Six Gestures from Yo-Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach (1997)

In Six Gestures, ice dancers and Olympic champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean join Yo-Yo Ma in the last of the Suites, in which the cellist believes Bach most dramatically "stretched the envelope" of musical possibilities. Six Gestures takes its inspiration directly from Bach's life and experience, as filtered through Ma's performance. Torvill, Dean and Patricia Rozema chose a distinct gesture for each of the Suite's movements — "looking upward" in the Prelude, "looking inward" in the Allemande, "hands and feet working" in the Courante, "hand stroking the face" in the Sarabande, "mannered and courtly gestures" in the Gavotte, and "flight" or rebirth in the Gigue.

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Director: Patricia Rozema

Script: Patricia Rozema

Cinematography: Andre Pienaar

Production Design: Paul Austerberry

Cast: Yo-Yo Ma, Tom McCamus, Jayne Torvill, Christopher Dean