SSF @ Age Well Center 2024

Aïpeur Foundou is a Congolese dancer and choreographer. Amidst some popular areas of Brazzaville, he shows us one possible way to freedom.

Exhale starts in shock, when a traumatic event makes you aware of your vulnerability. Your reality has been affected. Can you trust your senses? Exhale evokes reflection, letting go of your anger and overcoming the feeling of powerlessness. And ultimately regaining confidence in your own instincts and body.

A young man, oppressed by the density of the city, decides to flee. He finds himself in a clear, calm space. He starts dancing, more and more intensely. Little by little, the sea will join the dance, sonically, accompanying his movements. After a crescendo ascent, close to trance, we will find him far away from urban buildings, in a clear, liberated aquatic setting.

A bored young woman helping her dad with chores finds she can’t keep from dancing, despite the risk of getting in trouble. When she finally gets caught, dance once again saves the day.

A portrait of star ballerina, Lauren Cuthbertson, returning to dance after having a baby.

Two hands lead the movement and poetry of a solo dancer contemplating life and loss.

Five people venture to a secret meadow tucked behind snow capped mountains to participate in a ritual of their own making. Together, they delight in dream logic and ceremonial uncanny through their mischievous traditions.

In the videodance Maracatu vs Passinho we invited a Passinho dancer and a Caboclo de Lança to present some of their expressions in a friendly duel.

Boy meets girl at a coffee shop, and the two are thrown into a mud wrestling ring to find a common path forward, while their best friends act as coaches.

This documentary blends the past of a dancer born and raised in the countryside of São Paulo-Brazil, and her present updated in the duets danced with her daughter, who is a dancer as well. The film transits between bucolic images of ruined landscapes and the stage, bringing a letter that is a familiar legacy, with instructions to dance the Russian choreography “The Dying Swan.”

Flooding. Soft stone shedding. Hard water, merging veins. Inside or outside. Bodies, connected. The earth, the stone, the air, the sea. Cold scream of burning lungs. Creating. Path bodies, planting bodies, growing bodies. Connected. Inside or Outside.

After successfully redefining Hong Kong Ballet’s brand last year, our goal this year — their 40th anniversary — was to establish Hong Kong Ballet as an institution of national prestige and reach new audiences with the Ballet’s vision. the people of Hong Kong needed to see themselves reflected in the Ballet. Our strategy led us to blend traditional and pop-culture colors, tutus and street clothes, Chinese opera-inspired and contemporary makeup, and a backdrop of iconic Hong Kong landmarks to celebrate the Ballet’s heritage and its spirit of innovation. Hong Kong Ballet, like the city itself, is “Never Standing Still.” The film went viral and earned more than 2 million views.

Moving With is a short film to capture a precious moment in time between mother and son and their local landscape. A celebration of simple things: being together, moving together, listening and watching all we have on our doorstep. It aims to document dance artist Lucy Nicholson and her son, Benji’s, regular journeys out and about in their local village of Staveley, Lake District, Cumbria. They pack a bag and walk to their favourite spots and ask themselves, noticing…what can we hear?….what can we see?…how shall we move?… Mother and son dance together, responding to the accompaniment of their natural surroundings with a backdrop of the beautiful national park. We acknowledge the power and grace in stillness, slowness, gentleness, calmness – without challenge, target or adrenaline we love, appreciate, participate and experience our wonderful world. Moving With acts as an alternative perspective on how we can be with our children in our natural spaces, on what outdoor activity can look like and how the appreciation of our natural world can be nurtured.

This short marries the people of Yerevan — the capital of Armenia and one of the world’s oldest continually inhabited cities — with the modern day metropolis. Created in public spaces in 3 days and 3 nights.

Six unseen fathers come to life through their dances as imitated and reflected on by their daughters.

The Air Before Me is a short dance film that connects ethereal space and light with human agency in a continual affirmation of the present’s power.

A dancer is shot from 16 camera angles and edited at a disturbing rate. And then suddenly, nothing happens. Intrigued? Watch on.

Gabriel Schmitz, a German artist deeply fascinated by dance and movement, is joined by three dancers in a series of performances in an ancient Venetian palace, during which art and movement intersect to create new meanings.

Arthur Grimes was born and raised in the Appalachian mountains, and is the only professionally working African-American buck dancer in Boone, North Carolina. In this short documentary, Arthur recounts his dance journey from eager youth to professional master, gives us a glimpse into his performance experience, and demonstrates his deep love for Appalachian music, dance and history.

A dancer in a poetic, kinetic dialogue with an equine partner (filmed in Elizabeth, CO).

A claymation screendance short film about that terrible every day struggle to get out of bed for that first delicious cup of coffee.

An intimate view at an intergenerational family living in one of the largest cities in the world. Filmed on location in Mexico City.

The story of Pascal Molat dancing, as told by Matisse Molat, age 5.

A witty and whimsical meditation on free will, identity and the afterlife. A narrative made through the collision of unlikely elements: dance, digital code, Franz Liszt, and playful echoes across the history of onscreen physical storytelling, paying homage to films like “Modern Times” and “The Red Shoes.” A man in white-winged angel shoes is awakened, then multiplied and manipulated through all the dimensions of infinite black, finally to be returned to his original form and spat out onto the junk heap of history.

A movement exploration on a rooftop set to the backdrop of sunset and city lights.

When a homeless violinist desperate to get to her destination is confronted by a train inspector, she fantasizes that she’s part of an old Hollywood musical alongside the passengers that ignore her.

Offering creates a meaningful convergence between the Migration Dance Film Project’s body percussion artists and emerging artists from dance (gigue, contemporary, street) and circus arts. The choreography uses the power of procession in Montreal’s urban borough of Little Burgundy to amplify its storyline of (re)imagined homescape in the era of mid-pandemic. The procession formed by movement artists from across communities weaves its way through urban corridors, neighbourhoods, green spaces — an uncoiled assemblage of nomadic storytellers anchored in the intimate knowledge of individual and shared experiences in unison. Offering imbues movement in stillness within our city and takes refuge in its powerful migratory patterns traced across our urbanscape.

With all our natural, human desire to “fly” in all that metaphoric glory, it can be a mystery where and how we can access our wings to do so. Imagine your wings now (whether visible or not) and how it might feel to unfurl them, maybe as you squeeze your shoulder blades together. Where do the wings seem to come from? Is it the shoulder blade itself? Or is it maybe deeper within?

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.

The choreography and natural movement of twelve physically and neuro-diverse dancers, ages eight to seventy-four, blooms, flys, and flows on a journey through the Idaho Botanical Garden. This heartwarming story unfolds with poetic descriptions that create an accessible experience for all viewers, including those who are blind.

Alternative interpretations of signage from America’s favorite generic couple, The Icons.

Above the waves, beneath the sky, against the rock. Moving against a staggering vertical cliff face, suspended above wild crashing ocean, two artists dance with the roaring wind and each-other in a celebration of human connection, our experience of nature and the vast wilderness that is the Wilyabrup sea cliffs. A choreographed performance of two bodies in gravity-defying motion tethered to the rockface, this vertical dance frames the artform against truly wild nature that shows the beauty, fragility and resilience of the human body and the environment. Filmed on Wadandi land in the south west of Western Australia.

The connection between six children and nature is explored through improvised dance and movement, showcasing the unique perspective of children as they interact with nature through play. Through the eyes of these young adventurers, we rediscover the world and how to cherish and comprehend our environment. In a landscape where the authentic voices of children often play second fiddle to adult interpretations, Birds is a revelation. Here, children are not just passive actors but potent co-creators, channeling their unfiltered creativity and depth. Join us on this poetic journey to rediscover our lost connections, one where the chirps, rustles, and dances speak louder than words. Over six transformative months, a class of third graders, alongside five dedicated artists, delved into a multidisciplinary art experiment. Their mission? To explore, understand, and articulate the rhythm and essence of their local woodland and birdlife. Under guidance of director Liv Runesdatter, this journey flourished into stunning installations, music, dance, and prose, all mirroring the nuanced language, movement, and habitats of the birds. The film climaxes as their artistic endeavours converge with the forest, the source of their inspiration. The deliberate choice of not including dialogue not only enhances its universal appeal but also amplifies the potent message it carries. Through the children’s profound interactions, we’re confronted with the urgent need to revisit our relationship with nature. In a world burdened by its own excesses, their vivid and authentic expressions might just hold the key to unlocking a dormant connection we once treasured. Can their instinctual wisdom remind us of truths we’ve forgotten?

A pianist’s fantasy. Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece interpreted as a b-boy round.

A short which features Michael Wolfe who identifies as “a black, queer performance artist with autism” offers insight into his daily life and inner world through movement, text, and song.

Lift Off is a caption of play and joy of five merging female aerial dancers doing what they love: dancing in the air. Despite of their aging bodies they have released themselves from what they are expected to be able to do with their minds and bodies. It is a revolution on movement!

Going Down is a whimsical dance film set in the 80’s that follows the story of a lonely office clerk who spins a wild fantasy upon a chance encounter in an elevator.

80-year-old Sanna lives alone with her memories and houseplants. One day Sanna sees an event from her window that makes her reminisce about her friends and notice her own loneliness.

The worth of a dancer’s career is often measured by the time spent in the limelight. Yet a dancer’s experience of their career extends beyond the stage. Joan reveals unspoken values that are often difficult to articulate and easy to forget, creating a unique living archive of untold stories. This film-animation is a poetic portrait of dance artist and pioneer Joan Davis. Directed by Laura Murphy, Joan is part of an innovative series of multimedia films focused on 8 women in dance in Ireland called This Is It. “Dancers have notoriously short careers. The dance artist and director Laura Murphy graciously offers greater longevity by noting them in this film. A collection of multimedia portraits, this welcome exploration challenges notions of what we view as success” – The Irish Times

Today a heroin addict wakes up to face another day of slavery to his addiction. Far from the sunny beaches of the Seychelles he begs in a laneway at the bus station. The Moutya was a secret dance that the slaves in Seychelles danced. Today there is a new slavery in Seychelles, Lapoud…heroin. Here in Moutya Lapoud is another secret dance.

The founders of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, and those that contributed to its evolution, look back at what was, and what is to come. Celebrating the 60th anniversary this year, the company’s mission of “Dance is for Everybody” remains core to its creative spirit and its commitment to outreach and education. Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company is an American contemporary dance company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, founded in 1964. Ririe-Woodbury strives to raise the standards, deepen the understanding and promote personal connections with dance.

RadioBody is a collaboration with composer Mike Lauer exploring the jazz sensibilities and human toil and triumph embedded in the work of pioneering alt-electronic band Radiohead.

As our lives get mutated by different lands and cityscapes, what stays persistent? How do body memories get recycled / shared and where does the body-as-archive is practised to become a refuge to root ourselves during a migratory experience? The last film of the MDFP series draws from the corporeal memories of 10 dancers-singers who are engaged in a “movement through journeying process” of converging individual practices in a nomadic and rhythmic chorus of togetherness and home seeking/finding.

The best things happen while you’re dancing! The holidays celebrated through music and dance!