Dance On Camera NY

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Parent Category: Film Festivals

Category: Previews

Published on Tuesday, 26 January 2010 01:07

Written by L E Shannon

The Film Society of Lincoln Center presents the 38th annual Dance on Camera film series running January 29-February 2, 2010 at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City, co-presented by Dance Films Association.

Special guests from the world of dance include the legendary Marge Champion and Donald Saddler, as well as Murray Louis, Phyllis Lamhut, Anne Bass, Claudia Gitelman, Mimi Garrard and Robert Johnson.

The highlight is an All Day Event: Celebrating Choreographer Alwin Nikolais.

An innovator in love with movement, Alwin Nikolais astonished the world of dance with his dazzling multimedia performances in the 1960s and ’70s. This unique program celebrates the beloved “Nik” with special guests, tribute films from former dancers turned choreographers, a documentary portrait of Nikolais and his muse/collaborator Murray Louis, and rare interviews.

The film series includes such offerings as:

Breath Made Visible - introduced by director Ruedi Gerber, who creates a stunning, inspiring account of one of the most important cultural icons in modern dance, Anna Halprin.

Dancing Across Borders - Anne Bass makes her directorial debut with this intimate and ultimately triumphant portrait of a young life in transition. On a trip to Angkor Wat, Cambodia in 2000, Bass came across a supremely talented young man dancing a traditional temple dance. Struck by his grace and charm, she offered him the opportunity of a lifetime to follow a dream he could not have imagined - studying classical ballet in a private studio with master teacher Olga Kostritzky in New York.

Dancing for Disney - Dance scholar Mindy Aloff hosts a discussion of the artistry and movement that distinguished Disney’s classic animations. Following the program, Ms. Aloff will be signing copies of her book Hippo in a Tutu.

Forty Years of One-Night Stands - Jeff McKay. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet went from humble beginnings to setting the ballet world on fire. RWB company members, past and present, recount the obsessive commitment and vision of those who brought the lofty art of ballet to the people.

Meredith Monk: Inner Voice - directed by Babeth M. VanLoo. A Buddhist Foundation documentary on the much-admired composer/choreographer/filmmaker Meredith Monk, with excerpts from her films.

Also screening are several excellent short films, including:

Keep Dancing - Douglas Turnbaugh and Gregory Vander Veer
Since they appeared in Follies together on Broadway, Marge Champion and Donald Saddler have been fast friends and informal dancing partners. Although both have hit the 90 year mark, they still get together weekly in a studio, warm up, do a barre, and indulge in their favorite pastime, dancing. The film seamlessly blends nine decades of archival film and photos to give an intimate glimpse of two extraordinary and beloved artists for whom the aging process is only a statistic.

Dance Shorts for the Camera - The best new short-form unions of movement and film.

Beguine - Douwe Dijkstra, Netherlands, 2009; 5m
This surreal short based on a poem by Giza Ritschl features one man's strange response to losing his lover.

The Last Martini - Vickie Mendoza
The rain-soaked reveries of a man whose psyche is tangled in a broken dance of passion and heartbreak.

Danse Macabre - Pedro Pires
An inventive look at life after death.

Jackie & Judy - Phil Harder
New York-based choreographers Rosanne Chamecki and Andrea Lerner’s ode to Canadian animator Norman McLaren.

Little Ease (Outside the Box) - Ami Ipapo and Matt Tarr
A new take on a classic piece of choreography conceived by extreme action pioneer Elizabeth Streb.

Becoming - Joseph Johnson Camí and Ayelen Liberona
An ancient woman lures Man into one final battle.

Sunscreen Serenade - Kriota Willberg
This innovative homage to Busby Berkeley celebrates the merits of skin protection. Commissioned by EMPAC. Introduced by Bob Sikoryak, project animator.

Cinetica - Ana Cembrero
A woman inhabits, searches, dances, fights, and plays without separating what is lived from what is dreamed.

A reception hosted by New York Women in Film and Television and DFA will follow the Sunday, Jan. 31 screening.

The Tiny Dance Film Series
In the Furman Gallery, adjacent to the Walter Reade Theater

In four darkened kiosks, very short and very small dance films screen for an audience of one. A collaboration between choreographer Peter Kyle and sound artist James Bigbee Garver.

For further information, visit www.filmlinc.com. 

Dance on Camera
January 29-February 2, 20010

Walter Reade Theater
Lincoln Center
West 65th Street at Amsterdam Avenue
New York City

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