My initial contribution to Lars von Trier's film, Dancer in the Dark, was to be the choreographer, the fortunate one to interpret Björk's inspiring music into physical dialogue. As our creative relationship grew, Lars asked me to participate as an actor in the film. Eventually, he asked me to oversee the operation of the 100 cameras, which were used to film all of the musical sequences. The first step in this process was to choreograph the musical pieces. I worked with a gifted international cast of actors and dancers translating Selma's most joyous exaltations and her most disturbing fears into dance. In Dancer in the Dark, I defined the dance in a spectrum of ways. It meant 75 people moving in unison in the courtroom scene. It also meant the simple physical interaction of Selma and Bill, one alive and one deceased, as they orbited each other searching for a way to communicate. After observing the completed choreography, Lars would formulate a "concept" for the 100 cameras in each individual scene. A "concept" might be cameras used in a surveillance mode, or framed images that always had an object in the foreground or, in Lars' inimitable style, any random placement of cameras. Lars and a small crew of us would then walk each location or set and discuss the placement of the 100 cameras based on the choreography created for that space. Following a blueprint of these plans, a devoted team of talented individuals including Edvard Friis-Møller and Charlotte Kirkeby would mount the cameras and meticulously lay the cables connecting each camera to our central technical base which we christened "Zonja." Peter Hjorth oversaw the vastly intricate technology of making certain each camera was connected and sequenced to simultaneously capture the dance, which would be shot from beginning to end in one take. I was then given the glorious task of framing each of the stationary Sony DV cameras, each fitted with a specially designed anamorphic Cinemascopic lens to capture a fragment of the omniscient perspective these cameras could afford us. Our task completed, Lars and DP Robby Müller would fine-tune any camera framing or camera placement before each musical sequence was finally video taped. It was a historical and momentous event for all included.

Since our first encounter, Lars has treated me with an open spirit and a generous heart. He has granted me the opportunity to be as full a creative entity as I grant myself. He has collaborated without ego. He has never asked me to qualify anything I've created or any method I've chosen to adopt. His self-assurance and casual belief in his own genius has afforded all of us the opportunity to follow in his footsteps and appreciate our own abilities. His graciousness has been as abundant as his gratitude. He has given me unqualified artistic freedom. He has exemplified the position of the director/collaborator and I hope to carry the knowledge I have acquired from him into every creative situation I ever encounter.

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