Spatial Analysis: Jardi Tancat

Jardi Tancat by Nacho Duato
Spatial Analysis
Created by Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato in 1983, Jardi Tancat is a work which symbolises the lifestyles of the Catalonian village people who worked and lived off the land. ‘Jardi Tancat’ was Duato’s first work and translates into ‘enclosed garden’, he utilizes various spatial elements through a number of motifs to represents the working lifestyle and hardships of the Catalonian people.
Duato has used the performance space to indicate a very dry and barren land with very earthy colours for the set and costuming which represents the connection to the land. Throughout the performance, the dancers are constantly surrounded by barren tree branches which show the boundaries to the space as well as depict an ‘enclosed garden’. Duato has utilized the dancers by having them remain on stage even when they aren’t dancing, they ‘inhabit’ the front of the stage during the different sections of the performance again to convey the idea of an ‘enclosed garden’.
The dance begins with all performers crouching together showing a curved shape, they are positioned upstage and this is significant as this area is a weak section of performance space. Their curved/crouching over shape and their positioning highlights and creates an image of the hardship and laboring. With these powerful movements and positioning of the performers, Duato has already established a strong sense of depth to the work. The set as well as the dancers enhances Duato’s concept in the opening section and set the tone for the overall work. An obvious motif is shown in the opening section of the dance and this is the constant hunching over with curved backs. This shape represents the continuous laboring again showing a connection to the land. The closed, negative shape of the hunched back brings the dancers focus to the ground again showing their never-ending strenuous work. Another motif which is shown throughout various sections is the ploughing motif which is representational of working and the cultivation of the land.
Duato has used the general space specifically pathways, floor patterns and direction to portray the field and places in which they work. Evidently shown in section one, there are three males executing the ‘ploughing’ motif, they perform this in a diagonal line and use locomotor and non-locomotor movement to represent how they move through the fields and crops. This specific floor pattern again highlights the concept of the work. The ‘ploughing’ motif is again shown in section three with both the females and males performing the motif, the use of unison connote a community working together. The floor pattern used in this section shows the females and males in separate, straight lines. The females move in small steps across the stage to show slow progression of labor and all dancers are in the form of two lines throughout this section. This again expresses the idea of working as a community as well as performing slow and tedious tasks. Many linear floor patters were used to convey their daily duties of working between the crops. Circular floor patterns and pathways have also been used to again show their cyclic lifestyle and their never ending duties of work.

Throughout the entire work, many levels have been used to highlight the cyclic lifestyle of the workers. For example, in the opening section the dancers are all huddle together in a curved hunched, low level shape, this is symbolic of the workers awakening to a new day of work.
Many low levels have also been used to represent the ‘lower statuses’ that the workers possessed, with many inferior levels shown specifically through the hunched/bent down motif. Specifically in the third section which is performed by females, the levels are performed much more dramatically and passionately to show sorrow and grieving. High levels are used to represent praying to the heavens for rain. These high level movements are specifically seen in section four.
Also the movement and dimensions in many sections are small and contracted to convey the struggle and agitation; this is shown when the dancers are moving through the space with strong and aggressive movements. Duato has used many aspects of general space thus portraying and enhancing the concept of the work.
Throughout Jardi Tancat, Duato uses many shapes to symbolize and represent the many task, emotions and beliefs of the Catalonian people. One of the many tasks the Catalonian people would perform was praying, they would pray to God every day for rain as it was needed for the crops to grow. As the Catalonian people were heavily influenced by religion, cross shapes were used throughout the work to represent the idea of religion. The cross shape is performed with one female being lifted by two males mimicking the shape of the cross which is a significant icon of Christianity. Many circles were used and manipulated through turns and lifts. The circle motif reoccurs throughout the work and again represents the cyclic lifestyle of the workers. An example of a circular shape is the section where the dancers are performing with partners, and they execute a turn with their hands moving in a circular motion above their head.
Many representational shapes have been used to show struggle, praying, grieving and working such as the ploughing motif and the constant curved and hunched/bent over motif. All of these shapes enhance the ideas of working and hardship to convey the concept of Jardi Tancat.
Including these aspects of space, Duato uses dancer relationships, partnering and formations to enhance the meaning of his work. Specifically in the opening section, Duato places all dancers together in a tight formation to symbolise a community. Another example of dancer relationships being utilized in the work is seen in the fifth section. A strong relationship is created between two female dancers, showing a mother/daughter relationship as well as the idea of passing traditions down from generation to generation. In addition, the dancer relationships throughout the work amplify the concept through representational movement shown in partnering and formations.

Furthermore, Nacho Duato has used many different spatial elements throughout the entire work. The spatial elements of shapes, level, general and performance space as well as partnering and formations all assist in furthering Nacho Duato’s intent for Jardi Tancat.