Green Room New York

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Screenshot from Swan Song 52nd Dance On Camera Festival is Feb 9-12 (released Tuesday, February 6, 2024) By Kimberly Burke The 52nd Dance on Camera Festival lineup has been announced. Taking place February 9-12, 2024, the four-day festival will feature 11 programs with a total of 36 films selected from around the globe. Dance on Camera is longest-running dance film festival in the world. All of the films screen at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Francesca Beale Theater (FBT) or Amphitheater (AMP) at 144 West 65th Street. The festival opens with Chelsea McMullan's cinéma vérité-driven feature documentary, Swan Song. Executive produced by Neve Campbell, the film immerses viewers in the National Ballet of Canada’s 2022 production of Swan Lake, which is being directed for the first time by the company's artistic director and iconic ballerina, Karen Kain, on the eve of her retirement. "I'm honored to have Swan Song presented at the opening night of the longest-running dance film festival's 52nd year," says McMullan. "The festival is a testament to the universal allure of this enduring art form and the work of dance innovators, such as Kain. I’m excited to bring my documentary feature to dance film enthusiasts of New York." A Q&A with filmmakers will take place immediately following the screening. The series of short- and feature-length narrative and documentary films also aims to spotlight the interplay between dance, technology, and filmmaking techniques, while also including a more playful theme that runs in many of the projects. Additionally, Ten Times Better includes a partnership screening with the New York Public Library. "For this year's festival, it was imperative to the curation team to include visually striking films, such as Violent Textures of Nature by Matthew Strasburger, which draws on intriguing color techniques, skewed environments and their inhabitants, and a trancelike sound score," noted Dance On Camera president and festival co-curator Shawn Bible. "This year, we included more humor dispersed throughout the programs that can be found in films like At the Bathhouse, by Emmy Award-winning director, choreographer, and educator Al Blackstone, whose credits also include choreography for So You Think You Can Dance." The Dance on Camera Festival will close with the documentary feature Obsessed with Light from filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum. The film unfolds the work and astonishing influence of early-20th-century performer Loïe Fuller, whose dance and theatrical lighting techniques have inspired the work of contemporary luminaries such as Taylor Swift, Shakira, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bill T. Jones, among others. Co-curator Cara Hagan noted, "We are thrilled to close the festival with a celebration of dance trailblazer Löie Fuller. Obsessed with Light encapsulates the goals we put forth to honor how innovators of the past have shaped the art we enjoy today and how they continue to inspire artists of the future, creating a seamless connection between the elegance of classical forms and the dynamic energy of modern creativity." Tuesday, February 11 at 4:45pm as part of the festival’s free public programming, the interactive competition #mydancefilm returns to the 2024 festival . Additional details about this programming can be found at dancefilms.org.

Screenshot from Swan Song

52nd Dance On Camera Festival is Feb 9-12
(released Tuesday, February 6, 2024)
By Kimberly Burke

The 52nd Dance on Camera Festival lineup has been announced. Taking place February 9-12, 2024, the four-day festival will feature 11 programs with a total of 36 films selected from around the globe. Dance on Camera is longest-running dance film festival in the world. All of the films screen at the Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center Francesca Beale Theater (FBT) or Amphitheater (AMP) at 144 West 65th Street.

The festival opens with Chelsea McMullan's cinéma vérité-driven feature documentary, Swan Song. Executive produced by Neve Campbell, the film immerses viewers in the National Ballet of Canada’s 2022 production of Swan Lake, which is being directed for the first time by the company's artistic director and iconic ballerina, Karen Kain, on the eve of her retirement. "I'm honored to have Swan Song presented at the opening night of the longest-running dance film festival's 52nd year," says McMullan. "The festival is a testament to the universal allure of this enduring art form and the work of dance innovators, such as Kain. I’m excited to bring my documentary feature to dance film enthusiasts of New York." A Q&A with filmmakers will take place immediately following the screening.

The series of short- and feature-length narrative and documentary films also aims to spotlight the interplay between dance, technology, and filmmaking techniques, while also including a more playful theme that runs in many of the projects. Additionally, Ten Times Better includes a partnership screening with the New York Public Library. "For this year's festival, it was imperative to the curation team to include visually striking films, such as Violent Textures of Nature by Matthew Strasburger, which draws on intriguing color techniques, skewed environments and their inhabitants, and a trancelike sound score," noted Dance On Camera president and festival co-curator Shawn Bible. "This year, we included more humor dispersed throughout the programs that can be found in films like At the Bathhouse, by Emmy Award-winning director, choreographer, and educator Al Blackstone, whose credits also include choreography for So You Think You Can Dance."

The Dance on Camera Festival will close with the documentary feature Obsessed with Light from filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum. The film unfolds the work and astonishing influence of early-20th-century performer Loïe Fuller, whose dance and theatrical lighting techniques have inspired the work of contemporary luminaries such as Taylor Swift, Shakira, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bill T. Jones, among others. Co-curator Cara Hagan noted, "We are thrilled to close the festival with a celebration of dance trailblazer Löie Fuller. Obsessed with Light encapsulates the goals we put forth to honor how innovators of the past have shaped the art we enjoy today and how they continue to inspire artists of the future, creating a seamless connection between the elegance of classical forms and the dynamic energy of modern creativity."

Tuesday, February 11 at 4:45pm as part of the festival’s free public programming, the interactive competition #mydancefilm returns to the 2024 festival . Additional details about this programming can be found at dancefilms.org.