GAFFE
48 Hour Challenge

Jia Wu
"Situ-Asian"

New ventures
Mentor program, Retreats for the board, Silent dance films/live music series (see program at the New Museum of Contemporary Art ), "What Moves You" dance video challenge inspired by events of the day (read more), video installations at Dance New Amsterdam (read more), interview programs on the Festival made for Tendu.Tv.

Fiscal Sponsorships Read about current film projects

Dance Film Lab
A marvelous community-building, bi-monthly series hosted by Dance Theatre Workshop, 219 West 19th Street, New York. Filmmakers join together to present raw footage, drafts, works-in-progress and new films to their peers for constructive feedback, share information, and address technical, practical and artistic challenges. Free and open to public. Read a review of the first Lab in October, '06. To attend and/or present in the Labs, contact Zachary Morris.

Defining the Capture An experiential dance film lab in which a select group of filmmakers and dancers support DFA member filmmakers in the pre-production process. The first pilot began March 4th by supporting Deborah Greenhut in her search to devise a lexicon for the use of breath in dance, and find the imagery to portray it. “Breath” has been commissioned by Jennifer Muller Dance Company. This project attempts to decipher the specific challenges and solutions to filming dance, beginning with Breath and continuing to analyze how best to depict energy, depth, partnering, turns, jumps, falls, and more.

Young Choreographers Initiative/ Susan Braun Award
Initially designed as an opportunity for New York City choreographers ages 16-25 to win a cash award to create a short work and/or adapt a stage choreography for the camera, in collaboration with a young filmmaker with a grant from DFA named after DFAfounder, the late Susan Braun. Michelle Mola is the 2008 winner; Austin McCormick was the 2007 winner. Read more about 2008-2007 winners.

Alliance with on-line channels and editing platforms
DFA works to explore on-line opportunities for its members, dance film artists and educators on an on-going basis. Recent partnerships with DFA include dancemedia.com which gives dance filmmakers a chance to reach a largely untapped audience -- the young dancer; and a premier performance venue, Tendu.tv, which is designed with the goal of providing revenue for dance companies.

Dance Camera China
Jia Wu, a graduate from the Beijing Dance Academy and UCLA is developing a curriculum and touring program in China with the help of DFA's resources.In the summer of 2009, Jia Jia is researching three tribes, Miao, Dong and Tujia, that integrate dance into their daily life. Read more

Commissions
DFA commissioned its first moving image to announce the call for entries for the 2007 Festival. As recommended by filmmaker/animator Pooh Kaye, DFA hired Jaamil Kosoko, a video, movement, and literary artist who creates interdisciplinary work, made POOL PERMIT, with dancer Magan Mazarick, sound designer Sean Mattio, and cameraman Les Rivera.

Jaamil Kosoko finds "no limits" in the art of dance on camera "besides the inherent limitations the dancefilm creates for itself within the rendering of the work. In POOL PERMIT, we discover a woman searching for a balance of her own kind. Attempting to understand the natural forms and nuance within her body while also trying to break free from its physical constraints, she cannot move forward until she can pull herself together and experience her body's full potential." Click to see POOL PERMIT