3 Program Series
March 2nd-4th, 2012 

One of the world’s leading festivals devoted to short films, Clermont-Ferrand in France is a vital showcase and a market for shorts, attracting over 100,000 visitors each year. Often referred to as the ‘Cannes’ of short film, it is now in the fourth decade. Originally Clermont-Ferrand screened only fiction films and only on 16mm and 35mm. But with the arrival of new technologies, a new competition called LABO (The LAB) was established in 2002. The LAB brings audiences films at the crossroads of different techniques and genres such as Fiction/Documentary, Experimental/Fiction, Animation/Documentary, etc. Dance Films Association in collaboration with Balagan Film Series (Boston) hosts Calmin Borel, one of the curators of the LABO Competition, and Alla Kovgan, a 2012 LABO jury member and filmmaker who put together three exceptional programs of films from the collections of the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (France).

The project is supported by the Cine2000 and the Cultural Services of the French Consulate in New York and Boston.

Program 1: Dance and Rhythms of Life 

Dance and Rhythms of Life  celebrates choreography for the camera spanning over two decades. Absurdity and beauty of everyday life, personal dramas and comedies, relationships of people, objects and the machines are all expressed through dance, gesture and movement. Virtuosic, moving and inspiring!
Approx. 90 minutes

Friday, March 2, 7pm
92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street, NY 10013, 212.601.1000
$12

La Peau

Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers

You Are My Favorite Chair

We Have Decided Not To Die

Casus Belli

Il Capo

Program 2: The Clermont-Ferrand Highlights 2011-2012 

The Clermont- Ferrand Highlights 2011-2012 features a diverse and eclectic mix of recent favorites and awarded films from around the world.
Approx.100 minutes

Friday, March 2, 9pm
92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street, NY 10013, 212.601.1000
$12

Heavy Heads

Keha mälu (Body Memory)

On the Way to the Sea

Bobby Yeah

The Centrifuge Brain Project

Program 3: Dancing Frames

A dance uprising against disappearing jobs, an orchestration of football fans, an exquisitely choreographed voyage through everyday life during the summer vacations, dances of light throughout the city of Tokyo, a dancing romance set against the backdrop of New York’s gay scene… A splendid musical mix!
Approx. 80 minutes

Sunday, March 4, 5.30pm,
Barbès, 376 9th St, Brooklyn, NY, 11215
$10 (Space is limited)

RIP Rich

Pikapika, Lightning Doodle Project

The Waterwalk

LILA

NEW YORK EDITION VOTING IS OPEN! GET STARTED!

Dance Films Association is partnering with Dances Made to Order for the New York Edition.

Dances Made to Order. The New York Edition – Starts on Feb 8 from Dances Made to Order on Vimeo.

Here is a word with creator Kingsley Irons on this “dose of cool, cheap, convenient culture” that sums up why we love it!

There are a quite a few things that prompted me to create the series. The way we consume media is rapidly changing. I wanted to make sure that dance had a place in the digital landscape. I also wanted to find a way to support local dance communities on a global platform and get a chance to work with and experience the point of view of artists all over the U.S. Not everyone can spare the expense to travel frequently. I am one of those people too. But I still wanted to experience the work of other dance communities and be informed and inspired. Dances Made to Order has given me that – a platform that isn’t limited by the constraints of geography with an affordable price tag.  As an artist, I also love structure and the challenge of working within defined parameters.

When I think of something that is “made to order” like food, it feels personal because my preferences were taken into account. It’s how I want our audience to feel. They are involved from the moment of conception and help influence the work. You can’t help feeling that something is made specifically for you when you are involved from the beginning.

We are so proud of Amy “Catfox” Campion and her film, Pursuit.  I hope that the artists are so inspired by the process and feel like the structure helps them create a film they want to share with the world. I want their films  to live on beyond our forum and that Dances Made to Order is only the beginning of it’s life span. Our series and structure is the catalyst that helps them get started.

*Winner to be announced at the closing night reception.
Closing Night Reception
Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery
Tuesday, January 31
8:00pm

The Nominees:

• Falling is a succinct, elegant, and deftly executed short film creating a delightfully satisfying choreographic concept, capturing movement in a way that only dancefilm can.
• freedom2dance is a short, but very sharp documentary exploring New York City’s Cabaret Laws. Through this lens, the film raises pointed questions about marginalization, identity, freedom of expression, inherent bigotry in long-standing government regulations, and contemplates the boundaries that define dance as an artform.
• Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance The footage in this film is remarkable, highlighting an important legacy of dance history, illuminating the unique philosophy of the Joffrey founders and the risks they took in their artistic expression, and it charts the trajectory of a small dance company’s journey to becoming a world class American artistic force.
• Labyrinth Within distinguishes itself with its elegant orchestration of the cinematic, choreographic and narrative elements. Lovingly produced, it is obviously made by dancers for dancers. Reminiscent of Antony Tudor’s “psychological ballets”, this ballet for screen accumulates dynamic tension and suspense as the camera embodies a jealous husband’s worst suspicions, revealing an interior landscape with visceral and sensual camera work in perfect balance with the superb dancing. The rhythm of edits in a series of beautifully paced duets creates its own visual lyricism.
• The Space in Back of You is a touching portrait of Japanese dance artist Suzushi Hanayagi and her collaborators. Its incremental revelations feel as if one is unraveling a mystery, getting a rare and intimate insight into an extraordinary life.
• Two Seconds After Laughter is a lovely work with a uniquely hybrid form that lies somewhere between a dance/art piece and an autobiographical/biographical quasi-documentary. It compellingly captures the struggles, vulnerabilities, and bravery of a woman caught between worlds.
• Wayne McGregor- Going Somewhere features the extraordinary dancers of the Royal Ballet and highlights their resident choreographer Wayne McGregor. It is a beautifully shot, visually stunning insight into McGregor’s choreographic process that addresses broader questions about dancemaking.

Closing Night Party following the screening of
Check Your Body at the Door, freedom2dance, and the High School Student Film Competition Winning Film

January 31, 2012
11:30pm – 3am
Sullivan Room
218 Sullivan Street
Directions: Take #1 train to Houston Street
A,C, or F train to West 4th Street
No Cover
DJ Kervyn Mark

Friday January 27, 6:00pm
Sunday January 29, 1:30om
Walter Reade Theater

Meet the Artist: Clara van Gool

Saturday January 28, 4:00pm
Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center

Clara van Gool’s COUP DE GRACE is a screen adaptation of ÖLELÉS, a duet that has toured to 30 countries with dancers Jordi Cortes Molina and Damian Muñoz. See clip  of stage duo.

“Embers,” Sandor Marai’s novel of 1942, translated with much buzz in 2001, inspired the making of the Molina/ Muñoz duet ÖLELÉS in 2003. A fascinating, compelling drama, “Embers” also inspired a play produced in 2006, starring Jeremy Irons, written by Christopher Hampton (LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES). Midway through “Embers,” the more aristocratic of the two characters points out that the words for kill and embrace (ölelés) have the same root in Hungarian. He delivers a monologue, polished over 40 years of separation from his childhood friend who vanished one day after a love triangle was revealed. We can only imagine the response of his friend who sits in silence,  except to retort once, “Why do you ask? You already know the answer.”  But as dancers in COUP DE GRACE, the two men are constantly responding, reacting and provoking each other. They move with a keen awareness of each other as only a couple, who know each other deeply, can.

Other Clara van Gool videos presented by DOCF are: ENTER ACHILLES, a screen adaptation of a choreography by dv8; NUSSIN, which brings to mind sparkly stilettos preposterously stabbing the snow; BITINGS & OTHER EFFECTS, REIMERSWAAL, and ZIKR, which takes us to Chechnya, to experience an all male circle dance, a fierce ritual to attain a communal altered state. Clara is now working on a feature inspired by Henry James’ 1903 novella, “The Beast in the Jungle,” whose main character is plagued by his conviction that something terrible is going to happen to him.

Monday January 30, 8:30pm
Walter Reade Theater

A study of human interaction, expressed through movement and sound, FALLING is an abstract study of human interaction, expressed entirely through movement and sound.

A man and a woman drift through an empty void, their bodies twisting and contorting as if subject to powerful forces beyond their control. Their motions become more harmonious when their paths intersect, only to reignite into restless struggle as their bodies split apart once again. Connection is thwarted, and the cycle seems doomed to repeat itself.

FALLING is the result of a painstaking combination of choreography and digital visual effects. The post-production technique of motion tracking has been used to augment the natural motions of the performers in the film, producing complex yet seemingly lifelike movements. In this way, the camera becomes an extension of the performer’s bodies, less of a passive observer of the choreography and more of an active participant.

Designed as a counterpoint to the moving image, the music for FALLING was created especially for the film by composer Antonino Chiaramonte. Just as the film uses animation to transform the performers’ natural movements, the music takes the organic, human sound of a flute, and distorts it to create a richly textured electronic soundscape, closely complementing the action on screen.

Adriano Cirulli, who will introduce FALLING in DOCF 2012, was born in Rome in 1973. He graduated from La Sapienza University with a degree in architecture. Since 2002 he has worked in visual effects on several mainstream studio productions. In 2006 he received a citation from the Academy of Film and Television for his contribution to the Emmy Award winning HBO series Rome. He is currently senior compositor at The Mill in London.

Saturday January 28, 6:15pm
Walter Reade Theater

Monday January 30th, 6:00pm
Tuesday January 31st, 1:30pm
Walter Reade Theater

Exclusive excerpt from Re-staging Shelter

In October 2011, the Dance on Camera Tour made it’s way to Virginia Commonwealth University. Re-staging Shelter screened alongside the following films from our 2011 Festival- There is a Place, Unsung, Slow Dance, After the Water the Clouds, From Roosevelt Island to Brooklyn, and Hoop. Read about the evening in the follow excerpt from The Commonwealth Times. (Read full article here)

‘Dance on Camera’ film screening showcases array of styles

This past Tuesday, six short films selected by the New York Dance Films Association and VCU Dance’s ‘Restaging ‘Shelter’’  premiered at the showing of ‘Dance on Camera’ film screening at the Grace Street Theater. The short films were selected for their portrayal of diverse dance styles across the world.

The main event of the evening, directed by Bruce Berryhill and VCU Dance professor Martha Curtis was the premier of VCU Dance’s first documentary, “Restaging ‘Shelter.’”  The film follows the Urban Bush Women dance group and their artistic director, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, as she taught last year’s VCU Dance students the piece “Shelter.”

“Shelter” portrayed the concept of homelessness and being displaced in your world. The piece was characterized by a heavy use of drums and spoken word. The phrase “’cause I ain’t fled nothing, my country fled me” is repeated throughout the piece and is the basis for the work’s message.

In this piece, Zollar says her art is serving a purpose by educating people on the feelings of being displaced, not just that people are displaced and homeless.

For “Restaging ‘Shelter,’” current Urban Bush Women and former VCU Dance students, Bennalldra Williams and Samantha Speis, returned to teach the current dance majors the basics of getting in touch with their emotions and building the endurance necessary to dance with Zollar.

The goal of the documentary was to not only relay the message of “Shelter,” but to showcase Zollar’s artistic process.

In the end, the ”Shelter” did exactly what it intended to do: show the audience how emotionally involved the dancers were in the piece. The audience treated the documentary as if it was a home movie. They cheered and laughed when the dancers they knew were interviewed and applauded after clips from “Shelter” were shown.

Monday January 30th, 8:30pm
Walter Reade Theater

Notes on WAYNE MCGREGOR – GOING SOMEWHERE
by director Catherine Maximoff

I could say that for documentaries, I always try to have the ‘form’ stick to the content. For me, the way the film is being shot and edited should also tell about what the film is about.

At some previous screenings, people asked me why we only see Wayne working dance studios. Wayne & I have known each other for almost 10 years now. Wayne is not someone who nourishes himself in the ‘real’ world. Filming him in his daily life wouldn’t have made any sense to me. Wayne’s work grows and develops in a dance studio. And he works a lot because he loves it !

Talking about ‘myself’, I believe that a film is a good one if as a spectator, you don’t notice the ‘mise en scène’. For me, it means that form and content make one.

When I am told that one feels very close to the people being shot and one doesn’t feel the mise en scène, I take it as a compliment !

Concerning how this film came to life, Wayne & I respect each other’s work very much and I can say that I enjoy Wayne’s kindness and intelligence very much too. When Arte decided to co-produce the film, everything went easy as I had the complete trust from Wayne and his collaborators.

Right now, I am finishing a documentary about the French poet Racine through a master class that was given to student actors on the play Andromaque. I tried to seek how this very connoted old language that every one has studied in high school sounds today. A very interesting experience.

And I am also developing my first feature. I hope to finish writing my first draft by Spring 2012.

 

DOCF has shown Catherine Maximoff’s UZES QUINTET, produced in 2003, and received with much affection and VOYAGE made with Russell Maliphant in 2006. She made another dance film with Wayne McGregor called A MOMENT IN TIME, a 30 minute work shot on HD in 20120 with the support of lesfilmsdupresent, ARTE France, MJW. This film is distributed by MK2. For more information about this French director, please visit http://www.catherinemaximoff.fr

Friday January 27th, 8:30pm- STANDBY ONLY
Saturday January 28th,  1:30pm- With live simulcast and interactive panel via Twitter hashtag #joffreymovie
Walter Reade Theater

“A Vibrant Career at the Ballet, but With a Lens and Not Toeshoes”
An article on Herbert Migdoll 

Joffrey Ballet: Mavericks of American Dance

Dance on Camera is accompanied by a colorful photo exhibit in the Freida and Roy Furman Gallery by Herbert Migdoll, painter and official photographer for the Joffrey Ballet. The exhibit highlights “Joffrey’s Carousel: Celebrating 50 Years of Dance,” a photographic parade of Joffrey’s dancers in costume, representing the company’s classical and contemporary repertory.  The multiple images on panels were shot in 1996 at Chicago’s Navy Pier’s famed outdoor carousel.

Excerpts from the article…

“I feel that my work now for the company is more as a fine artist,” Mr. Migdoll said. “But it didn’t start out that way.”

From the Joffrey’s experimental beginnings in New York City to its relocation to Chicago in 1995, Mr. Migdoll has been with the company longer than any other employee, working under Joffrey, Arpino and now, Ashley Wheater.

“To say that we have a photographer on staff is not accurate,” said Christopher Clinton Conway, the Joffrey’s executive director. “To say we have an artist on staff is not accurate. He is so much more than all those things.”

Read more on Herbert Migdoll, “the last link between the company’s past and present” in the article!

Emerging Pictures Simulcast

Coming to a theater near you on Saturday January 28th!
The film screens at 1:30pm Eastern Standard Time. Please check your local listing to account for the time change.

Harkins Chandler Fashion 20 Chandler AZ

Harkins Arrowhead Fountains 18 Peoria AZ

Harkins Scottsdale 101 14 Scottsdale AZ

Laemmle’s Claremont 5 Claremont CA

Laemmle’s Town Center 5 Encino CA

Lighthouse Cinemas Pacific Grove CA

Laemmle’s Playhouse 7 Pasadena CA

Smith Rafael Film Center San Rafael CA

Laemmle’s Monica 4 Santa Monica CA

Summerfield Cinemas Santa Rosa CA

Boedecker Theater Boulder CO

Digiplex Bloomfield Cinema 8 Bloomfield CT

Bijou Theatre Bridgeport CT

Theatre N Wilmington DE

West End Cinema, Washington, DC with encore presentation Jan. 29

Cosford Cinema Coral Gables FL

Cinematique Theater Daytona Beach FL

Cinema Paradiso Fort Lauderdale FL

Mos’ Art Theater Lake Park FL

Silverspot Cinema Naples, FL

Cape Ann Community Cinema Gloucester MA

Berkshire Museum – Little Cinema Pittsfield MA

AFI Silver Theatre Silver Springs MD

Riviera Theatre Three Rivers MI

Heights Theatre Minneapolis MN

Digiplex Cranford Theatre Cranford NJ

Acme Screening Room Lambertville, NJ

KiMo Albuquerque, NM

The Screen Santa Fe NM

Harwood Museum of Art Taos NM

Proctors Schnectady NY

Smith Opera House Geneva, NY

Cedar Lee Theatre Cleveland OH

Gateway Film Center Columbus OH

Circle Cinema Tulsa OK

Bryn Mawr Film Institute Bryn Mawr PA

Ware Center Lancaster, PA

Prince Music Theater Philadelphia PA

Jane Pickens Theater Newport RI

Cable Car Cinema Providence RI

Peace Center Greenville SC

Opera House Live Shepherdstown WV

Saturday January 28th, 2pm
Walter Reade Theater

Synopsis: A classic love story with a musical twist choreographed by Chris Judd and written by Neil LaBute, this film catches a young couple on the verge of either moving forward or breaking up. While the girl envisions a happy future with her boyfriend, he imagines quite the reverse.

Excerpt from ‘Bench Seat’ Director Anna Mastro: Crowd-Funded Short Music to Her Ears

Director Anna Mastro pines for the day when Hollywood falls in love with movie musicals all over again. But when it came time to direct her own, she realized she didn’t know the first thing about writing a song.

So she asked a colleague to suggest someone who could help her create songs for her planned short musical “Bench Seat.”

She ended up choosing someone far too young to remember Hollywood’s musical era but clued in enough to the vagaries of the human heart to deliver what she wanted.

Mastro’s short film “Bench Seat,” which recently screened at the Starz Denver Film Festival, bounces along to music created by wunderkind Teddy Geiger (CBS’s “Love Monkey”). The story finds a young couple at a romantic crossroads. Geiger’s theatrical songs yield a number of catchy sequences, with Mastro deftly maneuvering from narrative necessities to the fantastical spirit movie musicals require.

In “Bench Seat,” the lovely female lead (Cassie Scerbo) longs to take her relationship to the next level, while her beau (Kyle Riabko) isn’t sure he even wants to stay with her. But the intense look in her eye, and the stories of her recent ex, warn him to think twice before breaking up just yet.

If that sounds like the kind of dark twist Neil LaBute might bring to the standard teen romance, you’re right.

LaBute, the corrosive writer/director behind “Your Friends and Neighbors” and other button-blasting dramas, wrote the screenplay for “Bench Seat” while allowing Mastro to bring her musical sensibilities to the project.

Having LaBute’s name attached to her short film wasn’t enough to guarantee financing. So, she leaned on her rolodex to assemble her cast and used Kickstarter.com to raise enough cash to make the jaunty film a reality. The web site allows filmmakers to raise money for projects through public outreach.

Read More…

Learn how to make the most of Kickstarter for your dance film!
Visit DFA’s Curated Page on Kickstarter

Join us at our Kickstarter presentation:
Saturday, January 28
11:00 AM
Freida and Furman Gallery in the Walter Reade Theater
Free Event – First Come, First Served

Presentation led by Stephanie Pereira of Kickstarter
Featuring Jacob Krupnick of Girl Walk // All Day

Anna Mastro on how Kickstarter helped her raise funds for her film-

“A lot of people donated five and ten dollars. It was really amazing.”