Rooster Christopher Bruce Analysis

Rooster, choreographed by Christopher Bruce in 1991, incorporates many diverse dance styles to form a stimulating piece, set in the 1960’s, which discusses the social issues of that time. It was first performed by Rambert Dance Company in 1994 (reference: Rambert) and features the well-known band at the time, The Rolling Stones. The intention behind the piece originated from many different matters in the specific time period such as gender roles within society. With the conjunction of movement and non-movement components, meaning is added to the social cultural context behind Bruce’s work.

Christopher Bruce based the production on the relationship between male and female rights being equalised, that he witnessed growing up in the 1960’s. His intention was to celebrate the music of The Rolling Stones and use the morals of the songs to convey this message. (reference: Prezi) Throughout the 1960’s, The Rolling Stones were a very influential and dominant group, and the changes and

One evident factor is The Rolling Stone’s music. The musical tone within the voice of the singers helps to create dynamic qualities and reflect upon the fast, slow, sharp and soft movements. The lyrics of the certain pieces chosen by Bruce for his work are seen through the use of characterisation, costume and colour as well as the literal movement throughout the certain sections in Rooster, which convey the meaning of the lyrics.

The use of costume and colour join together to create another layer of embedded meaning in the piece. The most highlighted colour that the audience sees throughout is red. The colour red can be related to many emotions, but in Rooster specifically, passion and anger. When dealing with the 1960’s, the issues and social behaviour at the time reflected in the use of red as it was a time of passion, free love and a lot of hate and anger towards events such as gender equality and social