Wednesday Dance Video

Justin Peck and Janie Taylor, The Block Magazine from Justin Peck on Vimeo.

I watched this video a really long time ago and there is something about it that stays with you. Perhaps, it's her hair or something about her presence. It isn't perfect; the digital color grading bothers me a little or perhaps a lot. The feel that they are going for is interesting - I just miss when people use to do things in camera and I think they could have done this in camera with lights and it would have been better. Unconsciously color grading feels as though it isn't real and couldn't be captured with actual light. Even if something is meant to feel magical and mysterious it needs to be rooted in some type of reality or else it just feels false.

I understand that this is a fashion video and it, perhaps, succeeds in that way, but I have seen fashion videos or commercials that rise above their purpose and I wish this one was able to do that. I feel it is really close. The filmmakers are competent, but it feels as though they don't have a grasp on what they are creating. This is painfully obvious after reading this interview with Janie Taylor where she points out that they just wanted her to "dance around" and she had to bring Justin Peck into the production because she thought if she just danced around she would look stupid. I so love that the ballerina is the one who truly made this piece work and not only by her presence on film, but also her artistic knowledge and valuable insight.

To me the idea that it begins with the man being viewed as if he is merely a sculpture is really intriguing. The woman comes in and begins to interact with this object, she brings him to life, but then the piece just ends with no conclusion or understanding of the power of the choreography. That is the failure of the filmmakers because they had something that they could have really plugged into and created something amazing, but they don't appear to connect with what is going on in front of them. It is really disappointing when something has such great potential and it isn't realized.

Wednesday Dance Video

Awhile ago I was worried that all I would end up posting on a regular basis was dance videos and now it seems I haven't posted one for too long.

I became aware of these videos by the Royal Ballet after this post a week or so ago on this blog. I love Alicia Markova (I read her biography when I was in 5th grade and became obsessed with her. I tracked down every dance video I could find of her) so I was immediately intrigued by the post.

These videos seem to be from a lecture and there is nothing uniquely special about how they are filmed. Most live events are shot similarly. What I love about these is the purpose behind sharing them and creating each short video. So often dance companies seem to post random shots from rehearsals or a performances into a montage video and it is really boring to watch. I love how these videos are giving us information about pioneer ballerinas by showing us how and what they danced. It is such an interesting way to learn about ballet history without just spewing facts out at a viewer.

I really loved watching the Fanny Essler piece - the dancing so interested me. I also liked the dancing in the Anna Pavlova piece, but the costume was a bit too much.

Of course it would also be fun to do something of the same purpose by not just shooting a lecture, but making short films. Hmm...

Dance on Wednesday

Source: Uploaded by user via Emma on Pinterest

I know I should be posting a video right now, but I couldn't find any that I thought were worthy of commenting on. At least where I would be saying something new. I only spent time looking last night so by next week I should have more to comment on. Instead I thought I would share some wonderful photographs of ballerinas. These are of Alessandra Ball (featured in my documentary!) from the Ballerina Project. Enjoy!

Source: Uploaded by user via Rachel on Pinterest

Wednesday Dance Video

    So I know I have been a real slacker this week about posting, but in fairness to be both my mom and daughter have birthdays this week. This video isn't really a dance video, but I think it is so awesome. I want to make a documentary about an flamboyant Italian man. How fun is that to watch? I love how they just march into New York City Ballet and take control. Everything will be about the dresses. And really everything has to be about the dresses because those creations are insane. I particularly love the re-invisioning of the tutu.

Wednesday Dance Video

Waterdrops (longer version) from Altin Kaftira on Vimeo.

I really like the beginning of this piece, but it starts to fall apart for me with the effects toward the end. When it appears that there are multiple dancers it feels as though it might be going somewhere, but then you realize that it is just an effect. There is a notion out there that if you label something experimental or non-narrative you can just put a bunch of cool images together and that's it. That is not really the case. There usually is an idea that the filmmaker is working through or they are experimenting with something and seeing where it will take them.

Experimenting with effects is really boring. I know that everyone has to do it once, but that should be the only time. In an editing class I made my students use as many effects as they possibly could and by the end they hated effects and realized that shooting in camera and using straight cuts was the most powerful. They passionately hated the assignment and tried really hard to get out of doing it. I think it was the best project I ever gave. From that point on they were constantly asking themselves and each other, "Why are you doing that? It doesn't seem to mean anything. It looks cool, but...what does it add?"

If the maker of this piece had asked the same questions then his video may have gone somewhere and kept me engaged.

Wednesday Dance Video

Deep End Dance from Conor Horgan on Vimeo.


Making Deep End Dance from Conor Horgan on Vimeo.
Sometimes I start to feel as though I just hate everything. But, when something good comes along it only feels that much better. I really love this short dance film. It has a fully realized concept and a very sweet story.  Most importantly it needs no dialogue.

Along with the short film there is also a making of documentary. Even though it is a little annoying when people make these for short films (particularly when it is longer than the actual piece they are referencing). I did love how the director called dance films "cinema at its purest."

It is not quite fair to call silent films silent because there was always sound in film it just wasn't synchronized sound that allowed for peoples voices to match the movement of their lips. Often, it is considered that the art of filmmaking was greatly hampered by the advent of talking pictures in the 1920s. Just prior to 1927 the camera was really free and being used in amazing creative ways. Once sound came along it forced productions into sound studios and, since cameras were so noisy, they were sequestered into boxes and rooms and treated as though they were a problem (instead of the tool of the artist). This hampered the experimentation and exploration that was going on and it is often thought that filmmaking has never artistically recovered from that moment.

I love the idea that dance films could become the new way of connecting to this gap in our artistic growth. It also makes it understandable why it is so hard to make dance films, and even simply dance moments in films, truly great.

Wednesday Dance Video

Swan Lake from patrick weishampel on Vimeo.


BODY BEAUTIFUL from patrick weishampel on Vimeo.

As I consider some upcoming projects I have been looking a lot at dance videos. It is very rare for me to watch a dance video that I deem successful. Often times I get so bored I don't even watch the whole thing. I know that sounds harsh, but it is true. I really want to examine what I think works and doesn't work so I will try to examine one each week.

On a positive note I really like these promos for Oregon Ballet Theatre. They are short so they are easy to get through and the point is simply to get your attention and interest in hopes that you will buy tickets. Therefore they are not concerned with creating a piece that holds your attention. That being said what works really well is the editing. Often dance videos try to match all the actions and keep a continuous flow of the choreography, but in reality the editing creates rhythm in filmmaking. The editing really makes these work.

Bluebird Variation

In my pointe class we are learning the Bluebird Variation from Sleeping Beauty. It's really hard. When I was fifteen or so I loved hopping on pointe. It always got a good "ohh ahh" reaction out of people and I never really thought of it as hard. I was pretty fearless when it came to my pointe class. I have always felt more comfortable in my pointe shoes than my soft shoes. I don't know why. Now that I am older and returning to pointe there are things where that I can't believe I used to do. Right now I don't believe I really will be able to accomplish this - our teacher is really confident in us. So we'll see; anything is possible right?

Dealing with Rejection

Source: tumblr.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

Last week I was having a hard time finding the energy to post all that much. Since Monday was a holiday it did make the week start out on a different track than normal so that may have had something to do with it. It was also the first week of rejections (sort of) from the festival circuit and I was feeling a little less than positive. It is something you feel you should be prepared for it, but it is still a little rough.

When applying for festivals you apply for the most prestigious first and then work your way down. So really I had the smallest of small chances of getting into the first wave of festivals I applied for (and there are still a few whose tell by dates are later this month and for at least one of those I am almost certain I won't get in), but for some reason this is when all my self doubt begins to surface.

I keep thinking that no one will program a film about ballet and why did I make a film with all women again? People want to hear male voices. This is the sad truth about our society. At this point I have only been rejected by two or three festivals, but for some reason this is the hardest hurdle to get over. I am not sure why. When I watch my film now all I can think of are the reasons people will hate it instead of why they may love it. Some of the reasons are so miniscule like a sound pop that more than likely only myself and, perhaps, someone who is really into sound will hear.

I understand that there is a lot more that goes into programming a festival beyond whether a film is good. And these festivals at the beginning of my festival campaign get many thousands of entries. I can't even imagine how hard it is for programmers to whittle 5,000 films down to 100. Yikes. Of course just because something makes sense in your head doesn't mean it makes sense in you heart. Is that way too corny?

This week I am trying to put all that behind me and get back into the swing of a normal week. We are moving out of our apartment and into a house in the next few weeks so a lot is going on. If I am lucky I will be able to focus on other things and not even think about the upcoming notifications. Once February is over the notifications are much more random so I will have a better chance at forgetting that they are looming on the horizon.

I also remind myself of what it felt like a few weeks ago when someone who has seen the film made a fairly direct quote from the film in something I was reading. She wasn't promoting the film and didn't even reference the film at all, but clearly a moment from the film has stayed with her and she had been thinking about it. It made me feel that my work left an impression. Of course, it also meant that I want more people to see it.

(quote from pinterest; I think it might be about love relationships, but is also quite appropriate for the love-hate film fest journey)
 

Reading Gelsey Kirkland

Source: bing.com via Chelsea on Pinterest

Gelsey Kirkland's most famous book, Dancing on My Grave, details the rise and fall of an extraordinary career. Though a wonder if she  will ultimately be remembered for her drug addiction or her dancing. She danced Clara in Baryshnikov's Nutcracker and I have a feeling she will be remembered, by most, for that. (Here is a link to a clip of her in Giselle, one of my personal favorite ballets)

She wrote a second book along with her, now ex, husband titled The Shape of Love. I have been thinking about it a lot because she goes into the extensive detail of creating the characters she is dancing and how it is more than simply dancing steps. The motivation behind any art form is so important and I believe can really make or break a piece (in dance, film, music, art, etc). I have really been wanting to re-read this book and may have to squeeze it in somehow.

Day 24: Something that makes me smile.

Going to see the Boulder Ballet's Nutcracker last night with my mom and daughter. Peter Davison is one of the best Drosselmeyer's I have ever seen!

(photo source: Boulder Ballet Facebook)

Day 23: Eight things you didn't know about me.

 Eight seems like a lot, but here goes:

1.  I have become addicted to caffeine by drinking tea every morning.
2.  I prefer manual transmissions and rue the day I will have to change to automatic.
3.  I have really high arches that makes my feet look pretty in ballet shoes, but may cause problems as I get older.
4.  Currently, I am addicted to the television show Chuck. I am not sure how it happened.
5.  When I was in jr. high and high school a friend and I routinely dressed alike without consulting each other.
6.  I lived near the beach for three years.
7.  I prefer cornbread that is not sweet and cake-like.
8.  If I could find a way I would like to live in France for a few years.

(photo is of Traci Gilchrest's feet from Strength and Beauty)

Day 20: Something that means a lot to me.

Here is another post where I want to say my daughter; I just thought I would put that out there. I had a hard time deciding what to write about, but today we had to re-arrange our schedule all around so that I could go to a dance class. Usually I go on Thursdays though since this Thursday is a major holiday class is cancelled. So I realized that ballet classes mean a lot to me. Particularly getting to go to Boulder Ballet with the same teachers I have had since I was a girl.

I had these great intentions of taking pictures in class today to post here, but I failed. Somehow I was distracted because I even had my phone out ready to go. With an internet search underway I came up with the above pictures. These pictures our of the studio where I danced so many years ago. Currently, Boulder Ballet is located at the Dairy Center for Arts, but it used to be here (it was also called Ballet Arts). It was above Tom's Tavern on the West End of Pearl Street. These pictures make me a little bit sad, but also a little happy because I can imagine being there, where I stood at the barre, being distracted looking out those wonderful windows, and the smell of fries wafting out of Tom's. The studio was on the second floor and to get there you had to climb a very steep and narrow stairway. Sometimes there would be violin music because there was a rehearsal space across the hall. This was such a special place to take classes.

Even though I am being flooded with amazing memories; I will share just one. It is an incredibly big deal when a young dancer gets to finally wear pointe shoes. If you wear them too early you can cause a lot of physical damage. It doesn't have so much to do with technique as much as it does with a child's development. Before we could take pointe class (which at first was 15 minutes at the end of our technique class) we had to have our shoes approved by our teacher and  I remember us all sitting around her (she was in a chair, placed to the right of the door in the top picture, and we all looked up at her with our eager eyes wanting so badly to put on our shoes and dance across the floor). She explained how to sew the ribbons and elastic onto our shoes, how to take care of our feet (blisters, ouch), and I remember very clearly being told not to dance around in the shoes outside of class (so we wouldn't injure ourselves before we knew how to dance in the shoes properly). It was a really good day.

Today as I was driving down the East End of Pearl St., I was thinking about how different it looks. I tried to think about what the old buildings looked like or where there used to be  dirt lots when I was growing up. Everything looks all nice and pretty now, but sometimes I miss when things aren't so polished, and shiny, and new looking.

Apparently this post is about two things that mean a lot to me: ballet and memories. Though, for me I guess those two things will always be intertwined.
(photos found at this photo stream)