IMPROV, 2006

Five dance film studies reflect an exchange between the body and the camera. The viewer is asked to question who is the performer and who is the maker as the artist steps into the frame holding a 16mm camera and ‘shoots’ the solos, duets and trios—improving as much as the dancers. Messy, improvisational film footage distills the moment of movement creation using sharp, kinetic editing and multiple screens within a sculptural, installed space.

Co-creator: Keith H Doyle

Choreographed and performed by: Cora Bos-Krose, Kevin Cregan, Ayman Harper, Amy Raymond, Natalie Thomas and Mario Zambrano

Collaborators: Mathieu Borysevicz, Talal Al-Muhanna, Kevin Cregan

Music: Janek Schaefer & Ayman Harper

Produced in co-production with The Banff New Media Institute, The Banff Centre, Banff, Alberta, Canada
Developed during Dance Theatre Workshop’s ARM Fellowship, New York City

The concept of improvisation is carried through from conception to final result as the video channels quad and stacker were randomly generated using MAX MSP, while time present solo, wallpaper and triptych with camera split the screen and explore concepts of time and image.

Influenced by William Forsythe’s improvisation techniques and collaborating with dancers from the former Ballet Frankfurt, Improv attempts to translate their unusual dance language to film. Yet the questions remain as to what is more real. The body, moving in the moment of creation or the image of the body? Or perhaps the image of the maker, caught in the act of making? The trace that is left behind in the film, or the original act of conception and improvisation? The signifer and the signified are brought into question, adding a deeper level of meaning to both the dance and films.

EXHIBITIONS + SCREENINGS

P2P: OUTDOOR ART VIDEOS
Curated by Kate Armstrong
Paris, France, Skopje Macedonia, Vancouver, Edinburgh & Belgrade
2007 – 2008

MEDIATED BODIES-MEDIA TECHNOLOGIES IN DANCE
Dublin & Limerick, Ireland
September 2007

ART GALLERY OF CALGARY
Three channel installation
Curated by Springboard Dance
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
September 2006

DANZLENZ – DANCE FILM IN INDIA
Public lecture, presentation and screening
New Delhi, India
August 2006

AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL
Screendance: The State of the Art
Public lecture and presentation
Duke University, North Carolina
July 2006

DANCE MOMENTS SCREENING
Krakow, Poland
May 2006

DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP
CAPTURED: Gallery Screening
New York City
April 2006

THE BANFF CENTRE
Banff New Media Institute
Work-in-progress Installation & Resident Artists’ Lecture
Banff, Alberta, Canada
March 2006

MONKEY TOWN SCREENING
Straight to the Helicopter
Brooklyn, New York
March 2006

IMZ DANCE SCREEN
Work-in-Progress Film Screening
Brighton, England
June 2005

DANCE THEATER WORKSHOP ARM LAB FELLOWSHIP
Public Presentation & Board of Directors Meeting
New York City
April 2005