Programme Note
Inspired by the vivid and colourful writing of Salman Rushdie’s East, West short stories, Dancing in the Snake Pit evokes an Eastern flavour with musical ideas based on a scale constructed like the ragas found in Indian music. Dancing in the Snake Pit depicts a snake-charmer, who begins his bold recitative and stirs to life the inhabitant of a deep pit. Slowly the snake awakens from his slumber, and starts to move to the gentle undulating rhythm. Little by little, as the snake-charmer weaves his spell, the snake begins to dance: hesitantly at first, but growing bolder and stronger until its rapid movements coincide with the charmer’s hypnotic and rhythmic dance. Suddenly a bell is heard softly in the distance. The snake grows weary of the dance; he crawls back into the darkness, and sleeps.
- Commissioned:
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Commissioned by Robert Orr for the 1998 New Zealand International Festival of the Arts with funding assistance from Creative New Zealand
- Difficulty:
- Advanced
- Influences:
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- Funders:
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