Quiet Read: In the Light of Day + Slow Skate Reel
Spin
Inside the Creation Stories of Dancing Mother
Quiet Read: In the Light of Day + Slow Skate Reel
by Mother Mother Binahkaye Joy
A quiet read is when I watch the replay of a dance film with the sound turned off, so that I can study my movements all by themselves, without the textures and meaning that music, conversation, and background noises add to the moment. I record my raw reflections as I witness myself inside the dance, remembering my intentions for the movements, and also telling stories that spark from considering different elements of what I am reading from my movements.
In the Light of Day is a 3-part movement study that emerged from a several-hours long, juicy and generative sunrise communion one day when the baby slept in a little longer, and my big kiddos weren’t insisting on breakfast first thing in the morning. I’ve paired this quiet read with a slow skate reel. A skate reel is a collection of image stills captured in succession from the film. I have slowed the reel down so that each image is the focal point, zooming in or out, for about 20-30 seconds at a time.
I am preparing a soft-time performance installation portal for In the Light of Day, where the 3-part movement study and unabridged films will live. Creating and archiving a quiet read and a slow skate reel helps me see my work in more than one way. It generously extends the initial moment of creation so that I can be immersed more deeply in the dance, and I can practice the magic of stretching time again and again. What on the surface might appear to be only a few minutes, can actually be experienced as an eternity. Some part of me will always be alive in this moment, twisting, spinning, bending with the light. Its soft, luscious body, a lovely, majestic partner in the dance.
