Artificial Things: purpose

Artificial Things: purpose

Choreographic Approach

• Exploration of everyday objects and their properties to create movement
• Use of gestures, which are often realistic and recognisable
• Frequent manipulation of props to suggest a variety of meanings

Dancers

• Heterogeneous cast with a range of physical abilities
• Dancers carry equal importance, regardless of their physical abilities
• Dancers often interact with each other and their environment

Aural Settings

• Use of non-musical sounds such as environmental noises
• Variety of musical styles ranging from classical to modern
• Sound and music often used to enhance the mood of the piece

Performance Environment

• Performed on proscenium stage, an end stage, in-the-round, or in site-sensitive locations
• Use of the entire stage space, including ground and air
• Often incorporating or responding to natural elements of the performance site

Movement Content

• Emphasis on actions such as travelling, jumping, turning and gesturing
• Use of dynamics ranging from fluid and soft movements to sharp and powerful ones
• Making use of the whole space, especially depth and width

Choreographic Devices

• Frequent use of canon, where one dancer starts a movement phrase and others join in at intervals
• Use of unison, where all dancers perform the same movements at the same time
• Often incorporates choreographic contrast, such as fast/slow movements or heavy/light dynamics

Costumes

• Variety of costumes, often representing different characters or ideas
• Costumes often neutral in colour, allowing the movements to be the focus
• Costumes sometimes used as props in the performance

Lighting

• Use of lighting to highlight or hide dancers or parts of the stage
• Use of colour to set the mood or suggest the time of day
• Light often used as a visual metaphor for the concept or story being explored