Sriwhana Spong

Costume for a Mourner

8min 22sec

Courtesy: Michael Lett

Credit: Danced and choreographed by Benny Ord

Costume for a Mourner re-invents a dance from a 1920 Ballet Russe’s productionLe Chant du rossignol. Due to the director Diaghilev's distrust of film none of his ballets were recorded, leaving the original choreography to exist through gestures passed down from dancer to dancer, brief written accounts, rumours, the odd photo, and the artifacts left over – costumes, props and backdrops. In Costume for a Mourner a contemporary body explores the folds of a costume remade from images of the original designed by Matisse.

Sriwhana Spong lives and works in Auckland.

Benny Ord is currently a company member at Random Dance in London.

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Previous Artists:

Amy Howden-Chapman
Tahi Moore
Kerry Ann Lee
Campbell Patterson