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Clip description
Principal dancers Daniel (Tom Long) and Bridget (Anna Torv) rehearse for their new show, in which three men vie for the attention of one woman. Daniel’s improvisation becomes quite aggressively sexual with Bridget, his real-life partner. Choreographer Isabel (Greta Scacchi) tells them to go beyond that. Afterwards, Bridget asks Daniel to go and buy her cigarettes.
Curator’s notes
The dance rehearsal is, of course, a forecast of what is to come, with the roles reversed. Daniel will find himself in the harness, with the unwanted attentions of three women. There is also a strong suggestion of sexual tension within the group – between Daniel and Bridget, Daniel and Isabel, and Daniel and the young woman with the sore foot, who is clearly interested in him. Tom Long was not a trained dancer, but the choreography – by the renowned Meryl Tankard – is cleverly constructed in a loose style in which his athleticism is useful.
The film remains enigmatic about the causes of Daniel’s ordeal. There’s a strong suggestion here that he is unhappy with Bridget and with Isabel. Both women exercise a degree of control over him, as we can see in the way Bridget asks him to fetch cigarettes for her – like an errand boy. Does this contribute to what happens to him? We’re never told. It is more likely that it contributes to the way he falls apart later, after his assault and rape.
