Collier Schorr's Ballet Homage to Chantal Akerman's 'Je Tu Il Elle'

Collier Schorr, an American artist and fashion photographer, spent six years adapting Chantal Akerman's 1974 film 'Je Tu Il Elle' into a ballet, learning to dance for the purpose and acting as both director and dancer. The project, which Schorr describes as a 'fuck you' to the male-dominated medium of ballet, draws on themes of transparency, sexuality, shame, and love. A selection of film stills from the ballet's first act forms the basis of Schorr's new book, 'Writing a Letter: Akerman Ballet, Act I', published by The Song Cave. In an interview with filmmaker Matt Wolf, Schorr discusses her first foray into ballet, her plans to publish the full script so other companies can perform the work, and her desire to start a communication she couldn't have with Akerman in real life. Schorr, who first saw the film in Amy Taubin's class at SVA or at the Quad in 1981, felt Akerman's work was one of the only delivery options for her gender and sexuality. The book includes a correspondence between Schorr and performance scholar Peggy Phelan. Schorr intends to stage the full three-act ballet and possibly perform it publicly.