Milwaukee artist Cullah joins forces with the Medical College of Wisconsin’s award-winning Project Wonder initiative in Danse L’Intervention — a breathtaking eight-minute short film directed by Wes Tank (TankThink).
The piece chronicles the real-life stroke experience of Ginny McCullough, MSN, FNP, APNP — a vascular neurology nurse practitioner at MCW and Cullah’s mother — set to a sweeping baroque string arrangement adapted from Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre. Cullah stars as McCullough in the film, re-enacting her stroke during a soccer game while she narrates the harrowing experience in voiceover.
Filmed on location at Froedtert Hospital, Cudahy Middle School, and Washington Park Media Center in Milwaukee, the collaboration features live string performances by the Brusubardis family (Sonora, Kristian, and Viktor) and ribbon dancer Mie, whose red ribbon symbolizes the flow of blood disrupted by the stroke.
The project was produced by Alex Boyes, Senior Creative Consultant at MCW, who leads the AAMC GIA Award-winning Project Wonder program — an initiative that has reached more than 1.5 million people globally by pairing biomedical scientists with local artists to make cutting-edge research accessible through art.
Links
- Read the full press release
- Watch on YouTube
- Watch at Project Wonder (MCW)
- Download the track (free/CC)
- Stream Cú Chulainn at cullah.com
- Explore Project Wonder at MCW
- About Wes Tank / TankThink
Credits
- Director & Editor: Wes Tank, TankThink
- Project Wonder: Alex Boyes, Medical College of Wisconsin
- Music: Cullah (Ian McCullough)
- Inspiration & Featuring: Ginny McCullough, MSN, FNP, APNP, MCW
- Strings: Sonora, Kristian & Viktor Brusubardis
- Recording: Josh Evert, Silver City Studios
- Ribbon Dancer: Mie
