Portraits of Incantation

FESCH.TV INFORMIERT:

a film by Taso Papadakis and Robyn Nisbet

performed, choreographed and co-produced by Robyn Nisbet
photographed directed, edited and co-produced by Taso Papadakis,
original musical score by Emile de Leon / Temple Sounds,

About the work: „Portraits of Incantation“, is a short art-house style film about the invocation of energies, ancient and innate. You will see motion portraiture of a series of four rites performed by Robyn Nisbet, honoring the mysteries of four sacred places in the world.
The visuals are accompanied by a memorizing original musical score by Tibetan Singing Bowl Master, Emile de Leon/ Temple Sounds.

Taso Papadakis, Director / Cinematographer/ film’s co-Producer:
Taso Papadakis is a commercial art photographer and filmmaker.
He currently makes images for LA Opera, UCLA Opera, and AMDA. His photo work is often published in the LA Times.
Taso’s motion film work is in the collection of the Joseph Campbell Foundation.
His fine art photography has been featured as decor on TV sets, including the sets of the show “Sons of Anarchy“.
He has also worked on photo documentaries including assignments in El Salvador, in order to directly benefit the remote communities there.
Among the highlights in his documentary work , was an opportunity to be close to and photograph the Dalai Lama.
He has a degree in Religious Studies from the University of Southern California and is a large-scale painter for the sake of movement and celebration.

Robyn Nisbet, Performance / Choreographer / film’s co- Producer:
Robyn Nisbet is a dance and visual artist based in Los Angeles. She has a lifelong relationship with a yoga based breath-centered philosophy. Robyn is also a practitioner of Ifa, a West African spiritual tradition. Introduced to this through practice Afro-Brazilian dance, which has its roots in West African Orisá (deity) devotion, Robyn continues to investigate what it means to be in synergy with energies driven by rhythm, spirit, and community.
Robyn’s performance work has been deeply influenced by personal studies with post Butoh based artists, Dana and Shinichi Iova-Koga. The work emphasizes complete presence of the body in relationship to time, space, and the environment. Robyn continues to travel to Senegal where she shares these ideas with fellow dancers and musicians, experimenting within the tradition of the dance and drum circle. For Robyn, the circle teaches the importance of being seen as an individual as well as witnessing the individual from the collective perspective. She also draws inspiration from the martial art of Capoeira and Afro-Brazilian dance.
Robyn currently works in Los Angeles in development of creative approaches and material with a core group of performance artists and musicians. She regularly performs with Ijo Emi, Rachel Hernandez’s Afro-Brazilian dance company, and also plays the Surdo drum for the Samba band, Baté Batuque.

Emile de Leon, sound score:
Emile de Leon has been a professional percussion musician for thirty years. His current focus is on Tibetan singing bowls and Indian tablas. A former off-campus percussion instructor for Wesleyan University, in Middletown, Mr. De Leon began playing singing bowls in 1996, and as part of the duet known as Temple Sounds, released the Tibetan bowl CD: „Mystic Bowls“ in 1999. Tibetan singing bowls have been used for centuries for meditation, healing and sacred ceremonies in the ancient far off cultures of Tibet and Nepal. Mr. de Leon is one of a handful of musicians in the world who plays these ancient instruments in concert. He is also the owner of the metaphysical bookstore and gift shop Knight People in Middletown, CT.