Structure

Beginning: Two dancers emerge from the side of the stage, introducing the themes of the dance. Dancers are introduced as normal working class people, illustrating the atmosphere in the city before the attacks took place.

Middle: First explosion happens and the themes of fear and panic are introduced. The Dancers perform varies sections in canon and others in unison showing the motifs of planes and fear.

End: Second explosion happens. Dancer 2 lies dead on the floor as Dancer 1 manages to escape. The dance ends with Dancer 1 breaking the 4th wall and directly addressing the audience in the words President Bush - 'Thank you, good night and good bless America'.

Climax: There are two climaxes in my dance - the two explosions. However, there are no build ups to the climaxes because the explosions were meant to be unexpected and sudden.

Highlights: There is a lift performed where Dancer 1 lifts Dancer 2 on her back while Dancer 2 kicks her legs upwards. This is probably the highlight of my dance because in my opinion it accurately summarises the feelings of the people who were present on that day including those who were willing to support and help, but also those who were trapped and unable to free themselves from the debris.

Motif 3 - Development 2 (Instrumentation)

In this development, I have developed motif 3 using instrumentation. Instead of using my hands as the wings of the plane, I have decided to use my legs instead. 

- Starting from the floor.













- Step forward on the right leg and the left leg, like the hands of a clock rotates 360 degrees. At the same time the left hand is stretched at the side.








































- Fluidly roll on the floor with arms stretched at the side.








































- Get up and stand in a neutral position facing stage right.





















- Stretch the left and the right arm over the head, and fan kick with the right leg.

Programme and Information

AQA GCSE Dance Unit 4b – Solo or Group Choreography

Name: Matilda Bui                       

Candidate Number: 2141

Centre Number: 74720

Stimulus: An event – the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre.

My Dance Idea: I have taken the events from the attacks and come up with an episodic piece, one that portrays the happenings on the day of the attacks. There are two people who work in the World Trade Centre, and everything begins as a normal day as they saunter into the office, amongst the hustle and bustle of New York City.  However, after the attack, the two dancers evolve to illustrate the devastation and panicked nature one would expect from the people who were trapped in the buildings.  As a result, a common theme would be the support that was provided from everyone during the rescue efforts, as well as the pure destruction and damage as a result of the 9/11 attacks.

Title of Dance: God Bless America

Choice of ACTIONS and significance to my dance idea

What actions/motifs have you chosen to use in your dance and why?

Common motifs that are seen in my dance include the stretching out of arms to the side to represent how the attack on the World Trade Centre was carried out by the hijacking of 2 planes. There are also many times where the dancers are covering their faces, as I thought this accurately portrayed the first instincts that many people in the building at that time would have had – to cover their heads in protection from falling debris. Another common action that is seen through my dance is a developed idea where the dancers would either fall from a high position, or lean off balance. In my opinion, this is how most people will imagine the events from the 9/11 – from the point of view of a bystander outside the buildings as the World Trade Centre was one of the most prominent buildings in New York and in the few minutes managed to collapse from its great height into pure debris and dust.

Choice of DYNAMICS and significance to my dance idea

Which dynamics are used mostly in your piece and why?

I think there are quite a wide range of dynamics in my piece, ranging from slow and gentle to fast and harsh. In my case it is quite difficult to use only a set kind of dynamics as the piece is episodic. Before the attacks took place, everyone would have regarded the 11^th of September as a normal day thus a more relaxed and slow paced sort of dynamics. However, I would imagine that after the first plane had crashed into a building, there would be more panic and fast movements. On the other hand, as one is able to realise from my dance piece, there would also be slow movements after the attack as people in the building may have been trapped and unable to run around.

Choice of SPACE and significance to my dance idea

What space/directions/levels do you use and why?

Once again there are quite a wide range of space, directions and levels used in my dance. To summarise, there are moments in my where the two dancers run around taking a big space to symbolise the panic, where everyone’s first reaction would probably have been to find safety. As this is the case, many of the directions are random and are not set. On the other hand, there are also points in time where the dancers perform in a small space to represent the people in the buildings who may have been trapped under the debris and unable to escape. There are also many levels used – mainly quite high levels to show represent the tall buildings but there are also low movements to show how trapped people were.

Choice of RELATIONSHIPS and significance to my dance idea

Solo or group piece? Why?

I decided to do a group piece because I thought having two people in the piece would reflect on the fact that there were two planes that crashed into two buildings. Also, it was easier to work with two people as this enabled me to choreograph a wider range of movements including more lifts, contact work and I could also do actions in canon etc. These would not have been possible if I had chosen to do a solo piece.

Structure

See page 60 in text book (binary/ternary/rondo/fugue/theme and variation/narrative or episodic)

My dance is episodic and reflects the order of events on the day of the 9/11 attacks. It starts off with a flash to the events of the day, before going into detail and running through the events of the day in order. First, two dancers walk in as if they were going to work in the busy streets of New York. There is a loud crash before the dancers run off stage and the day begins. Once again, Dancer 1 and 2 enter onto the stage as if going to work. After the first crash, both dancers are on the floor and the motifs of fear and panic are introduced. Then there is a second crash, where Dancer 2 lies on the floor and can be assumed to be one of the victims killed in the attack. Dancer 1 at this point in time runs in a panic in a desperate attempt to save Dancer 2. Then, Dancer 1 comes to the centre of the stage and breaks the 4^th wall, addressing the audience as the accompaniment goes ‘Thank you, goodnight and god bless America’, and the Dancer salutes the audience, as the President addressed the people of the world after the attacks.

Aural Accompaniment

What music have you chosen and why? (dynamics/structure/instruments etc)

I have chosen the instrumental version of ‘Mad World’ by Gary Jules as well as combined it with some news reports from the day of the attack. To end everything off, there is a monologue by the President of America at that time. I really liked the melody of the song because it was very reflective and quite deep, and really makes the audience think back to the events from the day. The melody of ‘Mad World’ is genuinely rather sad and there is a lack of percussion. The instruments that make up the song are mainly string instruments including the violin as well as the piano. The continuous melody makes it difficult to distinctly separate and divide the song into sections, so there is no obvious structure to it. However, the loud booms and crashes in the song can separate the dance into sections – before the first plane crashed, after the first plane crashed.

Costume/props/set

Dancer 1 is wearing a white tank top and Dancer 2 is wearing a black tank top. Both dancers are wearing black leggings and a red tie. I thought the contrast between black and white could symbolise the two effects of the 9/11 attacks – the black shirts representing the obvious devastation and injustice of the attacks but the white shirt also shows how the attacks brought about realisation for the people and also highlighted how the community and the world had come together during this time. The red tie represents two things – the working class who were mainly the victims and also the red represents the bloodshed in the attack.

There are no props in my dance.  

Motif 1 - Development 2 (levels)

- Crouch over with both legs bent and hands covering the top of head.















- Get up to a higher position, shuffling back once to get into a position where both hands are in front of face and fists are clenched.



















- Turning to the right on the right foot on demi pointe, do one pirouette, with the right arm stretching upwards in the process.








































- Stretch right leg forwards and suddenly collapse onto the floor, in a half split facing the audience. Look down and then look back up.

Timeline and explanation

Explaining certain sections of my dance that I feel need some explanation

Recurring actions : 
- From tall and high positions, falling over / Leaning off balance --> this represents the two towers of the World Trade Centre collapsing after the attack.
- While rolling, hands are often stretched to the side --> this represents the wings of the plane.
- The covering of faces --> this quite obviously simply represents the immediate reaction many incidents when the natural reaction of people would be to protect the most important part of the body - their heads. This would be the exact case in the 9/11 attacks as many people would have been trying to prevent their heads from being hit by any falling debris.

1) The dance starts out with Dancer 1 walking out from the side, followed by Dancer 2 who walks out in the same way. The dancers walk out for 3 steps whilst swinging their arms before turning on one leg and swinging their arms over their heads
--> As my dance is episodic, I think thought that this represented the everyday routine of the victims of the attacks. The entrance of the people is shown throw the miming of a person walking to work on the streets, holding a briefcase perhaps.

2) The dancers both alternately wait in a position where they stick their arms out in front of them in a strong and rigid way.
--> This action shows a person trying to flag down a taxi or a bus, as one would expect in the busy city of New York.

3) Dancer 2 runs towards Dancer 1 who is 'flagging a taxi' and hits her, before sticking her arm out to flag the taxi as well.
--> In my opinion, it was important to illustrate how busy the location of the attack was, as this led to the increased impact on the attack afterwards. By rushing to try and flag a taxi down for herself, Dancer 2 has accidentally hit Dancer 1. This shows the true hustle and bustle of a city.

4) Next comes a section which foreshadows the nature and following happenings of the dance. Dancer 1 turns to face the front and her arms stretch out to the side, resembling the wings of a plane and Dancer 2 stretches her leg 180 degrees backwards. Dancer 1 pushes Dancer 2, who falls over. Then, both dancers jerkily break and get to the floor.
--> Here, I intended to make a little flash to foreshadow the events that would take place later on the day of the attack. Dancer 2, as a perpendicular shape, represents the two buildings that were attacked that day as Dancer 1 obviously represents the hijacked plane that crashed into the building. The fall of Dancer 2 shows the collapse of the towers and the breaks of the dancers before getting to the floor also represent how in the process of crashing into the tower, the plane was also completely destroyed.

5) After the crash, both dancers 1 and 2 return to the side. Dancer 1 emerges again, rolling on the floor before looking left and right and pointing at her 'watch'.
--> This once again depicts the busy and rushing scenes of a typical city, where the attacks took place.

6) Dancer 2 also walks out from the sides in the same way as before in Part 1.

7) Whilst Dancer 2 is walking, Dancer 1 stretches her hands out to the side before bringing her arms to roll her head.
--> I imagined the stretching of arms to the side to be linked to someone trying to stop something, almost as if the Dancer was trying to stop what was about to happen. And I thought the head roll represented a disastrous and frustrating nature.

8) At the same time, both dancers fall backwards into a fish roll. Then roll onto their backs and stretch their hands on top of their heads and bring themselves to a sitting position. In the sitting position, covering their heads.
--> The fall from a standing position onto the floor represents the buildings of the World Trade Centre collapsing after the plane had crashed into it.
--> It is obvious that in the sitting position, the dancers are showing the fear and desire for protection the victims in the building at that point of the attack.

9) Dancers step forwards and do an illusion, where legs stretch 360 degrees before they stand up facing opposite directions away from each other. Then, as if someone had called for help, they turn to face each other.
--> The illusion once again shows the buildings reaching the highest point before they collapse.

10) To contrast each other, Dancer 1 falls to the floor with her left leg stretched to the side. Simultaneously, Dancer 2 jumps upwards. Both dancers rise up from the ground to a standing position with heads down and arms stretched to the side. Then they lean off balance into 3 steps ending with the back foot on demi-pointe and arms covering face.
--> The rising from the ground into the position with their arms at their side represents how the planes rose among the buildings and at that moment in time, no one could have done anything to stop the attack thus the plane was almost gradually rising to power.
--> The covering of the face with both hands represents the want to protect themselves from injury.

11) In canon, the dancers turn around to a crouched position with their hands clutching their stomach. Then, with their arms at the side, they roll to the floor ending in a position where their head is down and their right arm is stretched above their heads.
--> The fact that the two dancers perform this in canon represents how the attacks were on the two towers, one after the other.
--> The crouching position is the common image of pain and the crouched position represents the aftermath of the attack when all the people who had were not immediately killed were trapped and caught under all the debris.
--> The hand stretching upwards shows how it was when all these people were trapped that they hoped to be saved and stretch their hands up as if someone could have been there to help them up.

12) Dancer 1 breathes in deeply and Dancer 2 kicks her legs 3 times before breathing in deeply as well.
--> I thought it would be nice to portray the deep breaths, even possibly the final breaths of some people trapped in the wreckage.

13) Dancer 2 goes into a bridge and stretches her arm upwards, Dancer 1 stretches her arm in front of her towards the audience.
--> This symbolises the people who were trapped and at that point in time could not help themselves. Thus, they were reaching out in all sorts of directions in the hope that they will receive the help they need to be freed.

14) Dancer 2 lays on the floor and Dancer 1 gets up off the floor before pulling Dancer 2 off the floor as well.
--> The simple action of Dancer 1 helping Dancer 2 off the floor is a summary of the people who helped the victims of the 9/11 attacks in anyway. Many risked their own lives to save that of others, many people helped the victims' families financially and basically it was a time where many helped the victims.

15) Dancer 1 supports Dancer 2 in a lift where Dancer 2 is on top of Dancer 1's back. After a pause, Dancer 2 kicks her leg 3 times upwards.
--> The lift shows the literal support of the people who helped out, and was a time where many saw how interdependent humans were.
--> The 3 kicks showed the desire to break free but being held down by something.

16) Dancer 1 and 2 separate as Dancer 1 jumps to the side and Dancer 2 moves backstage. Dancer 2 performs a motif 1 development with very quick hand gestures covering her face in protection while Dancer 1 crouches over jerkily. Together, Dancers 1 and 2 perform motif 1's development 1, consisting of the covering of face as well as the leaning off balance.
--> The quick hand gestures (motif 1) represent the fear in the people as they cover their heads in protection.
--> the leaning off balance links to the falling over of the two tall buildings.

17) Alternately, Dancer 1 and 2 perform Motif 3 in at different timings and with different dynamics as they travel in different directions.

18) At the same time, Dancers 1 and 2 perform Motif 1, development 2.

19) Dancer 2 begins to run in a circle as Dancer 2 chases her. Then, Dancer 1 falls in the process.
--> represents how many people were willing to go through hardships in order to save others, even if it meant that they would fall in the process.

20) The second crash happens and Dancer 1 and 2 do a jump, before Dancer 2 lies on the floor without moving, and Dancer 1 falls onto the floor as well. Dancer 1 rolls away from Dancer 2, stretching her arm towards Dancer 2 in a desperate attempt to help her in any way.
--> After the second explosion, it can be assumed that Dancer 2 dies.
--> Dancer 1 tries and stretches out her arms to try and save Dancer 2.

21) Dancer 1 walks to the centre of the stage, salutes the audience before kneeling on the floor in a bow.
--> This represents the salute to the victims, as President George Bush says in his speech - 'thank you, goodnight, and God bless America'.
--> Afterall, the piece is meant to be reflective and to remind the audience of the tragedy that struck New York.

Music Breakdown

Time	Description of Sound/Music	Bar of 8 counts	Description of Dance
0:00 – 0:12	Violin melody playing, the main melody in the whole piece. Also accompanied by piano chords.	2	Dancer 1 walks our from the side, followed by Dancer 2, both ending in a position with right arm in front of body.
0:12 – 0:31	Continued violin melody, with piano chords in the background.	3 1/4	Dancers do a small section of dance downstage.
0:31 – 0:35	Loud crash and boom	1/4	Dancers arms fall and they roll and run offstage to the side.
0:35 – 0:46	Plain piano melody with piano chords.	2	Dancer 1 walks in from Stage Right, followed by Dancer 2 walking in from Stage Left.
0: 47 – 1:04	Breaking news report on the attack, piano chords playing as well.	3 1/4	Dancers do a section in unison on the floor and then separate to stage left and right.
1:04 – 1:20	Plain alternating piano chords	3	In canon, dancers perform a development before rolling to the floor for a slow section.
1:20 – 1:28	Continued piano chords, with an additional layer of a different melody playing over the chords.	1 1/2	Dancer 1 runs away from Dancer 2 before coming back to pick Dancer 2 off the floor.
1:28 – 1:30	Complete silence	1/2	Dancer 1 lifts Dancer 2 on her back. On counts 3 and 4, Dancer 2 kicks her leg upwards 3 times.
1:30 – 1:39	Piano chords building up towards silence again.	1 1/2	In unison, dancers perform a motif facing the front.
1:39 – 1:41	Complete silence.	1/2	Dancers do a motif step, where balancing on one leg and they lean off balance.
1:41 – 2:00	Continued piano chords and melody. At the same time, a speech by the president is overlapping.	3 1/2	Both dancers perform plane related motifs followed by another ‘protection’ motif simultaneously.
2:00 – 2:03	Complete silence	1/2	Both dancers on the floor, ‘breathe in’ and bring body up.
2:03 – 2:09	An echo of the words ‘mad world’ is played	1	Dancers run around in a circle, as if Dancer 1 is trying to chase Dancer 2.
2:09 – 2:25	Loud boom and crash to illustrate the second plane crashing, followed by news report.	3	Dancer 2 ‘dies’ and lies on floor. Dancer 1 runs and tries to help Dancer 2 but is unable to.
2:25 – 2:30	‘Thank you. Goodnight. And god bless America’ – The words of the president’s speech.	1/2	Dancer 1 stands in the middle of the stage and salutes the audience.