovers through the entire piece. Simple but expressive start, brought me into the next level apart from the pure joy of the beginning of love by four female dancers. Then, came to song with lyrics, which sang about “love affairs”, the compositions emphasized on the feelings of relationships’ affairs: dilemma, struggle, decisions… The composition became messier and messier. For me, the dancers from beginning had roles or characters, but they all turned to describe an abstract status in mind when we are facing different situations in relationships. The late one of the performance was Bloom. It had a live choir, which collaborated with South Bank Centre and created with pupils and teachers from Forest Hill and Sydenham Schools from South London. But the music, compared to the dance, was less interesting to me. In this piece, somehow, I did see a kind of “bloom”, and the atmosphere built up quite nice as well.
Two things I found during the performance or I would say from this company. One is the body texture of the dancers are very much different from the dancers in UK or Europe, according to the performance I have seen. But it did remind me some texture of some dancers in Taiwan, especially from my university. So I am wondering is the different techniques training make that much gap? Or just the way that the choreographer used to affect more than the trainings? I will discover this part more afterwards. Another thing is the costumes from all repertories were very stylish and quite strong and ambitious. And they were all from different designers, so obviously, it was a strong idea from the choreographer. They brought some elements and details of fashion into costumes. For me the Bloom is the best combination in it. Very beautiful shapes and interesting cutting not only just showed of the garment but pretty much related to the theme “bloom”. Also the use of colours was very understated and low-pitched, but represented perfectly without bothering and interrupting the entire piece.
I would not say the performance was great, but I quite enjoyed it and learnt and discovered many things from that. Many inspirations not only from choreographer and also the costumes, and very much from those dancers who have amazing bodies and skills at the same time.
Just like the choreographer spoke loud and hard.
Repertory:
Lareigne (1995)
Bud Suite (2006)
Bloom (2006)
From these repertories, I could see the choreographer has some special preferences of compositions. Laregne is full of power, from music to movement. Frankly, I would say it was a bit like a normal dance piece, though could see how amazing the dancers are well trained both in body build and techniques. And I don’t know the meaning of the title of the repertory, maybe that is the reason that I don’t really get what is this all about. The Bud Suite was more interesting to me, still quite strong movements and compositions which started from two male dancers. I saw how relationship goes between lovers through the entire piece. Simple but expressive start, brought me into the next level apart from the pure joy of the beginning of love by four female dancers. Then, came to song with lyrics, which sang about “love affairs”, the compositions emphasized on the feelings of relationships’ affairs: dilemma, struggle, decisions… The composition became messier and messier. For me, the dancers from beginning had roles or characters, but they all turned to describe an abstract status in mind when we are facing different situations in relationships. The late one of the performance was Bloom. It had a live choir, which collaborated with South Bank Centre and created with pupils and teachers from Forest Hill and Sydenham Schools from South London. But the music, compared to the dance, was less interesting to me. In this piece, somehow, I did see a kind of “bloom”, and the atmosphere built up quite nice as well.
Two things I found during the performance or I would say from this company. One is the body texture of the dancers are very much different from the dancers in UK or Europe, according to the performance I have seen. But it did remind me some texture of some dancers in Taiwan, especially from my university. So I am wondering is the different techniques training make that much gap? Or just the way that the choreographer used to affect more than the trainings? I will discover this part more afterwards. Another thing is the costumes from all repertories were very stylish and quite strong and ambitious. And they were all from different designers, so obviously, it was a strong idea from the choreographer. They brought some elements and details of fashion into costumes. For me the Bloom is the best combination in it. Very beautiful shapes and interesting cutting not only just showed of the garment but pretty much related to the theme “bloom”. Also the use of colours was very understated and low-pitched, but represented perfectly without bothering and interrupting the entire piece.
I would not say the performance was great, but I quite enjoyed it and learnt and discovered many things from that. Many inspirations not only from choreographer and also the costumes, and very much from those dancers who have amazing bodies and skills at the same time.
Friday, October 13, 2006
The Forsythe Company- Three Atmospheric Studies。
How amazing the way Forsythe approaches the political issue through dance.
A world which is violent but mute.
Composition I
It started with a mother speaking out "My son is arrested".
Then, the dancers were dancing. No music, but only the sound of breathing and sometimes dancers hit the floor by hands, which became another music after few minutes. In this part, I felt a very unusual power of the composition of movements and sounds. Every movement was precisely in order, sharp, strong and clean, but looked very messy in visual to give me the sense of battle or war. The sounds helped very much as well, though some of them were cues for the next movement, but it did not push me away from movements.
The dialogues were kind of humorous but black, and also show the sadness and helplessness of a mother who tried very hard to get involved into the situation and made it better, though it was not seemed like the way what she expected. During the conversation of the mother and interpreter there were several interruptions by another dancer’s talking who started to trace the lines across the stage in the middle of the composition. A very strong feeling of alienation which referred to the theory of Bertolt Brecht. From this, the feeling of war came up in Composition I became even more powerful and persuasive adding humanity in. And the plot of Composition II seemed to be clearer.
Composition III
One dancer talked like a presenter or a weatherman. Meanwhile, other dancers appeared with stronger movements than Composition I and the sounds made by the dances, which had been technically enhanced, resounded the din of war. An exaggerated American South accent soldier stared to explain the situation to mother, which was mainly about what happened was in order, that there is no reason for alarm. The layers started building up the atmosphere by every single element used on stage. Finally, the performance ended up at a culmination where the dancers started to lie down on the floor which was like dead bodies in battlefield, the soldier kept talking to mother, and the mother moved strangly, slowly, and no facial experssion but all controlled by the interpreter from Composition II. Lights out.
One of the most interesting and important parts was the sound. It grew and built up steady from Composition I to III. As I mentioned in Composition I nearly silent but only the breathing and few times when dancers hit the floor by hands. Those breathing sounds could be heard frequently in any dance performances, and this was one of using it well without bothering me. Following the second composition, characters began to talk, sounds became voices. And also in this part the use of the sound between characters were nice, especially the logic of the lines between mother and interpreter, of course, the most important interruption speech from the third person on stage. When you almost felt there were two different worlds on stage, one was mother and interpreter and another was the dancer, they suddenly became one conversation. I would not say it was new techniques of using conversation on stage, but it did have effect in this composition. Composition III, the strangest texture of sounds all appeared here through technology. The sounds from the dancers not only mocked perfectly the din of war but also went very well with the movements. The stage, costume, and lightening are very simple, therefore, sounds and movements had been carefully merged together and he tried to made this two elements become one. So the sounds became visible through movements, and the movements turned into acoustic.
Through this piece, I feel Forsythe, who is an American, strongly but tender accusing the war in the Middle East. An artwork (from still pieces to time base media) must have its own viewpoint, no matter how bias it is, as long as we find our best way to explain it. For me, he did, and I would like to say: Well done. He showed the anger but fulfilled with care to human beings, therefore, it was very powerful and the feelings filled all the space in the theatre. I was moved that it left a mark, neither a comma nor a query, but just a genuine mark made me think of war from the very small and private part in my mind, and you will always notice that.
A world which is violent but mute.
Composition I
It started with a mother speaking out "My son is arrested".
Then, the dancers were dancing. No music, but only the sound of breathing and sometimes dancers hit the floor by hands, which became another music after few minutes. In this part, I felt a very unusual power of the composition of movements and sounds. Every movement was precisely in order, sharp, strong and clean, but looked very messy in visual to give me the sense of battle or war. The sounds helped very much as well, though some of them were cues for the next movement, but it did not push me away from movements.
The dialogues were kind of humorous but black, and also show the sadness and helplessness of a mother who tried very hard to get involved into the situation and made it better, though it was not seemed like the way what she expected. During the conversation of the mother and interpreter there were several interruptions by another dancer’s talking who started to trace the lines across the stage in the middle of the composition. A very strong feeling of alienation which referred to the theory of Bertolt Brecht. From this, the feeling of war came up in Composition I became even more powerful and persuasive adding humanity in. And the plot of Composition II seemed to be clearer.
Composition III
One dancer talked like a presenter or a weatherman. Meanwhile, other dancers appeared with stronger movements than Composition I and the sounds made by the dances, which had been technically enhanced, resounded the din of war. An exaggerated American South accent soldier stared to explain the situation to mother, which was mainly about what happened was in order, that there is no reason for alarm. The layers started building up the atmosphere by every single element used on stage. Finally, the performance ended up at a culmination where the dancers started to lie down on the floor which was like dead bodies in battlefield, the soldier kept talking to mother, and the mother moved strangly, slowly, and no facial experssion but all controlled by the interpreter from Composition II. Lights out.
One of the most interesting and important parts was the sound. It grew and built up steady from Composition I to III. As I mentioned in Composition I nearly silent but only the breathing and few times when dancers hit the floor by hands. Those breathing sounds could be heard frequently in any dance performances, and this was one of using it well without bothering me. Following the second composition, characters began to talk, sounds became voices. And also in this part the use of the sound between characters were nice, especially the logic of the lines between mother and interpreter, of course, the most important interruption speech from the third person on stage. When you almost felt there were two different worlds on stage, one was mother and interpreter and another was the dancer, they suddenly became one conversation. I would not say it was new techniques of using conversation on stage, but it did have effect in this composition. Composition III, the strangest texture of sounds all appeared here through technology. The sounds from the dancers not only mocked perfectly the din of war but also went very well with the movements. The stage, costume, and lightening are very simple, therefore, sounds and movements had been carefully merged together and he tried to made this two elements become one. So the sounds became visible through movements, and the movements turned into acoustic.
Through this piece, I feel Forsythe, who is an American, strongly but tender accusing the war in the Middle East. An artwork (from still pieces to time base media) must have its own viewpoint, no matter how bias it is, as long as we find our best way to explain it. For me, he did, and I would like to say: Well done. He showed the anger but fulfilled with care to human beings, therefore, it was very powerful and the feelings filled all the space in the theatre. I was moved that it left a mark, neither a comma nor a query, but just a genuine mark made me think of war from the very small and private part in my mind, and you will always notice that.
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