Having not had much experience choreographing variations, i felt it was time to allow myself space to experiment in this format. I love to create movement that demands your attention, with various points of visual stimulation, occurring simultaneously. So the idea of a singular entity filling the stage for an entire ballet seems exposing and daunting. So I hit the music archives determined to master this challenge, and find some inspiration. Eventually, after much deliberation, i decided upon a piece by Elgar named ‘Sospiri’. The music is solemn and provoking. Its definitely trying to tell a story. There is a character inside, somewhere, that has something moving to say. They are tired, and have come to the point where the familiar chemical sadness we all understand only masks the surface of there deep sorrow. Suffering a barely speakable pain, and are past the point of return.
This composition, is grown in a field quite untouched by me. It is the archetype of a classical formulation. And for that i absolutely adore it. Elgar has crafted a continuous stream of music. A bliss of strings, blend
ing transcendent dulcet harps and a cumbersome indulgence of violins. It is beautiful beyond words, but i have yet to see if i can habituate in these elegant surroundings. What new discovery might i unearth? My muse for this project, a time-honoured friend and coll
eague, Tracy Jones encompasses the essence of this demanding work. Elgar’s frame is classic, poised, and supple. All qualities of Tracy’s physicality and physique as an artist. Although i have never seen her undertake a character role of such depth, i have raw confidence that she is more than capable.
I have purposely made little preparation for my first rehearsal. I want to create a raw uncluttered variation. Being an emotive piece, i believe subconscious of spirit should steer the direction of the work and that too much planning will deliver a synthetic sham finish. I have worked with Tracy before, and understand her comfort zone, which i hope to overstep somewhat. At times her extremities of line can pose quite a challenge, but in using this, the metaphysical quality she can create is a choreographers dream.
I came from the first rehearsal satisfied. I made sure to take some time specifying what i was hoping to achieve and what image had been taking shape in my subconscious. At first i couldn’t decide where to begin on the stage. I tend to utilise corners as starting points, they accommodate the feng shui of the space and also encourage traveling. Instead i settled mid stage on one far side to avoid this repetitious temptation. Elgars sustained, ceaseless orchestration calls for such a continuos
qualityof movement.
It took some time for Tracy to flow with the current of the music. At times i hastened to alter the choreography in order to avoid harsh incoherent steps and maintain this continuos lapsing motion. I adore the regal aspect she brings to her work and in picture format, Im very pleased. I saw glimpses of unashamed emotion, but i understand the vulnerability of exposing such a private aspect of the soul. So i will patiently wait for her to establish a position of security, and deliver what i know will be a moving performance.
The second day of rehearsal continued with glorious results. Tracy's earnest application makes the
effort of the experience so worth while. At times i will have to dictate exactly how i want the steps to be executed, because she is often over concerned with appl
ying precise technique and thus loses the scope to interpret. She will never quibble or disagree, and after a few attempts usually surpasses my expectations. She has trust and belief in me, and the
feeling is mimicked by my confidence in her. The choreography from the previous day now was comfortably organic and she wore it with perfect fit. She appeared the truest of ballerinas. Since our first meeting, i had played with possibilities of what was to follow. I threw out these ideas at the random order they entered my mind and tried to string them together with the music. At first this proved to be an impractical technique that caused the steps
to appear unrelated and clumsy. We spent most of our time, cutting and adding steps hoping to regain some fluidity to the movement. Then after altering and reworking sequences, so that it would bare the musics directive instruction. We concluded the time with some pleasing results and yet another minute wrapped up. Never before have i been at such peace with my work having worked with such pace. My favourite aspect of this expedition has been toying with the characteristic workings. The feeling of slowly creating a being, attempting to convey raw emotion. I believe this process will teach both myself and Tracy much about establishing charismatic weight on the stage, and the subtly of a convincing performance.
I spent some time by myself in the studio prior to our third meeting. I wanted to understand the direction of the music, so as to have an idea of how to steer the movement. In doing this i made the decision to push harder on the technical aspect of the work. Id apply more classical vocabulary and add an allegro element to the composition. The following rehearsal was over quickly. Tracy was very serious about her approach to the work, and had really showed initiative on the execution of each step. She came to me with doubts she had about a few linking steps, and together we worked through them. In general, she was more vocal in a very subdued, professional
manner. At one stage she questioned the necessity of performing
steps directly in sync with the music at the end of a phrase where it music became particularly delicate. I realised how right she was, and saw how poetic it would be if she almost fell apart at this cornerstone of the work. Slowly wilting with the dying score. In fact, had i let her be solely harnessed by the music there would be little room for interpretation, leading to an uncomfortably stale performance. Im thankful she had the confidence to be honest, after all we are always learning. She has as much to offer me ,in terms of enlightenment, as i do to her. By the end of the day we had cemented the cracks and finished the
current phrase of choreography. Not much had been completed, but it was time well spent.
The fourth instalment of our endeavour was more fruitful. Having closed the previous phrase at a juncture, where what could follow lay open to a million possibilities, i struggled at first to find my footing. Tracy had had a challenging day, that had left her disappointed and insecure. Despite this she agreed to rehearse with me. So i felt obliged to make it worth her while. Thankfully the clouds parted quickly to reveal a creative sky. Soon i was on a roll. Before i knew it, i had another minute of work in the bag. Perhaps Tracy’s solemn mood, indicative of the character, lead a natural course for our work. It is so rare i'm ever sincerely proud of what i create. There is always something that begs to be tweaked and tuned. Yet from what had been fabricated in this half an hour, i had no temptation to readdress. Only one
minute left to conclude.
Todays rehearsal left me stumped. We polished the original structure and worked through some rough craftsmanship, but nothing new was achieved. Im drawing very close to the end of the music, but i have no idea where it is going. Because my vision of this character is not defined, the clarity of what journey i want to convey is as yet undecided. She began stage right, facing the wing, looking
back over her shoulder. I wasn't sure exactly what she was looking to, but her body language suggests she is moving away from it, she all but wants to face ‘it’. ‘It’ that saddened her. The presence of this causes her to literally collapse forward clasping her chest in pain. Only to lift her arms, sacrificing herself to the immense of what was to follow. When i first heard the music, i researched if Elgar had any firm view of what his music described. Meaning ‘the sighing’ in italian, the translation was hardly necessary as the music undeniably
illustrated that. Caroline Anne Elgar, his wife, described it as "like a breath of peace on a perturbed world". This lead me to study the ins and out of their intense love affair. It crossed my mind but that i might loosely base my piece on her. Although i later decided that to outwardly approach my work as a depiction of her, would perhaps be a task to immense to portray in a four minute ballet. Instead, she is just a nameless entity. I suppose she is looking back on a life half lived, or one filled with memories best forgotten. The piece is that moment of recollection. It is a glimpse of a secret regret. I think we can all look back and sigh, to ask ‘why’ or say ‘what if’. So before our final meeting, i must decide an outcome for this lost soul. Some kind of freedom or personal execution.
After much deliberation, i settled upon an ending. I wanted to finish in a way that did not distract from the rest of the piece. That continued along the same emotive path, because it is easy to distort a work of such fragility. I figured that, as i already stated, this is a feeling we can all relate to. So in this position what must we do? We continue on, and so she does just that. I believe she accepts ‘it’ as a part of her prior existence. It will not hinder her further, it is left in the silence of her past. I talked before of being seemingly happy with my work. Today I walked into the studio and was happy with the structure, and the general feeling of the creation. Yet, i had the definite urge to tamper. Tracy seem very comfortable with it all, so i decided to resist the temptation. I have had the experience of over working a piece, and the purity of this ballet would only be broken by over interference.
After borrowing a garment from the ‘Corella Ballet’ costume department we filmed the work.
In the moment of performance ,as i stepped back into the role of an audience member, i was completely engaged by Tracy. I could see that the others in the studio where as involved as i was. In my opinion, if one individual is momentarily moved at all, something has been achieved. Later, i took the footage to edit. During my skimming of the reel in those hours, the weakness's become irritatingly apparent, and i grew prouder of the stronger areas of construction. I suppose you can rarely be totally happy with anything.
With a calm sense of accomplishment, we reached the end. This journey has been quite unique. I really have learnt so much in this short period of time, about utilising this type of score, understanding the portrayal of emotion, remaining honest to a work, becoming open to the artist and the influence that can have. I set out to venture away from my comfort zone, and the result of doing so has been so much better than what i could have expected.
