Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Muy Informal

Bless, last night was a success. The format was very informal, with popcorn and tea and some mattresses on the floor of the dance studio in an old brick building. The films were projected onto a blank white wall and we all sat in fold-up chairs. I and my friend who joined me were the only ones who weren't part of the Barefoot Collective in some way. Suffice to say it was an "intimate" evening. They screened about 12 different films, each from which I learned something.

Now that I've seen many different interpretations of dance on film, I can draw conclusions about the future of dance film in general, and the development of my own style specifically. I think that if dance film wants to go anywhere in the massive art scene, each film has to have a clear concept. I am not saying that each film has to have a "plot" or "narrative," per se, but it has to have some kind of a concept that gets developed throughout the film. I saw several films last night that had many interesting concepts, but none got developed to their fullness because they were crowded by other ideas that the filmmaker had. Some films, to me, actually had the potential to be six or seven films, if only the filmmaker had focused on one idea at a time. I think this is my main struggle as a dance filmmaker.

Secondly, dance films cannot just have dancers dancing in an environment. Anyone can film someone moving around a park or a library. The real artistry comes in what the dancers are saying by dancing in that particular place, and doing those particular moves.

Finally, dance films are more interesting when the camera is not afraid to move with the dancers. I saw some incredible angles last night that suggested more movement than the dancers could do alone.

As for my style, I hope to absorb some of the lessons I learned last night and apply them to my work. I am so happy we had this chance to showcase our work and get inspired to keep moving forward with this project. Congratulations to all the other filmmakers and thank you to the Barefoot Collective!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Film2Night

It is with pleasure that I announce the film creations by The Long Distance Project. These films represent our trio, our web of love, and our light of creativity. In a short amount of time, we have created works that honor the distance, perspective and process that has willed these films into existence. In July we danced together. We spent the rest of the summer, fall and winter ruminating on where we might go next with our project. Here we are now... presenting our dance films tonight in Tacoma, WA highlighting work from this last summer in Brooklyn, NY.
I am filled with joy knowing that Kathryn is witnessing this premier while Yulia and I, from our respective homes in Portland, OR and Brooklyn, NY marvel at the accomplishments our long distance project has made. Congratulations!
From this spark of energy I see the flame of creativity building and our light growing ever brighter. Here is to building our project further with passion and dedication.

Here is one of the films that will be shown at the Barefoot Collective Dance Film Festival, Tacoma, WA.

Under the Canopy from Kimberly Kaplan on Vimeo.

Film 2 Night

Tonight we are blessed with exposure in the public eye. K's and my films are both premiering tonight at the Barefoot Dance Collective's Dance Film Night at the Merlino Arts Center in Tacoma, WA. We only created these films about two weeks ago, with the footage we filmed last July.

It seems to me that the biggest BLOCK to progress in a long distance project is the ability that distance has to cause procrastination. If we are so far apart from one another, it is easy to get used to our daily routines and forget that we have a pressing creative obligation to one another, and each to herself. It is when we make the time to make things happen and to make things, that we reap the rewards of our creativity. Even if these films were not screening tonight, we would still reap the rewards of satisfaction and joy, simply by doing the act of creativity. Humans are not meant to be caught in concrete jungles with no ray of the light of love inside of us. We need to let that light shine, so tonight I will represent the Long Distance Project's light with dignity and pride.