Underwater : Seeing New Perspectives From Under the Surface

In 2017, we, dancer Willy Heramus and drawer Noella Roos, initiated a collaborative journey with “The Lines of Lightness,” a series of drawings depicting a dancer suspended in mid-air. This exploration of weightlessness led us to experiment with dance on film, beginning in the studio and progressing to underwater environments.

Our first underwater film, “Infinity Loop,” was shot in a swimming pool, capturing the fluidity of movement beneath the surface. In 2020, we expanded our canvas to the open sea with “Life Underwater,” embracing the natural rhythms of the ocean. By 2024, we advanced our techniques by filming in a 4-meter-deep pool, utilizing diving equipment to achieve dynamic, submerged perspectives of the dancer.

The underwater realm offers a unique freedom, allowing us to transcend the constraints of gravity. While our initial drawings in “The Lines of Lightness” employed aerial yoga ropes to simulate flight, the medium of film has enabled us to authentically capture the essence of unbounded movement in water—a feat unattainable through traditional drawing methods