A doorbell rings, the mail is delivered, and a woman’s world is shattered.  What follows in Associate Arts Professor Aly Rose’s 14-minute dance film, “The Leaving Room,” is a stylistically kitsch exploration of a woman’s coming to terms with the end of a chapter in her life. 

Starring NYU Shanghai Assistant Arts Professor Tao Siye as the wronged wife alongside several students and staff members, and filmed on campus as well as at the Glass Museum of Shanghai, “The Leaving Room,” has already won several film festival awards and selections including at the Global Indie Film Festival, Experimental Dance & Music Festival, Asians on Film, the San Jose International Film Awards, and Vegas Movie Awards.

“‘The Leaving Room’ is about a woman who is forced to deal with the shock, anger and sadness in being betrayed,” Rose said.  “I wanted Chinese younger audiences to feel connected to this character who was struggling to find her own voice.”

The film proceeds in five acts: The mail, the vase, the album, the contract, and balls, each act inspired by the five psychological stages of grief. Rose’s former dance students Amelia Jin ’20, Miki Bin Xue ’20, and Shirley Zhao Xuehan ’19 all appear as dancers in the film. IT Manager James Gao appears as the wealthy, wayward husband, while Associate Provost for Academic Affairs John Robertson and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Diane Geng both appear as opposing attorneys in the “Contract” section of the film.  

Rose said she was impressed by her actors, who though just moonlighting, committed fully to their roles in the film with little preparation. For Gao, the most difficult moment of filming took place when he had to throw the divorce papers at his wife (Tao Siye)’s  face. Worried that he would injure his co-star, Gao could not bring himself to throw the papers forcefully.  Finally, after many takes, director Rose had to step in to get the job done, using an over shoulder lens to get the shot. 

Tao also said that she found the acting portion of her role challenging. “For me, dance is the natural expression of the moment, without the need to ‘a(chǎn)ct.’  For this film, I had to give precise reactions in the prescribed plot and amplify the feelings.’’’ 

Rose said she was grateful to the Shanghai Museum of Glass for allowing her to shoot the film among the installations of its show, BRKN. “I watched the film many times. I am surprised to see the strong dialogue and inter-textuality between the dance and the exhibit itself,” said Zhang Lin, the museum’s founder and a longtime supporter of NYU Shanghai. “In the exhibition, music also occupies an important position, and the concrete performance of dance precisely echoes the emphasis on music in the exhibition. The presentation of dance movies undoubtedly provides another way for the audience to appreciate the works and to appreciate the exhibition itself.” 

Rose said she hopes more and more viewers will appreciate the possibilities and power of “dance for camera” works such as “The Leaving Room.” “I believe dance in films provides much nuance and allows the audience to see the details so often lost in live performance which is so ephemeral,” she said. “For me, the dances in this film portray not only the beauty of the human form, but also allow us the space to reconsider our own preconceptions about romance, duty and sacrifices women make to stay married.”

The film’s debut showing at NYU Shanghai will take place on December 10 (Thursday) in Room 102 at 12:45 p.m.  

門鈴響起，郵件被寄出，女人的世界被粉碎了。副藝術(shù)教授艾莉·羅斯（Aly Rose）執(zhí)導(dǎo)的14分鐘舞曲電影《離開的房間》（The Leaving Room），從風(fēng)格上講究了一個(gè)女人在人生中的一章即將結(jié)束時(shí)的處境。 

由紐約紐約大學(xué)上海藝術(shù)學(xué)院助理教授陶思業(yè)主演的受委屈的妻子，以及數(shù)名學(xué)生和工作人員，并在校園以及上海玻璃博物館的《離開的房間》中拍攝。全球獨(dú)立電影節(jié)，實(shí)驗(yàn)舞蹈和音樂節(jié)，亞洲電影人獎(jiǎng)，圣何塞國際電影獎(jiǎng)和維加斯電影獎(jiǎng)。

羅斯說：“'離開房間'是關(guān)于一個(gè)被背叛的女人，她被迫應(yīng)對震驚，憤怒和悲傷?！?nbsp;“我希望中國的年輕觀眾能與這個(gè)努力尋找自己的聲音的角色有聯(lián)系?！?/span>

這部電影的創(chuàng)作分為五幕：郵件，花瓶，專輯，合同和舞會，每一幕都是從悲傷的五個(gè)心理階段中激發(fā)出來的。Rose的前舞蹈系學(xué)生Amelia Jin '20，Miki Bin Xue '20和Shirley Zhao Xuehan '19都作為電影的舞者出現(xiàn)。IT經(jīng)理詹姆斯·高（James Gao）身為富裕，任性的丈夫，而學(xué)術(shù)事務(wù)副教務(wù)長約翰·羅伯遜（John Robertson）和學(xué)術(shù)事務(wù)副院長戴安·耿（Diane Geng）均在影片的“合同”部分中出庭反對。  

羅斯說，她的演員給她留下了深刻的印象，盡管演員們只是在月光下，但他們幾乎沒有做任何準(zhǔn)備就完全致力于電影中的角色。對于高來說，拍攝中最困難的時(shí)刻是他不得不將離婚證件扔到妻子（陶思燁）的臉上。高擔(dān)心自己會傷害他的聯(lián)合主演，他無法強(qiáng)迫自己扔報(bào)紙。最后，經(jīng)過多番嘗試，導(dǎo)演羅斯不得不介入工作，使用頭戴式鏡頭進(jìn)行拍攝。 

陶還表示，她發(fā)現(xiàn)自己扮演角色的過程具有挑戰(zhàn)性。“對我而言，舞蹈是當(dāng)下的自然表現(xiàn)，無需'行動'。對于這部電影，我必須在規(guī)定的情節(jié)中做出準(zhǔn)確的反應(yīng)并擴(kuò)大感受。'' 

羅斯表示，她感謝上海玻璃博物館的拍攝，并允許她在其展覽的裝置BRKN中拍攝這部電影 。“我看了很多遍電影。博物館的創(chuàng)辦人，上海紐約大學(xué)的長期支持者張琳說：“我很驚訝地看到舞蹈與展覽本身之間形成了強(qiáng)烈的對話和互文性。” “在展覽中，音樂也占有重要地位，而舞蹈的具體表現(xiàn)恰恰與展覽中對音樂的重視相呼應(yīng)。舞蹈電影的放映無疑為觀眾提供了欣賞作品和欣賞展覽本身的另一種方式?！?nbsp;

羅斯說，她希望越來越多的觀眾欣賞“舞蹈之舞”作品（如“離開房間”）的可能性和力量。她說：“我相信電影中的舞蹈會給人以細(xì)微的差別，并使觀眾看到現(xiàn)場表演中經(jīng)常丟失的細(xì)節(jié)。” “對我來說，這部電影中的舞蹈不僅描繪了人類形態(tài)的美，而且還使我們有空間重新考慮自己對愛情，義務(wù)和女性為保持婚姻而做出的犧牲的先入之見?！?/span>

這部電影的首演將于12月10日（星期四）下午12:45在上海紐約大學(xué)舉行。  

閱讀有關(guān)Aly Rose以前的作品MONK的更多信息：