JOY

JOY is out in the ether and we’ve received terrific feedback.

Thank you Fine Lines dancers who contributed so deeply as creators and in the editing process, Takeshi (camera) and Shannon (editing), thanks Robert for capturing the work in still images and of course to our collaborators in Wales, Carol Brown, Draig Tan Productions and Tystion Dance, who provided such rich source material to work from.

Here is some of the feedback we received:

‘I LOVE this film so much - made me cry at a couple of points… congratulations on such a gorgeous piece!…the soft white costumes on misty white background, cut against the movement against the hard concrete wall, coloured brightly, with hands and faces so beautifully painted but still just a surface, spoke of to me the longing so many of us felt. … the dancers are inspiring!’

‘It’s fabulous. The angst of the first half is palpable and then the transition to joy and colour is so cathartic. The narrative flows beautifully and carries the emotions with it. Moving away from the music has set it free!’

‘Such a beautiful evocation of the feelings experienced during lockdown and the joy in reconnection. The colour palette changing is brilliant, and the sounds. I find the grey hair looks so sensual with the white background. I love the voices at the end too saying remember what mattered.’

‘It was a lovely, empathetic piece of dance and film. The transition from black and white to colour and back and forth worked really well - a great mural.too to set it against.’

‘I just watched Joy and it is amazing! Congratulations to you and Shannon on such a brilliant job. I felt very peaceful after watching it and must admit sometimes I miss the quiet of lockdown!’

‘wow...I love how that just washed over me. And little tears brimming in my eyes as I listened to the ending words. Just lovely Katrina! I was thinking while watching it how beautiful the sisterhood was portrayed in this film.. It was a very fluid, feminine film with just enough emotional subtlety.’

‘Ive just watched the film and its extraordinary. So lovely to see all of you dancing again.’

‘Beautiful, poignant, poetic and joyful duets and trios - and powerful group sections providing a wide range of emotional responses to the COVID experience.’

‘This is the first work I’ve seen out there in ten years that I really loved. Simple, beautiful and real. Thanks so much for that.’

‘I've just been watching both films (Firebird and JOY) and was struck, although the approach was very different, at the similarities in some movements and images; isolation, the cradling of heads, the reaching upwards. Your beginning was so calm and beautiful and that was echoed at the end. As was that image of the hand on the breathing chest. I loved the juxtaposition of people moving in isolation so we could see that everyone, although alone, was experiencing very similar things and were kind of united in their solitude. The engaging with the face and the reaching for the hand was so powerful. Art as human connection when human connection isn't possible.’

‘I just wanted to tell you how beautiful JOY is. Just simple, gorgeous and so pro.’

‘JOY is fantastic! .... Beautifully shot and edited, with brilliant background sound. Well done!’