Developing choreographic ideas for The Dragonfly Dance

For my inquiry event (Pavlova tea afternoon) I am recreating Pavlova’s Dragonfly dance to the original music, creating my own take on it.

Whilst preparing for the creation of the dance, I decided to watch a video about dragonflies to develop a better understanding of the creatures. I was amazed to know that for two years the dragonfly lives as a nymph under water where it engages in fierce hunting. It then moves out of the water and emerges to it’s dragonfly state in a two hour process. The dragonfly that we see only lasts about two months before dying. I had not realised that the dragonfly had this previous life and this made me see it quite differently.

The observation made me consider the following elements for the choreographic process.

Strength

Patience

An incredible energy which emerges fast

The world would be very exciting as you would not have seen the world above water before.

It is a race against time to live before your time is up
Enthusiasm and zest for life

Hovering

Fast landings

A sense of a continuous motor when in flight (this could be created with fast bouŕees and footwork.

Wings are very delicate and intricate.

I created this collage to inspire me in the process too and continue to use this in the studio at this stage when I am still formulating the interpretation within the dance. It includes photos of Pavlova in her original version as well as real photographs of dragonflies.