Red Shoes is a video I made for my final oral exam for level I Chinese at Smith College.
Artspoken: In the Red Shoes, I investigate movement as a support for learning a second language. How does movement invoke fluency and prompt memory? In mixing and matching archetypes, I fancifully suggest commonality and pop culture cross currents between the U.S. and China that may not exist except somewhere over the rainbow.
Blog: I began study of qigong in 1994 with Chen Huixian at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and became “curiouser and curiouser” about Chinese culture and movement practice. I studied Chinese philosophy, poetry, and calligraphy while at Bennington in the early days of the new millenium. Due to its tones, I thought Chinese would be an interesting language to study the connection between movement and language. This video is my first research into this area, an investigation of movement as a support in the learning of a second language, shot by me of me on my iPhone.
Red Shoes from Melinda Buckwalter on Vimeo.
