ABSTRACT
Since its very inception, Western concert dance has been relying on existing literary or visual artworks to propel its own narrative, inform its structure and engage with memory. Taking the cue from this volume’s proposed term reframing, this chapter investigates how the dance performance Pitman by Eliot Smith Dance (2016) reframed paintings for contemporary dance audiences, calling on the spectators to revive and rewrite their cultural memory by engaging with shared cultural history. Keeping in mind that translational paratexts are also important sites of reframing (Batchelor 2018), this chapter explores the way in which the Pitmen paintings were successfully reframed by choreography, in-situ and online performances, programme material, and reviews. What types of memory were engaged in the translation process and how were these reframed by it? How did the respective frames hinder or emphasize the choreographic statements and how did the choreographer engage with them? Did the frames match the pictures?
