Admit One
In Admit One, art confronts art when modern dance takes on cinema. The active energy of the dancer contrasts with cinema as passive escapism. The rigid awkwardness of the cinema audience is clear, or is it? Admit One uses the energy of modern dance to examine cinema as passive escapism. The dancer – at first active and then reduced to an image captured on a cinema screen – is contrasted with the rigid awkwardness of the cinema audience. But, as always, art finds a way to reach out and inspire.
As the camera fades up, a cinema lobby brightens. The door slowly opens and a dancer enters, his feet sliding and tripping as he makes his way to the café area. As if by magic, chairs spin around and tables get out of his way. After picking up a ticket with ‘Admit One’ written on it, the dancer investigates the lower landings and eventually comes face to face with a movie camera. The camera captures him and transfers him onto a screen. Cutting to his point of view, we see a red cinema theatre and an audience. Motionless and rigid, the audience members are all wearing black T-shirts emblazoned with an ‘Admit One‘ cinema ticket logo. The dancer feels trapped and attacks the sides of the screen, but it’s a losing battle that drains all his energy. The camera cuts back to the audience. The lights come on and, en masse, the audience files out, but in a stop-frame, pixelated manner. At the lobby again, as the last of the audience leaves, we see one member – a woman with red hair – stop and try to dance out in a rigid, pixelated manner, but with more movement than the others. As she leaves, the lights go out. Filmed in the Light House Cinema, Dublin, Ireland
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Dancer: Ashley Chen Director: Steve Woods Producer: Catherine Lyons Choreographer John Scott Camera: Ivan McCullough Music: RO<>MO Editor: Rónán Ó Muirgheasa