The third film in the CHRYSALIS Project video series was premiered on Saturday 20 March at 7pm.
Artistic Director Hannah Schneider said: 'The Americas film takes an allegorical approach to the theme of Chrysalis. It is called ‘Americas’ rather than ‘America’ or ‘United States’, to represent the diversity of the collaborators: Franco-American choreographer Stefanie Batten Bland is joined by Mexican composer Erika Vega, and her principal dancer, who can trace his heritage back to the Aztecs. This film, therefore, explores Aztec rituals of birth and death. The principal dancer begins wrapped in silk and buried in snow. The choreography shows him freeing himself from layers of silk, rising from the bank of snow, becoming a fully embodied person - or is he a deity? The cinematography experiments with binaries of light and darkness, being inside versus outside, and emerging. This is interspersed with the musician in a ruined abbey outside Oxford, under the gentle fall of snow. Indeed, the whole ethos of this film encompasses the idea of emergence, leaving behind former trappings to transform into something other--something grander and more complete.'
https://www.youtube.com/embed/t1MLCYj0_80
CHRYSALIS is a series of six videos, spanning six countries, that explores the idea that a particular kind of metamorphosis, transformation, and hope is only possible in a place of darkness. Each video is a fusion of the media of classical music, dance, and film, featuring original choreography set to new compositions recorded by the Oxford Alternative Orchestra (OAO). Under the artistic direction of conductor Hannah Schneider, the project comprises award-winning choreographers in Burkina Faso, the U.S., Russia, New Zealand, Korea, and the UK. Through the medium of film, each choreographer explores different interpretations of hope that have been illuminated, and even enhanced, by the darkness of the global pandemic we are all still experiencing. CHRYSALIS: Americas takes an allegorical approach to the theme of ‘chrysalis’, drawing on Aztec rituals of birth and death to explore the idea of emergence from a dark place into something grander and more complete.
“Our aim for CHRYSALIS was to instil hope by finding new forms of artistic collaboration during the pandemic, across borders and oceans; we could not have done that without support, and HCP has made this possible. We’re so delighted to be able to bring this vision to life and share it with others.” - Hannah Schneider
This project was initiated by Oxford Alternative Orchestra, which is housed in and supported by St John’s College.
You can read more about the CHRYSALIS project by visiting their website.
