FACES

FACES endeavours to capture this moment before motion: The moment of total focus and alertness as the dancer listens to the music – showing the concentration and intelligence with which they approach choreography. The films aim to catch the dancers in this moment of stillness and total absorption, revealing their internal focus and external oblivion as they prepare to move.

Choreographer and filmmaker Kim Brandstrup’s latest film project features intimate portraits of Carlos Acosta, Alina Cojocaru and Zenaida Yanowsky. This triptych shows each of these renowned dancers as they listen to the music and prepare to move. The film was premiered in the newly refurbished Linbury Theatre during Open House London in September 2018.

“FACES is inspired by my enduring pleasure in watching dancers ‘marking’: going through a choreography in their head while listening to the music. In the studio, from my privileged vantage point only a few feet away from the dancers, I witness in their faces a range of subtle nuances, mysterious emotions, slight changes of mood pass like clouds across their faces as they gently indicate the movement. I have often longed to catch these moments on film.”

-Kim Brandstrup