Week 3-key practitioner lesson 1 Justin Peck's 'In Countenance of Kings'

Justin Peck’s ‘In the Countenance of Kings’

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yMTv_Y0Zrl4

When I first watched the piece my thoughts towards it were very mixed as it was a lovely dance with aspects which lead me to confusion towards the story line.  At the beginning of the piece I felt like it was misleading but in a positive way as it made me excited and intrigued to watch the whole piece. My interpretation is that it’s based around the idea of freedom due to the varied aspects of the dance including the fact the girl has her hair down and all the dancers are wearing trainers. It is well choreographed with many intricate formations and is based around ballet/classical movements. The patterns and the constant flow of people add to the dynamics of the piece. the patterns are also based around geometric shapes which adds to the unique concept of Justin’s choreography. No set movement and patterns highlight the idea of freedom due to varied aspects of the dance and links to the idea of order and chaos. It gives the audience the impression that this sense of freedom is to break away from stereotypes of ballet dancers as it’s not the traditional ballet style and highlights the difference in normality.

The beginning of the piece is set in a dance studio and the use of a dog being there comes away from the normality of a dance studio as it is very random. The girl looks into the mirror almost as if in daydream then the dance changes to a huge hall almost like a ballroom type with a lot more dancers and then at the end of the dance it goes back to the one girl in the studio. Before the dance begins one girl leaves the studio which the other girl is oblivious to which links to the fact, she could be daydreaming. The piece is almost under your own interpretation as there is no solid story line; however, this allows the audience to create their own ideas to what they want the dance to base on.  The choreography within the dancers includes a variety of duets/ partner work along with some solos and then core. Also, the dancers involved within the piece are very technical which comes across to the audience and it allows the piece to look well presented. Additionally, the music adds to the dynamics as its also is varied and the camera angles link to the intensity and dynamics. The music adds to my feelings towards the piece as it dynamically confuses you but also makes you curious as to what will happen next almost like a feeling of suspense.

The choreographic devices included in the piece are: Unison, Canon, Repetition, Inversion, Accumulation, Contrast, Highlight, Retrograde, Argumentation and Climax.
The technique of this critique links to Edmund.

Choreographic Process

Justin’s choreographic process: Is he listens to the music first to form ideas; his ideas are personalized and are linked to him. He uses are large cat as there are more possibilities and has no soloists as this gives an opportunity for all. Also, he uses his own body as an instrument to create certain motifs and works with the dancers so that they have some slight input. Additionally, to create his formations and patterns he sketches geometric shapes to give him the best inputs. His last process is adding the additional parts such as lightning, costume and set design.

To conclude, watching and researching about Justin Peck and his choreography allows us to be able to use his process in order to help with our own process. It also helps us with knowing what choreographic process works best for our own choreography.