as is - damian smith

Damian Smith, revealed

As Damian Smith ended his long and celebrated stage career, ‘As Is’ strips away the beautifying elements of stage performance – costume, scenery, make up, and orchestra, to bring us up close to the raw beauty and artistry of the master dancer.

the challenge

Getting a Bullet Time effect of his movement on screen. We had to compromise on that due to budget and camera constraints, but the look of the film is better than what was in my head.

credits

Design, Choreography, Performance: Damian Smith
Producer: Kate Duhamel
Original Music: Theirry Loriot
Director of Photography: Frazer Bradshaw
Assistant Camera: Tim Kerns
Sound Design: Kent Sparling

arrellah

Principal Dancer Damian Smith fuses dance, painting, music and film in "Arrellah", a multi-media work created for the 45th anniversary of the San Jose Museum of Art.

Arrellah is the Aboriginal word for "dancing ground". Damian’s work incorporates elements of his Aboriginal roots resulting in sensual, transcendent and haunting work captured both on film and on four large canvases documenting his movement.