Plumage
On this page: About this section | Curriculum links
| Choreography | Katharina Waldner |
|---|---|
| Music | Sebastian Morgan-Lynch |
| Performers | Footnote Dance |
About this section
This section of the DVD is divided into three subsections:
- edited footage of the process involved in creating the dance work, with comments by the choreographer – 7 minutes 55 seconds
- an interview with Deirdre Tarrant introducing the work – 3 minutes 12 seconds
- a stage performance of the work in costume and lights – 9 minutes.
This dance, choreographed by Katharina Waldner, was originally called Slip. Katharina reworked the piece and renamed it Plumage.
Katharina likes to create a world or a place rather than a stage for the dancers to perform her works. In Plumage, she uses paper bags to create an environment that has a garden path, a house and, in the centre of the stage, a race or street area. The house represents intimacy and rest, the centre of the stage represents the work situation, and the garden path suggests reflection, quietness, peace, and solitude.
The motivation for this dance came from watching people and animals, and one of the ideas Waldner explores is the difference between the behaviour of individuals alone and the behaviour of individuals in a group. Some of the other ideas explored in the dance include the way people change in the course of a day as they move between various groups, the pressure of coping with the nine to five society, and the idea of not fitting in.
Choreographer Katharina Waldner graduated from Unitec in 1996. Since then, she has choreographed dances for Isadora's Tribe, Footnote Dance, the New Zealand School of Dance, and Wellington Performing Arts School.
You can use Plumage as a stimulus for a wide range of dance activities.
Viewing suggestion
We recommend that your students view only the third subsection. The first and second subsections are more useful as information for teachers.
You could give your students a copy of this dance recording sheet (Word 120KB) to complete before, during, and after viewing the dance work.
Curriculum links
The suggested activities could contribute to teaching and learning in the following unit and achievement standards (which link to the NZQA website):
Level 1
Level 2
- AS 90293 Dance 2.1 Choreograph a section of dance for a group
- US 11500 Explore the making of dance (PDF 16KB)
