SSF @ Blue Sage: A Fresh Take

A collaborative dance film by students of the Paonia Experiential Learning Academy. It was created as part of a workshop facilitated by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Theatre & Dance Department graduate students, and filmed in Paonia, Colorado.

A future where color and creativity is banned. Everyone is expected to follow the patriarchal norms of wearing all black and not expressing one’s self. To resist the temptation to use their creativity, people have covered their ears, eyes, and mouths. They do this to prevent any creative expression of themselves. But what happens when one person breaks the mold?

This is choreography created by a 14 year old artist named Caleb Smith. In this piece he is chasing to be safe, and free from everything going on in his life.

This film was created by students of the Paonia Experiential Learning Academy. It was created as part of a workshop facilitated by the University of Colorado Boulder’s Theatre & Dance Department graduate students, and filmed in Paonia, Colorado.

Time itself is just an abstract concept, constructed in the midst of reality. This film was made to convey that sense of timelessness.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the streets of Amsterdam have changed, and so have the people. A group of international dance artists through a common movement task reflect the time of the pandemic – how has it affected them? A common experience but an individual interpretation. Each with their unique story, filmed individually, untouched. When so much has changed, how can we connect again?

In contact with the garment. In contact with the wind. The body in contact with another body? To dress a body. The wind catalyzing the movement where the body reacts to the garment. Body – garment. Body – wind. Body – body. The static results in movement. Between stability and the action of bodies, the movement is modified. Sometimes simultaneously. The skin’s color and texture is present in the steadiness, in the garment and in the space.

This film is from the everyday viewer’s perspective. It explores what it might be like to travel through the frames and screens, that otherwise keep a voyeur and his or her fanciful ideas and longing experiences at a distance and, instead, turn them into a real-life journey.

I heard once that hope is just a memory of the future. What a beautiful perspective on something that offers so much light throughout life. To challenge the normal flow of time and acknowledge that we somehow have already experienced the future shows us that the present moment will soon give way to what we hoped for. Our choice to follow a path that leads us to our biggest dreams is just retracing our steps. Memories of the future. How magnificent.

Female Jingle Dancers and Male Fancy Dancers offer a combined piece in honor and recognition of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (specifically amongst Native American and Alaskan Native women). “Ozhigaabawi” means “One Stands Ready.” As a group of indigenous dancers, we feel it is important that we not only represent the beauty of our communities, but also the realities of our people. It was important to me to create a work that empowers both our female and male dancers to show that they stand ready to make a change for the better. Traditionally, Jingle is a dance of healing and strength. Men’s Fancy is a dance of agility and strength. Our hope is that by putting them together, we offer strength and healing to those who have been harmed by sexual and physical violence–not just the individuals but also the families and communities at large.

Kismet offers windows into happenstance meetings in a surreal dancescape. Dancers flit through whimsical attempts to connect with each other and their expanding container. Kismet is intimately designed around three seminal works by artists Mike and Doug Starn.

Starting with a startle, a series of emotions are triggered that lead the interpreters to ask questions and seek answers to solve the crisis they experience. The work confronts us with the enigmatic nature of our subjectivities and with the forms through which we have organized our relationship with the world. Startle occurs between polarities, at the midpoint between them, and at the same time in the spectrum of possibilities between one thing and the other. Startle, is a collaboration of Danza Universitaria, IIARTE and the University of Guayaquil and is part of the Latin American Art Research Network.

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.

An abstracted film to contribute to the fight against racism. As an immigrant, I have experienced it first hand. This film showcases the beauty and richness of humanity. Nine cultures unite to make art. The dancers will tell you what brings humanity together. We must come together. This project was funded by the Utah Film Commission, Utah Division of Arts and Museums, and BYU Arts Partnership.