Last Thursday evening we had an event to attend. The world premiere of Slow Dancing at the Lincoln Center in New York City. We were invited by Director David Michalek to his “invitation only” celebration for all the people associated with the project. From our private balcony in the Avery Fisher Hall we sipped wine and watched as the magic of slow motion dance unfolded across the plaza on 40 foot tall screens suspended from the façade of the New York State Theater, home of the New York City Ballet.
How exactly did we manage this you might ask? Because my husband Rick was responsible for donating the use of the high-speed, high-definiton digital camera [made by the company he works for, Vision Research] that made it all possible. Back in February we got to visit David’s studio in NYC and watched two of the dancers being filmed. It was fascinating to watch the process first hand. When I saw “Lil C” on So You Think You Can Dance two weeks ago, I was still in awe that I had stood right next to his well-muscled body—in person! [He is one of the creators of krumping.]
Here is an explanation of what Slow Dancing is all about from the Playbill:
“Slow Dancing is a series of 43 larger-than-life, hyper-slow-motion video portraits of dancers and choreographers from around the world, displayed on multiple screens. Each subject’s movement (approximately 5 seconds long) was shot on a specially constructed set using a high-speed, high-definition camera recording at 1,000 frames per second (standard film captures 30 frames per second). The result is approximately 10 minutes of extreme slow motion. The trio of portraits will be randomly selected for each cycle, allowing viewers to simultaneously compare dancers from different styles and cultures.
What at first appears to be a series of still photographs unfolds gesture by barely perceptible gesture—a motion portrait in which each dancer’s unique artistic expression and technique are revealed. Viewers can choose to focus on one dancer’s complete performance or observe the interplay among the screens. The extreme slow motion enables the viewer to share privileged information about the complexity of the simplest gestures, catching details that would normally escape the naked eye.”
I took some still photos and a few videos to give you an idea. The vids are not the best and somewhat grainy, but it’s the best I could do in nighttime conditions. Watch carefully because things unfold very s.l.o.w.l.y. Keep in mind that each performer’s moves were only done in 5 seconds of real time. What can you do in 5 seconds?
I like how in this photo below you can see how tiny the real people appear at the bottom in comparison to the screen.
In this first vid, the middle screen is showing Herman Cornejo just before he begins his jump. Lil C is on the right.
Now a little further into his performance Herman is in mid leap!
The dancer on the left is Wendy Whelan, principal dancer of the New York City Ballet and she just happens to also be David Michalek’s wife.
Herman Cornejo was the most awesome for me. His form is so incredible! He is Argentinean and is now a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theater. To see more of his spectacular segment, click on this link to watch the video on Slow Dancing’s website.
It was nice to see Rick’s name listed in the acknowledgments in the Playbill: [see second line]
Thank you, David! It was both a privilege and an honor to be invited. For those of you in the area who wish to see this great work of art, the exhibition runs until July 29th, nightly from 9 pm until 1 am. Admission is free, just bring a chair to set up in the Plaza to watch. In September the exhibition moves to Los Angeles in the Music Center Plaza. To read more about the dancers and the project, follow this link to visit the website for Slow Dancing.
Posted by Lynne on 07/18/2007 at 08:43 AM
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