The Fast Runner.

This dance film I’m working on right now, The Sky Inside, with Julie Rooney at Dancing Camera:

It feels like it’s gonna to be a mash up of The Fast Runner and The Great British Baking Show.

I know, that makes no sense at all, and if you come see the film in April, you'll be utterly confused as to why I'm making that comparison, but here goes anyway:

The Fast Runner, 2001 Feature Film:

From what I remember, there is long segment in this film where everyone sits inside together, waiting out the coldest period of winter, when nothing is happening, except for being, and except for waiting.

Our waiting, our being, and the luxury of time.

The Great British Baking Show, TV Show on Netflix, streaming now:

The acute presence of all who are involved in their baking; eyes focused, mind following the body as it moves through every single moment. Time in this situation, is limited, but surely expanded as the focus becomes laser sharp on the biscuits.

Yeah, you guessed right: 

Our presence, the orientation of our body/mind, and time for us too, is expanded. 

I don’t know, that’s just me, and how I see this dance that still scares the bejesus out of me, because of all of those things:

The waiting, the being, the time that is passing, that acute presence, and the body/mind relationship.

It would be so easy to let all of that go, and go back to my pliés, my leaps, my rolling up onto someone’s shoulder and perching there, before rolling back down, because I know that, I understand the shape and duration of all of those things.

But I don’t know the shape, and I don’t know the duration of waiting, and I don’t know if simply being, is enough.

Except
Except
Except,

I do know.

Because when Nancy says, after class last week,

“I’m going to do this as I’m dying. This dance, I’m going to do this dance as I lay dying."

I know then, that yeah, this is enough.

So when you come to the showing of this film in April, The Sky Inside, at The Boedecker Theater, forget I said any of this, especially the comparison to The Fast Runner and The Great British Baking Show.

I would never say anything like that…who in their right mind would?