March 10, 2007

Dance Films by Ludovic Jolivet

I mentioned that I interviewed choreographer and filmmaker Ludovic Jolivet earlier this week for my upcoming publication on dance, video and the Internet.

He just uploaded two of his videos to YouTube:

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November 14, 2006

Savion Glover Off To Penguin School

For the animated film, "Happy Feet," opening in theaters this Friday, tap dancer Savion Glover attended penguin school.

Glover, as reported in LA Times, was working on mastering the constraints of penguin locomotion so that he could perform the tap dance moves of Mumble, the penguin with no vocal range but great dance moves. The problem for Mumble is that among the Emperor penguins of the Antarctic, if you can't sing you'll have no social standing in the community.

Then, once he had the Penguin motions down, Glover's tap dance routine was captured via motion capture, "...a recording process that required him to tap dance on a small stage under 60 lights in a black bodysuit that had 40 reflective sensors near his joints. As Glover performed, the light from his reflectors was recorded by an array of 60 cameras and turned into data." The next part of process consisted of converting these captured motions in to the animated moves of Mumble. (On the LA Times article, you can watch a video clip of this motion capture process. Or, if you can't access this article, you can see same clip on Yahoo.)

More links:

- "Happy Feet" profile on Internet Movie Database.

- Article in USA Today, "Penguins on tap could ice the mice."

- MySpace Page - they even have news ticker and countdown clock that you can add to your blog/website.

I started writing this post because of Savion Glover and tap dancing. But it's also interesting to see how this movie is being promoted online. A lot of food for thought for dancers and dance companies - I'll write more about this topic.

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March 20, 2006

Second Position - Dance Documentary

Here's a preview of a dance documentary, "Second Position," directed by Richard Calvache. This video grew out of a high-school class project and ended-up being accepted by a number of film festivals.

I enjoyed watching this clip and I'd like to see the entire video:

Here's the brief caption for this film:

This passionate documentary follows a troubled teen living the street life of the South Bronx as he takes a chance on changing his path. As Andres faces the challenges of proving he can be a ballet dancer and earning the acceptance of his choice by his friends and family he learns there's never just one position in life.

Also watch "Second Position (Preview)" and visit
Rich Calvache's profile on YouTube.

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February 15, 2006

Dance Videos and Video Blogs

Thanks to Jo-Anne Green at network performances for her two dance posts from yesterday and today:

Today Jo writes about the videodance work of Mimi Garrard. On the Mimi Garrard Dance Theatre website you can watch "Creating Dance for Video, 2006." You can also visit the Videodance page to watch a number of additional videos choreographed by Mimi Garrard. Mimi Garrard has been creating dance videos since the 1960. The presentation of videos on this site is excellent. It's a nice change to be able to watch dance videos in an accessible and enjoyable manner. I'm getting tired of going to dance websites with video and having trouble finding the clips and playing the videos or having to view such small screens that it's impossible to know what you're watching.

And yesterday, Jo linked to Ying Zhou's Dance Diary. Ying Zhou is a dancer who grew-up in Beijing and lives in Seattle. On a November 17, 2005 post, she videotapes a dance piece for her blog and makes it available to visitors and then people can leave comments. I've always liked this idea of creating dance pieces for blogs and then providing viewers with an opportunity to communicate directly with a dancer/choreographer. I think it would be great to see this idea built upon and explored by many more dancers. This is one of the ideas I wrote about in my white paper on blogging.

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January 24, 2006

Article19's Twisted Assessment of Dance Films

Article19, an online publication for contemporary dance based in England, is not thrilled with the quality of dance film making. In an article by Jordan Kinsella, "5 Simple Steps," dance on camera productions are ripped to shreds.

The intro to this article reads.

Dance film making, dance for camera, call it what you want but almost without exception it is pretty poor in terms of invention, quality, ideas, quality, craft, design, movement, quality and of course the quality is appalling. Jordan Kinsella looks at five simple ideas for making dance film better and begs the profession for mercy, because we make him watch all this stuff.

Among the article's highlights include:

Sadly I get the impression that most dance film makers resemble cavemen after they discovered fire. Standing around it in large groups making grunting noises whilst poking it and getting their fingers burnt.

I have absolutely no idea what this author is ranting and raving about - he doesn't offer a single example of a terrible dance film. I've seen some wonderfully creative, compelling dance on camera productions.

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November 8, 2005

"Rhythm Is It" Review

Brendan McCarthy has an excellent post in his Dancerdance blog about the "Rhythm is it" documentary that follows Scottish choreographer Royston Maldon's efforts to prepare youngsters for a performance of Stravinsky’s "Le Sacre du Printemps" in Berlin.

From Brendan's write-up and the movie trailer, the film sounds wonderful and charming. "Rhythm is it" is available on the German Amazon.com, but not on the US Amazon.com.

Brendan emailed me that unfortunately the producers are having trouble distributing the film internationally.

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October 26, 2005

"Ballets Russes" Review

Aimee Ts’ao of the Dance Insider writes review of "Ballets Russes" which just opened at Film Forum in NYC.

To see playdates in US, visit Ballets Russes website.

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Dance Camera West Website

Most websites that I come across in the dance world do not do the creators justice. They tend to be poorly designed, difficult to navigate and lacking in clarity. I think this problem should be corrected so that the online marketing efforts of dance companies and related organizations match the vision, talent and creativity of the performances they are intended to promote.

One website I do especially like is for the Dance Camera West Film Festival. The copy is clear and concise, the navigation options are logical and well layed out, and the color scheme and graphics are appealing. I also think that the 3-minute video promo for this festival is wonderful. It's an enticing trailer that grabs your attention and motivates you to go to the next festival.

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September 30, 2005

Ballets Russes Screening in NY

On Dance Films Association website I saw promotion for upcoming "Ballets Russes" film showings in US starting with Film Forum in New York on October 26th. (DC filming at E Street Cinemas on November 11th.)

You can learn about Ballets Russes film on dedicated website. And you can watch good trailer here.

Synopsis:

Unearthing a treasure trove of archival footage, filmmakers Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine have fashioned a dazzlingly entrancing ode to the revolutionary twentieth-century dance troupe known as the Ballets Russes. What began as a group of Russian refugees who never danced in Russia became not one but two rival dance troupes who fought the infamous “ballet battles” that consumed London society before World War II.

BALLETS RUSSES maps the company’s Diaghilev-era beginnings in turn-of-the-century Paris--when artists such as Nijinsky, Balanchine, Picasso, Miró, Matisse, and Stravinsky united in an unparalleled collaboration--to its halcyon days of the 1930s and ’40s, when the Ballets Russes toured America, astonishing audiences schooled in vaudeville with artistry never before seen, to its demise in the 1950s and ’60s when rising costs, rocketing egos, outside competition, and internal mismanagement ultimately brought this revered company to its knees.

Directed with consummate invention and infused with juicy anecdotal interviews from many of the company’s glamorous stars, BALLETS RUSSES treats modern audiences to a rare glimpse of the singularly remarkable merger of Russian, American, European, and Latin American dancers, choreographers, composers, and designers that transformed the face of ballet for generations to come. — Sundance Film Festival, 2005

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