Swansong was choreographed by Christopher Bruce in 1987 for the London Festival Ballet (now called English National Ballet). It lasts 32 minutes and is a work for three dancers, consisting of two interrogators or guard and a victim or prisoner. The original cast was all-male, but was later performed by all-female cast and a mixed gender cast. However, the two guards cannot be of the same gender while the victim is of the opposite gender, as it would suggest a gender issue rather than a political oppression. Moving on, ‘Amnesty International’ was a main stimulus. The piece intends to describe the situation of a person coming from one country, being imprisoned in another due to policy/law differences on treatment and conditions. The Amnesty organisation aims to keep the living conditions of those prisoners at a particular standard. Furthermore, the novel “A man” by Oriana Fallaci and saying ‘goodbye’ to a career as a dancer were also significant stimuli. The recorded music was composed by Phillip Chambon, commissioned by London Festival Ballet. The designer again, was Christopher Bruce and the lighting was designed by David Mohr.
Christopher Bruce designed Swansong’s setting on a bare proscenium stage, which leads the audience’s focus on the movement without any visual distractions. Dull colours are used to create the mood and atmosphere of being in a cell. The backdrop is black, showing that the cell-like stage is small, leaving the prisoner feeling trapped and claustrophobic, also creating a lonely and aggressive atmosphere. Another purpose of the colour is that it makes the dancers’ costumes stand out. The stage is also dark, which emphasises the interrogation. Although the stage is bare the interrogators always enter and exit from the same place on stage right giving the impression of there being a doorway into the dark room.
The only visual clue is a sturdy wooden chair placed downstage right. It is a very important part of Swansong and so, suggests to be the object that comforts the prisoner, due to its constant use as a shield, weapon, a window, a safe place, or even prison bars. As the dance progresses it becomes more of a psychological prop for the victim. It is clear that the guards often attempt (and at times – succeed) to take it away from the victim in order to make him more vulnerable and defenceless. Moreover, there are some additional props. A red nose is used to mock the victim or in other words make him feel humiliated and look silly. At the end of section 2, one of the guards pulls the elastic, aware that the audience and the victim think that he will let it ping back, but doesn’t – creating tension and anxiety. This prop is a reference to Commedia dell’arte. Canes are also used to dance with and use as a weapon to attack the victim’s chair, that is at the time used as a shield. They ‘act’ as a reference to a music hall. Furthermore, we have a cigarette used at the end of section 2 again to mock the victim by blowing smoke in his face, offering him the cigarette but then withdrawing it, teasingly and finally leaving the stage with the prop in hand in a rather careless manner.
David Mohr was the one who designed the lighting. The stage is dimly lit, suggesting a small prison cell. A shaft of light from upstage left is seen during the victim’s solos, symbolic in that it suggests freedom, heaven, the only source of daylight or an escape route, both physically and metaphorically. During the victim’s solo he is constantly moving, gesturing or referencing towards it, proving this idea. During the guards’ interrogation scenes lighting is above the chair, as if a spotlight is used to intensify the questioning. Another spotlight is used to keep the audience’s attention on the dancers. In addition to main lighting – footlights are used to create shadows. At the end of the piece, the victim leaves the stage for the first (and last) time, following the previously mentioned bright shaft of light, suggesting he has finally found freedom.
Philip Chambon (born in London and studied Music and recording at the U niversity of Surrey) composed the music for Swansong, after Bruce had explained the subject matter to him. Sounds were all originally acoustic, then digitally sampled and manipulated, meaning they were edited and played. Sound sources included metal pans and pots from Chambon’s kitchen creating a metallic sound of crashing those together. This was to give the music a sense of harsh reality and also provide intensity to the piece. The use of wind and flute sounds represents the spirit and personal struggle of the victim, including the sound like the cry of a bird. The ‘ch-uh-p-cha’ voices were intended to imitate the sound of someone close by whispering. The tapping in silence is an important accompaniment in that it builds tension, as well as providing a rhythmic sound. Specifically, there is no music in section 5, however there is plenty of sound from the stage such as the sound from the most important prop – the chair, banging on the floor or the soft shoe tap steps of the interrogators. It is important to note that the music was made after the choreography. This situation lets the dancers move away from any sense of counts in most of the sections, not relying or depending on the beat, simply allowing a free interpretation. However there are some sections where the choreography relates strongly to the rhythm and pulse of the music. Particularly, sections 2, 6, 7 and only part of section 1 were choreographed to specific counts.
In my opinion, Swansong and the sound accompaniment and the lighting used within it are a work of creating tension, preparing the audience to ‘expect the unexpected’, whilst discussing the idea of freedom and the feeling of it being taken away from you. The lighting is extremely symbolic, unleashing a small hint of hope for the victim, reminding him to never give up and fight for it, partially with the help of the chair – and its endless amount of uses, supported by the movement and gestures (again, referencing to the shaft of light). The sound accompaniment also add on to the tension and the progression of silence to loud noises and crashes creates a crescendo effect, which makes it easier for the audience to clearly mark the climax of the whole piece.