JOY
Hi, I’m Katrina and welcome to JOY. JOY is a new film work with Fine Lines Dance.
This is a collaboration with Carol Brown and Tystion Dance in Wales, UK and Fine Lines Dance, Melbourne, Australia. From opposite sides of the globe, members of these two mature dance companies shared stories and images about the moments of JOY that sustained them or brought a bright spark to challenging times.
As part of a reciprocal creative development process, Fine Lines responded to the Welsh stories, phrases and images and vice versa. We found the following recurring phrases, words and themes:
‘disorientation, a featureless now, a swallowing of time and reality, the permanence of the ocean, beaches, waves, the value of the smallest gesture, of moments of synchronicity, smiles and glances, of connections sought and sometimes gained. Losing (herself) in shape and colour.’
Tystion responses, paraphrased
Through discussions and workshops, Fine Lines Dance teased open these ideas to arrive at a structure in 3 parts.
Part 1
Many dancers inhabit a white space, a limbo, a place of waiting, disconnected from the real world. There is a sense of unreality, of floating, of not connecting. We see people as individual islands, drifting.
Part 2
The dominant sense of unreality in the white space is stirred up and challenged. Flashes of colour assault the senses. Connections are made and there is joy and brief moments in the sun. The connection between dancers grows. A sense of comradery and of purpose develops.
Part 3
We return to the white space. It is still a waiting space, but its inhabitants have been made resilient by their interactions, by those brief moments of JOY and know that, eventually, the COVID times will end.
JOY presents the world through 2 colour palates: grey and white, and vibrant, primary colours and pastels.
These images are from a location in Darebin. In these places, barrier/walls of concrete and brick are transformed to spaces of imagination and possibility. Supported by the City of Darebin, JOY is filmed entirely in the municipality.
In January 2022 Fine Lines Dance came together to shoot footage for a preliminary draft. This draft was to provide us with a sense of what is possible, what works and what doesn’t, to help us focus on what is most important when we shoot ‘for real’ on 5 and 6 March.
We would now like to hear from you - people who live and work in Darebin, or relatives and friends of the cast and crew.
We would LOVE and VALUE your feedback.
You see, films are all about FIRST IMPRESSIONS and, by definition, you only get one of these.
So we need fresh eyes. We’d be grateful for yours.
Please watch the film once
then please fill in this short form by 27 Feb 2022
Many thanks Katrina Rank, Director and Producer
JOY is proudly supported by the City of Darebin.