In mid-2018, Andrew teamed up with Springbok Entertainment to help create “THE 100%”, the first in what is planned to be a series of immersive experiences detailing the stories of inspirational cancer survivors.
This first experience tells the harrowing and inspirational journey of Maggie Kudirka, a ballet dancer and rising star at the Joffrey Concert Group, who at 23 years old was diagnosed with incurable stage four metastatic breast cancer. Maggie is known online as The Bald Ballerina, and her story and tireless advocacy have made her one of the strongest and bravest voices amongst those fighting for cures.
The narrative of this volumetric VR experience is lovingly detailed in this article from The 100%’s main sponsor, HP:
You are sitting in the audience of a theater, waiting for the show to start. The crowd murmurs in anticipation, the stage is dark. Suddenly the house lights flicker on, the music swells, and the curtain begins its ascent, revealing the silhouette of a beautiful ballerina. She’s close enough that you can hear the sound of her satin shoes brush the floor as she begins to dance.
The 100% takes you on an emotional journey as Maggie transforms into an accomplished dancer and launches her career at New York’s Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, where she’s plagued by repeated injuries, but is coached into ignoring her pain. She continued dancing even as the cancer has metastasized to her pelvis to keep her coveted spot at the professional dance company. Her suffering is made apparent with the creative use of mirrors as a symbol in the film. In one magical moment, she appears to step out of the glass, like a modern-day Alice in Wonderland. During the worst of her illness, the mirrors shatter. Poignantly reflected in the floating shards are photos of her childhood dance recitals.
Sarah Murry — October 17, 2019
The 100% premiered at Tribeca X in 2019 and won the award for Best Virtual Reality Experience. After a run of successful screenings on behalf of Stand Up 2 Cancer and at technology and entertainment events, The 100% won a VR Award, was featured in American Cinematographer, and received an Emmy Nomination for Innovation In Interactive Programming.
There is so much to say about this project – it is deeply personal to every single person who worked on it, and the amount of hard work and emotion that went into bringing it to life cannot be expressed in words. The 100% has been an incredible moment in all of our lives, and everyone involved is looking forward to the chance to create the next chapter in this series.