39 TH ANNUAL DANCE ON CAMERA FESTIVAL

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1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FILM SOCIETY OF LINCOLN CENTER AND DANCE FILMS ASSOCIATION ANNOUNCE 39 TH ANNUAL DANCE ON CAMERA FESTIVAL WORLD PREMIERES INCLUDE A NEW DANCE FOR AMERICA AND CLAUDE BESSY; LIGNES D UNE VIE BÖDÄLÄ DANCE THE RHYTHM, DANCING CHAPLIN AND FLAMENCO FLAMENCO MAKE U.S. DEBUTS DANCE LEGENDS CARLOS SAURA AND CLAUDE BESSY LEAD IMPRESSIVE ARRAY OF FILMMAKERS AND DANCE LEGENDS SET TO MAKE APPEARANCES NEW YORK December 7, 2010 The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Dance Films Association announced the schedule today for the 39 th Dance on Camera Festival (January 28-February 1). Returning to the Film Society of Lincoln Center s Walter Reade Theater for the 15 th consecutive year, the program offers an adventurous exploration of dance and film and the ways in which the two mediums engage, highlighted by the appearances of several of the films directors, choreographers and dancers.

2 This year s festival defies expectations of traditional dance genres. Irish step dancing in the grass, teenagers exploring the work of lyrical/radical Pina Bausch, B-girls featured instead of the customary profiling of B-boys, a gorgeous look at what some might describe as a cooler brand of flamenco and a mindbending adaptation of Bach s St. Matthew Passion by the famed Belgian dance company Les ballets C de la B are just a few of the thrilling surprises within the program this year. Making its world premiere is the Opening Night presentation of Fabrice Herrault s CLAUDE BESSY; LIGNES D UNE VIE (TRACES OF A LIFE). The documentary profiles the French ballerina and ballet school director who was described as the Golden Silhouette by Serge Lifar. Bessy was an admired étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet and ran its prestigious school for decades. She created leading roles in several notable works, including Lifar s Snow White and Noces fantastiques. Bessy also made television appearances and films, most famously as Gene Kelly s partner in his INVITATION TO THE DANCE. Narrated by Bessy, the film features rare vintage classroom and performance footage of the dancer in her prime, including works by Kelly, Serge Lifar, and Maurice Bejart. The film s Opening Night screening is sponsored by American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet/Eugenia Delarova Doll Fund. Screening with CLAUDE BESSY; LIGNES D UNE VIE (TRACES OF A LIFE) will be an excerpt from Nicolas Ribowski s LES REFLETS DE LA DANSE (Reflections of the dance) (1979). The film shows Paris Opera Ballet School classes featuring former students of Claude Bessy, including Sylvie Guillem and Laurent Hilaire. Both films will screen Friday, January 28 at 6:00pm, and Saturday, January 29 at 4:00pm. Both Herrault and Bessy will attend and participate in Q&As following each screening. Also slated to make its world premiere is Ina Hahn s A NEW DANCE FOR AMERICA: THE CHOREOGRAPHY, TEACHINGS AND LEGACY OF DORIS HUMPHREY. The documentary explores the life and works of Doris Humphrey, a seminal figure in modern dance. Humphrey was a pioneer of the uniquely American art form who, along with others, changed the way dancers move. A prolific choreographer, many of her dances have long been considered masterpieces and her book, Making Dances, is arguably the most widely read book on choreography one that is still taught in dance departments in colleges and universities. A NEW DANCE FOR AMERICA screens earlier in the day on Friday, January 28 at 1:30pm and again Tuesday, February 1 at 6:00pm. Hahn, as well as Humphrey s son Charles Woodford will attend and participate in a Q&A after both screenings. A short film making its world premiere is Rokafella s and Kwikstep s ALL THE LADIES SAY which offers a rare showcase of female break-dancers like Vendetta, Severe, Lady Champ, Aiko Shirakawa, Baby Love and Rokafella. Director and featured break dancer, Rokafella is slated to attend the festival.

3 Three feature films will make their U.S. premieres at the Dance On Camera Festival: Gitta Gsell s BÖDÄLÄ DANCE THE RHYTHM, Masayuki Suo s DANCING CHAPLIN and Carlos Saura s FLAMENCO FLAMENCO. Gsell s BÖDÄLÄ DANCE THE RHYTHM looks at the Swiss rhythm tradition that incorporates tap dance, flamenco and Irish dance. The film highlights (and to the uninitiated, may introduce them to) the entertaining personalities of the dancers as they use traditional dance forms and re-imagine and re-invent them to create innovative and exciting new styles and works. The film screens Monday, January 31 at 6:00pm and Tuesday, February 1 at 4:00pm. Gsell will attend and participate in a Q&A at both screenings. Suo s DANCING CHAPLIN is a combination documentary/performance film which follows the process to adapt, mount, and ultimately perform an updated take on French choreographer Roland Petit s Chaplin Dances ballet based on Chaplin s Little Tramp character. Choreographed by Italian ballet star Luigi Bonino and featuring Suo s wife, Tamiyo Kusakari, the film offers an insiders glimpse into the creative struggle between Petit and Suo to stage and embrace the effort to breathe new life into the work. DANCING CHAPLIN screens at Friday, January 28 at 7:45pm and Saturday, January 29 at 1:30pm. Saura s FLAMENCO FLAMENCO utilizes startling camera work by Academy Award-winner Vittorio Storaro to focus on electric performances by flamenco guitarists Paco de Lucía, Manolo Sanlúcar, Tomatito and José Mercé, singer Estrella Morente, dancers Sara Baras, Israel Galván, Rocio Molina, Eva Yerbabuena, Farruquito and Niña Pastori. The film screens Saturday, January 29 at 8:00pm and January 30 at 3:30pm. Saura will attend both screenings and participate in a Q&A following both screenings. Daniel Belton s playful melding of graphics and dance, PORTRAIT OF AN ACROBAT will also make its U.S. premiere at the festival. The Closing Night screening on Tuesday, February 1 of Anne Linsel s & Rainer Hoffman s DANCING DREAMS (with Linsel in attendance) will also feature the announcement of the 2011 Dance On Camera Festival Jury Prize Winner, followed by a reception after the film in the Frieda and Roy Furman Gallery cosponsored by New York Women in Film and Television. The program this year is a high voltage mix of cultural trends with films that often defy ones' genre expectations," said Joanna Ney, co-producer of Dance on Camera Festival. "Choreographers and filmmakers illuminate vanishing arts or jump into untested territory with relish," from the Armenian" The Last Tightrope Dancer" to the groundbreaking U.S "All the Ladies Say" about female break

4 dancers. Beloved choreographers such as Doris Humphrey also hold sway, and for ballet lovers, there is a grande pirouette or two by the legendary ballerina Claude Bessy." Echoing those thoughts, Deirdre Towers, Dance Films Association Artistic Director and co-producer of the Dance on Camera festival said, This Festival demonstrates the importance of dance, not only as a language, but as a sensibility, as a means to express something rarely captured in print, in narrative films, or in daily life. This year, the filmmakers seem intent on scrambling up any preconceived notions you may have of dance or for what affect a film might provoke. Richard Pena, Film Society of Lincoln Center Program Director agreed, adding Film is in many ways the natural bridge between all the arts at Lincoln Center, and "Dance on Camera" has become an invaluable guide to the rich dialog between contemporary media and dance in all it permutations. The 2011 Dance On Camera Festival Jury includes: David Michalek, photographer and producer of SLOW DANCING (2009); Tanja Meding, producer of FLYING LESSON (The 2009 Dance on Camera Festival Winner); Laura Taler, Canadian producer and filmmaker; Rhoda Grauer, formerly a PBS producer with WNET. Tickets will be on sale both at the box office and on-line after January 14, Discounts are available for DFA and Film Society members. Read more about The Film Society of Lincoln Center. Official Selections - Features A NEW DANCE FOR AMERICA: The Choreography, Teachings and Legacy of Doris Humphrey Director: Ina Hahn Country: USA Running time: 79 mins. Gifted with a wide-ranging mind, modern dance pioneer Doris Humphrey created distinctly American dances and wrote an indispensable book on choreography, The Art of Making Dances. This documentary offers vintage archival footage and essential biographical material. Friday, January 28 at 1:30pm Tuesday, February 1 at 6:00pm BÖDÄLÄ Dance The Rhythm Director: Gitta Gsell Country: Switzerland Running time: 78 mins.

5 A journey through tap dance, flamenco and Irish dance, Bodala is a film about people whose feet are their most powerful instrument of artistic expression. Bodala is a Swiss rhythm tradition, and this witty film and its dance practitioners take various traditional dance forms and re-imagine and re-invent them to suit their desires, in interiors and exteriors of exceptional beauty. Monday, January 31 at 6:00pm Tuesday, February 1 at 4:00pm CLAUDE BESSY; LIGNES D UNE VIE (Traces of a Life) Director: Fabrice Herrault Country: USA Running time: 52 mins. Described as the Golden Silhouette by Serge Lifar, French ballerina Claude Bessy was an admired étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet and ran its prestigious school for decades. Americans know her as Gene Kelly s partner in his Invitation to the Dance. Herrault s intimate documentary, narrated by his subject, features rare vintage classroom and performance footage of the dancer in her prime, including works by Kelly, Serge Lifar, and Maurice Bejart. The film will be screened with an excerpt from: LES REFLETS DE LA DANSE (Reflections of the dance) (1979) Director: Nicolas Ribowski Country: France Running time: 33 mins. Paris Opera Ballet School classes featuring former students of Claude Bessy, including Sylvie Guillem and Laurent Hilaire. Friday, January 28 at 6:00pm Saturday, January 29 at 4:00pm DANCING CHAPLIN Director: Masayuki Suo Country: Japan Running time: 131 mins. Tamiyo Kusakari co-stars with dancer Luigi Bonino in a screen adaptation of Roland Petit s 1991 ballet Chaplin Dances made for the Ballet National de Marseille. This film covers the intricate trials and tribulations of a challenging three-way collaboration, culminating in the filmed performance of the ballet, inspired by Chaplin s classic films. Friday, January 28 at 7:45pm Saturday, January 29 at 1:30pm DANCING DREAMS (Tanz Traume) (2009) Directors: Anne Linsel & Rainer Hoffman Country: Germany Running time: 89 mins. One of Pina Bausch s final projects was Kontakthof, made in 2008 when she

6 selected 40 teenagers to be part of her dance. For ten months through opening night, filmmaker Anne Linsel, a longtime Bausch collaborator, followed the young dancers in the process of probing Bausch s mysterious aura and finding their new selves within its radiance. Sunday, January 30 at 8:00pm Tuesday, February 1 at 8:00pm FLAMENCO FLAMENCO Director: Carlos Saura Country: Spain Running time: 90 mins. A thrilling performance by the flamenco guitarists Paco de Lucía, Manolo Sanlúcar, Tomatito and José Mercé, joined by singer Estrella Morente, dancers Sara Baras, Israel Galván, Rocío Molina, Eva Yerbabuena, Farruquito and Niña Pastori. With exquisite cinematography by the great Vittorio Storaro, under the direction of Spain s foremost interpreter of the dance. Saturday January 29 at 8:00pm Sunday, January 30 at 3:30pm THE LAST TIGHTROPE DANCER in ARMENIA (2009) Directors: Inna Sahakyan, Arman Yeritsyan Country: Armenia Running time: 55 mins. Two septuagenarians, the most celebrated tightrope dancers in Armenia, share the same dream that their only remaining student will keep their daring heritage alive. An elegy to a vanishing art form. PASSION: LAST STOP KINSHASA Directors: Joerg Jeshel & Brigitte Kramer Country: Germany Running time: 90 mins. The famed Belgian dance company Les ballets C de la B brought their dance opera Pitié! to the Congo, with Kinshasa as the final stop on their tour. The film has a score by Fabrizio Cassol, a contemporary adaptation of Bach s St. Matthew s Passion, choreographed by teacher/philosopher and mind-bender Alain Platel. A dazzling cross-cultural encounter that explores faith, ritual, and the human condition. Monday, January 31 at 8:00pm Tuesday, February 1 at 1:30pm SHALL WE DANCE? (1997) Director: Masayuki Suo, Country: Japan

7 Running time: 119 mins. A successful but unhappy Japanese accountant finds the missing passion in his life when he discovers the secret pleasures of ballroom dance with a beautiful dance instructor played by Tamiyo Kusakari (the director s wife). An enormous hit of New Directors/New Films, the film went on to win critical and public praise. Friday, January 28 at 3:30pm Monday January 31 at 1:30pm Official Selections Shorts and Featurettes ALL THE LADIES SAY Directors: Rokafella & Kwikstep Country: USA Running time: 45 mins. Everyone knows about the men in hip hop but this documentary showcases the female break-dancers, Vendetta, Severe, Lady Champ, Aiko Shirakawa, Baby Love, and Rokafella, illuminating the triumphs and challenges of Hip-hop Culture. A smart and exciting exploration of the B-Girl phenomenon in the U.S. Sunday, January 30 at 6:00pm Monday, January 31 at 4:00pm ASE Director: Nicola Brooks Country: Canada Running time: 6 mins. A celebration of the lives of African slaves in the Caribbean who managed to preserve their religious worship rituals. Created with the support of Bravo!FACT. BOW Director: Rannva Justinussen Director: USA Running time: 3:57 mins. Five artists from the UK, Belgium, Fare Island/Denmark, China, and Malaysia participated in a cross cultural exchange project motivated by notions of bowing; metaphorically, culturally and physically. The shadows, light and repetition in this short attempt to capture the birthing of movement ideas about folding and origami, rhythmic patterns and ritual during the studio process. BOX Director: Ivan Rubio Country: Canada

8 Running time: 5:25 mins. Two women resist/concede control in an action arena. Performed by Andrea Legg and Melina Stinson, choreographed by Gabrielle Martin. Sunday, January 30 at 6:00pm Monday, January 31 at 4:00pm EBONY GODDESS: Queen of Ilê Aiyê (2009) Director: Carolina Moraes-Liu Country: Bahia Running time: 24 mins. Three women compete to be the carnival queen of Ilê Aiyê. The selection is based on Afro-centric notions of beauty, in counterpoint to prevailing standards of beauty in Brazil. Contestants dress in flowing African-style garments and perform traditional Afro-Brazilian dances and songs. Sunday, January 30 at 6:00pm Monday, January 31 at 4:00pm HOOP Director: Marites Carino Country: Canada Running time: 3:50 mins. Everyone carries a hula-hooping memory. In Hoop, the viewer s perspective of the childhood toy shifts when the floor is pulled away. ON THE SOUND (1963) Director: Fred Baker Country: USA Running time: 8:30 mins. Three celebrated Martha Graham dancers Donald McKayle, Mary Hinkson and Matt Turney took dance into the woods and onto the beach in this romp to the jazzy Gryce suite titled The Rat Race. Friday, January 28 at 1:30pm Tuesday, February 1 at 6:00pm PORTRAIT OF AN ACROBAT Director: Daniel Belton Country: New Zealand Running time: 7 mins. One of seven segments in a film called Line Dances, this witty play on graphics mesmerizes as it develops textures within space.

9 THERE IS A PLACE Directors: Katrina McPherson and Simon Fildes Country: UK Running time: 7 mins. Soloist Sang Jijia, a stunning ethnic Tibetan born in Gansu, studied choreography under William Forsythe and became the Resident Artist of Beijing Dance and Guangdong Modern Dance Company in UNSUNG (2008) Director: Morleigh Steinberg Country: Ireland Running time: 5:51 mins. A pub session in Ireland, an unexpected guest, and the beauty of a Sean Nos song bring magic to an otherwise ordinary night out. Monday, January 31 at 6:00pm Tuesday, February 1 at 4:00pm For Media specific inquiries, please contact: John Wildman, (212) , jswildman@hotmail.com Seth Hyman, (212) , shyman@filmlinc.com Press releases and hi-res images may be downloaded from: Password: press2 Screenings will be held at Film Society of Lincoln Center's Walter Reade Theater, located at 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway. About the Film Society of Lincoln Center The Film Society of Lincoln Center was founded in 1969 to celebrate American and international cinema, to recognize and support new directors, and to enhance the awareness, accessibility and understanding of film. Advancing this mandate today, the Film Society hosts two distinguished festivals. The New York Film Festival annually premieres films from around the world and has introduced the likes of François Truffaut, R.W. Fassbinder, Jean-Luc Godard, Pedro Almodóvar, Martin Scorsese, and Wong Kar-Wai to the United States. New Directors/New Films, co-presented by the Museum of Modern Art, focuses on emerging film talents. Since 1972, when the Film Society honored Charles

10 Chaplin, its annual Gala Tribute celebrates an actor or filmmaker who has helped distinguish cinema as an art form. Additionally, the Film Society presents a yearround calendar of programming at its Walter Reade Theater and offers insightful film writing to a worldwide audience through Film Comment magazine. For more information, visit: The Film Society receives generous, year-round support from 42BELOW, Audi, American Airlines, GRAFF, The New York Times, Stella Artois, The New York State Council on the Arts, and The National Endowment for the Arts. About Dance Films Association Dance Films Association (DFA) is dedicated to furthering the art of dance film. Connecting artists and organizations, fostering new works for new audiences, and sharing essential resources, DFA seeks to be a catalyst for innovation in and preservation of dance on camera. DFA was founded by Susan Braun in 1956 as a clearinghouse for the distribution of films on dance, from experimental work to instructional videos and documentaries. She initiated in 1971 the Dance on Camera Festival which has acquired 114 international touring partners in the last 10 years. The festival and its tour is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Experimental Television Center and American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet/Eugenia Delarova Doll Fund. Visit