Lil Buck in Roll Box

It’s a day post-election and I awoke with a feeling of dread, a feeling of being boxed in by the small mindedness of this country, and the ease with which the American people seem capable of being duped. I wanted to share something that would help resurrect some joy, some hope, some positivity in all of us who were looking forward to not being trumped. I looked through my database and found Roll Box, a short by Jacob Sutton featuring Lil’ Buck and thought, this.

Lil Buck defies gravity
Lil Buck defies gravity

Borrowing conceptually from Stanley Donen’s Royal Wedding and its groundbreaking, apparently gravity defying “Dancing on the Ceiling” scene, we see dancer Lil’ Buck in a beautifully crafted wooden box shaped room, wherein the floors become ceilings and walls and vice versa. I had the privilege of knowing and working with Stanley years ago while at the Dance/Film Lab at Sundance, and I remember him saying that he had weeks of rehearsal, something that is largely unprecedented now for a single scene in a film. While it appears more a trick of incredibly precise, astute, and well-done editing rather than a room that actually rotated (as I know was the case in Royal Wedding), it is short, powerful, and incredibly well done. Lil’ Buck is phenomenal and Sutton uses all his most powerful movement. Although this short may read more like an expression of angst and frustration than of hope and joy, it is beautiful, powerful, and I think apropos.
Enjoy and keep up hope.
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https://youtu.be/e2-oHmUZYL0

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