Learning Resource

Critical Review

The Envelope (1986) by Parson’s Dance Company was David Parson’s first professional piece of choreography and was what got him noticed as a choreographer.  Before then he had trained as a gymnast and sports man, but then was so inspired by the Paul Taylor Dance Company that he decided to become an understudy for them, before later becoming one of their principle dancers. He formed his dance company in 1987 out of the positive response he got from ‘The Envelope’, realising that people wanted to view his works has now gone on to create more than 80 works. The dance contains 7 dancers called: Elizabeth Koeppen, Sumayah McRae, Katarzyna Skarpetowska, Marty Lawson, Michael Snipe, Abby Silva, and Brian McGinnis who are both male and female, but the gender has no impact on their character, design of costume, movements and relationship to each other. I watched the piece on a DVD which would make my viewing of it a different experience to someone who went to view it live as the live band and presents of the dancers gives it a more realistic experience, but the zooming in of the camera on certain movements meant I could see it in more detail (and the camera didn’t cut out any of the movements) and could also rewind anything which I missed. The piece combines different dance styles such as contemporary, jazz (vaudeville) and ballet. The accomplishment was composed by Rossini who was an Italian classical opera composer in the late 1800s early 1900s, and includes the instruments: French horns, violins, flutes and even one of the dancer’s voice in the ‘chase’ section. Parson was sent a CD of a collection of Rossini’s music by a friend who had been listening to it and thought it would be good to choreograph a dance to, so Parson edited the music together to fit the dance which I think he did very well. The design of costume was by Judy Wirkula and was completely black: long loose fitting trousers, glasses (round), sleeveless top, headdress and bare foot. The design for the stage is a proscenium / end on stage with metal posts on each side of the stage and curved branches which shoot out from them which relates to the movements which are based on straight and curved shapes and enhances the idea. It is black in colour with not much lighting, quite bare with no raised areas. There are 3 props in total: the envelope which is the subject matter, white, makes a noise on the floor as has weight and doesn’t glide and is used throughout in every section; the rug/carpet which is long & thin, angular, dust comes off, red implies royalty and also breaks the black/white colour scheme, old, detailed patterns fits with Arabic culture; and the glass of water which is only on the stage for a few seconds but installs humour. The whole dance has a very comical feel to it, with some movements which have been developed so you are unlikely to see in any other piece and make you smile.

Parson got his inspiration from a variety of everyday things like just watching human nature, then replicating their subconscious movements within a dance. The influence for the costume came from an advert in a magazine which had a photo of an Arabic woman who David Parson saw in a magazine wearing a headdress. This also influenced the colour of the costumes which is black (as Arabic women usually wear black) and the angular shape of the headdress suggests a letter box which links with the letter.

The tempo and dynamics of the music changes throughout and the movements change to fit the choreography. This is because Parson was sent a CD of Rossini’s music by a friend who thought he should choreograph a dance to it. He edited the music together to fit the length and style of the dance. Rossini was an Italian composer; composing classical music for operas. One of the pieces of music which is used was also used as the theme tune to ‘The Barber of Seville’ as Rossini composed that opera as well as a lot of other shows.

The start of the piece there is a ‘solo opening section’ where Parson is the only dancer which is like he is introducing the piece (as the choreographer) and the theme of the envelope, by dancing with it and throwing it offstage for it to return almost immediately each time. The single spotlight upstage left draws attention purely to the dancer and as he is restricted by the spotlight he only uses personal space, as well as the black costume making the white envelope stand out to having importance in the piece to the audience. We are also introduce to the attitude motif which is done twice both with single pirouettes, then he pauses in the main motif position as it goes into the next section. There are a lot of pauses in the music to this section which occur when the envelope has been thrown off the stage and end once the envelope is back. This draws even more attention towards the envelope, also is a slow tempo to get into the piece.

In the second duo section the accompaniment starts to build up compared to the last section and there are no pauses, but still uses purely long notes from different instruments. Parson stays in the main motif position under a small spot light, whilst another dancer enters from upstage right under a separate spot light which show the audience that they have no relevance to each other until he jumps into Parson’s arms at the end and they are joined by a big spotlight and note in the music. The dancer who travels on does a lot of sharp arm movements which are repeated later on in the piece such as the movement from the ballet section: keeping upper arms stuck to sides roll forearms in outwards circular movements: right, left, right, left; kick legs behind bending knees in turn out: right, left, right, left. He spins with his left arm out to side and straight and right arm bent with hand on forehead which appears to be a distressed position and implies that he really wants to know what’s in the envelope but can’t find out. The sharp jumps which he repeats and develops to travel forwards are full of energy which is very effective as it keeps the audience interested even though he is doing a solo which means that the audience’s concentration is purely on him.

The entrance of the other dancers for the ‘curiosity’ section includes 6 dancers. The duo from the previous section move from upstage right to the centre of a spotlight, then the other 4 dancers dance in unison around the outside of the spotlight using general space. The 4 dancers develop the main motif by travelling backwards in the position on a relive which is like they are tip-toeing around each other. As at the beginning of the section the accompaniment is made up of quick, short sharp notes which give a sense of urgency, these contrasts with a slower tempo with a lot of single notes on the violin and pauses which enhance the tiptoeing around the circle. Then they all leap towards the envelope as soon as the duo drop it and leave the spot light, also they all go and take a look at the envelope in canon which to me implies that they are competing against each other to find out what’s in it. The way they keep running away from the spotlight, then always turning around to look at it and run back towards it shows that they are trying to ignore it and resist the temptation, but curiosity always gets the better of them in the end.

In the ‘Initiated movement’ section it is like the 4 dancers have been overcome by the power of the envelope. One of the dancers failed to resist the curiosity and picked up the envelope from the centre of the spotlight which then seems to have taken control of him. The accompaniment changes to an increased pitch, tempo and volume where all instruments are being played together for maximum effect, which is when all the dancers seem to be controlled by the envelope and are doing jerky, synchronised movements. It starts as though the envelope is pulling them from side to side by their head, shoulders and elbows and their feet are just running to keep up. 3 dancers perform to the back and 1 to the front at any one time at the beginning and they rotate this. The centre spotlight disappears and turns to dim flood lighting over the whole stage as the dancers use general space to travel around each other. It appears that whoever is holding the envelope is the most affected by it and the audience’s attention is draws to their energetic movements; where as the other dancers are watching in the main motif position. The jerky shaky movements appear to be controlled by the envelope as the dancers hold it as far away from themselves as possible but failing to resist its influences. This could symbolise that whatever is in the envelope has the potential to have a big impact on someone’s life. The other dancers grab hold of each other one by one, all becoming connected to the envelope and taken over by its power. The shape they make together at the end almost refers back to the ‘curiosity’ section as they drop the envelope and appear even more intrigued by it after what has just happened. They drop down the levels in a quick canon towards the envelope after the beat in the accompaniment. This shape also draws attention to their angular elbows which was probably influenced by the rectangular or square shape of the envelope and cross which goes through the middle. The bent leg and foot to knee movement compliments the amount of movement done with bent arms and is repeated throughout the piece.

The accompaniment which kicks in for the ballet section seems completely different as it is much more up tempo, light and high pitched to fit in which the delicate nature of the ballet style. One dancer enters from stage left doing very light movements on a high level which contrasts to the previous section which was very jerky and the dancers from that section are still paused in a low  level in the centre of the stage. The group of 4 dancers use the fact that the costume means you can only see their arms and face against the background to make an angular square shape which refers to an envelope. This movement I thought was very effective and stuck in my mind after id watched it and I even had a go at it myself with some others in my dance class. Most of the movements are done with bent wrists and bent elbows and are very bound, sharp but flowing which fits the ballet style and the angularity which has been influence by the subject matter being the envelope. It has a very different feel to the previous section as appears to even be dreamlike, as though they are fantasising about all the good things which could be in the envelope. The energetic jumps which are done both in sync and canon (which are choreographic devices) imply excitement, then the accompaniment changes to a long boom note along with the lighting which goes from the dim flood light to a centre spotlight as the dancers end in a group position with interweaved straight, sharp arms holding the envelope.

I thought it quite unusual to have a ‘death’ section right in the middle of the piece, but there is one in this and it includes the same 5 dancers as before starting with the spotlight from previous section which disappears after the dancers have marched out of it and flood lighting returns as the dancers use general space. The accompaniment contrasts with the ballet section with a darker, lower pitched sound. Dancer in the centre of the spot light leaves in a diagonal line to downstage left, then 4 dancers march out in formal lines to form one line which travels anticlockwise around the stage from the centre to upstage left. The group of 4 dancers contract in main motif position which could be used to show sorrow and closure which are associated with ‘death’. Solo dancer does leaps and spins around the right hand side of the stage before running to the other dancers upstage left, jumping into their arms and ‘dying’.

The ‘Status/Royal’ section is all about the dancer who has the envelope having the most power and being superior to everyone else. The accompaniment changed to a Fast, sharp notes (some longer than others), a very celebratory sound. The lighting was dimly flood lit as there were 6 dancers around the stage. To have made this section better I think that they could have used lighting to emphasise his high status by adding a spotlight on him as well, also they could have put a higher level in the staging, as he remains standing throughout and there are times when the dancers are on a lower level, but this is not always possible and therefore clear to the audience. The red rug/carpet is used as an additional prop to the envelope in this section. It is long & thin and angular which fits in with the movements used throughout the piece, as well as the red implies royalty and fits with the grand sounding accompaniment and also breaks the black/white colour scheme. The detailed pattern on the rug fits with Arabic culture and therefore would have been influenced by the photo of the Arabic woman in the magazine. The dust coming off the rug as it is rolled out is used for comedy effect, as well as it being a surprise to the audience who wouldn’t be expecting it. The dancer who is playing the high status character is pointing at himself and giving the impression that he is very full of himself and arrogant with an ‘it’s all about me’ attitude, and is also comical to the audience. The other dancers are standing to attention (shows a lot of respect) to the character. The initiated marches (but done on the spot) give that extra sense of royalty and formality to the character. He loses the envelope to one of the other dancers in the end as he is being pulled off stage standing in a powerful stance on the rug which is quite comical.

For the duo ‘Efficiency’ section the accompaniment and lighting stays the same, the dancer who took the envelope at the end of the status section just returns to the stage with another dancer and they repeat and develop different ways of passing the envelope to each other through spins and passes the envelope through legs. It is like they are teasing each other by not wanting the other to find out and wanting to keep it to themselves but teasing them with it anyway. Like when you have a secret which you don’t want anyone to know, but keep telling them that you have a secret anyway which makes them curious and want to find out what it is. Or it could possibly be implying a fight between 2 people over what is in the envelope, or even that they are working together to find out what it is. They are sharp, repeated movements and the dancer goes with and reacts off what the other does.

The ‘Pass it on’ group section is very similar to the ‘efficiency’ section and is just of the full cast of dancers (7, this is the first time we see them all to be on stage together) instead of just the duo passing the envelope around the group. The accompaniment is also the same, as well as the dim floodlighting also being used. It develops the movements first done by the duo and develops the main motif when the dancers are passing the envelope with one hand on hip and shoulder pushed forwards and head in line with spine. Towards the end they all travel around the general space clockwise on a medium level.

The next ‘solo’ section is also done by Parson, and the accompaniment changes to a darker sound and pauses a lot for emotional impact. He is under a spot light which is centre stage, holding the envelope in his mouth. His starting position is with his shoulders pushed forwards, on a relive and holding his ankles. This makes his movements very restricting and bound which could imply that the envelope is having a strong hold on him as a person, also the shape he is making is very angular with the bent knees and elbows which is used in a lot of movements and refers to the shape of the envelope. He moves in the restricting position which shows resistance, then falls backwards and pops his head up to the audience which is quite comical and like he’s making a joke out of his bad situation. Then at one of the pauses in the music he takes the envelope out of his mouth and someone from backstage comes on and hands him a glass of water. This is done because if you hold paper in your mouth for a long amount of time then it dries it out, so the water was just hydrating it, but is very unexpected and clever which surprises the audience which I think was done to good effect because it keeps them interested in seeing what will come next, and is also very comical because the pause in the accompaniment implies it is done almost as though they have stopped the dance for it although the performance is still all there. It wouldn’t surprise me if this choreography was developed during a rehearsal, after Parson found that his mouth was actually going dry and someone had to hand him a drink of water before going into the next section, so he decided to work on the comical effect and add it in. During the travelling section, Parson travels in a diagonal pathway around the stage, and he develops the main motif in this section

The ‘chase’ section starts with 2 dancers (one male and 1 female) travelling in a diagonal from upstage left to downstage right, but the female stops about 1/3 of the way and sings a full long high notes to the accompaniment then the tempo increases again. The lighting throughout is very dim so that you can almost only see their arms, but by the end it has bright floodlights for the first time in the piece which could imply that they are becoming even more optimistic of what is in the envelope and uses the full cast of 7 dancers again. The movements are very energetic and on a high level such as jumps and spins travelling anticlockwise using general space which enhances the optimistic feel about the envelope, as well as choreographic devices such as ‘canon’ are used for the jumps fits in with the beats in the music. This section also includes repetition of the attitude motif and repetition of a lot of the jumps and movements from the ballet section such as bent wrists with arms straight by sides whilst running. The synchronised group movement of running away from and then back towards the circle shows the audience that the characters are still curious about what it is inside the envelope, but the dancers seem move excited and optimistic about what’s inside than they were before such as in the death section.

The finale runs straight from the previous section including all 7 of the dancers who use the whole stage and general space to dance in and without any change in the accompaniment and the lighting is still a bright floodlighting, which implies that in the end what was in the envelope was a good thing after all. It is made up of repetition and development of a lot of movements (choreographic devices) which were done throughout the piece including repetition of the shape used near the beginning of the ballet section, then the shape from the end of the ‘initiated movements’ section with all the dancers still looking curiously at the envelope which enhances the fact that they still are curious and don’t knows what’s inside it, but aren’t letting it take control of them. Also from the ballet section is the jumps (which is change in levels) and turns which are done in canon on the beat of the accompaniment. They are all very energetic and high levelled movements which make it very interesting and pleasant to watch.

                                       

In conclusion I think that the idea behind the envelope is to represent when you really want to find something out but cant. Whether it be something insignificant or something which will change your life, something which will make you happy or something that will make you sad, not knowing and being curious about it can affect everything which you do (like it affects the dancers in the piece). The dancers were drawn to the envelope like there was some sort of bond which they couldn’t resist, yet every time they can close to opening it something would happen which meant that they couldn’t. It also took hold of them at time and effected the way they moved which implied how much thing can affect people by something which has happened or been told to them. You never do find out what is actually in the envelope, but I think that the beginning is all about the curiosity of wanting to know what’s inside it; then the middle is imagining what it could be and is quite pessimistic about it but the thought it could be to do with death and all the movements are quite negative and take control of the dancer all the time and getting in the way of everything they do not allowing them to be themselves, the music is low pitch and the lighting is dark; and the end is very optimistic with lots of leaps and jumps and high energy, high level movements implies they have become more excited by the envelope and just want to know what’s inside it. The lighting becomes brighter that it has been throughout the piece and all of 7 dancers are included in it which shows that the envelope has brought them together in a way which they might not have done if it didn’t exist, which is also true in reality because it was the piece ‘The Envelope’ which got David Parson to for the Parson’s Dance Company so if it wasn’t for the envelope it might never have been formed. This shows how important the piece is for the company.

The lighting was by Howell Binkley and throughout used spot lights when there was a solo or a section which was concentrated on a small section with dancers complimenting around the outside of the spotlight, then a dim floodlight when there was a group is dancing in the general space and at the end this floodlight brightened to imply optimism The lighting worked most of the time because it draws the attention of the audience to the minimum which is needed (which is the dancers). Also the lights are shone from above oppose to from above the audience which means there are no shadows, which works with the costume which is black because only the arms, face and feet are meant to be on show. I think that the lighting could have been improved in the status section by having a spot light on the dancer on the rug to draw more attention to him.

The main motif is developed throughout the dance from the original pose to travelling with walks and runs forwards, then stow walks backwards on a relive and it done both solo and in groups. Also when they are travelling around each other in the group ‘pass it on’ section passing on the envelope they have their hand on their hip with shoulder pushed forwards and head in line with spine, as well as in the chase section they walk in the main motif position moving their elbows forwards and backwards.

This was a humorous piece which I would recommend as a highly effective piece, set to a Rossini score. The dancers were engaging and even with the costume restricting their use of facial expression and visibility to the audience still managed to do the movements and use the rest of their faces to communicate the theme of the envelope and everything that it represented successfully and with precision to the music. The unusual movements and shapes were creative and developed throughout, and contained comical elements which surprise and entertain to make sure you will thoroughly enjoy the time you spend watching it.