Choreography / 1976

Squaregame

As its title suggests, this playful piece is much like a game. "Squaregame" was first performed on a surface resembling an athletic court, and its participants were invited to stop and watch one another, as if they were on the sidelines at a sporting event. A recurring theme in the dance was that of people hanging on to others and being carried or dragged along by them. This can be seen several times throughout the dance, as in when one of the male dancers lunged from side to side, doing a series of contractions, with a female dancer hanging on to his waist. The set design by Mark Lancaster consisted of a white floor cloth surrounded by bands of green Astroturf, and for the costumes, each dancer had an individual look: a mix of tops, tights, pants and skirts, mostly in a blue/grey/black palette.

Details

Premiere Date

Mar 24, 1976

Premiere Venue

Festival Theatre

Premiere Location

Adelaide, Australia

Music

Takehisa Kosugi, S.E. Wave/E.W. Song

Set

Mark Lancaster

Costumes

Mark Lancaster

Duration

26 minutes

Original Cast

Karole Armitage

Karen Attix

Ellen Cornfield

Merce Cunningham

Morgan Ensminger

Meg Harper

Susana Hayman-Chaffey

Catherine Kerr

Chris Komar

Robert Kovich

Raymond Kurshals

Charles Moulton

Julie Roess-Smith