The following essay was written by one of my year two A Level Dance students recently, and she has given me permission to share this online. I have made some small edits to spelling and grammar, but the essay is largely hers. Akram Khan, Matthew Bourne and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui all use aural setting within…
Analysing Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s influences within the works of Sutra (2008), Zero Degrees (2005) and Babel 7.16 (2016)
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui is a fascinating practitioner to study. His influences include some of the most precious people in the development of dance and tanztheatre in Europe and are what make him so different to some of the other practitioners in the independent contemporary dance scene in Britain. The key influences I will discuss and…
Examining the development of Rambert Dance Company under the artistic directorships between 1966-1980.
Norman Morrice became artistic director in 1966 and alongside Marie Ramberts guidance, he completely changed the style, identity and running of the company in order to move away from the competitive ballet field and into the modern dance arena. In 1974 he was succeeded by John Chesworth, his associate director under his reign. Chesworth continued…
How the origins of Rambert Dance Company contributed to its later development.
Marie Rambert was an incredible force of nature, leaving a strong legacy and a thousand memories of her influence on the dance world. The origins of her success with Rambert Dance Company play a large role in the later development of the company through the implementation of a clear ethos and three defined aims, which…
A discussion of the use of aural setting in ‘Sutra’ (2008) by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. (Work In Progress)
Ah, the dreaded aural accompaniment question. There hasn’t been one since the specification changed in 2016 and we all know we are waiting for it. Are you prepared? You can find an article on analysing the aural accompaniment for the Rambert Dance Company area of study here, Rooster and other works by Bruce here, or…
How the collaboration between dance, physical set design and aural accompaniment supports the themes of Sutra (2008)
Sutra (2008) is an equal collaboration between Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, the Shaolin Monks, Szymon Brzoska and Antony Gormley which successfully takes the audience on a cultural journey. Cherkaoui found himself invited to the Shaolin Temple after an attempt to find respite from his hectic rise in fame after his previous work with Akram Khan, Zero…
What impact has Sutra had on the development of the independent contemporary dance scene in Britain?
Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s Sutra premiered at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in 2008, introducing modern audiences to a fantastic collaboration between himself, the Shaolin Monks, Szymon Brzoska and long time collaborator Antony Gormley. In 18 episodes it explores Cherkaoui’s personal journey as he navigates his rapid rise to fame after the success of Zero Degrees (2005) with…
Advanced Information 2022: Preparing for the A-Level Dance Examination.
In February the AQA uploaded a document releasing advanced information relating to the upcoming written exam. This article will discuss provide some possible exam questions and link you to further articles to help students to revise. The image below provides a snapshot of the information that the AQA provided. You can find the original document…
Discuss the variety of the dance works within the repertoire of Rambert Dance Company (formerly Ballet Rambert) from 1966-2002.
Rambert Dance Company (RDC) has gathered an incredibly eclectic repertoire from 1966-2002 from many important choreographers, including Norman Morrice, Glen Tetley, Christopher Bruce, Robert North, Richard Alston and Merce Cunningham. Inspired by Ballet Russes, Marie Rambert was always keen on continuing to modernise her company through collaboration and experimentation, a vision which each artistic director…
Analysing aural accompaniment for A-Level Dance with examples from the Independent Contemporary Dance Scene in Britain.
Welcome to part 2 of analysing aural accompaniment within A-Level Dance. Part 1 focused on Rambert examples, which you can find here. As mentioned before, I am not a music teacher, and there are many approaches to tackling aural accompaniment examples within the context of Dance. I do believe that an aural accompaniment essay question…
A-Level Dance Guides 