Choreographed by Frederick Ashton in honor of William Shakespeare's 400th birthday, this magical production -- based on the Bard's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" -- features Felix Mendelssohn's famed score and sublime sets that add to the charm. Ethan Stiefel delivers an impressive performance as the lordly Oberon, Alessandra Ferri shines as fairy queen Titania, and Herman Cornejo is pitch-perfect as the impish Puck.
This film is focused on elderly women spending their last years of life in a nursing home in Krakow. The discreet heroine of the film is an elderly lady whose check-in is recorded by the camera. Thanks to this, we gain access to intimate situations, for example a sudden acceleration of the heartbeat in the middle of the night. The camera follows the women around the clock, starting from their morning prayer.
September 2015 marks the 300th anniversary of the death of King Louis XIV of France and this documentary looks at how Louis XIV not only had a personal passion and talent for dance, but supported and promoted key innovations, like the invention of dance notation and the founding of the world's first ballet school, that would lay the foundations for classical ballet to develop.
An Austrian director followed five successful African music and dance artists with his camera and followed their lives for a year. The artists, from villages in Ghana, Gambia and Congo, were the subjects of Africa! Africa! touring across Europe, but they have unbreakable roots to their homeland and their families. Schmiderer lovingly portrays his heroes, who tell their stories about themselves, their art and what it means to them to be African with captivating honesty. The interviews are interwoven with dance scenes and colourful vignettes set to authentic music.
After celebrated careers , legendary dancers Marge Champion and Donald Saddler became friends while performing together in the Broadway Show Follies (2001) . When the show closed, they decided to rent a private studio together where they have been choreographing and rehearsing original dances ever since. They are both 90 years old. KEEP DANCING seamlessly blends 9 decades of archival film and photographs with present day footage to tell a story through dance of the passing of time and the process of aging.
Released on DVD as part of The Criterion Collection's "Martha Graham: Dance on Film" collection.
Ijó Dudu: Memórias da Dança Negra na Bahia
Life in Progress
A documentary film that highlights two street derived dance styles, Clowning and Krumping, that came out of the low income neighborhoods of L.A.. Director David LaChapelle interviews each dance crew about how their unique dances evolved. A new and positive activity away from the drugs, guns, and gangs that ruled their neighborhood. A raw film about a growing sub-culture movements in America.
The first woman to appear in front of an Edison motion picture camera and possibly the first woman to appear in a motion picture within the United States. In the film, Carmencita is recorded going through a routine she had been performing at Koster & Bial's in New York since February 1890.
A documentary following the conscious evolution of electronic music culture and the spiritual movement that has awakened within.
This short documentary describes the process and inspiration behind the creation and performance of a new Cuban ballet based on Afro-Cuban traditions and beliefs.
Ida, Olympe, Jeanne and Marie dance to the music of pianos, symphonies, contemporary pieces… in ballet school studios, in the streets, even in their bedrooms. They are between 6 and 11 years old. Very fond of each other, they film themselves, comparing and giving one another support. They also tend to annoy one another, are at times envious, even rejecting each other. What is it like for a little girl to grow up in a world of intense professional and competitive dancing? Closely following the emotions and dilemmas experienced by our young characters, this film explores and probes into a territory that we’ve all navigated, though many of us have forgotten: childhood.
After moving to Bucharest, Sânziana reflects on how this change has affected her perception of herself and her body.
O Samba Antes do Samba
An Orange Waiting to Be Eaten
A unique hybrid of documentary, silent film, drama and dance, 'Breaking Plates' puts revolutionary women of the past on the screen with present day filmmakers. Contemporary women talk to characters from 100 years ago, reanimate their antics and emulate their mayhem moves. As early 21st century performers step into the clothes of their early 20th century counterparts, battling their haywire machines, exploding gags, and eruptive bodies, they learn to wield humour as a weapon against the structures that contain them today.
Filmed in 1983, during the presentation of Peter Weiss' play at the Fred Barry theater at UQAM. This document exposes us to a play dealing with the Shoah, and its intention to present the medium of video as a specific language.
A couple of dancers appear one morning in a High School. It's Monday and they announce to a group of youngsters that they have five days to get up on stage and dance. A short time but a big challenge. The dance compels these youngsters to break through their roles exactly at the time of their lives when the social roles are being forged. The handsome boy is no longer the most admired, the timid one takes a step forward. Wilfried van Popple and Amaya Lubeigt are the choreographers. Professional dancers who have decided now to work with people who have never danced before. This is the challenge: five days, a class of teenagers, a microcosm in which occurs a little big bang.
A documentary on the surviving syncretic pagan midwinter customs of the British Isles, focusing on nine ritual celebrations ranging from the Moray Firth in the north, the Somerset Levels in the south, Humberside in the east, and County Kerry in the west. Featuring music by the Albion Band and narration by John Tams.