📚 Section C — Anthology Work 6a
Artificial Things
Lucy Bennett · Stopgap Dance Company · 2014
📚 What you'll learn on this page
- Know the key facts for Artificial Things well enough to recall them under exam pressure
- Understand who made it, why they made it, and what inspired them
- Watch two clips from Scene Three and train your eye before going deeper
6a.0.1 Key Facts
Tap each card to flip it — front is the category, back is the answer. How many can you recall before you look?
ChoreographerTap to flip ↩
Lucy Bennett
CompanyTap to flip ↩
Stopgap Dance Company
First PerformedTap to flip ↩
5th February 2014
Dance StyleTap to flip ↩
Inclusive contemporary dance
Performance EnvironmentTap to flip ↩
Proscenium arch
DurationTap to flip ↩
Approx. 20 minutes
DancersTap to flip ↩
4 dancers — 2 disabled / 2 non-disabled (2 male / 2 female)
StructureTap to flip ↩
Episodic — 3 scenes linked by theme
Set DesignTap to flip ↩
Anna Jones
Aural SettingTap to flip ↩
Andy Higgs (Scene 3)
Examiner's Eye
The exam focuses on Scene Three only. Always refer to it by scene. The 2 disabled / 2 non-disabled detail is often worth a mark on its own — get it precise every time.
6a.0.2 Context Note
"Difference is our means and our method"
— Stopgap Dance CompanyStopgap Dance Company creates exhilarating dance productions for national and international touring. It employs disabled and non-disabled artists who find innovative ways to collaborate, committed to integrating disabled and non-disabled people through dance.
Lucy Bennett has been immersed in Stopgap's work since 2003, and has been Artistic Director since 2012. Much of the movement material in Scene Three was driven by Laura Jones's movement in her wheelchair and then translated by the standing dancers. The wheelchair is not an obstacle — it is the choreographic source.
Did you know?
Lucy Bennett encourages audiences not to pretend they don't see the wheelchair. That discomfort is a sign we need to step outside our social bubbles — and it is central to the work's intent.
A stimulus is what sparks the work. Artificial Things grew from three distinct sources. Tap each one to read more:
A snow-covered urban landscape with an isolated figure perched on a collapsed wheelchair, observed from afar as if through a snow globe. This drove the whole work — the idea of being enclosed, watched, and unable to escape. There is more to discuss with this stimulus as it connects directly to set, lighting, movement and intent.
Mysterious paintings by the Serbian artist Goran Djurovic influenced the design, costume and choreographic images across all three scenes. The painted backdrop — with paint appearing to run down the canvas — directly references his visual world.
The dancers' personal experiences provided inspiration for the choreographic tasks. Most significantly, Dave Toole's solo is a tribute to his father, who used to sing 'The Sunshine of Your Smile' — the most personal moment in the work.
Analogy Anchor
Think of a snow globe: beautiful, fragile, enclosed. The people inside are watched from outside but can't escape. That image connects set, lighting, movement and intent — it's the thread running through everything.
Scene Three is the final scene — the pensive aftermath of Scene Two. Tap each intention to expand it:
We all live within certain confinements. The characters are sorrowful but peaceful, seeking to move forward. Look for moments of restriction followed by release in the movement.
The snow globe framing means the characters are always observed from outside — like exhibits. Bennett is asking the audience to notice their own gaze, and how society looks at — or looks away from — disabled people.
Resolution is key to Scene Three. The group lip sync at the end of Dave's solo is the clearest example — everyone holds him, carries his memory. They surrender to individual regret, and that surrender is its own kind of peace.
Despite the resolution, the characters do not escape — they surrender within the snow globe. The final tableau freezes them in place, like figures in a Djurovic painting.
6a.0.3 Watch the Work
Two clips from Scene Three. Watch each one and tick off what you notice — the more you spot now, the easier the exam language will come later.
📹 Clip 1 — Dave & Laura: The Opening Duet
The very start of Scene Three — a ground-based contact duet between Dave Toole and Laura Jones, built around a dismantled wheelchair.
🎬 Tick what you spot
✓
The dismantled wheelchairUsed as a ledge to push off, sit on and lean against — the choreographic source of the whole duet.
✓
Ground-based movementBoth dancers remain close to the floor — reach, pull, roll, embrace. Movement you wouldn't see on non-disabled dancers.
✓
Slow, tender dynamicsNothing is rushed. Look for any sudden moments that contrast with the surrounding stillness and delicacy.
✓
The aural settingCold, ambient, piano-led. Listen for the sound of paper snow and distant wind alongside the movement.
0 of 4 spotted
🎉 Good eye!
📹 Clip 2 — Dave Toole: The Solo
A tribute to Dave's father — a personal, intimate solo built on hand and arm gestures and facial expression, closing Scene Three with the moment of resolution.
🎬 Tick what you spot
✓
Hand and arm gesturesDrumming fingers, sweeping along the floor, drawing down his cheek — each gesture tells part of the story.
✓
Facial expression and focusThis solo is as much about Dave's face as his body. Watch his eyes and the direction of his gaze throughout.
✓
'The Sunshine of Your Smile'Listen for the song — first distorted, drifting in, then in full. This is the song Dave's father used to sing.
✓
The lip sync and resolutionDave lip syncs, then stops. The whole group joins in for him — this is the moment of resolution the whole scene builds towards.
0 of 4 spotted
🎉 Good eye!
Examiner's Eye
As you watch, think in exam categories: Actions, Dynamics, Space, Relationships — then notice the production features alongside. Describing what you see and linking it to intent is what separates a Level 2 answer from a Level 4.
📌 Revisit This — Key Points from This Page
ChoreographerLucy Bennett, Artistic Director of Stopgap Dance Company since 2012
First Performed5th February 2014 — inclusive contemporary dance
Dancers4 — 2 disabled (Dave Toole, Laura Jones) / 2 non-disabled
Key StimulusSnow globe image — isolated figure on collapsed wheelchair, observed from afar
IntentLife's limitations and resolution — characters come together despite being constricted
Company Motto"Difference is our means and our method"
✍️ Page Quiz
10 questions covering everything on this page. Select all your answers, then submit.
1. Who choreographed Artificial Things?
2. When was Artificial Things first performed?
3. Which term correctly describes the performance environment for Artificial Things?
4. How many dancers perform in Scene Three, and what is the split?
5. What is Stopgap Dance Company's motto?
6. What was the embryonic (starting) stimulus for Artificial Things?
7. Which artist's paintings influenced the design, costume and choreographic images?
8. What is the underlying choreographic intent of Scene Three?
9. What central prop is used in the opening duet between Dave Toole and Laura Jones?
10. What is the moment of resolution at the end of Dave Toole's solo?
Take a screenshot of your score and paste it into your ePortfolio document so your teacher can see your progress.