MATCH GIRL

Starting my project -

This project started with the stimulus of the fairy tale by the Danish poet, Hans Christen Anderson. The story was published in 1845, Anderson wanted to draw attention to the suffering of children and since many adaptions and recreations of this story have been created. ‘The Little Match Girl’ is a sad tale of a young girl, selling matches on the streets of Victorian Britain. Freezing and alone she lights her matches to bring herself comfort and warmth at this lonely time. In doing so she gains 3 visons (hallucinations due to pneumonia) seeing things she longed for like food, warmth and also her loved ones. She asked to be taken away by her grandma her loved one and in doing so she dies and leaves with her. Her body is left in the alley for passers-by to find the next day with her burnt out matches next to her body.

I have been drawn to this story from a very young age. My mum used to read this to me most nights. It was in a larger fairy story book and I would always ask my mum to read me ‘The Little Match Girl’ as I was very fond of the illustrations. I think I was also drawn to the story as it was quite dark and from a young age, I found death to be a scary and frightening concept. However, I was still fascinated by it- the magic of the hallucinations I never understood but now I understand. I want to create something to reflect on the fascination I had with this story focusing on the way she died and hallucinating from the cold. I imagine my dancer in my mind as vulnerable and alone but still surrounded, in a condensed, busy space reflecting on the tall buildings and the public walking past ‘The Little Match Girl’ but never noticing or seeing her. Light is also extremely important in this story and a key theme of the work. I want to reflect this in my work.

Research and context –

Hypothermia is a key theme in the story of ‘The Little Match Girl’. “At the turn-of-the-20th-century it was the leading cause of death, and 40 percent of those who died were under the age of five.” (Druga, 2016). Historically this condition has killed many but most of these deaths were children of a young age. This seems to be something that was completely out of control with children recorded being found frozen on the streets just like ‘The Little Match Girl’. But this is something still happening sadly today, with some families and individuals having to choose between heating and bills during the winter months it is not uncommon to hear of multiple deaths from the cold mainly in the older generation. It is sad this condition is still a problem in modern day society.

The original book by Anderson is very descriptive about the cold and the small girl out to try and support her family by going out into the snow to sell matches. She has no shoes or hat and her “bare feet” (Anderson, 1864) are mentioned multiple times so I feel this is important to carry through until the end film. The themes of the cold, warmth and visions are key themes within this book. The warmth for me from the matches represents hope, light and happiness and gives her visions of the happiest situations and things the Match girl wants so badly. This idea of light bringing hope and warmth to the character is something I also want to carry through to this film.

Starting Ideas –

For this screen dance I want a solo dancer in the middle of a forest. The trees will represent the isolation of the girl, as just like the people passing her and the tall buildings surrounding her in the story, they ignore her and do not interact just like the trees will not move or interact. She is isolated but still in a filled area. The film will not have a period, and this will not reflect in costume. The costume will be a simple dress with bare feet. The area needs to look cold and for this dry ice may be a solution to making the scene look like a winter morning, but filming will need to depend on weather conditions. The ground needs to be slightly icy, but rain is a cause of concern for the dancer and equipment. Risks due to cold and equipment will also be assessed, and precautions will be made to keep the dancer warm.

The film will have a realistic quality using a large amount of found sound for example the leaves crunching under her feet but have an underlining tune or sound that will process and become more noticeable as the film goes along to draw tension.

I would also like to represent the hallucinations in a way, the match brings them not just light and warmth but also visions of happiness where in which she does not feel the pain of suffering anymore. The theme of light and warmth is important in this book and I want it to be represented, but not in the way of a small match’s glow, but bigger. As I feel the trees around her are her isolation, I will wrap these in lights and finally have this sort of interaction and a glow of warmth and light which would represent this idea well.

​

Movement content –

I have decided for the movement content of this screen dance I want to look deeply into the dark side of this story and how the child suffered. This child froze to death and this sadly was a regular story many years ago as poverty loomed over England. I have decided to research into how one dies from the cold and how the body actually does shut down as it freezes.

​

​

​