Sans Souci / MSU Community Dance Film

Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema has been screening dance films for 22 years, and now we are making another film together – this time with dancers of the Metro State University (Denver) community!

Our Community Dance Film Project was created to engage Denver artists of many genres as well as non-artists to engage in civic dialogue and inspire our local community with all we have to offer. The choreography was crafted through a rigorous process based on deep questioning around social issues. The film was created by MSU Denver Dance Faculty members Nicole Predki, Jacob Mora, and Michelle Bernier and Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, in collaboration with Bruce Tetsuya (Denver’s House of Kodo), Brian O’Hara (Sociology & Anthropology), Vincent Piturro (English), and students from MSU Denver across 5 departments, with marketing support by Laurel Lane (Marketing) and funding support from Denver Arts & Venues through the DENVER CREATES Fund. Input from professors and students all these departments at MSU, shaped the creative decision making.

We found an incredible location in the heart of the city – The Archipelago – with views of some of Denver’s most iconic sites — Mile High Stadium, Elitch Gardens, Denver Aquarium, the city skyline, etc. — and asked dancers to perform both set choreography and improvised movement around themes of navigating identity, systems of oppression, and the value of arts in society. Emerging from these difficult but inspiring conversations, they reconnected with their own dancing bodies and brought their unique presence to the space, activating it with movement. We then paired the footage with a sound score by a music composition student, and crafted the edit with community feedback and dialogue with diverse community members.

• Cast: MSU Denver Repertory Ensemble dancers
• Director: Michelle Bernier
• Choreographer: Nicole Predki
• Choreographer: Jacob Mora
• Filmmaker: Bruce Tetsuya
• House of Kodo
• MSU Denver Faculty and Staff across several departments, including Anthropology & Sociology, English, Marketing, and Music

April 9, 2026
11am – reception with light snacks
11:30am – work-in-progress screening followed by a talkback with contributors

A work-in-progress showing and discussion of Necessary Sparks – a community-based dance film that explores the construction of identity and democracy through navigating everyday poetics and pressures, finding belonging at intersecting social systems, and embodying artifacts of personal and collective histories. The film is being created by MSU Denver Dance, produced by Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, in collaboration with House of Kodo, and faculty and students from MSU Denver across five departments. This project is supported by Denver Arts & Venues through the DENVER CREATES Fund, and audiences will watch the film, hear from its creators, and be invited to share their feedback on the future development of the film.

April 23, 2026 @ 10am

A selection of films from Sans Souci’s archives, curated with a focus on ingenuity, creativity, and variety in length, format, and intention – featuring the film Necessary Sparks in its revised form incorporating community feedback from the April 9 work-in-progress showing.

May 2, 2026
12pm – matinee show
5pm – evening show

The final cut of Necessary Sparks was exhibited at the Eugenia Rawls Theater before the show and during intermission at MSU Denver Dance‘s spring showcase.

This program is supported by Denver Arts & Venues through the DENVER CREATES Fund.