Dancer and a Bear

Lee Orpaz’s video (2008) places two figures in a set up that looks like the last moments of a high school dance. The party is over, there is no one around except for the bear and the dancer. A keyboard rendition of The Man I Love is playing in the background. The two performative figures are wearing costumes from the world of stage entertainment. The bear is merely a man in a bear costume, as we know perfectly well, and yet, something in the slowness of the movement, in the embrace and the heaviness, makes the viewer want to believe that this fantastic, dreamlike moment really happened. The dancer and the bear hold onto each other, refusing to break away. Between a bear hug and a melancholy slow dance, they savor the party for one last moment. The ghost of the party still hovers, but the party itself is over. The video functions as a frozen image, a still photo that captures a rare and tender moment.