Unique collaboration across continents produces a new music and dance video.
What is in a name? For MM2 Modern Dance Company, it was the revision and remake of its former existence as Music & Motion Dance. But half way across the world in Italy, a rock band MM2 The Band had formed in 1999, taking its name from a train station named Milan Metro Line 2 [MM2].
Thanks to social media, a series of email correspondence between MM2 Dance and MM2 The Band began and a unique collaboration began to unfold. MM2 dance would set choreography to the song, Poker Cheater, by MM2 The Band. This virtual project would be recorded to video and then be mixed to create a unique music video, which would play virtually as well as at live performances on both continents.
To assist with this project, MM2 Modern Dance hired notable choreographer and dancer Megan Mazarick [MM]. Megan, who resides in Philadelphia, was originally from Raleigh, North Carolina. She received her BFA in Dance from University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her MFA in Dance from Temple University. She has been an active dancer, choreographer and teacher in the Philadelphia region since 2004. Her awards and honors include Independence Fellowship, Live Arts Brewery Fellowship and the Ellen Forman Memorial Award. Her work has been presented at the Live Arts Festival, nEW Festival, Philadelphia Dance Projects, Community Education Center, Temple and Drexel Universities, Oberlin Dance Center, Southern Theater, Dance New Amsterdam, Triskelion Arts, Goose Route Dance Festival, Rowan University and The North Carolina Dance Alliance.
The actual filming of MM2 Modern Dance Company took place in Philadelphia with on location shoots at The Philadelphia Magic Gardens, Logan Square, The Historic Lansdowne Theater and Sycamore Park under the direction of Max Lipka of Sparrow Visuals. The final editing was done in Milan under M.LoRussian.
The final version of Poker Cheater was released on both YouTube and Vimeo and has been submitted to numerous dance video festivals both here in the United States as well as abroad on the European continent.
VIEW THE VIDEO ONLINE
YouTube: http://youtu.be/
Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/
The release of the video precedes MM2 Modern Dance Company’s upcoming tour in Florence, Italy scheduled for this coming Summer during the month of July under a WHW Foundation grant.
POKER CHEATER
Artistic Direction: Steven Weisz
Choreography:
MM2 Dancers: Jessica Bryan, Katelyn Capato, Jenna Faye Eugenides, Heather Fleischman, Angela Frezzo, Kaylee Goodwin, Jennifer Laucella, Brianne Scott and Matthew Varvar.
MM2 The Band: Efrem Giana, Giuliano Benaglio, Luca Benaglio, Samuele Ferrarese, Renato Gamba, Christian Giana, Roberto Pinneri, Andrea Rucci, and Vincenzo Rucci.
Videography:
Editing and Special Effects: M. LoRussian