Cry and Jardi Tancat Subject Matter

HSC Dance Essay
Response to assessment task
Question: Discuss the context, subject matter and meaning of Nacho Duato’s ‘Jardi Tancat’and Alvin Ailey’s ‘Cry’ in relation to the movement, choreographic devices and compositional elements.

Nacho Duato’s ‘Jardi Tancat (JT) and Alvin Ailey’s ‘Cry’ both explore different subject matters in the context of cultural perspectives to creat meaning through movement, various compositional elements and choreographic devices.
Jardi Tancat was choreographed in 1983 and explores the roles of men and women in the farmlands of rural Spain. The piece has six dancers, three dominant men and three women, who at times are submissive but also show the ability to stand up with pride and show tenacity.
Jardi Tancat begins with three men on stage establishing their strength and ‘worker’ roles, whilst the women cower in the back corner of the stage as if waiting to be allowed to enter the space and work on the precious fields that are the lifeline for this monetary poor community. From the moment the women join the men in the centre of the stage, the six dancers move together, all showing the equality as workers on the fields, as labourers in the harsh terrain of the Spanish fields.
The six dancers move in unison working together to again prove that this work requires everyone’s help, Duato choreographs the dancers to move into a canon working in a linear pattern across the stage to reinforce the work that needs to be done in the fields and how it takes ‘all hands’ to complete this arduous task. The group then pairs up and begins to work in male/female duos. Each duo represents different ages of the group. Starting with the older, more respected elders of the community, their movement is very tender, supportive and loving towards each other. The man lifts the woman tenderly and shows what would be a lifetime of love and support. Their costumes are similar in colour and simplistic in nature to show they are a paired couple and to represent the culture of rural Spain.
The second duo are also dressed similar in colour and style; also supportive of each other, although slightly quicker and more youthful in their movements and approaches to each other. Their strength of movement indicates a younger couple with more energy. They move quicker around the stage, in unison and showing a strength of love for each other.
The third duo show a contrast to the other two couples as they are in different coloured costumes and their movements show less feeling for each other. The female dancer, in purple, is quite aggressive in her movements towards the male dancer, while he makes every attempt to be tender, loving and passionate towards his partner. This indicates what could an arranged marriage, which in the Spanish culture is likely to be a regular occurrence in the rural communities of Spain, perhaps not as much today but certainly in the past. The female dancers resistance to the male dancer is highlighted when he lifts her just as the couples have done but unlike the other women, this dancer shows struggle and resistance, reaching to the sky in anger. The dancer in purple also runs to the other female dancers looking for support and reassurance before the other women return the girl in purple to her designated partner.
The groupings on stage, highlights the relationship between each couple while adding interest to the viewer. Duato also cleverly use the space to mark out the fields and shows the nature of field work through the mimetic nature of the movement such as digging, ploughing and planting seeds. The feeling of pride runs through the piece highlighting the nature of the Spanish culture.
Cry choreographed in 1971 by Alvin Ailey, also explores the subject matter of Pride. Specifically, a woman’s pride, the strength and character of a soloist African American female on stage alone for 16 minutes. Ailey choreographed this work for his mother for her birthday, performed originally by Judith Jamieson. Deeply affected by his mother’s life and in awe of her will and determination to rise above all she had endured, Ailey choreographed a very technically strong and demanding piece that highlights the many aspects of a woman’s/mother’s life.
Cry follows the journey and many roles of an African American woman from her capture and life as a slave to the role of a domestic and living the racial oppression, through the role of motherhood and deep religious and cultural connections. The solo is in three parts, ternary in form. Section one is the capture and life as a slave. The dancer is dressed in a long white full skirted dress and has a very long piece of white material approximately four metres in length. In section one, the dancer works with the fabric to perform movements that represent binding and restriction by wrapping the fabric around her arms and body. When she places the fabric on the ground in becomes a barrier, the dancer never moves in front or over the fabric, always dancing behind it, reinforcing her capture and restriction to move freely around the space and in life; she is now a slave. The use of the material creating a barrier she can never step over, reinforcing the theme of slavery. Ailey cleverly uses the space and fabric to dictate her life as a slave in section one.
The transition to section two is smooth as she lays on the ground slowly and with great control, giving an image of the end of the day and silence. The second song begins …………………………. And the dancer now transforms into a domestic, a mother and a proud woman who works hard all day just as Ailey’s mother did. The dancers movement is controlled as she mimes ironing the fabric, taking pride in her movements. The dancer presents the proud nature of African American women by the progressive use of space forward the powerful stances she moves in and out of while coming forward in the space. When presenting her domesticity she shows strength and pride, the effort she puts into her work. We also see her connection to her cultural roots as she wraps the fabric around her head to remind us of her African heritage.
Ailey cleverly uses the fabric to create meaning via symbolism throughout ‘Cry’. Ailey’s purposeful choice of movements, clever use of space and dynamic contrasts between phrases of movements and sections in the dance create a powerful work.
In section three, Ailey highlights the journey of black American women and just how far they have transcended. From slavery, torture, sexual abuse and hardship rises a very strong woman who stands alone onstage, proud, capable and forever deeply connected to her cultural roots and spirituality. The dancer displays her cultural connection with African inspired movement, the shifting of her ribs and pumps of her chest. She presents the image of a proud African American woman and as she stands in a strong feminine pose.
The dancer fans herself indicating her time sitting in church on a hot summers day showing her deeply religious connections just like Ailey’s mother.
In section three, Ailey also lets the dancer celebrate with movement that is lively and percussive. He also explores the use of aerial work for the first time in section three showing the freedom and celebration of the journey the dancer has endured. Ailey also choreographed strength and flexibility by having the dancer perform high leg raises that are held on rise with arms up in the air to represent the joyous nature of proud women. The piece ends…………..
The choreography of Cry is very complex and requires great technical ability to perform while also requiring an affiliation to the cultural aspects of the African American woman.
Both works are full of meaning from start to finish that explores different subject matters. Both choreographers are able to successfully use a variety of different compositional devices through a range of movements.