The Washington Center for the Performing Arts
presents
Dance On Camera
April 16-17, 2007

Viva la Danse
from "Unseen Cinema - Early American Avant Garde Film 1894-1941

Awesome -- must be seen!
Glenn Abel (Studio City, CA United States)

"Unseen" curator Bruce Posner says his goal was to "provide the broadest possible spectrum of experimental films produced between the 1890s and 1940s" -- roughly, the period from Thomas Edison to WWII. And so we have everything from home movies to lavish production numbers; Many of these films have not been seen in decades and some were never screened for the public. Others, surprisingly, were products of the Hollywood studios.

The best of the early works are triumphs of the imagination over technical limits and creaky acting -- in quite a few, the wow factor remains potent. Watching the many bits of fantasy and cinematic sleights of hand, it's easy to draw a loopy line to the works of cinematic descendants such as Ray Harryhausen, Tim Burton and George Lucas.


Ballets Russes
Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine, USA, 2005, 118min.
from Zeitgeist Films

"'Ballets Russes' illuminates and captivates, as it captures the heart and spirit of one of the 20th century's most fabled ballet companies, with a history that stretches continents and decades. As this film clearly relates, those dancers, not only Russian but other nationalities as well, spread themselves throughout a good share of the world, including Seattle, teaching and talking about dance. By R. M Campbell, Seattle Post-Intelligencer Dance Critic Read more

Pretty Big Dig
Anne Troake, Newfoundland, 2003, 3:26
A favorite for anyone who ever played with a truck, or knew someone who did, this dance film that gently illustrates the assimilation of technology with a balletic grace few could deny. Produced with the help of Bravo!FACT, Anne Troake set out to do a dance film to convince the world that anyone can dance. She went to Heavy Equipment Training School for a day to learn who to speak to the tractor engineers and then blissfully fulfilled her goal.Featured on 20/20! See clip

Phoenix Dance
Karina Epperlein, USA, 2006; 23 min
Shortlisted for a 2006 Oscar, this moving and beautiful documentary features Homer Avila, an extraordinary dancer who lost a leg to cancer, as he returns to the stage with the creation of a duet by San Francisco based choreographer Alonzo King. Avila, who died in 2004, danced with Twyla Tharp, Bill T. Jones, Mark Morris and Momix.

Amelia
Édouard Lock, Canada, 2003; 60m
Intense and taut, this film directed by Montréal's renowned choreographer Édouard Lock is an abstract work for pointe is a powerful interplay of extended intertwining solos, intricate partnering sequences, complexity, and speed. Anchored by intricate partnering, Amelia arrives at full tilt, gathering and dispersing energy with the ferocity of a midsummer storm, alternating its hard-edged encounters with unexpected moments of tender emotion and serenity. The women's pointe work has a classroom sharpness and precision while their arms fly free, as if in flight. Lock designed the film, adapted from his stage work, by precisely choreographing the camera to the performances of the dancers of La La La Human Steps, all within a minimalist environment made of wood and delicately lit by André Turpin. The original score for piano, cello, violin, and voice, is composed by David Lang and set in part to the lyrics of Lou Reed. This amazing dance film has won a slew of awards in Chicago, Lucerne, Los Angeles, Banff and Prague. Lock has created works for The Paris Opera Ballet, the Netherlands Dance Theater and the Dutch National Ballet.

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BREAK
Shona McCullagh, New Zealand, 2006, 14m
Jury winner for Dance on Camera Festival 2007, a moving tribute to a family’s dynamic from the perspective of a young boy that plays inventively with rhythm and narrative. From the director of wildly popular dance short FLY and the choreographer for KING KONG and the THE LION, WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE. For more information and to purchase her other shorts FLY and HURTLE, please e-mail Human Garden.

Breath
Huseyin Karabey, Turkey, 2005; 40m
(in Dutch, with English subtitles)
A taciturn Pina Bausch, the heralded queen of European dance theatre who studied at The Juilliard School in New York, smiles, nods, and takes notes for the marvelous dancers of her Wuppertal Dance Theatre, seen rehearsing and performing in Istanbul. Enigmatic as always, the choreographer nevertheless offers a privileged glimpse of herself at work with her handsome, playful dancers who solicit approval from the master choreographer with their improvisations.

Astragalus
Toni Vidaechea, Spain, 2004; 9m
In this winner of VideoDansa competition 2004, a lean, exhausted dancer/choreographer OlgaSasplugas struggles beneath a pool of light. Is she trapped or attempting to escape? Or caught in an endless loop between the two? www.nu2s.org

Black Spring
Benoit Dervaux, Belgium/Nigeria, 2002, 28min.
Choreography by Heddy Maalen; danced by Simone Goris and Serge Anagondu of Compagnie Ivoire; produced by Heure d'Ete. This dance film has become a favorite among curators for its raw juxtaposition of dance and life. It presents a dance for film interwoven with street scenes in an African shantytown. This creates a contrast between the purity of dance and the messiness of life. The movement in this work often itself creates the sonic rhythm, through the use of hand held shakers, whisks and other items. As with all great dance, this work showcases both movement and stillness. The dance is presented in a way which is simple, yet very provocative. The film challenges the viewers to keep their eyes riveted to the screen - sometimes because the lead dancer speaks directly to the audience and challenges them to do so. Presented on a big screen, it feels like the dancers are eye to eye with you in the same room.

Belly Boat Hustle
Sandra Swatzky, Calgary, 1997, 5min.
An hilarious short for five Calgary men with type-A personalities for a weekend of fly-fishing with beer, cell phones and all-terrain vehicles."A belly boat is an inflatable device used for fly-fishing in a lake, kind of like a jolly-jumper that a baby would suspend itself in, only you get to revert back to the womb in this little flotation device in the water." Choreographed by Nicole Mion, produced with help from Bravo!FACT, the short is set to a cartoon-styled score by Calgary composer Dewi Wood. Rumor has it that if you listen carefully, you can pick out the "Row, row, row your boat" theme. Playing the five characters are two dancers from Alberta Ballet, a physical clown, a fly-fisherman, and someone from the video industry.

Curated with the help of
Kevin Boyer, Director of Marketing
The Washington Center for the Performing Arts
www.washingtoncenter.org

This program was made possible through DFA's touring program sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts, the members of DFA, NYSCA, and the Susan Braun Trust. To become a touring partner, see the Touring Partnership Page