Back at the beach

Sam and I met briefly at her house. I played her the song, told her my ideas about the concepts and timing of the choreography, and left her to brainstorm by herself for a few days. We agreed to meet the following Monday. She suggested we review the choreography on the beach, since that was the only way to know whether or not it would work on the actual shoot. Logistically, it was a brilliant idea. And it felt really right to return to the ocean, since the ocean was the essence of the piece.

A few days later, we drove out to the windswept Albany bulb, a lovely little beach lined with running dogs, tall eucalyptus groves, and wild junk art. It was a beautiful sunny day. We found our spot on the sand, and she showed me what she had. It was exactly the style of dance I was looking for. She had not copied the Kathak choreography, but had clearly been inspired by it. She also drew inspiration from the lyrics of the song; highlighting a few words that spoke to her, stringing those words together in a poem, and transforming the reconstructed poem into a dance. Additionally, we devised themes for each of the verses. Since there were five sections of choreography for each verse, we decided to make the first verse a tribute to the elements and the second a tribute to the senses. Again, we were taking Kathak-related themes, riffing off them, and creating our own original choreography. She taught me the steps, which I learned so I could perform them for Ken, the storyboard artist, and Maya, the DP, in order to brainstorm storyboards and shots.

After Sam and I parted, I excitedly listened to the song, re-envisioning the music video with the new choreography. I had found my choreographer at last. My troubles were over, and the project would prevail. At least, so I thought.