CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Amazing video of people dancing on the wall of a building

sploid.gizmodo.com: This is Amelia Rudolph and Roel Seeker suspended on the wall of Oakland's City Hall, dancing like some kind of fairies or angels. The effect of them moving over the building's façade as it if were the ground is disoriented but really beautiful. I can watch them doing this forever.

16 comments:

Olivia LoVerde said...

This was so cool to watch and probably even cooler to do. The skill that it takes to move around that way while hanging from a building is probably astronomical. There movements were so fluid and so beautiful especially when you think about the way the camera is angled on the building that way. The ability they get from being suspended that allows them to basically fly through the air changes the way you see them dancing. Clearly they are on a building but it could be seen like they are on flat ground and then you are blown away by the way she was able to spin around in the air. I give these dancers so much credit for being able to do this.

Philip Rheinheimer said...

This is absolutely incredible and take the idea of interacting with architecture to a whole new level. This kind of innovative movement is really cool. The amount of body control they need to have to pull off some of those moves in unbelievable. The one thing that I noticed that is really subtle is that they actually slow the video down for some of the moves, mostly the flips, which is barely noticeable but makes it look a lot cooler. It reminds me of Cirque du Soleil's KA with the vertical wall and performers on lines that run up and down the wall. What makes this concept so interesting is that they stay at the same height so it has a very 2-D feel to it. It would be really cool to see a piece with more people in it but the one issue I noticed is that they can never actually cross each other otherwise their lines would get tangled. All in all this is a really cool idea and I would be interested in seeing more of this kind of work.

Tom Kelly said...

I love when entertainment pushes the way we view the world. Although entertainment companies have been using suspension for decades now I think that this particular example was executed quite nicely. the way that the dancers flow with the repetition of the the windows. The way they enhance the beauty of the architecture. Even the added perspective by the camera adds to the experience. I think that the skill of the dancers as well as the methods of design choice made this experience quite memorable.

Jess Bergson said...

The first thought that came to my head while reading this was: these people must be in AMAZING shape! In all seriousness, this is pretty remarkable. Yes, the video itself and the GoPro imaging is great. But the actual performance of the man and woman in this piece is the real winner here. The fact that these performers were able to hold themselves up completely sideways in midair and do these dance moves/flips is something I truly cannot even begin to wrap my head around. Not only do these performers seem to do the impossible, but they also do it so seamlessly and elegantly. They almost seem as if they are floating in outer space. I wonder if any pedestrians down on the sidewalk saw these performers in action. I imagine this would be really cool but also pretty unnerving to see two people on the side of a building so unnaturally. It would also be pretty spooky to see these performers from inside the building, looking out. In any case, this is a really great video and shows that thinking outside of the box can lead to truly unique work.

Unknown said...

This is fantastic. I have done gymnastics for a long time, so I can visualize perfectly the feeling of some of those flips through the air. The weirdest part is thinking about what they are actually doing to achieve the effect of flying through the air. The ones where their fronts are facing us while spinning is actually them laying flat and just horizontally rotating.
I wonder how long they had to practice before this was taped. I feel like this could be a very difficult thing to do on the first try. The timing of the turns has to be perfect or you will crash into the wall.
It is also interesting how slow they are going when they do the turns. In gymnastics, you would never go that slow because you would lose all of your momentum and you would collapse to the ground in the middle of a trick. The rope really allows them to play with the duration of the flips.

AAKennar said...

At first I did not want to comment on this, because it would be sooo kool and soo neat. But then I was thinking, why could they not film fight scenes this way. I am sure I am not the first person to think of this. The reason I was thinking this was how bad the fight scenes were in the most recent Super Man movie. It was just kind of lacked some luster. Not saying this would solve everything but it was impressive the height and distances you could get using gravity to your advantage. What I picture in my head it automate winches hooked up in multiple axises and pulling and pushing people all over the place. Next thought would be a wick kool Dragon Ball Z FIGHT!! But either way it was kool to watch would be freaky to watch if I just saw two people crawl out of a window and start that.

Unknown said...

This was amazing. It looks so easy for them, but I'm sure it is very difficult. They look like they are floating in the air and that there is no gravity. The different camera angles really make your mind think about what they are actually doing. You forget that it is on the side of a building. I am surprised that they did not get tangled in the ropes and were able to move very freely. People are always trying to come up with new ideas and be different. I think this was a great idea that many people would never have thought of.

Drew H said...

Dancing in it self is sort of an odd concept. Why does it look so cool? Why does it make us feel certain ways? It is just moving different parts of your body. But for some reason, when we see dancers on stage, there is just something majestic about them. They glide across the dance floor with such grace that it seems as if they are floating. In this video, the dancers are actually floating and it makes the viewers experience even that much more powerful. The way they use gravity, as silly as that might sound, is pretty remarkable. They take something, dance, that we have seen done the same way for centuries and turned it on its side, literally. The grace that these dancers had without any gravity pushing them towards their floor was beautiful, the way they made it seem like each jump was in slow motion was so enthralling. This video was really quite beautiful. And don't forget the music, it was definitely set the tone of the dance.

Becki Liu said...

This is pretty awesome! It kind of reminded me of (like Philip had already mentioned) Cirque du Soleil's 'KA'. I remember when I first watched the scene in 'KA' I was in complete awe. I really like this a lot! Just the idea of using gravity on your side is genius! In dance, (I'm not a dancer so I don't actually know if this is true) but when you make a leap, you want to get as much air time as possible, it looks nicer. But Mr. Gravity can be kind of annoying and that air time is pretty short. This was beautiful because they were able to elongate their movements. The "leaps" were huge and graceful. This must have been a lot of fun to do. It makes me think of rock climbing, like when you do top rope and as you're coming back down, that feeling every time you push off the wall! Fun fun fun!

Unknown said...

Although I'm not always a huge fan of dance pieces, I found this performance quite amazing. There is a beauty to the fluidness of there movement, while also a frightening fear from the reality that they are hanging from the side of a building and could quite easily fall and die if anything were to go wrong. These two contrasting aspects utilized together really make the piece unique, and the various perspectives really give you an appreciation for the way in which it was designed. I would love to see another camera angle from the nearby windows, for even more perspective.

Overall the piece is truly amazing and I would love to see more performances using a similar design. One of the most remarkable things about this piece is the use gravity, often one of the biggest challenges for a dancer, they employ it in their own way to create graceful movements in the face of limitation. The use of horizontal translation to get amazing flips and jumps that would be impossible vertically due to the force of gravity, is what makes this piece so innovative and captivating.

Andrew O'Keefe said...

Didn't David Lee Roth already cover this? Just kidding. I'm always happy to see weird stuff emanating from Oakland even as it is taken over by Google and all the artists are replaced with IT professionals and "freelance creatives." This really makes me look at dance in a way I never have before. There website, http://bandaloop.org/ is full of images and videos from other performances that are even more breathtaking than this one. I would have been interested to see their rig for that close up. There must be a fixed point hanging over the edge of the building facade so the rope doesn't abrade as they swing. I wonder what the actual anchor point was and how redundant it was. I've often found the cross section between climbing, rigging, and acrobatics a kind of scary one. Climbers often think their systems are good enough for things they are not. I'm sure these folks are getting expert advice, but if they're not, I hope nothing happens before they do.

Trent Taylor said...

I think this is so cool to watch. I would definitely pay money to go see a performance like this. Talk about "site specific" pieces, i think this really hits the nail on the head. And its not just that theyre "flying" around the outside of the building. Theyre really interacting with the architecture in an interesting way. I could see in the future a whole show being staged in such a way like this. I know this is kind of what KA does at one point, but as I said, the use of existing architecture makes it really cool. I would be concerned though, does it play as well to a live audience or is this something that is really suited to being captured by a carefully placed camera?

Gabrielle Zara said...

This dance performance was extremely intriguing and artistic. I enjoyed how graceful the performers were given the circumstances that surrounded them. I appreciate the uniqueness of the design choice to put the dancers on the side of a building. However, I do think that many safety precautions must be taken in order to properly execute a performance of this caliber. The dancers must have had a lot of practice and training in order to pull off such stunts. I would love to see more designers and choreographers defy the odds and do something crazy like this in order to captivate an audience. I am impressed and pleased with this video and these performers.

anna rosati said...

What a gorgeous piece. There is a similar act in Cirque du Soliel's "Ka," which I think does an unbelievable job of using the concept to its max capacity while still maintaining that it enhances and is integrated into the story. While "Ka's" interpretation seems much more impressive, drawing out the danger and insanity of the apparatus through an intense battle scene, Amelia Rudolph's brings a new beauty to the concept. By using pre-existing, lovely architecture, and exploring the movement in a graceful way, the viewer is able to watch without tension that a battle-scene provokes, and were are allowed to absorb the beauty that a change in perspective can evoke.

Adelaide Zhang said...

This is amazing. The slow speed of the dancers' movement, in addition to the music selection, makes the piece seem so whimsical, even though I know logically that it's caused by the fact they are traveling horizontally more than vertically. I did think it was interesting that the video was intersected with goPro footage, because although the physicality of the dancers is incredible, it doesn't seem to me that their viewpoints were all that stunning - but of course this is not to say that I was not extremely impressed. It also looks really fun - I would love it if I was able to do what they do, or even to try, though granted it would probably take quite a lot of work.

Fiona Rhodes said...

This is so incredible! It would be interesting to see how they executed this, especially as they are challenged by the ropes. I wonder how they rigged it up, and practiced so that they never stepped on a window or tangled their ropes. Having the dancers on the same exact plane due to the height makes it look almost like they are animated figures, enhanced by the contrast of their clothing against the light building. I am interested in seeing more of this kind of work in the future, and seeing where else they can take this.