This nice-looking guy, Stephan Koplowitz, a valued member of the Los Angeles dance community, is ready to give you your three seconds of fame in Learn, Capture, Repeat, his proprietary video project slated for this weekend’s Dance Camera West Festival.
Wait till you see what Steve and his colleague, software designer Alan Price, can do with three nanoseconds of your time. Because … this fun participatory video venture builds from modest elements to accrue to something larger.
Participants, regardless of ability, get to contribute to the creation of choreography cooked in the camera. The audience-generated work begins with learning a super-short movement sequence. That little niblet gets filmed.
As more movement phrases are captured, digital processing and accumulation add complexity. The edited performances are immediately broadcast on the huge screen inside Royce Hall. (That’s where all your friends can laugh at you.)
We caught up with Koplowitz, speaking by cell phone while dashing around an airport, a place the freelance choreographer spends a lot of time.
“Based on my experience [doing this before], each time we did the piece, it became a portrait of each audience that attended,” he said. “It gave everyone a chance to see themselves dancing with other people.”
The process involves combining singular dancers in with a group — like a sound mix. “It’s meant to be light-hearted and fun. It’s about celebrating everyone’s ability to dance.”
Koplowitz, together with Price, developed Learn, Capture, Repeat on a commission from Ohio State University.
photo credit: Nick Fancher
Learn, Capture, Repeat | Dance Camera West | Royce Hall Media Lounge | Thurs June 16 thru Sat June 18, 6 – 9:30 pm