Thought of You: Lovely Dance Animation
I’m not a big fan of dance, but I found this particular animation by Ryan Woodward incredibly moving.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that my friend Ann, who used to be a dancer, was always fascinated with the body’s movements. I remember her explaining the concepts of dance to me, but I never really got it. Not really. But when she incorporated dance into the subject matter of her poems… it made much more sense to me, there.
Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that I recently picked up Twyla Tharp’s book The Creative Habit a few days ago, in DC. While she doesn’t use dance much in her book, she does draw on a lot of her own experiences as a dancer and choreographer.
Or perhaps it’s the music – a song called The World Spins Madly On, by a group called The Weepies. I had never heard of them until now, but I dug the song enough to go and buy the album it was on. I have a sneaking suspicion I’ll be looping this song on repeat, for the remainder of the week.
More than anything, I just like how this animation makes me feel. I’m not sure I can articulate it very well, but it makes me want to hug people, to sit down with a glass of Scotch and write a poem, to have a great conversation… to make something creative. To quote a comment from MetaFilter: This video makes me wish I was in love.
It’s inspiring, but also with a twinge of nostalgia. It makes me feel like I should be getting back to work, and creating something that will inspire others.
It’s odd to know that I feel moved by this animation… but be unable to fully explain how. Perhaps others feel the same way.
One thing I liked is how this project went from concept to stage to screen, where the process involved a great deal of collaboration along the way. I love how the music informs the physical dancers… who then in turn inform the animation. What a lovely combination of several disciplines.
[via MetaFilter]
What an incredible study in animation. Thank you so much for sharing this and your thoughts on watching the film—it’s tough to put words to its charm, I agree.
Chris (December 7, 2010 at 9:50 am)