Dance in Collaboration with Lighting

Dance in Collaboration with Lighting 

When considering collaboration within the arts many aspects of the process are underrated. I have previously talked about this in my post about music and lighting is no exception as it is often overlooked and dismissed within performance and media. 

The aspect of the performance that you are supposed to be focused on is often pulled to the forefront leaving the other elements to be complementary and atmospheric, in keeping with (but not hindering) the tone of the piece, rather than needing to be noticed on first watch. In fact, if you’re not going into a viewing of any performance/media with a critical eye, then it is usually the intention of the creator(s) that you wouldn’t notice these elements. 

Below I have included the photos and videos from when I filmed my original ‘bright colour’ section. For further context about the use of lighting I have also included several photographs and videos from other times lighting has been used in my dance work. 

 

These photos we’re taken when Tyler and I we’re filming our original ‘bright colour’ piece sections. Whilst I ended up using other coloured lights in my section (red and white) these photos show the shadows and effects that these lights give. Which is even more evident in the footage.  

However, shown in the video below (which is my original footage), I chose to use the shift from white to red to signify the key shift within the music and the dramatic shift in movement as I come out of my turn when the lights go from off (blackout) to red in that split second. 

 

 

The photos below are from a shoot I did for a personal project in my flat during lockdown. I used my floor lamp (which is almost like a handheld stage light in it’s design) to light the background and give a shadow effect. I turned the lights in the room off as if to simulate a spotlight, and give more of a soft and controlled area of light. I then played around with my proximity to the light itself, and the shadows that would be cast because of this. Having the light in the shot was a conscious decision as I thought it grounded the photos and footage in reality, whilst the lighting itself portrayed a harsher (well lit, yet soft in its effect) image. The tutu and pointe shoes stereotypically give the impression of a ballet dancer, whilst my movements and expressions tell a different (maybe more realistic) story. 

 

 

In the site module we spent some time evidencing our process through photographs, the ones below were taken within the same time frame in the studio. The first two are of me creating silhouettes next to the windows of the studio, as you can see I’m backlit more in the first photo by the light coming through the window. In the second one the light is still there, but is less prominent and gives more of a dark and sinister impression tonally. The third photo is of Tyler I took this after I had found my way down from the windowsill, and whilst she is still very much being lit by the light coming in from the window, it’s a more subtle and bright photo though still incorporating the shadow effect behind her.