UNDANCE - 2011

The following is an excerpt of a set of 'instructions' that Mark Wallinger gave to Wayne McGregor at the start of UNDANCE:

SCENARIO: TRAINING REGIME

The conductor has a starting pistol. The first shot opens the piece and the second brings down the curtain.

The dancers perform in front of a gridded screen 3m high, as in the original Muybridge work, extended across the stage

Each verb is iterated or mirrored or reversed in a film shot of the dancers filmed performing the work. This can then be back projected on the screen with a version of the work running as a counterpoint to the live dance.

Or alternatively the strung grid separates two identical sets of dancers so that the movements develop in relation to a projection, a looking glass or a recording.

ACTION

The first states that a body continues in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is acted on by an external force.

ITERATION

The first states that a body continues in a state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is acted on by an external force.

MIRRORING

The second states that the rate of change of momentum of a moving body is proportional to the force acting to produce the change.

REVERSAL

The third states that if one body exerts a force on another, there is an equal and opposite force (or reaction) exerted by the second body on the first.

And VICE VERSA [SEE/SAW]:


REVERSAL MIRRORING ITERATION ACTION
ac·tion/ˈakSHən/Noun
1. The fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim: "demanding tougher action against terrorism".
2. The way in which something such as a chemical has an effect or influence.

it·er·a·tion/ˌitəˈrāSHən/Noun
1. The repetition of a process or utterance.
2. Repetition of a mathematical or computational procedure applied to the result of a previous application, typically as a means of obtaining successively closer approximations to the solution of a problem.

mir·ror (mrr)
n.
1. A surface capable of reflecting sufficient undiffused light to form an image of an object placed in front of it. Also called looking glass.
2. Something that faithfully reflects or gives a true picture of something else.
3. Something worthy of imitation.
tr.v. mir·rored, mir·ror·ing, mir·rors
To reflect in or as if in a mirror: "The city mirrors many of the greatest moments of Western culture" (Olivier Bernier).

Hold the mirror up to nature

Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 17–24

Hamlet: 
Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this
 special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: 
for any thing so o'erdone is from the purpose of playing, whose
 end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the 
mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own 
image, and the very age and body of the time his form and 
pressure.

Hamlet lectures the actors who will soon perform for his stepfather. As director, he expounds the "purpose of playing," which, from the invention of theater, has been to hold "the mirror up to nature." Here, Hamlet echoes classical authors, who insisted that drama be a form of truth, not mere entertainment. Playwrights and players should strive to present action in the most verisimilar manner, without exaggeration or distortion, without bombast or excessive sentimentality. In the theatrical mirror we see our virtues and vices reflected back to us in their true shape: that's the theater's moral function.


re·ver·sal/riˈvərsəl/Noun
1. A change to an opposite direction, position, or course of action.
2. An annulment of a judgment, sentence, or decree made by a lower court or authority.


vice versa (vī′sə vʉr′sə, vīs′ vʉr′-)
the order or relation being reversed; conversely

see·saw (ssô)
n.1. A long plank balanced on a central fulcrum so that with a person riding on each end, one end goes up as the other goes down. Also called regionally dandle, dandle board, teedle board, teeter, teeterboard, teeter-totter, tilt1, tilting board. See Regional Note at teeter-totter.
2. The act or game of riding a seesaw.
3. A back-and-forth or up-and-down movement, as of the lead between two contesting parties.
intr.v. see·sawed, see·saw·ing, see·saws
1. To play on a seesaw.
2. To move back and forth or up and down.