Critique 2 – Wayne McGregor- Piece 2: Woolf Works

At the start of Piece 2: 'Woolf Works' there is a background of waves with an aural accompaniment of a women talking. (Royal Opera House, 2020) The aural accompaniment is a women speaking in a calm tone however the words that she is saying sound troubled. At 2 minutes 14 seconds the camera shows a women standing on stage in a brown leotard and a transparent long brown skirt with her eyes closed and an emotionless expression. There is a juxtaposition with the costumes as brown is a humble colour and functions as a warm neutral colour. Whereas, the piece is a very melancholy dance as it is portraying a sad part of reality that unfortunately occurs. At 2 minutes 48 seconds the female dancer is joined by a male dancer who is wearing black leggings. The male dancer is topless to perhaps show the strength and lines behind his movements. There is a continuity of the aural accompaniment as the two dancers perform their duet. The female dancer is wearing pointe shoes which shows a very classical style however, the majority of the dance is the male dancer doing lifts in a neoclassical style as sometimes the lines of both dancers are not the "perfect classical" style. 

At 9 minutes the male dancer exits the stage as the female dancer is joined by a group of young children, the music changes to the sound of children at the beech playing. During this section the female dancer becomes attached to second female dancer in which they both perform a duet emphasising motifs. There is emphasis on the movement where the accompanying dancer moves the other dancers arm in a ripple motion which is representing the movement of a wave. At 10 minutes the young dancers show a rope which they use to skip around in a circle around the other female dancer, meanwhile the other dancer is sitting on the corner of the stage by herself. 

In each section your attention is drawn to the female dancer however, when the second female dancer enters the stage the camera focus' towards her. There is a pleasant change from each section including towards the end when the dance becomes intense. The dance has a higher level of intensity towards the end as the expression becomes direct to the audience and there are more dancers on stage which creates a climax as it shows that this is building up to something. 

I think "Woolf Works" shows both an emotional and physical narrative of the message behind the piece. During the beginning of the piece the women says “I don’t think two people could’ve been happier, until this terrible disease came”. This quote implies that she became very ill and unfortunately died. Later on in the piece there is a moment where the female dancer is lifted into the air and is carried by several men which creates an image of a pall bearer carrying the dead body. I think that the message is about how life can be perfect and you can be the happiest you've ever been and then it can be taken away from you all of a sudden. During her voice recording at the start she say the words “I can’t even write this properly” which supports my idea that she is very ill and struggling to cope with how bad the "disease" has become in her mind and body. (Smith 2004)


References:

Royal Opera House (2020) Alessandra Ferri - extract from "Woolf Works" ballet [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jbpFP46pVQ> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

Smith, K. (2004) [online article] Finally, COLOR EXPLAINED by an expert in a way that everyone can understand. Available at: <https://www.sensationalcolor.com/meaning-of-brown/> [Accessed 26 November 2021].


Bibliography: 

Royal Opera House (2020) Alessandra Ferri - extract from "Woolf Works" ballet [Video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jbpFP46pVQ> [Accessed 16 December 2021].

Smith, K. (2004) [online article] Finally, COLOR EXPLAINED by an expert in a way that everyone can understand. Available at: <https://www.sensationalcolor.com/meaning-of-brown/> [Accessed 26 November 2021].

             


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