*Note: this post also appears in the Dance section of this website.
Sometimes when I am traveling for long periods of time, I decide to make a dance travel video. The first one I ever made (and thus the reason behind the blurry editing) was an end-of-semester commemoration of my months studying abroad in London.
Blurb: I have fallen in love with Europe and have enjoyed my time in London immensely, but as all good things must come to an end...Hold on, America, I'm coming home!
Filmed:
30/11/13 Holbourne Museum in Bath, UK
04/12/13 Brighton Pier in Brighton, UK
07/12/13 Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, UK
I couldn't film at Stonehenge, but it was beautiful!
Choreography by Matt Steffanina.
Sometimes when I am traveling for long periods of time, I decide to make a dance travel video. The first one I ever made (and thus the reason behind the blurry editing) was an end-of-semester commemoration of my months studying abroad in London.
Blurb: I have fallen in love with Europe and have enjoyed my time in London immensely, but as all good things must come to an end...Hold on, America, I'm coming home!
Filmed:
30/11/13 Holbourne Museum in Bath, UK
04/12/13 Brighton Pier in Brighton, UK
07/12/13 Cardiff Castle in Cardiff, UK
I couldn't film at Stonehenge, but it was beautiful!
Choreography by Matt Steffanina.
Some further notes on my experience when making this video...it was really awkward at times! In the top left corner, I was exploring the city of Bath and spontaneously decided to film a segment for this video. It was the first time I was performing the choreography in a space that was not my tiny dorm room in central London. I had learned the choreo without a full-length mirror, so I wasn't sure what it looked like. As I walked around Bath, I was on the lookout for a nice, secluded spot where I could film myself. I ended up choosing this little backyard part to the right of the Holbourne Museum. There were only a few people out and about, so I balanced my camera on a bench, played the music on my phone, and pressed GO. I had to dance multiple times before I was somewhat satisfied with the result. People were definitely wondering what I was doing, and there were clear windows into a lunch area where people could kind of see me out there...after a while they got bored since I was dancing the same thing over and over again. Still, I loved Bath; will write a post about it later!
In the top right corner, I was inside Cardiff Castle and just knew that I had to try to film myself here. Dancing in a castle would just be so fun! There were so many people around, so I did have to find myself a spot where I wouldn't bother anyone. When I climbed up to this tower and found out that I was alone, I knew it was the perfect spot. Right as I was going to start filming, people started coming up. So I climbed the steps and went to the top of the tower to look around and wait for everyone to leave. The view was incredible! All of Cardiff Castle lay sprawled about me, with Wales visible all around the castle walls. It was shockingly windy up there, which was hilarious because we were all staggering about trying to keep our balance and not get blown off the tower. Eventually, enough people had gone that I felt comfortable heading down towards the green area, setting up my camera, and filming myself. I had a lot of fun here...come on, I was in a castle!
The final clip was taken at Brighton Pier in Brighton, UK. It was a cold and windy day, and there wasn't much to see besides exploring the Royal Pavilion (which I highly recommend! The architecture and the interior design are spectacular. Not what you would expect at a summer resort for an English prince. It's built in Indo-Saracenic style that was prevalent in India at the time. The rooms are decadent!) Because Brighton is a seaside resort town, its mostly known for its waterfront and the Pier. There weren't many people outside because of the dreary weather...it was a little haunting and ghostly to walk through the bright lights, loud noises, and crazy rides and games on the Pier with hardly anyone else around. I picked a spot right on the wooden boards with the grayish-blue ocean crashing behind me. One man stopped just to watch me, and he told me later that from afar it looked like I was dancing to the boppy music coming from the speakers (hahaha) but he was a very nice man and we talked for a bit. Brighton is a pretty area, and I bet it's really crowded during spring/summer!
In the top right corner, I was inside Cardiff Castle and just knew that I had to try to film myself here. Dancing in a castle would just be so fun! There were so many people around, so I did have to find myself a spot where I wouldn't bother anyone. When I climbed up to this tower and found out that I was alone, I knew it was the perfect spot. Right as I was going to start filming, people started coming up. So I climbed the steps and went to the top of the tower to look around and wait for everyone to leave. The view was incredible! All of Cardiff Castle lay sprawled about me, with Wales visible all around the castle walls. It was shockingly windy up there, which was hilarious because we were all staggering about trying to keep our balance and not get blown off the tower. Eventually, enough people had gone that I felt comfortable heading down towards the green area, setting up my camera, and filming myself. I had a lot of fun here...come on, I was in a castle!
The final clip was taken at Brighton Pier in Brighton, UK. It was a cold and windy day, and there wasn't much to see besides exploring the Royal Pavilion (which I highly recommend! The architecture and the interior design are spectacular. Not what you would expect at a summer resort for an English prince. It's built in Indo-Saracenic style that was prevalent in India at the time. The rooms are decadent!) Because Brighton is a seaside resort town, its mostly known for its waterfront and the Pier. There weren't many people outside because of the dreary weather...it was a little haunting and ghostly to walk through the bright lights, loud noises, and crazy rides and games on the Pier with hardly anyone else around. I picked a spot right on the wooden boards with the grayish-blue ocean crashing behind me. One man stopped just to watch me, and he told me later that from afar it looked like I was dancing to the boppy music coming from the speakers (hahaha) but he was a very nice man and we talked for a bit. Brighton is a pretty area, and I bet it's really crowded during spring/summer!
~burn bright~
Jess