Dancer, Understudy for all dance roles, Choreography documentation (Flash visualization) ![]() Moment of Flight, choreographed by Rob Petres of Ground Zero Dance Company, is an intense, 30-minute performance piece celebrating human physical capability. The work gradually builds in power and complexity until the six-member cast is literally running across the steeply-slanted walls of the set in ever-changing patterns. As dancer and universal understudy, I needed to know my own choreography while being ready to step into any of the other dancers' roles as needed. To keep from becoming disoriented, I had to understand how all the interdependent parts fit together to form the work as a whole, but also be able to switch perspectives and focus on the details of performing a single specific role from beginning to end. In meeting this challenge, I made myself a resource for others. Over the months of cast training and practice, I documented Petres' developing choreography (including variations between the the two casts) and maintained a website where cast members could catch up on missed information and review their parts. To aid myself and others in visualizing the "big picture," I also created a quick-and-dirty flash animation of the choreography as seen from a bird's-eye view of the stage. I expanded and altered the animation over time as new choreography was completed. Moment of Flight premiered April 1, 2005 at Live Arts Theater in Charlottesville, VA, to sold-out audiences and standing ovations during an 8-day run. Links |