BA(Hons) Dance Performance

Module: Methods of practice Lecturer: Antonis Galeos

Task 2:

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"onstantina Ale#opoulou

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Smoke is a dance piece film who creative in 1995 by Swedish dancer and choreographer Mats Ek in which his brother, Niklas Ek (a farmer star with the !llberg and "e#art "allets and Netherlands $ance %heatre&, e'plores different relationships with Sylvie (!illem) Sylvie (!illem trained at the *aris +pera $ance School, rapidly became a *rincipal $ancer) She was #!st 19 years old when she was named ,Etoile- by .ydolf N!reyev in 19/0) 1t the *aris +pera, she danced all the classical and modern repertoire) She left the *aris +pera in 19/9 to start an international career and is now *rincipal (!est 1rtist at %he .oyal "allet in 2ondon) She also performs with "erlin +pera, 1merican "allet %heatre, the 3irov "allet and many others) (4!ghes, Sheila (ed&, 1995, 5, 6& Mats Ek is a prominent, and controversial, fig!re in twentieth cent!ry E!ropean choreography) 7n less than twenty years he has developed and established a personal choreographic style8 yet his act!al contrib!tion to contemporary dance is contested) Ek is the first E!ropean contemporary dance choreographer to have s!ccessf!lly revisited the masterworks of ballet history, by modifying the means of e'pression9 namely the dance idiom9and !pdating the s!b#ect9matter) 7n Smoke he has managed to encompass and to e'plore virt!ally every possible form and variation of h!man relationship9 man:woman)(Martha "remser, 1999, 1;;& 7n the first scene the whole stage is transformed into a room witch is formed by three empty walls of grey color and gives the impression of a bo') 7n the center of it stands a h!ge tall table, again of gray color, and a man that is hiding behind one of the tables legs, appears) 4e is dressed with an informal b!t elegant cost!me, composed by tro!sers, shirt, vest and tie) %he scene can be considered to be simple b!t impressive) %he dancer dances aro!nd and !nder the table that is taller than him, and !ses it to s!pport him, to hang and to climb it in different ways) %he lighting of the scene is distinctive and the m!sic by 1rvo *art, with the intense and !ni<!e contrib!tion of piano and violin, creates the filling of peacef!lness) 7t seems that the m!sic has inspired the choreographer in s!ch a way that the movement is changing its dynamics following the tempo and the timing of the score) =e read in "lom> ?$ynamics is an interaction of force with time9 the two playing together) 7t res!lts in action in the body) Every movement is dynamic9it e'ists over time and has been achieved by !sing force)@ ("lom 1nne and 2) %arin haplin, 19/A, 6B&

=e see that the movement vocab!lary !sed, is rich in swings and #!mps and altho!gh the rhythm is chancing rabidly, from slow to fast, there is a diff!se feeling of calmness) ?%he application of vital force, in appropriate variety, by no means always ?with lots of energy@ b!t with s!btle changes and sensitivity@) (.osemary "randt, 7nterview, 1995, A6;& %he first scene ends with the presence of a woman that appears s!ddenly, seated on the floor downstage left, smoke coming o!t of her mo!th, wearing a long dress and her hair tight back in a ponytail) %hen, in the second scene the eroticism, the passion and the tension take the place of the calmness) %he scene changes and in the place of the big impressive table stands one so small that is almost the siCe of a football) =e can say that this scene takes place o!tdoor since the man and the woman appear together on stage wearing coat and hat) %he tension begins when the man kicks the table) %he m!sic is also intense and with sharp endings) %he dancers are moving with diff!se energy) %hey walk on the walls s!pporting each other8 throw themselves on the walls sho!ting m!nched words, giving to the a!dience the impression that an erotic fight is taking place8 a fight that contains both the feelings of anger and passion) ?(etting the voice to provide dynamic <!ality> (rowl it, sho!t it, whisper it, gasp it, ssssshD), #a9 tktktk)@(Ealerie *reston9$!nlop, %eaching, 1995, A6A& %he man and the woman e'press their feelings by doing facial e'pressions, f!nny looks and e'clamations) 7n this specific scene the feelings that characteriCe an erotic relationship between two h!mans, are s!ccessf!lly transferred from the stage to the a!dience) 7n the third and last scene the woman appears alone and as scenery remains a table of normal siCe this time) %he m!sic ret!rns in the initial calm form and the movements of the woman are rich in switching different <!alities) Movement <!alities are the distinctly observable attrib!tes or characteristics prod!ced by dynamics and made manifest in movement) For e'ample, the dynamic co!pling of strong with fast res!lts in a sharp or whipping <!ality, while the co!pling of gentle and slow prod!ces a melting or free9floating <!ality) ("lom 1nne and 2) haplin, 19/A, 6B&

%he gest!res and the gaCing are changing contin!o!sly allowing different feelings to arise) %he main and the most impressive part of this specific scene is the absol!te harmoniCation of (!illem-s movement to the m!sic) ?=hat comes into the role when the dancer allows feeling to enter every part of the movement)Dh!manDfeelingD@ (Marion %ait, 7ntervie, 1995, A59&) 1t this point it is important to note that all three tables are designed by *eter Freii#) Finally, we can say that the choreography represents the relationship between a man and a woman as how they tie their lives !nder the ,!mbrella- of erotic relationship) %he scene, the cost!mes and the e'pressions aim to show the difference between the two se'es and the !nion that can come o!t thro!gh love and passion) +f this work Mats Ek says> 7n Smoke, 7 show the relationship between a man and a woman) %ho!gh different, they might be the two sides of the same person) Each of them has his:her own life as e'pressed in their respective solos) %hey meet and mingle in a tender and a violent way in two pas de de!') %he Smoke which comes from their clothes and mo!ths is what they say to each other) G4!ghes, Sheila(ed&, 1995, 5H

"ibliography 9Edited by Martha "remser with an introd!ction $eborah Iowitt, (1999&, Fifty ontemporary horeographers, .o!tledge 94!ghes, Sheila(ed&, (1995& Evidentia> a film conceived by Sylvie(!illem, G$E$"++32E%H, .d st!dio *rod!ctions 9Ealerie *reston9$!nlop, (1995& $ance =ords, .o!tledge 9"lom 1nne and 2) haplin, (19/A& %he 7ntimate 1ct of horeography, *ittsb!rgh> Jniversity of *ittsb!rgh *ress