Helen Simoneau came to Nel Shelby Productions saying she wanted to make a film with us.

It was the first time Christopher had the opportunity to film on my new gear. An extra bonus for us to work together. With two kids and full lives, it kind of felt like a date for us! LOL.

Helen’s main objective was to show her creative process for her new work, Delicate Power. She wanted to speak to both the concept behind the work and the way she was working with dancers in building the piece.

As Helen explains in the video, “Because of the nature of the uncertainty of this moment, I’ve been working in these research labs, and so rather than having an audition and deciding who I want to work with I wanted to open the doors to new dancers … people I’ve worked with for a long time or several people I haven’t worked with but I’m curious about…”

When we first edited this video, it was longer than we anticipated it would be. So, we worked with Helen to cut it into two separate videos instead: one about the way she was working in these research labs with different dancers, and one about the power dynamics she’s thinking about as a theme for the piece.

After consulting with Amy Jacobus Marketing (Amy’s team manages my marketing and also works with Helen), we decided the original video that speaks about both process and concept tells a more complete story.

The film editing process is not a straight path — sometimes you revisit cuts from earlier drafts because you realize you need them for the story.

Helen’s work, Delicate Power, will premiere June 23 at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina. You can read more about her choreography and process on her website.