Mint Dance Company Presents: 8½
I tend to be a little obsessive when it comes to the things that I make, and oftentimes it’s hard for me to enjoy the end result of my projects because all I see is the things I could’ve fixed or things I could’ve done better. Pieces of myself left behind
This project is the exception to that trend, and the reason is because it’s something WE made, and not something I made. I’m extremely proud of this film and extremely grateful to have a group of friends that were down to collaborate on it, even with a short timeframe, a rainy forecast, and an uncertain format.
The inception of this project was simply to make something expressing love. Love for my people, love for New York, love for the art that we’re able to share with each other and build together. Originally the concept was for a springtime look where everything was already green and in bloom, but rain on our filming day (and a late bloom this year in general) changed the plan. But I think things were meant to be that way, because it revealed to me what this story of this film was supposed to be: not something already in bloom, but the process of blooming itself. The pieces are all there for a reason and I love them because they’re real.
My life is constantly changing. My team is changing too, in ways that I’m excited about. I’m just trying to figure it out as I go. I’m not sure what’ll happen, but it’ll be fun to find out.
I can explain/I am yours,
Steven
Director and DP: Steven Ruggiero
Choreographers: Lina Tenenbaum, Emma Wong, Steven Ruggiero
PAs: Ally Klapak, Jae-Hee Wong
Dancers (in order credited): Gloria Yuen, Darren Manalastas, Sho Matsuzaki, Teresa Li, Tim Shaker, Constance Edmonds, Casey Zhang, Nadine Malek, Steven Ruggiero, Lina Tenenbaum, Ryan Pinn, Julia Dean, Kelly Cheung, Angie Chiraz, Amber Liu, Dana Dean, Burhann Short Jr., Jae-Hee Wong, Emma Wong, Morgan Wang, Kirtana Choragudi, Seun Oladipo
