Projected April 25 2008
The social discourse of such a unique space that is the dance studio is similar to a white cube for the performer, showcasing the dancer his or her own performance. In the dance studio, dancers very often interact with only two planes in the space: the floor and the mirrors. As such, the space above the dancers’ head usually goes unnoticed. The ceiling however is as much a part of the studio as are the floor and the mirrors, and the dancer, often unknowingly, spends much time looking up at the ceiling as a focal point or reaching for it with jumps. Yet under social conventional thinking it is not considered an integral part of the studio space.
In an attempt to speak to and redefine the discourse of the space that is the dance studio, a video of a close-up shot of feet walking and dancing on the floor of the Cowling dance studio is projected onto the ceiling of the studio. As you walk around the dance studio, these feet are similarly walking, upside down on the ceiling. The ceiling has now become a third plane for moving and dancing in. It has become another dance space in the studio.
This site-specific video projection attempts to explore the unused, unconventional potential of the dance studio space, the ceiling being one of these. By way of projecting a video of feet walking on the ceiling, the space has been altered to become a prospective plane for performance and interaction. It challenges us to rethink the plane of the ceiling and to notice it as a part of the studio space as much in contact with the dancer as the floor and mirrors are.
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