Cavernous
Directed by Laura Lamp & Kevin Tadge
Director of Photography Kevin Tadge
Choreographer Laura Lamp
Dancer Kelsey Taussig
Composer Wes Latta
This short documentary follows my 14-year-old cousin, Kelsey Taussig, as she discusses her experience after suffering a seizure due to a Cavernous Angioma. Kelsey describes the chaos of that night and the immediate aftermath as she walks and dances her way around Chetek, Wisconsin; the setting of our dance film of the same name shot 2 years earlier.
Laura Lamp previously won the Spirit of the Festival Award at Third Coast Dance Film Festival for her film CHETEK.
Interview with Directors Laura Lamp & Kevin Tadge
Describe, in as many or as few words as you see fit, the genesis of or inspiration behind Cavernous?
We’d made a couple of dance films with Kevin’s cousin before, but after she had a seizure and went to the hospital for a few days, we thought a dance film would be good way to share her frightening experience. We wanted to see how she would translate her emotions of that day into movement.
How long did Cavernous take to film? How long was post-production?
We filmed the interview with Kelsey as well as her dancing one evening near the 4th of July. We probably spent a couple of days editing over the next few months.
If this is your first dance for film production, what are a few things you learned about making a dance for film that surprised you? If this is not your first dance for film production, what are a few things that you are continually trying to refine or learn as you have sought to work thru this medium of dance and film together?
We are continually trying to find ways that the camera can dance along with the dancer. Camera movement adds another texture to the performer’s movement. We are also trying to experiment with what movements we want the audience to focus on and how that changes the dance as a whole.
What is interesting or intriguing to you about dance for film vs. dance for stage? Or, if you are coming from a film background and working with dance is a more new medium for you, what drew you to wanting to capture and work with dance?
Well, we’re a team of one dancer/choreographer and one filmmaker, so we’re approaching it from both sides. One part of that is thinking about how to show dance and what kinds of movement translates to the camera. The other part is what we mentioned before, which is trying to move the camera in a way that relates to the dance. The ideal we’re always aiming for is a kind of balance that creates something uniquely cinematic.
Are there any projects, dance film or otherwise, that you are working on currently that you would like to share with our audience?
We recently shot another more music video-esque film with Kelsey (who is still doing well!) and we are editing a series of short dances made for Instagram into a film that spans an entire trip to Spain. They’re both a bit lighter than Cavernous!