Becoming
©2009 Leif Chappelle

The performances this past weekend were really something spectacular, and I’m extremely grateful to everyone involved for making the concert come together so smoothly. Thank you so much to everyone that came!

For those that weren’t able to, here’s the full piece (at least, the audio portion of it) to check out.

The whole abstract concept for the dance and music started out with a visual analogy: A tree, viewed from one side: beautiful, lush; from the other side, hollowed out and rotting. The concept of turning around to discover hidden truths became key to evolving the melodic themes that run throughout the piece.

An example of this would be main melody itself and its repetitions. It begins as a simple celesta plucking out the notes casually. The next time it’s heard, a piano plays it in an ornamented fashion with various flourishes. As things begin to change, a guitar plays it out of time and begins adding in its own independent elements. The fourth time, a sine wave takes it up and begins sliding it around in a more artificial fashion. The final time, a human voice hums it casually; his own version.

Visually, the dancers wore green patterned dresses. Backs facing the audience, they appeared to be perfectly normal. As they began to turn around, tattered and ragged bits were revealed on the fronts of the dresses. Throughout the course of the piece, each dancer began removing the ragged bits in their own way. Some forcefully, some casually. Some removed the tattered pieces themselves, others obsessed over removing them from other people.

Hopefully this gives you a bit of a look into what the piece consists of and enhances the listening process! Please check it out, and of course feedback is always welcome.