Critique 1 - Wayne McGregor- Piece 1: Atomos

At the start of Piece 1: Atomos the lighting is red, green and blue- 2 of which are primary colours. In this piece there is a lot of partner work, some of which is same gender lifts and duets. In the first section movement is viscous, slow and leisurely. At 14 minutes there is a duet performed by a male and female dancer who incorporate every part of their body to lead them into another movement. There are moments where you see the extensions of the female dancer whilst being held by the strong male dancer. At 20 minutes there is a contrast in dynamics performed by another duet as their movements are sharp and powerful. In this the lighting is mostly red. At 45 minutes lines become more distinct, there is a change of expression from the dancers and you can see there is more intensity behind the movement.

 Watching this piece of choreography, I thought that the parts fit together well. Although in some of the sections there is an obvious fit/ flow into the next section there are also times when the beginning of a new section doesn’t go with the past section. At 45 minutes in the piece there is a moment where a green ant starts to crawl across the screen, as an audience member I was unsure what this symbolised. The changeover of parts at 14 minutes 45 seconds used technology and lighting to their advantage because without them there wasn’t an obvious change.

The colour red represents health, courage, anger, and love. The common thread is that all these require passion. Blue shows truth and sadness, it is the colour of a calm and clear sky, and it is calm reflection that leads to truth. The colour green means nature and wisdom. Egyptians believed that a god led the souls of the dead to "a green hill of everlasting life and eternal wisdom."

(Wolchover, 2011)

The Greek word Atomos means indivisible- The smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination. During the “Atomos” piece there are moments where the dancers are performing a solo or a group piece, this is representing the atoms. From having very free movements to sharp line and dynamic movements this is also representing the particles but in their 3 states of solid, liquid and gas.

(Webster, 2021) 

In conclusion I think that this piece of choreography by Wayne McGregor shows the beautiful strength and extensions of the dancers. I really like how when the lighting changes the music changes as well, sometimes more obvious than others, as it creates a change of scenery and new expressions. The message of this piece was to show that dancers, like atoms, can perform alone or in a combination. This presents the idea that this piece was an exploration of science and that with more or less people there is a change in energy.  

References:

StudioWayneMcGregor (2019) Wayne McGregor: Atomos [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di1H8IJtkxY> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

Webster, M., 2021. Atom. [online] Available at: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atom> [Accessed 7 November 2021].

Wolchover, N., 2011. How 8 Colours Got Their Symbolic Meanings. [online article] livescience.com. Available at: <https://www.livescience.com/33523-color-symbolism-meanings.html> [Accessed 7 November 2021].


Bibliography:

StudioWayneMcGregor (2019) Wayne McGregor: Atomos [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di1H8IJtkxY> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

Webster, M., 2021. Atom. [online] Available at: <https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/atom> [Accessed 7 November 2021].

Wolchover, N., 2011. How 8 Colours Got Their Symbolic Meanings. [online article] livescience.com. Available at: <https://www.livescience.com/33523-color-symbolism-meanings.html> [Accessed 7 November 2021].



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