Letter from Twyla Tharpe

Dear Mallory,

For my next performance, I am just so engrossed in the choreography that I haven't had time to give the set design much thought. I heard through the grape vine that you were a fan and had been chomping at the bit to create something for me. My only parameters are as follows: I want it to represent me in some way (you should know what I mean after researching me for that amazing project that your group did about my work!) and I want it to be a representation of contemporary dance as a whole today. Other than that...just surprise me. I am already on to the next piece!
Keep Dancing,
Twyla

Twyla,

I was so excited to hear from you! My familiarity with your work gave me a few ideas. I guess I'll lay out the essential definition of contemporary dance as it applies to sets for me. I know that modern dance, especially for you, builds on ballet. Ballet always has such elaborate backdrops almost like oil paintings depicting realistic country scenes or vine-clad castle walls. I feel like those pieces of scenery are almost crutches and distractors. I think that contemporary dance right now is about focusing on the dancer and the story that the choreographer wants to tell. I also know that you have found ways of filling the stage (or "stuffing it" as you would say) with your dancers' movement and formations rather than excessively ornate backdrops and props. I want to highlight that by keeping the entire stage a stark white: the floor, the wings, the backdrop...everything. Also, I think that contemporary dance today does a great thing by giving a nod to old traditions in a new way. I think that it would be cool to bring back the slightly inclined stage from shows years ago to add a whole new dimension and throw another kink at your dancers. Unlike the old days, the audience will still be inclined as well (obviously we won't be building a whole new theatre I assume...) so they will be able to see EVERYTHING with the double incline.
Since everything is white, I am sure that we can do some really cool things with lighting designs to add some of the new technology that contemporary dance embraces. We can project different colors at different times to reflect the mood and pace of the music, and add screens to reflect patters. We can leave some dancers in dim light or complete darkness in order to bring focus to specific dancers at the right times.

So to sum it all up, the essentials of contemporary dance that I want to highlight are a streamlined focus on the dancer, new twists on old favorites, and embracing new technology.

I know that you can make something fantastic out of my ideas. I can't wait to see the show!

Thank you for the opportunity!

Sincerely,
Mallory