View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by City Research Online Wallis, L (2010). An exploration of the work of David Bintley, a very ‘English’ choreographer, with particular reference to his use of English Morris dance in Still Life at the Penguin Café and the process of translating ‘genuine’ English Morris dance to a theatrical environment.. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance/ City, University of London) City Research Online Original citation: Wallis, L (2010). An exploration of the work of David Bintley, a very ‘English’ choreographer, with particular reference to his use of English Morris dance in Still Life at the Penguin Café and the process of translating ‘genuine’ English Morris dance to a theatrical environment.. (Unpublished Doctoral thesis, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance/ City, University of London) Permanent City Research Online URL: http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/17616/ Copyright & reuse City University London has developed City Research Online so that its users may access the research outputs of City University London's staff. Copyright © and Moral Rights for this paper are retained by the individual author(s) and/ or other copyright holders. All material in City Research Online is checked for eligibility for copyright before being made available in the live archive. URLs from City Research Online may be freely distributed and linked to from other web pages. Versions of research The version in City Research Online may differ from the final published version. Users are advised to check the Permanent City Research Online URL above for the status of the paper. Enquiries If you have any enquiries about any aspect of City Research Online, or if you wish to make contact with the author(s) of this paper, please email the team at [email protected]. An exploration of the work of David Bintley, a very ‘English’ choreographer, with particular reference to his use of English Morris dance in Still Life at the Penguin Café and the process of translating ‘genuine’ English Morris dance to a theatrical environment. Lucy Wallis, BA (Hons), AISTD Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in the graduate school. August 2010 1 Table of Contents List of illustrations ....................................................................................................... 5 Dedication ..................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................... 8 Declaration .................................................................................................................... 9 Abstract ....................................................................................................................... 10 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 11 Chapter one Methodology ................................................................................................................ 16 1.1 Ethnographic modes of study and approaches to fieldwork .................................. 16 - Participant observation .............................................................................................. 18 - Insider/outsider approaches ....................................................................................... 21 - Embodiment ............................................................................................................... 26 - The individual researcher: Reflexivity ...................................................................... 28 1.2 Methods used in the development of an analytical model ..................................... 29 - Hungarian folk dance models .................................................................................... 29 - G. Martin and E. Pesovár .......................................................................................... 30 - Lionel Bacon’s A handbook of Morris dances (1974) ............................................... 32 - Laban’s theories of movement and space .................................................................. 35 1.3 Approach to practice based research methods ....................................................... 36 1.4 An overview of historical figures concerned with English folk dance .................. 39 - Mary Neal (1860-1944) and Cecil Sharp (1859-1924) .............................................. 39 - John Forrest ............................................................................................................... 46 - Chris Bearman ........................................................................................................... 48 - Theresa Buckland ...................................................................................................... 50 Chapter two David Bintley: Influences, ideological inheritance and the preservation of an ‘English’ tradition ........................................................................................................ 52 2.1 The concept of Englishness .................................................................................... 52 2.2 Bintley and an English ballet tradition ................................................................... 60 - Realism in English ballet ........................................................................................... 76 - Bintley and the Birmingham Royal Ballet ................................................................. 81 2.3 An overview of Bintley’s career ............................................................................ 83 2 2.4 David Bintley: A summary of his creative process and practice ........................... 89 2.5 Still Life at the Penguin Café and the preservation of culture ............................... 93 Chapter three In the field: Ethnographic study with the Ravensbourne Morris Men ....................... 107 3.1 The Ravensbourne Morris Men and questions of identity, age, gender and personal style .............................................................................................................. 107 - Local identity and discretion.................................................................................... 112 - Age and gender ........................................................................................................ 114 - The Morris tradition and questions of style ............................................................. 117 3.2 Bintley’s experiences of the authentic Morris dance tradition............................. 119 3.3 English Cotswold Morris tradition vs. Bintley’s theatrical form: A table of comparisons ............................................................................................................... 121 Chapter four Still Life at the Folk Café ........................................................................................... 144 4.1 Workshop analysis ............................................................................................... 144 - Key variations .......................................................................................................... 155 - Weight and flow....................................................................................................... 156 - Flexion of the knee and foot .................................................................................... 157 - Flexibility ................................................................................................................. 158 4.2 The rehearsal process ........................................................................................... 158 4.3 The performance of Still Life at the Folk Café ................................................... 165 4.4 Reflections on the creation of a folk-inspired ballet dance .................................. 173 Chapter five Training workshop with the Ravensbourne Morris Men ........................................... 181 5.1 Crossing of genres: Professional versus folk dance practice ............................... 181 5.2 Style specific variations and teaching methods ................................................... 186 5.3 My changing role as a researcher ......................................................................... 196 5.4 Gender issues ....................................................................................................... 199 3 5.5 ‘Invisible techniques’ and the pasing on of the dance tradition ........................... 201 5.6 Bintley and the translation of the folk dance form ............................................... 202 Chapter six Conclusions and further recommendations for research ............................................ 207 6.1 The future of Morris dance .................................................................................. 207 6.2 The development of a Morris-inflected dance style ............................................. 210 - Deciphering the language of Morris dance .............................................................. 215 6.3 The study of other folk dance styles .................................................................... 217 6.4 Bintley’s national and international identity ........................................................ 218 6.5