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Six Gestures from 'Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach'

Directed by Patricia Rozema
Canada, 1997 (documentary, 53 minutes, colour, English)
Also known as "Six Gestures (Suite No. 6)"
Six Gestures from 'Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach'
Image: © patriciarozema.com

Film Description:
"In 'Six Gestures' (Suite No. 6), ice dancers and Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean join Yo-Yo Ma in the last of the Suites, in which the cellist believes Bach most dramatically 'stretched the envelope' of musical possibilities. 'Six Gestures' takes its inspiration directly from Bach's life and experience, as filtered through Ma's performance. Torvill, Dean, and the film's director Patricia Rozema chose a distinct gesture for each of the Suite's movements—'looking upward' in the Prelude, 'looking inward' in the Allemande, 'hands and feet working' in the Courante, 'hand stroking the face' in the Sarabande, 'mannered and courtly gestures' in the Gavotte, and 'flight' or rebirth in the Gigue."
-- patriciarozema.com (source)

Film Credits (partial):
Written by: Patricia Rozema
Principal Cast: Tom McCamus
Participants: Yo-Yo Ma, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean
Cinematography: André Pienaar
Production Company: Rhombus Media
(sources)

Quote about Six Gestures from 'Yo-Yo Ma Inspired by Bach'

"Using direct address with Bach, played by Tom McCamus, speaking to the audience, she constructs a filmic essay, footnotes and all. Combining dramatic enactments, with documentary style interviews, intimate direct address, Yo-Yo Ma's cello performance, the figure skating of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, and graffiti messages, [Patricia] Rozema creates a truly polyphonic structure."
-- Agata Smoluch Del Sorbo (source)

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