Timber. Iron. Sinew.

A dance film for Company E's Sister Cities partnership with Sunderland, England — dance for the camera meeting the great eras of shipbuilding.

Performers in white shirts and flat caps in a Sunderland shipyard, one kneeling in a lunge — Filming in a Sunderland shipyard.

Year 2017Disciplines Video Production, Dance

Timber. Iron. Sinew. is a dance-for-camera project made with Company E for the 2017 Sister Cities partnership with Sunderland in the UK, where dance meets the region's history of shipbuilding. I worked as videographer, choreographer, performer, and co-director.

The “Iron” section was choreographed by Diana Amalfitano with me and Paul Gordon Emerson, set to an original score by Barry Hyde and featuring eighteen dancers from Sunderland College. The film premiered at the Sunderland Shorts Film Festival.

Boris Willis lit by dappled light, looking upward — Boris Willis — film still.

A dancer in a waistcoat reaches an arm skyward in a sunlit field — Reaching skyward on location.

Performers in white shirts and flat caps in the shipyard, one kneeling in a lunge — Performers in the Sunderland shipyard.

Dancers in period workwear and flat caps gathered outside a red-brick building — Dancers from Sunderland College between takes.

A drone operator films dancers spread across the factory floor — Filming with an aerial drone on the floor.

A director cues dancers as a drone sits grounded in the foreground — Directing a sequence for the camera.

Industrial plasma-cutting machinery on the shipyard floor — Among the shipyard machinery.

Three people scouting a location inside the factory hall — Scouting the location.

Boris Willis with two collaborators on set in Sunderland — On set in Sunderland.

Company E · Videographer / choreographer / performer / co-director, Boris Willis · Score, Barry Hyde