Crystal Pite, The Revisor

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In this blog post, I will be critiquing the trailer of Crystal Pite and  Jonathon Young's "The Revisor".


After watching the trailer initially, the main thing that stood out to me was the intense and emotional atmosphere created by both the performers and Owen Belton's composition. Through the extract, dancers were almost constantly portraying extremes or overexaggerated emotions on their faces, whether it be anger, joy, grief or jealousy. 


As the trailer progressed, I got the impression the piece may have an underlying theme of war or conflict in a historical setting. I came to this conclusion as quite a few dancers are wearing military uniforms or period costumes. In contrast, there were some dancers in modern contemporary costumes.  In regards to props, Pite has incorporated many furniture pieces such as a couch, desk, candles and, free-standing doors. Pite's use of props, along with the dim lighting, helps shift the focus inwards and onto the dancers and the message they're trying to convey, whatever that may be. For me, the high pitched music, suspenseful as well as dramatic, really added to the suspense and impending disaster the trailer implies.


The choreography featured in the trailer seemed to be heavily focused on storytelling through acting using simple movements; this intense storytelling correlates well to the fierce emotion portrayed on the dancers' faces. A lot of the content also seems to be done in unison, which I feel adds to the build of emotion. Partner work also features prominently including lifts. Some of the clips are also put in slow motion allowing the viewer to really experience the movement as well as emanating an ominous atmosphere.


Overall after watching this trailer, I felt intrigued and disturbed to unravel the context behind Pite's intense, emotionally amplified piece.



Bibliography:

Kidd Pivot - Revisor Trailer. (2019) Video. kiddpivot. Canada


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