UNDERSTANDING EXIT WOUNDS
Chapter 2: Jordan Moser- Behind the Lens
The sun lights the bedroom of Jordan Moser’s house in Wimberley, Texas, as he directs the dancers of Ballet Austin to move while he sets up the scene for his upcoming film. As he places his eyes on the camera viewfinder, Moser says, “Ready, set, action.”
Moser is a former Ballet Austin dancer who retired from the professional company last season. He grew up in California and moved around the world to dance before settling in Austin. Today, he serves in Ballet Austin’s marketing department as an audience content creator with a special focus on developing multimedia content, a new career that leverages both his artistic background and freelance experience in film and music production. Stephen Mills, Ballet Austin’s Sarah & Ernest Family Fund artistic director, is a stated fan of Moser’s work, saying, “I have been so impressed by the work of Jordan Moser that I just really wanted to have the opportunity to work with him on this.” Mills has commissioned Moser to work on three films that will be included in his new world-premiere dance work, Exit Wounds, which debuts April 6–8 at the Long Center. The work explores the choice between fear and courage and how that choice impacts the way we live our lives. It’s told in three parts, each chapter based on an extreme act of courage Mills witnessed in his own life.
I talked with Moser about his process of creating these films and what the project means to him as a multi-dimensional artist.
Gattozzi: What do the films mean for the experience of the show? You and Stephen Mills are creating something that has not been done before. What does it mean to create this experience for the audience?
Moser: Well first and foremost, the collaboration with Stephen has been amazing, and I have taken it upon myself to do justice to his stories. He is very vulnerable to share these parts of his life that I feel like people do not actively unearth (and make art out of) as often as might it be helpful. When you are working in heavy subject matter like this — in the act of creation and in the act of breaking it all down into its parts — you are empowered to move past certain aspects of it. That is what I think is so cool about what Stephen is doing. What he is doing is an act of courage.
When Stephen asked me to do the film, I was honored with his trust in my capabilities to do this project, but I knew that we had to do it right. So, in the very beginning, I got my friend Emily Cross, who is a musician and a death doula, who helped moderate an initial session where we recorded Stephen telling his stories, and it was much more non-linear. It was a deepening experience so that Stephen and I could get around these big ideas and start to focus in on details of the stories.
Gattozzi: I believe the film part has impacted decisions in how the choreography is being developed in the studio because you have been working intensely with the stories and the narrations of them. You used to be a dancer here at Ballet Austin, so what has the process been working with Stephen been like for you in this new role? Have there been any differences as a dancer versus being the filmmaker?
Moser: Working on the initial structures with Stephen was a huge learning experience for me because my experiences with Stephen were from the inside as a dancer. I think that he excels at work that yields the maximum impact story-wise. I knew from the get-go that I had a lot to learn from him as a conceptual artist. He has done so many diverse projects that stand firm. It was interesting at first because I expected him to have — I mean he did have a structure, but seeing how it has progressed up to now — I wouldn’t have expected him to change stuff. He knew what he wanted the show to focus on, but he was open to seeing many different options or possibilities as to how to get there. So, the order and the material in the films has been shuffled around. Even some of the material from the films are, I think, ending up in the dance now which is interesting.
Gattozzi: You mentioned being a dancer for Stephen…How has being a dancer helped you direct these films?
Moser: I think that from a dancer’s perspective, anytime we do photos or videos it is strenuous. It much more strenuous often than the person taking the photos or videos recognizes. I tried to make sure that the dancers who are my friends and family knew that my priority was to protect them and made sure they felt comfortable enough to delve into the content. When you are a dancer, when you are doing a show like this, you have a few weeks to work your way up to the show. When you are working on a film, you have to understand it as if the performance is today. So that is something I really made sure I did before each filming, to really set the mood and give the dancers as much information about what I was trying to put across as possible. Dancers respond to so much and are such amazing creatures. You give dancers anything, and they take it and run with it. That presents a challenge in a process like this, which is unfolding over a long period, because once you give the dancer a piece of information they go beyond, and it’s really hard to walk that back. Before each filming, I made sure I was clear with what I said. I am still learning; I am no master in this craft of communicating ideas sufficiently.
Gattozzi: How do you feel this experience has shaped you as an artist, not just as a filmmaker, but more holistically? Not only digesting Mills’ stories…have some of your own stories come up and how have you dealt with that?
Moser: Well Stephen has really challenged me in the very beginning to be intentional. I would come to him with an idea — just hoping that it would spark some idea for him — but he really wanted to hear the intention behind what such and such image would be, and so that really got me thinking. I knew that the pace for this film was going to be a lot slower than anything that I have done before. I am usually trying to make something that is exciting and engaging in as short of a time as possible. But this film is something that needs to unfold over a longer piece of time. That has been something, too, that I am learning from Stephen.
As far as intentions that I have come to, I have taken parts of his stories and weaved off into my own direction and my own metaphors. Stephen said, “Don’t feel like you have to show every part of what I am saying. I want you to represent the stories through visual metaphors,” which is really what his dance is. He has given me a view of how his imagination works as far as telling stories, which has been super valuable. My intentions have also sparked Stephen and his imagination, which has been able to create a cool dynamic between the two of us in order to make the work as rich and universal as possible!
Gattozzi: What do you hope for in the audience when they get to the theater to watch this show, Exit Wounds?
Moser: Most of all, I want people to come to the show and be on a journey with us — Stephen and all the artists that he is collaborating with on this production. I want them to take a journey that may seem uncomfortable at first, but to know that we are trying to uncover the beauty that can be revealed in painful experiences. I want to invite people to come with an open mind.
Gattozzi: Let’s say the audience is open, where do you want to see the audience go with this production after they watch it? What is the possible impact this piece of dance has on the community?
Moser: I think it is evident that Stephen is calling people to be courageous. You don’t recognize someone for being courageous without the subtext of, “You can be courageous, too.” My films have the objective to set up Stephen to drive the message of courage home.
Gattozzi: What does Exit Wounds mean to you as a human being? How will it define you and how has it defined you on a more holistic level?
Moser: I have always had a hand in any artistic medium that I could find, and I am just amazed that I have found myself in a place where a year ago I was a dancer in the company, and now I am working with the artistic director. I am honored and grateful to have the opportunity to learn and create. That is what I have done with the time that I have had and creating is what I want to do with the rest of the time that I have, to continue to create and learn little lessons for myself through making art in any medium. I have done commissioned music for choreographers that was very enriching. I am going to start doing a little choreography soon. More and more, this experience has deepened my fascination with the process of creating visual dance work, whether that be on stage or in film, and all of the ways to approach the vast possibilities that are there.
EXIT WOUNDS
World Premiere commissioned by Dr. Beverly Dale
APRIL 6–8 | the Long Center
Choreography by Stephen Mills
Music by Claude Debussy, Graham Reynolds, Bryce Dessner, and Joby Talbot
Join the conversation! Share on Facebook or Twitter a time when you witnessed someone choose courage and tag it with #ChooseCourageATX.
This article is written by Matthew Gattozzi (@therealgattozz) who dances as an apprentice for Ballet Austin.
