Are You Hearing Me?

Inspired by tenebrist aesthetics of 17th century European painting where dramatically illuminated subjects emerge out of dark space, Are You Hearing Me? evokes a sense of the mystical and paranormal in a Hip Hop context. Creating an austere, classical aesthetic unencumbered by setting, the film presents contemporary freeform street dance in an intimate and uninterrupted hand-held cinematographic style. Converting life’s existential quandaries into sensual performance, Bruk Up dancer Albert “The Ghost” Esquilin melts into the sound, becoming visual music, meticulously precise and full of emotion. He expresses the full spectrum of the human experience—joy & pain; love & fear, and ultimately, life & death. The subtle neck lock (muscle contraction) is fundamental to his movement. Frames accent the beat and pivoting helps give identity to the body’s flow of motion. Combining forms, patterns, textures, and flows with facial expression, Ghost communicates in a transcendental spatial language based on smoothness, illusion and originality. Fusing Hip Hop bling with a taste for the occult, he is dressed in all black and adorned with the timeless sheen of gold. He also dons the white eyes of trance-possession, transcending the human realm. We never see Ghost’s feet; we are paradoxically confronted with dance disembodied, bringing our focus to the intention and feeling of the performance. Through the geometry of Ghost’s improvisatory dance style inspired by the irregular patterns of vapor and smoke, we are taken into the realm of the invisible.