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This is an ADLAB PRO video.

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ADLAB PRO is a project funded
by the European Union.

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This video is made available to you
on a Creative Commons licence.

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Hello. I’m Louise Fryer,
from Utopian Voices.

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In this ADLAB PRO video
I will give an overview

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of describing dance and opera.
This is Unit 8 in Module 3.

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Dance and Opera
take place in the same venue

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or within the same production.
Strategies to describe dance

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can be useful for any type
of choreographed movement

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including fights
and aerial circus.

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Opera and dance are similar
as the story, if there is one,

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is told musically
and visually but not verbally.

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In dance because
there is no dialogue.

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In opera because
the words are hard to decipher,

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whether or not
they are in your mother tongue.

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In many opera houses,
the libretto or its translation

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is displayed
on captioning, surtitling units

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for the sighted audience
to read as they listen to the music

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and watch the action.
For audiences with sight loss,

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who can neither see
the surtitles nor the action,

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the AD must provide both.
It is a type of audio subtitling.

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You will need to decide
whether you are voicing

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the original libretto
or the surtitles.

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Will you paraphrase
or give them verbatim?

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For Dance and Opera
music is an important part

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that you don’t want
to mask with your AD.

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But if you don’t speak
over the music

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how can you make
the performance accessible?

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Part of the solution
lies in enhanced AD,

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the Touch Tour and the AI.

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The rest is solved
by describing economically,

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fitting the AD
to the rhythm of the music

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and choosing where to place it,
to minimise masking.

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The AI will include a synopsis.

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The amount of the plot you divulge
will depend on whether or not

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a synopsis is included
in the printed programme.

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You might also include
a paragraph giving a general idea

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of the dance style.

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The Touch Tour might take the form
of a workshop where the dancers

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demonstrate key steps
or sequences from the show.

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People with sight loss
may be invited

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to feel the dancers
holding fixed positions,

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or encouraged to try out
the steps and positions themselves.

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Some musical passages
are sacrosanct.

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Famous arias
are best left alone.

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You might need to describe what is
happening in the orchestra pit, too.

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Tell us when the conductor
comes into the pit so your audience

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can applaud at the same time
as the sighted audience.

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You might write your
script in a copy of the score,

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so that you can take
your cues from the music.

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Or synch your AD
to the surtitles or the action.

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For dance,
technical terms are helpful:

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the ballerina pliés, sinking low,
heels together, knees bent.

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Ensure your audience
feels they’re at a ballet

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not a piece of contemporary dance
nor listening to a story with music.

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A dance or a fight
isn’t just about moves.

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A description listing a sequence
of kicks, skips and jumps

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would become dull
very quickly.

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Rudolph Laban compiled a vocabulary
of expressive movements

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classifying moves
in terms of weight, time and space.

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His ideas
are helpful for AD.

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Think about space,
how the dancers move through it.

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How much space
does the dancer occupy?

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Time, is the movement
slow, sustained and calm,

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or quick, darting and impulsive?

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Weight. How much force
does the movement use?

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Is it strong or light?

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Don’t just AD what it ‘looks’ like,
convey what it ‘feels’ like.

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Are the dancer’s muscles
tense and rippling with effort?

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Is the breathing rapid and fast?

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Or is there a sense
of effortless grace?

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That was a video
about describing dance and opera,

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Unit 8 of Module 3
"AD of live events".

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You’ll need to allow yourself
more time to script these art forms.

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It’s likely to take at least
twice as long as writing the AD

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for a play of the same duration.
It’s a challenge

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but one I hope
you will rise to and enjoy.

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The preparation
of this presentation

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was supported by ADLAB PRO.
Audio Description:

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A Laboratory for the Development
of a New Professional Profile

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financed by the European Union
under the Erasmus+ Programme,

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Key Action 2,
Strategic Partnerships.

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Project number:

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2016-1-IT02-KA203-024311.

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The information and views
set out in this presentation

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are those of the authors
and do not necessarily reflect

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the official opinion
of the European Union.

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Neither the European Union
institutions and bodies

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nor any person acting
on their behalf

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may be held responsible
for the use

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which may be made of
the information contained therein.

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This was an ADLAB PRO video.

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ADLAB PRO partners are:
University of Trieste,

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Universitat Autònoma
de Barcelona,

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University of Antwerp,
Adam Mickiewicz University,

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RTV Slovenia,
Utopian Voices,

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Soundfocus and Royal National
Institute of Blind People.

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ADLAB PRO was funded
by the European Union.

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This video was made available to you
on a Creative Commons licence.