Between entrance and exit 2013 Radio interview as special guest Cinedans festival 2014

Tijdens Cinedans 2014, in het Eye Filmmuseum, zijn tientallen dansfilms en documentaires over choreografen te zien. De focus ligt op choreografieën speciaal gemaakt voor camera en bijzondere filmadaptaties van bestaande dansvoorstellingen. In totaal worden gedurende zes dagen zo’n zeventig korte en lange films uit binnen- en buitenland gepresenteerd. Emmie Kollau ontmoette regisseur Boris Paval Conen, die dit jaar hoofdgast is van het festival.

During Cinedans 2014, in Eye Film Museum Amsterdam, you can see see dozens of dance films and documentaries about choreographers. The focus is on choreographies created specifically for camera and special film adaptations of existing dance performances. In total some seventy short and long films are presented from teh Netherlands and abroad for six days. Emmie Kollau met director Boris Paval Conen, this year's main guest of the festival..

Between entrance and exit 2013 Testshoot

 Before the shooting of the dance-film 'Between entrance and exit' we had a six week rehearsal period where we took the liberty to rehearse and experiment with the choreography, camera and editing to discover if the ideas in our script worked or not.

We had a clear feeling of that we wanted to achieve, but to materialize this turned out more difficult than we thought. There was no dramatic arc we could follow, no storyline. Therefore we took the time to put every impulsive idea to the test if it would be worthwhile to explore or not. We treated this rehearsal period as if everything was still possible and strange enough in hindsight it turned out that our complete process was as straightforward as it could be with almost no detours. We started in the Netherlands in a studio at the Korzo theater and two weeks later we moved to the actual shooting location in a villa in Hyskov (in the Czech republic). Every day of rehearsing was filmed (with a simple videocamera) and edited so the next day Jiří Kylián and I could discuss the creative process. The composer Han Otten was working simultaneously to change his compositions inspired by our test shootings.
To get a clear feeling of what we were doing we rehearsed in the actual wardrobe and with the actual props. Working towards the actual shooting the DOP Martijn van Broekhuizen and production designer Roland Mylanus joined our team so the rehearsals became more and more a meeting of creative minds, searching for the best way to translate our ideas into film. At the end of this extensive rehearsal period we had a 23 minutes rough video of what the final film could be. Based on this rough sketch we made the final choices in what we wanted to shoot.
In the following four short videos you can see the development of the choreography towards the actual end-result (below):

Between entrance and exit 2013 Shooting plan.

Because the choreography was heavily dependent of the camera-positions, D.O.P. Martijn van Broekhuizen or I were always present with a little HD-camera.

Especially the slapstick action around the piano took a lot of time to work out. After each rehearsal day I edited everything on the music the composer Han Otten send to us. Every morning we started with viewing the edited work. While rehearsing, test-shooting and editing the slapstick scene slowly took shape.

Between entrance and exit 2013 Film Stills.

On the set of 'Between Entrance and Exit' the Czech cameraman Jan Malir - a personal friend of Jirí Kylían - made during four days photographs of the work in progress.

Between entrance and Exit 2013 Speech at Cinedance 2014

In 2014 I was the guest of the year at the Cinedans festival in Amsterdam, I gave there the following speech:
For two years the choreographer Jiri Kylian and I worked on the script for the dance-film ‘Between entrance and exit’. Every time a version of the script was ready, Jiri told me that there is a possibility that things will change during the rehearsal period. I think that ‘things’ - in this case - is an understatement. Basically the whole film was rewritten or better said; recreated in the weeks we rehearsed with the dancers.

Maybe this is the big difference between dance and film. When I write a script for cinema or television, everything is defined as much as possible in the script; The dialogue, the mise en scene, the order of scènes. For a dance film this is not possible; the way the dancers communicate are defined in the choreography. - And this choreography has to be created on the rehearsal floor. Of course I knew that everything would change, we worked already for several years together. And to be honest I was looking forward to this ‘not knowing’ what’s going to happen. Each time a choreographer and a director join forces they will to it in their own unique way and our way of co-operating is not a template how it should be. But what for me is so special in our proces of creating that Jiri and I decided to invite the other - without reservation - in our proces of creating. Jiri decided NOT to rehearse without me being present, and I decided to shoot and edit each day of rehearsal so I could show him - in a rough way - the proces of defining the camera positions and the editing. The longer we work together, the more we become aware of the big differences between being a choreographer and a filmmaker. And to get the full potential out of these two total different art-forms we had to re-invent our craft. We had to re-invent the way we work and communicate. And as I said before, each collaaboration between a choreographer and filmmaker is unique and there is not ONE way to do it. But I know one thing for sure; if it is possible for both to step out of their safezones, if they put away their ego’s and try to band up in a way that they really feel DEPENDANT of each other - in a positive way. I promise you, it’s gonna be an adventure to remember. I want to thank Cinedance for inviting me and give the public the opportunity to see the films I made I with Jiri Kylian, Shusaku Takeuchi and composer Han Otten. Thank you very much and enjoy the festival..