That Second Realm Pt 1

Choreography Susie Crow, music Jeremy Thurlow, danced by Tzo Zen Ang, Vicky Butt, Janet French, Jennifer Hersch, Saba Hinrichs, Sandy Kwok, Claude Schneider and Vaughan Watts.

This dance-sequence has been inspired by the narrative of Dante's journey through the second realm of the afterlife, reflecting and interpreting in movement and music the differing dynamics that appear in Dante's encounters with the penitents, punctuated by liturgical prayer and praise. In Dante's text, there are, for instance, moments of awe, bewilderment and delight, as when the souls first arrive on the shore of Purgatory:

"The crowd that now arrived, it seemed, was strange, /
astray there, wondering, looking all around, /
as people do assessing what is new. /
On every side the sun shot daylight darts. /
Its well aimed arrows had already chased /
the stars of Capricorn from middle sky." (Purgatorio 2:52-57)

There are equally moments of agitation, as when the Lustful are portrayed in the fire that surrounds the summit of the Mountain:

"I saw on either side the shadows kiss. /
They did not cease, however, in their course, /
each one content to keep the frolic brief. /
In that same way, within their darkening ranks, /
ants nuzzle other ants, when columns meet, /
to scout the road ahead or spy on fate." (Purgatorio 26: 31-36)

Then, finally, there are moments of poised and harmonious beauty, as when, arriving at the Earthly Paradise, Dante - before he encounters his formidable donna, Beatrice - sees a young girl picking flowers and dancing on the other side of an impassable stream. (This figure is regularly taken to express the pleasure that humanity may rightly take in its own perfected nature):

"Her feet, together, firmly pressed to ground /
as when a donna dances, she then turned /
and scarcely setting foot in front of foot, /
she turned above the yellow and the red /
of tender flowers, as virgin girls will do /
when they, for decency, dip down their eyes." (Purgatorio 28: 52-7)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Cambridge
• Contemporary
• Dance
• Dante
• Purgatory