Vanier foundedthe program to expose his student dancers and Milwaukee audiences to exciting new dancework by small modern companies from around the world that they would not seeotherwise. His second important goal is to encourage dance artists to join thedigital revolution, to expose their bodies and their work to film, to recognizethat dance is already viewed online more than in the physical world, and to askquestions about, say, how to make a dance with integrity for viewing on a cellphone screen. Originating artists today, he believes, can envision their workin terms of these technologies and develop sensitivity to the tools andpossibilities of filmed dance. He dreams of what dance artists could achieve onfilm with a Hollywood budget. Meanwhile, hepoints cash-strapped artists to the possibilities offered by YouTube, aninexpensive camera and the free services of any library.
Seven of the films in ScreenDance come courtesyof the Dance Films Association (DFA), which has been collecting, showcasing andpreserving dance films and videos since 1956. Founded by Susan Braun of Jacob’sPillow Dance Festival, with charter members Ted Shawn and Jose Limon, the DFAshares Vanier’svision of our “time of extraordinary transformation” in the way dance isviewed. Award-winning works from Canada,The Netherlands, Britain andthe United Stateswill be shown.
Two works by Milwaukee artists were selected forpresentation: Inside Out (2010) by Alex Sheehan with choreographerSimone Ferro and dancers Andrew Zanoni and Lauren Hafner Addison; and ResidualMoment (2010) by Liz Zastrow, which combines filmed and live danceperformed by the filmmaker to examine the contrast between present experienceand one’s digitally recorded memory of it.
In case of rain, the show will move indoors to theDanceworks Studio. Patrons are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
Tickets: $10. Call (414) 277-8480 or visitwww.danceworksmke.org.
