A Critique of Justin Peck's "In the Countenance of Kings"

 “In the Countenance of Kings” is a work choreographed by Justin Peck’s, with the music of the piece composed by Sufjan Stevens. The short film / performance was enjoyable to watch and observe; I thoroughly enjoyed the quick succession of the music, which was accompanied throughout with dynamic choreography that fused contemporary technique with ballet qualities. I found this highly innovative in which I was intrigued to continue watching more of the performance.

The opening of the performance sets the initial tone and atmosphere for the performance, where the setting begins in a studio with a dancer leaving in complete silence. The camera pans forwards to reveal a dancer laying on her side (on the floor) where she breathes heavily, filling the previous void sound with live sound effects. Of course this demonstrated the dancers exhaustion and fatigue. I found it rather intriguing to start with live sound effects from the dancer as it made the atmosphere more intimate, almost as if the viewers are experiencing this first hand - something which I believe was effective in drawing my attention. The lighting at the very start here is significant; there is a white light shining from the outside into the studio, making the setting seem very ethereal and graceful. I found this particularly intriguing as it creates multiple connotations, one being that this is perhaps some sort of dream or fantasy. The shot swiftly changes afterwards to behind the dancer and facing the mirror, where we see the same dancer in the mirror but in different clothing. I thought this was significant as it could relate to the idea of a fantasy world, where the dancer is perhaps looking at her future self. This is complemented with the long sleeved leotard which the dancer in the reflection is wearing, contrasting to the blue lace back leotard the dancer from the opening is wearing. This could inevitably demonstrate the dancer's growth and journey in her career, developing an idea of maturity and development. I found this was complemented well with the silence as it efficiently draws the audience in, pulling at their minds as to what is happening.

Throughout the performance, the choreography explores lots of high levels and movements, such as the repetitive use of a high release and reaching up towards the ceiling. The dynamic quality that the dancers use is quite controlled and placed, however there are a vast majority of moments where the dancers perform with accented dynamics, adding a sense of energy and life into the choreography. Watching this as an audience member made me feel quite excited and engrossed, due to the efficient and intelligent use of sudden moments where the choreography comes to life. I particularly enjoyed how the music throughout was very positive and uplifting, which aided the lively moments of choreography and overall, created a joyous and positive atmosphere. For me, it was almost like there was a sense of freedom and celebration within the music and choreography, which made me feel more relaxed and therefore fascinated within the rest of the performance. What also made the performance engaging was the constant use of choreographic devices within the movement material, seen through the use of repetition, motif developments, unison, accumulation and manipulation of number. The manipulation of numbers was particularly captivating, as there was a soloist performing contrasting movement material to the rest of the ensemble, which was then suddenly changed when another soloist arose and performed a different solo material, with the first dancer merging with the ensemble of bodies in the space. This was particularly intriguing as the manipulation of numbers and unison within the space seamlessly blended together nicely, making it appealing and pleasant to observe . It was largely effective as it made the choreography divisibly more complex and versatile which ultimately captivated my attention furthermore. 

Bibliography

San Francisco Ballet. 2016. Justin Peck's "In the Countenance of Kings." Video. Available at Justin Peck's "In the Countenance of Kings" with music by Sufjan Stevens - YouTube [Accessed 9th October 2021]