ShaLeigh Dance Works’s film A Thousand Ways to Say Hello explores the intersection of screen and three-dimensional world. The heart of the work resides in dissolving what feels like barriers – freed through an ethos tied to sharing the experience as wholly as possible.
A Thousand Ways to Say Hello is a poetic virtual performance that is devoted to exploring the boundaries of connection within a virtual space. In a time when we must be distant, we asked ourselves, how can we assemble, share weight, share power, and care for our bodies and each other? How can we reorient ourselves within a virtual space and a chaotic world? The work explores the line between distance and proximity, and how the most intimate moments can arise from finding new ways of making contact and showing up.
The work was filmed entirely on phone cameras in two locations—Durham, NC and San Juan, PR. It blends movement generated by each of the artists with original sound scores by Mike Wall.
A Thousand Ways to Say Hello was supported by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, and Durham Arts Council, local grants administrator.
Estimated Run Time: 20 minutes