Infra

Question 1

Who choreographed Infra?

Answer 1

Wayne McGregor

Question 2

Which company produced Infra?

Answer 2

The Royal Ballet

Question 3

What was its premier date? And where?

Answer 3

13th November 2008 at Royal Opera House, London

Question 4

How long is Infra?

Answer 4

28 minutes

Question 5

How many dancers are there in Infra?

Answer 5

12( 6 female, 6 male)

Question 6

What dance styles are included in Infra?

Answer 6

Contemporary, Ballet

Question 7

What performance environment is Infra performed at?

Answer 7

Proscenium Arch

Question 8

What is the first stimulus of Infra?

Answer 8

Vida Infra, the Latin for ‘see below’ - life beneath the surface of the city

Question 9

What is the second stimulus of Infra?

Answer 9

“Underneath the brown fog of a winter dawn/ a crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many” TS. Elliot: The Wasteland

Question 10

What is the 3rd stimulus of Infra?

Answer 10

The 2005 London Bombings terrorist attack

Question 11

What does the stimulus Wasteland explore?

Answer 11

Life in London in the aftermath of the First World War.

Question 12

What is the first choreographic intention of Infra?

Answer 12

Below the surface - seeing below the surface of things( quite literally in this case, below set design where you can see people walking in the street.)

Question 13

What is the second choreographic intention?

Answer 13

Pedestrian movement - normal people and the choreography has found a pedestrian language which is recognisably human.

Question 14

What is the third choreographic intention?

Answer 14

Types of relationships - inferences made between people and the emotional content.

Question 15

What is the last choreographic intention?

Answer 15

Own interpretations - McGregor purposefully left the audience to make their own selections and conclusions from what they see.

Question 16

What is the choreographic approach?

Answer 16

Utilising the dancers own experiences and interpretation of the pedestrian movement was an important part of the choreographic process.
Emphasising that each person has their own story.

Question 17

What was the collaborative approach?

Answer 17

Show - teaches movement
Make - works with the dancer to create movement
Task - sets an improvisational task

Question 18

Who designed the set?

Answer 18

Julian Opie

Question 19

What is the set?

Answer 19

An 18m LED screen is placed high on the black back wall.
Runs the width of the stage.
Electronic figures are shown walking along the screen.

Question 20

How does the set show life below the surface?

Answer 20

As the dance is performed underneath the set and design.

Question 21

How does the set show human interactions?

Answer 21

Lack of set below the LED light forces the attention purely on the dancers and their interactions and relationships. The people included in the set further emphasises the focus on people.

Question 22

What is included in the lighting for the Counterpoint Male Trio?

Answer 22

White wash of light with blurred edges at a mid - intensity. Light focuses downstage, leaving upstage in darkness.
Thrown onto the floor from above suggesting they are coming from above ground.

Question 23

What is included in the lighting for Rectangles of light?

Answer 23

Six rectangles of white profile spotlights created in a line on the floor downstage.
Upstage in darkness.

Question 24

What could the rectangles of light represent?

Answer 24

Daylight shining through a drain from above as they are below the city.
Zebra crossing linking to pedestrian theme.
Windows in a tube train linking directly to the London bombing.
Forces focus onto individual relationships and human interactions.

Question 25

What is included in the lighting orange, male solo?

Answer 25

An amber wash of light floods downstage with soft edges. Upstage in darkness.

Question 26

What does the lighting in orange, male solo represent?

Answer 26

Blurred edges create a fog - like atmosphere linking to “wasteland” poem. “Under the brown fog of a winter dawn”. FIRE after a bomb

Question 27

Who created the music for Infra? And sound design?

Answer 27

Max Richter Performed by the Max Richter Quintent with Jonathan Haswell Sound design by Chris Ekers

Question 28

What does the soundscape used include?

Answer 28

Found sound Morse code, radio static, muffled speech, train whistles

Question 29

What does the found sound help to create? (3)

Answer 29

Busy city - reflects the pedestrian movement and everyday mood created. Sound is distorted as if through fog linking to the wasteland poem. Types of found sound are all forms of communication linking to human interactions.

Question 30

What is different about the aural setting in section 5 (male solo)?

Answer 30

Thundering and booming sounds with rumbling effects. Tempo increases in speed.

Question 31

What does aural setting in section 5 reflect?

Answer 31

Mimic the London bombings, creating a tense and nerve - wracking mood to reflect atmosphere. Build in tempo reflects build in tension.

Question 32

What kind of music is heard in section 7( trio)?

Answer 32

Instrumental music becomes soft, sorrowful and melancholy piano medley. Tempo is slow. Transitions move dramatic strings at increased volume as female soloist collapses - CLIMAX

Question 33

What does the music in section 7( trio) reflect?

Answer 33

The sad and poignant mood which reflects the after math of the London bombings. Feelings of loss and grief whilst emphasising the relationships and interactions between the people left.

Question 34

Who designed the costumes for Infra?

Answer 34

Maritz Junge

Question 35

What do 10 of the 12 dancers wear?

Answer 35

Tight fitted Lycra shorts with a variety of different tops in black, grey and white colours. Female dancers wear pointe shoes, male dancers ballet shoes.

Question 36

Why do the dancers wear that?

Answer 36

Monochrome, neutral = urban city All costumes are designed the same but each individuals is slightly different. Creates a more personal twists to a crowd like how McGregor said we view strangers.

Question 37

Why do they wear tight fit, bare legs and shoes?

Answer 37

Focuses attention to “below”

Question 38

How are 2 of the 12 dancers dressed differently?

Answer 38

A female wears a black wrap - around mini skirt with a white vest top, and male wears long black trousers and a bare torso.

Question 39

Why do 2 of the 12 dancers dress differently? (3)

Answer 39

Emphasises their interactions and makes them seem vulnerable in comparison to the others. Skirt is as if she was going somewhere nice, bare top as if he is in his personal clothes at home yet both have been impacted by a disastrous event. Wayne McGregor wanted the audience to make their own conclusions about what happened. He used his clothes as a medical aid to stop bleeding.