Movies

Short of the Day: ‘2001: A Dance Film’ Pays Tribute to a Classic

Modern dance meets a modern film masterpiece.
By  · Published on July 18th, 2017

Modern dance meets a modern film masterpiece.

Today’s selection is a new kind of short, a performance piece, specifically dance, but one that’s an homage to Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. It comes from dancer Jo Roy in collaboration with artist Simon Birch and his L.A.-based exhibit The 14th Factory. The dance is set to Johann Strauss’ The Blue Danube Waltz, which of course is used prominently in Kubrick’s film, and the setting is an exact replica of the white bedroom seen at film’s end. There, and to this sonic background, Roy performs a graceful, interpretive, and hallucinatory dance captured on gorgeous 35mm.

Though not a narrative short in the traditional sense, 2001: A Dance Film tells it’s own kind of story, one whose language is movement and emotional response, and whose message is as individual as all who watch it. Art is art and all of it is good, so enjoy this unusual short then be sure to jump to Roy’s Vimeo page for some other elegant videos.

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