Initiated during the writing of my doctoral thesis, entitled Transforming Through Cinema: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Reading Amy Greenfield\u2019s Films<\/em>, I discovered that by describing in detail what I perceived to be happening on screen, my observational skills were sharpened and supported the development of identifying connections across a wider web of aesthetics, techniques, contexts, and themes in Greenfield\u2019s work. Whilst viewing moving images, it is easy enough to overlook details due to human error, whereas actively writing a description shot by shot requires a different form of committed concentration. The process of image reception thus differs, transitioning to an intensely active form when considering how best to break down the sequential art of moving images and convey it through language. French film scholars Jacques Aumont and Michel Marie discuss this process in their book L\u2019analyse des films<\/em>, contrasting the experience of seeing a film for the first time in its entirety versus the context necessary for studying a film through active viewing in increments, by starting and stopping and \u2018taking the time to consider elements of the film\u2019.[2]<\/a> For them, analysing moving images results in the \u2018back and forth\u2019 between seeing a film as it is intended to be screened \u2018from beginning to end\u2019 and gaining intimate knowledge of a title by engaging with it \u2018broken down in small parts, [using] multiple freeze frames, [and] going back\u2019.[3]<\/a><\/p>\n Although my written descriptions may appear to sit outside the realm of traditional academic writing and analysis, art historian and specialist of art education Yves Baudry asserts that description\u2019s underlying observation \u2018is analytical contemplation\u2019 that \u2018summons the perceptive function of the gaze\u2019.[4]<\/a> In his book, Images de la p\u00e9dagogie, p\u00e9dagogie de l\u2019image<\/em>, Baudry outlines three components at work while describing an image based on observation:<\/p>\n While my own poetic description leaves room for additional elements of observation and reflection, Baudry\u2019s\u00a0 list provides a glimpse of how description may begin by stating the obvious (\u2018Performer A is wearing red trousers\u2019, an example of Baudry\u2019s \u2018representation\u2019) and quickly shift into the realm of the sensorial (\u2018The red trousers lend a heaviness to the dancer\u2019s leg movements in contrast to their sheer top\u2019), the technical (or what he refers to as \u2018measuring\u2019: \u2018The camera focuses on the dancer\u2019s red trousers in an extreme close-up filmed from a low angle, the latter contributing to the sense of weighted limbs\u2019), and other strains of thought triggered by methodically documenting and connecting what is perceived on screen. As a result, written descriptions may become a conduit for developing analytical explorations of images in a writing process that is not only intended for communication, but as a method of research in itself.<\/p>\n The dance writing of the aforementioned authors is imbued with a strong poetic tradition in the sensorial qualities they describe, a result, at least in part, of the ongoing heritage of ekphrasis, a term from Greek antiquity for the literary description of a work of art, or \u2018a verbal representation of a visual representation\u2019.[9]<\/a> In other words, one might describe ekphrasis as the writing on, from, about, or after various forms of art, an important concept for the branch of present-day dance criticism. From the outset, Greek ekphrastic writing in antiquity often included dance as its subject, and just as ekphrastic poetry remained influential in shaping the field of art history and art criticism during its institutionalisation in the 19th<\/sup> century,[10]<\/a>ekphrasislikely played a similar role in the development of western dance criticism, although the topic remains woefully understudied.[11]<\/a> Several of the writers cited above actively practiced ekphrasis prior to or during the period in which they wrote dance criticism, notably Yeats with his celebrated ekphrastic poems that include Lapis Lazuli<\/em> and Leda and the Swan<\/em>, while Gautier\u2019s fiction, poetry, art criticism and ballet dramaturgy, all feature clear links to ekphrasis, characterised by a life-long interest in the exchange between the written word and various art forms. Mih\u00e1ly Benda, commenting on Gautier\u2019s art criticism, considers a transposition in his writing of relations between the visible and the readable, \u2018rendering the visible, readable\u2019.[12]<\/a> Gauthier qualified his relationship to the works of art he wrote about as \u2018empathetic\u2019[13]<\/a>, which Benda contends was:<\/p>\n A spirited example that combines poetic description with evaluation can be found in the following excerpt of a review published in La Presse<\/em>, which attests to Gautier\u2019s enthusiastic reception of two Andalusian dancers Dolores Serral and Mariano Cambrub\u00ed, appearing in Paris at the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre des Vari\u00e9t\u00e9s in April 1837:<\/p>\n Beyond Gautier\u2019s avid recommendation of the performance, he attempts to transmit his perception of the choreography to readers through observations and analogies, including poetic and sensorial descriptions that convey his experience of the intensity of the dancers\u2019 footwork (boards that nearly \u2018gave way\u2019) and evoke his reception of the choreography\u2019s sensuality. While today\u2019s dance criticism tends to be far less decorative than Gautier\u2019s,\u00a0 his approach to the work itself (in lieu of judging art according to the classical criteria espoused by institutions during his lifetime) underscores what Denby described as a \u2018discovery of an unexpected aspect of one\u2019s own sensibility\u2019.[16]<\/a><\/p>\n The above research led me to approach writing about Amy Greenfield\u2019s films in an exercise of poetic description that interfaces with my own sensibilities, before analysing any specific political, cultural or aesthetic dimensions of their choreography and images. The exercise, which became an entire thesis chapter, proved to reveal various details related to the choreography, use of space, environment, editing and camera work that have become essential components of my research on Greenfield.<\/p>\n Excerpts from a poetic description of scenes from <\/strong>Amy Greenfield\u2019s Transport<\/em>(1970, colour, 16 mm., 5.5 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n Transport <\/em>opens in silence to reveal a sole performer (Lee Vogt[17]<\/a>) struggling to move upwards. The sandy slope upon which he stands draws him downward into the earth. In order to ascend, he must first descend, arms lowering to the ground, two extra limbs that assist with the climb. Folded in half, he propels himself forward using the weight of his upper body while simultaneously dislodging his feet from the surface. Momentum. Gravity. Weight. All tangled together in a knot that risks becoming a contentious game of physics or a gently cooperative one, depending on the performer\u2019s next steps. The ensuing gestures prove laborious. The camera invites us to partake of Vogt\u2019s efforts from a low angle, amplifying the weight of his body and the steep incline upon which he advances. Viewers observe the action from behind the dancer\u2019s body as if next in line to complete the task, participating in the climb. What does it mean to move against the earth? Or against gravity? Is inhabiting a body on earth not a delicate balance of groundedness and elevation? A tension between directions, to find that sweet spot in between? That is, if one is seeking equilibrium\u2026<\/p>\n \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n The group is pictured at the centre of the image with a generous foreground that occupies two thirds of the frame, offering a\u00a0 detailed view of the sandy dirt and its patchy surface. Greenfield is now being Greenfield; her body forms a horizontal line save her arms dangling loosely towards the ground. How did she get there? Is this a funeral procession? Or an act of care for the living? The group has been established without our knowledge, a mysterious community that has sprung up somewhere in the space between frames. For a brief time, the spectator is outside the group looking in. We don\u2019t know how they initially came together or began moving as a cooperative unit. Yet they look well on their way, solemnly advancing towards an unknown destination.<\/p>\n \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n The higher Vogt\u2019s body sails into the air, the lower the camera sinks as the ground of the hilltop crest comes into view. All the while, the camera continues rotating in rapid and unstable circular panning shot. While the lifted performer appears to fly, the camera person is sinking back down the incline, which begins to cover a portion of the screen.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a dizzying effect that recalls the mind\u2019s confusion at viewing Hitchcock\u2019s old trick, the \u2018dolly zoom\u2019.[18]<\/a> Only in this example, it has more to do with the physical movement of all bodies concerned, those of screen performers and the camera person, than with in-camera effects. Unlike narrative cinema, Greenfield isn\u2019t prescribing emotional affect through camera work, but rather facilitating experiences that allow us to feel and experience movement in all its sensorial complexity. A felt body. Spatialised feeling.<\/p>\n Another jump cut then transports us from one lifted performer to another. This time Greenfield, already elevated high in the air, forms a wide V shape over the chest and shoulders of another performer who is only visible from the mid-torso down. She has given her weight so completely to the performers holding her, that Greenfield\u2019s back and neck are slung entirely across a supporting body as the group begins to turn in place, just as it did with Vogt. Together, the two rapid sequences of turning bodies create a spiral effect, which is nearly impossible to identify when viewed only once at the film\u2019s normal speed. But it may be felt at a far more visceral level. When slowed down and watched repeatedly, these movement patterns become clearer to recognise and name. A spiral. Evolution? Consciousness? Rebirth? A tuning score[19]<\/a> by twisting?<\/p>\n \u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Still oscillating between Greenfield and Vogt, the final images of Transport<\/em> depict the performers rising up and over the hill one final time, filmed upside down and from underneath. A transformation occurs when the cameraperson shifts from a low angle to filming at standing position or higher. As a result, the bodies acquire a lightness, gliding through the air as the lifters continue their forward motion. As the body sails through the air and dangling feet disappear beyond the frame, a white sky fills the image. Where little to no horizon presented itself before, the space now feels boundless. Ma<\/em>, a Japanese interval. The negative space between the notes. A promise. Leaving us with an emptiness of possibilities. The word \u2018end\u2019 appears on screen, still using the same white font, but the text is now situated along the upper right diagonal, falling downwards, a shifted gaze from that of the centred horizontal opening title. Another reminder of the transformation we have undergone alongside the performers?<\/p>\n **<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n [1]<\/a> John Berger, Ways of Seeing<\/em>, London, Penguin Books, 1972, p. 9.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Jacques Aumont & Michel Marie, L\u2019analyse des films<\/em>, Paris, Armand Colin, 2020.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Idem, p. 53.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Yves Baudry, Images de la p\u00e9dagogie, p\u00e9dagogie de l\u2019image<\/em>, Paris, Archimbaud, 1998, p. 210-211.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Idem, p. 211.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> For further consideration of dance criticism\u2019s omissions and problematic framework(s), see Kate Mattingly\u2019s Shaping Dance Canons: Criticism, Aesthetics, and Equity<\/em>, University Press of Florida, 2023.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> \u2018Dance Criticism\u2019 in Edwin Denby, Dance Writings<\/em>, ed. William Cornfield & William MacKay, Gainseville, University of Florida Press, 2007, p. 539.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Idem., p. 533<\/p>\n [9]<\/a>James Heffernan,\u00a0Museum of\u00a0Words: The\u00a0Poetics of\u00a0Ekphrasis\u00a0from\u00a0Homer to\u00a0Ashbery<\/em>, University of Chicago Press, 1993, p. 4.<\/p>\n [10]<\/a>J\u00e1s Elsner, \u2018Art History as Ekphrasis\u2019, Art History: Association for Art History Journal<\/em>, Volume 33, issue 1, February 2010, p. 10-27.<\/p>\n [11]<\/a>Centralised information on this subject appears to be lacking due to poor documentation of dance criticism\u2019s history in general, a fact lamented by the editors of a special issue of the research journal Dance Chronicle<\/em> on \u2018Dance Critics and Criticism\u2019, Vol. 37, No.2, 2014.<\/p>\n [12]<\/a>Mih\u00e1ly Benda, \u2018Sur les \u00ab\u00a0expressions Macaroniques\u00a0\u00bb de la critique d\u2019art de Th\u00e9ophile Gautier (Dialogue entre peinture et litt\u00e9rature)\u2019, Verbum Analecta Neolatina, <\/em>XI\/1, 2009, p.63.<\/p>\n [13]<\/a> Idem., p. 73<\/p>\n [14]<\/a> Idem., p. 73-74<\/p>\n [15]<\/a>Th\u00e9ophile Gautier, \u2018The Spanish Dancers\u2019 in Gautier on Dance<\/em> (translator Ivor Guest), Noverre Press, p. 5-8.<\/p>\n [16]<\/a>Edwin Denby, quoted in Joellen A. Meglin and Lynn Matluck Brooks, \u2018The Nature of the Beast: Dance Critics and Criticism\u2019, Dance Chronicle<\/em>, Vol. 37, No.2, 2014, p. 151.<\/p>\n [17]<\/a>Greenfield\u2019s collaborator is credited as a dancer in Transport<\/em> and as an actor in a later film directed by Sara Millman entitled Robin\u2019s Hood<\/em> (2003). Aside from these two film credits, no biographical data on Vogt has been located at time of writing.<\/p>\n\n
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<\/a>Dance criticism has traditionally relied on the descriptive method to both document and evaluate live performance. Alongside photographs, prints, and other representations of live performance, dance criticism provides an invaluable record of historic stage productions, whilst maintaining problematic elements linked to its subjectivity.[6]<\/a> In an essay dating from 1949, influential American dance critic Edwin Denby (1903-1983) notes that the enjoyment of reading dance criticism derives from \u2018the illusion of being present at a performance, of watching it with an unusually active interest\u2019[7]<\/a> and that many readers expect a critic \u2018to give a clear picture of the event and to place it in relation the art of theatre dancing\u2019.[8]<\/a> Like many of his predecessors, Denby was a poet as well as a critic, with links between the two types of writing apparent from the 19th<\/sup> century onward, particularly in the prolific ballet criticism produced by writers Th\u00e9ophile Gautier (1811-1872) and Paul Val\u00e9ry (1871-1945) in France, alongside what are thought to be the first critical texts that explore Flamenco dance and music penned by Spanish playwright and poet Federico Garc\u00eda Lorca (1898-1936), as well the Noh dance drama criticism that W.B. Yeats (1865-1922) published in Ireland.<\/p>\nbased on understanding a work to be analysed and not on looking for its faults\u2026In this sense, Gautier questioned the classical rules of evaluation and sided resolutely with diversity, with Romantic individualism. This attitude allowed him to approach the new without prejudice or hierarchy, but to recognise the originality of every artist.\u2019[14]<\/a><\/h6>\n
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<\/a>\nIf you made the dreadful mistake of not booking a stall or a box at the Vari\u00e9t\u00e9s when those two sparkling butterflies were brushing the tips of their wings in a burst of sequins on the dusty boards that had nearly given way beneath the heavy clogs\u2026you can only beat your breast with a rock like Saint Jerome as a sign of repentance\u2026for you have missed one of the most ravishing and poetic performances in the world\u2026 It is a charming poem written in twistings of the hips, sidelong expressions, a foot advanced and then withdrawn, all joyously accompanied by the chatter of castanets and having more to say on its own than many volumes of erotic verse. There is one position that is ravishingly graceful. It is the moment when the dancer, half-kneeling with back proudly arched, head thrown back, a large red rose unfolding in her beautiful half-loosened black hair, arms dreamily extended and only gently shaking the castanets, smiles over her shoulder\u2026[15]<\/a><\/h6>\n
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