Trinity

Created by Jennifer Dallas
with dancers Joanie Audet, Ana Claudette Groppler and Emma Kerson.
Musical performance by Elizabeth Shepherd

 

Trinity began with my interest in the music of big band leader Duke Ellington and has since evolved to include my interest in the women of the day, in particular the flapper culture of the 1920’s. I have begun to create this new work by researching emerging physical language between three women, all within the context of the 1920’s Jazz era with a focus on Ellington’s music.

 

The “Flapper” Definition: fledgling, yet in the nest, and vainly attempting to fly while its wings have only pinfeathers, the symbol of budding girlhood.

 

The 1920’s was a time of fashion, sex and jazz. Flappers broke away from the Victorian image of womanhood. They dropped the corset, chopped their hair, dropped layers of clothing to increase ease of movement, wore make-up, created the concept of dating, and became a sexual person. They created what many consider the “new” or “modern” woman.

 

As a creator and researcher of movement I am interested in the parallel of creating movement that is specific to an individual dancer in the same way that Ellington composed specifically for the skills of his musicians. It is my goal that the language of movement and interaction between these three young dancers will portray a time of the past while still speaking to the issues of the modern woman.

 

Duke Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974)
Ellington wrote over 1,500 compositions and elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. He often composed specifically for the style and skills of the individuals that made up his big band. The music that I have selected thus far spans Ellington’s career, however in our next creation period I am particularly interested in working with Ellington’s compositions from the 1920’s, early in his career yet some say the highlight of his life.