Documentary filmmaker Catherine Gund previews her latest “extreme action” movie Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity, while Streb - the primary subject of the film - reveals why she believes music is an enemy of dance.
Born to Fly showcases the confluence of dance and daredevil-style stunts in a circus atmosphere that literally sends performers flying dangerously through the air. “I was trying to focus on what interested me most in the world, and it was always action. But it was eccentric, craggy kind of action – not gorgeous, aesthetic, beautiful action like ballet or whatnot,” explains Streb.
Once described as the Evel Knievel of Dance, Streb’s choreography – which she calls “PopAction” – adheres to the notion that “anything too safe is not action.” This leads her team to challenge the assumptions of art, aging, injury, gender, and human possibility.
“I just decided to build in the dance world… a series of moves that would deal with danger, allow us to change our base of support, not look at ourselves in the mirror,” she said. “Music is a true enemy of dance, I eliminated that,” she reveals in a statement that would shock most dance artists. “The whole timing system creates an artificiality in action.”
She likened the use of music with dance as “a taming device” that does not allow the flee flow of natural motion. “Like if you tell a lion or a panther to just move to these beats. (They would respond)… I have things to do out there in the tundra, and I’m going to run 70 miles an hour, and just get out of my way.”
In the full interview, Gund talks about her relationship with Streb and how she ended up deciding to tell the story in a similar that Streb stages her performances.
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