Chris Downey-Asher Talks Art in Motion Choreography
Redbubble’s Art in Motion video is about unleashing the head-spinning, break-dancing and money-maker-shaking creative genius inside us all. But to help get this concept moving, we needed a choreographer who could lead the charge. We chatted with LA-based Chris Downey-Asher, who was the obvious choice to literally bring Art in Motion to life.
Chris Downey-Asher works with dancer Marissa Hart
What goes into choreographing a shoot like “Art in Motion”?
For this particular project, I had to find the fortes and strengths of each dancer so that we could showcase it the best. I called those the “power moves” — the movement or tricks that leave the audience on the edge of their seats, wanting more.
Can you tell us about the audition process?
The audition process was intense. We had about 250 talented dancers audition for this commercial. We ended up selecting dancers based off of their look and talent level. There were so many talented people that came out so it was extremely difficult for us to narrow it down. It took us about three days to find our cast! We are very happy with who we decided on, everyone was such a pleasure to work with.
Chris Downey-Asher (standing center) with the "Art in Motion" crew
Were you looking for specific dancing styles when casting the video?
No. We left the type and style of dance very open. We were looking for the best of the best. Interestingly enough, the styles we ended up going with naturally gave us the storyline of our video.
How did you integrate the products into the dances?
The Redbubble products were used as wardrobe for the dancers. The dancers were instructed and choreographed to showcase the product as best they could through their movement. In one specific shot, we actually had one of our dancers use a Redbubble scarf to beautifully create art through motion.
Dancer Marissa Hart during the shoot
What does “Art in Motion” mean to you?
“Art in Motion” is the movement and dance of a particular entity. This could be a human or it could be any object. It is the telling of the story and history of this object through movement. It is one thing to have an object or a product stationary, like in a print ad. But once you start to move that object through story, you give it life.
If you could share one piece of advice with Redbubble’s artists, what would it be?
When creating your piece of art, don’t just think about how it will look on the person, think about how it will move on a person. When your art is set in motion it will give an entire new feeling and emotion to your art. How will your art move? How does movement influence your art? Keep this in mind during your creation process.
Watch the full “Art in Motion” video right here:
