Young Jean Lee’s The Shipment in HD at BAM
October 9, 2011
BAM’s Performance in HD program brings opera, dance, and theater from around the world to the screen. But next week, BAM will show the first of two works this fall by emerging, provocative artists. Young Jean Lee’s The Shipment will be screened in HD on October 17th. Called “a subversive, seriously funny new theater piece” in The New York Times (it premiered two years ago in New York), The Shipment is a “black identity politics show” that dares audiences to question their own preconceived notions about race and culture. It’s sharp, smart, and witty – and definitely worth seeing if you missed it in 2009 (or, if you did see it, come watch it again!). Tickets are now on sale. And mark your calendar for December 5th, when choreographer Diana Szeinblum’s Alaska will screen in HD. Both The Shipment and Alaska in HD were filmed by On the Boards as part of OntheBoards.tv.
Portraits in Dramatic Time
July 12, 2011
Brooklyn-based performance group Radiohole in "Portraits in Dramatic Time"
On Sunday evening I made my way to Lincoln Center to see photographer David Michalek’s newest project, Portraits in Dramatic Time. For Portraits, which is projected onto a massive screen on the façade of the David H. Koch Theater, Michalek photographed actors at 3,000 frames per second, in ultra high definition. Five to twelve seconds of movement have been slowed down to last about eight minutes.
Qian Yi in "Portraits in Dramatic Time"
Just like in Slow Dancing, Michalek’s 2007 exhibit at Lincoln Center that featured projections of dancers from around the world, the beauty of Portraits is that it allows viewers to observe – or rather, scrutinize – every subtlety in the actors’ performances. The furrowing of a brow, or dropping a tea bag into a cup, is mesmerizing when seen at a glacial pace. Many of the actors used props, as well, such as a book, a pizza box, or photographs. The billowing of fabric or turning of a page is strikingly beautiful and intriguing at such slow speeds. Yet, without any context for the brief scenes projected on the screen, watching Portraits leaves viewers wondering why the characters are behaving as they are. You wonder, what is going on? Why was one woman about to punch another? And in another scene, is that man about to strangle an anxious-looking woman or pull her towards him in order to protect her? We never find out.
Alan Rickman was one of the actors featured in the project, and he happened to stroll up to Lincoln Center shortly before he appeared on the projector. I can only imagine how strange it must be to watch yourself on a screen at such a slow speed, but his range and power were fantastic. Concern, pensiveness, anger, and rage all came through in his performance, which included picking up a tea cup, throwing it, and then overturning a large table. It’s wonderful to witness nuance in a skilled actor’s performance, but Michalek’s project takes nuance to another level.
Portraits in Dramatic Time is certainly an exercise in patience, and to see all of the actors, it most likely requires multiple viewings. The project is on display at Lincoln Center every night from 8:45 to 11:45 PM through July 31st.
Alan Rickman in "Portraits in Dramatic Time"
Alan Rickman
(Final?) Thoughts on Black Swan, and Special Effects Revealed
February 4, 2011
My reflections on Black Swan are in this month’s issue of The Brooklyn Rail, so I hope you’ll check it out along with the other dance articles in the paper.
I’m nearly ready to put Black Swan to rest, but I recently came across the below video that Fox Searchlight just posted, showing how some of the special effects in Black Swan were made. Finally, we see how Natalie Portman pulls that feather out of her back, and what it took for her character to grow wings on stage in one of the final scenes.
Movement Research Presents An Evening of Dance Film Shorts
January 20, 2011
Movement Research Studies Project, in partnership with Dance Films Association, presents Dance on Camera, an evening of dance film shorts on Tuesday, January 25th at 7 PM at Judson Memorial Church Meeting Hall – 55 Washington Square South in Manhattan. No reservations and admission is FREE.
From the press release:
A shorts program curated by Movement Research 2010 Artists-in-Residence Anna Azrieli, Laurie Berg, Yve Laris Cohen and Chase Granoff, in collaboration with Dance Films Association Director Deirdre Towers, this event is a part of DFA’s 39th Annual Dance on Camera Festival.
The evening’s viewing and discussion will radiate out from an initial grouping of three short films selected from submissions to Dance Film Association’s 2011 Dance On Camera Festival. Each film centers around movement in relationship to landscapes, ranging from the natural world to the urban environment. The films posit the moving body as an active agent that designs its surroundings, while still being subject to the sublime. The second part of the evening features films and videos selected by the curators, responding to issues brought up by themes in the original films, as well as this event’s curatorial process. Samuael Topiary will moderate a discussion that engages all of the films and discourses surrounding this event.
30 CECIL STREET [Dan Canham/Will Hanke, UK, 2010, 7:20m]
Shot in the dilapidated premises of the Theatre Royal in the Limerick Athenaeum building, Ireland. With a history that stretches back over 150 years, the Royal Theatre has been closed to the public for the last 13 years. Engaging with the atmosphere and past of this near-derelict building and using the soundtrack made up of four sounds and interviews with people associated with the Athenaeum, this short explores the state of a building once the hub of cultural activity.
DUNE DANCE [Zena Bibler, USA; 2010, 2:08m]
Dune(s) dance on a blustery day in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. Choreographed, danced, and filmed on the spot in May 2010.
OANNES [Ivo Serra, USA; 2007, 6m]
Oannes represents The GOD of knowledge to the Babylonian (Ea) and to the Greeks, cultures, and he was the last mythological figure to be connected with the lost city Atlantis. The artist sought to make this mythological being appear.
Black Swan Reflections on Huffington Post
December 20, 2010
I was interviewed for a Huffington Post article by Jordan Zakarin about “Black Swan” and how it reflects the professional ballet world. After seeing and reviewing the film, it has been interesting to read the plethora of reviews and articles on whether the film accurately portrays the professional ballet environment. I was happy to share some thoughts for Zakarin’s column, and dancer and blogger Taylor Gordon also contributed to the piece. Here’s an excerpt:
“Beginning in early childhood, ballet and contemporary dancers devote their lives to the art. But when they’re not performing, dance is less an art than extreme sport, with often times unrealistic expectations, driving dancers to their physical and mental limits — and beyond. The result, far too often, is a loss of an inner self that so few outsiders can see.” Read more here.
