CreateART Dance Films - September Edition

CreateART's Dance Film Nights offer a space to view recent dance films and get to know their makers, featuring monthly screenings all summer of dance films followed by a Q&A with the makers. This season we will be hosted by Millennium Film Workshop in Bushwick and will be donation based (suggested donation $10).   

This month's edition was curated by special guest curator Jessica Ray.

FEATURED FILMS

Sydnie L. Mosley Dances Presents: Spotlight in PURPLE: “Moon Journey”

PURPLE is a multi-project universe developed by SLMDances that illuminates the power of “deep sisterhood for social change” through storytelling and movement. This sisterhood is how we thrive: we invest in one another, we honor and celebrate each other's brilliance, and we hold ourselves accountable to experiencing radical joy. This film responds to the questions, ”What does PURPLE smell like? What does PURPLE feel like?” – while soaking in a steaming tub full of lavender. The viewer gazes upon the tub through a constellation of lavender flowers in a secret garden. Directed by Orion Gordon and Veleda Roehl. Executive Producer: Sydnie L. Mosley Dances.

MUTED LOWS

MUTED LOWS reflects on the sudden lack of conversation and physical interactions in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. The work uses contemporary floorwork to lament the loss of feeling “socially exhausted” and to attempt to fight against the sensation of isolation that hangs over our everyday lives. Choreography by Cameron McKinney, filmed and edited by Cayla Mae Simpson with performance by Rohan Bhargava.

Together, One Time

NYC’s Banji Twerk Team dances to a remix of Marlena Shaw's "Woman of the Ghetto" in a seamless one-take performance directed by Casey Brooks. Inspired by the Womanist theory put forth by Alice Walker, our film aims to unite every woman with the feminist movement at the intersection of race, class, and gender oppression. We aspire to honor all the women who strive for inclusion and equality - starting with the Black woman. The violence directed at Asian women in the latest act of domestic terrorism in the US has broken our hearts and motivated us to respond, together with one voice. Now is the time to stand up. It is everyone vs. racists. #BlackLivesMatter #StopAsianHate.

Chiron in Leo

This is the tale of Chiron, a dancer whose bout with depression and anxiety summons them back to their childhood wounds to remember a lesson about survival. Chiron in Leo’s tale is inspired by the Greek myth and astrological significations of Chiron, the wounded healer. Directed, choreographed and performed by J. Bouey.

ABOUT JESSICA RAY

Jessica Ray is an interdisciplinary artist that focuses on dance, choreography, filmmaking and visual mixed media work residing in Brooklyn, NY. Her artistic work seeks to use movement as a means to create a sense of community and connection, and she uses dance as a form of communal therapy to create culturally relevant works currently focused on religious trauma awareness and recovery.

By utilizing the camera in her art practice, she aims to create impactful multi-dimensional experiences, as filmmaker and video editor specializing in live performance, her work with Nel Shelby Productions launched her career in the industry, where she has worked widely with dance institutions and independent artists including Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York Live Arts, Kayla Hamilton, Zavé Martohardjono, J. Bouey, Marie Casimir, Celia Bambara, and many more.

Her choreographic project work, Dance into Deliverance, has been performed in numerous festivals and events throughout the East Coast, including Dixon Place, WAXWORKS, and Judson Church. Her dance films have screened in festivals across the U.S. and internationally, notably with the Dance On Camera Festival at Lincoln Center #mydancefilm program. As a dancer, Jessica has performed works by Marie Casimir, Mariangela Lopez, Sydnie L. Mosely, Charles Wideman, Amy Smith, Tawanda Chabikwa and Christopher Huggins.

 CreateART Dance Film Night 

Tuesday, September 12, 2023 7:30 PM EST 

MILLENNIUM FILM WORKSHOP 167 Wilson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11237