Becoming
by Adam Walters and Nancy Herrera

Abstract

Becoming was commissioned by the Trinidad-based Metamorphosis Dance Company. Choreography was by Nancy Herrera, costumes were designed were by Yia Gomez and original music was composed by Adam Walters. The piece is an exploration of collaborative creative dance theatre in a Caribbean context, and seeks to express the transformation of nothing into something and what it means not just to survive but to prevail. Co-produced by an international creative team working simultaneously in Trinidad and London, the finished work explored the idea of sculptured carnival-inspired costumes and featured a musical score performed live onstage behind the dancers. Becoming was premiered at Queen's Hall, St. Ann's, Port of Spain, Trinidad on Thursday 9th May 2019.

Context

Becoming was commissioned by Metamorphosis Dance Company and Nancy Herrera, and was premiered at Queen's Hall, St. Ann's, Port of Spain, Trinidad on Thursday 9^th May 2019. It was subsequently performed (with recorded music) as part of the Trinidad presentation of Dance Decades Carifesta 2019, again at Queen's Hall, St. Ann's, Port of Spain, Trinidad on Saturday 24^th August.

The design goals were to explore collaborative creative dance theatre - how music, costumes, lighting and dance could be explored in a Caribbean Context. The Metamorphosis Dance Company provided the resources for piece to be performed live for four performances, photography and filming of the piece.

Process

Herrera initiated the process referencing various and random images of hope and resilience. Examples included dry, cracked earth or concrete with just one green shoot or tiny flower growing in an otherwise barren landscape, broken galvanized fencing or barbed wire fence with foliage growing on it, winding around it and coming through.

Connected to this was the idea of how withstanding all the difficulties of our lives or situations, we somehow overcome, manage or deal with those things. This overcoming represents a transition that in turn leads to acceptance and celebration.

Gomez explored the idea of sculptured costumes - either extensions of the dancers, or structures of kinetic movement to include the dancer in a worn cage-like construction. Herrera, together with the dancers, explored how to move the costumes.

Ever present for Herrera was exploring Classical Ballet in a Contemporary Caribbean context, developing movement vocabulary in partnership with kinetic costuming and music.  

While Herrera and Gomez were working in Trinidad on movement and costuming, Walters composed the score in London. Herrera and Walters exchanged ideas by video link, creating and developing the work's concept and overall structure. Walters had previously written several other pieces for UTT Ibis Ensemble. As in those compositions, in the score of Becoming he aimed to incorporate an essence of Trinidad within music more obviously rooted in the Western classical tradition. The opening, for example, is a funeral dirge underpinned by a Belé rhythm played so slowly on djembe that its joyful character is completely negated.

Walters is particularly experienced at writing music to narrative, so he extended the imagery discussed with Herrera to come up with a metaphorical story to follow during the composition process; this gave rise to the structure of the score. The musical character of Part 1 ("Darkness") is variously sad, threatening, demonic and mournful, with Walters using sul punt string bowing techniques, harmonic dissonance, syncopation, expressive melodies and djembe ostinati to create the musical atmospheres. Part 2 ("Towards Light") incorporates flute and steelpan melodies in the Dorian mode over tremolo strings, and modulations lead to an unambiguously optimistic finale.

UTT Ibis Ensemble recorded their initial rehearsals of the piece and sent these to Adam who was in the UK at the time. This provided him with an opportunity to alter a few musical details before the premiere performance. In this way, despite the remote working method, the rehearsal process was highly collaborative and rich with ideas. The Queen's Hall performances were recorded, allowing for further reflection on how the piece might be presented in future performances.   

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