Summary

• Overall Themes:

  1. Reflect the swinging 60’s
  2. Courtship rituals
  3. Gender roles – in particular male chauvinism and the battle of the sexes – sexual politics.
  4. Celebration of music – rolling stones
• Repeated “Rooster” gestures are evident throughout, establishing the animalistic quality of the male dancers.
• The opening takes place in silence then follows the flow of the music using direct correlation.
• The section uses solo, duet and group phrasing
• The overall effect of the section is a humorous one.
• The entrance of the woman appears to disrupt the status quo of the male “flock”.
• The title and lyrics set a farmyard scene. The male dancers use movements that are characteristic of a rooster and human. These movements include strutting, call, preening, head movements, arm, leg and hip movements. These movements are repeated and abstracted throughout other sessions to create unity.
• The dance opens with the five men stationary on stage. The man downstage right comes to life and moves into the spotlight with the start of the music. His initial dance phrase is the ‘Rooster strut’. Turning to face the audience he appears to sleek down his hair and adjust his tie.
• On the first appearance of the words ‘dogs begin to bark’ the dancer introduces the wing flapping chicken jump; then on the repeat of these words he acts like a dog, putting his hands up as though they were paws, a dog begging, eager to please, and then he rolls over onto his back, limbs in the air.
• He leaves stage right as a woman enters upstage and approaches the two men at the back who one by one reject her.
• There are obvious parallels between the behaviour of the birds and humans. Some male birds are brightly coloured and go through mating rituals to attract the female. Human behaviour also has its dating and mating routines. He is aiming to be noticed, break away from other males and attract the females.
• As the female enters she has a strong presence. There is a focus on appearance and consciousness. This behaviour is evident at parties and clubs or other events where males and females congregate. Bruce capitalises on this behaviour in this dance and explores a range of M & F relationships. What is significant about the male costumes?
• There are a number of contradictions if we stick to a literal farmyard interpretation. All is not right in the farmyard. The lyrics state “….. rooster too lazy to crow ….” “…. In the farmyard upset in every way ….” Because the little red rooster is gone. Visually, things are not right either, Bruce’s farmyard is male dominated and the female approaches the male.
• The set has no visual cues. We only see the dancers in a pool of light surrounded by darkness. Does the space represent a farmyard, a club, the community or someplace else?
• The set has no visual cues. We only see the dancers in a pool of light surrounded by darkness. Does the space represent a farmyard, a club, the community or someplace else?