Natalie Weir's 'The Host'
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Natalie Weir’s ‘The Host’ INTRODUCTION … to the Teacher Resource Pack The following pack is designed to give teachers and students an exclusive insight into the creation and presentation of Expressions Dance Company’s 2015 production of ‘The Host’. To create the Teacher Resource Pack, we examined the 2010 Senior Dance Syllabus, paying particular attention to teacher and student needs for Appreciation and Choreography. We also sought to provide dance teachers and students with a unique perspective on the creation of the work, to further their understanding of choreographic and design processes and how this translates into performance. We have also provided some example Appreciation and Choreography tasks, which could be used as stimulus for assessment tasks after viewing the performance. EXCLUSIVE Access to the creative team and their methods… EXAMINE Example assessment tasks… EXTEND Themes and ideas surrounding the work, and how these could be explored further… EXPRESSIONS Background information on Expressions Dance Company… TEACHER RESOURCE PACK CONTENTS Introduction 2 Synopsis and information about Natalie Weir 3 EXCLUSIVE Interview with Natalie Weir and Storyboard 5 Character summary 8 Interviews with the dancers 9 Costume sketches by Gail Sorronda 13 Interview with Gail Sorronda 14 EXAMINE Example Appreciation Task 1 15 Example Appreciation Task 2 16 Example Appreciation Task 3 17 Example Choreography Task 1 18 Example Choreography Task 2 20 Example Choreography Task 3 (Classroom task) 21 EXTEND Extend, Explore, Connect and Engage 22 History of EDC 23 We are very interested in the continual improvement of our Teacher Resource Packs. If you have any feedback on the pack, please feel free to us know. Contact Expressions Dance Company on [email protected] or 07 3257 4222. THE HOST 2 TEACHER RESOURCE PACK ‘THE HOST’ (2015) PRESENTED BY EDC & QPAC Synopsis You've never been to a dinner party like this before! Combining gripping dance theatre with a touch of explosive fun, 'The Host' will take you on a thrilling ride through the lifestyles of the power hungry. An elegant dinner party hosted by an influential young man for his manipulative guests is thrown into turmoil when power meets greed, ambition and jealousy. As the evening wears on 'The Host' exposes society’s insatiable desire for control and status and the power play between the guests intensifies as the accusations start to fly. 1-9 May 2015 Cremorne Theatre, QPAC An elegant dinner party hosted by an influential young man for his manipulative guests is thrown into turmoil when power meets greed, ambition and jealousy. As the evening wears on The Host exposes society’s insatiable desire for control and status and the power play between the guests intensifies as the accusations start to fly. Who really holds the power at this sophisticated table? And who will be in control by the time coffee is served? Combining gripping dance theatre with a touch of explosive fun, The Host will take you on a thrilling ride through the lifestyles of the power hungry. You will be struck by the luscious design, including dazzling costumes by Brisbane-based fashion designer Gail Sorronda, and the enduring story told by multiple award- winning choreographer, Natalie Weir in this world premiere production. Presented by Expressions Dance Company and Queensland Performing Arts Centre Concept and Choreography – Natalie Weir Dancers – Expressions Dance Company Musical Director – Tania Frazer Costume Design – Gail Sorronda Lighting Design – Ben Hughes About Natalie Weir Natalie is known internationally for her highly physical partner work, her organic movement style and her touching insight into human nature. On her journey with EDC as Artistic Director, Natalie continues to create work that balances artistic risk with accessibility and that speaks of humanity. Natalie Weir has created over 160 professional works in her 25+ year career. She was a founding member of Expressions Dance Company and was offered her first choreographic commission by Expression’s artistic director, Maggi Sietsma at 18. Natalie was resident choreographer for Queensland Ballet and Australian Ballet and has worked extensively throughout Australia, creating works for the country’s other major classical and contemporary dance companies, including West Australian Ballet, Dancenorth and Australian Dance Theatre. Career highlights include creating Petrushka for Queensland Ballet and Dark Lullaby for the Australian Ballet. THE HOST 3 TEACHER RESOURCE PACK Natalie has also created works for, or had her works performed by, international companies such as Houston Ballet, Singapore Dance Theatre, Hong Kong Ballet and American Ballet Theatre. Natalie’s work has been recognised through Helpmann Awards for where the heart is (2011), Australian Dance Awards for where the heart is (2011) and R&J (2012). Her work Steppenwolfe for Houston Ballet received the prestigious Choo San Goh AwarD and her original version of Turandot for the Hong Kong Ballet received the 2004 Dance Award for Best New Work. Natalie was appointed Artistic Director of EDC in January 2009, fulfilling her long-term dream to build an ensemble of dancers and contribute to the future of Australian Dance. EXCLUSIVE Introduction to ‘The Host’ by EDC Artistic Director, Natalie Weir (16th Feb 2015) 1. What is the story presented in ‘The Host’? ‘The Host’ is an idea I have played with over time in my career. It intrigued me. It’s set around a dinner party and I guess it really is an observation of status, power and the manipulation of power. A little bit of a social comment I guess. It is a dinner party that deteriorates into craziness. The Host is a young man of great wealth that he has married into. He manipulates the guests at the table and they all want something from him – his stature, his money or his power. There is a bit of a twist at the end because his wife really is the one who has all the power, not him. It is a narrative work. 2. What roles do each of the dancers play in ‘The Host’? Jack is the Host. Ben is the Wannabe social climber and will do anything to get to the top and will walk over whoever to achieve that. Elise is the Hostess, Jack’s wife. She comes from old money and she is an ageing wealthy woman. Jack has a lover (younger woman - Michelle) she manipulates him is other ways. Daryl is a man who once had a great empire but has fallen and lost his status. He is a bit of a has been and it is a bit sad really. He once was the boss but he has been overtaken by Jack’s company. Rebecca is a party girl going along for the ride. Cloudia is quite introverted and is a bit overwhelmed by it all. 3. Is it an Australian dinner party? Does it have a time or place context? It could be a party set any where is the world. 4. Does the storyline stem from a dinner party you were a guest of? The original idea came to me quite a long time ago when I was a young girl at a dinner party and I was sitting there and I thought, this would make a really good dance piece. I have played with this idea three times. Once when I was really young, then about 20 years ago with the Queensland Ballet and then 10 years ago with the Houston Ballet. It is just such a great idea, it allows for plenty of fodder. Everyone has been to a dinner party like that and everybody knows someone with wealth, power, status or the want for those things. It is a good concept because everyone can relate to it. It is set around a big table. The table is used very much as a prop that the dancers climb all over, under and stand of top of. Each of the characters want something different from that night so we are exploring all of that. It will have some kind of social context but is not particularly about someone. It is a bit fun, something different, very accessible, and sexy, fun contemporary dance. 5. You have a new collaboration with a fashion designer this year – Gail Sorronda, has that affected anything in the development process of the work? She is an amazing fashion designer. She is very famous more so internationally than here in Australia. She THE HOST 4 TEACHER RESOURCE PACK has a boutique down in James St – The Valley. She has never designed for dance but she is working in the contemporary fashion world and this idea really appealed to her. Her designs are so beautiful. The girls’ costumes are so elegant and it just gives it a different feel to it being a dance costume. The men all have different suits and different looks, so it looks rich and beautiful. 6. Musically, what can the audience expect from this work? I am working with Tanya Frazer again from The Southern Cross Soloists. She is currently pulling a lot of music together. There will be a string quartet playing live. She is looking for music for string instruments. The quartet will be placed in the balcony just off stage so they will hover over the action of the dancers. We decided that having them on stage will just add a bit more oomph to it. So it is eclectic music, mostly from older musicians who have passed away. The dancers may end up with some musical motifs as the work progresses. 7. How will the black space of the Cremorne Theatre be transformed for this work? The table will be the centre and then floating above centre stage will be a large chandelier and it will be a chandelier made with top hats.