Ce site Web a des limites de navigation. Il est recommandé d'utiliser un navigateur comme Edge, Chrome, Safari ou Firefox.

Defining Connection

In a series called “Just Dance” on Nowness—a site I sometimes visit to see what’s up in the world of “genre busting” dance films that make it onto this stylized platform—I sometimes find little gems that quietly rock my world. Such is the case with What We Were, by director Kate Collins and choreographer Evan Sagadencky. With its gentle humanity and a story told entirely through movement, this for me is an exemplary representation of what the marriage of dance and cinema can do beautifully.

Performance

What We Were directed by Kate Collins and choreographed by Evan Sagadencky

Place

Nowness

Words

Sarah Elgart

Sagadencky and Dan Santiago in What We Were, a film by Kate Collins

We see two young men (Sagadencky and Dan Santiago) waiting for the train on a Dumbo (Brooklyn) subway platform. Santiago—hooked up to a pair of headphones—is visibly feeling the groove of a tune we cannot hear as viewers. His feet move just a bit . . . he’s clearly holding back. Sagadencky watches him with understanding and the familiarity of someone who has been there. And as the two strangers make eye contact the hint of something more is insinuated with a barely there smile exchanged between them. Moments later, we’re on the train with the two seated opposite each other, and what ensues is a series of vignettes in which dance is at once the vehicle for telling the story, and a big part of the story itself. 

Similarly to Celine Song’s film Past Lives, the director and choreographer herein are exploring the Korean concept of inyeon, or fate. Inspired by the myriad of daily interactions and small moments of exchange between otherwise total strangers that take place daily in New York City, or likely in any large metropolitan center, this film uses dance to mine the potential for a greater connection between two men each passing through their day.

Sagadencky and Dan Santiago in What We Were, a film by Kate Collins

Sagadencky and Dan Santiago in What We Were, a film by Kate Collins

The dance begins gently with men seated next to each other in front of a window looking onto a carousel, with the raising other of a foot, partially an invitation into playfulness, part flirtation, all “conversation.” The choreography—although rooted in contemporary dance language—has a healthy mix of B Boy-like moves as well as entangled limbs reminiscent of Rauf Yasit’s Rubberlegz. There is an ample use of gesture and weight-sharing as we follow them along, sometimes one dancer “listening” as the other “speaks.” The camera is always moving, which gives us as viewers a deeper sense of the passage of time and also ups our engagement into the two men and to the story. The locations are beautiful, and the color is lush, further drawing us into the romance of the film. The exchange and connection that emerges between them is delivered entirely through dance—a conversation, an exchange of experiences, and a sharing of who they are as individuals, entirely through movement. The beautiful score is ambient and instrumental—no hard hitting rhythms that the dance rides literally—and like the two dancers the score’s relationship to the choreography is autonomous yet completely sympathetic, and to this viewer, really beautiful.

At the end, we see they are still on the train, and we are left wondering if this is a hint of what is to come, or what might have been . . . and perhaps, the road not taken. Enjoy.

Sarah Elgart


Sarah Elgart is an award winning choreographer, director, movement director, and producer, creating original content for stage, site and screen, whose work has been seen internationally. Sarah’s ScreenDance Diaries is one of the first articles on the genre of Dance Film (originally for Cultural Daily). An alumna of the Sundance Institute’s Dance/Film Lab, AFI’s DWW, and a director member of the DGA, Sarah is Founder/Director of DARE TO DANCE IN PUBLIC FILM FESTIVAL (www.dare2danceinpublic.com). @arrogantelbow @dare2danceinpublic

subscribe to the latest in dance


“Uncommonly intelligent, substantial coverage.”

Your weekly source for world-class dance reviews, interviews, articles, and more.

Already a paid subscriber? Login

comments

Veuillez noter que les commentaires doivent être approvés avant d'être affichés

Featured

Self-Portrait in the Making
INTERVIEWS | Rachael Moloney

Self-Portrait in the Making

Now in its second year, the Tate Modern’s Infinities Commission is awarded to a contemporary practitioner whose work proposes radical ways of thinking about performance, installation and time-based art.

Plus
A Class Act
REVIEWS | Faye Arthurs

A Class Act

A ballet career necessitates lifelong scholarship. Professionals take a daily technique class that begins with the same pliés at the barre as absolute beginners. Most days at the School of American Ballet, New York City Ballet members are tucked into in a corner of the studio, honing their tendus alongside the top divisions.

Plus
Liminal Moves
REVIEWS | Rachel Howard

Liminal Moves

Jessica Lang is smack in the middle of a three-year stint as resident choreographer at Seattle’s Pacific Northwest Ballet. It’s an excellent artistic match that deserves to be followed closely, because both Lang and PNB merit a higher national profile.

Plus
Golden Hour
REVIEWS | Robert Steven Mack

Golden Hour

The close-knit ballet scene in San Diego was dealt a blow when California Ballet, the company Maxine Mahon founded in 1968, folded in 2020. Insiders tell me the pandemic wasn’t entirely to blame, but since then, Golden State Ballet, still wet behind the ears, has risen in its place.

Plus
Good Subscription Agency