The stirring short, titled Siren, was directed by Jess Kohl and features an original score by Isobel Waller-Bridge
Simone Rocha has teamed up with Royal Ballet principal dancer Francesca Hayward for a stirring new short film. Released in the wake of the designer’s Spring/Summer 2022 show, the three-minute feature, titled Siren, was created as part of this year’s Films.Dance festival – a free event championing “global creativity and collaboration” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Rocha worked on the wardrobe for the film, with Jess Kohl taking the role of director. The clip itself follows Hayward as she dances, alone, in a cavernous concert hall, to an original score by Isobel Waller-Bridge. As the music swells, the choreography becomes more erratic – her graceful movements glitching and jerking – with the opulent setting morphing into an industrial wasteland.
The Films.Dance festival was organised by the LA-based Jacob Jonas The Company, and features work from over 250 artists from over 25 countries. The collaborations are diverse, connecting artists from a range of genres, disciplines, abilities and experiences. Other contributions include a Tokyo-set film on acrobatics, scored by Patrick Watson (Because We Are Strange Creatures) and a collaboration between two modern dance icons, Jonah Bokaer, former dancer of Merce Cunningham, and Michael Trusnovec, former dancer of Paul Taylor Dance Company (Neptune’s Dream).
“We are thrilled to be expanding our global arts community, fostering more non-traditional collaborations across artistic mediums, and continuing to engage digital audiences in innovative ways,” said Jacob Jonas, Executive Producer of Films.Dance in a statement. “We look forward to launching this new round of 15 films.”
Watch Siren in full below, or find out more about the Films.Dance festival here.
