Ideas of an Acrobat Film (2022)
Based on the Original Solo from 1970
Choreographed by Anna Sokolow
Images from the "Ideas of an Acrobat" film Shoot, October 2019.
Ideas of an Acrobat (2022)
Choreography: Anna Sokolow
Staging: Jim May with permission of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble based on the original solo from 1970
Dancer: Ella Rosewood
Director: Jason Bahling
Executive Producers: Jason Bahling and Ella Rosewood
Producer: Kat Cameron
Director of Photography: Zachary Mills
1st Assistant Camera: Pierrick Reiss
Gaffer: Erick Sorensen
Hair and Make Up: Jaime Torres
Costume Reconstruction: Cheryl Lovett
Production Assistants: Michael Eckblad and Jordan Ellis
Editor and Colorist: Jason Bahling
3DCG Environment: Andy Dayton
Compositing and Matchmove: Jason Bahling
Music: Gymnopédie No. 1 and Gnossienne No. 3
Composer: Erik Satie
Piano: Keika Mori
Poems: Paul Éluard
Voice: Jim May
Voice Recording: Jon Wohl
Inspired by René Magritte's 1928 painting The Acrobat's Ideas
Supported by Jody and John Arnhold and many other gracious donors.
Anna Sokolow (1910-2000) began her training at the Neighborhood Playhouse with Martha Graham and Louis Horst. In the 1930’s she was a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company and assisted Horst in his dance composition classes. During this period, in addition to her association with the WPA dance unit, she formed her own company and began choreographing and performing solo concerts and ensemble works. Sokolow’s interest in humanity led her to create works of dramatic contemporary imagery showing both the lyric and stark aspects of the human experience. She was a longtime faculty member of the Juilliard School in both the dance and drama divisions. Additionally, her work for the Mexican Ministry of Fine Arts grew to become the National Academy of Dance. In 1953 she was invited to Israel to work with Inbal Dance Company. Following that, she choreographed for the major dance companies in Israel including Batsheva, Kibbutz Dance Company, and Lyric Theatre. Sokolow also choreographed Broadway shows including Street Scene (1947), Camino Real (1953), Candide (1956), and the original Hair (1967).