Christopher Bruce Ghost Dancers

Ghost dancers choreographed by Christopher Bruce was created for Ballet Rambert in 1981. It is a performance that represents the political oppression that occurred in 1973. Christopher Bruce agenda was not to create a performance for entertainment but to make the audience moved and feel something for these people who suffered. Movement and non-movement components will be analysed throughout this piece, and through these, it will be evaluated how Christopher Bruce achieved the intent of communicating the Pinochet regime and political oppression. This performance is performed in 7 sections, this essay will be analysing section 1 (Ojos Azules) section 2 (HuajraA ‘folk lament’) and section 5 (Mis Llamitas).

In Section 1 Ojos Azules Christopher

Bruce successfully achieved the intent of death through movement and non- movement components. This section opened with three male ghost dancer their nearly naked bodies were painted to outline their muscles. The rest of their arms, waist and legs were covered in an old brown rag. The ghost dancers are dehumanised skeletal, Christopher Bruce created theses ghost dancer to either represent murder, death or Indians. Bruce wanted the ghost dancer to represent the Indians as the Indian’s used to celebrate death, as they would grind up dead people's bones and drink it as a soup as they believed that the dead were living on in spirit through their bodies. The ghost dancers were very effective throughout in the piece, as they gave the audience an understanding of the terrible events that occurred, and how they could occur at any time. Movement components were successfully implemented throughout this section; the first section is performed in two sections. The first section was performed to the sound of wind; the second section is performed with Ojos Azules. During the fist and second section, they used various choreographic devices such partner work, sustained, collapsing, levels, space, swing, canon, retrograde and accumulation. All of these choreographic devices are used to add interest, depth and variation to the section, the motif in this section symbolises how they dead are linked together as one. (Jane Pritchard, 2000, Ghost Dances Study Notes)

Christopher Bruce has effectively utilised movement and non-movement components in the section Huajra (section 2).

This section opens with the ghost dancer exiting the stage and three female dancers and three male dancers enter the stage. One female is wearing an old dirty old flowy dress that is ripped up, the second female is wearing a nice frilly red skirt and flowy white top, the third female dancer is wearing a button up grey shirt with a black mid-length skirt. As for the male dancer, one male is wearing a grey suit, the second male is wearing a nice business shirt and pants. The last male dancer is wearing an old long white t-shirt with baggy pants. These costumes represent how everyone was affected by the Pinochet regime and it wasn’t just the poor who suffered. They used folk lament which is a very happy upbeat song. They use space and levels in this section, space and levels gave structure and interest to the section. The ghost dancer return and violently grab the male dancers and throw them to the ground, and take their place in the partner work. The female dancer and male dancer are moving in unison, they run down the stage to either left or right. They then begin to do their motif, which is where they swing their shoulder forwards and backwards, and they then jump and turn around and began walking slowly in the other direction. The ghost dancers return at the end of section and repeat their motif, this motif represents victimisation (Jane Pritchard, 2000, Ghost Dances Study

Notes)

Section 5 is a section that represents marriage and how special moments likes marriage were taken away by the who were involved in the political oppression. This section begins with a male and female slowly walking onto the stage holding hand. The male is wearing a suit with a colourful tie and the female is wearing a white dress. This dance is very lively, upbeat and happy but is destroyed when the ghost dancers return and they kill his wife. This is seen when she jumps onto his back she then begins to slowly fall onto the ground, the ghost dancers catches and takes her away. This illustrates how in this troubling time they would be having fun but they always knew that death could come at any minute. The lightening in this section was dull, it was black, white and green tones. This epitomises the setting that it is set in which is night time and how it is set near a cave. The main choreographic device they used was partner work, using these choreographic devices portrayed the idea of marriage it helps the audience have an understanding of what this section is about. The motif in this performance would be when the male dancer put out his arms out and starts swing around, this symbolises how they are loving life and having fun. The movement components were successful interpret through the use of levels, space and direction. The levels were not used often in this piece, but the use help supports the idea of having fun and adds different effects to the piece. Christopher Bruce successfully communicated the representation of death and how people would be enjoying life and suddenly their loved one are taken away from them, he represents this through movement and non-movement components. (Jane Pritchard, 2000, Ghost Dances Study Notes)

Christopher Bruce successful achieved his intent of Pinochet regime and political oppression through the use of movement and non-movement components. He effectively showed the intent of movement and non-movement component in section 1, section 2 and section 5. He conveyed the message of death throughout this whole performance, he provides the audience with a successful representation of how people in south America suffered from these troubles and how everyone was affected.