KOSMIC INTERPRETATIONS
Choreographer Karn Junkinsmith breaks the fourth wall
By Alicia Dara
‘Whimsical’ is a word commonly used to describe the films of dancer/choreographer/ filmmaker Karn Junkinsmith, along with fanciful, sensual, and free. Her pieces predominantly feature women breaking out of mundane urban and suburban settings into exuberant dances outdoors. Magic realism and archetypal feminine symbols, such as tarot cards, eggs, and the ocean, also figure prominently.
An avid feminist, Junkinsmith believes in freedom of physical expression: “Women should do what they want with their bodies, in whatever way they want. It’s a non-sexualized treatment of the body that I’m interested in. It’s the whole person that’s important.”
An accomplished filmmaker, Junkinsmith often shoots on 16mm and Super 8 film and cuts the results by hand. Local cinematographer Ben Kasulke is her frequent DP of choice. In Bus Stop (2007), a group of professional women (and one man) cavort energetically and jostle for a seat on the bench of a rainy bus stop. The Alchemy of Oracles (2008) features 4 pagan priestesses performing a ritualized dance with intense focus and uninhibited natural grace. “They’re moving for themselves, for their own self-discovery,” says Junkinsmith. In City Symphony: South to Seattle (2007), she cuts between gritty images of cars on the freeway with shots of herself caressively rolling in the sand and swimming nude in the beach.
Junkinsmith trained as a dancer from the age of 5. In the 6th grade she witnessed Judith Jamieson perform with Alvin Ailey and realized there was a future for her in the world of modern dance. “I see dance in everything”, she says, “It comes from the world of improvisation. You imagine what you want the bodies to be doing and how they should move through the space.”
While her groups of dancers often perform similar basic movements, her works feature a distinct sense of the individuality of mind and body. “Only you really know what your body needs to be doing. If you want to keep dancing you have to know yourself.”
Junkinsmith’s SIFF entry, Interpretive Sites: Kosmos, continues her fascination with taking dance outside into nature. The film takes place in Kosmos, Washington, a town 2 hours south of Mount Rainier with a rich history. “The movement ideas for the film were inspired by the land,” she says. “I wondered whose land was this before the town of Kosmos existed, and then I saw a [photograph of] a Jingle Dress dancer. Because of course this country was held in trust by the Native Americans.”
In a fortunate turn of events, she was able to cast Kayla Johnson, a Native Jingle Dress dancer, by contacting Tracy Rector of Longhouse Media/Native Lens, a local media organization dedicated to Indigenous peoples.
Perhaps the greatest challenge of the shoot was the location, she says. “It took 2 hours to drive 10 of us there, most of whom had never met, and a dog and all our gear in a 12 person van… Once we arrived it took 10 minutes at least to walk to the site. It was a long arduous day and everyone was a tremendous willing good sport and all were in high spirits despite the wind and the cold and the rain and the mud and the exertion. I’m so grateful for the experience of that day.”