The Cinema of Videodance: Understanding Time, Space, and Energy on Film

A videodance is a dance that is created for and exists solely on film. This paper investigates how the choreographic concepts of time, space, and energy are changed when dance is put on film by looking at experimental filmmaker Maya Deren and modern dance choreographer Merce Cunningham. It is their differing views of the dance/camera relationship that dictates the ways they utilize these cinematic shifts. Film mechanics and theories show that time, space, and energy are manipulated on film in defined ways, so it is the perceived dance/camera relationship that directs the methods of manipulation. I then go through the process of creating a videodance, placing my ideas in terms of the research done on Deren and Cunningham. I go on to discuss how my view of the dance/camera relationship shaped the choreographic choices I made