@furious_beauty

Production Blog #11: Going Online to Offline - The “Furious Beauty” Screening Tour

Lately, I’ve been reading producer Ted Hope’s film blog Hope For Film, which challenged me to think about the new avenues opening up for filmmakers.  There are a lot of relevant concepts on that blog for artists besides filmmakers.  What happens when the old paradigm of creating and distributing art no longer works for us?  Our media industries are experiencing disruptive change.  A majority of Hollywood studio films currently gather close to seventy-five percent of their box office earnings overseas.  Many of us in the U.S. would rather save money, stay at home, and binge-watch content on Netflix and VOD.  We’re inundated with additional options in the forms of YouTube, video games, podcasts, and social media for our attention.  We have less time to enjoy the growing amount of media and we’re inclined to pay less for it.

The hip-hop dance community is also being disrupted by technology, especially online video.  Why attend a dance competition when you can watch the videos on YouTube?  Why should I pay for a choreographer to teach me in class if I can copy his moves by watching him online?  Taking this even further, why push myself creatively when it’s easier to repackage what I see other people doing in their concept videos?  These are all extreme hypothetical situations.  But I’m worried that the greater “noise” in our cultural landscape could make it harder for hip-hop dancers to be fully appreciated and valued.  To combat this, can we build our own platforms to showcase our work and build loyal audiences around them?

I’m exploring this question through this Summer 2013 screening tour for Furious Beauty.  Reflecting on our Santa Ana screening, I was surprised by how our audience wanted to continue interacting with us after the film ended.  Part of me believes the film opened them up to honest conversations about what’s going on with their lives.  Another part of me recognizes that the audience had just gained something they all shared – a communal experience through the film and now they wanted to prolong that sense of togetherness.  I’ve been thinking about how we could maximize this “relational” time for our future audiences. 

Taking a cue from Ted Hope’s blog, I would like the Furious Beauty Summer 2013 tour to be a catalyst in creating genuine connections between people.  First, let’s make each of the tour date events unique.  The live pre-shows and Q&As for each event date will be different.  These events can’t be reproduced, quantified, or fully experienced unless you’re there.  Even a video recording won’t capture the raw essence of the event.  I’m embracing an open approach to this tour, taking each event, learning what worked and what didn’t, and then continually iterating it into a new form for the next one.  Second, we’re going to encourage our audiences and our community to go from online to offline.  Maybe we first connect through online means by a simple invite to one of our events.  But once we meet face to face, let’s spend time together.  Learn a dance move.  Share our story.  Build a collaboration to create something new out of the experience of watching this film.  Let’s make that time after the screening an opportunity to create and plan for the future.  We’re extending the spirit of this film beyond its running time.  I hope what Furious Beauty has meant to me these past few years will reverberate into the lives of those encountering it.  And third and final, let’s think about our globalized culture and how we can promote intimacy between different groups.  Film is easily accessible to people from diverse backgrounds.  It can be a bridge.  A conversation-starter.  If what we create through this tour actually edifies lives, then I think we’ll be offering audiences something that is tangible and cherished.  We’re giving them an opportunity to be moved by art and then to dialogue about it in a personal, face-to-face way.  That can work anywhere in the world.

Maybe there is a new way to combine film and dance here.  I’m looking forward to exploring this and sharing more with you soon.

 - Calvin Leung

*To learn more about Furious Beauty and to connect with us, check out our website here.

Original Article here.

Listen Online: Soundtrack to "Furious Beauty"

Rehearsals for Versa-Style Dance Company’s new theatrical show have started. I’m watching all new behind the scenes footage of their process, that I filmed. Their show is also going to be called “Furious Beauty” inspired by my film of the same title. So from now until October 2013, I have a challenge to continue telling Versa-Style’s story as a family in a new storyline.

Contra-Tiempo Dance Company Show in LA: March 23, 2013