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.
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
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 2009 Jury Prize Winner
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