Dance on Film: A Guide

"... performed by recent graduates of the Purchase Conservatory of Dance at the State University of New York at Purchase. Performed at Joan Weill Center for Dance, Alvin Ailey Studies, in New York City."

A dance experiment on the repetitions of the modern world evolves into an exploration into the repetitive patterns in which ordinary people find themselves trapped. Over two years, company members struggle with inner turmoil as they try to cope with extreme physical and emotional demands of creating this new work.

The work of American dancer and choreographer Richard Siegal combines art, dance theory, and media technology. For years, Siegal was a soloist under William Forsythe at the Frankfurt Ballet, and in 2005 he founded The Bakery, an interdisciplinary platform for research and production. In his performances, he confronts ever-changing combinations of video, electronic music, dance, and interactive compositional techniques. Based on the If/Then formula, ...

Eno Washington, an African American street and stage dancer, discusses the African roots of African American dance. Includes performance footage and archival footage.

Anna Halprin performs dances in various natural settings and discusses the relationships between dance and nature/art and life.

Compilation of film and video clips, mostly b&w, from archival films, newsreels, feature films, documentaries, and television programs. Although the subject is social dancing from the 1900s to the 1940s, some of the material was recorded before or after this period...
Volume 2 at M-DVD 2009- 3077

Argentinian tango.

The 1st film: Realization of a dance work titled Panorama de la música y la danza cubanas, first performed in 1973.

Explores the history and modern reality of candombe, the drum music of Uruguay's black parade bands

Presents a performance of the avant-garde dance Achterland ("Hinterland"), directed by its choreographer De Keersmaeker, who has adapted the work to cinematic form. Uses playful, athletic dancing and striking imagery and costumes to explore tensions between man and woman and between movement and music.

Discussion of Bharata Natyam, a south Indian classical dance form. Topics include its mythological creation ; its original ritual functions in the temples, and evolution into a court dance form ; its revival by the late Balasaraswati ; the symbolic meanings of elements in the sculpture of Shiva Nataraja, lord of the dance ; the four different styles within Bharata Natyam ; costumes, jewelry and makeup for the dance ; hand gestures (called hastas or mudras) and their multiple meanings...

Disc 1. features Trisha Brown, a choreographer of contemporary dance, who is instrumental in changing the limits of modern dance. In the 1960s Brown created works which attempted to defy gravity and challenge dancers to experiment with the dynamics of stability. Her search for her own style in dance and the formation of her own company in 1970 showcase her unique ideas of movement. This DVD presents of Brown's major performances -- Disc 2. presents a conversation between Trish Brown and art historian, Klaus Kertess, in which she reminisces about her early years, her works and the creation of her characteristic style.

Covers Alessi's dance works from 2001-2003. This compilation offers a unique perspective on contemporary dance and choreography. Alessi comes from a diverse dance background interwoven with gymnastics, aerial work, physical theatre, puppetry and film. The DVD contains excerpts from her acrobatic performances on stilts and in the air, and two short experimental dance films--Wandering and Threads.

Traces the life and artistic development of Isadora Duncan, often called the mother of modern dance, as well as the social, personal, and political influences behind her dance. Interweaves recreations of excerpts from twelve of Duncan's dances with archival film and photographs and biographical details.

Established in 1991 and founded by artistic directors Allen and Karen Kaeja, Kaeja d'Dance is recognized for creating an eclectic array of vividly original dance performances that simmer with athletic intensity and theatrical imagery. ... This volume features: Old Country (2003), adapted from Allen Kaeja's successful stage presentation, explores the dynamics of a community confronted with the imminent brutality of war -- Zummel (1999), choreographed by Allen Kaeja, is based upon the first day of families being uprooted from their homes during WWII -- Departure (2003) is the story of the inter-relationship of a couple struggling to come to terms with their imminent separation because of impending war -- Resistance (2001) explores the power of the human spirit against the oppression of the Holocaust.

Disc 1. Jazz dance from turn of the century 'til 1950 (44 min.) -- disc 2. Savoy Ballroom of Harlem, 1950's (34 min.) -- Disc 3. Pt. 2: Postwar era, 1950-1975 (40 min.).

Featuring a performance of the dance Folies d'Espagne; examines the history of dance in the Baroque period.

A depiction of the transformative and uplifting potential of music and dance in the lives of children. Dominic, Rose, and Nancy are three children of the Acholi tribe, living in the war zone displacement camp in Patongo, Uganda. As war refugees, their families have been decimated, their homes lost, and they have been burdened with vivid memories of violence. However, the children are at least able to attend a camp school that offers them inspiration, as they participate in music, song and performance. When they are invited to compete in an annual music and dance festival in their nation's capitol, an opportunity for which all 20,000 Ugandan schools compete, they are given the chance to regain hope and success in their lives.

Using contemporary footage of leading Butoh performers, this documentary presents the history of the development of butoh dance, interviews the creator of this Japanese modern dance form, Tatsumi Hijikata, and explores the cultural significance of the Butoh dance form in Japan.