My Relentless March of Endurance (15'47)

Filmed over three spontaneous days in an unfamiliar city, this work challenges the conventions of dance film. Through fourteen scenes, a performer repeatedly crosses the frame, patterns form, dissolve, and re-emerge, testing rhythm, patience, and perception.

This film was first screened as part of Artist Archive Film Night, Part of Siobhan Davies Studios’ 20th Anniversary celebrations.

Movement artist: Masumi Saito
Directed by: Guy Wigmore
Music: Memotone

We created this film as an experiment — During a rare three-day escape from parenting responsibilities in an unfamiliar city, we made the most of our time by embracing spontaneity. We filmed simple movement sequences in as many interesting locations as possible. Masumi moved intuitively, then later, while in editing, Guy explored endless rhythmic structures, testing how repetition and interruption could generate new meanings.

The film explores patience, attention, and resistance to instant gratification. In an era of short-form, fast-cut content, we deliberately opted for slowness and length. We knew this decision might cost us — it’s not “dancy” enough for dance festivals and too long for online platforms — but it reflects our belief that endurance and immersion can still be powerful artistic tools.

We want this film to be seen by audiences willing to sit with discomfort and curiosity — those open to being challenged rather than entertained. It invites viewers to reconsider what choreography can be when editing, rhythm, and repetition become the dance itself.

The project is an exercise in building tension and release. Through fourteen scenes presented in four video channels, a figure repeatedly crosses the frame — sometimes identically, sometimes altered. Patterns form, dissolve, and reform, creating unease, expectation, and quiet revelation. The lack of resolution keeps the viewer in motion, just as much as the performer.

Like the enduring repetitions of Rosas or the obsessive dots of Yayoi Kusama, our film insists on duration as meaning. We did not compromise — and in that persistence lies its impact. 

Although the full-length film is not available online, you can see excerpts of it my TikTok.