Animal
Ballets is a creation of Susan McDonald in which she combines original music with footage of wildlife she has filmed and
edited to create sublime live performances in which she is the "orchestra" and the animals are the "dancers."
The subjects are live
animals who seem to dance to her music. In reality, Susan has respectfully composed her music to flow naturally with
the movements of the animals. While a bit of creative editing is involved, the animals have given their approval by acting
beautifully, humorously and even sometimes outrageously.
Her first project, The Aquarium: a Marine Micro-Ballet
for Guitar and Sea Creatures features the strange and funny occupants of a saltwater reef aquarium, with characters
such as the cranky little Pom Pom Crab, the fabulously creative Decorator Crab and the bright red and very active Serpent
Star.
For her most recent project, Yasuni: Dances from the Rainforest, Susan traveled deep into the
Ecuadorian Amazon to film footage and compose music to interact with the natural sounds of the forest. In this groundbreaking
piece, the music interacts with the sights and sounds of the fragile, frightening, mysterious and magical rainforest.
Susan
is currently at work on a new Animal Ballet which will focus on the birds of Texas.
The goal of Animal
Ballets is to raise awareness of and appreciation for life forms which are not our own. It is only through that appreciation
that we will be inspired to protect these amazing creatures and their fragile environments.