The Fits' Anna Rose Holmer Stages A Moonlight Ballet
Thursday, February 16, 2017 at 8:05AM Few films engender absolute aesthetic devotion on a widespread scale, pure love for a singular cinematic perspective that conjures a sense of ride-or-die allegiance from its viewers to the creators. In 2016, Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight and Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits were two of the most fervently beloved films of the year and luckily for fans of both they have converged in an orgiastic ballet that’s short enough to enjoy on your coffee break. In a feat of unexpected Persona-esque mind melding, Holmer and Moonlight’s Academy Award-nominated composer Nicholas Britell have crafted a dance tribute to Jenkins’ triptych of yearned identity with New York City’s Alvin Ailey Dance Theater: Just Dance: Moonlight x Alvin Ailey. In retrospect, the films have much more in common than meets the eye; after all, each visually explore – with absorbing and diamond-cut grace – the explosive unease that arises when you break out of the shell that your community expects you to inhabit. This is where Holmer's dance interpretation begins. It’s certainly thrilling to see Moonlight presented on a stage, where Tarell Alvin McCraney’s original roots began. Take a look for yourself and let us know how you feel: has Holmer captured Chiron’s transformative evolution through this physically formational medium?
