3500+ Films - 2.5 million words – 1 million viewers! Founder and Curator Carmela selects our most entertaining, powerful and inspiring films about Dancers at We Are Moving Stories. These include feature length and short fiction and documentary about crisis, young people, place, music video, ritual, drama - and diversity.
Total length of this section: 29 films.
<CRISIS>
Burden Halved - Four dancers, each bearing their own burden, find comfort when their isolated experiences converge in a lush, emotionally intense exchange. Length: 8 minutes 34 seconds. Director Kitty McNamee:
“The moment I first encountered artist Lara Schnitger’s sculptural packs I saw them in motion - their stories resonating through dancers’ bodies, not sitting in gallery silence. Lara was spurred to create the sculptures in response to witnessing the current migrant crisis first hand on a recent trip to Europe. Constructed with fabric culled from the lining of vintage suitcases and slim wooden sticks, the packs evoke both physical and emotional rootlessness. We wanted to find an organic intersection of sculpture and dance, body and spirit to explore those themes.”
When We Dance - When We Dance shares the personal, heartfelt stories from the ongoing war in Ukraine from the world's best Ukrainian and Russian ballroom dancers. Length: 29 minutes 36 seconds. Director/Producer/Editor Nick Waters:
“When We Dance harnesses the power of cinema to elevate the personal, often heartbreaking, stories from the war. Regardless of where you are from, we can all relate to and sympathize with the victims of this brutal war.”
<YOUNG PEOPLE>
Moving Stories - Six diverse dancers from an acclaimed New York dance company travel the world to work with at-risk youth, teaching them the tools of choreography so that they can tell their stories through dance. As they prepare to perform in public in only a week, both students and teachers are transformed, unlocking feelings and stories in wellsprings of creativity. Length: 1 hour 25 minutes. Writer/Producer Cornelia Ravenal:
“The stories in it are fascinating, moving and inspiring. The film follows the dancer-teachers to India, where they work with girls rescued from sex trafficking and gender violence; to Romania, with Roma (gypsy) kids from one of Europe’s worst slums; to South Korea, with young North Koreans who risked their lives to escape; and to Iraq, where they work with a gifted young Muslim dancer, fighting to survive. It sounds like it could be grim, but it’s fun to watch, even though there are moments that bring tears to peoples’ eyes.
There’s also a ticking clock. The kids have just one week to create dances to perform, often in big theaters with costumes and lights.”
Dancing in Limbo - When dance becomes the only way to express yourself and forget your troubles as a refugee, true passion emerges. Length: 17 minutes. Director/Producer Amanda Larsh:
“By having our film reach a wider audience, we’re hoping to show the world that refugees are people too while sparking dialogue about what needs to change regarding the refugee situation around the world.”
Farther Up the Road - The JaM Youth Project’s second film combines lindy-hop style and old school values such as "reap what you sow" with fresh rhythms and diverse personalities of these talented tap dancers. The JaM Youth Project is a pre-professional tap dance company based in Washington, DC with passionate young dancers from all over the US. JYP provides opportunities for development through tap technique, choreography, performance, dancefilms, and master classes. Length: 3 minutes 24 seconds. Directors Mark Orsborn and Jen Ray:
“This is a film featuring young dancers but the core values are those that transcend age, era, and the immediate story. We communicate through movement, but we do much more than entertain. JYP is focused on moving our audiences, inspiring thought, emotion, and conversation through tap dance and film.”
If I Ruled The World - In today's world of distractions without depth, these dancers live in the moment. This film is about appreciating the beauty of the everyday and the abundance in simplicity. Length: 5 minutes 39 seconds. Mark Orsborn, Jen Ray and Justin Myles of The JaM Youth Project:
“If I Ruled the World is our third film and celebrates some of the various environments in our immediate area, and the beauty of being present. We are a diverse group hailing from many places, and with different stories, but with common love for tap dance and goal for continued growth.”
We Are The Beat - In this Afrofuturism, dance, experimental film, a young Black aspiring planetary scientist named Daniel discovers how to evade death on earth by tapping into a pulsating dance which allows him to shapeshift and transport to distant galaxies, providing the ultimate hack for Black boys and men. Writer/Producer/Director Jonathan Aubrie Lewis:
“I am specifically choosing to highlight Mental health through dance and movement because, in physiology, I’ve learned how those hard-to-reach emotions like pain, anger, sadness, etc., can lodge themselves in one’s body, resulting in mental health challenges. However, dance and movement can push those stuck emotions out.”
<PLACE>
The Weight - Shot amidst the raw beauty of Acadia National Park in Maine, five lives interweave in a jubilant quest for love and identity. Emotional heaviness is passed from person to person, pushing each one to face transformation. Length: 28 minutes 2 seconds. Writer/Director/Producer Holly Wilder:
“Have you ever seen people dance at the edge of a mountain cliff or tumble gracefully in the water of a river? This film is exciting, beautiful, emotional, and moving. It’s unique because it is 30 minutes long and tells a narrative story, yet has no dialogue and is abstract enough to give you the freedom to take away what you want from it.”
Ghost Story - follows four dancers in search of a narrative as they prowl the interiors and exteriors of Bjarke Ingels’ new “court scraper” VIA 57 West in NYC, responding to the building’s architecture and scale with movement. While the image of a figure in a red rain slicker is occasionally seen lurking or giving chase, two male dancers often emerge as the more mysterious and sinister characters. Length: 7 minutes 33 seconds. Writer/Director Sarah Elgart:
“As a choreographer I do a lot of live, site-specific work in alternative locations like airports, bus terminals, parks, corporate plazas and more. I also work a lot in film and television. And as a director one of the things I love exploring is the intersection of dance and film. In my site work I’m always preoccupied with using scale – bringing the highest points of the building to the viewer’s eye at the pedestrian level, and the viewers eye to the highest points of the building and beyond.”
Birds in the Earth - is a short film based on dance, telling a bit of a melancholic story about Sámi people´s rights in today´s Finland, the Sámi being the indigenous people of Northern Europe. The story is told through the dance performances of two young Sámi sisters, Birit and Katja Haarla. Length: 10 minutes 42 seconds. Writer/Director/Producer Marja Helander:
“Birds in the Earth was born out of my interest in making a film about my people, the Sámi people, who are the indigenous people of Scandinavia and Russia. I was interested in combining the strict and disciplined art form of ballet with the wild arctic nature to show the contradiction between Sámi people and the state of Finland, concerning the ownership of the land and sovereignty of Sámi people.”
Waak an Danz - At the seashore, a body sprouts between sand and cement. His dance guides us on a journey through the ancestral afromestizo heritage and the various ways to experience dance in the city of Puerto Limón. A place where when people walk, they dance. Length: 55 minutes. Writer/Director Esteban Richmond:
“ I discovered that there is a body memory, something stored in ancestry and genetic inheritance that is activated by movement. It was a revealing experience. Information from our remote and recent ancestors is imprinted in our cells, and accompanies us at all times. It’s activated by the rhythm and movement in our bodies.”
Bella - is about the life, influence and impact of California-based artist and activist Bella Lewitzky. Length: 1 hour 38 minutes. Director/Producer Bridget Murnane:
“Bella Lewitzky was a talented, strong, out-spoken individual, who dedicated her creative life to protect the rights of every American.”
Unstoppable Feat: The Dances of Ed Mock - A survey of the life and times of Ed Mock: Black, queer, San Francisco based choreographer and performance artist - spanning from his arrival to the Bay Area in the late 60s until his death of AIDS in 1986. Length: 1 hour 11 minutes. Writer/Director Brontez Purnell:
“I am an hiv positive, Black, queer, choreographer, dancer, and performance artist. I wanted to make “Unstoppable Feat: The Dances of Ed Mock” because I was unaware of the work of Ed Mock- Black, queer, San Francisco based, dancer, choreographer, and performance artist. His work spanned from the late 60s to his death of AIDS in 1986. I wanted to make a sort of eulogy for an ancestor who I never knew existed.”
<MUSIC VIDEO>
Emergence - Two dancers come to life via a piano (the music), discover the world and each other and return to the inanimate. Length: 5 minutes 29 seconds. Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Klaus Hoch:
“it’s unique - a single drone take choreographed with dancers telling a story. Plus, Refractor Piano music is wonderful and new. The Refractor Piano was created by Peter Manning Robinson and myself.”
Mountains - In mac/glidden’s psychedelic, awe-inspiring and dance-filled music video Mountains, explore a new world that will leave you wanting more. Length: 10 minutes 18 seconds. Director/Producer Laurie Berenhaus:
“Fans of The Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, and The Rolling Stones, will enjoy the folk-psychedelia that Andy McCarthy and Grant Glidden’s melodies carry. Anne Marsen’s performance and choreography, which the animation is based off, delivers a contagious feeling that never fails to lift me up. Her dance videos show that time and time again.”
<RITUAL>
Ritual - follows four dancers as they rehearse in the studio. Their preparation is prayer-like, full of repetition, meditation, ecstasy, and reflection, reinforcing the sacredness of daily practice. Set to poetry by Black and Jewish spoken word artist Aaron Samuels, Ritual’s text reflects on his family memories of Passover, an ancient Jewish tradition that celebrates freedom from oppression.
Length: 3 minutes 51 seconds. Director/Producer Stacey Menchel Kussell:
“Ritual balances dance, poetry, and music in new ways. The audience member can take something different from each genre as well as sit back an experience them all together. The film, as described in the text, reflects on the Black and Jewish heritage of the poet. The Passover holiday is very much about freedom from oppression. The film showcases the tenacity and fight needed to keep up traditions in the face of difficult circumstances.”
Songs of the Underworld - Bittersweet remembrance of a loved one, of loneliness and loss. Length: 5 minutes 56 seconds. Writer/Director/Choreographer Nicola Hepp:
“I had been thinking about making a film with my father and my mentor, both of whom are at a mature age. They inspired me to think about the ageing process in general and what that means to us. Somewhere along the line the story developed of a man losing his wife, connecting also to a lifelong interest I have with the Greek myth of Orpheus.”
Ready, Set, Gone - Director Mia Maxwell captures an offbeat pas de deux in this collaboration with artist and choreographer Martyn Garside—who features in the film alongside fellow dancer Dores Andre. The concept and structure of the film explore the encoding, storage and retrieval process that we as humans go through to create a memory, says Garside. “This is a love letter to the past, it’s about acknowledging life as we grow." Length: 4 minutes 41 seconds. Director Mia Gutierrez Maxwell:
“There was never a script. Martyn brought the concept for us to share as collaborators. We were following his lead: his choreography, his feelings and his dialogue. The intention is for the film to have a very ‘present’ feel. We created a treatment with visual references we felt were relevant to the themes, but we wanted to work in the moment.”
<DRAMA>
Strictly Salsa - A group of salsa loving teenagers embark on a journey of self discovery, motivated by passion and the desire to win a dance competition. Length: 1 hour 30 minutes. Director/Producer Taraq Qureshi, Writer/Producer Evgeniya Rakitina Qureshi:
“This is a story about love, passion to win and about the happiness we all deserve to achieve in our lives, no matter whether we are champions or not. We want to make people ask themselves the question of what really matters in life. It is great to be a champion in something, but not everyone could achieve this. On the other hand all of us deserve love and happiness even if they never become number one.”
Swallowed - A suburban Mother’s world is upturned by the beast growing inside her. Length: 17 minutes. Writer/Director Lily Baldwin:
“People seem to be effected in a plethora of ways — from complete disconnection, “what the fuck was that” and “you must not like babies” (which couldn’t be farther from the truth!) — to people saying “I know exactly what you mean” and “I’ve never been able to put that feeling into words” and “thank you for daring to go there.”
Where We Begin - A portrait of infinite love expressed through movement and sound. Length: 19 minutes 58 seconds. Writer/Director Hikari aka Mitsuyo Miyazaki:
“This is a film that says so much and yet it has only one sentence spoken in the entire film. It challenges your thoughts and visual space while traversing many emotions and feelings. It is a film that stands apart from others in storytelling, a unique approach which shares a story of two lovers forbidden to be with one another because of circumstance and survival. You should watch this film to be entertained and provoked as you experience dance as a narrative cinematic sensory explosion.”
Échappé - While on tour in 1970, a Soviet ballerina learns of her brother’s plan to defect. Length: 12 minutes 48 seconds. Writer/Director Allison Mattox:
“I initially became fascinated learning the true stories about Russian ballet dancers who defected from the Soviet Union in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I grew up dancing, but didn’t realize that some of my favorite ballet stars like Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Nureyev, and Natalia Makarova had defected from the Soviet Union. I began somewhat obsessively researching their stories and poring over archival dance footage and interviews at the Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Before long, that research inspired this fictional story.”
Exposed Nerves - A young dance instructor's life becomes awry when her bi-polar symptoms begin to manifest themselves. Length: 8 minutes 10 seconds. Writer/Director Madison Thomas:
“I made Exposed Nerves because I wanted to use my platform as a filmmaker to explore mental illness and to start a dialogue about it. I believe a lot of the stigma that surrounds mental illness stems from people being afraid to talk about it so I wanted to make a film that opened up that dialogue. ”
Duende: The Red Shoes - A pastor's wife gets more than she bargained for when she meets her former gypsy flamenco dance teacher in the park for a secret private lesson. Length: 9 minutes 45 seconds. Writer/Director Tina Love:
“The short is an entertaining, feel-good movie with some mischief. Hopefully it’ll inspire you to get out there and do something you’ve secretly always wanted to do. Maybe you’ve held back because you think someone in your life won’t necessarily approve. Or maybe it’s beyond the parameters of the roles people are used to seeing you in, and that makes you nervous. The movie is about taking a chance.”
Behind The Wall - An injured dancer escapes her old life and moves to a dilapidated apartment – only to discover a musical surprise behind the wall. Length: 17 minutes. Writer/Director Bat-Sheva Guez:
“If you love beautiful production design, a story with heart, a sprinkling of zany music, a thread of eerie magic, and a bit of joyful dance, you’ll love this film.”
<DIVERSITY>
Why I Dance - Why I Dance is a pole dance film about women who come together to reclaim their bodies and themselves. In celebration of all women everywhere. The proceeds of our original track will benefit the California Women's Law Center, fighting for social justice for women and girls. Filmmakers Melanie Zoey Weinstein and Amy Main:
“Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Amy: We made the film to share our love of pole dancing and the feminine with the world. We wanted to challenge the limited and damaging way female beauty and sexuality is presented in the media, and show people that ALL women are sexy and powerful, no matter what size, shape, age, or background.
Melanie: To send an empowering message of body freedom and intersectional feminist unity.”
Rebels On Pointe - Rebels On Pointe is the first cinema verite film ever made about the notorious Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the all male, drag ballet company founded in New York City in 1974 on the heels of the Stonewall riots... and who now have a cult following around the world. Length: 90 minutes (there is a 52 minute version as well). Writer/Director Bobbi Jo Hart:
“I was fascinated... asking myself “Who ARE these men behind the make-up and tutus? Who are their families? What are their dreams? How did they discover and embrace their unique identities? What is the story of this drag ballet company? What is their human journey that will help audiences connect with them and appreciate their fascinating lives and narrative?”
An intimate dance: journeys through movement and touch -Vulnerability and inclusion meet mindfulness in this documentary about the healing power of movement and touch. Length: 67 minutes. Writer/Director/Producer Sanford Lewis:
“AN INTIMATE DANCE: JOURNEYS THROUGH MOVEMENT AND TOUCH is a feature-length documentary following the lives of three people on and off the dance floor. Albert, a skeptical beginner, is drawn to the embodied presence and connection of a dance form called contact improvisation. Eugene, an all-star athlete, stretches his physical and social limitations from his wheelchair. Rythea, a professionally trained dancer, is catapulted into a journey of self-discovery and healing.”
El Impulso - Like lava from a volcano, the impulse manifests itself in the human body in movements that can be clearer than words. El Impulso is a meditation on the choreographic aspects of Havana-based physical company Impulso's work. Length: 6 minutes 27 seconds. Editor/Director Orsolya Szantho:
“The world today often makes it impossible for most of us to find grounding in our bodies and physical reality -we often have to either work our bodies to exhaustion or get completely disconnected through all the technology that surrounds us. Watching these actors move with such immense focus in silence and listening to Alexis’ thoughts always reminds me of the power of being physically present in the here and now, and seeing where we can go from there.”
More Than Cute - A Seniors Bollywood dance class in Melbourne City, is the perfect intercultural setting, to discover new friendships and unpack misconceptions about ageing. Simultaneously, miraculous healings take place, through the extraordinary power of happiness. Writer/Director/Producer/Editor Joshinder Chaggar:
“It is uplifting, joyous and is sure to put a smile on your face. It might also challenge you to think about your own perceptions of age.”