For dancers who find themselves confined to small spaces and often dancing alone, there is an opportunity to redefine dance as an expression and as an art form. For someone with Robert Dekkers talent, film, video and all other digital manifestations might be worthy of further exploration. Some dance purists are dismissive of dance as being anything other than a live performance art, de rigueur. It’s been said that Balanchine, who is the master, the paragon of tradition, was dismissive of ballet performed on the screen. Yet Balanchine lived long before the digital age and is undoubtedly old school and, on this score, lacking in imagination. We are living in strange and uncertain times that will test our limitations and turn our wildest dreams about the possibilities for dance into a brave new reality.
If there is anyone who can make the leap into the new frontier for dance, it’s Robert Dekkers. He’s perfectly positioned to take the helm to elevate great live dance performances to be visually compelling on the screen. He’s already directed a fair number of short films and understands the intricacies of lighting, setting and staging specifically for the camera. It’s been ten years since Dekkers first documentary Ours premiered. For that project he collaborated with the cinematographer Alexander du Prel and the composer Jacob Wolkenhauer. His other short films Tassel and Coming Home (choreography by Robert Dekkers and direction by Marta Dymek) were commissioned by the San Francisco Dance Film Festival for its 2017 Co-Laboratory program. Other film projects include a triptych from Lavender Country with 360/VR videographer Bruce Hamady, and Mirage, described as an “augmented reality and live performance experience,” that was co-created by Dekkers and director/choreographer Logan Scharadin.
Incandescent Body