Underneath The Fray

upcoming

Hulberts: Underneath the Fray; Lois Mullin from Saskatoon
Blue Chair: Pete Turland
Jeffrey's: Andrea House

Last Night

MZD DANCE + FILM + LABA = SOLID GOLD

Mile Zero always manages to provoke intelligent thought and discussion, and last night was no exception. An enthusiastic crowd extended the discussion (the crowd almost had to be forced out of the theatre to the reception), and many expressed their desire to see the films again. I found it especially interseting to hear the dancers talk about their work in a 'normal' dance performance, vs the work in a film. Was it dance? or Film? It became clear that you cannot 'film' a dance. The audience (camera) at a normal dance performane is very far away and only gives a very limited perspective. Filming directly does not capture the essence of the dance. When you create a film of dance, the dancers, the filmmakers and even the musicians need to make dramatic changes resulting in a new work of art.

The four films were each unique in many ways. Kitchen Angels was witty in sound, motion and ideas. Filled the audience with fun an laughter. Fisherman's daughter was thought provoking and the discussion made it clear that different audience members saw and felt different things. Nightshot combined a chance encounter with a fire, and studio improvisation to represent and explore the myth of Baba Yaba, the forest spirit or witch. In Luz, the camera moved in, deliberatly create a landscape of the dancer's body parts. The film let me feel the physical aspects of dance.