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Location, Location, Location

It was perhaps on Instagram some five or six years ago when I first came across the dance films of Benjamin Seroussi. I was immediately drawn in by his films, and the distinctive and somewhat eccentric piano scores of Koki Nakano with whom he regularly collaborates. And then there is the fact that choreographer Damien Jalet has been a frequent collaborator of Seroussi as well. In discovering more of Seroussi’s works, I found they feature unique locations where the dance is truly integrated. 

Still from Benjamin Seroussi's “Glances.”

Released four years ago now, Glances, is a gorgeous, spacious, and quite literally moving example of such a dance film—which is actually also a music video. In fact, like Tess Voelker former dancer with Nederlands Dans Theater, the dancer and choreographer featured—the camera never stops. And what is revealed is a film that is at once subtle and stunning, wherein camera, site, and dance work meld together beautifully to create a truly visceral viewing experience.

Glances opens with the camera gently descending over a riverscape, where we see a seemingly sunken, empty, and open path extending into the distance. Under a gray and foggy sky, a dark blur suggests trees. In the next shot, the camera descends to find dancer Tess Voelker in a deep red and purple unitard—the only visible, albeit muted color. She seems to be walking curiously, as if—like we the viewers—she is seeing this place for the first time. Voelker becomes playful, almost pedestrian and nonchalant, and while her dance feels improvised, her technique, control, line, and instinct show an unmistakable professionalism. 

Still from Benjamin Seroussi's “Glances.”

Still from Benjamin Seroussi's “Glances.”

The film cuts between the river path and a geometric location of curved black and red colored walls with concentric circular, window like openings. Voelker invites us to explore it with her, and unlike the sunken river path, this is a site of no clear proportions. Voelker makes the dance personal—she is Alice in Wonderland, fallen through the rabbit hole. With the camera following and sometimes leading the way, she takes us with her, improvising elegantly, sneaking around corners, under angular shaped ceiling cut outs, led by a sense of playful innocence matched by Nakano’s beautiful score.

Whether seen live or on film, dance works that are truly site-specific interact with, move through, and employ dance to investigate space and site, rather than simply use them as a background. In Glances the marriage of Nakano’s gentle and lovely score, Seroussi’s swooping and often surreal, yet masterly camera work, the incredible locations and elegance of Voelker’s dance feel like a dream. A lovely, albeit brief vacation, wherein we take a deep dive into a misty, fairy tale of real world beauty. 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. 

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