27 Sep Baryshnikov Arts Center and Dance Films Association Co-present THE SPACE IN BACK OF YOU

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) and Dance Films Association (DFA) Co-present

 

THE SPACE IN BACK OF YOU

A film by Richard Rutkoswki

Produced by Hisami Kurowia

 

In this poignant documentary, the life of the innovative, radical Japanese dancer and choreographer Suzushi Hanayagi is examined by performing arts legend Robert Wilson, whose 20-year collaboration with Hanayagi has been an enduring influence on his work. After losing touch and upon finding her suffering from Alzheimer’s, Wilson creates a tribute to their artistic partnership — the final collaboration between a great teacher and her renowned student.   PROGRAM + TICKET INFORMATION The Space in Back of You (2011) will be screened at the Baryshnikov Arts Center’s Jerome Robbins Theater on Tuesday, October 23 at 7 PM.  Running time: 65 minutes. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the director.   Tickets are $10 and can be purchased through BACNYC.ORG or 866-811-4111. The Baryshnikov Arts Center is located at 450 W. 37th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues.   THE SPACE IN BACK OF YOU premiered January 2012 at the Dance on Camera Festival, co-presented by DFA and the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York. It will be screened at Baryshnikov Arts Center as part of BAC Flicks, BAC’s film and discussion series.   Suzushi Hanayagi Suzushi Hanayagi was a Japanese dancer and choreographer. Born in Osaka, Japan, she found her way in the international art world through her Japanese classical dance theater forms and experimental performance art forms. For over fifty years she actively performed, taught and choreographed in classic Japanese dance forms and contemporary collaborative multimedia performance works. She appeared in Japan, the United States and Europe as a choreographer. She collaborated on many of famed director and designer Robert Wilson’s most revered works created during the years 1984 through 1999. Robert Wilson The New York Times described Robert Wilson as “a towering figure in the world of experimental theater.”   Wilson, born in 1941 in Waco Texas, is among the world’s foremost theater and visual artists. His works for the stage unconventionally integrate a wide variety of artistic media, including dance, movement, lighting, sculpture, music, and text. His images are aesthetically striking and emotionally charged, and his productions have earned the acclaim of audiences and critics worldwide.   Wilson’s awards and honors include two Guggenheim Fellowship awards (’71 and ’80), the nomination for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama (’86), the Golden Lion for sculpture from the Venice Biennale (’93), the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize for lifetime achievement (’96), the Premio Europa award from Taormina Arte (’97), election to the American Academy of Arts and Letters (’00), and Commandeur des arts et des lettres (’02) among others.   Together with composer Philip Glass, he created the seminal opera Einstein on the Beach.  With productions such as Deafman Glance, KA MOUTain and GUARDenia Terrace, Life and Times of Sigmund Freud, CIVIL warS, Death Destruction & Detroit or a Letter for Queen Victoria he redefined and expanded theater. Wilson’s collaborators include diverse writers and musicians such as Susan Sontag, Lou Reed, Heiner Müller, Jessye Norman, David Byrne, Tom Waits, and Rufus Wainwright. Wilson has also left his imprint on masterworks such as The Magic Flute, Wagner’s Ring Cycle, Madama Butterfly, Dreamplay, Per Gynt, The Threepenny Opera,  Shakesepeare’s Sonnets and  Krapp’s Last Tape.   Richard Rutkowski, Film Director Filmmaker Richard Rutkowski works primarily as a cinematographer and came to this project through his long association with Robert Wilson. Born in Oklahoma, Richard grew up on eastern Long Island, the son of landscape painter Casimir Rutkowski.  He began making short films while a student at Harvard College in the 1980’s, where he also met Bob Wilson in 1985.  After appearing in Wilson’s production of the CIVIL warS at the American Repertory Theater, Richard continued as his assistant over several years, helping to discover the original building which has become The Watermill Center and photographing the initial HD Video Portraits of Wilson’s much admired VOOM series.  In feature films, Richard has worked for directors as renowned and varied as Neil Burger, Darren Aronofsky, Adrian Lyne, Joel Schumacher, Wes Craven, and Roman Polanski.  In addition he shoots commercials, series television – most recently the series Boss for Starz Network – and gallery installation work for artists including Dan Colen and Sharon Lockhart.  He lives in Los Angeles and New York City with his wife Betsy and step-daughter Daisy.   Hisami Kuroiwa, Film Producer Through Media Space, she has developed, financed and produced films such as When Pigs Fly by Sara Driver; Flirt by Hal Hartley; Smoke by Wayne Wang, (Winner of the Silver Bear Award and Fipresci Award at the Berlin International Film Festival); Blue in the Face by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster (Winner of the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival); Bent by Sean Mathius (Winner of the Critics’ Award at the Cannes International Film Festival); Sunday by Jonathan Nossiter (Winner of the Grand Prix and Waldo Best Screenplay Awards at the Sundance Film Festival); and Miss Wonton by Meng Ong (Winner of the Fipresci Critics’ Award at the Locarno International Film Festival). She produced a feature documentary, History of Sex, about the photographer Andres Serrano and directed by Michael Coulter.  Lately, She produced the short documentary, “Kool: dancing in my mind” by Robert Wilson and Richard Rutkowsky. Her latest work “ARAF/somewhere in between” by Yesim Ustaoglu ( Turkish woman’s director) was premiered in Venice Int. Film festival and New York Film Festival, 2012. ABOUT Dance Films Association (DFA) is dedicated to furthering the art of dance film. Connecting artists and organizations, fostering new works for new audiences, and sharing essential resources, DFA seeks to be a catalyst for innovation in and preservation of dance on camera. Currently, DFA is actively seeking to broaden its audience via new media initiatives and membership drives, to support cutting edge approaches to dance documentation, and to expand partnerships with schools, arts partners, media sites, and other institutions. Alongside the Dance on Camera Festival, DFA offers year round programming such as the Dance Film Lab. www.dancefilms.org   Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov, who sought to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC’s opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC’s activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. For more information, please visit www.bacnyc.org.