Demo Reel
00:00: Liminality, Film, Luminous Motion, LLC
00:21: Promotional Video, Florida State University, School of Dance
00:47: Murmurs of the River: Race, Identity, and Memory, Film, University of South Florida, School of Theatre and Dance
01:12: Documentation & Promotional Footage, Theater With A Mission
01:28: Documentation & Promotional Footage, CORPS de Ballet International, Inc. Conferences
01:45: Dancing in the Street, Film, The Tallahassee Ballet
02:08: Documentation Footage, Various Dance Companies
Drone Demo Reel
Drone Operator, Filmed, and Edited: Jennifer Akalina Petuch
Dancers: The Tallahassee Ballet,Florida State University School of Dance, and University of South Florida School of Theatre and Dance
Liminality (Teaser Trailer)
Liminality is inspired by reimagining what Odette may have experienced upon plunging to her death in the lake from the classical ballet Swan Lake. It is a moment of suspended reality and a story of disenchantment, self-discovery and transformation. In our modern world we know that “happily ever after” is a journey and we have the ability to exercise our own agency to create our experience. In our story, the heroine is exploring the space in between life and death. She is coming to terms with the end of her world as she knew it and finding the strength and courage to move into a new existence.
We see this story as a metaphor for what many ballet dancers experience upon the imminent journey of their retirement from professional careers. On stage there is always a happy ending. For example, Seigfried in Swan Lake immediately realizes his mistake in being seduced by another woman, seeks forgiveness from Odette, and follows her off the cliff to his death so they can be reunited in the afterlife. But what is the reality for the dancers who play these characters? When the fairytale is over, what happens next?
The dancer and choreographer of Liminality, Annali Rose, is searching to answer that question for herself. She is using her heart as a guide to follow what brings her joy. As someone who is new to choreography, she wanted to begin this journey in the only place she had felt inspired to play with choreography in her past—underwater. The water is symbolic of the feeling of drowning and the death of her identity as a professional dancer. But it also envelops her, providing safety, support, and the spark of joy that is the magical seed of regeneration.
The cinematography was captured by artist and digital choreographer, Jennifer Akalina Petuch, at the Madison Blue Springs State Park in Lee County Florida during January 2020. Having a sharp eye for 2-D composition in Dance and a steady hand, Petuch used her skills of swimming, experience as a professional dancer, and a simple GoPro to film and then create the underwater work.
The Edge of Balance
The Edge of Balance captures a moment when the natural world becomes imbalanced. This film depicts a girl empowered to fix her teetering world. In a race against time she is able to create homeostasis, the balance in nature. This work was filmed at Lafayette Heritage Trail Park in Tallahassee, Florida.
I wanted to explore creative tools of perspective and vantage points, particularly canted angles. I developed a plot for a soloist to interact with nature in an innovative way to make it appear as if the natural world was tilting and she was the only being who had the ability to fix it. This film is a metaphor for the power of the determined woman and the control she possesses in the balance in her own life.
When the Time is Right
Reflecting nature, we witness profound life-change through a personal metamorphosis. When the Time is Right captures the transformational moment of an individual breaking free from the years of her past culminating into something beautiful and passionate. This film was created in the School of Dance tech lab at Florida State University.
As I completed my first year of graduate school, I felt like I had gone through a personal metamorphosis finally feeling recognized and appreciated for my artistic contributions and voice. Because of my love of nature, I felt a personal connection to the transformation of a butterfly. The years of training, performing, and teaching dance all contributed to nurturing my growth and development as a dancer, choreographer, and artist. This film captures how I felt emerging from my personal chrysalis.