Artist Spotlight - Adele Thomas

Throughout the years we’ve met incredible people within the dance film community. We have decided to do an interview series to spotlight these individuals. 

Adele Thomas is a Director, Producer, Writer, and Editor based in Los Angeles, CA, and Vancouver, BC. Her film “She” was an official selection of our 2020 film fest.

How did you get into dance filmmaking?

I started shooting dancers when I lived in Sydney Australia between 2009-2011. At the same time, I was working in a photography studio and we had a dance center called Harbour Dance Centre literally adjacent to our studio. Now I look back and see how remarkably serendipitous that was. I shot the dancers in studio and also on location, which I realized I much preferred to the studio lighting. They felt more cinematic and less contrived outside in natural light. I picked up the photography dance project again in Vancouver BC Canada, however this time with a little more structure and planning behind the series I wanted to capture. I decided I'd like the dance images to relate to the five primordial elements (Fire, water, earth, air & ether), all shot on location so that the location became entwined with the dancer and the element. I exhibited this series in a small gallery in Vancouver in 2018 called 'The Truth Is' - an excerpt from the artist statement: "The dance is symbolic to the elements, and emphasizes that we come of the earth, not "into" it. By exploring powerful movement and intuitive self expression, the dancer truly embodies the connection to one or more of the elements. This series unites the female form in their strength, in their power, and in their beauty, as captured in the fantastical art form of dance." The full dance series can be found here: https://adelethomas.com/dance After the exhibit I set out to capture dance movement on film as the stills images although beautiful only captured one moment in time. I decided on the storyline for 'She' after a long journey of reading books on mythology and reading several 'hero's' journey myths. Truth be told I could only really find one story that pulled me into its grip that represented the feminine version of the hero. It was of the Sumerian goddess Innana of love, sex, war, justice, and political power. The ultimate feminist! In the tale she has to pass through seven gates where she is stripped of all material possessions and attachments and plunges into the underworld where she is killed by her sister, only to be brought back by two sexless gods that revive Innana with the food and water of life. With my interpretation, I wanted to portray a journey we can all relate to when we've gone through hardship, grief, or something deeply dark in our lives. Entering into Dante's furnace and then resurfacing is always a life changing experience.

What inspires you as an artist?

Everything and anything to be honest. It could be a person, or something a person has said, something I have read or watched. I love folk tales, myths, art, dance, music, and of course film but I especially feel inspired when in nature.

What draws you to dance filmmaking?

I love watching the fluidity of how a dancer moves and I think documenting it on film is so breathtakingly captivating! Stories have always been told through music and dance as a way of communication for thousands of years. The fact it is a form of communication without words is so profound! My hope in creating films like 'She' is to share this thought provoking imagery to uplift and inspire people.

How does architecture or location play a role in your films?

The location is very important to portray the story being told. For me in the film 'She', I wanted to show our modern world and how it eats us up. Pulls us in all kinds of directions. We all feel so attached to our modern world but we're never truly free when we're in it. When my dancer leaves the city it's almost as if the city is a material possession that she can't let go of. She needs to strip it away, lose the attachment to it, like everything else and find peace in nature.

What is your favorite quote?

"Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.." - Joseph Campbell

Is there anything else that you would like us to share?

I'm always open to collaboration on projects, especially those that inspire and uplift.

You can learn more about Adele and her work here https://adelethomas.com/

Instagram @adelethomas_photo

Images provided by Adele Thomas