pieces of the Quiet Dance

A re-working of 'The Quiet Dance' by Jonathan Burrows and Matteo Fargion, where I was able to film the piece twice, in an empty theatre. The first take took in the whole thing in wide shot, conventionally framing the whole stage. For the second take, I followed the movement in mid-shot favouring the lower halves of their bodies. I would start with one, and when they crossed, follow the other. It seemed to work most of the time. No re-takes were feasible, given restricted access to the theatre.

In editing, I noticed that it was the rhythm of the moving bodies that interacted excitingly with the mid-shot camera’s panning, that the wide view failed to capture the work being done to make and lay claim to space. I discarded the majority of the wide view and assembled only those passages that seemed to build film rhythm. To and fro was my guiding light.

In edit I also introduced a forest glade, by means of digital keying, which is to say I wanted the the space that had been made to become visible. In the theatre this would not be necessary, since there is a bodily relationship between dancers and spectators, and the space is felt in every specatator. On film, things work differently.

Filmed in May 2006.

HDV, colour.

Filmed and edited: Adam Roberts

Choreographed and performed by Mateo Fargion.

With thanks to Alistair Spalding at Sadler's Wells, London & to Joanna Hogg for the loan of her camera.