Videodance
Encyclopedia
Videodance is the contemporary term for the genre of dance
made for the camera. In videodance, movement is the primary expressive element in the work rather than dialogue (as in conventional narrative movies) or music (as in music videos). Other names for this form are screendance, dance film
, cinedance, and dance for camera.
A related genre that is often confused with videodance is the dance documentary film
. This is the documentation of dance as it is practiced in real life such as a live performance (i.e. "Dance in America: 'Swan Lake' by American Ballet Theatre" on Great Performances) or a journalistic profile of a dance company, figure, or community (i.e. DanceMaker about Paul Taylor). Videodance is not a documentation of a dance that could be done in real time in a live setting. It exists only as a fictional or fictionalized dance for screen.
There are a number of different sub-categories and genres of videodance including experimental, narrative, commercial, video games, web dances, and multi-channel installations. Videodance can be seen on almost any media platform from iPods to feature films, commercials and television programs. Currently there are over 150 dance film festivals world wide that feature videodance work.
and Buster Keaton
. Later experimental filmmakers such as Maya Deren
innovated camera and editing techniques to manipulate and redefine our concepts of movement for film. With the rise of video as a conventional medium, videodance was born. Early innovators in this new medium included Merce Cunningham
, Nam June Paik
, and Alwin Nikolais
. Today in the digital age with the rise of affordable digital video equipment, there are a number of notable dance film makers, choreographers and directors working in this medium including British choreographer/director Lloyd Newson of DV8 Physical Theatre, Australian directors/choreographers Richard James Allen
and Karen Pearlman
of The Physical TV Company, American director Mitchell Rose
, American filmmaker Charles Atlas (Media Dance)
Belgian director Thierry de Mey, and New Zealand director/choreographer Shona McCoullagh.
2. Merce Cunningham/Nam June Paik
Pts in Space
3. Alive from Off Center
4. MTV
Amateur videographers
Videogames - DDR, Second Life
Motion Capture Animation
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
made for the camera. In videodance, movement is the primary expressive element in the work rather than dialogue (as in conventional narrative movies) or music (as in music videos). Other names for this form are screendance, dance film
Dance film
Dance Film is the creation of choreography that exists only in the medium of film/video. At its best, DanceFilm uses filming and editing techniques to create twists in the plotline, multiple layers of reality, and emotional/psychological depth....
, cinedance, and dance for camera.
Defining characteristics
Because movement is a basic element in all time-based visual media forms, videodance is distinguished from other film genres by its emphasis on the craft and composition of movement in the work. Often this movement is recognizable as dance in which people are moving in stylized ways, however in some experimental and animated videodances the movement can be pedestrian and unstylized, or even the motion of animals and inanimate objects.A related genre that is often confused with videodance is the dance documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
. This is the documentation of dance as it is practiced in real life such as a live performance (i.e. "Dance in America: 'Swan Lake' by American Ballet Theatre" on Great Performances) or a journalistic profile of a dance company, figure, or community (i.e. DanceMaker about Paul Taylor). Videodance is not a documentation of a dance that could be done in real time in a live setting. It exists only as a fictional or fictionalized dance for screen.
There are a number of different sub-categories and genres of videodance including experimental, narrative, commercial, video games, web dances, and multi-channel installations. Videodance can be seen on almost any media platform from iPods to feature films, commercials and television programs. Currently there are over 150 dance film festivals world wide that feature videodance work.
History
For every time-based visual media platform there are examples work in which dance and movement are used as the primary expressive tool. For instance in the early days of film before sound, movement was the main vehicle for communication, perfected by the great physical comedians of the day such as Charlie ChaplinCharlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
and Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. Later experimental filmmakers such as Maya Deren
Maya Deren
Maya Deren , born Eleanora Derenkowsky, was an American avant-garde filmmaker and film theorist of the 1940s and 1950s...
innovated camera and editing techniques to manipulate and redefine our concepts of movement for film. With the rise of video as a conventional medium, videodance was born. Early innovators in this new medium included Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik
Nam June Paik was a Korean American artist. He worked with a variety of media and is considered to be the first video artist....
, and Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais
Alwin Nikolais was an American choreographer.Nikolais studied piano at an early age and began his performing career as an organist accompanying silent films. As a young artist, he gained skills in scenic design, acting, puppetry and music composition...
. Today in the digital age with the rise of affordable digital video equipment, there are a number of notable dance film makers, choreographers and directors working in this medium including British choreographer/director Lloyd Newson of DV8 Physical Theatre, Australian directors/choreographers Richard James Allen
Richard James Allen
Richard James Allen is a contemporary Australian poet, dancer and filmmaker. The former Artistic Director of the , and founding director of the , Richard was Co-Artistic Director with Karen Pearlman of That Was Fast and Tasdance , and now at The Physical TV Company .Richard James Allen recently...
and Karen Pearlman
Karen Pearlman
Dr Karen Pearlman, author of Cutting Rhythms, Shaping the Film Edit is known for her pioneering work in articulating underlying principles concerning what rhythm in film is, how it is shaped and the purpose it serves in modulating cycles of tension and release for viewers...
of The Physical TV Company, American director Mitchell Rose
Mitchell Rose
Mitchell Rose is an American director of short films known for comedic work. He began his career as a choreographer and performance artist and became known at "the dance world's Woody Allen" after being so dubbed by The New York Times . He then migrated to film and his works have won numerous...
, American filmmaker Charles Atlas (Media Dance)
Charles Atlas (Media Dance)
Charles Atlas is a video artist and film director who also does lighting and set design.He is a pioneer in developing media-dance, also called dance for camera. Media dance is work that is created directly for the camera. While Atlas’ primary artistic medium is video, he also began to experiment...
Belgian director Thierry de Mey, and New Zealand director/choreographer Shona McCoullagh.
Video 1960-90
1. Nikolais/Ed Emshwiller2. Merce Cunningham/Nam June Paik
Pts in Space
3. Alive from Off Center
4. MTV
Digital Age 1990-2007
Internet artAmateur videographers
Videogames - DDR, Second Life
Motion Capture Animation
See also
- Dance filmDance filmDance Film is the creation of choreography that exists only in the medium of film/video. At its best, DanceFilm uses filming and editing techniques to create twists in the plotline, multiple layers of reality, and emotional/psychological depth....
- Dance in filmDance in filmThis is a list of movies featuring recognizable dance forms, demonstrating them, shedding light on their origin, or being the base of a plot.This article is not about Dance film or Dance for camera which are separate genres. It is also not about Musical films, although they often contain a...
- Films that contain dance sequences but which are not dance works per se - Musical filmMusical filmThe musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
- 20th century concert dance20th century concert dance20th century concert dance is the name given to a category of dance forms that include:* Free dance* Modern dance* Expressionist dance* Postmodern dance* Dance improvisation* Contemporary dance* Dance for camera...
- List of dance style categories
External links
- Dance Films Association's Dance on Camera Festival on Hulu
- DV8 Physical Theatre
- Interface International Encounter INTERFACE Chile
- Dance Films Association
- Dance, Voldo, Dance'
- IMZ dance screen
- Media & Dance Network
- The Physical TV Company
- Videodance.org.uk
- Videodance at Mediateca Media Art Space
- "Videodance", a 1975 article in Dancescope magazine by Jeff Bush and Peter Z Grossman
- ARC Videodance
- International Videodance Festival of Chile, FIVC
- DANCELEN(D)S Cinema