November 10, 2008

Call for Works Influenced by Busby Berkeley

If you have made a film or video that pays homage to Busby Berkeley, here's a unique opportunity to have your work screened at the Dance On Camera Festival:

Kriota Willberg, a choreographer, dance filmmaker, and former guest curator of Kinetic Cinema is seeking clips from film, video, or digital media directly influenced by the camera work, staging, or choreographic styles of Busby Berkeley.  As a part of the Dance On Camera Festival, in the lobby of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, January 2009,  Kriota Willberg is presenting a short program on the impact of Berkeley's penchant for crazy camera moves, sex,  elaborate staging, geometry, and stream-of-consciousness editing style on the work of mainstream, independent, and fringe media.  There is no budget, no stipend for the use of your media in this presentation (admission is free), but your clip will be credited to you, a part of the festival, and seen at Lincoln Center.  Clips can feature dancing, fights, inanimate objects, animation, live action, stop motion, you name it.  The more unusual, the better.  Copyright for media should be held by you.  I'd also welcome your contribution of found clips that are known to be in public domain.  Please contact kriota@earthlink.net

Here's one of my favorite Berkeley homage pieces, the Chemical Brother's video "Let Forever Be" directed by Michel Gondry.

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October 29, 2008

Kinetic Cinema Skips a Month, Other November Happenings

Unfortunately, due to difficulties finding space, there will be no Kinetic Cinema screening in November (normally it would be on the first Monday of the month). To make up for it, we will be back on the first of December with a fantastic double program with the sister dance/film duo Sasha and Kerrie Welsh and myself, featuring new works-in-progress, live dance, rare films, and more! Stay tuned for more up-dates.

Everyone's got the pre-election jitters, and while it may be hard to think about anything past November 4th, there are some other things to look forward to next month including the following dance film and media events.

First, it was hinted on Tendu.tv's blog (an excellent source of dance/media/tech information by the way), that Tendu.tv will launch its dance channel on Tidal TV potentially as early as next week, airing Battleworks' "Overture" performed at the Joyce. Other programs coming to the channel will be Jonah Bokaer's "The Invention of Minus One", performed at Abrons Arts Center last year, and Episode 1 of "Dance Tech" - a long form program based on the social network Dance-tech.net created by Marlon Barrios Solano. While the official launch date is not confirmed, I've already gone ahead and registered on Tidal TV's website, so I can be ready to stream Tendu.tv's channel as soon as it arrives.

With the recent technological breakthroughs in broadband video, the media playing field has been leveled somewhat, giving dance-makers opportunities to enter the mass broadcasting industry. I'm really excited to see what happens as Tendu.tv and other dance channels develop. Will they be able to cross over onto regular TV? Will the audience demand for dance programming grow? How will it impact attendance for live performance and live screenings? I'll be writing more about all these issues as events unfold!

Another screening event coming up in New York this month is a program of dance on camera presented by the Dance Films Association at the New Museum of Contemporary Art on November 7th at 7:30pm & November 8th at 3:00pm. The program will feature two silent dance films accompanied by live music, the first is SURFACE directed by Patrick Lovejoy (STOMP and Cirque de Soleil) with music by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist Jay Rodriguez (of Groove Collective fame), and Ben Dolphin's ARISING with music performed by his New Tribal Ensemble. Other films presented will be Pontus Lidberg's THE RAIN (Sweden), Klara Elenius' INSYN (Sweden), and Gabrielle Lamb's QUIZAS, QUIZAS, QUIZAS (Canada). New Museum of Contemporary Art is located at 235 Bowery Street (at Prince Street between Stanton and Rivington Streets, one and a half blocks south of Houston), New York City. For more info go to: http://www.newmuseum.org/

Appropriate for the coming winter, here's a trailer for Pontus Lidberg's THE RAIN:

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October 21, 2008

Dispatches from EMPAC's Grand Opening Weekend

I've written quite a few posts on this blog about the United State's one and only major supporter of videodance, EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY.

After two years of construction, on October 3rd EMPAC officially opened the doors of their new magnificent state-of-the-art media and performing arts center, and celebrated with two weekends of non-stop performances, screenings, installations and special events. I was lucky enough to be able spend the day on Saturday Oct 4th, seeing this amazing facility for myself. I traveled with a fellow dance filmmaker, Sabine Klaus (aka CreationEditor on dance-tech.net) who was visiting from Scotland. We took in the sights and Sabine recorded much of what she saw on video to create the 25 min vlog post below. Many thanks to Sabine for letting me share it with you here.



The building is a work of art in itself. Designed by the London-based architecture firm, Grimshaw, it is built into the side of a hill overlooking downtown Troy with views of Albany beyond. With its modern glass and steel exterior, and curvey wood interior it looks like both a starship landing dock, and a giant pickle barrel. It was a bit confusing to find one's way around the multitude of theaters, studios and galleries, but by the end of the day I'd gotten my bearings.

In 2007, with the support of a $1 million gift from the Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts, EMPAC launched the DANCE MOViES Commission which supports the creation of several new experimental dance films by artists from the Americas each year. The premiere screening of the first DANCE MOViES Commission films took place in the huge Concert Hall space on a gigantic screen. I don't know enough to speak about the great acoustical and technical attributes of this space, but it was awesome to see dance films blown up so big with so much visual and sonic impact!

I thought the pieces that showed off the capabilities of the building the best, however were the interactive installations. The Wooster group made a 360 degree video installation that was supposed to be about life in wartime, but it made a more powerful statement about control and editing, as one viewer in the space, sitting in the "chosen" chair, was able to direct the gaze of the group by swiveling around. Wherever this one person looked, that was the part of the video that was in focus and audible. The piece was masterfully designed to look slipshod and casual, but underneath it was very manipulative, making you feel both in and out of control over the action. I'd love to see more pieces like this, but besides major art museums and institutions like EMPAC, it would be hard to find a place with the technical capabilities to mount it. Another great installation was Billie Cowie's 3-D "In the Flesh" in which viewers don the red and blue glasses to watch a dancer lift herself off of a zebra print rug. Like a ghost being conjured at a séance, it felt creepy to see her delicate hand reaching up to me, almost touching, and then fading away.

All in all, EMPAC is an amazing place for experimental artists, but after visiting I had a few questions about what its real world impact will be. Here in New York City, spaces to make and show experimental dance and media are more scarce than ever. Perhaps Troy and Albany will become a new destination for artists seeking cheap and plentiful real estate with adequate cultural and community benefits to support them, but even in up-state New York, the great disparity between rich and poor is quite striking. EMPAC is really designed for world class artists who already have the capabilities, funding, and expertise to take advantage of the unsurpassed technological resources this facility can provide. This makes sense given their situation at one of the world's most prestigious technical/engineering institutions.

Even in the arts, it seems the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I would just like an empty room with lights and heat to rehearse in, and perhaps a new video camera that can record high quality footage. I'd like to be able to pay my dancers and crew adequate compensation for their time and talents, and I'd like to not have to work three jobs in order to practice my art. There is a big gulf between the gutter most of us live in and the glimmering edifice of EMPAC. We need to create a bridge to be able to reach these glorious technological dreamlands of the future. This means radically rethinking how we build support, create community, and raise the value of our work. EMPAC makes experimental art look valuable and appealing to the wider world, but its up to us artists to raise the quality of our work to match those expectations. This takes many carefully measured steps to cultivate  donor networks, major funders, and presenters whose support will be necessary to reach that glittering gem on the top of the hill.

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October 6, 2008

Reminder - Elizabeth Zimmer at Kinetic Cinema Tonight!

Tonight's Kinetic Cinema program, curated and hosted by dance critic Elizabeth Zimmer is not to be missed! She will be showing two rarely seen documentaries, including 1987's "The Way Things Go,"  showing a fascinating Rube Goldberg-like kinetic sculpture by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss, and a 2007 documentary on six downtown dance artists moderated and interviewed by Zimmer.
Please note the new location below:

Pentacle Movement Media & Collective:Unconscious co-present:
Kinetic Cinema
Monday October 6th, 7:00pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

IRT Theater
154 Christopher Street, Suite 3B (btw Washington & Greenwich Streets)
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212.206.6875
Trains: 1 to Christopher Street, PATH to Christopher Street
Admission: $5
Space is extremely limited, so get there early!

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October 3, 2008

Cool Workshops, Events, Screenings and More This Week!

This is one of those weeks of when the amount of cool stuff going on in the NYC area has reached a critical mass. I feel compelled to share with you the several of particular interest to dance and media lovers:

DV8 Physical Theatre on Tour!
This company, under the direction of Lloyd Newson has brought us some of the greatest dance films ever made including THE COST OF LIVING, ENTER ACHILLES, DEAD DREAMS OF MONOCHROME MEN, and STRANGE FISH. Newson's working process is generally to create a stage show and then completely re-envision it for screen. You won't want to miss their latest live work "TO BE STRAIGHT WITH YOU", only playing at two more venues in the US! See info below:

2nd - 5th October .... Kasser Theater, tix
MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY, USA

9th - 10th October .... Memorial Hall, UNC, tix
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA, USA
EMPAC Grand Opening!
The Experimental Media & Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY is an incredible facility with even more incredible art-making and programming happening inside of it. Come up to celebrate the opening of the new building and check out the first DANCE MOViES Commissions featuring Kino Eye by Joby Emmons and Elena Demyanenko; Nora by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, choreographed by Nora Chipaumire; Veterans by Victoria Marks and Margaret Williams; and PH Propriedad Horizontal created by David Fariás, Carla Schillagi and Maria Fernanda Vallejos.

 

Kinetic Cinema Screening with Elizabeth Zimmer!
Elizabeth Zimmer is a renown dance writer and critic as well as the editor of the seminal book on dance for the camera: "Envisioning Dance On Film and Video." You won't want to miss this Kinetic Cinema in which she shares some of her favorite movement-based videos and talks about her interest in dance for the camera.

Kinetic Cinema
Monday October 6th, 7:00pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

IRT Theater
154 Christopher Street, Suite 3B (btw Washington & Greenwich Streets)
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212.206.6875
Trains: 1 to Christopher Street, PATH to Christopher Street
Admission: $5
 

Interactive dance/media workshop:
FREE WORKSHOP IN ACTIVE SPACE
Presented by MRX with UC Irvine

Saturday, October 18
10:00 am to 4:00 pm

Free Admission

Baryshnikov Arts Center
450 W. 37th Street
(between 9th & 10th Avenues)
New York, NY 10018

Jodi Gates - choreographer
Lisa Naugle - choreographer/improviser
John Crawford - interactive media artist
with guest artists
Patrick Corbin and CorbinDances
The Active Space is John Crawford's interactive media
environment that engages participants in a dialog of
mutual influence involving movement, visuals and sound. It supports body-centered performance practices integrated with software systems for motion tracking, live video processing, special effects and interactive music.

• Work from a somatic, open-looped structure with Lisa Naugle and experience spatial-perceptual movement techniques for whole-body connectedness in the Active Space. This session will focus on developing choice-making, dynamic flow, and dance-technology interaction.
• See new dance/media choreography by Jodie Gates, performed by Patrick Corbin and CorbinDances in the Active Space. 
• Participate in choreographic exploration based on William Forsythe's improvisational technologies combined with Jodie Gates's own choreographic and teaching methods.

SPACE IS LIMITED; REGISTER NOW:
Email info@movementresearch.org
OR
Call 212.598.0551, ext. 261

For More Information:http://dance.arts.uci.edu/nyc

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September 29, 2008

Kinetic Cinema with Elizabeth Zimmer

Next Monday, Oct 6th you won't want to miss veteran dance critic Elizabeth Zimmer at Kinetic Cinema. As the editor of the seminal book "Envisioning Dance On Film and Video" (Routledge, 2002), Elizabeth Zimmer has researched and grappled with issues of mediatized dance extensively. For her Oct 6th program she will show two documentaries that offer very different approaches to movement for screen.
The evening will include "The Way Things Go", an award-winning film by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss, that documents the chain-reactive performance of a 100 foot long kinetic sculpture made entirely of common household objects (click here for a teaser on YouTube). The second half of the program will  feature two rarely-seen volumes of a documentary project Elizabeth Zimmer appeared in and assisted on entitled "Downtown Dance-New York 2007". The footage includes interviews with downtown dance favs Ivy Baldwin, Trajal Harrell, Keely Garfield, Larry Keigwin, RoseAnne Spradlin, and David Parker, shows samples of their work, and has brief introductions by Elizabeth.

Pentacle Movement Media & Collective:Unconscious co-present:
Kinetic Cinema
Monday October 6th, 7:00pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

IRT Theater
154 Christopher Street, Suite 3B (btw Washington & Greenwich Streets)
New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212.206.6875
Trains: 1 to Christopher Street, PATH to Christopher Street
Admission: $5

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month I invite a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Next month on Nov 3rd, the collaborative duo, Kerrie Welsh & Sasha Welsh will show films and videos that have influenced their new multimedia performance "Trace Decay."

Kinetic Cinema is part of Movement Media, my new project at Pentacle that provides screenings, consulting services, and online interactive programs for dancers about dance and media. More information will be available soon online at pentacle.org.

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September 10, 2008

"PRIME MOVER" Screening Raises Questions of Merit & Worth of Dance Films

On Monday night, Kinetic Cinema kicked off it's fall season with a program of films at Chez Bushwick called "Prime Mover: Dance on Camera From Chez Bushwick." The program was originally curated for the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow last May, and was shown in a slightly shortened form for us here. The selections were incredibly varied, from 3-D animation studies to installation art to dance for the camera to performance documentation, and the overarching premise was that it was all movement-based media created by artists associated with Chez Bushwick.

After the screening, a lively discussion ensued among the audience about what we had just seen. Because the program was so varied in its scope and content, the discussion immediately headed into, what is dance film, and can all of these works fit under this one heading? It's a discussion that comes up at every screendance/dance film event I go to, and like all the others, this one also headed into the dangerous area of what is "good" and "bad" dance film. Rather than slipping down this slope, I hoped to lead the debate more into the direction of "mapping" the genre, as Claudia Kappenberg describes in her paper Does Screendance Need to Look Like Dance?  presented at Screendance:State of the Art2 at the American Dance Festival last July. In this way we could get a sense of where individual works are located in the intersection of media arts and dance, rather than make subjective value statements.

The work that spurred the most controversy was a video of a performance by choreographer Ann Liv Young called "Snow White Paris." The video was basically a straight ahead documentation of the live performance, with one camera set up at the back of the theater in a fixed wide shot the entire time. The curator for CCA-Glasgow made edits and pulled out 10 minutes of excerpts from the full performance. The reason why the work was chosen for this program was that Ms. Young - who rejects the title of video artist for herself - makes DVDs of almost every performance she does and sells them at the hefty price tag of $55 a pop. In this sense she seems to have adopted an art world business model in which she documents her performance art and then uses the documentation to create value and revenue for the work. Still, despite this unique relationship Ms. Young has to media, many of the audience members at the screening objected to the inclusion of "Snow White Paris" in this program. To some, it had no value because it said nothing about the cinematic potential of dance on camera, and one audience member felt like performance videos sully the reputation of screendance and turn people off to the genre.

In Kappenberg's paper she proposes a map for screendance based on the Laban Effort Graphic that distinguishes between works that are oriented towards the visual arts and those that are oriented towards cinema. While it seems like a small thing, this distinction has surprisingly important ramifications on audience members' expectations when watching screendance. The audience on Monday was primarily made up of dancers and dance filmmakers whose expectations were to see works that displayed cinematic values, ie. a distinct camera viewpoint, a narrative arc, and sophisticated editing. If "Snow White Paris" or some of the installation-based videos had been shown in an art museum as they were in Glasgow, the audience response would have been very different. In the visual arts a work's value tends to be based on overall visual composition, documentation (of time-based works) without camera manipulation, and an open point-of-view that leaves more space for the viewer to make decisions and create their own interpretations of the work.

If anything, Monday's screening emphasized for me the importance of curators to help audiences understand where the screendance works they are showing are located on the greater map. Context is everything. We have to assume that audiences will come with expectations and pre-conceived notions about what they will see. It is the curator's job to make sure that their own expectations are made extremely clear, otherwise audiences will not know how to interpret the material presented, and subjective value judgments will continue to fly. I don't believe performance videos like Ann Liv Young's should be excluded from screendance programming, but I do believe that they need to be shown in the right setting and with the right contextual information surrounding them. I'm glad this piece was included in the Chez Bushwick program, and for the discussion and illumination it provided us. Many thanks to the great audience members on Monday, and to Jonah Bokaer, founding director of Chez Bushwick, for bringing us such a provocative and stimulating program!

Let me know what you think! Have you been frustrated by works you've seen at dance film screenings and festivals? Would your feelings about these works have been different in a different setting, ie a gallery or art museum, or installation? 

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September 5, 2008

Kinetic Cinema is Back! Monday Sept 8th

I'm very pleased to announce the start of a new season of Kinetic Cinema, with the first screening happening at 8pm on Monday Sept 8th at Chez Bushwick. As you might of heard, our original presenting partner, Collective:Unconscious unexpected lost their space in Tribeca this July when their basement was flooded and they were forced out by their landlord. It is a sad and all too familiar story of endangered affordable art spaces in Manhattan. Luckily Chez Bushwick has stepped in and saved the day for this program, and their director, Jonah Bokaer has curated a fabulous selection of films drawing from Chez Bushwick's constituency of dancers and choreographers.



"PRIME MOVER: Dance on Camera From Chez Bushwick" is a program of works created to represent the diversity of artists working in movement-based media. Filmmakers and choreographers featured on the program will be Charles Atlas, DD Dorvillier, Jillian Peña, Dean Moss, Samuael Topiary, and Ann Liv Young.

Pentacle Movement Media presents:
Kinetic Cinema
in collaboration with Chez Bushwick
Monday September 8th, 8:00pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

Chez Bushwick
304 Boerum St., Buzzer #11
Brooklyn, NY 11206.
Phone: 718.418.4405
URL: http://chezbushwick.net/
Trains: L to Morgan Ave
Admission: $5

In addition, we also wish to recognize and support Jillian Peña, a choreographer and filmmaker on this program who was hit by a car three weeks ago and sustained very serious injuries and hospitalization. The driver was unlicensed, and Jillian, like many artists in our community does not have health insurance. Her dear friend and colleague, Miguel Gutierrez has set up a paypal account to receive financial donations to alleviate the financial hardship that Jillian and her family are experiencing at this time. In addition, there will be opportunities to make donations for her at the screening. Please consider making a donation on her behalf. ANY amount, any number of times that you can give it, will be invaluable for her and for her family.

To donate online, go to paypal.com and sign up for an account (takes literally about 2-3 minutes) and then go to the "Send Money" tab and make the donation to:
donations4jillian@gmail.com

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Past programs have included fresh new shorts from the Dance On Camera Festival, a survey of the history of mediatized movement curated by Brian McCormick, dance films from the popular to the avant-garde curated by Malinda Allen, feminist video art curated by Jonah Bokaer, explorations in experimentalism with Levi Gonzalez, and a tour of inspiringly bad dance films curated by Kriota Willberg. Next month on October 6th, dance writer and critic Elizabeth Zimmer will curate.

This screening of Kinetic Cinema also marks the first event of Movement Media, a new project I am directing at Pentacle that provides screenings, consulting services, and online interactive programs for dancers about dance and media. More information will be available soon online at pentacle.org. In addition to producing Kinetic Cinema, Movement Media will soon become the home of Move the Frame. Stay tuned for more announcements!

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August 26, 2008

See Footage From My New Videodance, "Fünf 'n' Twist" at the September Dance Film Lab

Next Tuesday (Sept 2nd) I'll be showing brand new footage from my latest videodance project, Fünf 'n' Twist. Two weeks ago I shot the prom scenes for this surreal Busby Berkeley-esque, satire that oozes with kitschy Americana, German expressionism, and Jungian symbology. Come see what a raw videodance looks like before it gets cooked!

Details:

The Dance Film Lab is moderated and organized by Zach Morris (Third Rail Projects), produced and run with the assistance of Kathleen Green, and in cooperation with the Dance Films Association. Hosted by Dance Theater Workshop, this salon brings dance filmmakers together to present raw footage, drafts, works-in-progress and newly finished films to their peers for constructive feedback, to share information, and address technical, practical and artistic challenges. The lab is free and open to the public, though reservations are necessary.

For our upcoming September 2nd Dance Film Lab, where we'll be screening the work of Leah Kelley Xylona and Anna Brady Nuse.

Dance Film Lab, Tuesday, September 2, 2008 8-10pm
at Dance Theater Workshop (DTW)
219 West 19th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues)
Phone: (212) 691-6500 Click Here for DTW's website.
Please contact Zach Morris to RSVP.
 
 (please note: Zach will out of town August 24th to the morning of September 2nd.  During this time he will not be responding to emails, so if you email him, simply consider your RSVP confirmed).

Photo credit: Production still from the set of Fünf 'n' Twist, directed by Anna Brady Nuse (Tika pictured as the Matron). photo by Susanna Christians.

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July 21, 2008

New Dance Films at Galapagos this Saturday (FRAMEWORKS July 26)

Screening Announcement from Michael Bodel:
a program of new innovation and talent in choreography for the camera


Saturday July 26th at 8 pm

at the NEW
Galapagos Art Space

16 main st
dumbo, brooklyn

$10 at the door

For more information visit
www.frameworksdance.org

featuring films by:
Greg Catellier and Jeff Curtis
Mira Peck
Janice Lancaster and Adam Larsen
Sergio Cruz
Elena Demyanenko and Joby Emons















stills: (top) "ever ever ever" by Janice Lancaster and Adam Larsen
(bottom) film still by Sergio Cruz

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Ballet Films at Lincoln Center by Dominique Delouche

An announcement from Deirdre Towers at the Dance Films Association:

The Film Society is offering the affiliate price for DFA members at this week's series of

Ballet Cineaste: Dominique Delouche (July 23-27)
Walter Reade Theater, Upper Plaza, 65th Street
(btw Broadway and Amsterdam Aves)
tix and info: http://filmlinc.org/

Dominique Delouche has devoted much of his working life to filming great
dancers who illuminated his youth, to preserve the tradition as well as
the memory of the dance from one generation to the next. This is the first
American retrospective of the dance filmmaker, whose devotional tone,
always sparked with humor, gave his career its special place. For further
information and to purchase tickets, please visit filmlinc.com. DFA staff
and members can purchase a pair of tickets at the discount price of $7
each. When buying online please select the affiliate ticket option. These
can be picked up from the Walter Reade Theater box office. If you buy
tickets directly from the box office please print out this email or give
the code DFADD08 to the box office to get the discount.

Deirdre says: "I can't go unfortunately because I will be presenting dance on camera in
Burgos, Spain but I urge you to go. Dominique Delouche is a charming man
and he will be there to speak at all the screenings. My favorite one of
his films is KATIA & VOLODIA."

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July 18, 2008

Report on Screendance:State of the Art 2 at ADF

I'm finally home after several weeks on the road, crossing the country and then heading south for the second Screendance: State of the Art conference at the American Dance Festival. The topic for this year's conference was CURATING THE PRACTICE/CURATING AS PRACTICE. There were about 20 registered participants, coming from all over the US and Europe, and we were a good mix of artist/makers, teacher/scholars, and curators. While some of the old topics came up (like what is the definition of screendance?) the presence of the over-arching theme of curating helped guide many of the discussions into new territory, and keep us on topic.

Douglas Rosenberg, a filmmaker, scholar, and organizer of the conference started off the proceedings with a lecture about the history of curating as it arose out of the visual arts field and how this practice has gradually slipped by the wayside with the rise of the festival model in screendance. He spoke about the original premise of curating in the art world as a means of creating meaning by grouping different works of art together. This combination of art works creates a meta-narrative between the pieces and can serve to support a thesis about the art put forth by the curator. In this way curating can help shape new ideas in art.

I appreciated learning about  how curating differs from "programming", which is generally how dance film festivals work. For a long time I've felt dissatisfied by the programs at festivals, particularly the shorts programs, because they can be such a grab bag of films that seem to have nothing to do with each other. Usually these programs are billed as the "best" new dance films of the year, with the dubious value judgment of "best" being the only unifying theme. With no other underlying meaning to connect the films together, I as a viewer often find myself feeling disappointed when the films fall short of my expectations of what "the best" dance film should be. I leave most screenings feeling like the vast majority of screendance is boring and uninspired, when in reality, I just didn't have enough context to view them under.

Helping to illustrate this difference between curating and programming, there were several curated screenings during the conference as well as screenings that were part of the "Dancing for the Camera" festival. One of these curated programs was put together by Claudia Kappenberg, an artist and scholar from the University of Brighton and was entitled "Paradoxical Bodies." In her program notes Kappenberg described "Paradoxical Bodies" as seeking "to address the peculiar premise of real bodies on screen, in itself a paradoxical proposition, which mixes and purposefully confounds mental states and actual physical existence." With this introduction we watched seven experimental films that were often oblique and seemed to float in the timeless space of ritual. The program included ELEMENT (1973) by Amy Greenfield, HWRGAN (BY THE LATE HOUR) (2006) by Simon Whitehead, K (1989) by Jayne Parker, THE NIGHTINGALE (2003) by Grace Ndiritu, SAND LITTLE SAND (2006) by Becky Edmunds, IT IS ACHING LIKE BIRDS by Lucy Baldwin, and SPRUE (2004) by The 5 Andrews. Most of these films have never been shown in dance film festivals before, either because they are not generally considered "dance", or they are not the typical show pieces that would past muster with a festival's judging panel. Despite their challenging and experimental nature, I was captivated by this program. After Kappenberg's introductory statements I was prepared to grapple with the paradoxes, ambivalence, and alternative notions of the body put forth in these films, and I was freed from having to compare them to my usual standards of what's "good" and "bad". Instead, I appreciated them for what they each said to me within the framework of the program's topic.

In contrast to Kappenberg's curated program, Sini Haapalinna, a freelance artist from Finland, presented a program of shorts from her first curation for the Finnish dance film festival "Beyond the Lens" which sought to show a snapshot of "the state of the art" of Finnish screendance. This was a good example of the usual festival model of programming, which culls work from an open call for entries, and then seeks to show the best ones of the group. While it was probably meaningful for Finnish audiences to see what work is being made in their own country, for an international group of screendance experts gathered in North Carolina, the program seemed jumbled and out of context. The works were all over the map in terms of style, production value, content, and intention. The result was a muddy program that had some nice isolated moments, but was somehow lesser than the sum of its parts. While Haapalinna probably didn't get the reaction she was hoping for from the conference attendants, it was actually really useful and informative for us to see this kind of program in light of the curation model Rosenberg had just presented. Finally we were able to critically respond to the festival model of programming, and articulate about why it isn't as effective as it could be at promoting and advancing screendance to the public.

In my next couple of posts, I'll talk about my presentation on "artist-driven" curating, and summarize some of the other discussions that went on at the conference including a theory for mapping screendance by Kappenberg, how a curator's role is always political by Gita Wigro, and a modified Venn diagram for curators of screendance proposed by Martha Curtis.

To be continued!

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June 27, 2008

Summer Travels and Videodance

I'm about to start a twelve day cross-country road trip, driving from West to East with one of my best friends who's moving back to Vermont. We'll be stopping at a bunch of national parks along the way including Crater Lake (OR), Glacier (MT), Yellowstone & the Grand Tetons (WY), and the Blackhills & the Badlands (SD). It's gonna be great, but I won't be able to post to Move the Frame for a while. There are lots of videodance activities happening around the world this summer, so I thought I'd leave you with a few things to keep you busy while I'm MIA.

As soon as I get back to New York, I will be leaving again, this time to go to the Screendance conference at the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC from July 10-13th, where I will be delivering a paper on curating. Below is the abstract for my presentation, which is titled after a post I wrote here a few months ago.

Thoughts on Curating - How to Bring About a Shift in Perception

Screendance, while growing as a genre worldwide, is still basically unknown in American culture at large. Even within the field of dance, most choreographers and dancers in the United States believe they are unable to name a single work of screendance. The problem is that so much dance for screen is perceived to be part of another genre, be it music videos, advertisements, or experimental films. Screendance as a genre is a foreign concept to the typical viewer, but only a slight shift of perception is necessary to render it familiar and identifiable. To help bring about this shift in perception in my own dance community, I have started a monthly screening series in which I invite guest artists to curate evenings of films and videos that have inspired their work with dance. In compiling their programs, my guest curators discover the knowledge they already have about media and dance and are able to share their insights in ways that other dancers can easily relate to. This simple curated series has raised awareness for the genre in my community and is laying a seed bed for future creativity and experimentation in the form. Like the Judson Dance Theater, Jonas Mekas' New American Cinema Group, and more recently Richard Linklater's Austin Film Society, forming an artist-driven curating collective for screendance has the ability to galvanize a community, inspire new work, and further the boundaries of the art form.

Those of you who have followed my blog for a while will recognize my thought processes on curating as I've written extensively about them in my posts about the Kinetic Cinema screening series for the past six months. I'm excited to listen and talk to the other presenters at the conference this year about this very important topic for videodance.

The other presentations at the conference will be:
"Screendance: Curating the Practice" (Opening Talk by Douglas Rosenberg)
 "Does Screendance Need to Look Like Dance?" by Claudia Kappenberg, Senior Lecturer at the University of Brighton, UK.
 "Tutus and Bonfires" by Gitta Wigro, a freelance programmer from the UK.
 "Beyond the Lens III" Sini Haapalinna, a freelance artist from Finland.

Also Meredith Monk will be honored for her work in film and give an intimate discussion with the Screendance participants. There will also be two curated programs during the conference in addition to the Dancing for the Camera Festival taking place at the same time, which is open to the public.

If you can't get down to North Carolina this summer, then those of you in Europe should head to the Cinedans Festival taking place July 3-10th in Amsterdam, The Hague and Utrecht.

From the Cinedans website:

This sixth edition of the Cinedans has an exclusive collection of national and international dance films in store for you. Films from a new generation of dance film makers will be screened from over fifteen countries. Six documentaries allow you a glance into the dance kitchen of locally operating dancers or internationally renowned choreographers and William Forsythe and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker compiled a varied selection of their favorite dance films. In addition, Forsythe presents filminstallations, exciting crossovers of performance, film, dance and installation.

Janine Dijkmeijer, the director of Cinedans and Annelyke van den elshout, the program manager, were both at the first Kinetic Cinema screening in January as part of the Dance On Camera Festival. I was happy to see that they have started their own artist curating initiative this summer with their Carte Blanche program, in which they asked choreographers William Forsythe and Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker to put together an evening of films and videos that have been influential on them personally and artistically. These kinds of artist-driven curating programs are so easy to do, and they give such wonderful results in terms of generating interest, dialog and connections for artists and viewers alike. I'm glad the idea is spreading, and I wish I could be there to see these programs! If anyone reading this is able to go, please send me your report and impressions!

Finally, I'm happy to report that I will be finishing production on a new videodance this summer called Fünf 'n' Twist. There will be many more postings about the creative process of making this work in the near future. In the meantime, you can watch a study of the ending of this piece that we made last spring here in HD on Vimeo!

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June 24, 2008

A Review of the 'Worse of the Best' at Kinetic Cinema

Latika Young of the Dance Films Association wrote a great article about Kriota Willberg's last program for Kinetic Cinema in DFA's member ezine:

The Worst of the Best:
Kinetic Cinema Gets Down

by Latika Young

Before taking a hiatus for the summer, Kinetic Cinema, the dance films screening series curated by Anna Brady Nuse, went out with a bang! "The Worst of the Best," a night of "bad" dance film, as selected by guest curator Kriota Willberg, featured an array of clips and excerpts that had the audience at Tribeca's Collective:Unconscious in stitches. With everything from undulating nude males to jete-ing serial killers to an over-the-top 80s spandex extravaganza, there was something in the selection to please even the most well-versed bad dance connoisseur.

The night began with a little live dance, as Nuse exploded onto the stage in a frenetic version of the classic dance from "Flashdance" complete with gold metallic hot pants and matching shoes. A perfect entrance, it warmed up the audience's belly laughing muscles and set the tone for an evening of the dance cliché as encapsulated on film.

Willberg, co-director of THE BENTFOOTES, which premiered at Dance on Camera Festival 2008, has been interested in bad dance for some time. She used to host bad dance film screening parties at her apartment for fellow dancer and choreographer friends (what better way to build a supportive dance community--we may be struggling in our own careers, but at least we are not making dance like that!).

Willberg developed somewhat tricky criteria that determined her selections for this "tour of surprisingly bad dance films from the early 1900s to the present." As she explains, there is a difference between "bad" dance and just "boring" dance. Bad dance necessarily "provokes a strong emotional reaction" in the audience, and, as Willberg points out, these are more often than not the dances people end up discussing fervently with friends. Boring dance, on the other hand, "is just dull" and is easily forgotten. Where it gets tricky is with the question of production values. For Willberg, even boring dance, with a big enough budget, becomes bad dance by virtue of the unrealized potential of its grandiosity. Any otherwise boring dance film with a large enough budget enrages Willberg to the point that it has elicited a strong emotional response and thus qualifies as a truly bad dance.

The screening began with a video montage of clips culled from the internet of dances intended to demonstrate "boring." All low production value, the clips may have come from YouTube or artists' personal websites, but they certainly were not from Hollywood blockbusters. The original videos likely go on for what must feel like many very long minutes, but edited down into a quickly paced montage, they were not really that boring after all. Instead, the curatorial process of cramming them side by side and positing them into humorously crafted sub-categories, such as "Women and Their Hands," "Semi-Clad Undulating Duets," and my personal favorite, "Nude Men Kinetically Recumbent," highlighted their humor rather than their boredom. Fortunately, though, the audience was saved from having to watch any of the clips in their entirety. Anyone who has sat on a dance film festival pre-screening committee can undoubtedly understand.

The bulk of the offerings, however, were clips from films released on the big screen and each example was selected to provide a more nuanced understanding of Willberg's definition of bad. The gem of the night, glittering in decadent ridiculousness, was Ben Hecht's 1946 film SPECTRE OF THE ROSE. Choreographed by Tamara Geva, Balanchine's first wife, the two dance scenes presented were performed by Ivan Kirov. An attempt to combine a murder mystery with classical ballet, the result, at least to modern eyes, comes across more as camp than refinement. In the first scene, the male ballet superstar (Kirov) has been confined to bed for two years after killing his first wife. Suddenly feeling better, he is inspired to dance, performing ebullient feats of jete and pirouette that are made that much more incredible (and farcical) considering his extended period of inactivity (perhaps, instead, we should feel relieved he did not join the ranks of the "kinetically recumbent nude male" as we witnessed earlier). The second scene has our star re-entering a state of insanity and struggling with his desires to kill his second wife. Fortunately, derangement does not deter our protagonist from his dancing tour de force and, with knife in hand, he catapults about the room, balletically crashing into walls, before leaping with pointed feet through a glass window, to his certain death below. This is a bad dance film made so by both its delicious anachronistic ballet moves (likely quite magnificent for the time but which seem highly dated to the modern viewer) and its equally ridiculous backstory.

Other choices from the evening included THE MOTHERING HEART, the 1913 D.W. Griffith film that features background dancers, undoubtedly quite common on the vaudeville stage of the time, who appear as gallivanting Isadora-nymphettes and a leopard skin toga-ed couple who awkwardly perform Lindy aerial moves, STAYING ALIVE, the sequel to SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, as directed by Sylvester Stallone (and, yes, Travolta does wear a very Rambo-eque headband), and scenes from the film everyone loves to hate, Paul Verhoeven's 1995 SHOWGIRLS, which is just bad in so many divine ways.

Willberg wants to know, "What is the worst dance film ever?" To share your favorites, or most hated, e-mail her at info@duramater.org and be sure to tell her why. After a summer break, Kinetic Cinema returns in October. E-mail Anna Brady Nuse at mtf@straighttothehelicopter.com to get on the mailing list.

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June 17, 2008

Kenneth Anger and Amy Greenfield Heat Up Anthology Film Archives this Weekend (June 20 & 21)

Two renown experimental filmmakers, Kenneth Anger and Amy Greenfield, are being featured at Anthology Film Archives in New York this weekend. The event, called "Cinema Dance Eros" will will be comprised of two programs of shorts that examine the erotic and sensual movement themes in both filmmakers' work.

CLUB MIDNIGHT by Amy Greenfield
Amy Greenfield is a pioneer of cinedance and videodance, and for the past decade has embarked on a series of shorts about exotic dancers and strippers that were recently compiled in collection called CLUB MIDNIGHT. In these sensual films, the female subjects are the embodiment of ancient female archetypes. Under Greenfield's treatment, female strippers become goddesses reincarnate, who carry out rituals of mythological proportions. In DARK SEQUINS dancer Andrea Beaman becomes Salome, performing the dance of the seven veils for a single man in an empty theater. In WILD FIRE four women whirl like the elements, whipping up energy into a hot frenzy.


Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome by Kenneth Anger
Kenneth Anger's work is not usually associated with dance, but nevertheless, his wordless films are highly attenuated to movement. According to the curators of "Cinema Dance Eros", Anger trained as a dancer in his youth, and one of his unfinished projects was a film of a Jean Cocteau ballet (Oh, if only we could see that!). The programs this weekend will feature some of his most famous works including FIREWORKS (which first garnered him attention from Jean Cocteau) and INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME.

These two programs are sure to fan the flames of any lover of mythology, magic, and eroticism! Don't miss it!

Here are the details:

CINEMA DANCE EROS
Featuring filmmakers Kenneth Anger & Amy Greenfield
June 20th & 21st
Amy Greenfield in person!

ANTHOLOGY FILM ARCHIVES
32 SECOND AVENUE
NEW YORK, NY 10003
phone (212) 505-5181 fax (212) 477-2714

PROGRAM 1:
Amy Greenfield DANCING IN FRONT OF THE DARK (1980/1992, 4 minutes, video)
Amy Greenfield DIRT (1971, 3 minutes, 16mm)
Amy Greenfield ELEMENT (1973, 11 minutes, 16mm)
Kenneth Anger FIREWORKS (1947, 15 minutes, 16mm)
Kenneth Anger MY SURFING LUCIFER (2007, 4.5 minutes, video)
Amy Greenfield TIDES (1982, 12 minutes, 16mm. Photographed by Hilary Harris.)
Kenneth Anger EAUX D'ARTIFICE (1953, 13 minutes, 16mm)
Kenneth Anger RABBIT'S MOON (1950/1971, 16 minutes, 16mm)
Kenneth Anger PUCE MOMENT (1949, 6 minutes, 16mm. With Yvonne Marquis.)
Amy Greenfield CLUB MIDNIGHT (2006, 8.5 minutes, 35mm. With Bonnie Dunn & Andrea Beeman. Poetry by Charles Simic, spoken by Dennis Hopper.)
Total running time: ca. 100 minutes.
-Friday and Saturday, June 20 & 21 at 7:00.

PROGRAM 2:
Kenneth Anger PUCE MOMENT (1949, 6 minutes, 16mm. With Yvonne Marquis.)
Amy Greenfield DARK SEQUINS (2005, 13 minutes, 35mm. With Andrea Beeman.)
Amy Greenfield LIGHT OF THE BODY (2004, 11 minutes, 35mm/video. With Francine Breen. Music by Marilys Ernst.)
Amy Greenfield WILDFIRE (2003, 12 minutes, 35mm. With Andrea Beeman, Francine Breen, Bonnie Dunn, Cynthia DeMoss. Music by Philip Glass.)
Kenneth Anger INVOCATION OF MY DEMON BROTHER (1969, 11 minutes, 16mm. With Kenneth Anger. Music by Mick Jagger.)
Kenneth Anger INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME (1954, 38 minutes, 16mm. With Samson DeBreer, Cameron, Curtis Harrington, Anaïs Nin, and Kenneth Anger.)
Total running time: ca. 95 minutes.
-Friday and Saturday, June 20 & 21 at 9:30. 

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June 10, 2008

Three Yvonne Rainer Films Screening at Chez Bushwick

Chez Bushwick in Brooklyn is screening three films by Yvonne Rainer over three weeks this month. Unfortunately I'm late in announcing this, and the first one, Lives of Performers took place last Wednesday, June 4th. There is still time to catch Murder and Murder, this Wednesday, June 11th, and Privilege next Wednesday, June 18th.

Yvonne Rainer was a member of Judson Dance Theater in the 1960's, and is renown for her experimental innovations in dance, performance, and film. Here are two well-informed descriptions of her films being screened from Erin Brannigan's essay on Rainer in sensesofcinema.com.

"MURDER and murder" (1996, winner of the Teddy Award, Berlin Film Festival, 1997 and the Special Jury Award, Miami Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, 1999), was made after Rainer's characteristically public and publicly self-analysed 'coming out' as a lesbian in 1991. (33) The film also corresponds with Rainer's breast cancer diagnosis and mastectomy. MURDER and murder is considered Rainer's fullest commitment to fictional characterisation, being her first film to actually play out a relationship between two characters on screen with dialogues replacing monologues.

..."Privilege" (winner of the Dramatic Filmmaker's Trophy, Sundance Film Festival, Utah, 1991 and the Geyer Werke Prize at the International Documentary Film Festival, Munich, 1991), [is] a film that has a black-on-white act of violence at its centre. As in many of Rainer's films, she couples her central idea with another unrelated but complementary one; in this case menopause and female aging. Racial and economic issues gave Rainer a new focus that emerged from the critique of feminism's white middle-class profile.

Screening info:

Murder and Murder
By Yvonne Rainer
Wednesday, June 11th
7:30pm
$5
 
Privilege
By Yvonne Rainer
Wednesday, June 18th
7:30pm
$5
 

---

All  screenings will take place at:
 
Chez Bushwick
304 Boerum St., Buzzer #11 (At White)
Brooklyn, NY 11206
718.418.4405
info@chezbushwick.net

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June 5, 2008

Bad Dance, Good Cinema, and Why It's All Better Than Boring

Kriota Willberg's program, "The Worst of the Best" for Kinetic Cinema Monday night was extremely entertaining. She proved beyond a doubt that examining truly bad dance film is fun, inspiring, and highly effective at eliciting an emotional response from the crowd.

For all of you who thought about or responded to Kriota's earlier online poll "What's the Worse Dance Film Ever" you may be interested to see what made the cut in the end. Here is the list of the films she discussed Monday night and a short summary of why they were chosen:

The Mothering Heart (1913), Dir: DW Griffith
Reason: MADE BAD AND STRANGE BY HISTORY

Spectre of the Rose (1946), Dir: Ben Hecht, Dancer: Ivan Kirov, Chor: Tamara Geva
Reason: MADE WORSE BY THE BACKSTORY
 
Torch Song (1953), Dir: Charles Walters, Dancer: Joan Crawford and ensemble, Chor: Charles Walters
Reason: OFFENSIVE = BAD (Cast was in black face in 1953!!)

Staying Alive (1983), Dir: Sylvester Stallone, Dancers: John Travolta, Finola Hughes, Cynthia Rhodes, Chors:  Dennan and Sayhber Rawles
Reason: DRAMA!!!!

Center Stage (2000), Dir: Nicholas Hytner, Dancers: Amanda Schull, Sascha Radetsky, Ethan Stiefel, and ensemble, Chor: Susan Strohman
Reason: THE SAFE CHOICES AREN'T ALWAYS THE BEST CHOICES

Showgirls (1995), Dir: Paul Verhoeven, Dancers: Elizabeth Berkley, Gina Gershon and ensemble, Chor: Marguerite Pomerhn-Derricks
Reason: DRAMATIC! OFFENSIVE!  MADE WORSE BY BACKSTORY!

Preceding the bad dance films, Kriota also discussed the difference between BAD and BORING and illustrated it with a montage of boring dance film and video clips she culled from the web (actually her poor assistant, Gretchen culled them from the web!). The interesting thing about the difference between bad and boring is that it often comes down to money. Apparently the "have nots" aren't really capable of making truly bad art, only dull art. As Kriota explained, when a filmmaker has over a million dollars to make a dance movie, and it turns out to be boring, then we are outraged, "Is that all that you could do?" and that automatically bumps it into the bad category. Whereas when a low budget video of, say, a naked man flapping around on the floor in a puddle goes on and on, it's just dull and we feel like we are wasting our time.

I'd never thought of this difference before, but in terms of my emotional response it's true, I'm more outraged by a squandering of resources and opportunities than watching a boring video on YouTube. I guess jealousy has a big role to play in what makes something bad or just boring, which is also proof positive of the irrationality behind all demarcations of good and bad. Who can really judge these things beyond a reasonable doubt? No one, but at least Kriota has taken a stab at defining her standards for judgment, something all of us curators, presenters, and critics should do!

Amy Greenfield, a cine- and videodance pioneer, was also in attendance Monday night and had some interesting insights to share...

"Thoughts on Monday. Great premise btw  - most thought-provoking program so far. That's GREAT.  BAD ISN'T BORING!

It was also so enjoyable because except for the boring tapes, cinematically this "bad" filmdance was the best cinema of the season - Hollywood films! I love the contradiction and feel it needs to be recognized. Also realized Monday that "dance people" and "laypeople" looking at them will have very different reactions cause most people look at the film as film first, and in context with the rest of the film as they were features. Yeats asked 'How do you tell the dancer from the dance?' Monday night's delightful, insightful show made me ask 'How do you tell the cinema from the dance?'

Some of my own thoughts on Monday PM: 
I've seen The Mothering Heart and it's an important silent film by the great film pioneer, DW Griffith. I love the film and never noticed the dance moment screened. The actress in the foreground is Lilian Gish, one of the great silent film actresses. Notice her restraint vs the dance. Lilian and her sister Dorothy were sent by Griffith to study dance at Denishawn. The ACTING in these films was good filmdance. (What's good filmdance and whats good dance put on film is there a difference?) Griffith used Denishawn dancers including Martha Graham in his masterpiece, Intolerance.

Ben Hecht who made Specter of the Rose was one of the great Hollywood screenwriters who obviously didn't know anything about dance. The dance in Spectre massacred influences from Deren's Study In Choreography For Camera and more especially Cocteau's Blood Of The Poet. The two 'good film good dance' moments had to do with real action, and the film actor's dictum - don't act, re-act: when the dancer lays down the knife at the sleeping woman's neck, and when he lept out the window, shattering the glass and going into non-existence as Nijinsky did on stage. That last moment was GREAT and worth all the previous BAD dancing.

Staying Alive was REALLY good cinema and I didn't think it was bad dance either though I just couldn't separate the film from the dance until the unfortunately stupid climax which went over the top - and tellingly, was the only part not shot close-up, fast cuts, and wasn't such excellent cinema.

The Stroman [Center Stage] was bad dance and bad cinema. Interesting how bad cinema can ruin good dance by Amanda Schull."

Amy

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May 29, 2008

Worst of the Best at Kinetic Cinema June 2nd

Don't miss the last Kinetic Cinema before we break for the summer!

"Staying Alive" dir. Sylvester Stallone, "Showgirls" dir. Paul Verhoeven

On Monday June 2nd, choreographer and dance filmmaker Kriota Willberg will host The Worst of the Best, a tour of inspiringly bad dance films from the early 1900's to the present. Truly awful dance is powerful art.  We react strongly to it as an audience, we relate our horrible experiences to our friends and warn them away from it, we laugh, we seethe, we remember it far longer than "good" dance, and possibly longer than "great" dance.   Join us for film and discussion as we chase that ethereal muse, Badness, through the work of generations of dance film artists.

Kinetic Cinema
Monday June 2nd, 7:30pm
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

@ Collective:Unconscious 
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal
http://weird.org/films.htm
212.254.5277
MORE INFO: www.movetheframe.com
 

Kinetic Cinema at Collective:Unconscious explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. In the fall upcoming guests will include Elizabeth Zimmer (Oct 5th),  Maya Ciarrocchi (Nov 3rd), and new films by Anna Brady Nuse & friends (Dec 1st).

KRIOTA WILLBERG has danced and choreographed in Germany, Chicago, and New York. In addition to working with her company, Dura Mater, Willberg choreographs for commercial, theatrical, and other dance productions. Dance choreography for film includes The Bentfootes  (dir. K. Willberg and Todd Alcott), Grasshopper  (dir. Todd Alcott), Dreamgirl (dir. Robbie Busch), and On The Road With Judas (dir. JJ Lask). She has passed her basic proficiency tests in Single Sword and Broadsword techniques from the Society of American Fight Directors (SAFD) and occasionally includes fight choreography in her own work and for others. Her article on dance and stage combat was published in the SAFD magazine, The Fightmaster. Her ballerina tattoo was featured in Dance Magazine.

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May 24, 2008

FrameWorks and Frame Dances in DUMBO

Continuing with news from the New York videodance scene, I'm happy to share some exciting programs happening at two new spaces in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood: Galapagos Art Space and Music-Theatre Group.

FRAMEWORKS
Galapagos Art Space will be moving this summer from their original home on North 6th Street in Williamsburg to the space formerly known as "The Stable" in DUMBO. This will place them in proximity to the prestigious St. Ann's Warehouse, and in alliance with BAM and other high class Brooklyn cultural institutions. I was sad to hear the old place was going, with its placid reflecting pool and scrappy backroom where I hosted and witnessed many a screening and performance, but my sadness quickly dissipated when I learned of their plans to have a new dance film screening series called FRAMEWORKS at their new venue. This series will be curated by a young dancer/filmmaker/puppeteer Michael Bodel, who is dedicated to showing current dance films that are creative, challenging, and boundary-defying regardless of budget size and professional polish. A particular focus, especially for the first screening on June 28th, later this summer, will be work by NYC-based artists. The current call for NYC artists' submissions is June 1st, and then Work from all artists will be considered on a rolling basis after that. For more information, and to download an application click here.

FRAME DANCES
The second event is a special series of 8 workshop performances by Susan Marshall & Company May 28 - June 1, 2008 to inaugurate the opening of Music-Theatre Group's new performing space in DUMBO. The company will be performing FRAME DANCES, a brand-new performance installation created by Susan Marshall with music by Peter Whitehead and live video. Each FRAME DANCE will be captured on video in live time, in full view, and the different perspectives will be presented side by side with the live dances.  Audiences become part of the work as they move freely through the space, making choices about how they view the various pieces. Composer Peter Whitehead has created a series of layered scores for this installation, which he will perform live.

Music-Theatre Group is located at 10 Jay Street in DUMBO.  This brand new workshop and performance space will serve as a platform to stimulate and advance the Group's work, foster artistic exchange and community, and allow works-in-progress to be shared with the public on a regular basis.

DATES AND DETAILS
Wednesday, May 28, 6:30pm - Benefit Performance
Thursday, May 29, 6:30pm & 9:30pm
Friday, May 30, 6:30pm & 9:30pm
Saturday, May 31, 3pm & 6:30pm
Sunday, June 1, 3pm
 

Tickets: $15, available through Smart-Tix. 
Call 212.868.4444 or visit www.smarttix.com.

Free Shuttle Bus Service from Union Square to 10 Jay Street for select performances.  Call Music-Theatre Group at 212.366.2560, ext. 22 212-366-5260 x22 for details.

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May 22, 2008

New NYC Videodance Artists and Events

There is a well-spring of videodance activity bubbling up in New York City recently. It seems like every day I see or hear of a new artist or event happening. In the next few posts I'll give a run down of the latest news, and will share more in the coming weeks.



NYC Dance Artists in Kinetic Cinema
First, a report of the Kinetic Cinema screening that happened on May 5th, curated by Levi Gonzalez. This screening was eye-opening for me, because I didn't realize there were so many choreographers in my midst that are working in video so extensively now. The evening included videos by Sarah White, Melanie Maar, Theo Angell, Yasuko Yokoshi, Hedia Maron, and ChameckiLerner.
Sarah White's "Interference" is an experimental study on perspective showing two people moving at the junction of a wall. Sometimes the camera is upside down, making it look like the duet is on the ceiling, other times it is right side up and superimposed with the upside down image to create a quartet. The piece has a very consistent and almost relentless quality: the only sound is the constant drip of water, the image is grainy and blown out, and the space gritty. I liked the feeling of the piece, but it was a little long and rambling for a sit down screening. It could probably work well in an installation setting.

Melanie Maar's "Lower" is a video adaptation by filmmaker Eric Breitbart of a live solo piece she performs. The solo is about a rare psychosomatic brain disorder that makes movement disjointed and uncontrollable. For the video, Breitbart decided to depict Maar as the silent film Vamp, Theda Bara (see picture). The combination of the severe black & white Theda Bara character with Maar's quirky and spastic movement was surprisingly poignant and emotional.

Theo Angell's video "Piscean Anomalite" was inspired by mutant and deformed fish he saw while on an artistic retreat in the wilderness. The resulting film is beautifully constructed with haunting Native American chanting, images of rushing water, and disturbing shots of the mutant fish superimposed over moving human bodies. It was eery but cool...

Yasuko Yokoshi showed a 20 min documentary of her latest performance project "Reframe the Framework DDD", which was made and shot over two years with nine high school students from Brattleboro, VT and was recently performed at the Kitchen at the end of April. Now I really wish I had seen the performance, because the documentary was completely riveting. Yokoshi set out to remake David Gordon's 1984 piece "Framework" and place it in the context of today from the perspective of the Vermont teens. Every moment of their process was documented on video, and the candid drama of their everyday lives, emotional upheavals, and sometimes life-threatening concerns felt heart-breakingly real. Part of the emotional thrust of the piece comes from the self-consciousness of the participants. The strange set of circumstances that brought a downtown experimental dance artist from Japan to work with rural teens is not lost on the participants, in fact it's discussed openingly and thoroughly. At one point Yokoshi says to the girls "I'm not afraid to piss you off." And one of the girls asks Yokoshi "Why did you want to make this piece with us?" Over the course of the process everyone undergoes an amazing transformation of self-awareness and discovery, routing through pain and fear and coming out stronger and more mature in the end. This is a brilliant example of the positive aspects of experimentalism.

Hedia Maron's "Untitled" and "Dance Dance Dance" both looked like artifacts found in someone's attic. "Untitled" actually was found footage of a friend's mom performing with a dance company outdoors sometime in the '70's. The grainy 8mm film is silent, and seems like a strange flickering beacon from the past. "Dance Dance Dance" was shot by Maron in 2007 on 8mm black and white film, and depicts a modern club kid dancing in his dorm room in stocking feet. Again, the footage is messed up to look old and grainy, and in silence, making the familiar YouTube-esque scene look distant, like a strange relic from bygone days.

The final piece of the evening was Roseane Chamecki and Andrea Lerner's "Flying Lesson" made in conjunction with filmmaker Phil Harder. This piece was shown in January at the Dance on Camera Festival where it won the Jury Prize, and if you have seen it you will understand why it deserves major props. The film has a simple plot, two women show you how to fly, but the way to do it is extremely difficult. All you need is a still camera, and very strong legs, because you will need to jump about 10,000 times and take a picture at the top of each jump. Then you go to an editing studio and put all the picture frames together to make them animated (film rate is 24 frames/sec, video rate is 30 frames/sec), and viola! you are flying! Chamecki & Lerner make it seem easy with their cute wings and colored boots breezing up the city sidewalks and frolicking in the park, but trust me, don't try this at home!

Stay tuned for up-coming events, new submission opportunities, workshops, social networks, and more great things for videodance artists to take advantage of here in New York City!

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May 12, 2008

Kriota Willberg asks: What's the Worst Dance Film Ever?

1.  WHAT, IN YOUR OPINION, IS THE WORST DANCE FILM OF ALL TIME, EVER?  It can be a full film or just an excerpt, and any style or type of dance at all, but it has to be on film.

2. WHY?

Please submit your answers in the comments section below by Friday May 16th.

The reason I'm asking is that I'm putting together an evening of "Bad" dance film clips.   As many of you know, I've been studying bad and mediocre dance for a number of years.  As I put the program together, I am organizing examples of different categories of Bad  (offensive, inept, confusing, etc.) from the early 1900's to the present.  As an acknowledgment to the highly personal perception of bad dance, I'd love to get your input.  Below is the description and particulars of the night.

Thanks for your time!

Best,

Kriota Willberg

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May 9, 2008

Boris Willis Finishes Dance-A-Day on Sunday May 11th

In the dance blog world, Boris Willis is a bit of a rock star. He's been posting a dance video every day on his blog, danceaday.com since May 11, 2007 and now this Sunday he will make his final post. If you take a quick perusal of Boris' blog, you will see that he has gone on an amazing and profound journey full of experimentation, discovery and varied terrains. From his first video shot in a parking lot demonstrating effeminate gestures, to an entire month of posts about important sites of Black history in Washington DC, as well as 43 collaborations with the fabulous composer, David Morneau (who has also been posting a composition a day on his blog 60x365.com), Willis covers the entire range of styles, experiments, and types of improvisation one can do with dance and a camera.

This is a lasting and valuable collection of videodance for the web 2.0 era. Thank you Boris for your tireless commitment to this adventure and sharing it with us everyday.

Check out his blog at danceaday.com, and be sure to send him off with style!

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May 5, 2008

A Great Week for Dance Film Lovers (especially in NYC)

Yes, that's right! There is a lot going on this week that you should know about...

Screening:
First, you won't want to miss Kinetic Cinema tonight (5/5) curated by downtown dance fav Levi Gonzalez. Levi has brought out a bunch of friends to share cutting edge dance videos and talk about experimentalism in dance and film. Come see new videodances by Melanie Maar, Sarah White, Theo Angell, Yasuko Yokoshi, Hedia Maron, ChameckiLerner, and much more! 

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April 29, 2008

Levi Gonzalez at Kinetic Cinema May 5th

On Monday May 5th at 7:30 pm, Kinetic Cinema will feature choreographer and dance artist, Levi Gonzalez. The theme of his evening will be experimentalism in dance and film. I'm delighted by his topic, and feel like it may be a good way to continue a debate on this blog several months ago, in which I railed against experimental dance artists dissing their audiences.

Levi's statement:

"Experimentalism in both dance and film is often seen as an affront to its audience or an insular exercise in personal indulgence. Yet the perception of experimental work is fluid - it often changes with time, and each time period re-evaluates past work in a different light. It also has the power to change or highlight perception over time as the ideas filter, and become digested into the public consciousness. I find that experimentalism often runs the gamut from difficult to pleasant, angry to accessible, deeply introspective to communicative, self-involved to incredibly vulnerable. In short, no monolithic definition applies. This evening will highlight just a few strategies of experiementalism in the overlapping areas of dance and film - some that have occurred in the past and some that are currently being undertaken by contemporary artists - in an effort to point out the divergent approaches artists take in questioning their mediums and the myriad ways they affect our perceptions."

 A highlight of the evening will be a special screening of ChameckiLerner's "Flying Lesson", winner of the 2008 Dance On Camera Festival Jury Prize.

>> Also in celebration of Cinco de Mayo - be one of the first 10 people in the door and get a free Corona! <<

Kinetic Cinema
Monday May 5th, 7:30pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

@ Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal
Phone: 212.254.5277

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Levi Gonzalez (May 5th) and Kriota Willberg (June 2nd).

Finally, many thanks to all who completed the Move the Frame survey online. If you haven't taken it yet, it's still not too late! Click here to spend 5 minutes helping Move the Frame improve!

¡Hasta La Vista!

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April 15, 2008

Miss Behavior: Video Art and the Female Body at Kinetic Cinema

What I love the most about my guest-curated Kinetic Cinema series is that I'm constantly exposed to new art and ideas I would never have run across otherwise. Last Monday's (4/7) program was no exception. Jonah Bokaer, dancer, choreographer, media artist, and community-builder extraordinaire surprised even me, by scrapping his original program of Nam June Paik videos, to show an evening completely devoted to feminist video art from the 60's and 70's, entitled "Miss Behavior: Video Art and the Female Body."

I only wish I'd had more time and resources to market and promote this evening, because it is so fascinating, rare, and exceptional to see works by such luminaries as Dara Birnbaum, Joan Jonas, Martha Rosler, Carolee Schneemann, and Hannah Wilke. It was a bold choice for Jonah, as a male dancer and media artist, to dedicate his evening to the accomplishments and advances of women in the male-dominated video art world. It was also a very interesting program show to an audience of dance people, who come from a field shaped by a very different gender dynamic from media arts. In media arts, the numbers of women participating are just generally low, however in dance, the gender diagram is shaped like a pyramid with a majority of females making up the base as dancers, students and teachers, and an increasing concentration of males populating the limited positions at the top (DanceNYC, "The Gender Project", Updated Research 2003). While women are not a rarity in the dance world, female leadership and artistic success (as measured by touring, commissions, and funding) is, given the huge ratio of women to men in the field.

Issues of the female body are also a constant undercurrent in dance performance. During the time period of the videos in this program, the dance world was undergoing its own post-modern investigations, and it seemed that choreographers and performers were trying to question and challenge all the common associations of the dancing body, particularly a female one, with sex, suggestiveness, and sensuality. Could a body be just a machine, or an object like any other prop? Could a female body be a blank slate, like a male body is? Are the bounds of femininity and gender stereotypes something to push against and destroy, or revel in and enunciate? The videos shown on Monday addressed these same questions from a number of different angles.

Dara Birnbaum's Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman (1978-79) was an early precursor to the common YouTube mash-up video of today. Using what was cutting edge video editing technology of the day, she spliced together hundreds of clips of Lynda Carter's TV character twirling into and out of her Wonder Woman persona. At the end of the video, a sexy disco song about Wonder Woman plays while plain typed lyrics scroll up on a blue screen, seeming to ironically underscore the song's suggestiveness. Jonah described how Birnbaum encourages her work to be pirated and played in different contexts including clubs, theatres, and installations. The work is still remarkably fresh and fun even now, and this makes sense when you think about the fact that Birnbaum has been embracing the web 2.0 spirit for over 30 years!

Here is a very short clip from Technology/Transformation: Wonder Woman:





Joan Jonas' Duet from 1972, is a performance-based video documenting a vocal duet between Jonas and her screen double. The two women howl like wolves at the moon, with the live Jonas' face in profile in front of a tv screen of her luminous face in extreme close-up. If viewed on its own, I may not have read this video from a feminist perspective, but given that the entire program was about women in video art, I started to think about "bitches" as slang for women and female dogs, and the archetypal connection of the moon with the female principle. The piece did not imply anything good or bad, it was simply an interesting composition that invited many interpretations and possible meanings.

Martha Rosler's Semiotics of the Kitchen (1975) shows how powerful simple task-based compositions can be. Delivered with deadpan wit, Rosler methodically goes through the alphabet showing and demonstrating common kitchen objects "Apron, Bowl, Chopper...". Despite the familiar surroundings, Rosler's kitchen is not warm and cozy. Instead she imbues each object with danger and violence through gestures that turn them into weapons rather than cooking implements. For "Chopper" she picks up a hand chopper and violently bangs it down into the bowl. For "knife" she picks up a long carving knife and jabs it sharply towards the camera. Even "spoon" isn't an implement to feed, instead she scoops up invisible liquid and hurls it out to the side. I love double meanings, and in this case Rosler juxtaposes gesture with words to break-down our assumptions and associations with women's work and the domestic realm.

When I think of Carolee Schneemann, the first thing that comes to mind is her famous Interior Scroll piece in which she pulled a scroll from her vagina and read a report of sexism. Beyond that, I know little about what else she has done. For this program Jonah selected a video that was neither erotic nor sexual. It was a 10 min 16mm film of a performance she did at St. Mark's Church in the Bowery called Water Light/Water Needle (Lake Mah Wah, NJ) (1966) in which the filmmaker was one of the performers. The result is a fragmented chaotic film of a performance that involved 8 tightrope walkers suspended over the ground and lots of paper and detritus everywhere. What I liked about it was the impression it gave of what it must have felt like to be inside the piece. With its inside view, the camera was able to convey the essence of the work - instability, tenuousness, balance - rather than capture a cold, impersonal document of the performance.

The last piece of the program, Through the Large Glass (1976) by Hannah Wilke was the most sexual in content, and for that reason perhaps still the most controversial today. In this film, Wilke performs a strip tease behind Marcel Duchamp's famous Large Glass, also known as The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. I didn't know the alternate title of Duchamp's work, and was glad Jonah mentioned it in his introduction, because by knowing this reference it made Wilke's performance a bold commentary on female objectification in Western art. Dressed in a white pants suit with a white fedora hat, Wilke struck different poses as she undressed, alternating between personas and genders. To me she was representing both the bride and the bachelors, sometimes feminine and coy, other moments defiant and haughty. Throughout the piece her gaze was fixed out on us, the audience on the other side of the glass (and the camera), making me feel like a subject as well. Generating a feeling of self-consciousness on the part of the viewer seemed to be the objective of Wilke's piece, and as a result it called attention to the male point-of-view implicit in most other Western art.

I'm very happy Jonah shared these works, and I hope there will be more chances to examine feminist motif's in Kinetic Cinema in the future. Many thanks to EAI (Electronic Arts Intermix) for access to these films, as well as Chez Bushwick and the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts for support of this screening.

Next month at Kinetic Cinema - Levi Gonzalez on May 5th with a program on "What makes a dance or film experimental?"

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April 1, 2008

Jonah Bokaer at Kinetic Cinema April 7th

On Monday April 7th, don't miss Chez Bushwick founder and dance/media phenom Jonah Bokaer at Kinetic Cinema!

For his program, Jonah will show pivotal works of movement-based video art by Nam June Paik. The theme of the evening will be the thread between between video art and post-modern dance focusing on Paik's significant contributions to both art forms. As a dance artist whose work addresses the human body in relation to contemporary technologies, Jonah will be able to offer rare insights into Paik's multi-disciplinary work that overlapped with dance, music, visual art, media, and technology.

Kinetic Cinema
Monday April 7th, 7:30pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

@ Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal
http://weird.org/films.htm
212.254.5277

Here's a glimpse at Nam June Paik's work with multiple television screens.



Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Jonah Bokaer (April 7th), Levi Gonzalez (May 5th), and Kriota Willberg (June 2nd).

Jonah Bokaer's work has been presented widely throughout venues in the United States and abroad, including Cornell University, Dance Theatre Workshop, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, La Mama ETC, P.S. 122, Symphony Space, The Laban Centre (London), the ISB (Bangkok), Naxos Bobine, Studio Théatre de Vitry, and La Générale (Paris), Les Subsistances (Lyon), La Compagnie (Marseille), and OT301 (Amsterdam). Bokaer was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 2000 to 2007. In 2002, he formed Chez Bushwick with a group of artists and choreographers, to create an adventurous arts organization that has significantly impacted a new generation of dance artists.

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March 18, 2008

Invitation to the Dance Movie Blogathon May 4-10

Dance bloggers and dance film lovers everywhere, mark your calendars now for the first ever Dance Movie Blogathon happening May 4-10, 2008!

I can't claim credit for this great idea, that honor goes to Marilyn Ferdinand who publishes the Ferdy on Films, etc. blog. She is organizing this fabulous event to bring awareness to the important contributions dance has made to cinema since its beginnings from Edison's Serpentine Dance to the latest Hollywood dance hits like Step Up 2: The Streets.

In her announcement post Ferdy writes:

Ferdy on Films, etc. is proud to host the Invitation to the Dance Movie Blogathon, May 4 through May 10. The last day of the blogathon just happens to be the birthday of one of the greatest dancers ever to grace the silver screen--Fred Astaire. Contributions on that date that discuss Astaire are particularly welcome. Please RSVP to ferdyonfilms@comcaust.net. Link to this page before the event and to Ferdy on Films, etc. during the week of the blogathon.

I will be churning out posts about my favorite dance on screen moments, and you should too! Spread the word and the link to the Ferdy on Films, etc. blog.

Here's a little clip of Fred from Puttin' on the Ritz to get you ready.

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March 10, 2008

Thoughts on Curating - How to Bring About a Shift in Perception

This summer the American Dance Festival (ADF) will be hosting the second Screendance - State of the Art  conference. Once again dance filmmakers, curators, educators, and critics will come together on the Duke University campus to discuss the art form and exchange ideas. This year's topic is curating and its relationship to screendance. I'm quite passionate about this topic, so I can't resist taking a stab at  a paper proposal to submit to the conference. The deadline for paper proposals is April 11, 2008. For more info, click here.

I credit almost all of my understanding of what screendance is, to watching curated programs at various dance film festivals. The genre is very hard to describe, because dance for the camera could mean anything really. The very definition of film and video is moving pictures, and dancing is only a slightly more specific word for moving. Creating special programs of films that are organized around a specific idea helps to provide a lens for viewing work in a different way. By grouping films under a new name, you can embue them with meanings they didn't necessary have before. For instance if I put clips of Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train, Sergei Parajanov's The Color of Pomegranates, and Maya Deren's Ritual In Transfigured Time all together in a program entitled "Films as Visual Poetry, Great Symbolist Poets of the Silver Screen," what happens to the way you look at these films?


Films as Visual Poetry: Great Symbolist Poets of the Silver Screen

clip from "Mystery Train" by Jim Jarmusch



clip from "The Color of Pomegranates" by Sergei Parajanov



"Ritual in Transfigured Time" by Maya Deren



Perhaps you have seen all of these films before in different contexts, but now you are seeing many similarities and connections between them you have never thought of before. The through-line of a poetic approach to film making becomes very obvious, and yet, you may not have thought about this connection if you hadn't read the program's title.

This ability to create new meanings and connections between things is especially important for promoting a relatively obscure genre like screendance. In order to educate viewers and attract new audiences we need to give them a window for entry and help them connect with the form. We are a media savvy culture, in which the average viewer can identify the genre and conventional structures of any given media clip in a matter of seconds. Screendance is just different enough to feel strange and foreign to the typical viewer, but only a slight shift of perception is necessary to make it seem familiar and identifiable.

Bringing about this slight shift of perception should be the goal of all curated programs. For my monthly Kinetic Cinema series, the goal is to help make dancers and members of the New York dance community aware of the role media plays in their artistic work. We are all bombarded with media images and messages everyday. This constant deluge of information has to filter down into the work of dancers and choreographers too. I wondered why the dance community in New York seems to be lagging behind our European contemporaries in embracing media with dance, and I realized it may be because dancers here just haven't thought about it consciously. With Kinetic Cinema I invite different members of the dance community to curate programs and draw upon their own media interests and influences. In this way the curators discover the knowledge they already have about media and dance, and can present their ideas in a way that other dancers can relate to.

By these standards, Kinetic Cinema has already been successful. Many of the curators I've invited have never curated a screening before, and yet their programs have blown me away. February's curator, Brian McCormick, displayed a knowledge of video art and new media platforms like Second Life that far surpasses my own. This month, Malinda Allen presented one of the most entertaining and inspiring programs of dance films and videos I've ever seen, and she has never seen the work of Maya Deren before (a filmmaker widely regarded as the mother of modern dance film). Each of these artists presented programs that gave me and all the members of the audience new perspectives on dance and media we had never had before. Bringing about new perspectives and thought connections makes a seed bed for creativity. I believe that these programs will inspire more dancers to make work for the camera, and the artistry and sophistication of their work will be higher, because they are connecting consciously to their own knowledge about media and how it works.

A guest curator series is just one way to bring about a shift in perspective for a particular audience. I'd love to hear of other examples. Please share your ideas and experiences here, and help us brainstorm more ways to bring screendance to the fore of the media landscape!

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March 5, 2008

Follow-up to Malinda Allen's Kick-ass Kinetic Cinema Program

For Monday night's Kinetic Cinema screening at Collective:Unconscious, Malinda Allen, a fabulous dancer/choreographer and now CURATOR, presented the most bad-ass, inspiring evening of dance films and videos I've ever seen. It truly rocked! From YouTube video mash-ups to Busby Berkeley to experimental motion-capture studies, she had everything in there. The best thing was that she wove all the clips together like a travel log through dance in media, mixing in fun facts (like how Phillipe Découflé and Spike Jonze have the same birthday) and juicy stories throughout.

For those who came, and those who wished they were there, here is a link to Malinda's YouTube channel where you can see clips of most of the videos she showed as well as others that she digs.

I'll leave you with the final short of the evening, Malinda's own "Other Games." (BTW, she got her landlord to repair the holes in the walls of her hallway for free! This girl is brilliant...)

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February 26, 2008

Malinda Allen Goes Off the Wall at Kinetic Cinema March 3rd

On Monday March 3rd, don't miss the next kick-ass Kinetic Cinema!

Sharing the work of her favorite choreographers and filmmakers, guest curator Malinda Allen hosts a night filled with ideas for the aspiring dance filmmaker.  Her evening will include stories and behind-the-scenes info about film and video projects from the popular to the avant-garde and underground. Local artists on the program include Jonah Bokaer (who will be curating KC on April 7th) and Akim the Funk Buddha, as well as a screening of Malinda's own experimental short, "Other Games."

Kinetic Cinema
Monday March 3rd, 7:30pm (and the first Monday of every month)
$5 Admission (buy tix at the door)

@ Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street
(just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal
www.weird.org
212.254.5277


Still: Malinda Allen "Other Games"

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Malinda Allen (March 3rd), Jonah Bokaer (April 7th), Levi Gonzalez (May 5th), and Kriota Willberg (June 2nd).

Malinda Allen creates works of body-based theater with collaborators including HBO Def Jam artist Kelly Zen-Yie Tsai, and poet/violinist Alicia Jo Rabins from the punk rock Klezmer band, Golem. She's been presented at Dance Theater Workshop's Fresh Track Series, Moving Men and Chez Bushwick at Dixon Place, the East Village HOWL Festival at PS 122, and the Movement Research at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, among others.

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February 22, 2008

One of the best studio-produced dance films in recent history

A review of Step Up 2: The Streets by my friend Kat Green, a filmmaker whose opinion I trust.



Step Up 2: The Streets - One of the best studio-produced dance films in recent history
by Kat Green
February 19, 2008

I know.  I know exactly how ridiculous this sounds.  But I'm completely serious.  The storyline is totally forgettable, but the movie is packed with awesome dancing, shot with an amazing understanding of camera movement, beautifully lit, playful with things like frame rate without being too heavy handed with it, and cut in such a way that it is fast paced, but doesn't let you miss any of the important aspects of the dance.

For some reason, there was a weird cross section of people in the theater this afternoon, kids, nannys, girls my age, and then a few random older men by themselves.  By the end of the film, everyone was cheering and clapping.  Simple proof that nobody can resist a well done dance-off in the rain!!!

I did a little research into who shot and cut it.  It's the cinematographer, Max Malkin's second or third film, but the editor, Andrew Marcus, has a lot of experience doing really creative stuff (Hedwig, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and weirdly, a bunch of Ivory Merchant movies).  Anyways, my guess is that the result is the combo of good camera instincts from somebody younger that understands the dancing better, and a really capable editor that has good pacing, but isn't completely ADD.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Step Up 2 should be required viewing for anybody interested in the development of dance on film.  It uses classic techniques, but also incorporates new ideas without the dance-sacrificing clumsiness that is usually involved in trying to cut the standard urban teen dance film for modern pacing.

Click here to see clips from the movie on the New York Times' website.

Here's the trailer of Step Up 2: The Streets

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February 20, 2008

Opportunities to screen your dance films & videos

In case you haven't noticed, there is a page called Dance Film Submission Deadlines (under the Background section of this blog) that I've been up-dating regularly with new opportunities for dance filmmakers. Right now there's lots of great stuff coming up to submit your work to. See the list below, and check this page regularly for new events.


FEBRUARY 2008

CALL FOR WORKS

O dança em foco -International Video & Dance Festival is receiving applications for its International Videodance Screenings. The 2008 edition will take place in September in Rio de Janeiro followed by other cities, with free public showings.

The applications will only be accepted thought the site www.dancaemfoco.com.br

If interested please send dance documentaries and videodance works by 29 February 2008 to the following address:

dança em foco - Festival Internacional de Vídeo & Dança
a/c Paulo Caldas
Rua General Glicério 144 / 202 - Laranjeiras
Rio de Janeiro - RJ - Brasil
CEP 22.245-120

CALL FOR ARTISTS

The 3rd International Vdance festival at the Cinemateque Tel Aviv (Cinematek), Israel
The festival will run for 3 days showing international and Israeli work that explores the connection between film and movement - showing video dance and contemporary dance films plus experimental films from beginning of 20th century.
 
Festival dates: 12 - 14 June 2008
Venue: Cinemateque Tel Aviv

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: February 29, 2008
artists should submit their work on DVD format (2 copies). 
including:
a document with Name of artist, Postal address, E-mail address, Phone number , Name of the piece (Title), Name of Director, Name of Choreographer, Name of Producer, year in which the work has been made, length of the piece, and a short description of the piece.
 
Send it to:
Vdance - The International Festival of Video-Dance
Cinemateque Tel Aviv
2 Sprinzak St.
Tel Aviv 64738
Israel
 
For inquries and information contact:
vdance2008@gmail.com

DANCEDOC SLAM
Thursday, March 6, 2008, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m.
Green Space, 37-24 24^th St., Long Island City
An interactive peer-review workshop that provides choreographers and dancers the opportunity to present video documentation of their work for critique by experts in the field. The panel will lead a discussion on the best ways to document dance pieces on film for venues, festivals and funding applications based on five pre-selected video submissions.

SUBMISSION PROCESS
To submit your video sample for critique please send a DVD clearly labeled with the name of the artist and contact information to:

Independence Arts Builds Community Submissions
Queens Council on the Arts
One Forest Park at Oak Ridge
Woodhaven, NY 11421-1166

Submissions should be 3-5 minutes. Please note that this workshop is directed towards the documentation of dance pieces not narrative or artistic films involving dance. Only a limited number of submissions will be discussed at the workshop.

For more information email chenderson@queenscouncilarts.org or visit: http://www.queenscouncilarts.org/html/artsservices-dancedoc.html

MARCH 2008

EMPAC DANCE MOVIES COMMSSION 2008: OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The deadline for the proposals is March 1, 2008.

For more information on EMPAC and the DANCE MOViES Commission, or to download the guidelines and application form, please visit the EMPAC website:
http://www.empac.rpi.edu

DANCE MOViES Commission application process:
The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission is a competitive open proposal process, in which eligible artists submit a project proposal.  The initial proposals are reviewed and a small number of artists are invited to submit a detailed proposal to an international panel. The panel assesses the quality and feasibility of the proposed project and submits its recommendations to EMPAC. The commissions are awarded by EMPAC after review.

Upon awarding of the commission, the artist or collaborative team has one year to complete the project, at which point the work is premiered at EMPAC, shown at dance film festivals around the world, and credited as an EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The American Dance Festival calls for innovators to step forward with submissions for the 13th annual Dancing for the Camera: International Festival of Film and Video Dance. Showcasing the best of fusions between cinematographic skill and choreographic vision, Dancing for the Camera has screened to international audiences more than 250 dance films by filmmakers from over 20 countries.  Directed by dance filmmaker and curator, Douglas Rosenberg, the 2008 festival will take place July 11-13, in conjunction with the ADF's 75th Anniversary. 

Seeking high artistic quality, all entries will be adjudicated in one of four categories by a panel of jurors whose selections will screen at the festival. Certificates of Distinction will be awarded to works of exceptional merit.

Submissions should align with one of the following areas:
Choreography for the Camera--original work made specifically for video or film or re-staged for the camera.
Documentaries--productions that include interviews or other educational elements in addition to choreography.
Experiment and Digital Technologies--work that extends the boundaries of dance and can exist only in video, film, or new technologies.
Student Work--submissions produced while the filmmakers were students or by current students.
The early deadline for film/video submissions is March 11, 2008, by 6pm with an entry fee of $30. 
All submissions must meet the final deadline of April 11, 2008, by 6pm.  The entry fee for late submissions is $40.  Download the entry form.  

For more information on Dancing for the Camera, including registration, entry forms, and guidelines for submission please visit www.americandancefestival.org

Questions regarding the call for entries should be directed to adf@americandancefestival.org or 919.684.6402.

CALL FOR ENTRIES
The 2008 dance event for the Dowagiac Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is "Dancing Outside the Box: A Video& Film Festival of Dance."  On Saturday, May 10, 2008 select films will be shown at the Theatre in the Dale A. Lyons Building on the campus of Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac, Michigan.
 
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
We seek films or videos that blend dance and film of all kinds.  We will accept dance made for the camera, documentary, short film, adaptation of a stage work or site specific creation, or music video.  Content must be family friendly.
 
ENTRY REGULATIONS

• Entries must be received in DVD or VHS format

• Entry form and media must be postmarked by March 15, 2008
• If you would like your media returned please send self addressed mailer with return postage.  We are not responsible for returning preview media without a specific request and postage.
• Dogwood Fine Arts Festival is given the right to use excerpts from your video, if chosen for the festival in all Dogwood promotional materials.
• DISCLAIMER/LIABILITY: every effort will be made to protect entries while in the Festival's care; however, the Festival and its sponsor do not assume liability for damage or loss to DVD's or videotapes.

Send entry form and VHS/DVD to:
Dogwood Fine Arts Festival
PO Box 526
Dowagiac, MI 49047
Attn:Amy
Direct questions to:
Amy Rose  269.580.1447
 craigamy@btc-bci.com  subject:Dogwood

APRIL 2008

Entry Call 2008                                               
Dance film entries are now being accepted for the 2008 SHOOT - Dance for Screen festival
 
SHOOT - Dance for Screen, the Swedish dance for screen festival celebrates the fifth anniversary with festival in four cities: Stockholm-Luleå-Göteborg-Malmö.
Screenings, seminars, discussions, workshops, 3D installation, national and international guests.
 
We are looking for dance films and videos in various styles, completed in 2006-2008, that combine choreography and cinematography.
We welcome shorts, features, animation and video clips.
 
Festival date: Oct/Nov 2008
Submission deadline: 2 April 2008
 
MORE INFORMATION AND HOW TO SUBMIT:
go to www.modernadansteatern.se
or email stina@modernadansteatern.se


CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

EDIT2008
4. International Dance Film Festival, Budapest
Organised by Workshop Foundation in co-operation with Budapest Autumn Festival
Planned date: 10-13 October 2008

We are accepting original films and videos on dance and movement, camera re-works and experimental projects on body and gestures with no restriction on its length and subject.

A DVD format copy should be sent to Workshop Foundation no later than 15 April 2008 (postmark).

Workshop Foundation / Gabor Pinter
1094 Budapest, Liliom u. 41.
HUNGARY

It is also the deadline for submitting the on-line ENTRY FORM.

A professional jury will select the films into the screening programme. Applicants will be informed about the decision by 30 July 2008.

Do not hesitate to contact us for further information: editfest@yahoo.com

Thank you,

Gabor Pinter
Program Curator

ON-GOING (No deadlines)

VIDEO ART REQUEST

I am glad to invite you to show your videos in the channel WEBTV.sepiensa,
an internet channel dedicated exclusively to video-art, performance documantation, etc.

WEBTV.sepiensa has the support of Sepiensa.net [debate.art.society]. Curatoria Forense and Fondo Nacional Audiovisual (Chile)

If you are interested in participate, you can send the video(s) to jorge@numcero.cl through YOUSENDIT (http://www.yousendit.com/) if the file has less than 100 MB or by postal mail (DVD or CD) to:

Jorge Sepúlveda T.
Casilla de Correo 68,
Sucursal 12 Capital
Buenos Aires, Argentina

technical requirements:
- file in AVI format (compress as RAR or ZIP)
- at least 640 x 480 pixels
- 10 minutes max. each video
- information of each video (title, author, date)

By sending your video, WEBTV.sepiensa is authorized to use it for public exhibition on internet and activities related to the promotion of WEBTV.sepiensa.

Best regards,

Jorge Sepulveda T. (alias lulo)
Curador Independiente
www.curatoriaforense.net

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February 6, 2008

Second Life: a Puppet Play for the 21st Century

Monday night I got my first taste of Second Life in Brian McCormick's Kinetic Cinema program at Collective:Unconscious. Second Life is a 3D virtual world where users can socialize, connect and create using voice and text chat. At the end of the evening Brian showed a real-time performance of "The Nut" by the Second Life Ballet done especially for the KC audience. I must admit, I came in to the evening with a lot of preconceptions about how I was going to interpret the SL performance. I had seen a couple clips of Second Life performances on Youtube, and I checked out Doug Fox's blog postings on SL Ballet, so I had some idea of what it was about. As a dancer and filmmaker, it seemed like dance in Second life was still light years behind the fluidity and grace of "first life" dance whether on screen or stage. I also felt dubious about people who devote so much time and energy sitting at a computer living a virtual life, when the real thing seems like more than enough to deal with!

However, upon witnessing SL Ballet's performance in real time, I was surprised and struck with admiration for what they were doing with their medium. The software for the program is definitely still a bit primitive. The movement was jerky with lots of dropped frames, and the music would sometimes skip or drop out, making it seem like the whole thing could fall apart at any moment. But this awkwardness actually made the piece very endearing and exciting to watch.  In many ways it was basically a 21st Century puppet show. The strings were invisible but the presence of the real hands operating the dancers were palpable.  The dancers moved like marionettes, sometimes flying across the stage or hovering for long moments in the air beating their legs in interminable changements. Like puppetry, the virtual bodies became substitutes for the real, and strange flights of fancy became totally believable and acceptable.

After the performance we had a chat with Inarra Saarinen, the artistic director and all the cast and crew of SL Ballet. We learned about the weeks of preparation it takes to create a ballet in Second life from programming the animation to practicing the moves with each other in real time. The cast members live all over the world, from Tokyo to Italy to Minnesota, and each member must commit to a regular rehearsal schedule of 4-6 hours per week. It became clear to me why ballet is a good choice of dance for Second Life. Inarra, as the choreographer, must program all the movements to be executed by key strokes. Ballet, with its codified technique, provides a set vocabulary of moves that she can create and store, in order to combine into different choreographies. Inarra said that over time she has accumulated over 300 animations for use in her dances. I'd be curious to learn how copyright and intellectual property works in Second Life. If someone else choreographs a dance using her animation for a passé or jeté, would they need to pay her? Maybe the exchange would be in Linden dollars (the SL currency that actually can translate into real money)!

Here's a clip of SL Ballet's "Olmannen" an original work in three acts.



I'm still a bit freaked out by the social complexities of Second Life. It's the unseen person behind the avatar that kind of gives me the willies (no ballet pun intended!). Still, I'm very interested to see how dance will evolve in this medium. Brian mentioned the possibility of creating virtual theatres where people can go to see performances they missed in First Life. I was picturing a virtual Dance Theater Workshop with 3D avatars of Miguel Gutierrez and Juliette Mapp doing their thing on a make believe stage. I don't think this could ever take the place of real performance, it's just too different a medium, but there is certainly some potential. Like puppetry or cartoons, you could recreate historical events with a satirical or comedic effect. You could also bring historical figures together for fantastical meetings: what if Nijinksy could dance with Baryshnikov? or Isadora Duncan with Trisha Brown? Crazy fun could ensue.  

In fact, Brian pointed me to some clips by net artists Eva and Franco Mattes (aka http://0100101110101101.org/) that are reenactments in Second Life of famous performance art pieces. They call them Synthetic Performances, and they performed a couple of them for live audiences at Performa 07 (a performance art festival) here in New York this past fall. Here is a link to a clip in which people in a gallery have to pass through two naked people on either side of a doorway.

I'd be curious to hear from others who have been using this medium or have seen dance in Second Life. How do you feel about it? What kinds of artistic possibilities do you see in it?

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February 4, 2008

Super Kinetic Monday - Tonight!

What comes between Superbowl Sunday and Super Tuesday?
Super Kinetic Cinema Monday!
Come check out a fabulous program of cutting edge movement-based films and videos, curated by Brian McCormick. From a 1987 collaboration between Elizabeth Streb and Mary Lucier to the latest online virtual spectacles of Second Life Ballet, you will be blown away!

KINETIC CINEMA
Tonight! Monday Feb 4th @ 7:30pm
$5 Admission (buy tickets at the door)

at:
Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal
info: www.weird.org
212.254.5277

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January 28, 2008

Streb and Second Life Ballet in Kinetic Cinema on Feb 4th

Kinetic Cinema kicked off last month with a great program during the Dance On Camera Festival. Please join us for our second screening on Monday February 4th at 7:30pm at Collective:Unconscious in Tribeca. This time I have invited dance writer and educator, Brian McCormick to guest curate a program of films and videos that have inspired his work with dance. Brian's program evolves from his interest in video art, including early performance-based video, choreographies that exploit film's surrealistic potential, and the latest 3D virtual dance from the Second Life Ballet.

Come see a fascinating collection of rare videos that span the short and rich history of mediatized movement.















THE NUT by Second Life Ballet, photo: Cienega Soon

Kinetic Cinema
Monday February 4th 7:30pm (and the first Monday of every month thereafter)
$5 Admission (buy tickets at the door)

@ Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: 1 to Franklin; A, C, E to Canal
www.weird.org
Phone: 212.254.5277


Brian's program will feature ground-breaking experimental videos including Mary Lucier and Elizabeth Streb's 1987 collaboration "In the blink of an eye, Amphibian Dreams... If I could fly I would fly" (click here to preview an excerpt), plus a special live performance in Second Life (a virtual online world) of excerpts of "The Nut" (an abridged version of The Nutcracker) by Second Life Ballet, followed by a chat with artistic director Inarra Saarinen. These, plus many more surprises are in store!

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month curator Anna Brady Nuse invites a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators will come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Malinda Allen (March 3rd), Jonah Bokaer (April 7th), Levi Gonzalez (May 5th), and Kriota Willberg (June 2nd).

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January 21, 2008

New Dance Film Lab Friday Jan 25th at DTW!

Join us for a special Friday night Dance Film Lab as we celebrate our first meeting in our new home at Dance Theater Workshop! Please contact Zach Morris to RSVP.  If you are interested in presenting material at this lab, we have room for one more artist to show work.

Meeting Details
Dance Film Lab
Friday, January 25, 8-10pm
at Dance Theater Workshop (DTW)
219 West 19th Street
(between 7th and 8th Aves)
Phone: (212) 691-6500
Click Here for DTW's website
 
The Dance Film Lab is moderated and organized by Zach Morris (Third Rail Projects), produced and run with the assistance of Kathleen Green, and in cooperation with the Dance Films Association. Hosted by Dance Theater Workshop, this salon brings dance filmmakers together to present raw footage, drafts, works-in-progress and newly finished films to their peers for constructive feedback, to share information, and address technical, practical and artistic challenges. The lab is free and open to the public, though reservations are necessary.

Contact Zach Morris for more information and to RSVP.

www.thirdrailprojects.com/DanceFilmLab

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January 16, 2008

Recent viewings of highly effective intermedia performances

This weekend I was involved in a couple of showcase events for the APAP conference (Association of Performing Arts Presenters) here in New York. Every year presenters and performing artists from the U.S. and around the globe converge at the Hilton in midtown Manhattan to pitch and book performance engagements. It's exciting and completely overwhelming. Every square inch of dance space in the city is used to showcase dance companies in the hopes of catching a presenter's eye. My APAP involvement centers around my workplace, Pentacle, which is an arts service organization that among other things, provides booking services for dance companies. I'm not involved in the booking department, however around APAP time, all hands need to be on deck to help run the showcases.

We organized two showcases this year for two groups of artists we represent, and I was happy to see that there were several companies: Bridgman/Packer Dance, Kinodance, Jonah Bokaer, and Troika Ranch that are integrating media in highly effective ways in their work. A couple of them I had known for a long time but never seen live, so this was a great opportunity to look at intermedia performance again with fresh eyes.

Generally, I'm a purist when it comes to dance and media. I like what matt gough calls "screendance" - dance on screen only. This is because I feel like dance is so engaging when produced well for screen that I don't want to be asked to look anywhere else when I watch it. However, I have experimented with using video projections in my own live dance pieces, and there are a few instances when I have been really impressed by media used in live work. Happily the performances I saw this weekend all expanded my views of media in live dance.

My usual gripe with intermedia performance is that the video projections tend to upstage the live action on stage. As soon as the video goes on, the dancers become dwarfed by the projection and seem to be little insects buzzing around the main event, which are the giant images on screen. Too few artists seem to understand the powerful pull video has on an audience's eyes, and they don't take this into account when designing their productions. For Bridgman/Packer and Kinodance however, this has been handled impeccably well.


Bridgman/Packer (Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer) is collaborative duo that began using video several years ago to multiply themselves on stage. In their performances, life size images of themselves appear and vanish just as the real them appear and vanish behind invisible curtains and hanging screens. The result is a moving tromp l'oeil (eye-trick) that is truly delightful. Their work is generally pretty light-hearted and fun, a welcome relief from the usual heavy modern dance fare. I have actually found myself smiling while watching their work, feeling the edges of my eyes crinkle, and and leaning forward in my seat to try to follow the dance better. It's almost therapeutic to be entertained by a dance performance these days, and Bridgman/Packer can deliver the goods.
Photo: Bridgman/Packer's Under the Skin by Paul B. Goode


Here is a clip from Bridgman/Packer's Trilogy consisting of "Seductive Reasoning," "Under the Skin," and "Memory Bank."




The other master of media and dance integration is Kinodance, a Boston-based collective consisting of filmmaker Alla Kovgan, choreographer/dancers Alissa Cardone and Ingrid Schatz, visual artist Dedalus Wainwright, and lighting designer Kathy Couch.

Photo: Secret Streams by Alla Kovgan

Kinodance pieces are also obviously made with the visual media in mind from the start, but in much more subtle ways. I had the opportunity to see their full length work "Secret Streams" performed at Dance New Amsterdam on Monday night in which the video images were used almost as another dancer in the work. At the beginning of this spare and simple all black and white piece, just one white vertical bar moves across the stage catching a screen of vertical white strings hanging across the back of the stage and moving over the two dancers. Eventually two vertical bars appear and then three until it evolves into square windows of moving landscapes and eventually a web of white lines. The dancers reacted to the movement of the projections, and at times it seems like the projections were a reaction to the dancers' movements. This attention to detail between the video images, the lighting, set and dancers was seamless and organic. My favorite aspect of the piece was the use of shadows. Lights were set specifically to cause the dancers to cast shadows on different surfaces and during different video moments. As a result, the shadows became players in the piece as well, fusing the dancers with the video projections and creating dramatic tension during what was otherwise a pretty abstract and formalist piece.

Here's a video clip of excerpts from "Secret Streams" by Kinodance.



Jonah Bokaer is a young choreographer recently of the Merce Cunningham Company, who has been making waves in the New York City dance community as a presenter and founder of Chez Bushwick (a dance space and presenting organization in Brooklyn). In his own artistic work, he shares his mentor's passion for technology with dance, and has been working with 3D animation and motion capture technologies for a while now. The excerpts I saw at APAP showed some strong ideas and an expert grasp of technique both as a mover and as a video-maker. In one excerpt he played a digital animation of himself performing a complex movement combination that seemed impossible for a real human body to do. However as soon as the video ended he got down on the floor and performed the routine perfectly. He almost didn't seem human, his impersonation of the computer animation was so exact. Obviously, through his work with Merce he has been learning movement from a computer for a long time!

Photo: Nudedescendance by Jonah Bokaer

The other work Jonah showed was a short video involving what looked to be motion-capture-generated animation with live action video of dancers. The music was great, a weird and noisy score by downtown experimental turntablist Christian Marclay and Bokaer. This was screendance as I tend to watch it, and I was excited to see a piece of my world at a conference for performing arts presenters! Perhaps if Jonah continues to rise in stature, it will become more common to see videodance and screendance being shown at large and prestigious arts facilities. We'll see!

Here's a link to Doug Fox's video interview with Jonah last fall: http://greatdance.com/danceblog/archives/video/001687.php.
(PS: Jonah will be a guest curator of Kinetic Cinema on April 7th. Mark your calendars now!)

Loop Diver by Troika Ranch
Troika Ranch is perhaps the best known of this group of intermedia wizards. The company is headed by dancer/choreographer Dawn Stoppiello and composer/media artist Mark Coniglio who also designs much of the interactive technology. Troika's work involves muscle sensors on the dancers' bodies which trigger sounds, lights and video projections. I had the opportunity to see their latest work in progress, "Loop Diver" this past fall at 3-Legged Dog in Manhattan (see their blog about this piece here). With a stage design consisting of several screens hung perpendicular to the audience, the video is projected on these screens so you can't see the images straight on, and the dance is segmented in several sections of the room. The work is about "the violent interuptions of our lives" and it is dark and grueling to watch. At this point Troika Ranch is so good at what they do on the technology side, they have started to make their performers become triggered by the technology, rather than always the other way around. In "Loop Diver" the performers get caught in loop cycles, where they repeat the same movement phrases over and over again, until something or someone breaks them out of it. As media becomes more pervasive in our lives it provides more and more metaphors for life itself. With "Loop Diver" Troika Ranch is moving beyond just exploring what technology can do for them, but also what technology is doing to them, an exciting path that helps keep the technology from over-shadowing the artistic purpose of their work.

Here is some video source material for "Loop Diver" that the dancers recreated live during the performance.


What are your favorite examples of intermedia performance pieces? What else have you seen that is merging media with dance in effective or not so effective ways?

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January 10, 2008

Dance On Camera Festival - Week 2 events

We're now into week two of the Dance On Camera Festival, and there are still many more great events to catch!

Below is the list of up-coming events. I highly recommend tonight's shorts program at BAAD curated by the fabulous Arthur Aviles. I've heard that it will also include some live dancing, so come up and boogie-down in the Bronx!


Dark Room by Peter Bebjak at BAAD 1/10/08



* Festival 2008 Schedule * *
Walter Reade Theatre, Lincoln Center Plaza
165 West 65th Street
January 2-6, 11, 18-19 2008 (1-4 shows daily)
Tickets and daily schedule (Cash only at box office
Read descriptions and times for the 14 programs

- see my run-down of the programs here

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD)
January 10, 2008, 6pm, $10
841 Barretto Street, 2nd Floor (718) 842-5223
Take Number 6 train to Hunts Point
Shorts and live dance, Read program descriptions

Lincoln Center Plaza Cafe
Saturday, January 12th, 11am
MEET THE ARTIST: Director Hans Beenhakker and dancer Prince Credell,
of SHAKE OFF , a six minute short made in one take! (program 8 at Walter Reade Theatre). The artists discuss their creative process along with moderator Ellen Bromberg in a program supported by the Consulate General of the Nederlands.

Berkeley Carroll School
181 Lincoln Place, Park Slope Brooklyn (between 7th and 8th Ave)
January 12, 2008, 7pm, $10
A celebration of Loie Fuller - live dance, screening and discussion
Brooklyn, Read more

Festival Awards Ceremony & Champagne Gala
Alvin Ailey Studios
405 West 55th Street, 5th Floor
January 13, 2008, 6:30-8:30pm, $75
Honoring Savion Glover and the Jury Winners Read more

Spoke The Hub
The Gowanus at 295 Douglas Street
(between 3rd and 4th Avenues). Brooklyn, NY
 (718) 408-3234
January 15, 2008, 7:30pm, $10
Brooklyn. Read more

Here's a convenient google map to help you find your way to these events.

View Larger Map

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January 9, 2008

Kinetic Cinema - a great success!

Thanks to all who attended the first Kinetic Cinema screening on Monday. If you weren't there, a large wonderful crowd turned out at Collective:Unconscious in Tribeca to watch seven fabulous short dance films from the Dance On Camera Festival. Two filmmakers attended: Noemie LaFrance, choreographer of two Feist videos (1234 and My Man My Moon both directed by Patrick Daughters) and Charlotte Griffin, director of the film Raven Study. They shared great stories and insights about making films with dance, and a good time was had by all.

Be sure to check out the Feb 4th screening with dance critic and media maven Brian McCormick! Details will be posted here soon...

Here's the Feist video 1234
Notice the lack of cuts - it's all one continuous take!

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January 7, 2008

Reminder: Kinetic Cinema/Dance On Camera Festival screening tonight!

Just a friendly reminder about the Dance On Camera Festival screening tonight curated by yours truly for Kinetic Cinema at Collective:Unconscious at 7:30pm.

Featuring seven fantastic international shorts including Feist's music video "1234" choreographed by Noémie LaFrance, Charlotte Griffin's sexy "Raven Study", and Victoria Marks' political duet "Not About Iraq," you're sure to find something to get excited about in this program.

Don't get left out! Make your reservation now before this underground, hipster hole-in-the-wall sells out!

Details:
Kinetic Cinema - 2008 Dance On Camera Festival Shorts Program
Monday January 7th 7:30pm (and the first Monday of every month thereafter)
$5 admission

@ Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
Trains: A to Canal or 1 to Franklin
www.weird.org
TICKETS: 212.352.3101
VENUE:212.254.5277

Program descriptions:
FEIST - "1234"
Patrick Daughters, USA, 2007, 3.14min
Noémie LaFrance, known for making large-scale site-specific performances, choreographed this award-winning music video for the artist Feist with 45 dancers and a roving camera. (To be introduced by the choreographer)


BLUE
Elif Isikozlu, Canada, 2006,3m
There is a moment when you have neither left the place you're in nor entered the one you're going to. It is the moment just before you play your first note, just before you walk out on stage, just before you tell someone you don't love them anymore. Balanced on the brink, "betwixt and between", BLUE takes place within this moment, within the threshold between silence and sound.



RAVEN STUDY
Charlotte Griffin, USA, 2007, 4:30m
Animated images bookend this abstract fusion of dance and new music capturing the spirit of the Raven within a sleek cinematic canvas. (To be introduced by the director)



ANIMALZ
Sergio Cruz, England, 2006, 3m
A crew of urban B-boys from Brighton go feral in the city's surrounding natural landscapes. The piece was co-choreographed by Strictly Dance Fever's JP Omari with a group of 8-14 year-old dancers.

PANORAMA ROMA
Anna de Manincor, Italy, 2005, 12m
Produced by the artists collective, ZimmerFrei, Panorama Roma is a crossing of performance, visual arts and cinema (reminiscent of the earliest panoramas by Lumiére, Edison, and Alber Khan). A 12 hour performance took place in the Piazza del Popolo in Rome and was recorded by two rotating video cameras. In this naturally elliptic set the camera, as if it were a watch, completes a 360° round in 60 minutes. The resulting footage was compressed 20 times to obtain one hour visible in three minutes. The performers, moving in slow motion, were placed amongst the passersby to depict a parallel world taking place in a different time scale.

PLANT
Olive Bieringa, USA, 2007, 10m
A visceral, painterly and sometimes humorous hallucination amidst the ruins of an abandoned bomb factory in Minnesota produced by the Body Cartography Project. The music consists of found sounds like a bullet rolling across broken cement,  while three men engage in acts of quiet violence, and noisy interaction.

NOT ABOUT IRAQ
Victoria Marks and David Soll, USA, 2007, 12m
"Not About Iraq" questions the relationship between words and experience, government rhetoric and reality. Can dance be a force for social change? Seeking to reconcile civic and artistic engagement, Victoria Marks explores how dance can conjure meaning and action through metaphoric interpretation. 

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January 4, 2008

Dance On Camera Festival Part 2

Horizon of Exile
The last two nights were cold and blustery. It made the treks out to the Walter Reade Theater for the opening days of the Dance On Camera Festival feel like a expedition to the Yukon in search of gold. Watching Program 2 I found a few flashes that caught my eye. Isabel Rocamora's HORIZON OF EXILE is gorgeously shot in the deserts of Chile. The setting, cinematography, and overall mood was mesmerizing, but I was hoping to feel more of an emotional punch from the subject matter of women in exile. To me the choreography was a little overwrought, but perhaps I was a victim of my own expectations. Chamecki/Lerner's "FLYING DAYS" was my favorite of the night. Cute, whimsical and to the point. The Pina Bausch documentary was interesting if you are already a fan. For Pina devotees it has some wonderful moments with the mistress of avant spectacle herself, with some candid memories of the tough early years.

Here After
Last night I caught the only screening of Vim Vandekeybus' new film "HERE AFTER" made with his Belgian dance company Ultima Vez. It was amazing. I usually can't take too much angst, but somehow I was able to stomach this relentless Freudian vision of hell and actually enjoyed it. It was dark beyond belief but the choreography and camera work were so engaging and gripping, I just couldn't take my eyes away. There is a scene of women putting men (who are playing babies) on poles, and I was reminded of a joke by the British comedian Eddie Izzard that there are certain subjects you just can't sell on screen, like putting babies on spikes. Well, now I've seen it...

Tonight's programs are both of shorts. I highly recommend the 6:15pm screening of Classic shorts. These are some of the best dance for the camera pieces made in the past 20 years. Come out from the cold and be carried away by some REAL moving pictures!

Program 7 - TRIBUTE TO PASCAL MAGNIN
(Fri Jan 4: 6:15pm)

Program 8
(Fri Jan 4: 8:30pm; repeats Fri Jan 11: 6:15pm)
Live performance by Company XIV on January 11th
Program introduced by dancer extraordinaire Richard Move

Dance On Camera Festival @ the Walter Reade Theatre
Lincoln Center Plaza,165 West 65th Street
(1 train to 66th Street)
Warning: due to construction at Lincoln Ctr you need to walk west on 65th street from Broadway, go up a flight of stairs on the right to get to the box office.

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January 1, 2008

Kinetic Cinema Screening Jan. 7th

Happy New Year! What better way to start 2008 than by seeing some wicked cool dance films and videos? On Monday January 7th at 7:30pm I will present a special program of of international dance film shorts in conjunction with the Dance Films Association's 36th Dance On Camera Festival. This program is part of Kinetic Cinema, a videodance screening series happening on the first Monday of each month at Collective:Unconscious in Tribeca. After the Jan 7th kick-off event I will invite a special guest from the dance community each month to show films and videos that have inspired their work in dance. Come see why dance and film go together as well as chocolate and peanut butter (or champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries)!














Feist's 1234

Kinetic Cinema
Monday January 7th 7:30pm (and the first Monday of every month thereafter)
$5 Admission

@ Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
www.weird.org
TICKETS: 212.352.3101
VENUE:212.254.5277

For the Dance On Camera Festival program I have selected  seven shorts from among 200+ festival entries that represent some of the freshest new visions by leading dance filmmakers today. The program includes "1234" - an award-winning music video by Feist directed by Patrick Daughters with choreography by Noemi LaFrance (who will be in attendance); "BLUE" - a suspended moment before a pianist begins to play by Elif Isikozlu; "PANORAMA ROMA" - a rotating timelapse film shot over 24 hours in the center of Rome by Italian choreographer Anna de Manincor; "RAVEN STUDY" - a sleek duet between a beautiful Louise Brooks-like dancer and a Rock drummer by Charlotte Griffin; "ANIMALZ" - a crew of urban b-boys from Brighton that go feral by Sergio Cruz; "PLANT" - a haunting exploration of a decaying bomb factory by The Body Cartography Project and Olive Beiringa; and "NOT ABOUT IRAQ" - a dance film that questions the relationship of words and experience, government rhetoric and reality by choreographer Victoria Marks with dancer Taisha Paggett.
Click here for a video preview of Feist's "1234".

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month I will invite a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influencial on their work in some way. The guest curators will come from a range of backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Brian McCormick (Feb 4th), Jonah Bokaer (April 7th), Levi Gonzalez (May 5th), and Kriota Willberg (June 2nd).

DFA's 36th, annual internationally touring Dance on Camera Festival & Symposium January 2-19, 2008
DFA's 36th annual Dance On Camera Festival is the oldest dance film/video festival in the world that sparked an explosion of activity amongst artists, curators, writers and a curious audience. The Festival has been co-sponsored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center since 1996 and has toured to over 70 venues internationally.
For festival schedule, tickets and info: www.dancefilms.org

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December 24, 2007

Introducing Kinetic Cinema (and reflecting on 2007)

Before introducing my latest videodance venture starting in the new year, I feel the impulse to reflect on 2007 and share some of the experiences that have led me here to the brink of a new jumping off place.



Last January I was the festival coordinator of the 2007 Dance on Camera Festival. I spent several intense months from Sept-Dec 2006 soliciting and receiving entries, coordinating prescreenings, watching almost 200 submissions, and practically living at the Walter Reade Theatre during the first two weeks of 2007. It was a very rewarding experience, but I found that that very few dancers from my community, the New York modern dance community, came out to see the amazing work we were showing. There were many reasons for this, one being that the timing of the festival is right after the holidays, and it always bumps right up on APAP, the biggest gig-getting event of the year in New York. It's hard to compete with a dancer's chance to drum up some income, but I felt that more could be done to bring awareness to dancers of the power of dance for the camera.

In an attempt to address this, I curated a special program of videodance shorts by American artists at Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I did this because the work of local and US based artists is generally under-represented in the Dance On Camera Festival outside of the documentary category, and I wanted to attract local audiences by showing work by people they knew. The strategy worked. We had more people than we could squeeze in standing, and we even had to turn some away at the door! This showed me that the community was interested and hungry to see dance for the camera, we just needed to involve them more.

In the spring, Zach Morris (of the Dance Film Lab) and I decided we wanted to build upon the momentum of the Galapagos showing and start a bimonthly dance film screening series. We had huge ideas for programming from showing the greatest videodances we knew of, to programs that showed the entire history of dance film. In May 2006 we produced "Wicked Cool Dance Films" featuring all our favorite films and had a rousing discussion with the audience and filmmakers after the screening. We seemed to be off to a good start. The only problem was that we had no money or time. Galapagos was cheap but it wasn't free, and Zach had too much on his plate to continue. I wanted to keep it going, but I knew that I couldn't do it on my own.

Fast forward to this fall. I started blogging on Great Dance which seemed like the perfect way to spread the gospel of dance for the camera without needing much to get it going. So far Move the Frame blog has been an incredible experience and has opened up many new networks and distribution opportunities for me and my mission. I've made oodles of friends from all over and love the interactivity the blog platform allows. But despite the new connections, I still feel like I haven't been able to address one of the issues closest to home: how to get the New York dance community turned on to videodance.

In October Zach forwarded me an email. It was from Caterina Bartha, the director of Collective:Unconscious a theatre and screening space in Tribeca. She was looking for a curator for a monthly dance film series they wanted to launch in 2008. She had been talking to Deirdre Towers at the Dance Films Association about doing a screening for the Dance On Camera Festival there, but she wanted to continue this as a regular event. Zach declined because his work had taken off in a big way, but he recommended me for the position. My gut reaction was "Yes! This is exactly what I've been wishing for." They were offering free space, a projectionist, admin support, and a regular time slot to do whatever I wanted. But at the same time I was worried I couldn't make the time commitment. I'd be in school part-time, working almost full-time, blogging, and trying to work on my own videodances. Still I felt like this was too good to pass up.

Then I got an idea. What if I took the web 2.0 approach, and made this a user-generated series? If I wanted to attract dancers from my community, maybe I should give them the reigns and let them bring in the work? What media is turning them on? How has it shown up in their performance work? If I could get dancers to think about these questions and share their own ideas perhaps they would see the value of integrating videodance into their dance practice. The idea of Kinetic Cinema was born.

Kinetic Cinema explores the intersection of dance and the moving image both on screen and stage. Each month I will invite a special guest from the dance community to share the films and videos that have inspired or moved them. These could be films that feature dance, are kinetic-based, or have been influential on their work in some way. The guest curators will come from a range of dance backgrounds as performers, choreographers, critics, and filmmakers. Upcoming guests include Brian McCormick, Jonah Bokaer, Levi Gonzalez, and Kriota Willberg, to name a few.

To kick off the series I'm taking a slightly different tack because it is being held in conjunction with the Dance Films Association's 36th Annual Dance On Camera Festival.  On January 7th, 2008 at 7:30pm, Kinetic Cinema will present a special program of seven international dance film shorts I have selected from among 200+ festival entries. These films and videos represent some of the freshest new visions by leading dance filmmakers today. The program includes "1, 2, 3, 4" a catchy music video by Feist with choreography by Noemi LaFrance (who will introduce her film), "PANORAMA ROMA" a rotating timelapse film shot over 24 hours in the center of Rome by Italian choreographer Anna de Manincor, and "NOT ABOUT IRAQ" a dance film that questions the relationship of words and experience, government rhetoric and reality by choreographer Victoria Marks with dancer Taisha Paggett. (click here for the full program)

On February 4th dance critic and founding board member of nicholas leichter dance, Brian McCormick, will present a program of videos and films that have been integral to his life with dance. Brian is particularly interesting because he comes from a background in video art which led him to dance. His first introduction to movement-based arts were through the experimental videos of Bill Viola, Mary Lucier with Elizabeth Streb, Shirley Clarke, and Joan Jonas. I've haven't explored this type of work very much myself, and I'm looking forward to learning just as much from his program as the audience will.

Although the series hasn't started yet, I already feel like it is fulfilling an important mission that began for me over a year ago with the Dance On Camera Festival. By galvanizing the local community and linking our efforts with the world community via the web and other forms of media, some large scale shifts can happen. The revolution will not be televised, but I will do my best to blog about it, and hopefully all the small actions by dancers and filmmakers happening around the world will link up and become a great wave of change sweeping the dance world into the 21st Century!

If you are in the New York area on the first Monday of the month, please come see what's playing at Kinetic Cinema. Screenings will start at 7:30pm. $5 admission.

Collective:Unconscious
279 Church Street (just south of White Street)
New York, NY 10013
www.weird.org
TICKETS: 212.352.3101
VENUE:212.254.5277

Kinetic Cinema is part of The Collective for Loving Cinema Series, a weekly themed-film series curated by Anna Brady Nuse, Stephen Kent Jussick, Matt Kohn and MM Serra and presented by Collective: Unconscious. Each week of the month has a specific theme: Week 1 - Kinetic Cinema (Dance on Film), Week 2 - Experimental Queer Film (MIX @ C:U), Week 3 - Speakeasy Cinema (a mystery film with post screening talk back with various film luminaries!) and Week 4 - Jewels and Gems (the best of the Filmmakers Co-Op) . The Collective for Loving Cinema Series is supported, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

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December 19, 2007

Dance on Camera Festival 2008 Pt. 1

Get ready New York. The 36th Annual Dance On Camera Festival & Symposium is coming to town, and it will start immediately after the new year. You need to be prepared, with notes and itinerary in hand, in order to discover all the gems that are embedded in this festival. No worries, Move the Frame will provide guidance and a road map through these jam-packed two weeks. For this post I will concentrate on the basics and the 14 programs at the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center. In a follow-up post I will give a run down of other special events happening around the city (one of which I am curating at Collective:Unconscious!).

The basics:
What: Festival info can be found at www.dancefilms.org, the website of the Dance Films Association.
When: January 2-19, 2008
Where: The main location of the festival is at the Walter Reade Theatre: Lincoln Center Plaza,165 West 65th Street. Tickets.


View Larger Map

Other locations:

Alvin Ailey Studios
405 West 55th Street, 5th Floor

Berkeley Carroll School
181 Lincoln Place, Park Slope Brooklyn (between 7th and 8th Ave)

Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance (BAAD)
 841 Barretto Street, 2nd Floor (718) 842-5223
Directions: Take Number 6 train to Hunts Point

Bruno Walters Auditorium, New York Public Library
111 Amsterdam Ave (between 64th and 65th St)

Collective:Unconscious, 279 Church Street (between White & Franklin Sts.)

Donnell Library Center, The New York Public Library
20 W. 53rd Street, New York, NY
(across from Museum of Modern Art)

New York State Theatre, Lincoln Center

Spoke The Hub
The Gowanus at 295 Douglas Street
(between 3rd and 4th Avenues). Brooklyn, NY
 (718) 408-3234

Programs at the Walter Reade Theatre:
This is the home base of the festival with 14 programs and over 44 films to see. Where to begin!? Since the programs are just numbers, and don't have titles, it can be really hard to figure out which ones will suit your tastes and interests. To help you navigate, I've categorized the Programs by type (as best as possible), and starred** the films and programs that I'm super excited about. The types are: narratives, experimental, shorts, ballet films, documentaries, and classics.

Narratives:

Program 4 (Thurs Jan 3: 9pm)

**HERE AFTER, Wim Vandekeybus, Belgium, 2007; 65m
From the creator of BLUSH (shown at DOCF in 2006), Vandekeybus is back with another dark and intense narrative about a mad tyrant who enforces infanticide in an isolated town. Sure to be bone crushing and stomach churning. Vandekeybus proves that dance films are not just fluffy and whimisical, but can be the stuff of nightmares as well.

**Program 9 (Sat Jan 5: 4pm; repeats Sun Jan 6: 8:30pm)

**THE BENTFOOTES, Todd Alcott and Kriota Willberg, USA, 2007; 75m
A 'mockumentary' a la Spinal Tap, The Bentfootes is a tongue-in-cheek exploration of American dance from post-revolutionary times to the present. Introduced by the directors

Experimental:

**Program 2 (Wed Jan 2: 8:30pm; repeats Thurs Jan 3, 4:15pm)

**HORIZON OF EXILE, Isabel Rocamora, United Kingdom/Spain, 2007; 22m
A breath-taking film of two women journeying across a desert landscape. Testimonials of Iraqi exiles are woven into the soundtrack with Jivan Gasparyan and singer Surma Hamid, an Iraqi exile now living in London. A MUST SEE!

**Program 10 (Sat Jan 5: 6:15pm; repeats Fri Jan 11: 1pm) Three intriguing films by Pierre Coulibeuf.

PAVILLON NOIR
Pierre Coulibeuf, France, 2006; 24m
A collaboration with Angelin Prejlocaj. His works invent a place and a language on the borderline of the other arts, critiquing established forms and questioning representations of reality.

**BALKAN BAROQUE, Pierre Coulibeuf, France, 1999; 63m, clip
Experimental fiction. The autobiography, both real and imaginary, of Marina Abramovic, Body Art artist. The film composes the life aesthetic of a woman in her era, with a personal history strongly marked by the Yugoslavia of Tito, everyday violence, the experience of physical and psychic limits...

LE DEMON DU PASSAGE, Pierre Coulibeuf, France, 1995; 14m
Landscapes in which characters appear, disappear and reappear, seemingly trying to make a connection with one another but always in transition

Shorts:

**Program 2 (Wed Jan 2: 8:30pm; repeats Thurs Jan 3, 4:15pm)

LIFEFORCE #3, Lene Boel, Denmark, 2007; 10.5m
A man gets pulled into a machine.

FRAGMENTATION, Suzon Fuks, Australia, 2007; 5.8m
Two guys find an awkward connection over the morning newspaper.

FLYING, Phil Harder, Rosanne Chamecki, Andrea Lerner, USA, 2007; 4'37m
By New York dance favs, Chamecki/Lerner.

Program 4  (Thurs Jan 3: 9pm)

FANTASTIC FLOWER SHOP, Pawel Partyka, Denmark/Poland, 2001; 15m
An award-winning animated short set in a flower shop at closing time.

LIFE FORCE #1, Lene Boel, Denmark, 2007; 14m
An inventor gets carried away by the music in a pair of headphones and his machines come alive and dance with him.

**Program 7 - TRIBUTE TO PASCAL MAGNIN (Fri Jan 4: 6:15pm)

**REINES D'UN JOUR, Pascal Magnin, Switzerland, 1996; 28m
A striking film set in the Swiss Alps with rolling dancers, cows and villagers.

**CONTRECOUPS, Pascal Magnin, Switzerland, 1998; 23m
An intense urban duet between a man and a woman.

CARGO, Kelly Hargraves, USA, 2007; 4m
A man stuck at a pit stop on the road of life.

BOY, Rosemary Lee, Peter Anderson, UK, 1994; 6m
A boy transforms into a super hero while playing in the sand dunes.

**MOTION CONTROL, Liz Aggiss/Billy Cowie, UK, 2002; 8m
Two of my favorite dance filmmakers, Aggiss and Cowie are always quirky and always kick ass! This short is featured on the new Dance for Camera Vol. 2 DVD, and I can't wait to see it!

**Program 8 (Fri Jan 4: 8:30pm; repeats Fri Jan 11: 6:15pm)
includes live performance by Company XIV on January 11th

**SHAKE OFF, Hans Beenhakker, The Netherlands, 2007; 9m, 35mm
An award-winning film featuring soloist Prince Credell as he moves through different times an spaces all in one shot. This is one of my favorite dance film techniques, when the camera and the body are choreographed seamlessly.

**MORNING HERD, Rick Harvie, New Zealand, 2007; 7.25m
I got to see this film in the pre-screening I attended. A young and adorable farmer boy takes a romp with his cows.

DESCENT, Noemie Lafrance, USA, 2003; 5m
A film of Lafrance's signature dance that took place in a twelve story stairwell.

CAR MEN, Boris Paval Conem and Jiri Kylian, The Netherlands, 2006; 28m
A parody of the famous opera, this black & white film is set in a coal mine and centers around a 'scrap car' reminiscent of the futurist Czech Tatra of the 1930s.

**Program 9 (Sat Jan 5: 4pm; repeats Sun Jan 6: 8:30pm)

**DIVA, Liz Aggiss, UK, 2007; 3.50m
A jaded dance diva processes up the red carpet.

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 14 (Fri Jan 18: 6:15pm)

Film critic Armond White surveys how Hollywood musical choreographers inspired new generations of pop dance choreographers. (I went to see White's music video program at Scanners a couple years ago and really enjoyed it. This should be a fascinating and very fun program for pop culture freaks.)

Ballet films:

Program 1. (Wed Jan 2: 6:15pm; repeats Thurs Jan 3: 2pm)

SPARTACUS, Vadim Derbenev and Yuri Grivorovich, Russia, 1975; 94m YouTube clip
A recently restored 1975 ballet film based on Yuri Grigorovich's staging for the Bolshoi Ballet. Features many stars of the company.

Program 3 (Thurs Jan 3: 6:15pm; repeats Sat Jan 5: 1pm)

FELIA DOUBROVKSA REMEMBERED, Virginia Brooks, USA, 2008; 37m
A tribute to the great Russian ballerina and renown SAB teacher. 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
A BBC doc on Olga Spessivtzeva (1895-1991), the Aurora of Diaghilev's 1921 production of 'The Sleeping Princess'. Her career was cut short by mental illness, reputed to have come on onstage during the "mad scene" of "Gisele."

HAPPY TO BE SO, Yelena Demikovsky, USA, 2007; 47m
A documentary about Oleg Briansky and Mireille Briane, former principal dancers, renowned ballet teachers, founders of the Briansky Saratoga Ballet School and a dynamic duo for more than 50 years.

**Program 13 (Fri Jan 11: 8:30pm; repeats Fri Jan 18: 8:30pm)

**WATER FLOWING TOGETHER, Gwendolen Cates, USA, 2007; 77m
This splendid documentary is a compelling cinematic portrait of former NYCB Principal Dancer Jock Soto. Introduced by the director and Jock Soto.

Documentaries:

**Program 2 (Wed Jan 2: 8:30pm; repeats Thurs Jan 3, 4:15pm)

*PINA BAUSCH, Anne Linsel, Germany, 2006; 44m
There have been many documentaries on Pina Bausch, and yet, I never tire of seeing one more. This film goes into her background and development as a choreographer, from obscurity to greatness. Should be fascinating.

Program 5 (Fri Jan 4: 1pm; repeats Sun Jan 6, 6pm)

CHRISTOPHER HOUSE: AHEAD OF THE CURVE, Rosemary House, Canada, 2007; 48m. 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.

FEEL THE EARTH MOVE: THE GROS MORNE PROJECT, Anne Troake, Canada, 2007; 51m
Anne Troake known for her wildly successful short PRETTY BIG DIG turns the camera on the cultural exchange between locals living near Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park and artists of Montreal's Coleman Lemieux Dance Company, capturing the moment of creation and the spectacular work itself.

Program 11 (Sat Jan 5 8:30pm; Sat Jan 19, 3pm)

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 director.

**Program 12 (Sun Jan 6 3:30pm; repeats Fri Jan 11; 4pm)

*INSIDE THE CIRCLE, Marcy Garriott, USA, 2007; 102m. 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.

Classics:

**Program 6 (Fri Jan 4: 3:30pm; repeats Sun Jan 6: 1pm)

**JOUR DE FETE, Jacques Tati, France, 1949/1995, 70m. YouTube clip
A comedic genius, Tati's films are full of visual gags a la Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. In this film a gullible postman tries to speed up his mail route aboard his bicycle to hilarious ends.

I will post about the other festival events soon.

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December 11, 2007

Review of robbinschilds' "C.L.U.E." at PS 122

Last week I was chained to my computer spewing out term papers for the end of my semester at the New School. Unfortunately I had to miss what sounded like the videodance event of the Fall: robbinschilds' "C.L.U.E." at PS 122. Luckily, my fabulous co-worker, Michelle Coe, went to see it, and she spontaneously wrote this review. I was very glad to get her impressions of the work, and even happier to be able to share them with you here.

Artist: robbinschilds

Program: C.L.U.E.

Date: 12/6/06

Venue: PS 122

Description:

Sonya Robbins and Layla Childs inhabit the intersection of human movement and architecture--be it natural or manmade. C.L.U.E. combines a movement based full-spectrum video with acutely visual live dance and an original live score. (From PS 122 brochure)

Comments:

This piece had me totally transfixed. admittedly, I'm a sucker for live music, and this was particularly captivating "shoe-gazer" dark, experimental music by Seattle rock band Kinski (where the bass guitarist at one point played her guitar with a bow, like an upright bass!), so it had me from the first note.

but then there was the impressive but very simple set: rocks, complete with texture and climb-ability, and then the black, lava-like sand that was rolled in, kicked up, danced around.

the most captivating element that pulled everything together was the film. I had stories going in my head of how fun it must have been to location scout for it:

taking a desert canvas and looking for desolate landscapes, maybe an odd industrial fixture within it, seeking awe-inspiring frames within nature (massive upturned tree roots, towering rocky hills, water surrounding two stick-like trees and then two dancers who disappeared below surface) and playing with what cameras (point of view, light refraction) and editing can bring to that experience. The costumes were bright almost florescent colors, and tops and bottoms were slightly off-color, so they clashed not only with themselves but with the pale browns documented in the videoed landscape. It was surreal and almost magical. I wanted to stay with the scenes longer than the editing allowed--and I think the film accompanied by live music was great in and of itself.

and then there were the two performers. they added a tangibility to it that was captivating. through altering backgrounds, and shifting ambiance as songs ended and new ones began, the movement had an eventual pattern to it--like it started with a series and then eventually came back to it. as a classical dance snob, though, I'd say the movement performed as it were was not interesting or impressive by itself, and the performers, adapting deliberate blank expressions, didn't have much spark on stage. but packaged all together it was quite mesmerizing.

this creation was a fascinating example of how all of these elements--music, dance/performance, and film can merge together and be distinct, yet be extensions of one another--like one is dependent on another. in fact, I found myself wondering what the dancers' process was, where they start.

all in all, I was transported. very cool indeed.

Review by Michelle Coe

Video excerpt of C.L.U.E.:

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December 4, 2007

Dance Film Lab next week! (and other happenings)

Hi All.

I apologize for the sparse postings the past couple of weeks. I've been slammed with school work at the end of the semester (I'm studying Media Management at the New School). I'll share some of the wealth of my newly acquired knowledge soon, but in the meantime, here are some dance film/video events coming up this month.

Next Tuesday, December 11th
Dance Film Lab
@ South 4th Bar in Williamsburg
90 South 4th Street @ Berry
Subways: L at Bedford, J,M,Z at Marcy Ave.
Phone: 718.218.7478
8pm, free

The bi-monthly Dance Film Lab is a friendly gathering of folks interested in dance for the camera. People share their works (in any stage of progress) and get constructive feedback from the group. We all get to share who we are, what we're doing, and what we need (which often gets miraculously granted!). And our gracious moderator Zach Morris (of Third Rail Projects blog) always makes everyone feel very warm and welcome. So come out, but shoot an email Zach first just so he knows you're coming.

Last night I attended the DANCE MOViES Commission workshop run by my friend Hélène Lesterlin, dance curator at EMPAC (Experimental Media Performing Arts Center) in Troy, NY. It was a very inspiring presentation about the commission and the possibilities for creative experimentation in dance and media at EMPAC. The ratio of commission awards to applicants is very low, however I think it is still well worth applying to, for the process alone, and also to show the funding community that there are a lot of American artists out there that want to make dance for screen. Eventually other funders will sign on and join EMPAC's efforts to support this fantastic genre. So Viva EMPAC and DANCE MOViES!

There is a wonderful festival in the Netherlands this month that I wish I could attend, called Dancing on the Edge: Confronting Dance from the Middle East. It's a dance festival with a dance film component curated by Cinedans. The dance films are all from the Middle East, or made by artists from there, and tackle many topics from "West Bank Story" - a remake of the famous musical with competing Falafel stands and a taboo Israeli Palestinian love affair - to  "Horizon of Exile" a breath-taking installation about two Iraqi women torn between their country and their need to escape. Incidentally "Horizon of Exile" will be shown this January in New York during the Dance On Camera Festival. I can't wait to see it!

So if you are in the Netherlands or thereabouts I highly recommend you check this festival out.

Dancing on the Edge
Confronting Dance from the Middle East
Amsterdam: 12-16 december
Rotterdam: 13-18 december
Groningen: 11-12 & 18-19 december

And to leave you with some moving images to muse over, my friend Hope Hall, a filmmaker, and occasional dance filmmaker, hipped me to this blog, La Blogotheque, where she shot one of their videos in the TakeAway Series. Essentially they shoot a band performing in some non-traditional space all in one take, and then post the take on their blog. Seems like a great idea for a videodance series too.

This is one of those TakeAways, and while it's really a music video, it does have some adorable dancing, and it'll make you want to move. So take it away!

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November 19, 2007

Up-coming Dance Film Submission Deadlines

I just added a new page called Dance Film Submission Deadlines on the upper-right side bar listing up-coming festival and funding deadlines for submissions. I'll try to keep this list up-dated frequently, but let me know about other opportunities I may have missed by sending me an email or commenting here.

Below are up-coming deadlines:

DECEMBER 2007

Fifth Annual Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema
Boulder, CO USA
call for entries
Deadlines December 21, 2007 and January 18, 2008
Festival dates: April 4 and 5, 2008

Sans Souci, an international festival of dance cinema, screens short works that integrate dance with cinematic elements. We have an expansive definition of dance and an appreciation for highly experimental and interdisciplinary forms, including mixed-media works that incorporate live performance.

Entry fees: $25 and $40 for the early and final deadlines respectively
Visit http://www.sanssoucifest.org/ for more details and a downloadable entry form.
Submissions are encouraged from all artists regardless of credentials and affiliations. JANUARY 2008

Cinedans
call for submissions
Festival date: July 2008.
Submission deadline: 14 January 2008
See also : http://www.cinedans.nl/2007/en/entries.php

We are looking for dance films and videos in various styles, completed after June 2005,  that combine choreography and cinematography. We welcome shorts, features, documentaries, stage adaption, animation and video clips.

Please click this link to access the entry form.
Please click this link for regulations

What do we offer?

- Cinedans Award, best film 2008 prize 1000 EUR
- Cinedans Audience Award.
- Jury Special Mentions
- Cinedans on tour through Netherlands
- Cinedans on tour international including Cape Town, Shanghai, and Beijing.
- The festival will have seminars, introductions by dance filmmakers, Q&A, a video library and sales of new dance DVD's!
- The touring possibilities will be negotiated with the filmmakers.

HOW TO SUBMIT:
1. Go to www.cinedans.nl and hit ENTRIES
2. Fill out the online ENTRY FORM and press SUBMIT.
3. Please e-mail 1 digital still to entry@cinedans.nl
4. Send your preview DVD, 15 EUR submission fee and entry form to:
Cinedans
Kamer 201
Keizersgracht 174
1016 DW Amsterdam


FEBRUARY 2008

EMPAC DANCE MOVIES COMMSSION 2008: OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS
The deadline for the proposals is February 15, 2008.

For more information on EMPAC and the DANCE MOViES Commission, or to download the guidelines and application form, please visit the EMPAC website:
http://www.empac.rpi.edu

DANCE MOViES Commission application process:
The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission is a competitive open proposal process, in which eligible artists submit a project proposal.  The initial proposals are reviewed and a small number of artists are invited to submit a detailed proposal to an international panel. The panel assesses the quality and feasibility of the proposed project and submits its recommendations to EMPAC. The commissions are awarded by EMPAC after review.

Upon awarding of the commission, the artist or collaborative team has one year to complete the project, at which point the work is premiered at EMPAC, shown at dance film festivals around the world, and credited as an EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission.

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November 9, 2007

Isaac Julien's "Cast No Shadow" at BAM

Last night I saw Isaac Julien's Cast No Shadow, created in collaboration with choreographer Russell Maliphant, at BAM as part of the Next Wave Festival and PERFORMA07. Like Claudia La Rocco's review in the New York Times from Nov 8th, I was ecstactically overwhelmed by Julien's films, and frustratingly underwhelmed by Maliphant's choreography.

Presented as a trilogy that Julien has been working on for several years, the evening started out with "True North" a three channel film depicting gorgeous images of the Artic, many shot in Iceland and Greenland.


Actress Vanessa Myrie, is a striking presence in all three works as a mysterious voyager passing through different worlds. In "True North" she abstractly represents Matthew Henson, the African American explorer who quite possibly was the first person to reach the North Pole. Julien depicts the icy other-worldly landscape as a land of huge contrasts: still and vacant vistas with giant crashing waterfalls, liquid water with brittle ice. The only problem with the work was Russell Maliphant's live choreographed dance on stage and sometimes shadow-cast upon the screens. While Julien's films were gorgeous studies in contrasting states of being (specifically through the metaphor of water), Maliphant was only liquid, in a way that spread mediocrity across the work and melted away the striking edges of the film.
The second piece, "Fantome Afrique" was a journey through Burkina Faso's colorful capital city Ouagadougou known as a filmmaking center for Africa. This section was presented just as a film installation, and as a videodance-maker, obviously this was my favorite part of the evening. Again presented on three panels with three different channels of film, the work blew me away from an editing perspective. Not only were each of the three screens engaging to watch just on their own, but they were masterfully choreographed together to create juxtapositions of images that gave many more layers of meanings. To me it seemed to raise the concept of montage to the 3rd degree (montage cubed). Vanessa Myrie passes through the film again, as an omnipresent observer of all faces of humanity. Also, a much better dance/film collaboration is apparent with choreographer Stephen Galloway, who appears in the film as a dynamic force who seems to ride and stir the winds of change. I loved the way Julien shot Galloway's movement. Sometimes in extreme close-ups of just his hands framing an object in the distance, other times as a flickering, stuttering life made of dust, or a haunting face illuminated in the dark.

The third piece, "Small Boats" is the most recent film in the trilogy and was made in collaboration with Russell Maliphant and dancers from the start. This time we are taken to Sicily where the story of countless African immigrants sailing across the Mediterranean to a "better life" is depicted. This was the only single channel film of the evening, and it was projected onto a scrim at the front of the stage while the live dancing was intermittently revealed behind it. I thought the use of the scrim was really effective. At times black holes would materialize in the film to reveal the dancers behind the scrim, the most striking of these was a shot of a marble staircase from above with a dancer rolling down the stairs. Slowly the stairs between the banisters dissolved away, and the camera zoomed into the darkness with a body of a dancer illuminated behind the scrim. All this was cool, except when the live dancers actually danced.

The problem with Maliphant's choreography is that he has a movement vocabularly of about 10 words, and one of these words (the drop and roll on the floor move), is used more than a Valley girl says "like". I swore if I saw another drop and roll I was going to scream! I tried to distract myself by watching the film, but they were too good at making space in the film for the dance (which is often what I want to see more of in these kinds of interdisciplinary performances).

Sadly, we can't always get what we want, but from a filmmaking perspective my cuppeth overfloweth with inspiration from Isaac Julien's work. Luckily, just the film version of "Small Boats" is playing for free through Nov. 20th at Metro Pictures Gallery, and now I want to see all his older works, like the film he made with Bebe Miller and Ralph Lemon "Three." Anybody know where or how one can see this?

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November 7, 2007

November Videodance Happenings

There are a bunch of intriguing dance film & video events happening this month both here in New York City and around the world. Below is a list of some I've come across. I've grouped them by location with New York City and U.S. events first, then branching out internationally. If you know of some others to include feel free to comment here and share with the videodance community.


NEW YORK EVENTS:

PERFORMA07
The second Visual Art Performance Biennial
Oct 27 - Nov 20, 2007
http://07.performa-arts.org

Somehow I completely missed the first PERFORMA Biennial in 2005, but this year's festival is chock full of must-sees. Below are the one's I've earmarked involving dance and screen: Isaac Julien & Russell Maliphant
Cast No Shadow
BAM Harvey Theatre - 651 Fulton Street, Brooklyn
7:30pm Tues. Nov 6th through Sat. Nov 10th, 2007
Tickets and info: http://bam.org/events/08CAST/08CAST.aspx

Isaac Julien, a visual artist and filmmaker collaborates with UK-based choreographer Russell Maliphant to create a multimedia performance of three epic journeys through different landscapes. Julien has collaborated with notable choreographers in the past, including Bebe Miller and Stephen Galloway. This is his first evening-length performance work.

Press interviews: TimeOut, Bomb Magazine


Free screenings of Isaac Julien's Small Boats
Oct. 30 - Nov. 20, 2007
Metro Pictures
519 West 53rd Street
212.206.7100
www.metropicturesgallery.com
FREE


Performance On Demand
Opens Friday, November 2 through 17.
12 pm - 6pm FREE
EAI Viewing Room at EFA Gallery
The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts
323 West 39th Street 11th Floor
www.eai.org

The EFA Gallery transforms in to a video lounge to host Electronic Arts Intermix's viewing room, a program which provides free public access to one of the foremost collections of video art in the world.


REMAINS TO BE SEEN: New and Restored Films and Videos of Carolee Schneeman
Remains to Be Seen: Artist Talk & Screening
November 7th, 2007
6 pm, FREE
Electronic Arts Intermix
535 West, 22nd Street
New York, NY 10011
T: 212 337 0680
www.eai.org

In conjunction with Anthology's program of screenings, EAI will commemorate their preservation of Carolee Schneemann's works with this special evening. Schneemann will be on-hand to speak about her work, answer questions from the audience and introduce a program of new videos and recently restored performance documentation pieces.

Other programs in REMAINS TO BE SEEN:
Nov 15, 7pm: Restorations & New Works
Nov 16-17, 7pm: Kitch's Last Meal
$8 , $6 , $5
Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
T: (212) 505-5181
www.anthologyfilmarchives.org


Michael Williams & Melissa Brown, Time Booth
Nov 11, 2007 7 pm - 11 pm
FREE
Canada
55 Chrystie Street
www.canadanewyork.com

Time Booth is a screen-play that is written to be performed using a photo booth. The artists will push the visual capabilities of a vernacular photo booth to the limit using unexpected visual effects, original props, and lighting tricks. The final performance will be documented by the eye of the camera.


DANCE AFTER CHOREOGRAPHY
Nov. 12, 7pm: An Evening With Grand Union, featuring Douglas Dunn, Nancy Lewis, and Yvonne Rainer, all members of this legendary improvisational group.
Nov 13, 7pm: From Judson to the Present, includes film and video by Judson pioneers, as well by artists who flourished in the generation after Judson.
Nov 18, 4pm: The French Aftershock, two films showing the Judson influence in France.
$8 , $6, $5
Anthology Film Archives
32 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
T: (212) 505-5181

DANCE AFTER CHOREOGRAPHY looks at how the Judson Dance Theater took apart the conceptual underpinnings of "choreography," an intellectual process that greatly affected artists creating body-centric work, and remains pervasive today.


Eva & Franco Mattes (aka 010010110101101), Synthetic Performances
Nov 13, 2007
6 pm - 8 pm, FREE
Artists Space
38 Greene Street
New York, NY 10013
T: 212 226 3970
www.artistsspace.org

Eva and Franco Mattes will reenact three historical performances through their avatars, which were constructed out of the shape and surface of their bodies, in the online world, Second Life. Synthetic Performance is part of a series of performances that have taken place in synthetic worlds and videogames. People are invited to attend the live performances at Artist Space and interact with the videogame from within the gallery or from anywhere in the world.


Yvonne Rainer, RoS Indexical
November 18th - 19th, 2007
7 pm
Tickets: Ticketweb
The Hudson Theatre at Millennium Broadway Hotel
145 West, 44th Street,
New York, NY 10036-4012
T: 212 768 4400
www.millenniumhotels.com

In what is only her third live performance since her return to choreography in 2000, Yvonne Rainer looks to the controversial premiere of The Rite of Spring, the brilliant collaboration between composer Igor Stravinsky and choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky, which shocked Paris audiences in 1913 with its "primitive" movement vocabulary and dissonant musical score, as the springboard for a radical work of her own.


Daria Martin, Harpstrings & Lava
November 19th, 2007
7 pm
$8 , $4 , $6
Tickets: Ticketweb
Tribeca Grand Hotel Screening Room
Two Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212 519-6600
www.tribecagrand.com

American artist Daria Martin's film Harpstrings and Lava, created in collaboration with musician Zeena Parkins and actor Nina Fog, conjures the atmosphere of childhood anxieties in an expanded tableaux vivant that blends film, dance, painting, music and sculpture.


For those of you who can't make it to New York:
PERFORMA TV
www.performa-arts.org/tv
Although there is the potential for action at any time, performances will take place every day at 11 am and 9 pm.

Coinciding with duration of Performa07, PerformaTV is a 24/7 live and continuous Internet video stream broadcast from a stage-set designed by artist Ronnie Bass and hosted by Columbia University's School of Visual Arts. Scheduled and impromptu events from artists, curators, critics, and art historians will include interviews, discussions, performances and concerts.


LOS ANGELES:
DANCE MOViES Commission WORKSHOP
Wednesday, November 28th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
18th Street Arts Center
1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
In the main gallery space.
www.18thstreet.org

Led by EMPAC's Dance Curator Hélène Lesterlin Free and open to artists interested in applying to the commission. No need to register, just come!


INTERNATIONAL EVENTS:

Argentina:
DANCE MOViES Commission WORKSHOP
Thursday, November 8th, 2:30 - 4:30 pm
Videodanza Festival International de Buenos Aires
For information and location: http://www.videodanzaba.com.ar/index.htm

Led by EMPAC's Dance Curator Hélène Lesterlin Free and open to artists interested in applying to the commission.


Columbia:
Imagen Movimiento
Video Danza 2007
23 al 25 de noviembre del 2007
Cinemateca Distrital de Bogotá
http://www.imagenenmovimiento.org/

Programs include a retrospective of the work of Maya Deren, art and new technology, Columbian videodance, International videodance, and a presentation of the first festival award of Video Danza.


Netherlands:
dancescreen, The Hague 2007
November 15th - 18th, 2007
Filmhuis Den Haag
http://www.dancescreen.com

dance screen is the major international dance film and video festival, featuring an extensive programme, which brings together the newest dance films and videos, inspiring panels on the state of the arts as well as hot topic talks on community focal points. The festival will culminate in the dance screen Award Gala on Saturday, November 17th.


Portugal:
FRAME, International Dance-Video Festival
13-17 November, 2007
ESAP, na Rua do Comércio do Porto, nº , a 100 mts do Largo São Domingos
http://www.fabricademovimentos.pt/


United Kingdom:
The second international Opensource: {Videodance} symposium.
Universal Hall, Findhorn Foundation Community, Morayshire, Scotland
20th - 24th November 2007.
http://www.videodance.org.uk

Screen dance is a rapidly expanding area of artistic, academic and curatorial activity worldwide. Inherent in screen dance practice is the interface and collaboration between dance artists and media arts practitioners. Opensource: {Videodance} 2007 is an open symposium for artists, academics, curators and producers coming together, to share ideas and work, network and debate, and provide a valuable platform for current issues in the area of screen dance practice to come to the surface.


London International Dancefilm Festival 2007
Friday 30 November to Sunday 2 December
http://www.londondancefilmfest.com/

The LIDFF will show a number of new, short dancefilms in each afternoon and evening session in between the main features. The final programme of Dancefilm Shorts will be published on the London Dancefilm Festival website from 25 October 2007.

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October 29, 2007

Free DANCE MOViES Commission Workshops

In follow-up to my post about EMPAC's fabulous DANCE MOViES Commission, below is a new announcement from Hélène Lesterlin, EMPAC's Dance Curator, about a series of free workshops she will be holding in LA, Buenos Aires and New York in November and December. These workshops are designed to help artists prepare strong proposals to EMPAC and other grant-making foundations to fund new dance film/video/installation projects. With so few grants specifically earmarked for videodance, this is a rare opportunity every dance filmmaker in North and South America should take advantage of.



November:  DANCE MOViES Commission WORKSHOPS
led by EMPAC's Dance Curator Hélène Lesterlin Free and open to artists interested in applying to the commission. No need to register, just come!

Topics covered:  How to apply, what makes a strong proposal, information on the facilities of EMPAC, issues related to installation-based works, examples shown, followed by a Q&A and discussion.

BUENOS AIRES  Thursday, November 8th, 2:30 - 4:30 pm
Videodanza Festival International de Buenos Aires
For information and location: http://www.videodanzaba.com.ar/index.htm

LOS ANGELES  Wednesday, November 28th, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
18th Street Arts Center
1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404
In the main gallery space.
www.18thstreet.org

NEW YORK CITY  Monday, December 3rd, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Dance Theater Workshop
219 West 19th Street, New York, NY 10011
Take the elevator to the third floor.
www.dtw.org

----

OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSALS - deadline Feb 15, 2008
The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission supports the creation of new works in the field of experimental dance for the screen made by, or in collaboration with, a choreographer or movement artist based in the Americas. Up to 3 commissions will be awarded in the range of $7,000 - $50,000. Artists may apply to create works in conjunction with the Artist-in-Residence program, taking advantage of EMPAC's spaces, technology, infrastructure such as computer-controlled rigging or large-scale immersive studio environments. 

-- guidelines, application and info:  empac.rpi.edu/commissions/DMC
-- questions:  dancemovies@rpi.edu or 1.518.276.3918
-- deadline:  2/15/08

Backed by the Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts, the DANCE MOViES Commission supports experimental works for the screen including film, video, installation and other audio-visual formats.

About EMPAC
EMPAC - the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center - is a place and a program where the arts challenge and alter our technology and technology challenges and alters the arts. Founded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, EMPAC is an arts institution that draws strength from being part of a great research university. It operates nationally and internationally: attracting innovative artists, both renowned and emerging, from around the world; offering artists, researchers, and audiences opportunities that are available nowhere else under a single roof; providing unsurpassed facilities for creative exploration, and for research in fields such as visualization and movement capture; sending new artworks onto the global stage.

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October 25, 2007

Is it live or is it videodance?

Last night I attended DanceNYC's Townhall event "Does Dance have a future? Implications of a Technological World". The panel, consisting of Doug Fox (my patron saint) of Greatdance.com,  Doug McLennan of ArtsJournal.com, and Jonah Bokaer of Chez Bushwick communicating via webcam from Australia, helped stir up the ideas, but what was really great about it for me was that there were all these amazing people there that I got to meet in the flesh after much online dialogue. Everyone who came is doing such great things in the dance world, and the progressive thoughts that got passed around before, during, and after the meeting were really inspiring and up-lifting.

I finally got to meet bloggers Tonya Plank of Swan Lake Samba Girl, Kristin Sloan of The Winger and The (Inter)mission, and Jeff Weinstein a dance and theatre critic whose blog Out There is on ArtsJournal.com. Clare Byrne was there, a choreographer I've heard so much about and whose work I've only seen online despite the fact we both live and work in NYC! Linda Lewett is a video producer that I met last January at EMPAC in Troy, NY who's done tons of dance video work for years. Marketing people from several dance companies were there including Susan Marshall &  Co., Alvin Ailey, New York City Ballet and Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre. Plus I met some wicked cool independent choreographers who are foraying into the digital world, Kimberly Young of dance-elephant.org and Malinda Allen of Allen Body Group. This is just a partial sampling of the people I got to talk to. I had no idea that there were so many people right here in NYC sharing the same thoughts as me that dance needs to have a compelling, fabulous, and engaging mediatized form! This primarily means making great dance videos and encouraging and fostering audience engagement online.

One topic that was raised, and that I have very strong views about, was live vs. video. Are the two incompatible or compatible, and do we need to fear video overcoming live? In my mind I was screaming video has already overcome live!!! In terms of cultural capital this was happened back in the 1920's with the rise of the film industry. The dance world has been deluded for almost 100 years that live performance reigns supreme. The answer is so clear that economically and culturally speaking new forms of media technology have crowded out live performance to an alarming degree. However, this doesn't mean live performance is going to die, obviously we're still around despite several media dynasty shifts (film to tv to internet/video with mobile phones on the horizon). The question isn't if we need to embrace media to improve our existence, it's a matter of how.

For any disbelievers still out there, I highly recommend a book by Performance Studies professor Philip Auslander entitled Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture (Routledge; 1999). If you can't read it all, just read the introduction, he spells everything out right there.

 
From the Amazon book description:

Is it live or is it Memorex?

In his provocative new book, performance critic Philip Auslander explores live performance and asks what relevance it has in contemporary culture dominated by mass media. Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Society begins with an overview of live performance and reveals that media technology has encroached on live events to the point where many, like concerts and sporting events that feature jumbo video screens, are hardly live at all. Auslander offers a way of understanding the history of this development based on an analysis of the relationship between early television and theatre.

 

This book has pretty much shaped my entire vision behind promoting videodance.

For some good news about how to harness media to better the existence of live performance read my post "Madonna Shows Us a New Move." For more discussion of the Town Hall meeting read Doug Fox's Dancing in to the Future posts here, here, and here.

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October 22, 2007

Videodance-making 101

When I started making videodances in 2002 I had no idea what I was doing. I was a dancer who had seen a few great dance films by Maya Deren, and decided I had to work in that medium. When I got a video camera it was a process of experimentation and seeing other people's work that led me to a basic understanding of how to compose movement for the camera and edit it into a videodance. Over the past few years I've heard more and more dancers say they want to start making videodances, but they don't know where to begin. It's a daunting leap from stage to screen, and requires a completely different set of skills and artistic intentions. Luckily there are more and more resources out there to help guide the novice videodance-maker. One great development in the U.S. is the emergence of videodance classes in college dance departments. Right after I graduated from CalArts in 1999 my friend and former classmate, Francesca Penzani began teaching video for dance courses there. She has produced a steady crop of videodance-makers whose work I showed on Move the Frame TV show, and has also been featured at various dance film festivals around the world. Ellen Bromberg at the University of Utah was one of the earliest advocates of dance film pedagogy and her program has been at the cutting edge of technology and dance innovations. Another west coast school devoted to this form is UC-Irvine under the direction Dance/Media Professor John Crawford. All of these schools host dance film festivals and expose their students and communities to the best new work from around the world.

For those of us in NYC, not in college and wishing we had access to all that great equipment, information and resources which were only available when we were in school, an amazing opportunity is coming. On Nov. 2nd & 3rd (Friday and Saturday) Movement Research, as part of its Movement Research Exchange (MRX) Program, in collaboration with the University of California Irvine (UCI), will be hosting a free showing and workshop featuring the Active Space interactive media system, at

Baryshnikov Arts Center

450 W. 37th Street

(between 9th & 10th)

New York, NY 10018

Friday evening at 7pm will be a free screening of dance for the camera and work made by UCI students including a live multi-media performance. Saturday afternoon from 1-4pm will be a free workshop in Active Space, an interactive physical environment that engages participants in a dialog of mutual influence involving movement, visuals and sound. My impression is that this interactive media system is used primarily for creating live multi-media performances, however the technology sounds super-cool, and it could be very instructive in how to work with a video camera to frame a dance.

Another school that is helping to educate the world about videodance is Florida State University through their ChoreoVideo Project. Created by Associate Professor Tim Glenn with Andy and Dionne Noble, ChoreoVideo.com is a website that breaks down the techniques and tools for making a videodance and provides super-fine HD video clips as examples. This is a wonderfully simple manual that's well organized and easy to digest. The site is peppered with inspirational quotes from veteran dance filmmakers, and there is an extensive list of resources for further reading and information.

A great book to check out is Katrina McPherson's Making Video Dance: A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Dance for the Screen (New York: Routledge Press, 2006). This is the first published guide of its kind, and it thoroughly explains the differences between choreographing for screen vs. the stage while providing in depth advice on how to create a videodance from concept through post-production. McPherson, along with Simon Fildes, is also one of the co-creators of the world's most compact videodance-making production kit called the Move-me booth. Set up in public locations, the Move-me booth is like a passport photo booth, but inside participants are given instructions to dance before a video camera. The resulting video is posted to move-me.com for everyone to see. Currently it's touring in Europe, but perhaps a US tour will start up soon!

I'm really glad that there are so many more resources for videodance-makers now than there were just five years ago, and I hope that anybody who has been thinking about working in this form feels more informed and confident to start!

One last word of advice: assist on other people's shoots. It doesn't matter what kind of film/video/tv show it's for. Nothing beats real hands on experience. Even if you are just fetching coffee and donuts, you will learn loads about the production process which will come to bear when you start to plan your own shoot.

How did other people start making videodances? And if you're just starting, where have you found inspiration and guidance?

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October 4, 2007

Videodance happenings in NYC

As the miasma of the web can be all-consuming, I'm taking a moment from my youtube wanderings to report locally on what's happening right here and now in NYC with videodance. If you aren't in the New York area, I'd also like to hear and post about happenings in your neck of the woods, so feel free to email me with news of screenings, events, forums, workshops and the like.

First off, for anybody who is seeking feedback on their work, or interested in watching and discussing videodance with a great group of folks, you should head to Williamsburg this Tuesday for the next Dance Film Lab:

Dance Film Lab
Tues. October 9, 2007, 8pm at the South 4th Bar and Cafe in Brooklyn.
South 4th Bar and Café is located at 90 South 4th Street at Berry St, Williamsburg; (718) 218.7478; Subway: L at Bedford Ave. ; J, M, Z at Marcy Ave.
This salon series offers screenings and discussion of dance films and videos as still works-in-progress. Dance filmmakers join together to present raw footage, drafts, works-in- progress and newly finished films to their peers for constructive feedback, share information, and address technical, practical and artistic challenges. Free and open to public. For a review of the first Lab in October, '06, click here
Reservations are necessary.
To attend and/or present at the Lab, contact Zachary Morris: morriszachary@hotmail.com.

I've been at every Dance Film Lab since it started a year ago, and I can't say enough about it. Zach is a fabulous moderator who creates a supportive, inclusive, and safe atmosphere for the artists and viewers alike. Using the Liz Lerman/Dance Exchange process of Critical Reponse people are able to give constructive feedback that is useful to the artists. I've shown a bunch of stuff (raw and finished) at these Labs and always felt invigorated and buoyed by the exchange. This Lab will be the first one in a public space (before it was hosted by filmmaker Kathleen Fitzgerald in her live/work space The Bunker which, alas, is no more...) and I'm hoping that it will be as cozy and warm as the previous labs. Zach promises that the folks at South 4th Bar are great and excited to have us, so come check it out!

Secondly, the deadline for the next Dance On Camera Festival has passed, however you may still be able to be part of the selection process. The Dance Films Association has been holding a series of pre-screenings on Saturdays at Dance/NYC in Soho as well as by appointment at their office in Chelsea. The goal is to have each entry viewed by at least four people who evaluate them and narrow down the selection for the programmers. Last year I coordinated the pre-screenings and watched close to 200 titles! It's a fascinating process to see the range of work being made from all over the world, and as thanks, DFA is granting pre-screeners who watch 3 hrs a free 07-08 membership.  If you are interested in being a pre-screener contact Deirdre Towers or Latika Young at: info@dancefilms.org.






robbinschilds C.L.U.E.
@ PS 122
Photo by A.L. Steiner


The fall performance season is well underway in New York, and I'm noticing that videodance programs are popping up in conjunction with live programs more and more.  Here are a few that sound interesting:

Club Midnight @ Two Boots Pioneer Theatre
new cinema by Amy Greenfield
Friday Oct. 5th & Saturday Oct. 6th @ midnight
East 3rd Street between Avenues A and B (closer to A)
CLUB MIDNIGHT turns erotic dance around, into a female empowering expression of desire, mystery, longing, danger, energy, strength, anguish, and joy. The multi-talented dancers reveal themselves - body and soul - in several interrelated films.

at Crossing The Line: FIAF Fall Festival
The Best of Hors Pistes from Centre Pompidou
Friday & Saturday, October 5 & 6 at 7pm
Tinker Auditorium , 55 East 59th Street
(Saturday's screening includes The Cost of Living a must-see dance film by Lloyd Newson and DV8)

Video Art From France presented by Chez Bushwick
Friday, October 12, 2007 @ 8pm
Florence Gould Hall, 55 East 59th Street, New York, NY 10022

robbinschilds C.L.U.E. at PS 122
December 5- Saturday, December 8 at 8:30 p.m.
Additional late show on Saturday at 10:30 p.m.
150 First Ave. at E. 9th St.

Know of any more cool dance/video/film events coming up? Give me comments!

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