LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• To gain knowledge and understanding of Section C
  of the written examination.
• To analyse the use of costume in Bird Song and
  four other professional works.

2
Homework

• Create a mind map that will act as a revision
  guide/ essay plan for the Section C costume
  essay.
• Practise writing your essay on costume
• Revise in preparation for writing an essay on
  costume in your next lesson.

3
SECTION C

• ESSAY QUESTION 20 MARKS
• FOCUS COSTUME

4
POSSIBLE ESSAY QUESTIONS

• Explain the ways in which the use of costume can
  contribute to the understanding and appreciation
  of dance works. You should make reference to
  Bird Song and four other Dance works in your
  answer.
• What should be considered when choosing costumes
  for dance works? You should make reference to
  Bird Song and four other Dance works in your
  answer.

5
The four professional works

• PETROUCHKA (1911)CHOREOGRAPHED BY MICHEL
  FOKINE
• CROSS CHANNEL (1992)CHOREOGRAPHED BY LEA
  ANDERSON
• GHOST DANCES (1981)CHOREOGRAPHED BY CHRISTOPHER
  BRUCE
• SWANSONG (1987)CHOREOGRAPHED BY CHRISTOPHER
  BRUCE

6
HOW DOES COSTUME CONTRIBUTE?

• REALISTIC COSTUME
• DEPICTS GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION
• COSTUME RESTRICTS MOVEMENT
• DEPICTS AN EVENT/OCCASION
• ABSRACT COSTUME
• EMPHASISES BODY ALIGNMENT
• EMPHASISES AND HIGHLIGHTS CERTAIN MOVEMENT
• DEPICTS SETTING/LOCATION
• DEPICTS ERA
• DISTINGUISHES GENDER
• TO ENHANCE FLOW
• CONTRASTING COSTUME TO DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT
  CHARACTERS
• USE OF COLOUR
• USE OF MASKS
• PORTRAYS THE STYLE
• TO DISTINGUISH SOCIAL STATUS
• USING THE COSTUME WITHIN THE CHOREOGRAPHY

7
BIRD SONG (2004) CHOREOGRAPHED BY SIOBHAN
DAVIES COSTUME DESIGN
TYPE OF COSTUME BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COSTUME AND HOW IT PORTRAYS DANCE IDEA OR AFFECTS CHOREOGRAPHY
ABSRACT COSTUME Costume is simple and has no meaning. Davies does not want the costume to distract from the movement content
EMPHASISES BODY ALIGNMENT Costume defines the shape of the dancers bodies emphasising body alignment.
EMPHASISES AND HIGHLIGHTS CERTAIN MOVEMENTS Davies deliberately chose vests and sleeveless tunics to emphasise and highlight arm gestures.
8
PETROUCHKA (1911)CHOREOGRAPHED BY MICHEL FOKINE

• Stimulus This ballet is set in Admiralty
  Square, St Petersburg, Russia during the Butter
  Week Fair in 1830. A Magician brings three
  puppets to life and the dance explores their
  relationship with each other.

9
PETROUCHKA (1911)CHOREOGRAPHED BY MICHEL
FOKINECOSTUME DESIGN
TYPE OF COSTUME BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COSTUME AND HOW IT PORTRAYS DANCE IDEA OR AFFECTS CHOREOGRAPHY
REALISTIC COSTUME Costume is realistic, typical of Russian traditional dress in 1830.
DEPICTS GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION Detailed, textured costume has lots of layers depicting geographic location as it reflects the cold Russian climate
COSTUME RESTRICTS MOVEMENT Lots of layers make the costume heavy therefore restricting movement.
DEPICTS AN EVENT/OCCASION Costume depicts an event The Butter Week Fair. The celebratory occasion is reflected in the traditional, elaborate, smart costume.
10
CROSS CHANNEL (1992)CHOREOGRAPHED BY LEA
ANDERSON

• Stimulus This Dance is about a journey from
  London to Calais across the channel. The Dance is
  filmed on location.

11
CROSS CHANNEL (1992)CHOREOGRAPHED BY LEA
ANDERSONCOSTUME DESIGN
TYPE OF COSTUME BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COSTUME AND HOW IT PORTRAYS DANCE IDEA OR AFFECTS CHOREOGRAPHY
DEPICTS SETTING/LOCATION Anderson associated the dancers costume with leisure time and work. The Men wore cycling outfits when cycling to Dover and orange boiler suits when leading cars onto the ferry. The women wore swimming costumes in the beach scenes.
DEPICTS ERA Anderson depicts the 1950s through the womens dresses and bathing suits which are clearly a recognition of fashion in this era.
DISTINGUISHES GENDER The costumes are stereotypical the men wear suits to show masculinity and the women wear dresses to show femininity.
TO ENHANCE FLOW The dresses worn by the women in the corridor motif add flow to the movements when the dancers are turning
12
SWANSONG (1987)CHOREOGRAPHED BY CHRISTOPHER
BRUCE

• Stimulus This dance is based on the Chilean
  situation in the 1970,s where General Pinochets
  regime was responsible for the murder and torture
  of thousands of innocent people. The dance is a
  trio, two dancers represent the Pinochet guards
  and the other dancer is their victim. Throughout
  the dance the guards intimidate and interrogate
  the innocent victim.

13
SWANSONG (1987)CHOREOGRAPHED BY CHRISTOPHER
BRUCECOSTUME DESIGN
TYPE OF COSTUME BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COSTUME AND HOW IT PORTRAYS DANCE IDEA OR AFFECTS CHOREOGRAPHY
CONTRASTING COSTUME TO DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT CHARACTERS Bruce uses the costume to distinguish characters. The military style uniform defines the guards and the civilian, casual everyday clothes of pink T-shirt and jeans show the victim.
USE OF COLOUR The use of colour is important as the audience associates green/khaki with the military
14
GHOST DANCES (1981)CHOREOGRAPHED BY
CHRISTOPHER BRUCE

• Stimulus This Dance is also based on the Chilean
  situation in the 1970,s.There are three ghosts
  who represent the Pinochet regime and the other
  dancers represent the innocent villagers.

15
GHOST DANCES (1981)CHOREOGRAPHED BY
CHRISTOPHER BRUCECOSTUME DESIGN
TYPE OF COSTUME BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF COSTUME AND HOW IT PORTRAYS DANCE IDEA OR AFFECTS CHOREOGRAPHY
USE OF MASKS The three ghosts wear masks. The skull masks have hollow eyes, no flesh and exaggerated teeth. The masks are used to enhance the costume and make more impact, The long straggling hair emphasises the jerky isolated head movement. Bruce uses masks to represent death and the Pinochet regime.
PORTRAYS THE STYLE The use of skirt from side to side also emphasises the folk dance style.
TO DISTINGUISH SOCIAL STATUS The different costume of the people show different social classes the rich people wear suits the poor people wear rags.
USING THE COSTUME WITHIN THE CHOREOGRAPHY The women swish their skirts from side to side. The flowing material of the skirt really helps emphasise the movement content.