Andrea Lerner

This course introduces students to singular choreographic possibilities offered by cinematographic tools, promoting new ways to engage with dance through new media and its platforms. The course focuses on “why and how” to convey a choreographic idea into a filmic practice, how the encounter between moving images and moving bodies can expand the development of a choreographic language beyond live performance. The course dwells on fundamental questions: How are we positioning our work in relation to these two fields—historically, aesthetically, and conceptually? Is there a broad and thorough blending of concepts, philosophy, processes, and tools? Moving Bodies in Frame is a mix of analytical and production classes, introducing students to the history of video/experimental film/choreocinema; moving to contemporary videos and installations,; and, finally, addressing the opportunities offered by the new platforms available at this moment in time. Students will have a series of hands-on exercises and assignments, individually and/or in groups, suggested every week. These exercises explore concepts of framing, camera movement, planes, deconstruction of space and time, the relationship of audio X image, special effects, postproduction, installation, etc. Students will create a final assignment, a project where they define a concept, shoot the video, and address postproduction decisions like sound and editing. Finally, we will discuss how the project should be presented and experienced: Is it an intimate or communal experience? Does it ask for projection or monitor, small or big screen, one or multiple screens, viewer mobility, and interactiveness? The course welcomes choreographers, performers, filmmakers, photographers, cinematographers, media artists, or anyone interested in this process. A camera will not be necessary; all assignments can be done with participants’ phones.

Dance in Frame is a course about “why and when” to convey a choreographic idea into a video. In our experience, the important questions are simple: When does one’s concept ask for the language of video making? What are the tools available in video that would not only facilitate the work but also demand that the work be made specifically for the screen? To answer these questions, one needs to understand that neither the media nor dance is subjugated to the other. The same understanding of dance must be extended to video and experimental film. During the course, we will screen and analyze works from early experimental films made in the 1920s to early video art works for the 1960s and, finally, videos and installations of our contemporaries in order to illustrate different approaches and guide the students’ own works. Throughout the semester, students will be given a series of hands-on assignments, both individually and in groups. The exercises are designed not only to develop a familiarity with the camera—exploring concepts of framing, camera move, planes, and deconstruction of space/time—but also, and more importantly, to contemplate and witness the possibilities of creating informal pieces and investigating how video can transfigure and uniquely represent what is being observed. These exercises build toward the complexion of a larger video project, incorporating approaches introduced throughout the term and including the presentation or installation of each piece. The class welcomes dancers, performers, video makers, photographers, or anyone else interested in this process.