Title: Brave Souls

Premiere: January 31, 2002, Power Center, Ann Arbor. Subsequent performances February 1, 2 & 3, 2002 at Power Center; University of Michigan Museum of Art, March 16 & 17, 2002; Toledo Museum of Art, May 3, 2002

Commission: University of Michigan Museum of Art for the exhibit: Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650

Scenic and Costume Designer: Jeff Bauer

Music Editing : Traci Ruthkoski

Slide Programming: John Johnston, Media Union Faculty Studio

Scenery and Costume Construction: University Productions

Dancers: Anna Lee Beard, Kelly Bowker, Kathleen M. Boyer, Gena T. Buhler, January Dennis, Sarah Evens, Lillian Fincher, Nicolle Gauvin, Jennifer Kosky, Megan Mertaugh, Alexandra Sadinoff, Abigail Sebaly, Kari Wall, Leslie Williams-Bauer

 Art Historian: Annette Masson

 Scenes, with music and text credits:

I.      Frontspiece

Text excerpts from the UMMA catalog for their exhibition “Women who Ruled:  Queens, Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650.” Music: J.S. Bach and “Beautiful Music for Ballet Class,” written and performed by Daniel Boudewyns on Sky’s The Limit Recordings. Used by permission.

II.     Dig

Text: “Ancient Graves of Armed Women Hint at Amazons” by John Noble Wilford, The New York Times, February 25, 1997. Copyright ©2001 by the New York Times Co. Used by permission. “Greek Women’s Lot,” by Fern Luskin, Letters to the Editor, The New York Times, March 4, 1997. Used by permission. Music: “Two Studies on Ancient Greek Scales” by Harry Partch, arranged by Ben Johnston, were performed by the Kronos Quartet and appear on the Nonesuch Recording Early Music. These arrangements were commissioned for the Kronos Quartet by Hancher Auditorium/Univ. of Iowa. By arrangement with Warner Special Projects.

III.   If

“Digital” by Elliott Sharp performed by the Kronos Quartet, on the Nonesuch recording Short Stories. By arrangement with Warner Special Projects.

IV.   Rally

“Come if ye dare” from the recording of King Arthur by Henry Purcell performed by John Eliot Gardiner on Elektra/Asylum Records. By arrangement with Warner Special Projects.

V.     Battle

“Brave Souls,” from the recording of King Arthur by Henry Purcell performed by John Eliot Gardiner.

VI.   Lament

“Mirangula” performed by the Rustavi Choir; Courtesy Elektra/Asylum Records. By arrangement with Warner Special Projects.

VII.  Conversation

“Ferdia’s Death Chant” from the album Chanting the Light of Foresight by Terry Riley on New Albion Records. Used by permission.

Duration: Approximately 22 min.

Description: Brave Souls was commissioned by the UM Museum of Art in honor of their exhibit entitled "Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons 1500-1650." The dance also received generous funding from ArtServe Michigan in conjunction with the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
The UMMA exhibit focused on the visual representation of powerful women in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. This was an exceptional time in European history when numerous states and kingdoms were led by women. The exhibit examined and defined a complex system of gender relations during these years, showing how women rulers of that period typecast themselves visually as goddesses, warriors, seductresses, virgins or matrons, in order to construct and enact their leadership. Brave Souls was inspired by the images of women warriors—namely, amazons— contained in the exhibit. Drawing on discoveries from a contemporary archeological dig of female warrior graves in Kazakhstan, Renaissance and Baroque visual art, and shaded by the events of September 11, the dance is structured as a series of seven brief scenes that shift between ancient, Baroque, and contemporary time frames. The two women mounted on rolling platforms in the “Lament” section suggested the Twin Towers lost on September 11. In creating this dance, I established a collaborative environment with the 14 female dancers to learn from them what they believe makes a woman strong. For one section called “If,” the dancers were asked to share their own statements about “going to battle.” These statements were translated into gestural phrases that accompany their words. The dancers also created movement based on moments in their own past when they felt powerful. Their abstract depictions of these moments form the basis for the final section of the dance, “Conversation.” Brave Souls is choreographed to a collage of music ranging from contemporary to Baroque. It also features a backdrop of slide images of Baroque and Renaissance art and images from the present day.

List of Visual Images: Battle of Amazons and Greeks, Claude Deruet, 1620, Metropolitan Museum of art; Detail from Adam & Eve, Albrecht Durer, 1504, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Deborah, from Pierre Le Moyne,  Galerie des Femmes Fortes, engraving 1647; Jael, from Pierre Le Moyne,  Galerie des Femmes Fortes, engraved by Abraham Bosse after Claude Vignon, 1647; Judith Slaying Holofernes, c. 1620, Artemisia Gentileschi, Florence, Uffizi; Judith and Her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes, Artemisia Gentileschi, c. 1625, Detroit Institute of Arts; Blanche of Castille as Pallas Armata, engraving 1644; Zenobia

From Pierre Le Moyne,  Galerie des Femmes Fortes, engraving 1647, engraved by Abraham Bosse after Claude Vignon, 1647; Frontispiece , from Pierre Le Moyne, Galerie des Femmes Fortes, engraving 1647, engraved by Charles Audran after Pietro da cortona, 1647; Departure of the Amazons, Claude Deruet, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1620’s; Le Triomphe , Claude Deruet, Musee Des Beaux Arts de Strasbourg; Le Depart, Claude Deruet, Musee Des Beaux Arts de Strasbourg; La Rescousse, Claude Deruet, Musee Des Beaux Arts de Strasbourg;Le Duel, Claude Deruet, Musee Des Beaux Arts de Strasbourg; Six slides of the Pokrovka archaeological dig, courtesy of Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball; Minerva (Anne of Austria?), Artemisia Gentileschi, c. 1615, Florence, Soprintendenza alle Gallerie.

 Special thanks to Martha Graham Wiseman, Beth Genne, Kate Mendeloff, Robin Wilson, Gay Delanghe, John Johnston, Tom Bray, Media Union Faculty Studio, Mary Cole, Annette Dixon, Karen Goldbaum, Ann Sinfield, Ruth Slavin, Christian Matjias, and all thanks to the dancers for their rich creative contributions to the work. Slides of the Pokrovka archaeological dig courtesy of Dr. Jeannine Davis-Kimball, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Eurasian Nomads; she also supplied very helpful information about the dig. Nous remercions la Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg et Smilka Zdravkovska de leur assistance de obtenir les diapositives des oevres de Claude Deruet.

Review

Creative Artist Grant Final Report