» Billy Cowie – The Revery Alone review
Ralph Miller takes a sneak preview of Billy Cowie’s The Revery Alone ahead of its world premiere at South East Dance’s Dance for Camera Festival 2008.
The Revery Alone is a seven minute, music and dance installation using a 3D projection of a solo performance by Swiss-Iranian dancer Eleonore Ansari. The performance, recorded on two cameras, is projected onto the ceiling as the audience lies on the floor beneath (like an IMAX cinema with extremely reclined seats).
The red/blue anaglyph glasses create a 3D holographic effect, tricking your mind into believing that the dancer is actually hanging from the ceiling above you. So convincing is it that I couldn’t help worrying that the elegant and gracious hologram above me might slip out of the projection and fall on top of me.
Ansari’s naked body moves in a slow, graceful but haunting manner, her hands and feet gripping four handles, which both restrict and define her movement. The simple movements are captivating, and seem to be amplified by their dilatoriness. The unclothed figure’s movements are choreographed and have sculptural feel, but on occasion her eyes catch yours and her accusatory expression bring home the human emotion and makes you feel as if you are experiencing the performance live rather than watching a film.
It is a fascinating piece, utilising a challenging medium. The Revery Alone combines the movement of the human body at its most basic and pure level with a complex 3D medium. Being placed below the performance in an almost submissive stance compels you to feel more engaged and even become a part of the experience. Though whether this effect can be sustained with a larger audience remains to be seen.
Composer, choreographer and film-maker Billy Cowie has been working with this medium for the last two years, and his previous installation In the Flesh used similar techniques. Cowie now combines his extensive composing, choreographic and film careers with a position as a principal research fellow at the University of Brighton. He has so composed music for many performers and several BBC Radio projects including an adaptation of Philip Pullman’s Dark Materials trilogy. He is currently working on another 3D projection piece called Ghosts in the Machine.
Other highlights at the three-day festival include Forward Motion, a collection of some of the best and most innovative British screen dance performances; and New York, New Work, a selection of four new international films commissioned by the Experimental Performing Arts and Media Centre in Albany, New York.
For more information visit www.southeastdance.org.uk. Dance for Camera Festival 2008 runs from Friday 5 until Sunday 7 December. Performances and installations take place at the Lighthouse Digital Lounge, 28 Kensington Street, Brighton, BN1 4AJ and The Sallis Benney Theatre, University of Brighton, Grand Parade, Brighton, BN2 0JY. Tickets: www.brightonticketshop.com, 01273 709709 and Box Office: 29 New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UG. The Revery Alone installation will be on display at the Lighthouse from 2-11 December and is open 10am–6pm. Contains nudity. Recommended
for over 14s.
