The project “Intersecting Planes” was developed as part of the course “Structural [Trans]formations”, which involves a series of multiple interpretations of a performance in the form of a video. The primary objective of the course is first to understand the narrative characteristics of the performance and then represent them through a variety of digital and physical ways, such as diagrams, models, and structural constructions.
The video analyzed in this particular project is a classical ballet performance choreographed and directed by Jerome Robbins, titled “Mistake Waltz”, with music composed by Frederic Chopin.
A distinctive feature of this choreography is the deliberate “mistakes” performed by the dancers throughout, adding a humorous tone to the otherwise rigid and formal aesthetic of classical ballet. Another key element is the audience’s active participation through their laughter, as well as the narrator’s voice, which is heard at both the beginning and end of the piece. The performance features six female dancers and seven male dancers and is structured into three main phases:1) Entrance, 2) Waltz, 3) Exit
Phases : 1) Entrance, 1a) Explanation by the narrator 1b) Female dancers enter the Stage, 2) Waltz, 3) Exit, 3a) Female dancers exit the stage, 3b) Bow, 3c) Closing remarks by the narrator
Narrator No external sounds Music No music 2) Music pauses Tense Regular
transitions
Mistakes
1) Mistakes
Mistake No mistake
2) Mistakes based on number of people
1 Person
2 People
Group
3) Type of mistake
Different movements Off-position
4) Combined diagram of mistakes
1 Person 2 People Group
Different movement Off-position
5) Combined diagram of mistakes
1 Person 2 People Group
Different movements Off-position
Different movements & Off-position
Type of mistakes - External sounds
Different movement mistake
Off-position mistake
Dancers arrangement
Music transitions - Dancers
Female / male pairs
Combined diagram
Full-face shot
Angled shot
Closed-up shot
Wide-shot
Full-face shot
Angled shot
Closed-up shot
Wide-shot
Audience laughter
Audience laughter
music
music
music
Person mistake
People mistake
mistake
Line arrangement Circle arrangement
Line arrangement Circle arrangement
Notation diagram
Full-face shot
Angled shot
Full-face shot
Closed-up shot
Angled shot
Audience laughter
Tense music
Audience laughter
Tense music
Wide-shot
Closed-up shot
Wide-shot
Regular music
Slow music
Regular music
Slow music
Dramatic music
Empty stage
Dramatic music Empty stage
1 Person mistake
2 People mistake
1 Person mistake
Group mistake
2 People mistake
Different movements
Group mistake
Circle arrangement Line arrangement
Circle arrangement Line arrangement
Off-position mistake
Different movements
Off-position mistake
07. NARRATIVE MODEL
Notation
diagram οn a scale model
Tense music
Dramatic music
Regular music
Slow music
Laughter
Full-face shot - Wide
Angled shot - Wide shot
Full-face shot - Close-up
Angled shot - Close-up shot
Different movement mistake Off-position mistake
Circle arrangement
08. PRE-ANALYTICAL SEQUENCE
Material - People Removable part - Audience laughter
Extra piece - Mistake: based on number of people & type of mistake
Small - 1 Person
Medium - 2 People
Large - Group
Left notch - Different movement
Right notch - Off-position
Left & right notch - Different movement & Off-position
Size & Thickness - Camera shot & Camera position
Large - Wide shot
Small - Close-up shot
Wide - Full-face shot
Thin - Angled shot
A total of 50 pieces were required for the construction, with a maximum dimension of 10cm x 10cm and a thickness of 3mm for the snapshots. Additionally, 19 pieces of white cardboard were used for the extra elements, with dimensions of 2cm x 2cm, 2.5cm x 2.5cm, and 3cm x 3cm, depending on the case, and a thickness of 1.5mm.
2 People mistake – Different movement
1 Person mistake – Off-position
Group mistake – Different movement
1 Person mistake – Different movement & Off-position
Female/male pairs
Mistakes – White cardboard
Female/male non-pairs –Stained plywood
Wide shot
Audience laughter
Full-face shot
Close-up shot
Angled shot
Female dancers - Plywood
09. ANALYTICAL SEQUENCE
Notation diagram οn a scale model
Group mistake
10. STRUCTURAL SYNTHESIS
The idea behind the name
The choreography is interrupted at specific moments - these are the moments when mistakes occur. In other words, there is a continuous movement in space that is momentarily disrupted by certain points (mistakes). This creates a plane (choreography) that is intersected (momentarily halted) at specific points (mistakes). This reasoning is what inspired the project’s name, “Intersecting Planes”.
wood - Female / male non-pairs
Metallic tube - Audience laughter
Wooden tube - Camera position & Camera Shots
1 Person mistake 2 People mistake Group mistake
The choice of viewpoints for observing the types of mistakes was made based on the performance itself. Mistakes that occur outside the intended formations are fewer in the video, which is why the left viewpoint was chosen for the representation - since fewer white elements (cardboard pieces) are visible from this side.
Stained
White cardboard - Mistake
Front view
Back view
Left side view
Right side view
11. OVERALL DIAGRAM
EVENT | VIDEO
Humorous Mechanical
Deliberate
Engaging
ANALYTICAL
STUDY
People
Music & External sounds
Camera
Arrangement
Mistakes
Arrangement Alternations Forms Pauses Simplicity Complexity
