I'm looking forward to curating the February 11, 2009 Kinetic Cinema program at Chez Bushwick in Brooklyn. Anna Brady Nuse of Move the Frame created this monthly film program, which explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage.
My program will focus on dance animation and is based upon my directory of 50 Categorized Dance Animation Videos that I posted yesterday. (You can follow the links in this directory to watch all of the videos).
The screening portion will be about an hour and the rest of the program will be devoted to discussing the videos and different aspects of animation, visual effects and related topics.
Anna and I will soon post a complete program guide with the details about the videos that will be shown.
Below you will find categorized links to more than 50 posts on Great Dance that include videos of many different types of dance and movement animations such as 2D and 3D, stop-motion, visual effects, interactive performances and installations, computer games, machinima, live action and CG, motion graphics, visualizations, pre-cinema and many other types.
I hope you enjoy this animated dance video collection. And please email me with suggestions and feedback. [Post Continues...]
One of my favorite dance videos is William Forsythe's "Solo" (1995). I've always liked the fast-paced, unexpected movement patterns and was curious how he performed this piece:
Well, on his 1999 "Improvisation Technologies" CD-ROM, Forsythe provides a hands-on guide to the approach he uses to create different types of movements. His methodology is grounded in using geometric shapes such as points, lines and three-dimensional forms to help dancers develop their own improvisational practice. And each of the video explanations includes overlain animated graphics to help dancers visualize each example.
Here are two video examples that provide a glimpse into Forsythe's methodology. The first video illustrates how to create arm movements by extruding lines from points:
And this clip shows a visualization of creating curves and circles:
The Special Player is an interactive, responsive environment where a motion-tracking system is used to monitor the movements of dancers, which then drives the real-time animations projected on the walls of a club.
Here's a quote from the below video in which Rubin provides excellent introduction to his rave-inspired hand dance actualization machine:
In building this object I used as my theoretical foundation a practice called "glowsticking" that exists predominantly in rave and underground electronic music culture. Glowstickers, at least the talented ones, have cultivated the unique ability to twirl their glowsticks in mid-air and actually generate continuous, dynamic, 3D imagery in space. This is then observed by other party-goers whom might be near them. It usually happens spontaneously on the dance floor as opposed to being strictly a performance activity.
Ballet Pixelle (formerly Second Life Ballet) creates concert dance works for performance within the virtual world Second Life.
Ballet Pixelle's first production was "Olmannen", a three-act story ballet with original animations, choreography and music.
"Olmannen" is the story of a couple in love, how evil in many forms can divide, and how true love can overcome....Centuries ago, Namon agreed to become a Devang to save his one true love, Seraphette, from evil. Namon has waited centuries for her soul to be reborn to reclaim their love. But now that she is reincarnated, Seraphette has changed. Can Namon still love the new Seraphette? Can Seraphette possibly accept the love of Namon, a creature of the Overworld?
