Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
Skills of Analysis
Components
Movement, spatial elements, dynamic elements
Section 1 - silence - unison - introduces all motifs
Intent = convey contentedness of people to the land, rural life, hardship, pride of
Catalonian people. Theme/subject matter is established. Duato
establishes the relationship of the people (community) to the land, the
earth is one with them. Underlying religious theme shown as they pray for
rain/good crop.
Movement = level to the ground = worshipping, tense, high release/arms and
chest projected upward = praying for rain/good crop, contracted
lines/hunched over/curved torso = hard work - weary, bent knees,
angular arm lines, swinging-labouring, feet stamping, flexed hands,
brushing, falling, collapse over legs, axial movement, wrapping arms,
large movements = scarcity and vastness of land, body percussion,
abstracted farm movements - ploughing and sowing represent had
rural life and connectedness to land, turns, travelling steps, circular
actions and grounded motif repeated
Space = medium to low levels with glimpses of high level - showing religious
gesture, circular shapes and pathways, direction of movement in space
changes constantly, facing the back, downward focus contrasted with high
release, upward focus followed by downward collapse, very repetitious,
moved as a tight group formation, they depend on each other, they are as
one - one community/family - united by a common goal and cause
Dynamics = lots of sustained with bursts of percussion, vibratory running,
swaying/swinging, collapse, dropping quality, heavy and bound,
lethargy, suspension of arms, whole body and movement is moved
firmly and then strongly, energy is bound, sudden and sustained
rhythmic timing as they jump up and down
Time = all working together
Opening phrase = facing back left diagonal - sudden jump to feet where hands
fling, are caught behind the back and then open with a pressing quality across
the back of the legs - very restricted feel, open up and release body to sky then
slow plies to ground and go into a bowing type position, then sitting on legs
circular release of upper body - repeated again to front right diagonal and then
first half to front left diagonal
Section 2 - all males (in section 2 and 3 more traditional/gestural movements,
humble and simple actions convey the traditional roles of men
and women sharing the hardship and suffering and in turn
coping with their plight)
Intent = depict the hard labour of the men within the community
Movement = lifts but bound, aggressive (contrast to heaviness of first section),
vigorous and weight bearing movements, runs, turns, folk dance
(stamps and claps) - celebration of identity, large actions,
incorporating whole body
Space = linear diagonal position of dancers in the space, large general space,
low to medium levels with high used in lifts but you can see they are
bound/restricted, travelling and facing sideways and back, circular arm
pathways, linear floor patterns moving across the stage back and forth
Dynamics = collapse, direct percussive, gashing, indirect slashing, indirect
swinging, whipping, vibratory (little), flicking, throwing, firm and
strong, explosive, aggressive, elements of Spanish folk dance as the
male dancers clap and stamp on the ground
Time = regular use of time in locomotor movement, accented movements as
well, canons
Movement example = use each other to create farming elements and use the
strength of each other - work of each other
Section 3 - solo woman
Intent = womens work shown through sweeping - sowing seeds, emotive
response, portrays heartache but must go on
Movement = turns, convulsions, repetition, literal movements (weeping, crying,
ploughing), reaching, twisting, fisted hands, bash hands on floor (hope
is lost), wrapping, jumping, intertwining of arms, hip rotations, linear
and circular shapes
Space = repetitious back and forth pathways, mainly grounded - medium level,
large kinaesphere with reaching actions, uses circular pathway of hands,
torso isolation (wavering pathway), diagonal pathways on floor, direction
mainly back and side, when facing front she covers and then stands up in
pride
Dynamics = swinging, pulsing, sudden stillness (time related), suspended,
sustained, collapse
Section 4 - everyone (women = supportive role and more emotional, men =
labourers doing work)
Intent = working together as a community, praying for rain, common goal spiritual in nature - looking to God
Movement = scooping of arms, reaching, extensions of legs (kicks), fan kicks
(especially in lifts), angular arms shapes, open vs close shapes,
repetition, canons, bent runs, contracted, shuffling, stamps, cupped
hands, turns, leaps, ploughing, flexed feet, axial movement,
compressed shapes, rippling in torso represents despair and heartache
as nothing has come to fruition, lifts
Space = locomotes forward and back, linear floor pathways (side to side),
angular arm and leg pathways, circular body movement, diagonal
formation, linear criss-crossing, circular arm pathways, large general
space, linear spatial formation, partner work (dance around eachother),
high levels (reaching and lifts), work as a whole group
Dynamics = collapse, sustained, percussive - heavy stamping, firm, forceful,
darting within the space, weight bearing, swinging, scooping,
resistance in lift, direct use of space, explosive and bound energy
Section 5 - Duo of two women
Relationships with dancers - turns and lifts are dominant movements in Jardi
Tancat - often they happen together as couples move
across the stage
- wavy lines are seen as couples lift, turn and roll around
each other
- pas de deux = traditional society
- role of male = supporting, lifting masculine role
- female = nurtutring, comforting, feminine role
- partners = working together
- use of canon reinforced repetition of daily grind and
couples following each other, generation to generation,
regular roles, following a common goal in community,
community depends on land
Direction - showed images of farm life (digging, ploughing etc) enhancing intent
of work
- direction of focus - downward = earth/hardship/connection to land
- upward = faith/praying for rain
- repetitious use of left to right reinforces the narrative of the work,
ploughing, sowing, natural elements such as blowing breezes, the land
(such as evident in aerial vies of farmed land)
Shapes - use of motifs to clearly convey narrative and reinforce the development
of the narrative throughout the Work - engaging because these shapes are
readily identifiable by audiences
- complimentary shapes used to represent unity and harmony within the
group, may also represent exhaustion
- symmetry/asymmetry - conveys equality - same gender dance together
use symmetrical shapes = equality - opposite gender use asymmetrical
shapes = defines gender roles, vulnerability
- curved shapes and body lines used to represent humbleness and creates
images of hardship/peasantry
- representational shapes used to convey domestic chores and religion
- constricted/bound shapes directed to the ground through contractions and
plies in deep second usually followed by high release, upwards shape
directed to God
Levels - contrast between them
- low/mid = relationship to land
- high = faith and prayer for rain
Floor Patterns - linear (side to side) when crossing space =
sowing/planting/harvesting crop
- diagonal floor patterns
Spatial Pathways - curved pathways are dominant, arms circle together, feet
draw wide arcs in space as they travel in space and on stage
- circular/winding pathways seen throughout work convey
continual movement, repetition of daily life, daily grind, mundane
(never ending), continuous work, the cycle of life
Stage Space - depicts an enclosed garden as lines of sticks provides a physical as
well as a visual boundary to the space
Dimension - is contrasted - large/expanded movements = scarcity of land
Aural elements
- Maria Del Mar Bonet has a warmth and passionate elegance in her voice.
- In 1981 she recorded Jardi Tancart
- The music forms the basis to the piece
- The music reflects the Spanish identity
- The song is based on poems of love and struggles of couples trying to scratch a
living from a barren earth.
- In the songs the Spaniards direct a supplication to God
- The translation of the Catalonian lyrics include references to: time, mourning,
love, passion, ocean, waves and wind
Section 1 = Silence
Section 2 = Gathering, risky, me fellows, hang on
Section 3 = Burning, love, drank
Section 4 = Moon, field, mountain, marriage
Section 5 = Beads of sweat, scalded, no bean seeds
Section 6 = ocean, colour of sea vs colour of land, symbolises the longing they
dont have, the woman in the song flourishes in the sea where the Catalonians
cant enjoy
Dancers
- Both men and women danced bare foot
- Men wore simple trousers and shirts
- Women wore long, plain dresses
- Warm earth colours
- Represent peasant clothes
- Couples, trios, unison, solo
- Couples keep in contact with each other as they dance around each other depend on each other
Lift movement = the female dancer wraps her body around the males torso as
he performs a weighted turning step that locomotes across the
front of the stage. The shift from a light, fluidquality to this heavy
lifting communicates the struggle and impact of hardship on the
Catalonians personal relationships.
Setting and environment
- Desolate and irregular wooden stakes surround and define the stage space
- Define the performance area and enhance the intent of the harsh land farmed
by the people who belong to it
- Warm lighting design, added with the costumes and set let you almost feel the
heat and drought
Skills of Analysis
Organising the Movement
Motif, phrase, motif into phrase
Motifs
- Reaching up, looking up - faith, praying for a good crop/rain, despair, hope also manipulated to reach to the ground, indicating the need for rain, cupping to
drink water and reaching to the audience, indicating desperation
- Hunched/slumped over back, pull of gravity, low to the ground, focus down,
hands behind back, physical burden of the body, crouching over others hardship, working on the land
- Ploughing motif - scooping/digging, showing working on the land - Consists of
flexed arm bent at elbow resting on side or back of chest, other arm outstretched
and flexed at wrist = varied a lot, but always shows gestures of farming activities
- Circular motion - cyclical, ongoing, continuous flow of movement, never ending.
Combining all body parts, working in and out, daily life. Spatial pathways, floor
patterns, circular patterns. No start and end.
The motifs are all interrelated and developed into phrases, driving the phrases.
Motifs establish the narrative as the work progresses.
Skills of Analysis
Organising the Dance
- The whole work is cyclical = it never stops
- The cycle is the cycle of their lives - daily life cycle
- Duato is trying to say that despite what they face, they will fight and survive
and be rejuvenated
- The Work can be identified as having a Narrative formal structure - it loosely
portrays a chronological day in the life of 3 couples that are occupied with the
sowing, planting and threshing of the barren Catalonian land
- They grieve about the lack of rain but try to keep high spirits in spite of this
- Desperately but proudly they continue their work, which is translated into
dynamic and expressive, yet wonderfully nave piece of dance
Repetition
- Repetition is used in Jardi Tancart to reinforce the concept and enhance unity
e.g motifs
- Use of canons to emphasise intent
Movement example = slashing aggressive movement done by men in section
two repeated in last section by women - same movement with same meaning but
different dynamic and emotion as women perform it
Variation and Contrast
- Variation leads to contrast
- Contrast of the journey of the day - starts of strong and linear to show work,
towards the end is more emotional - a reflection of their hard labour
- Gender - working role and emotional role
- Relationships
- Motifs
- Music helps to provide the variation and contrast in the performance
- Dancers are driven by the music, strong dynamics in the music reflect and
dictate strong movements in the dancing.
- Variation comes from themes - canon, partnering, unison
- Duato uses the quality of her voice and the accents of the words and notes she
sings to emphasise certain movements, motifs and gestures in the dance.
Formal Structure
- Has a narrative formal structure
- A story about the Catalonian people and each section of the work contributes to
the narrative of their experiences as they live and work on the land. Light rises in
the opening and fades at the end - a days work
Sequencing
- phrases = movement within the section - help to reveal emotion relevant to the
context of the work - gradually reveal intent to audience that develops over the
duration of the dance
- phrases are logical as they are showing a cyclical daily structure
- sections show narrative
- starts and ends the same way - wake up, work, go to bed - light rises in the
opening and fades at the end - a days work
Transitions
- Transitions are in silence - purpose of this is to create a significant introduction
of each new theme or idea as the next phrase begins
- This confronts the audience with a sense of uncertainty and anticipation in the
brief moment before the accompaniment commences again, evoking genuine
emotion within the viewer and sparks a sense of intrigue, drawing them deeper
into the performance as they want to know what will happen next
- Duato uses pedestrian movements to move the dancers around the space,
displaying the efficiency and telluric nature of the Catalan people
- The music is also used as a link
Movement example = at the end of movement section four. All six dancers
shuffle frantically downstage and continue to sharply stand in unison to an
upright position with their focus out towards the audience. The transitional
movement is extremely pedestrian; the dancers simple stand, stare then turn
away slowly. The straightforwardness in conjunction with the fact that this is
performed in perfect unison with no musical accompaniment reminds the
audience that they are looking at simple life of an everyday family.
Unity
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Skills of Analysis
Interpretation
Context
- Is what is used to create intent
- Context is the meaning of the work and Duatos influences affected the context
of Jardi Tancat.
- It is the cultural, historical, personal and social background and gives the basis
of the movement Duato uses for his idea.
Cultural = Spanish identity
- Latin and folk traditions of his home country, Spain
- Work reflects Mediterranean way of seeing life and movement
- Many cultures went through Spain and left an influence - Greek, Tunisian, West
African, Jewish - these all influenced his culture and therefore his Work
- Work created in a style that arises from his culture
- His themes celebrate a Spanish identity and he seeks to reveal the diversity of
that identity
- Parched earth and rural landscape of Spain and the peasant way of life
influenced Jardi Tancart
- Peasants are attached to the land and their roots - suffer from the harshness of
the climate and lack of rain
- Resiliance, drive to survive, determination
- Drought affected many farmers, causing them a loss of income and troubled
living - this was a social factor Duato focused on
Historical = Barren land and economical crisis for farmers - Catalonian life
Religion = praying for rain
Significance
- Is always relevant to intent and what the choreographer wanted to portray
- To share and educate about his experience and upbringing, uses sense of
belonging and family that he knew as a child reflected - he is reflected in it
- Celebration of their culture and shows their hardship and work to the broader
community
- To gain appreciation
Subject matter - is like concept in composition
- farming, hardships, religion, relationships
Meaning - is like intent in composition
- hardships of struggle to survive off land, how use religion to hope and pray for
rain, relationships between community - support from community
Genre
- folk, contemporary - torso and strong parallel and contraction, little bit of
classical
Skills of Analysis
Evaluation
Concepts under which evaluation is made
- Personal response - how did I feel when I watched the Work? What emotions,
images, ideas and physical feelings are stimulated by the Work?
- Your writing will be influenced by your own experience and background, and
what you see and feel will be different to what others interpret
- To fully appreciate a Work we may need to look into background information on
its context - the social, personal, historical and cultural events influencing the
work
General values of society
- beliefs, a mission or philosophy that is meaningful
Influences
Spanish Identity
- Latin and folk traditions of his home country, Spain