I unsuspectingly came upon the dance film 60pulses in my social media feed the other day, and it grabbed me instantly. Unlike any other dance film I’ve seen before, 60pulses takes the viewer on a strange, short foray that is fiercely original both in location and its use of sound. And the location is certainly unique – a rusty balcony overlooking an expanse of sea raging beneath it – one that is not easily navigable by a pedestrian, let alone used as a site for dance.
Conceived and directed by Aliki Chiotaki and choreographed and performed by Christina Mertzani with daring, featuring a sound/score by Dimitris Barnias, this short is visceral, uncompromising, and in your face. The dancer falls and hits the ground with no small amount of force suggested, such that for a moment I wondered if what ensues are her dying moments. As per the liner notes 60pulses is “about a female figure smashed into her own world, submitted to a bizarre journey of entrapment.” The sound – seemingly actually gleaned from the location – works both as sound effects as well as score as it is crafted into a kind of rhythm. The intensity of the movement is rich and works beautifully with the editing and varying angles of the camera work, both also by Chiotaki.
60pulses is singular, cool, and brilliant on its own terms.
Enjoy.