Artificial Things

• choreographer and company 


  Lucy Bennet for Stop Gap Dance Company
• movement style 


  contemporary dance which is inclusive of dancers' range of abilities
• stimulus 


  a snow covered landscape with an isolated figure perched on a collapsed wheelchair

  the figure is being observed from afar as if through a snow globe

  the dancers' personal experiences

  the paintings of Djuroriv and family portraits
• choreographic intention


  . moving from life's limitations and loss towards resolution, acceptance and harmony

  . the idea of being constricted in a snow globe shows these limitations
• dancers 


  Dave, David, Amy, Laura
• structure 


  . the piece studied for GCSE dance is scene three of a longer piece

  . divided into sections giving it an episodic structure
• performance environment 


  proscenium arch
• aural setting 


  . the music changes at the beginning of every section, this helps to show the episodic structure

  . section 1 - we hear the sound of wind which suggests winter and the stimulus of the snow globe

  . in tumbling - we can hear the music becomes a faster tempo and we can hear sleigh bells which gives us the feel of winter linking to the stimulus of the snow globe

  . piano notes are played and the strings inside the piano are strummed, this creates a calm mood

  . we can hear clock chimes which can represent time passing and how overtime they can overcome life's limitations
• aural setting (pt2) 


  . clock chimes - also links to the family photographs that the dancers create as they move from one group position to another, their change of pose coincides with the chimes

  . in Dave's solo, we can hear the song "the sunshine of your smile" being sung by a male voice. This is to represent Dave's dad singing in the clubs and the choreographic intention of the dancers' personal experiences
• set/ props 


  . a wooden frame around the edge of the stage which can represent looking in on something, as you would look into a snow globe, and the idea of them being inside a snow globe is a stimulus for the piece

  . the backdrop is painted to look like paint is dripping down it representing one of Djurovic's paintings which is one of the choreographic intentions

  . there is a wooden vitrine which is full of paper snow, this helps to show the stimulus of a snow globe
• set/ props (pt2)


  . there is a dismantled wheelchair on the stage which the dancers reassemble throughout the dance, this helps to show the dancers helping each other overcome life's limitations

  . there are many props on the stage which help to show an artificial world, e.g: a mannequin, stools, vitrine

  . there is paper snow from the vitrine over the floor which shows the idea of winter and the snow in a snow globe, the dancers create patterns in the snow using their bodies and the wheels of the wheelchair throughout the dance
• lighting 


  . white spotlight DSR in section 1 (duet between Laura and Dave) highlights the dancers who are downstage right

  . in sections where the dancers move around the stage space the lighting opens up to a wash rather than a spot

  . the colour (white in section 1) creates a cold environment to represent the snow globe which was the stimulus of the piece

  . the amber side lights sculpt the dancers' bodies allowing them to be seen as 3 dimensional
• lighting (pt2) 


  . the blue spotlight in Dave's solo could be seen to replicate the spotlight his dad would have performed in singing in the clubs, this links to the movements performed by Dave such as gesturing and mouthing the words of the song

  . the lights turn to a deep amber at the end as the dancers hold stillness, identifying the end
• costume 


  . the dancers wear everyday clothes to give the piece a sense of reality showing the dancers representing people

  . the colours of the costumes are pale blues and greens which gives the dancers a washed out, ghostly feel

  . they are gender specific, for example Amy wears a dress and David wears trousers - they all have individual costumes

  . the costumes all allow for ease of movement

  . the costumes are contemporary showing a present day setting

  . the costumes have a pattern which appears to be colour dripping down the garment, reflective of Djuoriv's painting and backdrop