Dance on Camera 2015
Now in its 43rd year, Dance on Camera honors ballet and contemporary dance personalities through documentaries and narrative films, while also demonstrating dance’s capacity to change lives and contribute to well-being. More than ever, Dance on Camera moves beyond familiar expectations to explore new genres, such as cheerleading and girls’ hand-clapping games that have an empowering effect on young women. In addition to putting the spotlight on youth, this year’s edition pays homage to crossover artists who bring a unique perspective to their art.
Acknowledgments:
Cultural Services of the French Embassy; Relativity Media; La Termita Films; Televisió de Catalunya TV3; Arts Santa Monica; Institut Ramon Llull; Mercat de les Flors; Bel Air Media; Consulate General of Japan in New York
Lineup
Girlchild Diary
Opening Night | U.S. Premiere
Q&A with Meredith Monk and cast member Lanny Harrison!
Meredith Monk revisits her iconic piece Education of a Girlchild in this evocative documentary, illuminating a crossover artist still radical after all these years. Screening with Letting Go (Lori Petchers & Susan Jacobson, 4m).
Desert Dancer
Closing Night
Q&A with Richard Raymond!
This screening is presented by the Film Society's New Wave, Young Patrons of Lincoln Center, and Relativity Studios and will be followed by a reception open to all ticket holders with wine courtesy of William Hill Estate Winery.
Friends Afshin and Elaheh risk their lives to form an underground dance company during the volatile climate of the 2009 Iranian presidential election, and in the process embrace their passion for dance and for each other.
All That Jazz
Panel discussion with assistant choreographer Gene Foote, Nicole Fosse, and dancers from the film!
“It’s showtime, folks!” Roy Scheider is never less than captivating in Bob Fosse’s semi-autobiographical musical extravaganza, back on the big screen after a 15-year 4K digital restoration by The Film Foundation.
American Cheerleader
Q&A with James Pellerito and David Barba!
Two high-school teams—one from New Jersey and one from Kentucky—empowered by families and devoted coaches, redefine what it means to be an American cheerleader today in this engrossing documentary.
Ballet Boys
In this heartwarming documentary, three pals train at the Norwegian Ballet School, encountering a variety of new challenges and opportunities as they navigate the competitive world of dance and their last years of high school. Screening with Det Skal Danses Vaek (Maia Elisabeth Sørensen, 5m).
Born to Fly: Elizabeth Streb vs. Gravity
Q&A with Catherine Gund and Elizabeth Streb!
The “Evel Knievel of dance,” Elizabeth Streb pushes the dancers in her daredevil company to trade fear for “extreme action” in Catherine Gund’s astonishing yet intimate documentary. Screening with Angsters (Benjamin Epps, 7m).
Capturing Grace
Q&A with David Iverson and cast members!
When the Mark Morris Dance Group joins forces with Parkinson’s patients, forging a close-knit community, it’s a demonstration of art’s power to transform and to heal. Screening with Renewal (Stacey Menchel Kussell, 40m).
The Dance of the Sun
Q&A with Ami Skånberg Dahlstedt!
Swedish choreographer Ami Skånberg Dahlstedt explores her fascination with The Sun Goddess, the haunting legend that serves as the basis for much of Japan’s dance and theater, both classical and contemporary. Screening with The Realm of Nothingness (Kathy Rose, 7m).
Dancing Is Living: Benjamin Millepied
Q&A with Louis Wallecan!
This engaging documentary chronicles Benjamin Millepied (choreographer of Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan), the newly appointed director of the Paris Opera Ballet and founder of L.A. Dance Project, as a globetrotting ambassador for dance. Screening with Little Opera (Louis Wallecan, 53m).
Fall to Rise
Q&A with Jayce Bartok and cast members!
A multilayered drama following a famous dancer as an injury forces her out of her company, starring former Martha Graham principal dancer Katherine Crockett and actress/dancer Daphne Rubin-Vega (the original Mimi in the Broadway musical hit Rent). Screening with Stella & Tom (John Resner, 7m).
Ghost Line and Other Celluloid Antics
Followed by a discussion with Shona Masarin and Cori Olinghouse moderated by Jon Gartenberg, film archivist and experimental-film distributor.
This unique program features the world premiere of Shona Masarin and Cori Olinghouse’s new experimental dance short Ghost Line (USA, 2013, DCP, 15m) alongside films that illustrate Ghost Line's affinity with cinema's past: two early Buster Keaton shorts, The Playhouse and Back Stage, Hans Richter's Ghosts Before Breakfast, and James Broughton's Four in the Afternoon.
Here Now with Sally Gross
Q&A with Sally Gross, Douglas Rosenberg, Ze’eva Cohen, and Sharon Kaufman!
This captivating documentary chronicles the achievements of dynamic New York choreographer Sally Gross as she creates a site-specific work for an exhibition by the renowned digital artist Leo Villareal. Screening with Ze’eva Cohen: Creating a Life in Dance (Sharon Kaufman, 32m).
Jiri Kylian: Forgotten Memories
U.S. Premiere
World-renowned Czech choreographer Jiri Kylian, always a reluctant subject, finally agreed to participate in this film, a record of a singular artist whose vision has inspired dancers and choreographers around the globe. Screening with Memory House (Ryan Fielding & Loughlan Prior, 17m).
Let’s Get the Rhythm: The Life and Times of Miss Mary Mack
Q&A with Irene Chagall!
The wondrous hand-clapping games of inner-city playgrounds in New York City and the remote corners of the world alike become a music genre and a fertile subject for exploration in this delightful homage to the beauty of the beat. Screening with Bookin' (John Kirkscey, 17m).
Mia, a Dancer’s Journey
Q&A with Maria Ramas and Kate Johnson!
A daughter’s promise to tell her mother’s story becomes more than the unfolding of the life of the celebrated Croatian ballerina Mia Slavenska in this moving documentary that reflects on historical memory, national identity, and the power of dance. Screening with Hamadryad (Nancy Allison & Paul Allman, 8m).
Perpetual Motion: The History of Dance in Catalonia
U.S. Premiere
Q&A with subject/choreographer Cesc Gelabert!
A living history of dance in Catalonia, as archival images, interviews, and reconstructions of works bring this rich heritage into the present. Screening with Pas (Frédérique Cournoyer Lessard, 15,).
Robot
World Premiere
Q&A with Blanca Li, Claire Marquet, Tom Rowland, and Dane Hurst!
This radical vision from choreographer/director Blanca Li, featuring mechanized instruments created by Japanese artists Maywa Denki and a highly developed humanoid robot, will surprise and amuse anyone interested in how the future of dance might look. Screening with Primitive (Tom Rowland, 29m).
Dance on Camera Shorts Program
This year’s crop of short films is particularly diverse: from dances inspired by Stephen Sondheim and created for the iPhone, to complex stories that unfold through choreography designed to heighten narrative tension. This program demonstrates that there is no shortage of imagination among the filmmakers who seek to explore dance’s relationship to film.
Free Events
Black Ballerina
Free event!
Followed by a panel featuring producer/director Frances McElroy, Dance Theater of Harlem artistic director Virginia Johnson, and former Ballets Russes ballerina Raven Wilkinson.
Black Ballerina is a documentary-in-progress that uses the overwhelmingly white world of classical ballet to take a fresh look at race, diversity, and inclusion. Narrated by black women of different generations but united in their passion for ballet, the film asks if anything has changed and why diversity in dance matters.
Capturing Motion NYC
Free event!
For a fourth year, Dance Films Association invites high-school students throughout the five boroughs to submit dance films between one to five minutes in length for Capturing Motion NYC, a student film competition. This program will feature the top juried films and a panel discussion about the students’ processes. The winning work will be screened on closing night of Dance on Camera.
Filmmaker Services Panel
Free event!
Invited organizations dedicated to providing filmmaker services, including Fractured Atlas, AbelCine, DCTV, and VHX, will join Dance on Camera to engage in a lively discussion focused on getting a film made—sharing tactics from pre-production to distribution, and all the important steps in between.
Meet the Artist: Third Rail Projects
Free event!
Critically acclaimed immersive theater company Third Rail Projects, creators of the award-winning production Then She Fell, will join Dance on Camera to offer audiences the opportunity to learn about the influence of dance film on their large body of work.
Young Dancemakers
Free event!
Young Dancemakers Company, founded by Alice Teirstein, is a unique summer dance ensemble of NYC teens dedicated to creating their own original choreography and performing it in concerts citywide. Young Dancemakers (Greg Vander Veer, USA, 2014, 28m) follows three members of the company, mentored by Teirstein, as they deal with their personal struggles and ultimately learn to express themselves through dance.
Dance on Camera Festival 2022
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Dance on Camera Festival 2021
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Dance on Camera Festival 2020
Dance Films Association and Film at Lincoln Center present the 48th edition of the Dance on Camera Festival, running July 17-20, 2020. With a program that travels the globe from Ireland to Argentina to Kazakhstan, the festival will be presented digitally for the first time and provide unprecedented access to the longest-running dance film festival in the world. Read More
Dance on Camera Festival 2019
Featuring 11 programs over four days, including films from 17 countries, Dance on Camera Festival celebrates its 47th edition with a selection of films that explore dance from a variety of perspectives. Read More
Dance on Camera Festival 2018
The venerable and vibrant Dance on Camera Festival celebrates its 46th edition—for the first time in the summer—with a wide-ranging selection of 16 programs over five days. Read More
Dance on Camera Festival 2017
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Dance on Camera Festival 2016
The 44th edition of the Dance on Camera Festival celebrates the worlds of ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance; modern and postmodern legends and discoveries; dances in gypsy enclaves as well as explorations into artistic expression and therapy; stories from countries where female dance is taboo but nevertheless practiced; and a spotlight on the exciting world of trapeze. Read More
Dance on Camera 2015
Now in its 43rd year, Dance on Camera honors ballet and contemporary dance personalities through documentaries and narrative films, while also demonstrating dance’s capacity to change lives and contribute to well-being. Read More
Dance on Camera 2014
In its 42nd year, Dance on Camera is as diverse as ever, but many of the films in this year’s lineup reflect dance’s new perspective: a trend toward unusual collaborations (dance and skating, dance and horses, dance and circus) and a recognition that dance thrives best in the bosom of a creative community. Read More
