Dance on Camera Festival 2009
Walter Reade Theatre
Lincoln Center Plaza,165 West 65th Street
co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center
Wednesday-Sunday, January 7-11 and Friday-Saturday,16-17, 2009

Wednesday Jan 7, Walter Reade Theatre
6:15pm - Ballerina (repeats Jan 8, 1:30pm)
Bertrand Normand, 2007, France; 77m
Russian ballerinas have always been a source of pride to their country and a revelation to the Western audiences, from Pavlova to Makarova.  Normand, a Frenchman, explores his muse, the St. Petersburg ballerina, through interview and performance footage of Alina Somova, Svetlana Zakharova, Diana Vishneva, Ulyana Lopatkina and Evgenia Obraztsova. Each ballerina reveals her personal hopes and dreams, as well as the misfortunes that can interrupt a brilliant career. Lopatkina is seen returning to dancing after serious foot surgery and time off for motherhood. An intimate look at six of the Kirov’s rising stars and superstars. The filmmaker will introduce and do a Q and A. Made possible with the support of the Cultural Services of the French Embassy

Play: On the beach with the Ballets Russes
Gillian Lacey, England, 2008; 23m
Even dedicated dancers need time off for play. This film is comprised of informal archival footage of the Ballets Russes frolicking on the beach in Sidney, Australia during their 1936-1940 tours. No point shoes on the sand but some lively cartwheels, leaps and ballet poses in the edited fragments. We spotted the likes of Serge Lifar, Riabouchinska and raven-haired Tamara Toumanova and invite your guesses and comments after the screening. Alexander Balanescu wrote the score for the film as played by the Balanescu Quartet. Betty Low, a former member of the Ballets Russes, who is in the film will attend the opening night.

Wednesday Jan 7, Walter Reade Theatre
9pm - EMPAC DANCE MOVIES
A generous grant from The Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and the Performing Arts enabled EMPAC to launch the first major commissioning program of its kind in the US since the demise of “Alive from Lincoln Center.” They have played a pioneering role in
supporting the creation of new works in which dance meets the technology of the moving image, inspiring artists to forge collaborations. The six videos presented will be introduced by curator Hélène Lesterlin.

Kino-Eye Nominated for Jury Prize
Joby Emmons, USA, 2008; 8m
Choreographed by Elena Demyanenko, Kino-Eye shadows a dancer through contemporary Moscow. Immersed in an aesthetic of video surveillance, the dancer shifts in and out of glitches and static as video playback manipulates her image.

Veterans
Victoria Marks & Margaret Williams, USA/UK, 2008; 18m
These two artists whocollaborated previously on the dance videos OUTSIDE IN, MOTHERS & DAUGHTERS, and MEN,put their focus on five young veterans attempting to make peace with their military service. Performed and co-created by vets from the West Los Angeles VA combat rehab/ PTSD clinic.

Propiedad Horizontal Nominated for Jury Prize
David Fariás, Carla Schillagi and Maria Fernanda Vallejos, Argentina,
2008, 10m Dancers in a narrow passageway to create an elegant,
abstract, and lively piece of pure movement and form.

Nora
Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, 2008, USA/UK; 35m
Nora directed by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, choreographed by Nora
Chipaumire, soundscore by Thomas Mapfumo, produced by Joan Frosch
(USA/Zimbabwe/Mozambique/UK) — a dense and swiftly moving poem of
sound and image that tells the story of a dancer growing up in Zimbabwe.
Introduced by the artists

Thursday, Jan 8, Walter Reade Theatre
4pm - Jiri Kylian & Hans Hulscher collaboration (repeat Jan 17,3:30pm)
For over thirty years thecreative collaboration of the Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian and the Nederlands Dans Theater has produced more than 60 extraordinary productions. The dance works made for television were directed by Hans Hulscher, a specialist in capturing dance and opera. Panel on mastering the Kylian style, as moderated with Robert Johnson, dance critic for the Newark Star Ledger with Lawrence Rhodes

Wings of Wax
Hans Hulscher, Netherlands, 1997; 19m
Opening with a a bare tree, hanging crown downwards with its roots in the air, the dancers emerge out of the black background, only to be absorbed back into it again in Jirí Kylián's take on the man who flew too near the sun.

Petit Mort
Hans Hulscher, Netherlands, 1996; 18m
Set to the slow tempos of two of Mozart´s most beautiful and popular piano concertos, choreographer Jirí Kylián writes "I am living and working in a world where nothing is sacred, and where brutality and arbitrariness are commonplaces. This work should convey the idea of two ancient torsos, their heads and limbs cut off - however unable to destroy their beauty, thus reflecting the spiritual power of their creator".

Sleepless
Hans Hulscher, Netherlands, 2004, 26m
In this work for six dancers, Dutch choreographer Jirí Kylián uses Mozart's adagio and rondo KV 617 in C major to make a pun on 'moving, and being moved. He believes that "the nature of moving is such that, if you move towards something, you automatically move away from something else."

Thursday, Jan 8, Walter Reade Theatre 6:15pm
Antonio Gades: The Ethics of Dancing (repeat Jan 9, 2pm)
Juan Cano Arecha, 2007, Spain; 56m
Dancer, choreographer, Communist, lover, Antonio Gades (1936-2004) brought an intense, seductive glamour to flamenco’s powerful vocabulary. One of the finest flamenco performers of the 20th Century, he was a master of spare gestures and potent stillness. This new documentary reveals previously unseen images of the dancer’s work, including his choreography for “Ad Libitum” danced with Alicia Alonso and an excerpt from “Giselle” in which he performed the role of Hilarion, among other surprises. Christina Hoyos, his partner in the Gades/Saura film collaborations of “Blood Wedding’ and “El Amor Brujo” is just one of the interviewees.To be introduced by the director

Objects in Mirror are Closer than They Appear
David Fernandez, USA, 2007; 19m
Set to Kronos Quartet’s REQUIEM FOR ADAM,  OBJECTS  was filmed in Ailey Citigroup Theater with a talented group of dancers from American Ballet Theater and New York City Ballet, among them Misty Copeland, Luciana Paris, Ana Sophia Scheller, and NYCB principal Daniel Ulbricht. Choreographer Fernandez was inspired by the sculptures of Giacometti and the work of Maurice Bejart to make this piece on the theme of memory, exploring one man’s journey through his past, as figures and events appear to him in fitful spurts and swiftly disappear

Icarus APR
David Fernandez, USA, 2008; 10m
Icarus APR (Annual Percentage Rate) is a solo based on a modern interpretation of the Icarus legend, set to the music of Pink Floyd’s “Money.” Icarus’ wings are made of credit cards and his flight toward the sun and his come-uppance have a particular resonance in today’s troubled economy.  Performed by Ask La Cour/Frank Dellapolla. Introduced by the director

Thursday, Jan 8, Walter Reade Theatre 8:45pm
Magnetic Cinema, Matchbox, Sens 1 (repeat Jan 16, 1pm)
Pierre Coulibeuf, 2008, France; 33m
Inspired by Canadian choreographer Benoit Lachambre’s “Lugares Comunes” this film was shot in Brittany, France near Brest and touches on the sphere of the supernatural. Pierre Coulibeuf is a filmmaker fascinated by the idea of presenting images in motion in relation to external realities.  As in his previous works, "Pavillon Noir" and "Lost Paradise," he introduces his “characters” into a world of natural elements—air, water, plant and mineral—leading to a strange, antagonistic kinship and body movements that often imitate nature’s dark forces. Communication is non-verbal except for those disturbing android doubles that operate by magnetic signals and speak and move robotically. Whose universe is this?Benoit Lachambre won a Bessie Award in 2006 for his performance in "Forgeries Love and other matters", that he cocreate with Meg Stuart.www.parbleux.qc.ca

Matchbox
Daniel Belton, 2008, New Zealand; 25m
An evocative “partnership game” played out on a jazzy dance floor with dazzling physicality. Eight dancers pitch themselves at each other in a romantic roller coaster ride to love. Dancers sort each other out in witty, competitive ways. Introduced by the director

Sens 1
Julien Condemine, France, 2008; 33m
Belgian choreographer Pedro Pauwels, with the collaboration of the Compagnie des Indes,  creates a choreographic space and invites the audience to engage in the physicality and mystery of the performance. In Sens 1 two dancers—Francesca Bonato and Magalie Bouze-- joined like Siamese twins by their left feet, move around a crackling bubble-wrap carpet that resembles a dimly lit boxing ring. This dance is on the frontier of the impossible meeting the triumphant. A brief photo essay brings a sense of relief after the intensity of the hypnotic experience.

Friday, Jan 9, Walter Reade Theatre, 4pm
The Dance of the Enchantress (repeats Jan 16, 9pm)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan & Brigitte Chataignier, 2007, France; 70m
The beauty of the dance form of Mohiniyattam (“mohini means enchantress and attam translates as graceful movements) is explored by this veteran filmmaker. Born in the southern region of Kerala, both devotional and sensuous in nature, “Mohinitattam” lays emphasis on romance—the shades, colors and moods of love. Rich in folk flavor, this “dance of the enchantress” uses “mudras”-- hand gestures--along with music and body movement, to narrate stories related to the Lord Vishnu, often disguised as an enchantress or “mohini.”  “ The film’s images are stunning....Gopalakrishnan picks out the richness of each color from the white and gold of  the pleated saris to intense hues made even stronger by perfect lighting” (Locarno Film Festival, 2007). Introduced by Rajika Puri, exponent of two forms of Indian temple dance, choreographer and writer
For more information, see http://cie.prana.free.fr/spip.php?rubrique32

Friday, Jan 9, Walter Reade Theatre 6:15pm
Innovative Shorts (repeats on Jan 11, 8:30pm)
After Durer
Daniel Belton, 2007, New Zealand; 7.5m
A choreographed probe into the heart of Dürer's engraving 'Melencolia I' spiced by Jac Grenfell's depiction of the Geometric Body at the center of the engraving. Introduced by the director

Veiting Norba
Didzis Eglitis, Latvia, 2007; 3m
An accidental encounter on a sidewalk spins a group waiting for the garbage collector into a chain reaction likely to provoke a smile.

Dance Like Your Old Man
Gideon Obarzanek & Edwina Throsby, 2007, Australia; 10m
Six women imitate their dads’ dancing. Winner of Cinedans 2008

Day Off
Karn Junkinsmith, USA, 2007; 8m
Taking a day off from the convent, six novices dancing through the suburban streets of
north Seattle in this charming black and white short. Introduced by director

Of The Heart Nominated for Jury Prize
Douglas Rosenberg/Allan Kaeja, USA, 2008; 6m
A dance camera trio set in a windblown field with heartfelt performances by David Dorfman and Lisa Race. Introduced by directors

Liberamae
Marie-Christine Letourneux, 2008, Canada; 21m
Elia, a timid introverted man, accompanies his mother to a private event where a choreographed performance is taking place. When the dancer appears, Elias discovers that, as if in a nightmare, he is the one who is on stage. Under the harsh stage lights, his doppelganger's movements express everything he is most ashamed of: his fear of not being perfect, his isolation ans his self-centeredness. Elia rushes from the room in search of an explanation. What if the escape to his nightmare lies in the tortured gests of the dancer?Introduced by the choreographer/performer Louis-Martin Charest, director Marie-Christine letourneux, and scriptwriter Sébastien Tétreault.

Manuelle Labor
Marie Losier, 2007 16mm, USA: 10 min.
Made in collaboration with Canadian director Guy Maddin, this film involves
two sisters, five brothers, a doctor and two nurses and the miraculous birth of a pair of hands..but whose hands? Introduced by the director

Karohano ("Pieces")
Jeannette Ginslov, South Africa, 2008; 8'55m
Three young men dancing on the streets of downtown Johannesburg reveal aspects of African male identity, through subtle shades of physical satire.

Bardo Nominated for Jury Prize
Richard Move, 2007, USA; 4.52m
A hypnotic 'Lamentation Variation 2', choreographed by Richard Move and commissioned by the Martha Graham Dance Company as performed by Katherine Crockett. Introduced by director and dancer

Mysteries of Nature Nominated for Jury Prize
Dahci Ma, 2008, South Korea;10m
"Torn into bits and gone with the wind."
Introduced by the director

Gentle Shift
Patrick Lovejoy, USA, 2008; 4.5m
An elegant choreography of the cinema space created by sliding framed images of the body in time with a jazz score. Introduced by director

Friday, Jan 9, Walter Reade Theatre, 8:30pm
VSPRS Show and Tell (repeats on Jan 11, 6:15pm)
Sophie Fiennes, 2006, Belgium; 72m
Trailblazing Belgian choreographer Alain Platel and innovative filmmaker Sophie Fiennes ("A Pervert’s Guide to Cinema") teamed up for this hybrid marvel—part performance, part documentary-- in which dance, drama and music fuse to mesmerizing effect. Platel and his Les Ballets C de la B, have often courted controversy and this piece is a contemporary interpretation of Monteverdi’s “Maria Vespers,” one of the most significant works of European religious music. Fiennes brilliantly captures the bizarre performance of VSPRS, set at the foot of a glacier, with virtuoso soloists and ensembles exploring the behavior of those whose psyches and bodies have experienced both trauma and ecstasy. The result was described by one critic as “the weirdest, most shocking and provocative performance you will ever see.”  Director Fiennes will introduce and do Q and A’s

MEET THE ARTIST: Kriota Wilberg (Gallery, Sat., 10, 2:30pm)
Under the Influence of Busby Berkeley

Busby Berkeley was a great director/choreographer in his day, but what has he done for us lately? Turns out… a lot! Berkeley’s penchant for crazy camera moves, sex, elaborate staging, geometry and stream-of-consciousness editing style still influences artists today, and has been used to sell cigarettes, music, household appliances, food, and pharmaceuticals. How many choreographers can claim such a broad impact? Kriota Willberg presents clips from an array of independent and studio films, music videos, and television commercials, demonstrating Berkeley’s influence on cinematography and choreographic styles over the last 70 years.

Saturday, Jan 10, Walter Reade Theatre,4pm
Dames (Busby Berkeley Celebration) plus shorts
Animated magic
Ondrej Rudavsky, 2006-2008, USA; 12:20m
Celestial Riddle, Kiko, Carnival, Echo Dance are four by this prolific Los Angeles based animator.

Dames
Ray Enright with Busby Berkeley, USA, 1934; 90m
Busby Berkeley was a genius of excess. At his best, particularly in his classic black and white films, he created some of the most awe-inspiring and jaw-dropping production numbers in Hollywood musical history. On the 50th anniversary of DAMES, Dance on Camera celebrates Berkeley, his signature kaleidoscopic style, his cinematic flair and endless ingenuity. This backstage putting-on-show musical is enlivened by the bright comic turns of some great character actors, among them ZaSu Pitts, Guy Kibbee, and the inimitable Joan Blondell (catch her as the laundress in “The Girl at the Ironing Board” number!). For romance, there’s Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, of course, but for eye candy there’s “I Only Have Eyes for You” and the title number with chorus girls, bathtubs, alarm clocks, you name them!  Senior Village Voice critic J. Hoberman will introduce the screening and he did knew Ruby K as will be revealed).

Saturday, Jan 10, Walter Reade Theatre, 6:30pm
Gangs all Here
Busby Berkeley, USA, 1943; 103m
Berkeley’s first color film is an unparalleled over-the-top extravaganza featuring Carmen Miranda as the “Lady in the Tutti-Frutti Hat” accompanied by chorus girls with life-size bananas. Ignore the ridiculous plot but enjoy the tuneful tunes of Harry Warren, the dizzy humor of Charlotte Greenwood, and the nice renditions by Alice Faye looking ‘swell’ in living color. Eugene Pallette and Edward Everett Horton add silliness and cheer. According to film historian Martin Rubin in his book “Showstoppers: Busby Berkeley and the Tradition of Spectacle”  “Gang’s All Here” contains more energy and imagination than all of Berkeley’s work for MGM put together.”  See for yourself!  This is the only film he made at Fox. It will be shown in new 35mm studio print.

Saturday, Jan 10, Walter Reade Theatre, 8:45pm
Historia (repeats Jan 11., 4:15pm)
Karsten Liske, 2007, Germany; 2007; 45m
A young woman’s short life is visualized in the dramatic interplay of choreographic and abstract images. In the silence of mourning, among family and friends following a funeral procession through various parts of a Portuguese city, a compelling narrative emerges about the interval between life and death. Awarded the price for best film work at NapoliDanza Festival 2008. Introduced by director and the protagonist Claudia de Serpa Soares

Nora
Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, 2008, USA/Zimbabwe/Mozambique/UK; 35m
Based on the true stories of the Zimbabwe-born dancer/choreographer Nora Chipaumire, this is a swiftly moving poem of sound and image, alternately tragic and comic. A fiercely embattled African girl experiences the joys and disappointments of love and struggles against intimidation and violence to gain her independence.  Shot entirely on location in Southern Africa, NORA includes a multitude of local performers and dancers of all ages, from schoolchildren to grandmothers, with rousing music by Zimbabwean legend Thomas Mapfumo.

Sunday, Jan 11, Walter Reade Theatre, 2pm
The Blue Bird ...Celebrating dance in classic silent films
The Blue Bird
Maurice Tourneur, 1918 film, US; 81m
Based on the play of the same title by Nobel Prize winner Maurice Maeterlinck, this silent film fantasy with allegoric overtones cries out to be a full-length ballet.  Combining lavish sets, ingenious camera effects and disarmingly naturalistic performances, it evokes the whimsy of Melies and looks ahead to the expressionism of “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” Two children—a girl and a boy named Mytyl and Tytyl (Tula Belle and Robin Macdougall)—are joined by the fairy Berylune (Lillian Cook) in their quest through magical realms for the elusive Blue Bird of Happiness.  Reminiscent of “The Wizard of Oz,” this “Blue Bird” has its own distinct Old -World charm. Preserved with its original color tints, the print has undergone some decomposition but is still breathtakingly lovely to behold. Accompanied by live piano music by Ben Model

Friday, Jan 16, Walter Reade Theatre, 3pm
Ishanou (The Chosen One) (repeats Jan 17, 1pm)
Aribam Syam Sharma, India, 1991; 91m
This film was one of the notable hits of the 1990 Cannes Festival.  Based on a story by Manipuri writer MK Binodini Devi, THE CHOSEN is a rich melodrama that contrasts ordinary domestic life with the strange rituals of the Meitei matriarchal cult. Beautiful and spirited, Tampha is happily married to Dhanbir and lives with him and their little daughter Bembem under the protective care of her market woman mother. All is bliss until Tampha is unaccountably seized by divine possession and experiences violent fits of vision and trance. In search of her Maibi guru, she abandons her family and embarks on a transcendental journey. Myth, magic and ritual and a riveting final sequence of shamanic dance (the shamans portray themselves) are the elements that make “Ishanou” an unforgettable viewing experience. The director’s award winning feature, "My Son, My Precious," was one of the highlights of New Directors/New Films in 1983. Introduced by Rhoda Grauer, Dean of School of Visual and Performing Arts, Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, on January 17th.

Friday, Jan 16, Walter Reade Theatre 6:15pm
American Masters Jerome Robbins: Something to Dance About, with Panel
Judy Kinberg, 2008, USA; 112m
How does one describe a genius like Jerome Robbins—the choreographer/director who transformed the Broadway musical and left an indelible mark on the world of classical ballet? Here is a sneak-peek at an extraordinary documentary that explores this complex figure in all his contradictory colors. See it on the big screen prior to its PBS airing on February 4th. Directed and produced by six-time Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Judy Kinberg and written by best-selling Robbins biographer Amanda Vaill, it examines with candor and humor, his creative process, his perfectionism, and the controversies that plagued his life. Kinberg uncovers never-before-seen rehearsal footage and interviews many of his esteemed colleagues, including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Suzanne Farrell, Jacques d'Amboise, Chita Rivera, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents. A panel discussion with Kinberg, Vaill and other guests will follow.

Return to schedule at a glance

Showings on Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery Screen:

Arising
Ben Dolphin, USA, 2008; 4m
Nine dancers dance, dive and fly through the waterfall helping each other and transforming into triumphant flying angels. Introduced by director

Caution
Susannah Newman, USA, 2008; 6.42m
Helanius Wilkins choreographed a provocative work that explores the frustrations and stereotyping of young, urban black men in America /Susannah Newman winningly juxtaposes its group performance with a cornered soloist and voiceover. Composer: Sven Abow

Embodiments of Silence A Dance Transposed for the Screen
Tim Glenn, USA, 2008; 52m
Abstractly narrative and semi-autobiographical in nature, Embodiments of Silence was inspired by early twentieth-century anecdotes about life in the rural South. Re-visioning the 1996 choreography for the stage, Glenn discovered the Birdsong Nature Center near Thomasville, GA. Film scored by Alex Davis. To be introduced by director on Friday afternoon January 16th.

An Issue of Trust
Allison Fischer, USA, 2007; 12m
The third collaboration between filmmaker Allison Fischer and choreographer Ashley Browne with the introduction of musician David Coit put forth this story to serve as a vehicle of self-reflection for all those who are caught not knowing what they want.

Multiplied Subtraction
Michael Cole, USA, 2008, 30m
The raw material for this video served asa portion of the decor for "the Invention of Minus One," a stage dance by Jonah Bokaer. Starting and ending with the staged reality of a photo shoot, the work takes a Walter Benjaminian look at art and image in the age of digital reproduction. 3-Dimensional imagery is flattened and then converted to a new, sometimes Busby Berkley like, third dimensionality. Realized through a combination of live video and 3-D animation including fractal particle systems, motion capture animation, and traditional pose to pose key-framed animation. The dancers are Holley Farmer, Rashaun Mitchell and Banu Ogan.

Reincarnation
Takeshi Kushida, Japan, 2008; 5m
Kaiji Moriyama performs in this mesmerizing film about the voluptuous moments during the fusion of a soul and a flesh.

more to be announced for gallery showing