Jardi Tancat by Nacho Duato

Nacho Duato uses several motifs in Jardi Tancat to establish intent in his work. His work is based on Catalonian folk tales collected and sung by Maria Del Mar Bonet, to express the poor Catalonian people’s communal hardships, struggles and desperation as they cyclically farm the land. Duato has portrayed this intent through many motifs such as, curved lines and gestural action motifs. He has then manipulated these motifs through each section to unify the work as a whole.

One motif frequently shown throughout the piece is the use of curved lines.

This is shown in the opening silence section as all six dancers are waking from a low, hunched over crouch on their knees with hands rested out in front portraying their fatigue. Then in unison, they make a sudden jump with a forceful dynamic to a two-footed, curved stance with their hands clasped at the lower back to convey them supporting their back from the aches and pains.

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They then slide the hands down towards the back of the knees arching the spine in reference to stretching, as knees invert, they release their arms and curve upwards in a sustained motion repeating three times. The rounded and hunched movements portray the physical strain of their daily routines of cycling work has on their body and high releases reflecting the intent of faith and prayer in the work.

A manipulation of this curved motif is shown later on in section one in unison with their arms resting on another to further establish the intent of communal connectedness.

As they stand side by side in two parallel lines in the back corner facing upstage, by rolling and pulsating their spines they resemble the support they have for one another in the community throughout their hardships and sorrow.

Gestural movements are incorporated throughout Jardi Tancat. One of the motifs include ‘sowing’ or seed planting action, which involves a low, curved line of the spine again to emphasize the straining work. Hunched over with a slumped dynamic determining the draining work, the dancers travel laterally across the space with heavy, limping ‘step-cross’ footwork. This pathway is performed in unison in the opening silent section, indicating planting endless rows of crops. As they travel diagonally, their sagged, contracted back emphasizes the physical burden on the body. This is also evident through the angular-shaped arm bent above their head, supporting the back, whilst the other arm is stretched with fingertips skimming across the floor ‘planting the seeds’.

This motif is later on manipulated and shown in the fourth section ‘Out of the Fields!’ Repeating the movement, however working in cannons with efficient shuffling dynamic. Neat, and smoothness of the rows is no longer required as speed is all that’s needed to get the tiring chore done. This motif is repeated and manipulated throughout Jardi Tancat to represent the cyclic nature of their daily lives.

The curved lines and gestural motifs used within Nacho Duato’s work ‘Jardi Tancat’ implement the intent of his work. These motifs are then further manipulated using space, time and dynamics to further establish meaning and expand intent of his work. Nacho Duato is then able to successfully and clearly display the continuous communal hardships that Catalonian farmers endure everyday through these motifs.