Fiscal Sponsorship Program

About the Fiscal Sponsorship Program

How To Support

The following dance/film Works in Progress are all under the Fiscal Sponsorship of DFA. To support a particular project, send money via PayPal through the donate button below. Specify in the note which film you would like to support.

DFA, 48 West 21st Street, #907,
New York, NY 10010.

Thanks for furthering the art of dance film!

Works in Progress

IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM
This documentary film is a work in progress, undertaken and directed by Connie Hochman. It is based upon interviews with eighty Balanchine dancers whose careers span four decades, from the choreographer’s Ballets Russes years to his last classes at New York City Ballet. Through the reminiscences of these hand-chosen dancers and with rare classroom footage, a kaleidoscopic portrait of Balanchine, the teacher, emerges along with the countless and profound ways he affected them both as artists and human beings.
Visit us on Facebook  •  Click to see the Video  •  Contact: Connie Hochman.

CORELLA BALLET CASTILLA Y LEON
A documentary on the creation and development of Angel Corella’s ballet company in Segovia, Spain, his native country, as directed and produced by Gerri L. Gagnon. See Clip. Contact: Gerri L. Gagnon.

FELIX
ENI9MA: THE LEGEND OF FELIX”
A documentary by Gabriela Estrada on Flamenco dancer Felix Fernandez Garcia, hired by the Ballets Russes to participate as flamenco teacher and dancer in the creation of “ THE THREE CORNERED HAT” ballet, who instead of performing and receiving credit for his two years of collaboration, was confined in a mental asylum right before the premiere, remaining there for 22 years until his death. Contact Gabriela Estrada

JACK COLE: JAZZ (1911-1974)
A co-production of Annette Macdonald with the Culver City based company Timeline Films. In the late 30′s, Jack Cole changed the face of dance in musical theater. He is the genius behind the sultry presence of Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, and Betty Grable. Vanity Fair, December 1984 wrote that Jack Cole’s contributions were so far-reaching that without him present day theatrical dancing would not be the same. He was outrageous, stunningly so. Everyone teaching jazz dance today teaches much of what Cole founded and codified.” See clip.

LET ME CHANGE YOUR NAME
This 90-minute narrative feature by Alla Kovgan and David Hinton, set in Seoul, is a deadpan black comedy. It tells a story of one weekend in the life of a rebellious Korean woman-choreographer in crisis. It unfolds in the dream-like atmosphere of music, dance and theatrical magic and its poetry lies in the fact that all the main cast are physical performers rather than conventional actors. The film is largely inspired by works of Korean choreographer Eun-Me Ahn and draws from her 20-year dance theatre repertoire. LET ME CHANGE YOUR NAME follows on the footsteps of NORA (2008) – Alla’s and David’s collaboration with Nora Chipaumire.  NORA won 30 awards in every kind of genre  in over 100 festivals  and screenings at Louvre, MOMA, Tate Modern and National Gallery in Washington. It was released theatrically in Italy and bought by ARTE/ZDF (France/Germany), PBS (US), LINK TV (US), NRK (Norway), Catalanya TV3 (Spain). NORA will represent the US at INPUT 2011. Contact Alla Kovgan

MOVE
Directed and produced by Melinda Songer and Kurt Soderling, this powerhouse of a documentary includes some of Hollywood and Broadway’s most talented and successful dancers, performers and choreographers. Be a part of this incredible journey into the amazing world of commercial dance. Click for more infomation.

MR. MAMBO
A journey through the life of Latin dance legend, Pedro “Cuban Pete” Aguilar (1927-2009). A rhythmic pattern threads the story, fusing the dramatic scenes with intimate conversations, vintage footage, collected photos and reenactments. In many instances, the interviewees and Pete tell the story, the dramatic scenes take us into a time warp with rhythmic transitions keeping the viewer in step with Pete’s life “en clave.” Produced by Craddock  Management, LLC. See clip. Contact: Barbara Craddock

NRITYAGRAM: FOR THE LOVE OF DANCE
Nan Melville, USA, 2009, 26M
This painterly portrait of an idyllic dance village near Bangalore offers a taste of the Indian dance style, Odissi. Protima Bedi institutionalized classical Indian dance through the founding of Nrityagram; a “gurukul” where students could dance and live in close proximity with their master guru. The internationally renowned Nrityagram Dance Ensemble continues to expand on Protima’s legacy; lead dancer and choreographer, Surupa Sen and Odissi Gurukul Director, Bijayini Satpathy have expanded the language of the traditional Odissi dance through the incorporation of choreographic techniques adapted from world dance. The Ensemble continues to push the boundaries of Indian dance and to perform to worldwide acclaim. See clip. Contact: Nan Melville

NUTCRACKER NATION
A documentary by Evann Siebens being made in collaboration with Jennifer Fisher whose eponymous book was published by Yale University Press in 2003. The film will explore the history of The Nutcracker through archival and new footage, in addition to posing the theory that the ballet has became woven into the fabric of North American culture by becoming a Christmas ritual. As an example of its popularity, distributor Kultur Films sells 8 video versions of this ballet. Contact: Evann Siebens

CHANNELLING MARTHA, a portrait of Richard Move
This documentary film by Talal Al-Muhanna brings to the fore the magic and mystery, humor and heart that lay behind New York-based performer Richard Move’s uncanny and spectacular impersonation of the legendary modern dance choreographer Martha Graham (1894-1991). The film weaves performance footage from Move’s popular and long-running Martha@ shows with archival images of Graham and interviews with critics and associated artists – including former Graham dancers and other luminaries of the stage and screen. An intimate portrait of a unique performer.  Contact: Talal Al-Muhanna

THE DANCE GOODBYE
Inspired by Merrill Ashley’s departure from New York City Ballet as an acclaimed principal dancer, this documentary created by Ron Steinman and Eileen Douglas captures the poignancy of this life turning point. Today Merrill Ashley travels around the world teaching Ballanchine ballets to dance companies.” See clip. Visit the website. Contact: Eileen Douglas

THE GREAT DANCING WAR
First created as a short story about the adventures of two Great Dancing Armies by choreographer/director Gail Conrad, this war takes place when all global battle is conducted solely by dance.  In 2009, Conrad decided to make The Great Dancing War into an all-choreographed nine-part series, both for the web and other media formats.   Each episode witnesses what happens – when art, warfare, and “the human factor” collide.  See clip. Visit the website. Contact: Gail Conrad.

RUDOLF NUREYEV, AND THEN COMES THE GLORY
Award-winning director, Russian born Yelena Demikovsky has completed 17 interviews and shot over 40 hours of film in the United States and Europe. Still in production, this documentary has an unusual angle involving Nureyev’s wide influence in the dance, pop, and fashion worlds. Prior to starting the film, she produced two symposia on the ballet superstar Rudolf Nureyev, one in New York; the other in St. Petersburg, Russia. Contact: Yelena Demikovsky. 

TRANS-CONTINENTAL DANCE COLLABORATIVE
Robin Cantrell and Mira Cook, formerly with City Ballet of San Diego, are traveling around the world, sharing their expertise and creating segments of choreography collaboratively with dancers of all kinds. Robin Cantrell is currently touring with Battery Dance Company in South Korea, Laos, Taiwan, Mongolia and China.  The grand finale of the tour will be a performance in the First International Modern Dance Festival in Beijing, sponsored by the National Ballet of China and masterminded by the Beijing XLDT Dance Company. Additional sponsors of the Beijing engagement include the JW Marriott Hotel and the U.S. Embassy Beijing.
Contact: info(at)transcontinentaldance.org
http://transcontinentaldance.org