Robert North

• Robert North

  1980-1986
• Repertoire

  • Death and The Maiden 1980
  • Lonely Town Lonely Street 1981
• Death and The Maiden

  • Choreographed by North
  • Movement - death girls cover eyes and ears showing death is blinding and deafening her, she shivers, showing death is cold and harsh, gestural and pedestrian movements - girl has hands on her head as if to say 'stop' whilst Death moves in circles around her, surrounding her
  • Aural - smaller orchestral piece, Schubert's quartet 1824 which portrays a conversation and interaction between Death and The Maiden, music dictates structure of steps
  • Visual - Death is personified by a man, Death and maiden as they have the closest relationship to death, rest of cast wear muted greys and beiges
• Lonely Town Lonely Street

  • Choreographed by North
  • Movement - Jazz style, 7 sections of dance incorporating jazz and ballet, sections see a man who is lonely and receives no attention in a busy city, a couple where a man is trying to get a woman to love him, to the man leaving, pathways explored - dancers move around the space in a grid like formation showing the 'blocks' of houses and how an urban city is depicted by night
  • Aural - The music was popular album by Bill Withers - contrast to traditional aural used in DATM
  • Visual - Depicts an urban city - fire escape stair cases, neon street signs, general street things such as bins and benches, scaffolding, costume was casual symbolic of universal experience
• Development of company

  • Focused on improvement of musicality, dramatic quality and technicality
  • Make dance more watchable
  • Focused on the choreography of North, Bruce (associate choreographer) and Alston
  • Making new works
  • Celebrated British choreographers - including Michael Clark who was seen as the 'punk' choreographer
  • North continued Chesworths importance of education by taking exerts of his work LTLS and showing it in schools to emphasise the eclectic styles of movement Rambert was now portraying
  • Expanded styles of dancing (jazz, flamenco)
• Characteristics

  • Strong connection to aural setting
  • Abstract linear
  • Music visualisation