A Look Into My Chosen Practitioner (3)

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"Shadows"
I have chosen the choreographer Christopher Bruce as an inspiration for the style of movement I want in my piece. Bruce uses a mixture of ballet and contemporary in his movement. He emphasises the contemporary side of his style with the use of lower back and more grounded positions such as plies and floorwork. However, he uses the long lines and high extensions used in ballet technique in order to complement the grounded levels. 

"Ghost Dances" Rambert
 I was initially attracted to Christopher       Bruce's style when watching the  piece,         "Shadows"  performed by Phoenix Dance Theatre. I noticed the use of mixture between low level lunges and floorwork, as well as high   energy travelling movements. I also saw that through his choreography,   he is able to tell a story, and is able to show distraught and fear through   the use of arm and leg gestures. In the same way, I want to be able to   incorporate his technique of contrasting grounded and high energy   movements in my piece in order to convey my chorographic intent of violence and trying to create peace.

I have watched a range of different videos and read websites which portray Bruce's technique. I have found that he uses lots of repetition throughout his choreography in a range of different ways in order to portray the emotion and the overall message of the piece. It has inspired me to think about certain motifs that I can repeat throughout my dance such as reaching arm gestures or strong movements to represent oppression or maybe the fight for peace. I have learnt that by repeating movements, it helps them to stand out more to the audience and therefore create more of an impact. This will also help me to be more mindful in the creative process when choreographing motifs that show my stimulus.


Ghost Dances by Christopher Bruce Teachers’ Notes. (n.d.). Available at: https://rambert.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ghost-Dances-Teachers-Notes-1.pdf [Accessed 21 Nov. 2023].

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