Work in Progress
Watch a video of Chandini as a work in progress.
Chandini
CHANDINI
Hemabharathy Palini, Rachel Davies and Dan Saul of R & D Film
July 2018
Nominated and produced in association with Fuel.
This art/science project saw Indian contemporary dancer Hemabharathy Palini collaborating with Rachel and Saul from R & D film to explore integrating video mapping projection with live dance performance. Using animation, live feed and 3D camera, heir ultimate aim was to create an outdoor performance of scale.
These three artists had collaborated before on the short film, Ek Choti si Asha, in India, commissioned by Channel 4 and The British Council, contrasting the lives of women in India against the current space programme.
Their Seedbed residency allowed time to develop content ideas for an outdoor show, and to explore the practical possibilities around integrating video mapping projection with live dance performance and lighting design. They made use of animation, live feed and 3D camera.
101 created a large water pool, (as they had previously with choreographer and sound artist Darren Johnston), so that the team could explore projecting onto the surface of water, and also onto running water and spray.
Following on from their time at 101 the trio worked together further in Bangalore.
In July 2019 they presented several performances of A Small Dream at the Dorset Festival Consortium’s Under the Moon programme at Bournemouth, Sherbourne, and Nothe Fort, Weymouth.
This night time performance incorporated all the technical elements explored at 101 and told the story of a tiny Indian robot bound for the moon, inspired by India’s real life lunar ambitions and the rover they created and identified as female. Each performance was different, and audiences seeing all three could track the progress of the robot on her perilous 400,000 kilometre journey from the Earth to the moon.
Hemabharathy Palini combines training in Kuchipudi, Bharatanatyam, ballet, many strands of contemporary dance, Kalaripayattu, Yoga and Capoeira to create her own hypnotic, gracefully articulated movement style.
R&D STUDIO is a collaboration between Rachel Davies and Daniel Saul whose interdisciplinary practice embraces film, animation, documentary and performance to make work that is collaborative, inclusive and innovative.