Dream Weaver

Music by Larry Goves after Benjamin Britten, 2013

Choreography by Cameron MacMillan

Stage and Costume Design by Jean-Marc Puissant

Lighting by Jordan Tuinman

Images © courtesy of Royal Ballet of Flanders, J.M. Puissant

Co-produced by the Aldeburgh Festival, this work explores the notion of using a traditional classical work, as a departure and a quote, to create a contemporary work. Classical ballet composition and vocabulary within contemporary dance; Britten’s Nocturnal After John Dowland for Guitar within a commissioned score.

 

The set reuses the painted backdrop of an abandoned classical  ballet prodcution. It is flown, folded in two or as a single layer, sometimes upside down and back to front.

 

Beyond the visual interest of manipulating the cloth, backlighting exposes the dramatic texture of its layers of paint and, eventually, front-lighting reveals the poetry and composition of its 19^th century landscape.