As the weeks of self-isolation and Stay-at-Home orders brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak grow longer, artists of all genres are searching deep inside their creative selves to find new ways to continue working.  By doing so, they continue to bring joy to those of us who love art, dance, film, theater and music.

Janet Roston, Artistic Director, Mixed eMotion Theatrix - Courtesy of the artist.

Janet Roston, Artistic Director, Mixed eMotion Theatrix – Courtesy of the artist.

Janet Roston is one such artist. She is an award-winning Director, Choreographer and the Artist Director of Mixed eMotion Theatrix (MeMT) that “combines dance music, theater, film and multi-media to create what Roston calls a  hybrid performance experience. Recently Roston gathered her team together and produced Tag! A Quarantine Dance, a dance film inspired by Mitchell Rose’s dance-film Exquisite Corps.

Roston said that she had been having choreography dreams where she was with her company in rehearsals. In the dream, she suddenly realized, “Wait! We can’t stand so close!” Clearly a result of the instructions about physical distancing in order to help stop contagion of this lethal virus.

“The project came together because I wanted to creatively motivate my Mixed eMotion Theatrix family while we were all sheltering-at-home” Roston said.  “I was, of course, familiar with Mitchell Rose’ videos and thought that the concept had an interesting perspective when created by performers trapped in their own spaces. I also wanted an inclusive video, inviting not only our performers but everyone who works with MeMT.”

Tag! A Quarantine Dance resulted in 25 performers that includes dancers, the company’s graphic designer, producers, composers, videographer, photographer, Social Media and Marketing Director, Executive Director and Roston each creating 15 seconds of movement connected to the person before them.

Roston explained part of the process this way: “I set up a schedule in 4 hour increments and a Google Drive to post their videos. Each person had to view the video before theirs, shoot and post within those 4 hours.  With 25 people the process took 8 days, the order of performances is random, created by the time slot they each signed up for.  It proved an entertaining distraction for me to watch each video get posted and visualize how it would all come together. Each person shot it with their cell phone. The video setting within the phone had to be unified so all footage would match. Camera had to start and end in stillness so we could edit from one person’s footage to the next. ”

Screen Shot from "Tag! A Quarantine Dance" - Steve Lekowicz, Performer/Storyteller for MeMT’s “So Now You Know" - Courtesy of MeMT

Screen Shot from “Tag! A Quarantine Dance” – Steve Lekowicz, Performer/Storyteller for MeMT’s “So Now You Know” – Courtesy of MeMT

Some of the movement that the non-dancers came up with turned out to be wonderful and Roston believes that as the sequences progress, the movement phrases became more complex and unconventional as each  performer challenged the next.

Most were filmed by the performer positioning their cell phone and then dancing in front of it. Others had someone who lived with them do the filming. “I hadn’t considered that some kind of camera work could happen, I imagined each shot with a camera placed in one spot and the performer dancing in front of a still camera. The tracking shots were surprise for me and actually helped to keep the video’s momentum going.”  Roston said.

Mixed eMotion Theatrix - “Gatsby Redux” for Los Angeles Music Center, Moves After Dark. Performed in the Blue Ribbon Garden of Disney Hall NowUpro 3
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Mixed eMotion Theatrix - “Gatsby Redux” for Los Angeles Music Center, Moves After Dark. Performed in the Blue Ribbon Garden of Disney Hall - Photo Credit: Barry Weiss

Tag! A Quarantine Dance was Produced by Roston and Ryan Bergmann Edited by Kate Coleman, with Music by Hundred Waters. The performers included: Natalie Allen, Denise Woods, Nurit Siegel, Leah Hamel, Lital Mizrahi, Ava Gordy, Tiffany Wolff, Barry Weiss, Moi Josue Michel, Sarah Mullis, Isabella Way, Mark Governor, Joe LaRue, Steve Lekowicz, Camal Pugh, Michael Quiett, Sarah Wines, Quinn Jaxon, Jackie Hinton, Ariel Benarroch, Ryan Bergmann, Cindy Shapiro, Daniel Valentine, Kate Coleman, Janet Roston.

The making of the film proved to be very enjoyable for everyone included. “Along with being a lot of fun for our quarantined MeMT family the resulting video created connectedness in spite of social distancing” Roston said. “Conversations are happening right now about the future of live performance. We believe that humans have, since ancient times, had a need to experience and share live performance together, be it telling stories (theater), making music or the non-verbal communication of dance. We know that art will endure in spite of the many challenges it may face.”

Screen Shot from "Tag! A Quarantine Dance" - Lital Mizrahi, Intern Performer/Storyteller for MeMT’s “So Now You Know"

Screen Shot from “Tag! A Quarantine Dance” – Lital Mizrahi, Intern Performer/Storyteller for MeMT’s “So Now You Know”

I inquired if there were plans to expand the project and Roston said that they would have to see how everyone was doing later on in the quarantine.

To view Tag! A Quarantine Dance on You Tube, click here. To watch it on Facebook, click here and on Instagram, click here.

To learn more about Mixed eMotion Theatrix, click here.

To watch Mitchell Rose’s Exquisite Corps, click here.

Written by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle, April 17, 2020.

Featured Image: Ryan Bergmann, Executive Director for MeMT – Screen Shot from Tag! A Quarantine Dance – Courtesy of MeMT