Artist Spotlight - Kate Mitchell
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!
Kate Mitchell is a Director, Co-Choreographer and Set designer based out of Oakland, CA. Her film “Golden” was an official selection of our 2020 film fest.
How did you get into dance filmmaking?
Like most of my projects- collage, sculptural couture, writing, and collaborations (dance/theater/photography), the idea of filming dance came into my head unannounced and wouldn't let me go...which meant I needed to pursue it!
What draws you to dance filmmaking?
As a dancer and choreographer, I've always longed for more closeness between performers- particularly dancers -and live audiences. Unless you're sitting in the first few rows of the theater, you miss the subtleties of each dancer's way of using her (his/their) body and expressive self. What thrills me about presenting a dancer and dance on screen is that it enables the audience not only to see the dancer's moving body in all its facets, but also to experience the dancer's inner life directly- to enter the world where she resides, to see as she sees, feel as she feels, and touch as she touches. Film provides the incredible opportunity of portraying these things in the most tactile and visceral way possible.
What do you want the world to know about your art?
Color and texture, beauty and strangeness, and the expressive power of the human body all excite me, and shape my passion for expressing the contradictions and incongruities of growing up female.
Is there anything else that you would like us to share?
It was a thrill for me that my film, GOLDEN, was included in the festival! As a first-time filmmaker, that validation gives me the confidence to make another film, and to continue to learn and create as an artist.
You can find more about Kate and her work at http://www.katemitchell.org/
Instagram @katemitchellcreative
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FW111613
Images provided by Kate Mitchell