A Critique of Justin Pecks “In The Countenance of Kings”

The first thoughts from watching the YouTube video “In The Countenance of Kings” by Justin Pecks were that there is a main them of reflection such as mirroring. The music was very upbeat and the dancers responded to the music well by changing dynamics as the tempo of the music changed. The main colours of the piece were dark red, blue, beige and orange. The start of the video started in a studio and there was a change of scenery to an old building. (San Francisco Ballet, 2016)

Watching the piece confused me to begin with because I was unsure as to what the story line was however, I became entranced by how controlled the chaos was. In a lot of the sections, there are a lot of dancers doing different things such as when there is a pas de deux couple which is then joined by 3 couples performing the same choreography.

Although the movements had sharp dynamics and were very quick, each movement flowed into the next section. The continuity of sharp dynamics in particular sections created an idea of  being stern with the body and not taking time to do a movement whilst creating elegant lines. The pas de deux was very powerful because it showed the strength in the male dancer and stability in the female dancer. 

At one minute forty seconds there is a short section where the floor pattern is in a triangle. In this section there is a lot of repetition of a coupe fondu to an arabesque on a fondu. The sharp dynamics are continued however, sometimes there is a contrast from sudden to viscous creating inconsistent dynamics. At one minute fifty there are seven dancers, four female and three male. A back line is created using two men and a women and they hold out their arms in front of them to support the front line which are doing a back bend. This is then repeated but with the four dancers from the front line holding the weight of the previous back line. I think that this piece is a neoclassical style because the women are supporting the men which is a more contemporary style while maintaining classical lines. 

Each section of the piece uses repetition which reinforces the idea of how mirrors show different angles/ sides of you. The choreographic device levels is used during the one minute fifty section because the front line of the four dancers all go into a low contraction where the pelvis is leaning over the legs which are in a fourth on a plie. 

I think the piece is trying to communicate the sense of exploration in your reflection. This is shown by the change of angles of the camera to show the different sides of the dancers. The change of scenery to an old building from a studio suggests that you should go beyond dancing in a mirror and expand your performance to a new surrounding to gain the change of emotions in your performance.  

In conclusion I think the piece is strong and shows precise finishes to movements. Although I am not fully understanding of what the story line is the dancers were very talented and responded to the music well using the contrast in dynamics.

References:

San Francisco Ballet (2016) Justin Peck's "In the Countenance of Kings" with music by Sufjan Stevens [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTv_Y0Zrl4> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

Bibliography:

San Francisco Ballet (2016) Justin Peck's "In the Countenance of Kings" with music by Sufjan Stevens [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTv_Y0Zrl4> [Accessed 16 December 2021].