Moving in SloMo

By Esther Pasternak
Daily Bruin Contributor

An irony many UCLA students face is that there are countless
places to spend a Saturday night, yet nowhere new to go to.

Instead of waiting around for an original venue, a group of UCLA
students created it themselves. Second-year theater arts student
Ian Smith-Heisters took his interest in innovative dance and
created a dance club for Saturday nights called Slo Mo, located in
Santa Monica. 

The focus of Slo Mo is the unique style of slow-motion dancing
inspired by creative arts such as ballet, martial arts, yoga and
Tai Chi. To accompany this spontaneous dance style, the music has
no rhythm or melody. Instead, live musicians create a unique sound
through various instruments, spoken word and electronic
synthesizers. The sound at Slo Mo constantly changes as the
musicians experiment and the music has evolved from an industrial
to a synthesized sound. 

“This is a place for personal expression, so whatever the
music makes you want to do is right, as long as you are doing what
you want to rather than what you think makes you look good,”
Smith-Heisters said.

Smith-Heisters describes the Slo Mo experience as a paradox
since the movements are so slow that it does not appear that the
person is moving. Yet, concentration is so high that it is a type
of meditation that relaxes the mind.

“I push my body beyond its limit to where weakness and
strength cease to be,” Smith-Heisters said. “This dance
is a journey ever inward. Outward appearances are not considered.
Slo Mo isn’t about you, it’s about me.”

It is not only the experimental dancing and music that makes Slo
Mo unique, but also the goals of the experience. Smith-Heisters
makes the point that most clubs are based on projecting a certain
image and going home with the hottest person at the end of the
night. At Slo Mo, however, the goal is greater self-awareness.

According to Smith-Heisters, being able to dance in this style
requires breaking down a lot of inhibitions because of its
revealing quality. He says that although many people are initially
hesitant about dancing in this manner, they eventually become more
comfortable and surer of themselves. Slowly they become completely
comfortable with themselves and can dance as if alone in their
apartment.

Second-year theater arts student Bill Hutson never found an
outlet for the type of music he prefers to perform until he became
associated with Slo Mo. At the dance club, Hutson experiments with
acoustics and plays various instruments including the clarinet and
musical saw, an instrument consisting of a carpenter’s saw
and a violin bow.

“I’m not really interested in the music anyone would
DJ at any normal dance club,” Hutson said. “I
appreciate how a dancer can invent his own methods. They are not
tied down to tradition or any convention in the world of club
dancing.”

Smith-Heisters realized his dream of creating the dance club he
envisioned once he became associated with Edward Lawson from Pro
Per Inc., an event production company that has internship programs
for students interested in arts and entertainment endeavors.

“In today’s world we are told dreams are fantasy and
they are not to be seen in reality ““ dreams don’t come
true,” Smith-Heisters said. “The idea of taking your
own reality and forming your life around your dreams is probably
the most gratifying thing you could possibly do.”

Pro Per Inc. provides the location, equipment and mentors for
students interested in materializing their interests. Since Pro Per
Inc. is concerned with the role food plays in artistic expressions,
Slo Mo also offers a complimentary vegan dinner after the music and
dancing. Besides giving people a chance to get to know each other
after dancing, the vegan food is an opportunity for students to eat
a healthy meal. By eating vegan food, Smith-Heisters believes
people can counter potential health problems associated with
eating meat such as obesity, cancer and heart problems, and be able
to dance for an entire lifetime.

“We certainly hold true to the notion that health is an
art form in and of itself. We think that the foundation of all art
has something to do with the condition of the human mind, body and
spirit,” Lawson said.

As for people who might criticize Slo Mo’s experimental
nature, Edward Lawson argues that when people have a very clear
notion of what they are doing, they are probably not doing the
right thing. Always being on the frontier of a metamorphic
environment is what art should be about. Instead of repeating the
same type of club throughout Los Angeles, people can use their
creativity to make a new dance club, he said.

Through experimental dance, music and food, Slo Mo offers
students more than somewhere to go on a Saturday night ““ it
offers a journey into one’s self.

DANCE CLUB: Slo Mo is located at 2116 Pico
Blvd. in Santa Monica. There is no cover charge and hours are from
8 p.m. to midnight every Saturday.