Tiny Dance Film Series

watching the Tiny Dance Film Series...The Tiny Dance Film Series is a collaboration between choreographer Peter Kyle and sound artist James Garver, featuring dancer Holley Farmer. It consists of very short (usually between 60 & 180 seconds) and very small (always 320 x 240 pixels) dance films screened on small viewing devices in a darkened kiosk for an audience of one. The result is a uniquely personal, interactive experience for the viewer, which evokes the nostalgia of an old-time penny arcade.

The project evolved out of guerrilla performances choreographed, rehearsed, and filmed in Lower Manhattan’s public spaces. Peter, James, and Holley originally agreed to a set of tight restrictions governing how the films were made. (The addition of a soundtrack would be the only post-production allowed – the films had to be shot “live,” no artificial light was to be used during the shoot, and the locations had to be below Chambers St. in Manhattan.) This strict manifesto encouraged the filmmakers to concentrate on what they feel is useful in dance and film: corporeal and mechanical magic. The tiny format and the disorienting venue in which the films are screened provides further possibility for both filmic and physical trickery.

Begun in 2006, the ongoing Series includes ten completed films with plans for new films and other installation formats currently in development. The Tiny Dance Film Series has been installed at theaters, galleries, art and dance film festivals throughout New York City, in Chicago, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Norway, and the Pearl Delta region in China.

To learn more, follow the pointing finger… Click here to go to the Tiny Dance Film Series website