Charlotte Nixon – a Year 12 Art Student – reviews a stunning film commission at the RWA – and finds it both joyful and oddly unsettling…
“…And that, for me, is possibly what makes ultimately the film so intriguing: the contrast between the fear it inspires in me and the dancers’ total indifference…”
by Charlotte Nixon
Night Moves is a video by Melanie Manchot in the RWA’s Dance Out exhibition. It’s also the first film commissioned by the RWA. Over an enthralling 16 minutes, 16 seconds it takes us through a series of Bristol locations, some iconic, some lesser known, in which a wide range of performers joyfully show off their dance styles, from morris dancing to contemporary.
The reason I personally found this film so interesting though, was because of how eerie it was.
For me, the video successfully captures what people enjoy in a horror film; it makes the viewer scared but also fascinated, on the edge of their seat, unsure whether something is about to jump out at them. It may also have helped that I watched this film alone in a dark room, occasionally looking over my shoulder. This effect is achieved in three ways, through the use of locations, sound and lighting.
The video makes use of what are often called ‘liminal spaces’, places of transition that feel strange and uncanny. It also shows familiar places out of context, such as the normally busy indoor skatepark, which aside from a couple of skaters and the dancer, is completely abandoned, which creates the feeling of a liminal space.
There’s also the night time setting, which makes the places that you would not normally see at this time feel unsettling, as though something is wrong. This creates an uneasy feeling in the viewer, constantly feeling like something bad is going to happen and yet it never does. Other locations in the film include Stoke Park, another place you probably wouldn’t often see at night, a construction site with Clifton Suspension Bridge looming in the background and, that horror classic, a graveyard.
The audio in the video is a mix of strange, unearthly sounds, often building up as the camera turns and causing the viewer to tense, expecting to see something, only to cut to someone calmly dancing, seemingly unfazed by the sounds surrounding them. The first dancer is next to a graveyard, accompanied by the sounds of night birds, the occasional haunting minor chord and the buzz of static, against a backdrop of trees and the orange glow of streetlights.
Lighting is also key. It is primarily dark as the film is set at night, so the presence of light, when it appears, feels very intentional. The dancers are only ever illuminated artificially and the lack of natural lighting, despite the outdoor setting, adds to the general eeriness.
Despite all of this, the dancers are never themselves frightened by their surroundings, unaffected by the creepy noises and locations. And that, for me, is possibly what makes ultimately the film so intriguing: the contrast between the fear it inspires in me and the dancers’ total indifference.
The film also shows a different side to Bristol. The abandoned areas showcased have been reclaimed by people, evidence carved in the walls with graffiti, and reclaimed again by the dancers. I left the room feeling both uneasy but also something positive as well.
For me personally, I find liminal spaces and found footage style films fascinating so this video was perfect and a great inspiration for my own art.
But beyond my own tastes, I think this film does an amazing job of highlighting various styles of dance and particularly several dance groups in Bristol, as well as showing the parts of the city that not everyone typically sees.
The film starts in an empty tunnel with no sound other than echoey crashes and industrial hums. You watch as the light moves slowly back and forth through the tunnel, completely vacant. It ends with all the dancers coming together on a rooftop, then pans out to show a birds eye view of the city and finally faces the stars.
Dance Out runs at the RWA until 9 August 26. More info here.
Free unlimited entry for Friends of the RWA
Charlotte Nixon is studying A-Level Art at Trinity Academy in Bristol.
The Floating Circle 