Save Your Self
Reviewed by Socks Whitmore
Dance Camera West Festival
Through January 12
This review is part of the Z. Clark Branson/Stage Raw/Grow@TheWallis Mentorship Program for Young Journalists
Save Yourself, Narrative Short, Craig Baurley, United States
Written and directed by production designer Craig Baurley, this narrative short is the the first episode in a series entitled Queen of the Sky, A Demon Ballet. The series will follow a lone female pilot who ditched her world flight attempt in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and landed on a radioactive island called Bikini Atoll, where feral beings telepathically manipulate her thoughts and movement. Little of this information comes forth in the first episode, however. The lead’s occupation is suggested only by an antiquated version of a pilot’s cap and goggles, and the opening title, which very aggressively asserts its horror/sci-fi nature by being scrawled on the dirt-covered side of a metal hull, presumably intended to represent a plane. The feral creatures themselves do not appear on screen, save for after the credits in a brief preview-like teaser, giving the audience no understanding of what is truly compelling the dancer to act so erratically.
The dancer does mostly well with small motions to hint at the start of trouble, but the clunky, aggressive sound effects of bones groaning and cracking frame her efforts as overdramatic. Though the dancer’s balance and control is impressive, because the horror score lacks originality or variety and the jerkiness of her dance soon becomes repetitive, the moment where she is seemingly possessed is the most interesting; it offers an effective change of pace for both music and dancer, turning into a smooth waltz-esque movement that draws its tension from the blue washed rugged terrain and the shock of the change, rather than constant thrashing.
The use of color in this piece is eye-catching but its artificiality is noticeable—at times, the dancer resembles an avatar from a high definition video game due to the coloration and lighting reducing her dimensionality. The editing sometimes comes across as choppy, though whether it’s due to skill, direction, or the sheer difficulty of stitching together such jarring choreography is unclear. Perhaps the communication between choreographer and director could have been more clear in order to craft a smoother shot list.
The continuity error of the dancer’s hair, which starts out fully down and ends somehow tucked into her pilot cap, is a little detail that demonstrates a lack of attention to detail and comes off as amateur. Overall, the performance was the strongest piece of the puzzle, but future episodes of the series may start to fill in the blanks as the creators get more practice.
DANCE CAMERA WEST FESTIVAL at REDCAT, 631 W. Second St., Downtown; and AUTOMATA, 504 Chung King Ct., Chinatown; Thurs.-Sun., screening times vary; through Jan. 12th. Festival Schedule here. Running time: 5:30
