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Performing Water

The short dance film, ‘Performing Water’, illuminates the complexity of connections between human bodies and the environment. Dancing human forms, in dialogue with river systems, invite the viewer to embrace stillness whilst simultaneously engaging in the constantly moving discourse on our place with/in the world.

  • Ellen Avery
    Director
  • Katie Chown
    Director
  • Lucinda Coleman
    Director
  • Remnant Dance
    Writer
  • Remnant Dance
    Producer
  • Ellen Avery
    Key Cast
  • Katie Chown
    Key Cast
  • Lucinda Coleman
    Key Cast
  • Trevor Wright
    Film Editing
  • Lusia Brando
    Film Collaborators
  • Cassandra Celestin
    Film Collaborators
  • Nature, Art, Habitat Residency (NAHR)
    Residency
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 49 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    4,000 AUD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    English, Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ellen Avery, Katie Chown, Lucinda Coleman

The Australian performing arts collective, Remnant Dance, includes dance artists, Ellen Avery, Katie Chown and Lucinda Coleman. Avery holds Dance and Education degrees and has toured with the collective as a dancer, administrator and technical assistant. Chown holds degrees in Dance and Occupational Therapy and has integrated her dance practice with cross-cultural work as both a dancer and occupational therapist. Coleman was conferred a Doctor of Philosophy in 2017, is a published dance scholar, performer and choreographer, with extensive experience touring internationally.

Il collettivo australiano di arti performative, Remnant Dance, comprende le danzatrici Ellen Avery, Katie Chown e Lucinda Coleman. Avery è laureata in Dance and Education ed è stata in tournée con il collettivo come ballerina, amministrattice e assistente tecnica. Chown ha una laurea in Danza e Terapia Occupazionale e ha integrato la sua pratica di danza con il lavoro interculturale sia come danzatrice che come terapista occupazionale. Coleman, PhD, è una studiosa di danza, performer e coreografa, con una vasta esperienza itinerante a livello internazionale.

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Director Statement

The Remnant Dance Residency, Project Culaccini, developed site-specific dance movement in response to the waters of the Taleggio Valley, Italy (2018). The intention was to respond to the Enna River system through documenting dance movement made in the region via film, photography and reflective writing. At the close of the residency, 'Nature, Art and Habitat', the short dance film, 'Performing Water', was made to further interrogate the nature of site-specific dance-making in water, and the notion of what constitutes ‘site-dance’ in this context. In our journey of water-dance discovery, unique marks remain on each other, the site, and on things we have made, like the traces of a water vessel: culaccini. Dance made in this context has been immersive and focused; constructed to invite interpretation through the use of symbolism and imagery.

Progetto Culaccini, sviluppa un movimento di danza site-specific in risposta alle acque della Val Taleggio, Italia (2018). L'intenzione è quella di rispondere al sistema del fiume Enna documentando il movimento di danza fatto nella regione attraverso film, fotografia e scrittura riflessiva. Alla fine della residenza, Natura, Arte e Habitat, un testo di ricerca e un cortometraggio di danza approfondiranno ulteriormente la natura della danza site-specific in acqua e la nozione di ciò che costituisce la "danza" in questo contesto. Nel nostro viaggio di scoperta della danza dell'acqua, i segni unici rimangono l'uno sull'altro, il sito e le cose che abbiamo fatto, come le tracce di un vessello d'acqua: i culaccini. La danza fatta in questo contesto è stata immersiva e focalizzata; costruita per invitare l'interpretazione attraverso l'uso di simbolismo e immagini.