In January 2010, we spent a week shooting our first footage of dolphin and human dancing… and after many months of work, in late October, we released our first film, “Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins,” which won ‘Best Experimental Film’ at its world premiere at the Big Apple Film Festival! At two more festivals, the Colorado Environmental Film Festival and the International Underwater Film Festival of Beograd, the film was an audience favorite; it was given extra screenings due to popular demand!

Online, the trailers – in four languages on Vimeo and Youtube – have been viewed over 3000 times already (and all our clips combined have been viewed more than 15,000 times)!  The film itself can be downloaded and watched from our website – a higher quality (HD) version can be ordered as well, and received on a DVD, for a more substantial donation. There is even an option to send a download of the movie as a holiday e-card for Christmas, New Year’s, or whatever occasion you want to celebrate with a gift.

Thank you for helping us spread the word by continuing to forward the link for our trailer to your friends, tweeting it, facebook sharing it, liking it etc ….  or sending the movie itself as a holiday gift.

In 2011, there will be more screenings of “Together”. On January 27th at 6 pm, it will screen at the Big Screen Project, as part of the Dance on Camera Festival. The Big Screen Project is visible from the street between 28th and 29th Streets near 6th Avenue or the FoodParc or Eventi Hotel. The best viewing will be from Bar Basque, which will be hosting the Dance on Camera short film celebration. We will also have screenings at Ocean Inspiration, a celebration of Jacques Cousteau’s 100th birthday, and at Moviehouse (Brooklyn) in March. We are also on the program for the 25th anniversary of Performance Mix in April. We will continue to submit to other festivals – so please stay tuned for screenings in your city and/or country!

For the next phase of our project – the creation of a feature length dance film and documentary ‘Sharing the Dance‘ – we need a substantial amount of financial support.  We are actively seeking major donors – so please let us know of anyone who might be interested in supporting this important project.  They will not only help to create a uniquely beautiful work of inter-species artistic collaboration but also contribute to the conservation of wild dolphins and to a sea change in how humans think of their relationship to the natural world.

Over the next year, we will be publishing clips related to the development of this new work.  You will see clips of more human dancers, introductions to Spotted dolphins, interviews with scientists and dancer/choreographers, and insights that enrich one’s experience of watching human-dolphin interactions.

As this year comes to an end, we want to say ‘Thank You!!’ to everyone who contributed to the Dolphin Dance Project in its first amazing year, to all of our supporters and to the small but dedicated team that made “Together” happen.  And we express our deepest gratitude to all to the dolphins – on camera and off. The more I learn about our cetacean friends, the more I am awed.

Wishing you wonderful holidays…and a healthy and happy new year!

P.S.  As a holiday offering to our supporters, we have published a short children’s story about a lovable and adventurous dolphin who likes to go dancing everywhere.  ‘Can a Dolphin Dance There?’ was written originally for my little dancing friend Ari, but now you can read it online and share it with any little ones you think will like it.  You can also receive a printed copy (dedicated to whomever you would like) as a thank you for donations of $100 or more.

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At the Colorado Environmental Film Festival, where we (coincidentally) premiered on the same day, we received a second screening at the closing night session due to popular demand.

At both events, our film was recognized for its beautiful cinematography and moving images. We enjoyed responses like ‘very cool!’ and  ‘amazingly beautiful’ from our fellow filmmakers.

One Danish dancer/actor and his director said, “It is a really brilliant idea for a film, so interesting to have dancers and dolphins creating something together.”

We are more inspired than ever to share more dances and more of the context that illuminates how profound these interactions with wild dolphins are.

Thank you so much for your support!

And remember…if you didn’t catch it on the big screen, “Together” is available for download and on DVD – http://dolphin-dance.org/together

Please forward the link to any of your friends who might enjoy this award winning short.  Every download is a meaningful contribution to our future work.

Congratulations as well to our cast of Spinner Dolphins!  They are the real stars. Let’s work together to make sure all dolphins continue to thrive in the oceans we share with them!

P.S.  There were many excellent documentaries at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival.  Award winners, with messages that we support, include ‘Play Again’ about how important it is for children to experience the natural world in order to care for it and to be healthy, and ‘Milking the Rhino’ which explores conservation strategies for encouraging local communities in Africa to protect the wild life that lives among them.

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We are thrilled to share our very first film with you!

Every download supports the production of our next film…please download a copy and forward the link (tweet it, like it, buzz it, etc. too) to any of your friends who might enjoy this short, beautiful film of a tender relationship forged between a human and a wild dolphin, dancing together as equals.

On the “Together” page, you can also watch the trailer, edited and written by producer Benjamin Harley, translated into three languages (so far) thanks to our friends: Leina Sato (French), Marion Ramirez (Spanish), Chiho McBennett and Kiori Kawai (Japanese).  The trailers have been published to our channels on both Youtube and Vimeo.

Trailer looks best in high definition, click HD and fullscreen.

If you want to see, “Together” on the big screen, please join me and producer Loui Terrier at the Big Apple Film Festival in NYC or join producer Benjamin Harley at the Colorado Environmental Film Festival in Golden, CO on Saturday, November 6. Tickets are available at the festival websites.

There will be more screenings in the Spring of 2011 at the 25th annual Performance Mix and as a finalist in the Ocean Inspiration celebration of the 100th anniversary of Jacques Cousteau.  Please join our mailing list for regular updates about where to see “Together” and other video we produce.

On this celebratory occasion, I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to work on this special project, which has given me the chance to work with many wonderfully talented and dedicated people and make many new friends – both human and dolphin. I’m bursting with excitement about the next project already!

“Together: Dancing with Spinner Dolphins” was shot over 5 days in January 2010 in the Pacific Ocean with wild Spinner Dolphins. Bryce Groark is our amazingly talented cinematographer, and additional footage was shot by Brett LeMaster and Loui Terrier. Brett is a champion freediver, holding the North American record for the deepest dive on one breath. He and Leina Sato, who run Mele Nai’a Dolphinsong as well as production coordinator Richard Osburn were instrumental in facilitating our wild dolphin encounters. Kimio Wheaton did the original location research that took us to those beautiful blue waters.

Following the shoot, it took many months to edit the moments caught on camera into a true expression of the spirit of the dance that actually happened when I was underwater with the dolphins.  Tremendous thanks is due to Loui for sitting at my side for many hours and the inspiration from “The Sea VIII”, a soulful composition by Ketil Bjornson and performed with David Darling (courtesy of ECM). My mentor, Marta Renzi looked at lots of ‘versions’ along the way, and helped greatly with her experienced critical comments. Ben has also provided valuable advice and direction from the very first days of the project.  He asserted himself in the post-editing stage to ensure that we produced the most beautiful, highest quality film we could; the radiant look of the final film is, in large part, thanks to his efforts. The hard working post-production team also included Gisburg (sound) and her assistant Felipe, as well as Justin Grazioli. Post-production was supported by a finishing fund award from Dance Films Association. And this doesn’t begin to mention all the friends from whom we asked advice, or depended on for moral support!

The DVD available through our website features “Together” in its full 3 min+ format as well as the version that will be screened at the Ocean Inspiration event. It also includes “Reverie” another take – more whimsical and fast paced – on the dance with Spinner Dolphins. “Reverie” was edited by Todd Sali with post-production at his solar powered Sandbox Productions. The original score for “Reverie” is by Jonathan Beaudette.  As a bonus track, the DVD also contains a PSA-style video I shot to encourage the protection of dolphins.

With the support of so many generous supporters, our first film demonstrates the beauty and value of documenting these extraordinary co-creations between humans and wild dolphins. Less than one year after the we initiated the Dolphin Dance Project, we are well on our way to producing the more extensive film and documentary that these dances deserve. Hooray! It is only a shame that the dolphins can’t watch (…although Ben is working on changing that!)

Thank you, dolphins! Thank you, everyone!

Please enjoy the film…and leave comments about it on this blog.  I look forward to any thoughts you might like to offer!

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(if you enjoy this clip, please rate it on youtube; you can also see it and a breakdown of the interaction in our new gallery.)

On that morning the ocean had quieted after days of high surf. Leaving the harbor at sunrise, we quickly found dolphins cavorting in a bay not far away. The dolphins must have had a good night of fishing as many dolphins were playful and interactive, not yet resting, even though that is what they had come to the bay to do. As we slowly and carefully approached in the boat, several dolphins gathered around, spy hopping to see us. The water was not very clear, churned up by the surf from the days before…but I could hear the dolphins chattering as soon as I entered the water.  As I glided towards the chatter, seven dolphins quickly surrounded me…inviting me for a swim in their midst! Leina and Ben joined me in the water… as did, eventually, Kasumi and Patrice. And the dolphins seemed to enjoy us all. Often separating into twos and threes, those seven dolphins stayed with us for over an hour that morning…leading us this way and that…diving down with us…and circling around…choreographing us in a lovely dance. The clip you see here is just one moment from this human-dolphin dance.

Moments like this are incredibly precious – but not actually rare. Dolphins seem to be as attracted to us as we are to them, and often approach us with great trust. Still, I think footage like this is quite uncommon, and perhaps that is because this moment is really a ‘trio’ between the dolphin, me and Brett, who was filming. As we dance, I am following the dolphin’s lead…and I hardly know where Brett is. So it had to be Brett, who positioned himself just so…and the dolphin who had to lead me towards Brett.

No doubt it was helpful that Brett is a veritable ‘dolphin magnet’! As Brett stayed many feet below, holding the camera – and his breath, for what sometimes seemed an incredibly long time – I often saw the dolphins circling over his head in seeming admiration.

Please rest assured that as we pursue the Dolphin Dance Project we are always diligent about dolphin ‘etiquette’ – as everyone who swims with dolphins should be. Our encounters with wild dolphins are completely voluntary; we never coerce them in any way. Only the dolphins’ generosity and curiosity leads our interactions. If you have the opportunity to meet wild dolphins – please follow these guidelines, which also guide us. They were written by Kathleen Dudzinski, PhD who has conducted one of the longest standing field research projects on wild dolphins and is quite expert in interacting with wild dolphins.

In my experience, wild dolphins of all kinds are amongst the most generous and inviting ‘cultural groups’ that a person could ever hope to encounter. Indeed, visiting dolphins is a little like visiting a foreign country. The more I learn about the ‘local’ culture – through books, videos, or observation – the better I can ‘fit in’…be polite…and have the best social interactions possible.

Thank you for viewing my very first video clip! I hope you enjoyed it and that you will enjoy the series of clips that I will post soon! I am very interested in your reactions…so please post any and all of your comments…anything that strikes you…or any questions that may come up

In the next few weeks, I’ll be posting more clips from the Dolphin Dance Project. As I do so, I’ll tell you more about our experiences with the filming and also about any relevant scientific knowledge regarding dolphins. I hope this will inspire increased interest and regard for our incredible dolphin friends. And I hope this will lead us to consider dolphins in our daily lives: what we eat, what fuels we use, what we do with our garbage, and so many other human activities, affect the well being of dolphins, the oceans in which they live, and the planet we all share.

And thanks again to all who are making this Dolphin Dance Project possible…truly a dream come true. Thanks to Heather Delaney and Kimio Wheaton for helping procure the necessary hard- and software for this endeavor, my crew for their continued help and support, my donors – those of you whose generous donations helped pay for our trip! – Bryce, Kasumi, Patrice, Leina and Brett…and above all, the Pacific Spinner Dolphins!

May we all dance together for a long time to come!

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Leaping into our first project last week, we felt a bit like this little baby dolphin, pink-bellied with excitement. Perhaps our ‘leaps’ were not as beautiful or complicated as the leaps of the older, more seasoned dolphins in the pod…but like this little one, we worked very hard and had a great time doing so!

This entry is the first trip report from our recent pilot project. In the coming weeks, I’ll be posting more stories, photos and video…please enjoy them all!

On this first project, we worked with hundreds of wild, Pacific Spinner Dolphins. How can I adequately thank them for their inspiration and likely unwitting, yet often quite willing participation? No matter how often I encounter them, I am always taken by what feels like their incredible generosity. The dolphins seem so accepting of us humans, despite our limitations. I hope that the footage we have shot shows this adequately, and helps to remind us all about the importance of accepting ourselves.

On one memorable morning, our boat was surrounded by a huge pod – we estimated about three hundred dolphins. Even the boat captain, who runs dolphin trips daily, was impressed by their sheer number. The surf was way up that morning; huge turquoise waves topped with whipping white froth crashed onto the ragged coastline. The dolphins seemed to be charged with the same energy as those huge waves, racing down the coast in great numbers. Stenella longiris are called ‘Spinners’ for a reason – and they demonstrated it with great exuberance that morning. We marveled as the dolphins made double, triple and even quadruple spins as they leapt into the air – bellies pink with excitement. Having made a series of multiple spin jumps, one dolphin spy hopped, pushing his face out of the water as if to take a bow. Of course, we clapped and cheered in appreciation. We whooped at the little baby dolphins who flopped head over tail as they leapt. We were all swept up in a moment of celebration.

Eddie was our captain that morning, and he skillfully ran the boat at just the right speed and in just the right position to keep pace with the energetic pod. (This is no small skill…sometimes you see tourist boats really chase the dolphins, and then you understand why we have the US Marine Mammal Protection Act!)  In seeming appreciation of Eddie’s sensitivity, the dolphins surrounded the boat, letting us feel that we had been invited to join the dolphin party. Groups of dolphins came to ride the bow, then swam off so another group could visit the boat. At one point, I leaned over the side, singing to my dolphin friends. A mother, baby and auntie swam near the boat whistling their own tune, perhaps in reply. Thank you, dolphins – for this and for so many beautiful moments last week, that gave us the opportunity to feel as if we could join in and feel joyously one with your spirited energy and the beauty of planet Earth!

I am also grateful for my crew who unquestioningly swam into uncharted waters with me last week. Producer and DP Loui Terrier had his keen eye (and camera) on everything from the moment we arrived at JFK airport on the way out of NYC. It was great to have Loui taking the lead on all things above water so that I could stay focused on the proceedings underwater. Thank you, Loui, for your expert collaboration! I’m looking forward to our continued efforts together!

Rick Osburn, a friend I met in Kona last year, stepped in to act as our excellent production coordinator. On the boat, Rick was always ready with a big warm towel – a beautiful Vancouver Olympic one, no less – to make sure I didn’t freeze between takes. Thanks to another friend, Scott Bibeault who generously lent us his truck for the week, Rick took us everywhere we wanted or needed to go….on the road (and on one occasion, even on the boat), Rick was our ‘captain’ and we’re thankful for that.

And it was wonderful to have Ben Harley join the trip at the last minute. Although he has been collaborating in all kinds of ways from early on, he wasn’t planning to come until he realized it would give me the opportunity to see how dolphins would respond to more than one dancer in the water. Without a title, he just lent his expertise where ever needed. His technical abilities were so helpful in managing our digital media and footage. He shot great photos (two right here and more to come!). And yes, he danced with dolphins with me…that was the best part. In the pilot film, you will mostly see me with the dolphins. But the few dances that Ben and I had with the dolphins really showed me the potential for directing a work with multiple dancers. It is already clear in my mind that the future group work will be even more beautiful and meaningful than the lovely pilot film on which we are working now.

Aside from all the practical assistance that Loui, Rick and Ben volunteered, they were also always there with gentle encouragement when things went wrong or I got stressed out (which was much more often than I ever expected!)…and I am ever so grateful for that. And thank you, guys for multiplying the joy when the dolphin dance grooved just as I had dreamed!

I also want to thank our expert underwater cinematographer Bryce Groark of Living Ocean Productions. Friends and fans – you will be blown away at the beautiful images that Bryce caught…sunlight in the water…and of course, dancing with the spirited dolphins.

I send thanks to our boat captains as well. I thank Eddie for our three hundred dolphin morning. And I thank Brett LeMaster and Leina Sato for going far beyond our expectations and really becoming a part of the Dolphin Dance Project. Aside from their involvement at our secret location, Brett and Leina usually run dolphin trips on the Kona coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. If you ever have the chance to visit Kona, don’t miss the opportunity to meet dolphins with Brett and Leina’s Mele Nai’a Dolphin Song. Brett is a champion free diver who still holds the North American record, having dived to over 200 feet on one breath. Leina is the dolphin guide, and both of them have a very special and beautiful connection with the ocean and with dolphins in particular. They can help you encounter dolphins in a way that is sensitive to their needs. Leina is working on a book and DVD about connecting with dolphins – so we had much in common. You might even see us in each other’s work very soon – so please stay tuned! Thank you, Brett and Leina – without your expertise and help, we would never have been able to capture the footage we wanted. I am deeply touched by your incredible support.

I also want to thank Annabel Edwards and Mayumi Marks – mermaids both – who generously offered me shelter in their homes in Hawaii after the shoot. Annabel was a student of Brett’s and she and daughter Jessica are the core of the US women’s free diving team. Over tasty fish tacos (Annabel speared the fish), we enjoyed receiving diving tips and exciting spear fishing stories. Mayumi is a spiritual healer, and she and husband Richard took me to swim with dolphins in Maui after my week of filming. What a lovely respite!

And let me not forget to thank the many of you who tried to keep in touch by email while I was on location…sorry for the delayed responses while I was without internet!

There is much more to tell…more photos to show…and of course, lost of video…and these are coming soon! For now, let me close this entry with a story about our last day of shooting – a session that was actually an extra day made possible thanks to Brett and Leina’s generosity.

Leina had organized a special trip, inviting her mother, Kasumi and her friend Patrice Levallois  to join. Wonderfully enlightened and creative souls, Kasumi and Patrice are collaborating on interesting projects, one of which has to do with the power of our intentions. As we readied ourselves for that final boat ride, Kasumi took me aside. Peering up at me, but seeming as though she could look into my heart, she asked me what my intention was for that morning. You must have a single focus, she told me…now, could I tell her what it is? I was caught off guard by her directness, but glad, in a way to have to affirm my intentions, for I had felt they had wandered unexpectedly during the preceding two days of shooting (more about our challenges in upcoming blogs!). I told Kasumi that I wanted to share a dance with the dolphins. She nodded at me, taking the role of a wise teacher, and reminded me that the dolphins and I must be as one. That is what is important, she repeated – becoming One. Yes, I agreed, I need to stay focused on creating harmony…between species, amongst humans, within myself…

Kasumi helped me focus on an incredibly powerful and helpful intention that morning. It seemed to unify the ‘human pod’ and helped us meet the dolphins with just the right attitude of playful collaboration. I have yet to review the footage from that day but it was wonderfully satisfying to end our filming with such a great session…harmonious humans and friendly dolphins!

I’ll stop here for now…but please stay tuned…more stories from the shoot and some sneak preview footage of the first dolphin dance will be on their way very soon!

Aloha, Chisa

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