| |
HEIGHT OF SKY
A documentary film by Morleigh Steinberg
After moving from the lush greenery of Japan to the concrete aridity of Los Angeles, acclaimed Butoh dancer, Oguri, finds himself transplanted to a totally alien environment. Needing to find connection to this new place, Oguri embarks on a unique and personal journey of rediscovery, leading him into the stunning and unforgiving vastness of the California deserts. Having never seen a desert before, Oguri spends two years investigating his dance and his own identity as a Japanese dancer in America. The visual style of the film compliments both his movement and the beauty of this inhospitable landscape in which it takes place. The desert and his dance test the notion of taking things to their limit. Oguri's extraordinary commitment and pursuit inspire an unsuspected spiritual insight to man's primal connection to nature.
"I believe dance must preserve a relationship between the body and the earth. I was not born a farmer, nor did I know intimately any native traditional dance forms. In my unique experience with farming, daily life allowed me to question and develop the relationship between my body and the land and climate. I left the farming village thirteen years ago, yet it still lives in me as the source of my creativity. There are no deserts in Japan. The word "desert" has a negative connotation that is used to illustrate non-existence and death. When I visited Joshua Tree National Park for the first time, I perceived a reticent land - a vast, rich language".
- Oguri
Running time: 75 mins.
Dance - Oguri
Director - Morleigh Steinberg
Producer | Mary McCarthy
Editor | Brian McCue at Printed Light
Assistant Editor | Dan Gannon
Music | Lajko Felix and Wadada Leo Smith
Cameras | Charlie Steiner, Morleigh Steinberg, Chris Conway
Additional Camera - Jamie Burris, Oguri
Still Photography | Roger Burns, Charlie Steiner, Roxanne Steinberg, Morleigh Steinberg, Oguri
Assistant Camera | Steve Reisser
Sound | Deana Morgan
Project Team: Roxanne Steinberg, Sherwood Chen, Jamie Burris, Morleigh Steinberg, Roger Burns, Charlie Steiner, Oguri
Participants: Roxanne Steinberg, Jamie Burris, Sherwood Chen, Roger Burns, Frank van de Ven, Yvonne Papanek, Eric Binkly, Lakshmi Aysola
The project Height of Sky was made possible in part by funding/support received from the Irvine Fellowships in Dance, a program funded by The James Irvine Foundation and administered by Dance/USA, California Arts Council (CAC) Artist Fellowship 1999-2000, Dance Camera West and Japanese American Cultural Community Center
Special Thanks:
Suzanne and Craig Delinger, Edge, Sian, Levi, Simon Carmody, Kristian Schneider, Laura Meyers, Lenny and Robert Steinberg,
Sam O'Sullivan and Chris, and Jim Rhodes, Body Weather Laboratory USA, Joel Shapiro at Electric Lodge |
