Costumes in this are simple, men bare chested in black tights, women in white shifts except for the red sacrificial "virgin." Interesting was also the lack of facial expression on all the characters, almost as if the characters were, in fact, not really human, but more ethers from Mother Nature. The wild abandonment of the female soloist, who finally bares her breast in an almost orgasmic frenzy moving from male to male with motions that seem fluid but primal.
3. Emanuel Gat's interpretation is the most contemporary interpretation of the three. Instead of focusing on a soloist and troupe, the scene opens with 3 couples, who, at times leave the central red box (lights) to work with the sacrificial virgin. The men are bald and all characters in black, the women have long, unbraided hair so that in the red light, the only real images we see are the skin on the dancers. The choreography, though, seemed less primitive and almost as if the characters were dancing in a 1920s speakeasy or Cabaret show.
Responses
To Alyssa -- I particularly enjoyed your noting of the changing of partners, styles, and motions in the Stravinsky. You correctly pointed out the complications in the Gat piece, but I wondered which you thought communicated Stravinsky's...
I also loved that you express so well your personal comfort in simple and beautiful open spaces.
To Nichole -- it was nice to hear that you love rhythm and the manner in which dance communicates so much -- particularly the joy of life. I thought that your interpretation of Nijinsky's choreography as filled with tension was astute, but I was not clear if you liked the Gat interpretation?
To Jonathan -- WOW, the view from the top -- guess we know who will manage in the future! I also appreciated that you give credit to the manner in which artists work towards their art -- whether you like it or not, the fact that you acknowledge how hard it is to perform says a lot. Did you think that one of the choreographers expressed Stravinsky's pagan rites best? The Nijinsky version actually made me rather "on edge," even bordering on the uncomfortable, which is I suppose the point. You saw the Nijinsky soloist as emphasizing fear and tension, but the group as a collective, which I thought was a brilliant deduction.
REFERENCES
Kelly, T. (1999). Igor Stravinsky's the Rite of Spring. NPR's Milestones of the Millennium. Retrieved from: http://www.npr.org/programs/specials / milestones/991110.motm.riteofspring.html
