Her Seasons: An Aerial Dance Journey through the Seasons of Womanhood and the Swiss Alps

Her Seasons is a short and poetic cinematic journey through the seasons, set in the mountains of Zermatt, Switzerland. In it, we explore how the rhythms of nature mirror the cycles of a woman’s body by weaving together aerial silk dance with changing landscapes. I made this film in collaboration with the dancer featured within: Lisa Regine Schulz.

I first met Lisa when a mutual friend introduced us on my birthday! We immediately hit it off and became friends so I’ve always called her my birthday present. Though we clicked right away, it wasn’t until Lisa’s birthday that the idea for Her Seasons came to me.

For her birthday, Lisa had requested that her friends come together to help her mount a large aerial rig so that she could practice her craft in the beauty of the mountains. I was so inspired watching everyone work together to bring her dream to life that I went all the way back home to grab my camera and capture the process. 

Since moving to Zermatt years ago, I had long been fascinated by how prominent

masculine energy was in the culture. The extreme, adventurous sports that drew so many to the small tourist town were central to the culture here and I found myself not only missing, but hoping to create my own small dose of creative, artistic, soft, feminine energy in the space. 

When I saw this community of women working together to bring my friend’s art to life, the idea struck: why not use aerials alongside the breathtaking landscape to explore womanhood. 

This didn’t come from nowhere. At the time, I had been doing my own research on the female cycle in an effort to better understand my own body, my energy levels and fluctuating moods. I was hoping to become more self aware and informed by the natural processes of my own biology. Through this exploration, I found that this analogy to the earth’s seasons came up often. It occurred to me that through this expressive, feminine and powerful art form - we could illustrate both the earth’s and women’s cycles simultaneously. With the support of our friend group, the project began.

Having never made a film before, the short was fully a “learn as you go” experience. Inspired by the words of filmmaker Dennis Schmelz, I threw myself into the process, discovering techniques and pitfalls along the way. Being a professional outdoor portrait photographer, I was incredibly familiar with the diverse locations that Zermatt and the Swiss Alps had to offer. I knew exactly where I wanted each of the four seasons to take place!

So determined was I that the thought of permitting and permissions never crossed my mind. One day, when setting up for “Spring” in a gorgeous, expansive field of rolling grass hills and flowers, a woman approached to tell our crew that the land was private. We immediately panicked, so apologetic that we had not considered this possibility. She agreed to let us continue but it was by far the most tense day of our process! You live and you learn. 

Making Her Seasons was an absolute joy. It took a lot of hard work, of course, given that we all had full time jobs. The most rewarding part of the process had to be just how supportive, helpful and curious our community was! The way they gathered and mobilized each time we needed them was so moving. We had so much support every step of the way. So many people came together to bring this film to life so we can’t wait to show them the fruits of their labor.

This movie is dedicated to women who are fearlessly and unapologetically themselves. I want women to slow down and take care of themselves. I think we can all be so hard on ourselves and this is a reminder that we are a part of nature. If the natural world can slow down and go through periods of rest and recovery, we should too. We have an opportunity every month to show up as our best and also celebrate our lowest. Give ourselves time and space to slow down and to connect with nature.

We are curious to see what people think so we will likely make the full Her Seasons film accessible soon but we just want to explore where it can go in the competition circuit first. Stay tuned!