Esplanade Analysis

Contemporary 20th century choreographer Paul Taylor used the components of dance -space, time and energy to explore the struggle of an individual versus the conformity of the masses in his dance Esplanade. In addition, Taylor intertwined the principles of contrast, repetition, and resolution throughout Esplanade to portray the emotion, which accompanied this isolation. This esplanade (a long, open, level area usually by the sea) represented the journey of an independent women’s movement against the societal norm of heterosexual couples within the masses. Throughout Esplanade the use of space enabled dancers within the masses to create a feeling of confidence, superiority, and unity, while simultaneously creating the isolation and individuality

Overall time helped demonstrated the masses’ movement unity as they moved with the time and the individual’s struggle as she moved contrary to the group’s time. The dance began with a lively Bach movement, which created a feeling of excitement as the mass of dancers moved with increasing speed. The short duration needed to complete movements, regularity of the music, and repetition of dance patterns of the group established their synchronization with time. In contrast, this allegro tempo created a nervous, rushed feeling for the individual woman, which established her contradiction to the groups perception of time. The sharp, sudden adagio tempo change in Part 2 created an uneasy mood, while establishing distrust and tension between the individual woman and the masses. The stillness of the mass dancers in response to the woman in Part 2 exemplified this segregation. As the tempo slowed in Part 4, an element of sadness and isolation was apparent in the individual woman’s movement. In contrast, this tempo change for the group created an intimacy between the individual heterosexual couples. This intimacy further isolated the individual women and demonstrated her movement against groups perception of time. The changes in tempo of music and dance movement complimented the third element of dance, dynamics or

In dance, contrast is the side by side comparison of space, time and energy, in order to identify differences. This contrast was best exemplified by the stark difference in tempo which was alternated from allegro to adagio in each sequential Part. The tempo changes enabled the dancers’ to vary their use of space and energy. Throughout the allegro movements, space and energy were maximized. In contrast, as the tempo slowed to adagio, the utilization of space and output of energy decreased. Taylor expanded contrast in Esplanade to include the costumes. The female apparel consisted of pastel flowing short skirts, which differed from the male’s neutral tight fitting costumes. Although the free flowing costume complimented the allegro tempo, it contradicted the slow, confined movements throughout the adagio tempos. Repetition or the duplication of movement created a cohesiveness of the mass dancers and established the individual as an outsider. Whether in the slow paced repeated walking movements in Parts 2 and 4 or the sequential lifts and leaps in Parts 1, 3, and 5, repetition established unity. The isolation of the woman was also established by her repeated unsuccessful efforts to interact with the mass dancers by running and circling each dancer in Part 1. The repetition of walking steps throughout the dance created continuity,