Directing
The performer I choose to work with is the first and most important material of dance piece. Everything that happens is bound by that choice. (…) So my question is this: what can I do?
(Jonathan Burrow, 2010)
A good direction is playable, dynamic and specific, it generates behaviours and actions. A good director knows how the actors should play, not how they should look or what to achieve.
I have three years experience of directing for films. They involve working with actors and dancers in my own projects, attending workshops and lectures for directors, and reading specific literature (such as Judith Weston). Before that, I was in a drama society and a dance group, where I was performing and being directed. So, I know well what an actor can feel, and what is helpful for them from a director. I developed a good eye for details on a set, an my communication skills in directing, working with various characters and personalities.
 | Choreography for "Who Are You?' (2011) The characters of 'Who Are You?' express their identity through a dance performance and poetry. To create the choreography, I observed body language of real subjects for inspirations. With a help of a professional choreographer, Jessie Percival, I created sequences of movement, which I developed further with the performers. At the same time, we were working on their intonation and expression. The performance was difficult because it required both acting and dancing skills from the performers. I worked with actors and dancers of different levels, playing different characters, and each of them needed a different approach. Click here to find out more about the project Below is a short clip summarising the process of the development of choreography
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 | Directing Director in '7 Matching Sins' (2010) It was a very unique experience, because I was both a director and a model in photoshot. There was an assistant, who was, literately, directed how to direct. Me and other collaborator, who was modeling and directing at the same time as well, explained to the assistant what we want to achieve and ask to take photos. We had a final image in mind, and we rehearsed for it, so the photoshot went very smoothly. |
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 | Direction for 'Interactive Dreams' (2009) In 'Interactive Dreams', my characters were acting actual dreams. They were were obscure and surprising, it was really hard to know what they were about and what was happening. The actors got a script, with no interpretations or explanations, but simple descriptions, such as: 'Ian's boss fires him talking through a shower head as if it was a telephone'. Any interpretation of the actors was acceptable. The actors had a huge trust to me as a director, since they couldn't really imagine the final image and where this unusual piece was going. Ian Halverson, the leading actor, admitted it was one of the best acting acting experience for him (said after his acting as an orangutan attacking the camera person). |
