GCSE Dance Artificial Things Revision Notes

Company: Stopgap Dance Company

Choreographer: Lucy Bennet

Dance Style: Inclusive Contemporary

Dancers: 2 Male 2 Female (Disabled Male- Dave, Disabled Female- Laura, Able Female- Amy).

Performance Environment: Proscenium Arch

Structure:

• Artificial Things has three scenes.

• Scene three is the aftermath of scene 2, where the characters are more reflective.

• It opens with 2 Duets.

1). The first is ground-based contact work involving the dismantled wheelchair.

2). The second duet was influenced by the dancers improvising around the idea of leading and following.

• The group the unites and use the ground-based contact work to stay connected whilst manipulating the dismantled wheelchair.

• The Trio of Amy, David and Laura begins to find harmony with one and other and Laura's wheelchair. Following Laura’s Lead they explore the movement of the chair, and each dancer takes responsibility for the wheelchair.

• The trio then gathers around Dave, who has been watching from the Vatreen and they re-enact the portrait and family photos influenced by the paintings of Djurovic. 

  • They find stillness as if frozen in the snowglobe.

• Dave then leaves the group with the music change to perform his solo focusing on facial expressions and physical storytelling.

• Dave returns to the group and is frozen in time with the rest of the dancers.

Stimulus:

• Snow Globe and a Snow Covered Urban Landscape with an isolated figure perched on a collapsed wheelchair. This figure can be observed from afar.

• Paintings by Gordan Djurovic also influenced the design, costume and choreographic images within all scenes.

• The dancers’ personal experiences were also inspiration for the choreographic tasks.

Choreographic Approach:

• Lucy…