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.”

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.

comments

Name

Email

Comment

このサイトはhCaptchaによって保護されており、hCaptchaプライバシーポリシーおよび利用規約が適用されます。

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

Blog posts

REVIEWS | Rebecca Deczynski

Poetry in Motion

After a quiet August, the New York City dance calendar fills up almost impossibly quickly, with one particular program generating ample, and justified, hype. With its first program, New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival kick-starts the season with a jolt of energy.

REVIEWS | Eoin Fenton

Cymru Goes for Gold

“Blue is the colour of the open sky, of water, freedom and depths we cannot fathom.” This is the mission statement for tonight’s bill from National Dance Company Wales, the first curated programme from new artistic director Bakani Pick-Up.

REVIEWS | Elsa Giovanna Simonetti

By Any Other Name

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker hit the Théâtre de Chaillot like a bomb, as “Rosas danst Rosas” took over the theatre for a sold-out run this September, bringing with it the irreverence of the Belgian avant-garde of the 1980s.

INTERVIEWS | Rachael Moloney

Directing Dance Umbrella

When London’s Dance Umbrella festival launched in 1978, its future was uncertain. Would festival-goers and funders love or loathe the radical contemporary dance it presented?