September 1, 2007
David Fishel’s Dance Fever
By Denise Tong
On August 30, 2007, a bespectacled man danced to Labelle’s Lady Marmalade in front of the Statue of Liberty. Tourists watched him, puzzled; they couldn’t hear the music or guess why he was dancing.
Such was the latest entry in the Davey Dance Blog.
The project began in spring 2007, while David Fishel was traveling through Europe. He thought it would be fun to film himself dancing to his iPod in front of various notable locations. After he began posting the clips online in a video blog—including clips of him grooving to Tom Waits’ Chocolate Jesus at the Vatican and to Michael Jackson’s Smooth Criminal at The Anne Frank House—he quickly built an enthusiastic audience.
He’s continued the project in the U.S.; his New York City performances include dancing to Interpol’s Say Hello to the Angels in Columbus Circle and to Ace Frehley’s NY Groove on the Brooklyn Bridge. All of his clips can be viewed on YouTube and Vimeo.com.
Fishel chatted with CurrentVine.com about having fun and driving tourists to distraction.
***
CV: How did the shoot go at the Statue of Liberty?
DF: I think it went rather well. Due to space restrictions on Liberty Island, I had to shoot the “tall way” for the first time: I had to place the camera on its side in order to capture the full height of Lady Liberty. At one point, I thought I saw a group of tourists ready to run in and join me, but sadly it was probably just wishful thinking on my part.
CV: Do the videos start with liking a song and then looking for a location, or do they start with liking a location and then choosing a song?
DF: It really depends. The original idea [The Beatles' Don't Let Me Down at the Leaning Tower of Pisa] was sort a spur-of-the-moment situation. The place and the song, along with the concept of people watching me dance, all came like a light bulb in my head. I ran it by my friend Barb and she said, “Yeah, man! Let’s do it.”
CV: Why do you choose to have the music in your ears and not coming out of a stereo so bystanders can hear it?
DF: Something really interests me about the idea of creating an event for a live audience where the documentation is presented in a new light. I’m drawn to the fact that the people who see me dance live have no idea what sound I’m moving to, if any at all. Then their reactions are captured on the video, which is synced to the music for an entirely different audience. The implementation of the performance and its documentation operate almost as separate works. I like that.
CV: What is the most memorable reaction you’ve gotten to a performance? Has anyone thought you were doing it for money?
DF: Ha, no one has given me money yet. I’m not sure if I would accept it anyway; the project is just for fun, not profit.
Overall, people in New York seem to respond much less than people in the European cities I’ve been in. I think it’s probably just because New Yorkers are used to seeing crazy shit and ridiculous street performers all the time.
My friends that recorded me dancing [to Sir Mix-A-Lot's Baby Got Back] at Notre Dame Cathedral said that by the end of the song, all of the tourists there had redirected their attention to my dancing and no one was looking at the building. That sounded like a bit of hyperbole to me, but it is true that for a short time a large tour group of Americans began taking pictures of me instead of the cathedral…
CV: Where will you shoot your next videos?
DF: I’m planning a few more in New York and one or two in the Midwest when I go to visit family. I also want to do one or two in D.C.
Lately the performances have become about large groups of people dancing with me. I love the energy and spectacle of that, but I think it will eventually reach its breaking point and I will just continue to make more by myself.
I want to keep the project going. I’m trying not to control or restrict it too much; I want to just let things happen and have a good time making these silly little videos.
