Micro-Screendance

In this first series of Micro-Screendances, I was learning Adobe Premiere Pro. Each film is roughly 1 minute (or slightly longer) and can be viewed as a stand-alone work. Viewers are also invited to watch the entire collection as a work, from beginning to end, end to beginning, or in any order you choose. This showcase link orders the films from first completed to last, if you want to see the progression.  

Immediately prior to filming, the dancer and I spoke until we found an issue, political or otherwise, that had informed/was informing the dancer’s relationship with the world as they experience it. Each individual then took a few minutes to record audio privately, where I couldn’t hear them. When they felt finished, the camera rolled, and they danced. Each piece is completely improvised; some dancers used music to stay in their vibe, which was edited out in post-production and replaced with a soundscape.

As I began to assemble the clips and sound files, I learned just how vulnerable and personal these stories were. Some stories were crystal clear, others stream-of-consciousness. I dug out what I believed to be the nuggets of their inspiration for movement and used those to create each individual film, and a few soundscapes. Working this way, where the performer had complete agency over their words and movement made space to create in a strikingly vulnerable way, and provided opportunity for unique relationships between the dancer, their immediate environment, and the camera.

Below, each film is listed alphabetically, by title. View in any order you wish.