Re-interpretation of Coppelia
The ballet world is a strange one, and I have found that almost all famous ballets can be read against Freud for strange sex-gender dynamics. A long line of ballets center around unsuitable and often unhuman brides including La Sylphide, Giselle, Ondine, La Peri, Swan Lake, and Coppelia. I chose to write about Coppelia because I’m Hungarian and the play draws from Hungarian culture. I’ve seen the ballet countless times before because twin sister’s ballet company performed Coppelia 2 years consecutively.
In the original version, a toy-maker named Coppelius creates a doll so perfect that he’s almost unaware that she is fake. He’s lonely and dreams of bringing her to life.
An article on Coppelia called “Uncanny Women and Anxious Masters” inspired my recreation of the ballet.
The doll: NICOLE SYKES
Coppelius: MORGAN SORNE
The mirror mask by CAITLIN DIAZ
Stuffed animals by MEGAN HOOVER
Lighting and documentation by DEREK GILDERSLEEVE
The doll's movements were inspired heavily by the dance form called butoh. The doll is dancing as if she has seen a ballet dancer and is trying to immitate her. Her body does not function well, hence her strange movements and struggle.
My second project is also about strange superstitions. This time I researched myths surrounding mirrors, and found some disturbing stuff. The idea of the infinity corridor creeped me out the most, so I wrote this story to illustrate the concept and made this video with the help of Derek Gildersleeve.