Dance on Camera Festival 2008
Walter Reade Theatre
Lincoln Center Plaza,165 West 65th Street
January 2-6, 11, 18-19, 2008
14 repeating programs co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center

Program 1: Ballet Retrospective
SPARTACUS
Vadim Derbenev and Yuri Grivorovich, Russia, 1975; 94m
SPARTACUS, the recently restored 1975 ballet film based on Yuri
Grigorovich's staging for the Bolshoi Ballet, stars Vladimir Vasilyev, Natalya Bessmertnova who just passed away in February 2008, Maris Liepa as Crassus and Nina Timofeeva as Aegina, each dancer a renowned star of the famed Bolshoi Ballet at the time. This ballet-drama is a Soviet-Era vision of the much depicted uprising by Roman slaves, a grand cinematic spectacle set to ascore by Aram Khachaturian. Watch Vasiliev

Preceeded by
REVELRY (“Dancing Song”)
Zlatko Bourek, Croatia, 1966; 9m
Amusing animated short.

Program 2: 4 Cine dances/1 documentary
HORIZON OF EXILE
Isabel Rocamora, United Kingdom/Spain, 2007; 22m
A journey of two women across timeless desert landscapes is punctuated by
voice testimonies of Iraqi exiles. Set to a soundtrack by Jivan Gasparyan with the hypnotic voice of Surma Hamid, an Iraqi exile now living in London, the bodies betray a serene violence, travelling as though released from
consciousness or gravity, falling and recuperating, haunted by anirrepressible past. Camila Valenzuela, one of the protaganists, spoke on January 2nd.

PINA BAUSCH
Anne Linsel, Germany, 2006; 44m
Before choreographer Pina Bausch and her Tanz-theater Wuppertal were known around the world, her new, unusual and original body language was ill-received. In the early days the audience (and most critics) were irritated and confused.Tumultuous scenes in the audience were not unusual. Pina Bausch speaks about the beginnings of the Tanztheater and the inescapable path she felt she had to follow. She talks about rehearsals, her pieces (more than 30 by now), her co-productionswith other cities and countries and being on tour. Some of her dancers, the set designer Peter Pabst and the costume designer Marion Cito, all of whom have been with Pina Bausch for decades, talk about working with her.
Shot in Venice at the Teatro Fenice, in Lisbon and Brussels, and in Wuppertal with the support of WDR Cologne, and Arte France.

LIFEFORCE #3
Lene Boel, Denmark, 2007; 10.5m
A hooded man discovers an environment of tunnels and machinery. An
invisible force gradually takes control of his body pulling him through
industrial spaces deep into a cave. Funded in part by The Danish Arts Council. Introduced by the director

FRAGMENTATION
Suzon Fuks, Australia, 2007; 5.8m
Two guys, James Cunningham, Rob Tannion, absorbed in their morning paper
and their personal space, manage to find a disjointed connection with one
another.

FLYING LESSON - Winner of the 2008 Jury Prize
Phil Harder, Rosanne Chamecki, Andrea Lerner, USA, 2007; 4'37m
A sweet sail one foot above Brooklyn, accomplished by Rosanne Chamecki and Andrea Lerner who are old friends from their native Brazili. Introduced by the artists

Program 4: Cine dance
FANTASTIC FLOWER SHOP
Pawel Partyka, Denmark/Poland, 2001; 15m
Inspired by the story, puppets and design of Frances Osterflet, with
animation by Krzysztof Brzozowski and Adam Wyrwas, this award winningshort should inspire fashion designers as well as story tellers. Set in a
flower shop at closing time, wires spin out from their spools to become
small characters who pluck petals to adorn themselves and dance the night
away, primarily to a Latin beat. Introduced by the director

LIFE FORCE #1
Lene Boel, Denmark, 2007; 14m
A proud inventor enjoys conducting and bringing to life the machines inhis power station. He gets carried away by the music in a pair of headphones and the room becomes his partner in a passionate and humorous dance. At the end of the day he returns to his house in the sky. Introduced by the director

HERE AFTER Nominated for the Jury Prize
Wim Vandekeybus, Belgium, 2007; 65m
Through flashbacks, Here After tells the story of an isolated community in
which a power-mad tyrant commands an infanticide. In the danced scenes wesee how the characters relive their memories in the here-after; as if
their emotions and traumas were captured in the memory of their bodies.
The film shows terror and its destroying effect on a community and
questions existential themes such as life/death, culpability/penance,
identity/memory, regret/negation and power/freedom.

Program 3: Documentary
FELIA DOUBROVKSA REMEMBERED
Virginia Brooks, USA, 2008; 37m
Born in 1896 in St. Petersburg, Russia, Felia Doubrovska spent 33 years
first as a student at the Imperial Ballet School and then as a famous
ballerina. After her retirement from the stage she devoted nearly the same
span of time to teaching at the School of American Ballet. This film
provides an affectionate memorial and a tribute to an artist who made a
great contribution to preserving the ballet tradition as she participatedin the training of many of the women of the New York City Ballet,
the instruments of George Balanchine's choreographic genius.
Introduced by the director. Maria Calegari will be part of the Q&A on the Jan.5th screening. Allegra Kent will attend as well.

SLEEPING BALLERINA
Ludovic Kennedy, United Kingdom, 1959; 29m
Made at Anton Dolin’s instigation by the BBC, SLEEPING BALLERINA looks atthe career of Olga Spessivtzeva (1895-1991), the Aurora of Diaghilev’s
1921 production of ‘The Sleeping Princess’. Spessivtzeva was considered to be one of the most promising dancer of her generation but her career was abruptly interrupted by the mental illness. As legend has it, she lost her memory on-stage performing the mad scene in "Giselle." The film includes footage of a rehearsal of "Giselle," Act 1. In 1940 she was taken to the psychiatric hospital where she remained for 22 years. A special thank you to The Jerome Robbins DanceDivision, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, for their assistance.

HAPPY TO BE SO
Yelena Demikovsky, USA, 2007; 47m
An inspiring documentary about Oleg Briansky and Mireille Briane, former principal dancers, renowned ballet teachers, founders of the Briansky Saratoga Ballet School and a dynamic duet for more than 50 years. Briansky, of WhiteRussian descent, and Briane, a Parisian, met in Paris. He was hailed as “the most sought after male dancer of his time” by Ballet magazine. She was a principal dancer in France and “a born teacher.” The film depicts the Brianskys as performers and narrators of their own life story— highlighted by exciting footage from the ‘50s and ‘60s. Introduced by the dancer/actress/director Sandra Lee, as well as the director and Oleg and Mireille Briansky.

Program 5: Documentary
CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: AHEAD OF THE CURVE
Rosemary House, Canada, 2007; 48m See trailer
An exploration of the art and inspiration of celebrated Canadian
choreographer Christopher House, the artistic Director of Toronto Dance
Theatre who will be performing at the Joyce Theatre at the end of January,
2008. "If you've ever wondered about the point of dance, the answer is
here." John Doyle, Toronto Globe and Mail. See clip

FEEL THE EARTH MOVE: THE GROS MORNE PROJECT
Anne Troake, Canada, 2007; 51m
Montreal’s Coleman Lemieux Dance Company descends upon a small
community in Newfoundland’s Gros Morne National Park with a team of
Canada’s finest artists. In a week they create a dance work that
honors the land, the sea and the people of this unique place. Filmmaker
Anne Troake known for her wildly successful short PRETTY BIG DIG turnsthe camera on the cultural exchange between townspeople and artists,
capturing the moment of creation and the spectacular work itself.

Program 6: Choreographic Cinema
JOUR DE FETE
Jacques Tati, France, 1949/1995, 70m
An inept rural village postman who interrupts his duties to inspect the
traveling fair that has come to town. Influenced by too much wine and adocumentary on the rapidity of the American postal service, he goes to
hilarious lengths to speed his mail deliveries aboard his bicycle.
The films of Jacques Tati (1908 – 1982) are built around elaborate, tightly-choreographed visual gags and carefully integrated sound effects. Tati plays the lead character, with his trademark raincoat, umbrella and pipe.

Preceded by L'ECOLE DES FACTEURS
Jacques Tati, 1947, 15m
This short about postal training in rural France was expanded into a feature. Thanks to Sarah Finklea of Janus Films.

Program 7 - Cine Dance/TRIBUTE TO PASCAL MAGNIN
REINES D'UN JOUR
Pascal Magnin, Switzerland, 1996; 28m
Six tumbling bodies on mountain slopes of the Alps, caught between Heaven
and Earth, among the cows and the villagers. This strikingly visual and
sensual film triggered a wave of understanding among dancers when it was shown in Dance on Camera Festival 1997. Marie-Louise Nespolo, Christine Kung choreographed the work and performed with Veronique Ferrero, Roberto Molo, Mikel Aristegui, Antonio Bull. Introduced by Pascal Magnin

CONTRECOUPS
Pascal Magnin, Switzerland, 1998; 23m
Choreographer Guilherme Botelho adapted this urban ballet for the screen
in which two men and a woman battle with their inner demons.

CARGO
Kelly Hargraves, USA, 2007; 4m
One man’s pit stop on the road of life, where he pauses to rest and
contemplate whether to continue the journey. Sometimes, dark, sometimes
funny and always sexy, as performer Joe Jurd fills the interior of a 1969
Buick Skylark with his physical and emotional self. Introduced by Kelly
Hargraves, the creator of First Run Features DVD compilation of shorts

BOY
Rosemary Lee, Peter Anderson, UK, 1994; 6m
Considered a dance film classic, this solo turns an ordinary boy into a
superhero, as he moves with stealth and grace through a dramatic coastal
landscape, responding to this empty universe, manipulating it and
conjuring up his own imaginary world.

MOTION CONTROL
Liz Aggiss/Billy Cowie, UK, 2002; 8m
A brilliant spoof by a heralded team from Brighton. "Motion Control is a stunner!"- Toronto Globe and Mail

Program 8 - Cine Dance NEW SHORTS
APROP Nominated for the Jury Prize
Aitor Echeverria, Spain, 2007; 6m, 35mm
Sleep interrupted by the brush of a familiar touch. The sigh of that voice
inviting you to play. The most everyday gestures become, at close range,
an extraordinary dance. Read more Introduced by the director, the Argentinian choreographer Carolina Alejos, and producer Roger Amigó Bertran

SHAKE OFF
Hans Beenhakker, The Netherlands, 2007; 9m, 35mm
Prince Credell solos in this HD recorded dance film in one continous shot.
The camera follows an exceptional dancer as he moves magically through different times and spaces. The athleticism and bold surprises lure the viewer into a dynamic world which teeters between the impossible and the real. The dancer can’t or won’t stop dancing till he finds his goal. Best Artist Performance Award at Golden Lion International Film Festival, Swaziland South Africa. Now playing twice a day before 'Tussenstand' by Mijke de Jong in theatres in The Netherlands Introduced by the director and Prince Credell courtesy of The Consulate General of The Netherlands

MORNING HERD
Rick Harvie, New Zealand, 2007; 7.25m
A comic insight into the battle of a farmer wrestling with the confinement
of his animals in his yards. Introduced by producer Adam Hayward.

DESCENT
Noemie Lafrance, USA, 2003; 5m
The Canadian born dancer made quite a sensation with her site-specific
installation with twelve women positioned on each floor of a twelve story
stairwell in the NYC courthouse "The Clocktower." Introduced by the director

FOLIES D'ESPAGNE Nominated for the Jury Prize
Philip Buiser, USA, 2007; 7mA mysterious woman appears at court where manner and reputation are essential for survival. She breaks all the rules publicly and is ultimately put back in her place as a subject of the court. This work
contrasts the formality of the Baroque aesthetic with contemporary issues
of sexuality andclass. Created in collaboration with dancer/choreographer
Austin McCormick, winner of DFA's Young Choreographers Initiative.
Introduced by choreographer.

THE INN OF FLOATING IMAGERY
Kathy Rose, USA, 2007; 8m
This piece represents a kind of autobiographical vision. I use myself to
create all the figures, sometimes employing masks from the Noh theater to
vary my persona. A sea of richly colored figures floating and flying are
accompanied by eerie sounds. The animated figures are constructed in the
manner of puppetry and collage. Read more Introduced by the director.

CAR MEN Nominated for the Jury Prize
Boris Paval Conem and Jiri Kylian, The Netherlands, 2006; 28m
Sabina Kupferberg, Gioconda Barburo, Donald Krugel, Karel Hrusko make a
playful takeoff of the famous opera into a metaphor for time, speed,
stillness, movement, youth and age, while making a salute to the slapstick
silent film era. Czech born choreographer Jirí Kylián and director Boris
Paval Conen made this black-and-white film in a coalmine in the Czech
Republic. Dutch composer Han Otten arranged Bizet’s music and added extra
music specially composed for the film. The key prop in the film is a
‘scrap car’ reminiscent of the futurist Czech Tatra of the 1930s.

Program 9: Cine dance/Mockumentary
DIVA
Liz Aggiss, UK, 2007; 3.50m
A jaded dance diva processes up the red carpet. Craving the attention she
deserves, she performs a magnificent reconstruction from 1927 of the
little known work Largo. Since nobody gives a fig she blows a dance
raspberry and performs an impromptu rendition of Ranki Panki circa 2007.
DIVA is where fact and fiction collide, archive and reportage rupture.

THE BENTFOOTES
Todd Alcott and Kriota Willberg, USA, 2007; 75m
The Bentfootes tells the story of fictitious every-choreographer, Susan Bentfoote (Nina Hellman), and her quasi-illustrious family, who managed to keep their demented muse alive for 200 years. Starring James Urbaniak as Susan’s boyfriend, this witty mockumentary—a cross between Spinal Tap and Ken Burns—combines a memorial concert, interviews with family and friends and historical footage into a tongue-in-cheek exploration of the American dancer's artistic aesthetic from Post-revolutionary times to the present. Introduced by the directors

INEARTHIA
Simon Halbedo, Nazario Branca, Maren Sandmann, Switzerland, 2006; 2:15m
A creative attempt to spin the Earth.

NIU NIU's STORY
Mariel McEwan, USA, 2007; 6.22m
Dance, animation, and humor reveal the training and career of a young Chinese girl, Jia Wu, who was born to dance.

SCRAP LIFE
Su-En, Sweden, 2006; 8.30m
An homage to the art of recycling set at a scrap yard.

Program 10: Cine dance/Choreographic Cinema
PAVILLON NOIR
Pierre Coulibeuf, France, 2006; 24m
Pierre Coulibeuf adapts contemporary artistic universes. His films invent
a marginal language, are critical of established forms and question the
ways of presentation. Pavillion Noir highlights the virtual relations
between the choreography of Angelin Prejlocaj, the architecture, the urban space and the landscape.

BALKAN BAROQUE
Pierre Coulibeuf, France, 1999; 63m
Balkan Baroque is not a documentary on Marina Abramovic, nor a film to promoteher performances, but rather a cinematic and artistic work by Pierre Coulibeuf, autonomous. It's a wonderful portrait of this highly unusual artist but it'sthe vision of Coulibeuf, the vision of an artist. Balkan Baroque is fiction.

LE DEMON DU PASSAGE
Pierre Coulibeuf, France, 1995; 14mLandscapes in which characters appear, disappear and reappear, seemingly trying to make a connection with one another but always in transition, here and elsewhere, obsessing about love, betrayal,seeking answers. The confrontation is always between a fixed image and a moving on-- a fiction inspired by the photography of Jean-Luc Moulene, as other films have been collaborations with contemporary painters and other visual artists.   

Program 12: Animation/Documentary
LA VIE EST BELLE
Tristan Duhamel, France, 2004; 3.13m
A character of street-art painted by Jérôme Mesnager is dancing and running on the walls of Paris, animated by Tristan Duhamel.

INSIDE THE CIRCLE Nominated for the Jury Prize
Marcy Garriott, USA, 2007; 102m (See the trailer)
Capturing the raw power of a grassroots hip-hop movement, INSIDE THE
CIRCLE tells the story of two talented b-boys, Josh and Omar, former best friends who become rivals when they join competing dance crews. Omar rises tointernational renown, while Josh tangles with the law. The “B'Boy City” competitive events thrown by visionary street dancer Romeo Navarro serve as emotional milestones in their journey to adulthood. As Romeo aptly observes,“If you can hold yourself down in battle, you can hold yourself down in life.” introduced by the director . B'boys Romeo Navarro, Josh Ayers and Omar Davila will join her for the Q&A on 1/6.

Program 12: Documentary
WATER FLOWING TOGETHER Winner of The 2008 Jury Prize
Gwendolen Cates, USA, 2007; 77m
This splendid documentary is a compelling cinematic portrait of former NYCB Principal Dancer Jock Soto. Exploring both his Navajo Indian and Puerto Rican roots, as well as his extraordinary career as one of the ballet world's most gifted and celebrated dancers, this is a candid portrayal of an artist and a man. Introduced by the director and Jock Soto.

Program 13: Lecture with clips
UNDERGROUND DANCE MASTERS: Final History of a Forgotten Era
Thomas Guzman-Sanchez, USA, 2007; 144m
A tour de force exploration of the origin, evolution, history and the creators of the Urban Dance forms of Boogaloo, Locking, Popping, Roboting,
Rocking and B'boying. Introduced by the directors on Jan. 5th

Program 14 ARMOND WHITE
BACK TO THE FUTURE
In collaboration with Video Scanners, Dance on Camera presents Armond White, and his new look at how pop video artists preserve the dance tradition while creating new ways of moving, grooving and art-making. This program traces dance--back to the future--from soundstage to the street. From era defining movements of Michael Jackson to Michael Jordan, Madonna and others, White surveys how Hollywood musical choreographers inspired new generations of disciplined and eye-dazzling pop dance and shows how these artists use dance for powerful personal expression.