Monday, November 19, 2018
Watch These Famous Poems Reimagined Through Dance
Dance Magazine: Many choreographers use spoken word to enhance their dance performances. But the Campfire Poetry Movement video series has found success with a reverse scenario: Monticello Park Productions creates short art films that often use dance to illustrate iconic poems.
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The first video on here I watched was The Village Street by Edgar Allen Poe and performed by Mikaila Ware, and I was immediately struck by how well the dancer was showing the poem, but in a way that was entirely physical. Her movements did not hint that she was trying to do anything impressive on purpose, she was just telling the story and the impressiveness is born from that. I also really enjoyed how when you read a poem, and especially a Poe poem, you have an automatic idea of what it should be, what it should look like, how it should proceed; but putting it into the hands of a dancer, who is going to interpret the poem a very specific, unique way is a technique that these creators are using to really put a fresh take on this classic poetry. Collaborating with dancers that don't conform to one specific style allows for even more variation. Improving as a dancer can somewhat be a challenging thing, it's hard to just create on the spot, especially after you train so much with someone telling you exactly what to do and how to do it. However, this seems like an appropriate way to approach the project. The goal is to revisit classic poetry but through a visual modern lens. Improv from current, fresh dancers helps represent this in a way that is truly original to the project.
Oh man, watching these performances make me wish I had been a dancer. Maybe I will be in another life. This is the type of art that is not only beautiful to watch, but also holds so much meaning. This is true art to me, when one can change and morph one medium to seamlessly into another. My favorite is “Dreamland”. The lighting and camera work make the dancer seem like a part of the story and not just the main act. We’re not just watching dancing, but we’re watching a story being told with light, setting, and dance. The angles that the camera makes provokes many emotions and tells us what to focus on and when. I really love everything that these dancers represent and how they are able to convey so many emotions and how I can connect to them, even through a screen. It’s poetry in a visual manifestation.
This is so cool. I think it is really beautiful how art can be mixed together using as different forms as dance and poetry. When I see pieces that explore multiple forms like this, they are very interesting because they give you a little insight into what the art is really making you feel and think, by simply portraying it with additional movement or color or expression. It is neat how these performers have taken these words that tell emotion, and tried to interpret that emotion through their movement. So of the movement seems relatable and some of it is surprising but still gives insight into the poem itself and the level of emotion it provokes. Looking at these dance pieces also reminds me of how everyone interprets art differently. I like how the creators of this series try to look for dancers who are not to tied down by a certain type of dance, they are free to explore whatever type of movement they feel based on the poem.
Dance and poetry go hand and hand, I believe all the arts do, so it makes sense that this exists. It is an interesting take though. Usually spoken word is used as “music” for pieces that I have seen in the past, but in this scenario, there is so much air, and they seem to have composed the music to go with the piece so, as the article said, the reverse begins to happen, where the dancer and the music are accompanying the poem.
I really enjoy projects like these, it feels very intimate even if there are many people involved behind the scenes. All of the videos are very well produced but they don’t have that “showy big-budget” feel which translates to their message having a greater impact, it feels more genuine as poetry should.
The whole project encompasses tone very effectively across different mediums – dance, music, and spoken word – which because of its cohesiveness is very powerful.
These videos represent a defiant and refreshing project that showcases the malleability of various art forms. I have immense respect for every hand that played a role in these pieces for their commitment to the impeccable execution of something so new. Everything from the thoughtfulness of the dancers’ improvisation to the site selection to the undulating camerawork to the sophistication of the music/poem compositions blended so seamlessly that without knowing about the project, the viewer would find it difficult to tell what was inspiration and what was inspired. My personal favorite piece was to the poem “Stanzas” by Aldous Huxley, and I think there’s some beauty in being unable to distinguish which element is responsible for that. I am very intrigued by the note that these dances are part of an unfinished series that will release new videos every month. The fact that the dialogue is continuing through highly visible dance companies such as Alvin Ailey is a hopeful sign that this kind of unconventional collaborative artistry becomes more mainstream.
This is such an interesting overlapping of art, and despite my lack of love for poetry, I find this beautiful. As I was watching and listening to it, I did think it was strange that the emotion and passion in the visual does not match the audio. At first, this didn't work for me. However, then I wondered if the disparity there was intentional, and it started to make more sense. Like I said, I am not a poetry lover, and in parts of these videos I definitely zoned out of listening to the words, and instead focused on the entrancing movements of the dancers. As with DanceLight, there are so many ways in which the story is being told here: movement, music, the spoken word, the camera movements, the lighting, etc. I ultimately came to the conclusion that it doesn't matter if the words aren't all hitting me, because I'm getting the story just the same. The use of dance to enhance poetry, instead of the other way around, is a very fascinating and refreshing technique, and I look forward to other videos produced by Monticello Park.
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