‘SONATA:TERRAFORM’ (ST) is a self-portrait embodying the external perceptions of conversation encountered through guardian relationships. As an experimental documentation of movement scenery, it illustrates ideas of youth feeling misunderstood yet compassionate towards parental figures, and depicts a dancer returning to the birthplace of certain stimulus conversations.
With gratitude, ‘ST’ was first commissioned and presented in November 2021 with Aeris Körper’s “Prospects,” and was later selected as an official selection and award nominee for Best Experimental Film with the Green Mountain International Film Festival.
Summer 2022, 'ST' will be screened with Vancouver's Ignite Youth Festival in May. @igniteyouthfest
ABOUT THE WORK:
Representing the validity of parental disconnection, this short film will encapsulate an ethereal and naturalistic style. Attention to deep hues of colour will exhibit the range of emotional moments of vibrational anxieties that occur within parental interactions. Recording these scenes with body movement translates the human experience and empathetically illustrates a cinematic quality through intimate and retractive moments with the camera.
The choreography has been created through movement scores based from improvisation. For example, a solo that focuses on a conversation with my dad was assembled through five improvisation tasks that relive feelings and atmospheres: “no eye contact/emotionless, exhaustion, open-minded/receptive, peaceful silence, misunderstood.” By filming the improvisation footage, I was able to edit and compose choreography that truly embodies the past discussions.
Within the visualization of a short film, I aspire to illuminate the human condition by advocating the emotional resonance of a parent and child’s relationship. Sharing these experiences that involve different aspects of transparency, sacrifice, and surrender, while learning new techniques and outlooks through film, is very exciting as well as deeply sentimental to my life journey. My hope for this film is to reach communities of other youth and guardian figures, by creating a visual experience that encourages healing conversations and depicts a creative space for others to relate to.
PROCESS:
In February 2021, I entered a movement mentorship with Eryn Waltman, who holds a Bachelor Degree in Psychology. We discussed task-based concepts inspired by my awareness of external perceptions versus my internal experiences. Monitoring the conversations I was having with my parents influenced me to explore my communication with them and the emotional sensations that would occur within my body. The imagery that would develop throughout the process thus far inspired the idea to document this journey following the mentorship.
As the creative process and research is so personal and relevant to my life right now, I find that it is important for me to document my own healing through movement and intimate conversation—within the realization of choreography and film. Exploring my personal life and hardships with incredibly significant relationships would be a critical representation for all youth, like myself, who have felt misunderstood amongst their family, or have had to reconnect with that family dynamic after living independently.
Analyzing my emotional response and sensations through a creative outlet so far, has established an importance towards recording movement. Generating my ideas into live, recorded experience is something I’m very drawn to as an artist, and urgently influences me to continue to develop my creative voice. There’s a myriad of room for personal growth within this project. This film is not only a documentation of my own healing process, but also a love note to my parents. Offering love and affection is something I awkwardly struggle with and attempt to work on with family relations. I have found that exploring naturalistic and emotional movement has been very therapeutic to this process and product. The movement is composed by reenactment of conversations that summarize my present relations with two important figures in my life.The imagery that was developed throughout the experimental process inspired the idea to document this journey following the mentorship. With my sound designer, Ben Rositsan, we discussed specific instruments and harmonies that connect to the emotions of the movement is vital to the completion of this project. As we both understand and can relate to the meaning of this project, the process of creating original sound and integrating it with visual motion has been a gratifying experience.