In a discussion with my lecturer, as I vibrantly spoke about how the curiosity
of children has inspired my piece, I brought up how I would like to use
balloons in my piece as a trace. I have previously discussed traces as in relation to a section of choreography in my piece that is made up of motifs that trace our perceptual
journey within the process of "Waking up the Sleepwalking City". I wanted there to be trace of the areas the dancers
performed in, so that when they left, the spectators glanced upon that space
differently and the passerby’s looked at something they would have usually
ignored.
But why a balloon I was asked? I wanted something that was not
industrial or usually around, and something that spoke to the inner child. I
want to invite the spectator to be more inquisitive to their surroundings and
re-experience or more deeply experience a moment through all the senses, like a
child. Now, a balloon is something that screams childhood, through memories of
parties and celebration, but also through the fact they defy gravity and aren’t
bogged down by restrictions like we are on a daily basis.
I was
told to look at The Red Balloon, 1956, directed by Albert Lamorisse. The film follows round a little boy and his red balloon which takes him on an adventure around Paris.
The little boy allows this balloon to captivate him as he follows its
rhythm, movement and colour illuminate the streets of Paris. The balloon, like
my dancers interrupts the everyday adult, with something bright, beautiful and innocent.
As a viewer, we are also taken on a journey, viewing the city in a new light
from a new perspective, but also seeing the adults’ bewilderment at this
balloon. Are we too conditioned in our perceptions that we have no time for ‘childish
behaviour’... and on that note, why is ‘childish behaviour’ a derogatory term...
The freedom of the boy is stunning; he lets the balloon guide him as
his body seems to be flying rather than running alongside it.
In my piece, the balloon is probably better as a device to invite the audience
to the idea of my piece; to speak to the child in them. So rather than be dotted
round the space, I decided to begin the piece with the dancers running along
Millennium bridge with the balloons and then letting them go, like the boy did,
showing the spectators the freedom my dancers are portraying.
Now obviously, the next question was: What colour do I have my balloon?
And with this, what colour do I want my dancers’ costume. Again, costume was
going to be a devise, but for directing the spectators, and passerby to the performers
as they move in and out of people in that space.
I knew I wanted something to stand out from the blues, greens and grey’s
that are very prominent in the landscape. The colours that drew to my mind
where red, orange and purple.
I used The Book of Symbols: The Book of Symbols: Reflections
on Archetypal Images by The Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism), 2010, Taschen.
Red is discussed as relating to life and energy, because in
primitive thinking blood symbolised vivacity and living. However, in
current society I think blood has come to bring connotations of death and
violence, and instead of energetic it becomes more of an angry colour, used for
stop signs and connecting to sexuality.
Another colour I thought of was purple, because it would stand out from
the view but also complement it as blue is a prominent part of its composition. However, the book talks about how it relates to ideas of death, as it
is used for “appeasing and honouring the dead” (654). Also, it has regal and royal associations,
used for relating to luxury, where as my piece is about seeing the beauty in
nature, not in material things.
Now, orange was another idea I had because it suggests ideas of energy,
which The Book of Symbols states is because it emerges from the colour red. Now,
orange also symbolises ideas of warning, like red, shown in the jumpsuits warn
my convicts in American prisons. Which in my piece could be connected to how the dancers interrupt the everyday passers-by by veering from the restrictions of the body in space.
However, it’s connection to the sun, “Orange colors the ascent [and]
descent...of the sun...and the coagulating intensity of desire” (642), relates to the
beauty and life of the everyday returning. The use of desire really connects to
ideas of my piece because I am inviting the audience to live out, rather than
ignore, their desires and wake up from the trance that the status quo has imbued
on them.
M.J.B
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