Choreography for
Audiences – Take One: Dance Film Review
By Dawn Paap and Leslie
Kilpatrick
On September 15, 2012 we joined a large group of
participants at the Irondale Theatre to welcome our chance to participate in a
live human game and choreographic/social experiment conceived and choreographed
by Noemie Lafrance as part of Brooklyn’s inaugural BEAT Festival.
Although there have been debates about film versus live
performance, Choreography for Audiences -Take One challenges these ideas by
delivering a blend of each to offer a unique experience for audience attendees. How often do audiences have an opportunity to
view a film’s creation on set or in real time?
Or step in to participate? Thankfully,
Sens Production invited in audiences to experience an interactive dance film
and work with internationally renowned choreographer Noemie Lafrance.
As part of an audience (or participants) adorned in outfits
of green, blue, black and tan, the check in line was a buzz of questions about
what we had studied in preparation for the games that await us. Prior to shooting the film, each team separated
to go over the instructions with Team Leaders regarding varied movement sequences,
and discovered how to strategize to earn points.
Blurring the lines between audience and performer, participants
were allowed to observe games being played and step in to be a part of the
action. Behind the scenes vantage points
offered a unique viewing experience for all involved…with chaos and unity
happening simultaneously…while achieving a one of a kind visual artwork. With a dozen geometrical shapes and patterns created
through human movement, chaos, and structure, Choreography for Audiences - Take
One allowed audiences to witness a live event like no other.
While taking part as spectators, we each quickly realized
the scientific dimensions of art we were viewing and experiencing. From mathematical patterns, to the social
experimental element, to the complexity of the choreography to include crowd
control and space, we witnessed LIVE art at another level.
The most challenging game seemed to be the ‘Fractal Box’
which relied on participants following a 2-4-6-8 unfolding pattern on grid lines
to create geometric patterns known as fractals.
With participants lining up to quickly move across the grid, while
needing to count steps to create the fractal shape and finish each mathematical
set before other teams, things got a bit messy at moments for each large group,
but were quickly corrected through a team effort.
With each of the games, we witnessed participants colliding
& instinctively adjusting around each other, testing Lafrance’s theories on
Kinesthesia within the context of this social experiment. Kinesthesia is defined as an acute human
sense that notifies the brain where the body is with reference to the matter
around it. It is the ability dancers
have to move in unison by perceiving their surrounding often assisting with
musical cues. Kinesthesia is often
referred to as a sixth sense because in 1557 Julius Caesar Scaliger originally
described the position-movement sensation as a “sense of locomotion” and later
called by Charles Bell “muscle sense”.
However, today scientists instead classify Kinesthesia as a combination
of external & internal sensations to and from the brain.
Learning theorists would also point out that having an
opportunity to view the games in play allowed participants to gain awareness
and be more able to maneuver their bodies to each game’s ending position with
fewer errors once they rejoined the action.
This is reflected in Noemie Lafrance’s Bodies as Media Huffington Post article which
states: “By transmitting the content of the work to the audience, as if projecting
a film onto the audience’s body, we also transform the audience’s body into the
media. The audience’s body has the
choreography stored in it, waiting for activation and playback.”
We noticed that the longer the games continued, the more relaxed
each participant became with timing and execution, including being more in
tuned with one another, allowing observers to witness this transformation in
action. As individuals mastered each game,
the excitement about scoring points for one’s team and participation
intensified. At the end, no one seemed
ready to leave, and the audience side was mostly empty.
Lafrance’s mission to create art that is mass produced within
a social experimental structure is as brilliant as it is ambitious. Social experiments are important educational
tools for all cultures, as seen by decades of literature among the collective social
sciences. What can this documented
experience lead us to discover about one’s ability to read another’s presence, participate
in competition, and master game play? What
will this dance film offer in terms of inspiring future research on dance?
Noemie Lafrance’s vision as a choreographer is unique in its
regard to audience involvement in her works, and offers much to the shared
experience of dance for everyone. With her
interdisciplinary approach of combining art, science, and technology for Choreography
for Audiences - Take One, she offers an innovative look into performance
language and challenges how choreographers traditionally communicate with
audiences.
Taking audience communication even one step further, Sens
Production is sharing copies of the film with each participant, allowing individuals
to share their creative experience with broader audiences through the ease of
social media sharing platforms. We’d
like to extend our appreciation to Noemie Lafrance and Sens Production for
inviting us to partake in Choreography for Audiences - Take One. We look
forward to seeing the director’s final edit of the dance film and sharing it with
others.
In conclusion, we’d like to
officially give this dance film a rating of “Two Thumbs up” from the Blue Team!
