Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, SansSouciFest.org

Sans Souci at Ursinus College, 2019
Thursday, September 12 • 6 p.m.
Lenfest Theater, Kaleidoscope Performing Arts Center, Collegeville, PA


SSF is proud to be co-presenting our fifth annual dance film event, free of admission, as a part of the Ursinus College Fringe Festival. The films selected, listed below, represent the work of choreographers from around the world, and the event is co-produced by SSF and Ursinus College.

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Body of Your Dreams, 2018, United States, 10 min

Directed by Quinn Wharton, Myles Thatcher
Choreography by Myles Thatcher
Featuring The Joffrey Ballet
Dancing by Derrick Agnoletti, Nicole Ciaponni, Edson Barbosa, Anais Bueno, Elivelton Tomazi, Fernando Duarte, Yumi Kanazawa, Valeriia Cheryakina
Music composed by Jacob TV
Music performed by Recorded
Filmmaker: Quinn Wharton
A short film exploring the ballet "A Body of your Dreams" by Myles Thatcher featuring the Joffrey ballet dancers. Using athletes in a gym setting the film looks at body issues and pop culture in conjunction.

Akasha, 2017, Switzerland, 5 min

Directed by Sean Wirz
Produced by Hannah Rocchi, Sean Wirz
Choreography by Sean Wirz/Hannah Rocchi
Featuring none
Dancing by Jelena Pfister, Simon Progin, Annina Biesold, Nadir Josi
Music by edIT/The Glitch Mob (Los Angeles)
Cinematography by Sean Wirz/Jean-Christophe Dupasquier
Edited by Sean Wirz
"Akasha: the all-embracing fifth element. It moves effortlessly on the shores of the world. It overcomes gravity, explores the deepest of waters and fuels with its power the eternal flame of life. Akasha knows no space, no time, no fixed form. This high-tension dance short offers the viewer a surreal encounter with the sovereign of earth, air, water and fire. Akasha is embodied by four different performers who move to the futuristic song Ants by Los Angeles based musician edIT. His quintessential electronic music contrasts heavily with the metaphysical theme of the film. The result is a vibrant and ephemeral glimpse into the powers of the universe."
Frame from AMA

AMA, 2018, France, 7 min

Directed by Julie Gautier
Produced by Spark Seeker, Les Films Engloutis
Choreography by Ophélie Longuet
Dancing by Julie Gautier
Music composed by Ezio Bosso
Cinematography by Jacques Ballard
Edited by Jérôme Lozano
The rain falls like so many tears on a young woman dressed in a little black dress. We dive into her eyes as we dive into her soul drowned by sorrow. At the bottom of the water, the woman, lying on the floor, gently up and begins to dance.
Frame from Letter

Letter, 2017, Slovenia, 4 min

Produced and Directed by zeljko bozic
Choreography by zeljko bozic
Featuring kazina
Dancing by ANA KATANE, ANDRAŽ GRULJA, ANISA KETE, EVA MRHAR, HANA HUČ, JAKOB HORVAT, KAJA ELSNER, NIKA FUGINA, NIKA ZUPANČIČ, NINA ZABUKOVNIK, MATIC DOLINAR, MILJAN NOJIĆ, PETRA STAMENKOVIĆ, ŽELJKO BOŽIĆ
Music by zeljko bozic
Cinematography by saso stih
Edited by zeljko bozic, nikola janusic
Director of Photography by saso stih
"Letter" deals with issues of self-esteem and self worth. These insecurities are dealt with daily but often left unspoken, since they are widely considered a weakness. The author reveals his own doubts to point out that we are in this together.
Frame from Women in Cities

Women in Cities, 2017, United States, 2 min

Choreography by Rosie Trump
Featuring Rosie Trump | With or Without Dance
Dancing by Christina Carter, Abrie Parrish, Shelby Wilburn
Music composed by Kosta T
Cinematography by Trisha French
Edited by Rosie Trump
Three women navigate internal and external pressures in this a short stop motion dance film which assembles over two thousand still images. Kinetic snapshots of twisting, hinging, and flinging are interrupted by micro-arrests generating a passive tension between the women. Referencing visual artist Robert Longo’s Men in Cities series, and manifesting the implied movement in its images.
Frame from Dear Good Son

Dear Good Son, 2017, Israel, 4 min

Directed by Or Meir Schraiebr, Omri Drumlevich
Produced by Achsheli Productions
Choreography by Or Schraiber & Mario Bermudez-Gil
Featuring Dancers from the Bat-Sheva Dance Company
Dancing by Or Schraiber, Mario Bermudez-Gil
Music composed by Danny Sanderson, Yonatan Daskal & Nimrod Bar.
Music performed by 'Kaveret', Yonatan Daskal and Nimrod Bar
Cinematography by Omri Drumlevich
Edited by Achsheli Productions
In a small house in an unknown forest sleeps a lonely lady, shut up in her room....
Frame from Groggy Grugg

Groggy Grugg, 2018, United States, 4 min

Produced and Directed by Conor C. Long
Choreography by Brianna Lopez
Featuring University of Utah Screendance
Dancing by Grugg
Music by William Cannon
Filmmaker: Conor C. Long
A claymation screendance short film about that terrible every day struggle to get out of bed for that first delicious cup of coffee.

Stopgap in Stop Motion, 2016, United Kingdom, 5 min

Produced and Directed by Stephen Featherstone
Choreography by Lucy Bennett
Featuring Stopgap Dance Company
Dancing by Amy Butler, Laura Jones, Nadenh Poan, Chris Pavia, Hannah Sampson, David Toole, David Willdridge, Tomos Young
Music by Dougie Evans
Filmmaker: Stephen Featherstone
Performers in disabled and non-disabled dance company "Stopgap" move in and out of photos and across tabletops until the whole company meet and perform in unison.
Frame from Variations on Breathing

Variations on Breathing, 2016, United States, 3 min

Directed by JeanCarlo Ramirez
Produced by YoungArts Foundation, JeanCarlo Ramirez, Pascal le Boeuf, Kate Vrijmoet
Choreography and dancing by Katy Short
Featuring YoungArts
Music by Pascal le Boeuf
Cinematography by JeanCarlo Ramirez
Edited by Connor Milligan
How can we embrace our true selves amid an ocean of false social constructs and unconscious biases? Borrowing from Vrijmoet’s “Non-Ordinary Reality” painting series and Le Boeuf's compositions for prepared piano, “Variations on Breathing” leads the viewer from the deep sleep of unknowing through a physical and moral struggle to free the self. Metaphors for transformation are explored through the lens of Ramirez's immersive maximalist cinematography, improvised movement, the shedding of aqueous skin, and the transition from full immersion in water to surfacing for air.
Frame from Moving Dallas

Moving Dallas, 2016, United Kingdom, 8 min

Directed by Jevan Chowdhury
Produced by Beau Ethridge
Choreography by Jevan Chowdhury
Featuring Bruce Wood Dance Company
Dancing by Kimi Nikaidoh, Bruce Wood Dance Project; Nycole Ray, Dallas Black Dance Theatre; Isaiah Adams, Disko Boogie, Olga Pavlova, Paula Ulery-Reynolds, Sarita Venkatraman, Alpana Jacob, Asaf Mor, Lone Star Circus, and more
Music composed by Kye Kye
Cinematography by Beau Ethridge
Edited by Jevan Chowdhury
Eighty dancers from the Lone Star star city juxtaposed with the glassy dream that is Dallas as it stands today.