Archive for the ‘theory/criticism’ Category

By Mollie Shapiro

Thank you to everyone who nominated a video for this week’s “Pop Dance Phenomenon” theme! We really enjoyed getting a chance to see your favorite viral videos!! This was the last week we were accepting submissions and nominations for our Videodance Contest. Next week will be guest curated by Doug Fox of Greatdance.com, who will be presenting wonderful dance animation videos.

If you didn’t get a chance to participate in the contest, don’t fret. We have a brand new opportunity for you! Movement Media is excited to introduce UMove, our First Annual Online Videodance Festival!! UMove will feature short dance and movement-based videos that were made specifically for the web and other new media formats. For more information about the festival and for submission details, please click here.

POP DANCE PHENOMENONS

As technological advancements continue to infiltrate our society, YouTube has emerged as the new hit-maker of today. This platform has led to the discovery of countless videos that would never have been shown on TV, and given them the chance to spread swiftly through virtual word of mouth. Although there are many videos that have gone viral on YouTube, the six that we have selected are each strong representations of one of three categories; “The Earlies,” “Global Phenomenons,” or “Sponsors/Marketing.”

The videos representing “The Earlies” are:

“Here It Goes Again” by Ok Go

and ”Evolution of Dance” by Judson Laipply

“Here it Goes Again”

The American band Ok Go struck gold when their quirky music video choreographed on treadmills was released. This video, which debuted on YouTube on July 31^st, 2006, was one of the earliest viral YouTube videos to mesmerized audiences across the world. As of 2009, it is still one of the most iconic videos of all time with over 46 million views.

“Evolution of Dance”

Judson Laipply’s “Evolution of Dance” was first put on YouTube in 2006 and became an overnight internet sensation reaching over 123 million viewers. One of the first comedy performances ever to go viral, the video features Laipply performing popular dance moves from the 1950s all the way to the present. Even now, it remains the single most watched video in the history of the web.

Our “Global Phenomenon” videos are:

“Filipino Prisoners doing Thriller”

and ”Korean Madness”

“Filipino Prisoners doing Thriller”

Featuring over 1500 inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Phillipines performing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video, this video became a surprise smash hit on YouTube. Conceived by Byron F. Garcia as an enjoyable exercise regimen for the prisoners, it has now been viewed over 30 million times throughout the globe and given the prisoners a great source of pride, proving the immense effect that YouTube has had on people and cultures worldwide. Here is a link to an earlier blog post written by Anna Brady Nuse comparing the Filipino Prison dances with Busby Berkeley and the Balinese Kecak.

“Korean Madness”

This hilarious video, which has now become a global phenomenon, was actually taken from a Korean TV show. It features two young girls singing karaoke, and from the looks of it, they are truly enjoying themselves!

Our final category this week is “Sponsors/Marketing” and our winning videos in this category are

“Where the hell is Matt” by Matt Harding

and The “T-Mobile Dance”

“Where the Hell is Matt?”

This video, which features a guy named Matt Harding performing a ridiculous and amusing dance at various locations around the world, began as a joke between friends. Over time, these videos of unexpected bursts of dance by a goofy man in exotic locations sparked a media frenzy that ultimately led to a sponsorship by Stride gum company. Stride has sponsored Matt’s last two excursions simply because they were amused by his ideas, however by associating themselves with a fun-loving guy who is a YouTube sensation, they have craftily created a more progressive brand image.

“T-Mobile Dance”

This video, which documents a brilliant publicity stunt used to promote T-Mobile, was filmed in a crowded London train station in the middle of the day. This seemingly spontaneous yet choreographically synchronized dance was a viral hit, and since then many other brands have posed similar media marketing stunts, such as the Belgian TV company’s “Sound of Music” in Central Station in Antwerp, which was our “Choreographed” videodance contest winner on June 12th.

For further intellectual discussion about these videos or any of our previous themes, please click here: Movement Media’s Weekly Online Video Dance Contest

As always, we appreciate your comments and feedback about the contest winners! We’ll be back in September. In the meantime, please submit your videos to our new UMove Videodance Festival, taking place Oct 1-31, 2009 on the web and at live screenings around the world! Deadline AUG 15Th.

by Anna Brady Nuse

The papers presented at last year’s Screendance: State of the Art 2 Conference at the American Dance Festival have just been posted online and are available for download. It is nice to revisit the ideas around curating that were presented at that conference, as I’m in the process of planning next Fall’s Kinetic Cinema series. My paper was all about the model of artist-driven curating that I have been cultivating through Kinetic Cinema. I wrote a couple of follow-up posts on this blog about the Screendance conference at ADF last summer here and here if you would like to follow the thread of the discussion.

You can download the latest essays for the Screendance Journal on the following topics here: http://dvpg.net/screendance2008.html

Thoughts on Curating: How to Bring About a Shift in Perception

Anna Brady Nuse

“Screendance is growing worldwide. Every year more dance film festivals spring up; new courses in dance for the camera are added to college dance curriculums; and symposiums, workshops and panels take place all over the world. Despite this trend, screendance is still virtually unknown in American culture at large.”

Does Screendance need to look like dance?

Claudia Kappenberg

This is an edited version of a paper, which was first presented at the American Dance Festival, ‘Screendance State of the Art 2’, Duke University, North Carolina in 2008, and re-presented at the conference ‘Exploring the Screen as a Site for Choreography’, University of Bristol, Department of Drama, Theatre, Film & Television, April 2009, in response to debates at the Bristol event. Drawing on a wider field of visual art, film, dance and theatre studies the paper proposes a new knowledge map for screendance aiming to articulate the complexities of choreographic sensibilities and identifying a set of Screendance strategies

Curating the Practice/The Practice of Curating

Douglas Rosenberg

This paper in a slightly different form was presented at the Curating the Practice/The Practice of Curating conference at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC, USA on Thursday July 10, 2008. Some of the ideas contained were originally posted (by Douglas Rosenberg) in a number of on-line discussions during the last year. Please use with permission. rosend@education.wisc.edu

Curator’s Notes for Linssin taka / Beyond the Lens

Sini Haapalinna

A national video dance screening program, coinciding with the dance and live arts festival Z – in – Motion, organized by Zodiak, Center for New Dance in Helsinki, Finland, and curated by freelance artist Sini Haapalinna.

by Mollie Shapiro

Thank you to everyone who submitted a video for this week’s theme of “Public or Private.”  We were thrilled with the interest and enthusiasm that the exploration of this theme sparked.  Next week’s theme is “Pop Dance Phenomenon”.  For this theme we are asking you to nominate your favorite Youtube viral dance hit, rather than submit a work of your own (unless you happen to be the hit-maker!).  All nominations are due by July 21st, and the contest winners will be announced on July 24th.  Please scroll to the bottom of this post for more information.

This week’s winning videos are:

“Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing” by Adam McKinney and Agulhas Theatre Works representing our Public category

“Eye Vanish” by Marisa C. Hayes representing our Private category

Public or Private
As the use of social media networks continues to rise, individual’s privacy has become increasingly difficult to maintain. A huge trend on YouTube are private dances captured on video and then posted for public viewing. On the other hand, public performances not before possible, such as a site-specific work filmed in the middle of the desert, can subsequently be put online and viewed by millions. As we watched the submissions for this weeks theme, it became obvious that the formerly clear distinction between private and public is now totally ambiguous. Nearly all of the submissions could have easily fit into both categories. Ultimately, we chose two videos that we felt most strongly embraced each category.

Public: “Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing”
Adam McKinney and Agulhas Theatre Works’ “Pretending to be Something, Now Coming from Nothing,” captured the essence of a public work because it documents events performed for audiences in their native South Africa. This touching video draws attention to people who are not usually in the public eye, and generally ignored by society. Able-bodied and disabled dancers perform fluidly side by side on stages ranging from an abandoned drug house in a shanty town to a modern dance performance venue. The video evokes a sense of comradery through movement. By weaving the performances together through editing, it shows that beauty can be found everywhere, if one just gives it an opportunity to be seen.

More about Adam McKinney and this project: http://www.dnaworks.org/

Private: “Eye Vanish”
Originally created for the Moscow Outdoor Video Festival, Marisa C. Hayes’ “Eye Vanish” is a poetic and concise visualization of how new technological mediums have led us to question and alter our sense of privacy. By using a web cam, a very personal communication channel, Hayes explores where or even if a separation can be established between private and public. The dancer seems to be performing for us, the voyeurs behind the camera’s lens. Her movements are curious and deliberate, as she chooses what to reveal. In the end, she tries to break through to see into the eye that is watching her. Her eye and the camera’s eye merge and obliterate each other in a futile attempt to know what the other sees.

More about Marisa C. Hayes: http://www.marisahayes.com

Please leave us a comment, and let us know what you think about private and public, this week’s winners, and anything else you’d like to share!

Next Week’s Theme for Movement Media’s Online Video Dance Contest:
Theme: Pop Dance Phenomenon
Submissions are due by Tuesday July 21st.
Winners will be announced on Move the Frame on Friday July 24th.

As technological advancements continue to create seismic shifts in society and culture, Youtube has emerged as the new hit-maker of today. Videos by amateurs and professionals alike that would never be shown on TV are discovered all the time, and spread like tidal waves through virtual word of mouth. Video killed the radio star, and now YouTube is killing the MTV star.

In dedication to the King of Pop himself, who’s music videos defined a generation and inspired dozens of YouTube hits alone (remember the Philipino Prisoners’ “Thriller”?), for this theme, we would like you to nominate your favorite viral dance video.  What pop dance phenomenon has captured your attention?  Do you love the “Where the hell is Matt” video? Perhaps your favorite is the “T-Mobile dance.”  Whatever your favorite video may be, pass it along to us to we can showcase it on next week’s blog.  We’re excited to see your nominations.

HOW TO SUBMIT

* Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
* The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
* Pick/Submit one video to represent only one of the weekly themes.
* Send the link of the video to Movement Media
* The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
* Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
* For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
* Include a brief synopsis of the video.
* Include a link to your website (if you have one)
* Include your email address

Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly.

Impetus for Contest Participants

* Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
* Receive publicity for your work/work of others
* Receive comments and feedback
* Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
* Automatic consideration for UMOVE, Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in October 2009.

UP-COMING THEMES FOR JULY:

The final week of July will be guest curated by Doug Fox of Greatdance.com.

In August, we are seeking submissions for the First Annual UMOVE Online Videodance Festival! Please see submission details here: http://movetheframe.wordpress.com/umove-festival/

Thank you to everyone who has submitted or nominated work for our contest thus far. If you haven’t participated yet, there are plenty more chances to submit your work or nominate the work of others. Below we have posted a list of the themes for the month of July. Next week’s theme is “Rehearsal or Performance.” All submissions are due by June 30th, and the contest winners will be announced on July 3rd. Please scroll to the bottom of this post for more information on how to submit.

This week, as a tribute to the first days of summer, we explored the theme, “Summer or Winter.” Here in the Northeast United States at least, summer has not really been evident yet. We’ve had weeks of rain and coolish temperatures. Solstice was marked by more of the same. While no one relishes sweltering heat and humidity, it would still be nice to know if summer is ever going to arrive… Against this strange weather back-drop, it was delightful to watch the submissions for this week, which were unambiguously rooted in their appointed seasons.

Most of the works we received were site-specific and dealt with the elemental nature of the seasons. Others took an abstract/conceptual approach, and explored the inner psychological states of winter (isolation, sparseness, coldness) and summer (nurturing, abundance, warmth). For us, this pair of themes seemed like a good opportunity to acknowledge the attraction dancers have to making site-specific videos. One of the first things most dancers do with a camera is to escape the studio and the stage, and go outside to dance. Who can resist frolicking in the grass or rolling in the snow? Dancers are endlessly fascinated with trying to capture the experience of moving and interacting with the natural world. Just like most poems are about nature, most dance films are too. As humans, we tend to think that we are separate from the rest of the animal kingdom, but our biology seems to belie this belief. Dancers, being more grounded in their bodies than most, are particularly attuned to the wild/animal sides of our natures. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that they use the camera to practice their craft closer to the elements that truly inspire them to move.

Without further ado, the winners this week are…

“Thaw” by Marta Renzi to represent the winter category

And

“Summer Day Daily Dance” by Lee Atwell to represent the summer category.

“Thaw” by Marta Renzi

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.844817&w=425&h=350&fv=]

“Thaw” emanates a sense of winter through every aspect of the piece from the landscape and lighting to the choreography. The bare trees and wintry colors accentuated by the lighting of the film render a bleak portrayal of the season, as well as the earthly magic that a thawing winter creates. The film explores the fluidity and beauty that emerges from the seemingly lifeless frigidity of winter. The gracefulness of the dancers’ movements accompanied by their long flowing costumes personifies the melting of the ice. Additionally, the use of the swan, a symbolically graceful animal, further emphasizes the constant flow of the seasonal cycles.

Marta Renzi’s first dance video was YOU LITTLE WILD HEART, a half-hour for PBS, to music by Bruce Springsteen, made for the WGBH New Television Workshop in 1981. In 1989, collaborating with independent filmmaker John Sayles, she made MOUNTAINVIEW, for Alive From Off-Center. Many years after those well-funded projects, Renzi began self-producing video dances in 2005. They have shown in festivals nationally, internationally and on the web. http://martarenzi.blogspot.com

“Summer Day Daily Dance” by Lee Atwell

Similarly to “Thaw”, this video portrays an deep relationship with the landscape and embraces the spirit of summer. Although initially the camera is focused on Atwell, as the view pans up, it captures the absolute beauty of the surroundings. This video doesn’t try to make a statement or define summer in a particular way. Rather, it embraces the ever-shifting presence of the moment, a core value of the Eastern inspired Butoh dance form that Atwell practices.

Lee Atwell writes: i am new to dance and butoh (less than 6 months experience), and my mentor is maureen ‘momo’ freehill who created ‘daily dance’ honoring 50 years of butoh in 2009.  i have been dancing daily and recording them since the beginning of january of this year. it is my hope and intention to embody the soul through this incredible creative expression. http://www.youtube.com/user/pamelaleeatwell

Let us know what you think about site-specific dance videos, this week’s winners, and anything else you’d like to share!

Next Week’s Theme for Movement Media’s Online Video Dance Contest

Theme: Rehearsal or Performance

Submissions are due by Tuesday June 30th.

Winners will be announced on Move the Frame on Friday July 3rd.

Video is an important part of most dancers’ rehearsal processes, as well as documenting the finished work in performance. Sometimes, when approached creatively and with attention, the documentation becomes a work of art in itself. We are seeking interesting ways of capturing rehearsals and performances on video. Please let us know which category your video applies to, and why.

HOW TO SUBMIT

• Submissions may be made by anyone – artists, film makers, and anyone who knows of online videos that fit the weekly themes.
• The video submitted must be under 10 minutes long.
• Pick/Submit one video to represent only one of the weekly themes.
• Send the link of the video to Movement Media
• The video submitted needs to be embeddable, ie hosted on YouTube or another sharable online video platform.
• Include a short biography/artist statement (if it is your work).
• For every submission, include a short summary that describes why you have chosen a particular video for the contest and describe how it relates to the weekly theme.
• Include a brief synopsis of the video.
• Include a link to your website (if you have one)
• Include your email address

Email all information to movementmedia@pentacle.org
If your submission is chosen for the weekly contest, we will contact you directly

Impetus for Contest Participants

• Have your videos seen by an online audience who’s interested in movement-based video.
• Receive publicity for your work/work of others
• Receive comments and feedback
• Automatic consideration for live screening at Kinetic Cinema in NYC.
• Automatic consideration for UMOVE, Movement Media’s Online Dance Film Festival in October 2009 (information and submission guidelines to be announced in early July).

UP-COMING THEMES FOR JULY:

Week one: Rehearsal or Performance
Submissions due by June 30th. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 3rd.

Week two: Classroom or Stage
Submissions due by July 7th. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 10th.

Week three: Private or Public
Submissions due by July 14th. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 17th.

Week four: Pop Dance Phenomenon
Submissions due by July 21st. Weekly Contest winners will be announced on July 24th.

The final week of July will be guest curated by Doug Fox of Greatdance.com.