Author Archive: Jody Sperling

People always ask me, “Why Time Lapse Dance?” A time-lapse is a trick of photography (and I do love tricks) that allows you to see the shape of change over time. An action that takes days or weeks to complete in real time, is compressed in a time-lapse film so that you can see, all in one moment, a flower unfurling or a skyscraper shooting into the air.

It’s this trajectory between past and present that preoccupies me. I believe that history is always acting through our bodies, often unconsciously. Our actions, our physical habits and our dance moves are influenced by tradition. Even when we are making movement up “from scratch” or just “free-styling” on the dance floor, we are really re-combining and assimilating movements that have been passed down to us through the ages.

I believe that in order to truly innovate we have to recognize the historical forces that are impelling us into motion. If you don’t know where you’ve been, how can you chart a path in a new direction?

Time Lapse Dance aims to forge an imaginative connection between past and present.

This film of the Franconetti Sisters tickled me. The dancers are so cheerful and guileless as they show off their moves: a can-can kick, a cartwheel, a split. The simplicity of the tricks only lends pleasure in exhibitionism.

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I recently returned from Holland where I spent three weeks working with the Introdans youth ensemble. I set the “Night Winds” and “Fountains” excerpts from my trio Roman Sketches. It was amazing experience to work with a company of this caliber, one of the most-respected in The Netherlands. Here are some shots of the rehearsal process.

All the dancers have lovely classical technique. The ensemble’s repertory, though, is extremely eclectic (Hans Van Manen, Mats Ek, Nils Christie, Danny Ezralow, Alwin Nikolais, and Robert Battle are just a few of the choreographers with works in repertory). The dancers have become quite versatile and all are quick studies. The trio was double cast, so I had the pleasure of working with six dancers: one Brazilian, one Canadian, one Spaniard, one French and two Dutch women, each of whom gave a special quality to the movement.

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