dance for film

Oh, Ruby

The following can be credited to one of those times when the joke became the work. 

In this case the "joke" was brought on by a late night jam session with friends, which birthed a sort of irreverent character that was so clear in my mind that I felt we had to make some visual record of her.

Leading up to this point, I had been trying to build what might be classified as a "serious" phrase, something grounded and earthy, and also, evidently, something stubborn, as inspiration would not come and I was left with some very disjointed pieces which I had no choice but to abandon and bookmark for later.

But I was teaching the following day and I needed a phrase. What followed was a caricature of the "other girl" that was awake at that hour (it was a late night)--- or how I envisioned her--- someone stylish but just a bit overdressed, free but teetering on the edge of sloppy, and, most importantly, someone who was fresh out of fucks to give. 

Only badass, confident women could run with this prompt the way Mel, V, and Em could and did. So a cheers and stomp for them, and a cheers and a stomp for you, for watching this, and then hopefully putting on a red lip and a lash and raising some hell.

Enjoy.

Rabble-Rousers: Melanie Comeau, Victoria Finehout Vigil, Emily Palmquist

Tunes: Ruby Blue, by Roisin Murphy

Concept, Choreo, Film, and Edits by Yours Truly, with some help from the keen eyes and ears of a one Mr. Eric Chaves.

Point of Invention

I have thought for a long time on whether or not to share the origin text that inspired this piece.

I’m not going to. It gives too much. Which might seem odd, given that in other cases I have expressed a commitment to being clear with the viewer, but you know? Sometimes I find that source material restricts the viewer to only seeing one (JUST ONE) truth? And in art, in everything, there is so much more to see than a singular Option A. The dancers themselves did not even see the origin story until just before going onstage at their opening performance.

Now that it's made, it doesn't belong to us anymore anyway. Us= myself, and my choreographic partner on this one, Katherine Roarty, who I'm also very lucky to call a friend. I think some of the complexities of our friendship snuck into the fabric of this piece, which I love. And I think it is evident just how beautiful stories can be when they are a teensy bit strange? Beauty only results for me when I do not strive for beauty. 

The only other thing I'll say is this: look at these young young souls! How much to be learned from working with dancers fresh to this madness!  I'm remembering my own experiences with these kinds of beginnings. 

Watch the fountain of youth below:


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Filmed by the fabulous and fearless Natalie Deryn Johnson of Lady Deryn Photography. To see more of her goodness: http://ladyderynphotography.com/promo.

Video Credits:

Music: Cirrus, Bonobo

Choreographed by Katherine Roarty and Kristin Yancy

Filmed by Natalie Deryn Johnson

Edited by Kristin Yancy

Performers: Mariah Aivazis, Christina Barr, Brooklyn Bass, Kaitlyn Bonanno, Christophe Desorbay, Shany Dagan, Tessa Jenkins, Sofie Payne, Marisa Schaefer, Marah Thornhill, Hannah Triquet, Adam Wedesky, Corey Wright, Sydney Zucker