Within Her Eyes: audience understanding

Within Her Eyes: audience understanding

Audience Understanding

• Interpretation and emotional engagement are key aspects for audiences in ‘Within Her Eyes’.
• The dance piece employs abstract narrative structure; this demands that audiences involve their own interpretation and emotional connection.
• The ambiguity of the narrative and the lack of gender stereotypes further invite audiences to layer their own experiences and emotions on the story.

Subtext of the Dance

• Explore how distance and touch are used to indicate a relationship - the lack of eye contact between the dancers suggest a connection beyond the physical.
• The dance possesses a dreamlike quality, where it includes several abstract elements allowing the audience to interpret the characters’ relationships.

Dancers in Space and Time

• Note the gestures, freezes, and body language of both dancers for clues about their relationship and emotional states.
• The positioning of the dancers in space - close together or far apart, high or low - also gives hints about their relationship and the emotions enacted.

Deconstructing the Performance

• Consider the role of costumes, music, and lighting in shaping the audience’s understanding and interpretation.
• The dancers’ facial expressions and body language provide subtle insights into their emotional states and the dynamic of their relationship.
• The dance performance effectively uses pause, space and silence to create a sense of tension, anticipation and emotional gravity.