This September found Janusphere artistic director and choreographer Darion Smith working on a video project that morphed into an extension of his work on identity and perception, which continues to grow as a metaphor.
For this dance video project, Smith says he "didn't labor so much in the studio ;choreographing' each movement." Instead, Smith spent his time thinking and planning how to execute ideas with just a few hours in the studio space and only some lighting instruments at his disposal.
With purposeful limits on resource, time and space, Smith created two short video clips that contribute additional perspective to the characters in each. Looking at the still images of the work, both have similarities. In the video sequences, on the other hand, two subtly nuanced ideas emerge.
Smith's two new videos are not final works, but parts of something larger. Through the ongoing project launched this September, Smith is "trying to understand that and to know why I am at this stage of my process. Where is it going from here is a good question to ask myself."
The two videos are flight and parasite.
flight is about a character whose will is to fly. parasite is about an imaginary creature who lives inside of us and is somehow always present despite never having been invited. At this stage of the project's development, Smith is attempting to decide what he wants to say with these ideas and to find a way to advance them.
Both videos are the result of improvising with known material, capturing it with specific lighting designs, and then molding the footage into a logical sequence. Stay tuned for more as the project continues to develop.