Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, SansSouciFest.org

Sans Souci at the Atlas Black Box, 2016
1125 18th Street, University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
7:00 PM: Video installations • 7:30 PM: Screenings
Come early to enjoy the looping video installations.
FREE Admission.
Different programs at each screening:

Friday Evening Screening, September 2 at 7:30 PM

Frame from The Situation Room

The Situation Room, 2013, USA, includes live performance, 9 min

Produced and Directed by Ana Baer
Choreography and dancing by Michelle Nance
Music by Richard Hall
Filmmaker: Ana Baer
Voice by Melissa Grogan
A contemporary account of a woman's struggle.
Frame from Black Train is Coming

Black Train is Coming, 2011, USA, 3 min

Produced and Directed by John T. Williams
Choreography and dancing by eNinja & Joyntz Scott
Music composed by Rev. J.M Gates
Cinematography by James Tucker
Edited by John T. Williams
Blending an old time sermon with modern day Flex/Turf dance style, this film is based on the 1926 exhortation, "Death's Black Train is Coming," by the prolific black preacher, Rev. J.M. Gates, many of whose sermons were strong warnings of the hellish punishments that awaited sinners.
Frame from Training Session

Training Session, 2010, Canada, 6 min

Directed by Christian Lalumière
Produced by Émilie Heckmann
Choreography by Hélène Blackburn
Dancing by Roxane Duchesne-Roy, Daphnée Laurendeau, Pierre Lecours, Susan Paulson & Georges-Nicolas Tremblay
Music composed by Nicolas Bernier
Cinematography by Jonathan Decoste
Edited by Thiery Laberge
A simple workout routine is transformed into a ballet where the athletes fit together like the notes of a symphonic musical score and rhythmic repetition punctuates the resulting dance.
Frame from Helena

Helena, 2015, USA, 4 min

Directed by Nadav Heyman, an emerging artist
Produced by Julia Planine-Troiani
Choreography and dancing by Nadav Heyman
Music by Marco Zannone
Cinematography by Erich Hamil
Edited by Nadav Heyman
Lighting Designer by Andrew Munie
Executive Producer by Philip Marquez
A stream-of-consciousness voiceover accompanies a contemporary male soloist on an empty stage.
Frame from Six Weeks

Six Weeks, 2016, USA, 5 min

Produced and Directed by Tara Rynders
Choreography and dancing by Tara Rynders
Music composed by Saskatoon
Cinematography by Tara Rynders and Sean Hudson
Edited by Tara Rynders
A glimpse into the beauty of creation and the mourning of loss that occurs below the surface.
photo by Kamala Kingsley
photo by Kamala Kingsley

Waking the Green Sound: a dance film for the trees, 2015, USA, 15 min

Produced and Directed by Yulia Arakelyan, Erik Ferguson, Grant Miller
Choreography and dancing by Yulia Arakelyan, Erik Ferguson, Grant Miller
Featuring Wobbly
Music by Sweatmeat
Filmmaker: Ian Lucero
Three mysterious beings concoct a botanical fugue among the trees.
Frame from Imitation and Splattery

Imitation and Splattery, 2016, USA, 6 min

Directed by Michelle Bernier
Choreography by Michelle Bernier
Featuring Life/Art Dance Ensemble
Dancing by Michelle Bernier, Jessica Riggs, Megan Roney, Mykayla Solorio
Music composed by J.S. Bach
Music performed by The Swingle Singers
Cinematography by Tyler Stocker
Edited by Michelle Bernier
Ceramicist by Ariana Kolins
Color Correction by H. Paul Moon
A dancer and a ceramicist enjoy one another's processes and products.
Frame from THE LAST DANCE

THE LAST DANCE, 2015, SPAIN, 11 min

Produced and Directed by CONCHA VIDAL
Choreography by CONCHA VIDAL
Featuring CONCHA VIDAL
Dancing by CONCHA VIDL
Music by ANONIMOUS
Filmmaker: CRISTINA MONGE
A woman performs a dance of grief with her partner, a life-sized rag doll, representing the desire of the soul to revive what is dead.

Less, 2016, USA, 10 min

Directed by Erika Randall and Daniel Beahm
Produced by Daniel Beahm and Erika Randall
Choreography by Erika Randall
Dancing by Dancer: Samantha Lysaght
Music composed by Liszt Rossignol, The Blue Waltz , sound design: Jonas Bendsen
Music performed by Emily Levin (arrangement and performance)
Filmmaker: Daniel Beahm
2nd camera by Laffrey Whitbrod
Costume by Markas Henry
Wearing a dress made of memories, a solo dancer explores notions of nostalgia, sensation, and grief as she moves through virtuosic phrases and theatrical vignettes. Photographs are clipped into and released from the skirt, the costume physically and metaphorically replicating notions of emotional scrapbooking and loss. Inspired by Randall’s aunt’s struggle with Bulbar ALS, “Less” borrows gestures from a body that is deteriorating at a rapid pace while the mind still grasps at an active, vibrant, and sensual history.

Saturday Evening Screening, September 3 at 7:30 PM

Frame from The Situation Room

The Situation Room, 2013, USA, includes live performance, 9 min

Produced and Directed by Ana Baer
Choreography and dancing by Michelle Nance
Music by Richard Hall
Filmmaker: Ana Baer
Voice by Melissa Grogan
A contemporary account of a woman's struggle.
Meaghan McHenry dancing like her old man.
Dancer Meaghan McHenry

Dance Like Your Old Man, 2006, Australia, 10 min

Directed by Gideon Obarzanek & Edwina Throsby
Produced by Chunky Move in association with Chequerboard Productions
Featuring Chunky Move
Dancing by Meaghan McHenry, Sara Black, Alexandra Dillon, Bec Reid, Penelope Bartiau & Ros Warby
Music by various artists
Cinematography by Cordelia Beresford
Editing by Simon Njoo
Six unseen fathers come to life through their dances as imitated and reflected on by their daughters.
Frame from Bleu

Bleu, 2006, USA, 4 min

Produced and Directed by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Choreography and dancing by Cari Ann Shim Sham*
Featuring Shim Sham Productions
Music composed by Low in the Sky
Music performed by Are you for real?!
"Bleu" exposes the naked moving body as an art form, as post-it notes fly onto the dancer's body to cover her up and comment on the politics of the heavy American workload. Surprise Ending.
Frame from Beautiful Illusion

Beautiful Illusion, 2011, UK, 4 min

Produced and Directed by Jessica Taylor & Aaron Buckley
Choreography by Jessica Taylor & Aaron Buckley
Dancing by Olivia Ratcliffe
Music by Rebecca-Kate Leach
Edited by Jessica Taylor & Aaron Buckley
The beauty of a ballerina in an art gallery is contrasted with threatening red lights, which indicate her pain in executing the movement.
Frame from Traces

Traces, 2014, USA, 6 min

Directed by Bailey Anderson, an emerging artist
Choreography by Bailey Anderson
Dancing by Amanda Benzin, Michelle Bernier, Ondine Geary, Niama Lowrimore, Sophia Hernz, Samantha Lysaght, Peg Volpe Posnick, Samantha Salters, Gabrielle Whitcomb, Heather Woolley.
Cinematography by Aundrea Anderson
Dancers in a hospital explore the idea of the medicalized body.
photo by Adnan Hasovic
photo by Adnan Hasovic

Songs of the Underworld, 2016, The Netherlands, 6 min

Produced and Directed by Nicola Hepp
Choreography by Nicola Hepp
Dancing by Rolf Hepp, Martinette Janmaat, Reggy Deekman, Célinne Moza
Music composed by Lou Reed (The Bed)
Music performed by Good Sounds and Daphne DeMuir
Cinematography by Chris Fawcett
Edited by Ad Rietvelt
The images of an older and a younger couple become more intertwined as time goes on.
Frame from Pontchartrain

Pontchartrain, 2016, USA, 4 min

Directed by Adam Sekuler, Shannon Stewart, Angelle Hebert
Produced by Adam Sekuler
Choreography and dancing by Shannon Stewart, Angelle Hebert
Filmmaker: Adam Sekuler
Two dancers filmed vintage-style in a tropical location.
Frame from Singeries

Singeries, 2015, Canada, 7 min

Directed by Priscilla Guy and Catherine Lavoie-Marcus
Produced by Mandoline Hybride
Choreography and dancing by Priscilla Guy and Catherine Lavoie-Marcus
Filmmaker: Priscilla Guy and Catherine Lavoie-Marcus
Special effects by Antoine Quirion Couture
An abstract duet in which ordinary and agreeable dancers turn into automatons, beasts, objects in free fall, and primates.
Frame from Above the light

Above the light, 2016, UK, 6 min

Produced and Directed by Heike Salzer & Jack Laidlaw
Choreography and dancing by Jennifer Essex
Music by Jack Laidlaw
Cinematography by Andy Harrison
Edited by Heike Salzer
A movement exploration on a rooftop set to the backdrop of sunset and city lights.
Frame from Moving Southwark

Moving Southwark, 2015, UK, 5 min

Directed by Jevan Chowdhury
Produced by Rosie Wells
Choreography by Kai Tomioka
Featuring Wind & Foster
Dancing by Bryony Harrison, Emma Farnell Watson
Music composed by Danny Odom
Cinematography by Charlie Herranz
Edited by Jevan Chowdhury
Part of the "Moving Cities" project to investigate cultures and peoples via dance, this film is a take on the "dying moments" of 24 dancers, each consumed by London.

Black Box Installations, Friday & Saturday opening at 7:00 PM

Frame from Burn

Burn, 2015, USA, 5 min

Directed by Mimi Garrard
Produced by The Mimi Garrard Dance Company, Inc.
Choreography by Mimi Garrard
Featuring Mimi Garrard Dance Company
Dancing by Yusha-Marie Sorzano
Music composed by Jonathan Melville Pratt
Filmmaker: Mimi Garrard
An experimental meditation on global warming.
Frame from You Must Work in the Garden of Eden

You Must Work in the Garden of Eden, 2016, USA, 7 min

Produced and Directed by Jackie Davis, an emerging artist
Choreography by Jackie Davis
Dancing by Jackie Davis, Sage Dillon and Lori Lawrence
Music by Sara Kolp
Cinematography by Sarah Brown
Edited by Jackie Davis
A rhythmic avant-garde dance/film that displays the beauty of everyday routine.
Frame from The Catch

The Catch, 2016, USA, 4 min

Directed by Lauren Bon and Isabel Vega
Produced by Lauren Bon
Choreography and dancing by Roxanne Steinberg
Music composed by The Sonic Division of the Metabolic Studio
Music performed by Lauren Bon, David Baine, Aaron Ebensperger, Doug Lee, Dani Lunn
Filmmaker: Isabel Vega, an emerging artist
Lauren Bon’s sculpture, The Catch, is made of two shipping containers turned into a musical instrument and womb/room for vibrations of light, sound, and movement.

Supported by a grant from
Boulder County Arts Alliance