BODY
To create this choreography I started from some concepts that at the beginning called my attention on the archetype: manipulate and be manipulated. I researched several videos that became reference on quality of movement for Persephone.
If you want to read more about Persephone’s myth and archetype click here.
Based on some of these videos I found popping (which is a style within urban dances based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing the muscles to cause a push in the dancer’s body, referred to as a pop or a beat) and I wanted to test it on my body.
Here is a sequence of photos from a rehearsal in October 2019:
However, in a rehearsal in December 2019 I related the movements of each archetype to a part of the body and Persephone was associated to the spine. From that day on, the movement became more fluid and the quality of popping was somewhat lost. However, I found the spine that moves Persephone from Demeter to Hades and vice versa.
“Persephone: I like the movement of the pubis pulling her towards Hades and the hands towards the mother. Movement of disheveling in the end for not being able to please everyone. Being manipulated by the mother (becoming a doll), but pretending to go on towards Hades. “ Excerpt from my rehearsal diary of January 23, 2020.
Throughout the January rehearsals, many interesting movements emerged until I arrived at the final choreography for the video (the research continues and does not end in this video).
Another excerpt from my rehearsal diary that I would like to share: “Persephone: childish movements towards the mother, something pulls her to the other side and she finds something that pleases her, she is pulled by the mother again childish, is pulled to the other side, explosion, discovery of sexuality, is pulled to the mother and begins to be pulled to both sides until it falls apart, throws itself on the floor, kicking, and ends up alone suffering with hands on its belly. “
MUSIC AND BODY
The process of the relationship between music and body for this video was different from the one of Aphrodite’s and Demeter’s, because Persephone’s music was one of the last that the composer Bobby Locke sent me. However, I felt a strong relationship with the archetype and ideas for movement began to emerge early in the rehearsals.
Since Bobby was working on other songs while I was rehearsing this choreography it was interesting to be able to exchange body references with him before the musical ideas arrived. So our path went: from the body to the music.
VIDEO AND BODY
How to value the dichotomy in Persephone’s relationships through video?
I believe that Persephone’s archetype is the only one (refering to Jean Bolen’s book: “Goddesses in Everywoman”) that has such a strong relationship with two other characters in her story. Persephone’s relationship with her mother Demeter and Hades draws the profile of the person who identifies with this archetype.
The desire to translate this dichotomy of relationships in people who have the Persephone’s archetype latent in their lives, also came when filming the video. I wanted to further value the views of the mother and Hades. So we chose (me and director Cybele Washington) to shoot from three different angles: one of mother Demeter, one of Hades and a frontal one to give the dichotomous dimension of relationships.
Curiosity:
On the shooting day (at Espaço Cia da Revista) we were using white panels as light beaters, but they were not fixed to the floor. So as I repeated the final scene of the video (in which I bang my hands on the floor) the hitters slipped and fell. 🙂 Here is a photo from the day of the shoot.
Another Curiosity:
I made a research of female Brazilian singers before I invited the composer Bobby Locke. Here is a song that I related to Persephone:
Destiny - Xênia França (Translation Gabriela Segato) Inside I'm queen Woman who loves and knows how to say goodbye I know that everything in life happens Who knows me can tell you Everything I hope and I surrender my whole self I bring up the walls From a collapsed shed But God was the one who made me in this life And I follow orders for a good destiny If he wants, I can want
Here is my video of Persephone and write a comment to let me know what you think:
To avoid having to repeat always the same thing in every post I recommmend reading this post about the context of my research and in what moment I am at.
Gabriela Segato 