I have chosen to study the piece, Ghost Dances, by Christopher Bruce. This piece is about people who have died, re-enacting specific moments in their lives. Bruce has used contrast between dancers, male dancers having more restricted upper body movements whereas the women have more of a free upper body. The context of Ghost Dances is based on powerful, political statement of human rights and how there are contrasting ways in which people live their lives, many suffering. This is shown through the contrast used with dancers. In the piece, some are re-living the happiest moments in their life before they die, whilst others are living the inhumane treatment that many occur around the world.
In this piece, Christopher Bruce works closely with the music in order to help portray the stimulus. He uses Folk music in the piece. Traditionally, "folk music fuelled both cultural spring and protest" (Foyer, 2015), and Bruce wanting the "wonderful music" to show people caught in "unnecessary violence" (Foyer 2015). Evidently, Bruce wanted to highlight how others were being effected by the inequality from political oppression through his choice of music, complementing his style of dance, using neoclassical movements. It is thought that folk music is the, "musical voice of resilience and resistance" (Newman, 2017). Bruce wanted to spread a message through the close relationship between music and movement, but through using more abstract ideas like the dead looking back on their lives.
I also want to use my music as a way of portraying the protest against violence in war torn countries. The music I have chosen can help to show how peace should be incorporated into a society that is based on oppression. It does this by starting with strong dynamics, but through time incorporates more softer tones. I have complemented my music by incorporating similar dynamics in movements to portray my stimulus. Ghost dances is based on looking back on the past, whereas I want my piece to be more about protesting for peace in the present, amongst the violence.
Foyer, M. (2015). Christopher Bruce’s Ghost Dances. [online] Playbill. Available at: https://www.playbill.com/article/christopher-bruces-ghost-dances.
Ghost Dances by Christopher Bruce Study Notes. (n.d.). Available at: https://www.rambert.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Ghost-Dances-Study-Notes-1.pdf#:~:text=Ghost%20Dances%20is%20a%20one-act%20dance%20work%20in [Accessed 4 Nov. 2023
Newman, M. (2017). The Times They Are A-Changin’: Is Folk Music Still Relevant for the Resistance? [online] Billboard. Available at: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/folk-music-protest-politics-resistance-7694438/.
the Guardian. (2020). Take this waltz: Christopher Bruce on a life in dance and his Leonard Cohen dream. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2020/jul/29/dance-christopher-bruce-dream.
Christopher Bruce invented his own style of folk dance, based on traditional folk dance. He also combined both his own classical training, with Graham-based modern technique. Bruce used movements that demonstrated natural behaviours, for example sighing, heavy breathing and walking. He works closely with the music when choreographing this piece, and gives an essence of simplicity in his choreography. For example, repeating certain phrases throughout the piece, such as completely relaxed upper body in lunges and ripples of the body to show suffering and perhaps exhaustion.
In the beginning, I wanted to create a piece that would reflect the violence and anguish that exists in the world and trying to find peace amongst the violence through movement. I wanted to reflect artwork, The Flower Thrower by Banksy through movement by using the contrast that is used in the artwork. For example, having shifts of different dynamics. I think this has also helped to create an unsettling tone to the piece as it shifts often, helping to create an atmosphere of war and the unsettling nature that it brings. Through the creative process, I have been going back to these initial thoughts throughout the process, so the piece is well-rounded. I think in future, I will focus more on the emotions that are brought out from the artwork and transfer them into my piece, instead of focusing on the dynamic contrast. This would overall help to reflect the more heartbreak and trauma that can come from war. Now I am at the end of this process, I have found the importance of ref...
I am reviewing the work "Rooster" by Christopher Bruce. This piece is a "celebratory work" (http://palace.co, 2017) , where "One of the main themes is the male chauvinism." (http ://palace.co, 2017) . It is a ver y light-hearted and fun piece , where the movements represent the "attitudes of the times" ( http://palace.co , 2017). The movement in the piece is reflecting the 'swing' style that was popular in the 1960s. This also complements the music, with the famous band, The Rolling Stones . There's a repetition of jazz techniques and typical 'disco' moves which help to bring the fun. In Rooster, the men energetically perform the 'rooster strut', which is a bird-like movement. There is also the use of jumps, which are done to mimic the lyrics in the songs. He wanted to capture the audience with the specific neck jut forward to highlight the idea of men showing off in society . There's a difference in th...
How did Christopher Bruce create the choreography for Ghost Dances?
ReplyDeleteChristopher Bruce invented his own style of folk dance, based on traditional folk dance. He also combined both his own classical training, with Graham-based modern technique. Bruce used movements that demonstrated natural behaviours, for example sighing, heavy breathing and walking. He works closely with the music when choreographing this piece, and gives an essence of simplicity in his choreography. For example, repeating certain phrases throughout the piece, such as completely relaxed upper body in lunges and ripples of the body to show suffering and perhaps exhaustion.
Delete