Groovers & Makers: Jazz (in-person)
Suspending Disbelief: Distanced Swing, 2023, Canada, 7 min
Directed by Kimberley Andrea Cooper, Arthur Noel Bégin
Produced by Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Kathi Sundstrom
Choreography by Kimberley Andrea Cooper
Featuring Decidedly Jazz Danceworks
Dancing by Shayne Johnson, Catherine Hayward, Cassandra Bowerman, Scott Augustine, Jason Owin F. Galeos
Music Composed by Nick Fraser
Cinematography by Arthur Noel Bégin
Edited by Kimberley Andrea Cooper, Arthur Noel Bégin
Costumes by Sarah Doucet
Five characters, an empty bar, a shared secret… Distanced Swing is shaped by the necessary waves of Covid-19 restrictions and plays with the feeling of an endless loop of the days of the pandemic and the attempt to stay apart while dancing together.
Echo, 2024, United States, 13 min
Directed by Anthony Morigerato
Produced by Anthony Morigerato, David Spadora
Choreography and Dancing by John Michael Fiumara
Featuring Peter Francis James
Written by Makayla Ryan, Anthony Morigerato
JP is faced with a no-win decision as a consequence of decisions made long ago.
Spoken Movement Family Honour, 2025, United Kingdom, 10 min
Directed by Daniel Gurton
Produced by Harriet Thomas
Choreography by Kwame Asafo-Adjei
Featuring Spoken Movement
Dancing by Kwame Asafo-Adjei, Catrina Nisbett
Music Composed by Ben Nobuto
Cinematography by Henry Gill
Edited by Emilie Orsini, Sakky Barnor
In a British-Ghanaian household bound by tradition and religion, a young girl lives under the oppressive control of her abusive father. At the family dinner table, heated arguments reveal the deep rift between them as they confront the scars of their shared history. AUDIENCE WARNING: This film references domestic violence and may be unsuitable for some viewers.
Symphony of Skills, 2022, United Kingdom, 3 min
Directed by Karen Wood
Produced by Sima Gonsai
Dancing by Annette Walker, Mark Robertson
Rhythm, tap dance and history weave together to create a symphonic arrangement. Improvisation and composition synergize. Tap dance, drums and typewriting skills collide and generate pattern and flow. Rhythm is a core human function and this film illuminates the beauty of participating in life's music - past and present.
Hambone Griot, 2024, United States, 13 min
Produced and Directed by Erika Randall
Dancing by Rennie Harris
Written by Erika Randall
Shot in part at 10,000 ft at Gross Reservoir in Colorado over a span of 12 years, this short film, featuring the indomitable Rennie Harris, shares a dreamscape glimpse into the vernacular dance form, hambone, or “Patin’ Juba.” This work positions the powerful resilience of the Black male body in the face of white surveillance and the survival and evolution of the dance/music form of hambone within and beyond the histories of enslavement.
C'est LA Vie, 2024, United States, 6 min
Directed by Sierra Tanji, Colin Harabedian
Produced by Daniela Mejia
Choreography by Sierra Tanji
Dancing by Sierra Tanji, Isabella Mendoza, Samuel Macias, Jeffrey Bull, Eliza Loran, Baylee Ferrerra, Sydney Tanji, Jordyn Apostolache, Evie Barakat, Anessa Davies, Shanti Topzand, Melissa Valenzuela, Isabella Farris, Reagan Murray
Costume Design by Jordyn Apostolache
Art Department by Andrew Cardoso, Ava Gergovich
Join us above the Los Angeles skyline as one life-loving woman makes a surprise entrance. Commanding the attention of the entire party, she ignites the day and sparks connections between the Angelenos. You never know what might happen at a party in L.A., but "That's Life" in Los Angeles!
Convivencia, 2025, United States, 7 min
Directed by John Jota Leaños, Vanessa Sanchez
Produced by Hector Zavala
Choreography by Vanessa Sanchez
Featuring La Mezcla
Dancing by Vanessa Sanchez, Sandy Vazquez, Diana Arbuto, Micah Sallid, Kirsten Millan
Cinematography by Harry Gregory
Audio Engineering by Greg Landau
"Convivencia" brings to light the lives and stories of female essential laborers along the US/Mexico borderlands through Tap dance, Son Jarocho, and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. The film highlights interviews with migrant domestic laborers from La Colectiva de Mujeres, a female-led collective of domestic workers in California. The film addresses the struggles, resistance, and resilience of these women to showcase their significant contributions to our communities and celebrates their spirit of community, joy, and resilience. “Convivencia” is a unique fusion of oral histories, percussive dance, footwork, and folkloric dance from choreographer/director Vanessa Sanchez in collaboration with filmmaker John Jota Leaños.
Fuga Y Misterio, 2024, United States, 4 min
Produced and Directed by Martin and Facundo Lombard
Choreography and Dancing by Martin and Facundo Lombard
Description coming soon.
From Jazz to Jackboots, 2025, Canada, 15 min
Directed by Justin Stephenson
Produced by Andrew Burashko
Choreography by Guillaume Côté
"…They loathe art, the product of a yearning for life, because that, too, evades control." Josef Skvorecky
"From Jazz to Jackboots" is an experimental animated dance film exploring the Nazi regime's methodical restriction of jazz through their "10 Rules for Dance Bands." The film reimagines itself through progressively censored variations of jazz standard, "Minnie the Moocher," transitioning from freeform expressionist painting and collage to statuesque perfection. Through sophisticated animation techniques and meticulous visual design, the work unfolds as simultaneously joyful, lyrical, ethereal, surgical, horrific and funereal—a timely reminder that the battle between artistic expression and authoritarian control remains urgently relevant today.
Cut Me Summa Dat Noise, 2024, United States, 6 min
Directed by Cara Hagan
Produced by Jeanette Bonner
Choreography by Cara Hagan, Margaret Morrison, and Cast
Dancing by Deborah Mitchell, Margaret Morrison, Lisa LaTouche, Alexis Robbins, Adante Power, Kyleigh Vickars, Rae Walsh, Dawn Drake, Usman Salahuddin, Minerva Johnson, Jackie Coleman, Cara Hagan
"Cut Me Summa Dat Noise" celebrates the rhythms of everyday life through the eyes of a neighborhood matriarch who sets the tone for a new day with the beat of her own heart. As the neighborhood comes to life, people of all ages unite in a joyous cacophony of sound that illuminates the connections between them as members of a vibrant and diverse community in rhythm.