THE BRIDGEKEEPER

 

    The story of The Bridgekeeper has haunted me for a long time. I originally imagined him during the twilight hours of a restless night. I have attempted several times (unsuccessfully) to translate his plight into several mediums, including short story and poetry. It was not until the opportunity to collaborate with a dance team arose that I was able to appropriately translate the strange story in my head into concrete imagery and sound. Despite the specific images behind the dance, the story is meant to be implicit. The music takes advantage of several extended techniques underneath the lid of the piano. This method of playing the piano is known as Interior Piano, and has been used by composers for nearly a century. This is also my first composition to fully embrace Arvo Pärt’s concept of tintinnabuli—a method of composing which involves slow, “bell-like” music. Collaborating with Spencer Foote (choreographer) was easy and simple. Her artistic style melds perfectly with what The Bridgekeeper attempts to accomplish. I recommend watching the dance and listening to the music without thinking too hard about the specifics. If successful, The Bridgekeeper will lend you a nostalgic glimpse into a former or future time where the world is much less complicated, and much more human.

 

Spencer Foote: Spencer Foote has been dancing for 18 years and is trained in various styles of dance. She is currently a dance major at Brigham Young University Idaho studying performance and choreography. Spencer has had many choreographed works presented on BYU-Idaho campus, including numbers in the Theater and Dance Department's show, Extravadance. She is a member of BYU-Idaho touring dance company, Dance Alliance, which will be going to Costa Rica and Panama summer 2015.