“Dance On Camera Extended”
presented in conjunction with CRS and the Dance Films Association
Saturday February 4th, 7pm
$10 Reservations

Program:

Let’s Dance, dir. Malia Bruker & Oscar Mollina

Let’s Dance is a sensual black and white film that captures the relief that art provides in everyday life.  The couple’s physicality changes, senses are heightened, and passion aroused when leaving the mundane and joining one another in dance.

Head First, dir. & chor. Jody Oberfelder

Jody Oberfelder uses physical imagination and wit in Head First, showcasing a playful, colorful and acrobatic crash helmet brigade under the Manhattan Bridge.

For Water, dir. Natalie Metzger

A collaboration between dancers from Indonesia and America, For Water is inspired by the importance of water to the islands of Indonesia and to water-starved California. The film follows a pilgrimage of five spirits to a sacred place to perform their ritual for water.

"Coup de Grace" by Clara Van Gool

Whether your interest is in ballet stars of bygone eras or edgy dance films that push at the boundaries of cinema, there is something for you at the Dance On Camera Festival. The question is just how to find it. The good news is that this year, the festival programming on the Dance Films Association’s website is quite easy to navigate. Arranged by genre, title, and schedule, it is easy to zero in on the programs that you most want to see.

For fans of screendance, the genre of dance made for the camera, the bad news is that there are only two shorts programs being shown at the Dance On Camera Festival this year, but luckily they are good ones. The first is the Dance Film Narratives program, playing on Jan 27^th and 29^th. Featuring two highly anticipated films by veteran dance filmmakers, Clara Van Gool and Pontus Lidberg, this program will be seeped in dramatic storytelling and breathtaking choreography for the camera. Coup de Grace the latest dance film by Clara Van Gool (director of the acclaimed screen adaptation of DV8’s Enter Achilles) features Jordi Cortes Molina and Damian Munoz, two adversaries who meet in a remote location and engage in a physical and emotional duel. Pontus Lidberg’s Labyrinth Within hauntingly depicts the suspense and jealousy surrounding a love triangle and features NYC Ballet Principal Wendy Whelan and a commissioned score by David Lang.

The second opportunity to see dance for camera is the Shorts Program, a free event at Lincoln Center’s new Elinor Bunin Monroe Auditorium on Saturday Jan 28^th. A lighthearted and whimsical selection will be shown here, and features some work by local favs including Jody Oberfelder’s case of mistaken identity, Come Sit Stay and Pooh Kaye’s romp on the wild side in Spring Cleaning.

There are several other other notable screendances sprinkled throughout the festival, including Ora, the first film to use 3D thermal imaging (part of Pilobolus and shorts), and Falling, a gorgeously rendered film about dancers and gravity made by Adrian Churchill the special effects creator of the BBC television series, Merlin.

Several documentaries in this year’s festival seem to blur the boundaries of reality and experimental art film. Examples can be found in the Dance Legacies program on Jan 30^th & 31^st featuring artful shorts about dance being passed through the generations (Cari Ann Shim Sham’s Sand) and as commentary on social changes (David Rousseve’s portrait of Indonesia in Two Seconds After Laughter and Bruce Berryhill & Martha Curtis’s documentary on Jawole Willa Jo Zollar’s work after Hurricane Katrina, Re-staging Shelter). The roots of Robert Wilson’s enigmatic theatre work are exposed in The Space In Back of You an homage to the radical Japanese performer and choreographer Suzushi Hanayagi, whom Wilson collaborated with for 20 years.

Last but not least, you don’t want to miss Sally Sommers, Charles Atlas, and Michael Schwartz’s long awaited documentary Check Your Body at the Door, a tribute to New York’s underground House culture, featuring dances filmed over twenty years and never seen before on screen. Check Your Body will be preceded by freedom2dance, a short that examines the devastating impact of Mayor Giuliani’s strict enforcement of the Cabaret Laws on New York’s once thriving underground dance club culture. This program will also screen the winner of DFA’s first High School Student Film Competition, giving us a sneak peak at the future of screendance!

The 40^th edition of the Dance On Camera Festival will take place from January 27-31 at the Walter Reade Theater as well as the new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center.  For more information go to DFA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s websites to see the full line-up, as well schedule and ticket information.

En Dedans, Gabrielle Lamb

New Yorkers and dance film-lovers from around the world look forward to the Dance On Camera Festival each year. For the past 40 years, this annual festival has been the central anchor and source for new dance on film. The 40^th edition of the Dance On Camera Festival will take place from January 27-31 at the Walter Reade Theater as well as the new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center.

While we at Move the Frame tend to focus primarily on dance made for the screen, the festival’s programmers have always made an effort to encompass the vast range of styles and genre’s that make up dance film. “We try to reach far and wide to find films that connect dance and camera in ways that will surprise and inspire viewers to deepen their interest in both mediums,” says Joanna Ney, co-curator of the festival. “This year’s selection offers a diversity of subject, style and genre aimed at the traditionalist as well as the iconoclast.”

Dance enthusiasts will find many documentaries about dance luminaries such as Natalia Makarova and Robert Wilson, historic dance presenters and companies such as Jacob’s Pillow, the Joffrey Ballet, and Pilobolus, and innovative choreographer Wayne McGregor. Film enthusiasts will enjoy innovative shorts by inspired directors such as Clara Van Gool, Pontus Lidberg, and New York’s own Jody Oberfelder.

In another post we’ll share with you our personal picks for the festival, but for now, go to DFA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s websites to see the full lineup, as well as schedule and ticket information.

Dance Camera West announces its 11th Annual Festival with Dance Media: An Active Spectrum.  The event will bring together artists, innovators, educators, and others in the entertainment industry to discuss the increasingly active spectrum of dance media on screen.

Dance Camera West is now accepting submissions for its festival to be held in Los Angeles at the end of June.  Entries must be on DVD. Festival screening formats will vary depending on venue and will be communicated via email upon acceptance to the festival.  To be considered for the festival, the following are required:

• DVD submissions and entry fees must be postmarked by January 30th, 2012.
• Entries must never have screened or broadcast in Los Angeles. University or showcase showings allowed; local cable broadcast allowed.
• Upon acceptance into the festival, your film cannot be withdrawn.

Entry Fee:
$50 fee; $40 Members before December 15, 2011
$60 fee; $50 Members after December 15, 2011
$25 fee, Students

Early Deadline: December 15, 2011
Final Deadline: January 31, 2012 (postmarked)

For more information,visit dancecamerawest.org
Contact festival@dancecamerawest.org with additional questions.

To see the quotes clearly, some fans of de Keersmaeker put together this video showing Beyoncé’s video and the original material by de Keersmaeker side by side. Incredibly, it is the second video that comes up when you search for “Countdown beyoncé” in YouTube!

In a statement for the social network, Dance-tech.net, de Keersmaeker responded to the hubbub by saying that she is neither flattered nor upset by the heavy borrowing from Beyoncé, rather she is sad that it has taken so long for the world to recognize her dance experimentations from 30 years ago.

Personally, I think it is great that Beyoncé and her creative team have brought these dance works into mainstream consciousness. I’m also happy that the arts community has responded with a flurry of comments on YouTube because it is leading Beyoncé’s fans to see de Keersmaeker’s work for themselves.

This is not the first time Beyoncé has quoted great choreography. Her viral video hit “Single Ladies” was clearly inspired by Bob Fosse’s choreography for “Mexican Breakfast” (Beyoncé found as a video mash-up with the rap song “Walk it Out” and has since been removed from YouTube). What was wonderful about “Single Ladies” was all the subsequent copying that happened around the world with millions of fans reconstructing the choreography and posting it online. From fat men to 3 year old kids, everyone and their brother learned that piece of choreography to perfection. Can one wish for anything more as a choreographer? It was a stroke of marketing genius for Beyoncé to give that choreography away for millions to copy and share. I can only hope that “Countdown” does the same.

What do you think? Are you outraged or overjoyed? We’d love to hear your thoughts.

Update 10-26-11: Here’s a news clip from Reuters announcing de Keersmaeker’s pending law suit against Beyoncé. Doesn’t look like she’s taking the imitation as flattery!

Now in its 10th year, Philadelphia Dance Projects’ MOTION PICTURES has become a mini-festival unique to Philadelphia that explores how film and video serve as natural collaborative mediums for dance. MOTION PICTURES’11 will feature 4 different programs that highlight the power of image in motion including shorts, features and an “informance” artist/audience conversation with Filmmaker, Nadine Patterson.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 – 6:30pm, 8:00pm
Thursday, October 6, 2011 – 6:30pm, 8:00pm

Location:
Performance Garage
1515 Brandywine Street
Philadelphia, PA, 19130
United States

Admission is $10-$15

For More information visit Philadelphia Dance Projects

Maya Deren: 50 Years On

Fifty years after the death of filmmaker and choreographer Maya Deren, the art and influence of one of experimental cinema’s most inspiring and charismatic figures is celebrated and explored. The British Film Institute will present a dedicated program of Maya Deren screenings and events on October 4-12 2011, BFI Southbank, London.

For more information visit Maya Dean: 50 Years On

SUBMISSIONS 2012

Our submissions call is now open for the third-annual festival, tentatively scheduled for March 15-18th, 2012.

We are looking for dance films made specifically for the camera, often referred to as “screendance.” These are stand-alone pieces independent from the stage that can range from traditional narratives to experimental collages, and may include the use of animation or other technologies. This year, we are also adding a dance documentary category to our programming, and encourage entries with a creative approach to capturing the choreographic process.

Submission Deadlines and Fees:

Early Deadline: October 1st, 2011 Fee:$25

Final Deadline: November 15th, 2011 Fee:$35

Go to our website for details on how to submit.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Follow the rest of the project on http://www.salts.nl/