Shorts screenings, Friday, April 4, 2008, 8 pm

Multiframe from Phrase

Phrase, 2007, USA, 8 min

Produced and Directed by Robert Schaller

Choreography and Dancing by Michelle Ellsworth

Camera Design/Cinematography by Robert Schaller

A body tries to explain itself to a viewer who can't see very well; she tries to get her point across several times, but her attempts become more elusive to grasp, perhaps even to herself. Finally, she can only shake her head... Phrase was filmed with a handmade 16mm pinhole camera.

The Shape of Water, 2007, Australia, 14 min

Directed by Cordella Beresford

Produced by Brook Wilson

Choreography by Narelle Benjamin

Featuring The Sydney Dance Company

Dancing by soloist, Alexa Heckmann

Music Composed by Huey Benjamin

"The Shape of Water" is a sensory journey revolving around the idea of the mind and its inner workings, flowing back and forth like the sea, explores the symbolic connection between water and the human psyche.

Ritual, 2007, USA, 1 min

Choreography by Joy French (Dance Improvisation)

Camera & Editing by Jessica Damon

Music Composition, Additional Editing & Concept by Patrick Maxwell

The anticipation and anxiety inspired by a familiar morning ritual.

photo by Karn Junkinsmith

'Bus Stop' / 'Arret D' Autobus', 2007, USA, 8 min

Directed by Karn Junkinsmith

Produced by Popjunk Productions (kj)

Choreography by Karn Junkinsmith

Dancing by Cara Brooke, Yvonne Croteau, Michael De Smet, Francis Goritsand, Courtney Ryan, Marsha Threlkeld

Music Composed by Jeff Junkinsmith

Music Performed by Jeff Junkinsmith, Sound Engineer: Ian Lesage

Cinematography by Angela Esposito

Editing by Sean Donavan

Citizens at a rainy bus stop discover a shared passion for public dancing. When one falls, the resulting mild head injury prompts a daydream and calls out the muses. Shot on dreamy super 8 black and white with a rocking piano score played by Jeff Junkinsmith.

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.

Unspoken Letter, 2008, USA, 4 min

Produced and Directed by Michael Richman

Choreography and Dancing by Michael Richman

Music Composed by J.S. Bach

Music Performed by Yo-Yo Ma

Cinematography by Heather Gray

"Unspoken Letter" is essentially what the title suggests. The piece abstactly represents the things we wish to say to our family but cannot because of issues of respect and generational differences.

Azalea, 2007, USA, includes live performance, 8 min

Directed by Lynda White

Produced by To & Fro Productions

Choreography by Lynda White

Featuring To & Fro Productions

Dancing by Lynda White and Jen Jones

Music Composed by Greg Harris

Music Performed by Greg Harris, Jeremy Averitt, Matt Fuller, Megan Tipton, Casey Sidwell

This live multi-layered multimedia performance explores modes of expression and identification through a peeling away of layers and identities. Dancers and musicians explore ways of transforming themselves and mirroring each other - thus transforming the stage into a world that allows one to reflect on the beauty of change.

Goon in Bunny Water, 2007, USA, 7 min

Produced and Directed by Angie Nina Yeowell Blue

Choreography and Dancing by Angie Nina Yeowell Blue

Featuring Ballerina Eight Laboratories

Music by Angie Yeowell / Robin Chestnut = SolarTinkle

A music video.

Diva, 2007, UK, 4 min

Directed by Liz Aggiss

Choreography and Dancing by Liz Aggiss

Featuring Liz Aggiss

Music Composed by Chopin & Schumann

Music Performed by J.D. Andrews & Rachel Fryer

Funding by University of Brighton

Craving attention, a dance diva performs a reconstruction from 1927. Nobody gives a fig. She then performs a dance raspberry, Ranki Panki circa 2007. "Diva" is where fact and fiction collide, where archive and reportage rupture.

Thaw, 2007, USA, 7 min

Directed by Marta Renzi

Produced by And Dancers, Inc.

Choreography by Marta Renzi

Dancing by Kimberly Liu and Caitlin Roben-Looker

Music Composed by Johannes Brahms

In this visual poem alternating superimposed images of water, women, and swans move in a winter landscape which gradually thaws.

Documentary screening, Saturday, April 5, 2008, 5 pm

photo by Chris Van der Burght

VSPRS Show and Tell, 2007, Ghent, Belgium, 72 min

Directed by Sophie Fiennes

Produced by Les Ballets C. de la B.

Choreography by Alain Platel

Featuring Les Ballets C. de la B.

Dancing by Quan Bui Ngoc, Mathieu Desseigne Ravel, Lisi Estaràs, Emile Josse, Iona Kewney, Mélanie Lomoff, Ross Mc Cormack,

Music Composed by Fabrizio Cassol after the 'Maria Vespers'-Monteverdi

Editing by Ethel Shepherd and Marek Kralovsky

"VSPRS" is Platel's most outrageous dance work yet, one critic calling it "the weirdest, most shocking and provocative dance performance you will ever see." The artists trained by immersing themselves in images of psychiatric distress, and together carve an extremely physical and graphic performance immersed in religious and sexual imagery. In Sophie Fiennes' mesmerizing documentary, the dimensions of ecstasy and trauma that form the core of the performance are masterfully captured, whilst interviews with Platel and the dancers themselves add an extra layer of insight.

Installation videos on view, Friday & Saturday, April 4 & 5, 2008, 7 pm - 8 pm

Spirit of the Pinnacles: Journey of Waiting Souls, 2007, Daegu, South Korea, 22 min

Produced and Directed by Hyonok KIM

Choreography by Hyonok KIM

Featuring Hyonok KIM Dance Arts

Dancing by Jeni Sutton, Ellen McCarthy, Elli, Jessica Cook, Mipa Shin

Music Composed by Arvo Part, Ligeti, Jongsil Choi

Cinematography by Jaehong Park

Editing by Joana Yuen

In the backdrop of the surreal Pinnacles, the limestone pillars that rise from the sand dunes, the film conveys wandering souls, the life of the Spirits in the vast desert, the drama of humanity, life and death, exploration, and facing challenges. It is a journey and adventure where dancers encounter Korean shamanistic ritual objects such as a vase, a bronze mirror, and a knife through which transcend the different realms. Dancers in red and in white are juxtaposed.

The Window, 2007, New York City, NY, USA, 8 min

Produced and Directed by So Young Yang

Choreography and Dancing by Julia Kathriner, Jungsun Kim, Sumi Jang

Featuring Amorphous Dance

Music Composed by So Young Yang (sound)

A fleeting form of art, most dance choreography comes out of practices and rehearsals where many ideas and inspirations come and go, often being lost in the more structured stage presentations. "The Window" encapsulates these moments of experimentation that would have otherwise faded into the air, transforming them into a different kind of performance. Filmed in Berlin and assembled in New York, this is the second work by Amorphous Dance, created by So Youn Yang, a video maker.

Pechitos Torneados (Small turned breasts), 2007, Spain, 7 min

Produced and Directed by Liz K. Penuela

Choreography and Dancing by Liz K. Penuela

Music Composed by ToTo la Momposina

Music Performed by Liz K. Penuela

Voice Inspiration by Sully Morland

Love, desire, prejudices, and the forbidden are revealed through this reinterpretation of the Colombian folkloric dance, "the Cumbia," re-composed with only the phonetics of the song.

Bounded Narcissus, 2007, USA, 7 min

Produced and Directed by Ana Baer

Choreography and Dancing by Nathan Montgomery

Featuring Syzygy Butoh

Music by sigur rós

Nathan's performance is an adaptation of his stage piece, I am Undone, 2004. His movement (found in the excavation of the body) is an exploration of the raw and immediate physical place from which Butoh springs.

Velez October Circles, 2007, USA, 18 min

Directed by Mimi Garrard

Produced by Mimi Garrard Dance Company

Choreography by Mimi Garrard

Featuring Mimi Garrard Dance Company

Dancing by Samuel Roberts

Music by Glen Velez

Velez October Circles, a suite of five short abstract dances created in the form of circles, features dancer Samuel Roberts and percussionist Glen Velez.