The Blog of Studio Fuse » dance

Putting Baby Behind the Fence

Scott — Sat, 31 Aug 2013 01:06:25 +0000

It all started when we came across one of the last catless videos on the internet. It was a video about a technique called “ombro,” a pre-cinema method of animation that involves masking and revealing parts of an image with a “fence” to create the illusion of movement.

As a studio that’s known for its interactive print (at least in our minds), we immediately knew we’d use this technique for a project someday, even if it might be far off down the road.

As it happened, a few months after watching the video, we were gearing up to begin the Dance at The Music Center season brochure. To our delight, The Music Center wanted to try something different from the use of straight production photography—an approach they had used for the last few seasons. Ombro immediately sprang to mind as the perfect “something different.” What better way to express dance than through movement? Fortunately, The Music Center was as excited as we were about the prospect of an animated brochure.

Of course, the solution also had to work for cases where there would be no fence: ads, 3-sheets, postcards, etc. So we determined that we’d use a mix of moving dancers, and static dancers paired with moving type to be prepared for all scenarios.

Initially, we had simply planned to animate the word “moving” itself in a different way for each image. However, as we experimented, we realized the series of unfenced frames were like afterimages, or impressions. That led us to change “moving” to multiple adjectives describing the varied lasting impressions the viewer could be left with by experiencing the companies this season.

With the idea solidified, we worked out each page and built a digital demo to share them with The Music Center (You can still play with it here.) After a bit of back-and-forth involving changes to the color and a couple of new adjectives, the brochure was approved.

The only problem with a piece like this is, after working on it for so long, you begin to lose perspective; by the time it went to print, we weren’t sure if anyone would find it compelling. Thankfully, when it got into people’s hands, our fears were allayed. Indeed, the response was positive, and The Music Center saw an increase in subscriptions over last season. While we surely can’t take all of the credit, we’d like to think this novel delivery of dance captured some minds, and perhaps moved some people to hop over the fence and get closer to the stage. And for those who weren’t moved, well, here’s a cat video. @scottfuse

UPDATE: 9/18/13
We’re pleased to announce the brochure just garnered us a Gold Award in the Creativity 43rd Print & Packaging Awards!

A quick demo of the brochure.

A quick demonstration of the brochure, starring Aless’ hands.

Finding The Ford

Jenn — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 20:44:30 +0000

Ford Theatres, aka the John Anson Ford Theatre or Ford Amphitheater, is an intimate, open-air performance space nestled into the Hollywood Hills. This hidden gem of a venue with its eclectic programming and expansive community outreach brings the arts to those who want to be close enough to touch it.

When I met the LA County Arts Commission, who operates the venue, I was struck by how much was working in their favor: great location, beautiful surroundings, strong mission, brilliant lineup of artists from every corner of LA’s cultural landscape, and the most impressive string of Yelp reviews I’ve ever read. And yet… if I mentioned the Ford to other Angelenos I’d be greeted with a blank stare. Perhaps it was the plethora of outdoor entertainment happening in LA, particularly at the neighboring Hollywood Bowl that was keeping them a secret? More likely it was their lack of identity. We were determined to bring Ford Theatres out of the shadows.

The audience familiar with the Ford love it, and aren’t shy about it. In fact, the audience had already successfully created a brand for the venue through surprisingly consistent language. We needed to create a visual world to go with it. We started with the logo – a self-contained, totally organic, hand drawn logotype designed to encapsulate the descriptives we heard over and over again: Laid Back, Friendly, Fun, Playful, Romantic, Cozy, and Welcoming. Couple the logo with a color palette sampled from the surrounding landscape and things started to take shape.

The Campaign

The Communications team had already been batting around a few campaign ideas for their summer series when we met. “Find Yourself at the Ford” was buried at the end of the list. It jumped out to me as an empowering call to action – not only to get butts in seats, but to find people like you on stage and in the seats around you. It was the perfect way to sum up the Ford’s mission to reflect the diverse cultures of LA County. And, it was memorable!

With a new look, clear message, and a small stockpile of carefully selected audience and performance images; we were poised for implementation. We designed a system of icons to reflect the look of the logo and a variety of foundation materials including a pocket calendar, postcards, web ads, digital billboards, invites, programs and more that would act as a launching point for their new visual dialogue. All materials were tied together with consistent placement of the new logo, all new typography guidelines, and a bold color palette that used the new Ford green as its base. So far the identity is hit! Staff, artists and audiences are enthusiastically embracing it and we’re excited to see how it continues to evolve.

(can include a grouping of images (see folder for options) one of which should be the cover of the pocket calendar that I don’t have)

Learn more about Ford Theatres here. @jennfuse

“And now for something completely different…”

Guest — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:23:06 +0000

Going from one sun-drenched state to another doesn’t usually pose much of a culture shock—unless you’re going cross-country to do so. Which happens to be the exact thing I decided to do for my last true ‘summer vacation’. Once the break started, I quickly picked up my life and shuffled off to California to grow artistically anywhere else but where I was. The biggest difference for me was going from my comfortably small college town of Sarasota, Florida with the average population of 52,000 and the average age of 65, to Pasadena’s 137,000 strong and the average age being somewhere in the 30’s. Thankfully, being raised predominantly on this side of the US, I was already accustomed to many ways of the West Coast culture. Now I’m just left to figure out how to continue functioning in this city without a car. I count my lucky stars for ending up in Pasadena, because I don’t know of anywhere else in LA that is this walking accessible.

Just in residing here for a little over two weeks, I’ve already been enamored by the different things going on around me.

Deerfoot lamp from T.L. Gurley Odd and Unusual Antiques

After meeting Jenn and the crew for the first time, I meandered a little ways down the road to be completely surrounded by antique shops. Some even boasting “strange and unusual” items. This is something that doesn’t really exist in Florida, let alone the small town of Sarasota. Of course there are antique shops, but never with the variety of items I saw displayed in my three-hour stint (and again when I trekked to the Rose Bowl). I believe you natural-born Californians really take for granted how much better the resale shopping is when you have that extra 80,000 people contributing their things from grandma’s attic.

Jenn & Monica Buckner performing ‘Shifting Sands: Age vs. Time’

Jenn and Monica Buckner (wife of 2nd intern Daniel) performing ‘Shifting Sands: Age vs. Time’

By working at the studio, I’ve become more aware of the various cultural activities happening in the LA area, some of which team Fuse are involved with personally. For example, last weekend I attended Jenn’s dance performance (Works 2012) being put on in a newly converted space in a still functioning church. Not only was the performance fantastic, but also being in a new, and unconventional space added an extra sprinkle of awesome to the overall experience. There is definitely no church/dance theatre hybrid lurking anywhere in SRQ.  But honestly, the thing I’m most star-struck from by living here in Pasadena is the food. As a self-proclaimed foodie, I’m not ashamed to say that one of the reasons I was so excited in coming here was to have the option for a variety of meals again. Florida, but especially Sarasota is a very homogenized area and trying to get a meal that isn’t from a chain can be difficult—and healthy? Try somewhere else. But here, there is usually a separate vegetarian menu and practically everything comes with avocado! Which as you can tell, makes this person a very happy camper.

A vegetarian sandwich from Aux Delices French Bakery and Café

My overall goal for these next few months was experience, and because of the internship I was lucky enough to land and the area I am lucky enough to live in, it seems like getting myself involved in what’s going on around me shouldn’t be too daunting of a task. (This weekend you can find me at the Pasadena Chalk Festival and Make Music Pasadena. Art + 100 live bands, all for free! @GraceAhlizabeth)

Bolshoi’s Swan Lake at the Music Center

Jenn — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 18:38:25 +0000

The Bolshoi Ballet returns to the Music Center this week with their production of Swan Lake. This will be their first time on the Chandler stage since 2000.

Even if you’re not a bunhead or a balletphile, this is one to see. A familiar story yes, remounted time and time again and even Hollywood-ized in Black Swan, Yuri Grigorovich’s Swan Lake (revised from Marius Petipa’s choreography) is THE Swan Lake to see. The Bolshoi is unmatched in technical precision and performance quality and the sets and costumes are a testament to Russian elegance. Of course, I’d expect nothing less from a company with more than 200 years under their belt. @jennfuse

June 7–June 10
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Tickets: $34–$125 | More Info

Thursday: June 7; 7:30 pm
Saturday: June 8; 7:30 pm
Friday: June 9; 2:00 pm
Saturday: June 9; 7:30 pm
Saturday: June 10; 2:00 pm

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Tickets: $34–$125 | More Info

Anna Nikulina

“[Swan Lake is about] internal conflicts between ideal love, reality and the imperfections of human nature.”

–Sergei Filin, Bolshoi Ballet Artistic Director

  Photo by Damir Yusupov

  Maria Alexandrova as Odette. Photo by Damir Yusupov

My Secret Double-life

Jenn — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 01:27:55 +0000

I’ve been moonlighting for years, as a dancer. Get your minds out of the gutter. The economy’s had its ups and downs, but it’s not that bad. It’s modern dance people…“art”.

Several years ago I decided I needed more balance in my life. Now, people seek balance in a variety of ways; running a design studio and working as a professional dancer and executive director of a dance company on the side is probably not one of them. It may seem nuts to some of you, but it makes perfect sense to me. I’m a designer incapable of sitting still—dance is essentially “designed movement”…it’s kind of perfect.

Plus, my history with dance (and fine art too) happens to be why I got into design for the arts in the first place—to draw audiences to support the things I love. It never ceases to surprise me how often I get to tie theses two sides of my life together. From client work for Dance at the Music Center, where my knowledge of dance technique is the best tool in the box for art directing a photo shoot, to using my design skills to build an identity, costume dancers and market my dance company.

For the past few months my evenings and weekends have been dedicated to Nancy Evans Dance Theatre, the aforementioned “my dance company”. We’ve been busy building new work, and rehearsing, rehearsing, (and have I mentioned rehearsing?) for our annual show that opens this Friday, June 1st at Porticoes Theatre in Pasadena—a brand new performing arts venue we’re pleased to share with other local performing artists Arroyo Repertory Theatre and Pacific Opera Project. We’ll be presenting pieces from our repertory as well as premieres of five new pieces, the highlight being “Vigil”, a dance drama from NEDT’s Artistic Director, Nancy Evans Doede, that centers around the complex web of attachment between a death row inmate, his family, the family of his victim, and between the families themselves. Ok, it’s not a happy-go-lucky romp (we do have those in the show too), but it’s a stunning work that you can’t help connecting to regardless of how you feel about capital punishment. @jennfuse

Friday: June 1 (GALA)
Saturday: June 2
Friday: June 8 (Q&A follows)
Saturday: June 9

All performances at 8 PM
Porticoes Theatre

Tickets: $15–$90 | Buy here

Ballet Preljocaj Performs Snow White

Jessica — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 16:58:39 +0000

Full disclosure: I am not the dance lady at Studio Fuse. My brief flirtation with the dancy arts ended in the mid-90s, while Jenn continues to work tirelessly on her grand battements, both taking and teaching classes. Although I’ve long since traded in my tap shoes for roller skates, I appreciate athleticism, striking visuals and a good story. Fortunately for me (and you!), starting Friday, March 23, Ballet Preljocaj’s Snow White will be providing all three.

Drawing inspiration from the darker Brothers Grimm tale rather than the more modern, animated feature we’ve all come to know, Ballet Preljocaj’s Snow White can’t really fall into the typical “fairytale ballet” category of Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake or The Nutcracker. This more adult version of the story features costume design by Jean Paul Gautilier. If you are unfamiliar with the designer, I have three words for you: Madonna cone bra. The set design is minimalist but functional and surfaces are incorporated into the choreography, including a mine wall that spans the height of the proscenium. Rappelling equipment is involved and it is amazing. And at all times, even while suspended parallel to the stage, the dancers seem to always be in fluid, energetic motion. The endurance and control it must require to preform even one act of this ballet is pretty mind-bending.

Ballet Preljocaj, led by choreographer and artistic director Angelin Preljocaj performs the 2008 ballet at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center March 23–25. @jes_fuse

March 23–March 25
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion

Tickets $28–$110 | More info

  Behind the scenes of Snow White

  Behind the scenes of the development of Snow White

“I wanted to do something completely different, write something very concrete and offer something magical…”

–Angelin Preljocaj, (excerpted from an interview with Agnès Freschel)

“I wanted to do something completely different, write something very concrete and offer something magical and enchanted…because, like everyone else, I love stories.”

–Angelin Preljocaj, (excerpted from an interview with Agnès Freschel, March 2008)

“I wanted to do something completely different, write something very concrete and offer something magical and enchanted…because, like everyone else, I love stories.”

–Angelin Preljocaj, (excerpted from an interview with Agnès Freschel, March 2008)