A critical analysis of Siobhan Davies’s White Man Sleeps, 1998

Abstract

This critical analysis focuses on the movement vocabulary and interaction of dancers in selected sections of the filmed version of White Man Sleeps (1988) by Siobhan Davies. The choreography is divided into five distinct parts, in accordance with divisions in the musical accompaniment from which the piece takes its name, a suite of five movements by Kevin Volans composed in 1986. The dance piece is steeped in references to Davies’s experiences of travelling across North America. A detailed engagement with the work reveals evidence of Davies’s studies of contact improvisation, Alexander technique and release work. The primary theme of travelling or journeying is seen in the movement material and structure of the dance itself, as well as the sense of continuous motion emphasized in the seamlessly linked sections. The analysis notes how White Man Sleeps borrows references also from African culture, both in the musical accompaniment inspired by Volans’s experiences in Africa, and in the costume and set designs created by David Buckland. Part Four of the dance is selected for detailed analysis and, in order to contextualize this part, the paper commences with the final section of Part Three.