The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission supports the creation of new works in the field of experimental dance for the screen. Through this commissioning program, the first of its kind in the US, EMPAC aims to encourage the development of the genre of dance film, video and installation throughout the US, Canada, Central and South America.
Launched in 2007, the DANCE MOViES Commission is now in its third cycle. The first four projects created in 2007-2008 are currently touring festivals around the world. Four more projects are in production and
scheduled to premier in the fall of 2009. The current application process opens March 1, 2009.
Deadline for submissions: MAY 1, 2009.
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
» APPLICATION PACKET GUIDELINES «
All information and instructions for the DMC 2009-2010 DMC application including registration and submission instructions for Parts I and II of the application.
GUIDELINES
The DANCE MOViES Commission will support:
- Works in film, video, or another audio-visual medium, made by a choreographer, dancer, movement artist, filmmaker and/or collaborative team
- Innovative works which merge the fields of movement/dance/choreography, sound/music, with the moving image, and which are made specifically for the screen
- A “work for the screen” in the broadest sense: it may be a work for a single screen, a multiple-channel work or an installation
- Works which are up to 20 minutes in length (exceptions may be granted for an installation project). If the proposed work is the artist’s first dance film, the limit is up to 6 minutes in length
- Collaboration with a composer or sound-designer is strongly recommended; music and sound should be an integral part of the development of the work
- Works initiated and created by an artist, group, or collective based in North or South America
- Artists who have at least 5 years professional experience in their field
- Works with a completion date one year after the granting of the award
- The works may be co-commissioned or co-produced with a partner or several partners, however the funding from these partners must be in place by the time the selection panel meets
- Preference is given to projects which are in the first phases of production or which are initialized for the commission, rather than projects in post-production or nearing completion
The DANCE MOViES Commission was not conceived to support documentaries, feature-length films, commercial films that feature dance, promotional or educational projects, projects created for a performance, or student works.
Upon awarding of the commission, the artist or collaborative team will sign a contract and has one year to complete the project.
Commissioned works will be premiered at EMPAC, and may be shown at dance film festivals around the world, credited as an EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission.
The rights of the project remain with the artist or team, with EMPAC having the option to retain the rights of first publication and premier.
EMPAC will not act as the work's distributor, although may help the artist submit the work to festivals and for broadcast.
The commission is to be used for project expenses only, and can not support equipment purchase. Equipment rental costs are an appropriate project expense.
A sample artist contract is available for review upon request.
SELECTION PROCESS
The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission is conducted as a competitive open proposal process, where eligible artists submit a proposal. EMPAC gathers submissions through an open call, active solicitation of artists by EMPAC and through recommendations from professionals in the field.
The initial proposals will be reviewed by EMPAC in the first round. A small number of artists will be short-listed and will be invited to submit a more detailed proposal to an international panel for the second round. The panel will assess the quality and feasibility of the proposed projects and will submit its recommendations to EMPAC. The commissions will be awarded by EMPAC after review. All selection decisions are final.
COMMISSIONING AWARDS
The program will support approximately 3 projects per annual cycle. Commissions will range from $7,000–$40,000, depending on the scope and complexity of the project.
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE
EMPAC strives to support studio-based productions at
EMPAC if project needs can be met. A project proposal
should be submitted as though the project will be
created independent of the resources of the EMPAC
facility, with a note that it is a studio-based production
that could benefit from EMPAC spaces and infrastructure.
The proposal will be assessed on its own merits first, and
if it advances to the second phase of the application
process, another round of discussion will assess if an
EMPAC residency might be part of the production.
Depending on the nature of the project, the following
resources, in addition to the funding, may be provided or
facilitated by EMPAC:
- Access to studio space for rehearsals and shooting
- Access to equipment for use in the EMPAC facility
- Post-production: access to professional video and audio editing and mastering equipment
- Technical support from stage technologies, audio and video engineers, and other staff at EMPAC
For information on EMPAC’s resources and spaces,
detail on the infrastructure (rigging, lighting, acoustics
etc.), and to discuss your ideas in regards to how the
resources might benefit your project, please contact
.
APPLICATION GUIDELINES:
» APPLICATION PACKET GUIDELINES «
All information and instructions for the 2009 DMC application including registration and submission instructions for Parts I and II of the application.
TIMELINE
May 01, 2009 — Submissions due to EMPAC for initial proposals
UPDATE: June 03, 2009 — Notifications sent to artists for first round - short list announced
June 08, 2009 — Updated proposals due from selected artists
June-July 2009 — International selection panel selects winning proposals from short list
July 13, 2009 — Notifications of awards sent to artists - winners announced
August 1, 2009 — Production of projects begins
[May 2009 — Next cycle begins, submissions due]
August 1, 2010 — Completed works submitted to EMPAC
SELECTION PANEL
The members of this year’s selection panel will be announced in March
Magne Antonsen —
(Norway)
Nayse Bottentuit Lopez — (Brazil)
Kelly Hargraves — (USA)
Elizabeth Zimmer —
(UK)
Johannes Goebel — (USA)
EMPAC Director
Hélène Lesterlin — (USA)
EMPAC Dance Curator
Selection Panel Bios:
Magne Antonsen (Norway) —
Since 1997 he has been Artistic Director of the annual dance film event "Dans for Kamera", which mainly took place at the Film House and was a part of Ultima - Oslo Contemporary Music Festival. Magne has also guest-curated for several international festivals and events.
In 2001-2003 he initiated and produced the two-part project Nordic Dance for Camera which resulted in the award winning series Moving North - 10 Short Dance Films, one of the most comprehensive Nordic co-production projects for shortfilm to this date. Magne has also programmed, organized and lectured in a number of dance film events all over the world.
Nayse Bottentuit Lopez (Brasil) —
Nayse Bottentuit Lopez is a journalist since 1992. As a curator, dance critic and journalist, has held many shows and conferences in the dance, performing arts and cultural cooperation area.
Her past works includes an International Dance and Cultural Cooperation Conference that took place in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in 2005. Since 2001 she is one of the curators of
Panorama Festival and since 2006 became Artistic Director. She is the founder and director of the dance specialized portal idanca.net. Nayse is also a writer for film, documentary and
TV series in Brazil and abroad. Has been part of selection committees in a number of dance film projects, like Dance Screen (UK) and Rumos Dança (Brazil).
www.idanca.net
Kelly Hargraves (Canada) — as a choreographer from Canada who lives in Los Angeles. She studied dance at Conrodia University in Montreal, before dancing as a soloist and company
member of Pomo Como Technological Theater. She has made several dance films that have been shown extensively at festivals throughout the world, the most recent entitled CARGO,
which is also available on DVD. She travels annually lecturing and presenting programs of curated dance films at festivals. She is a co-founder of Dance Camera West and a
board member of the Silver Lake Film Festival and the Downtown Los Angels Film Festivals in Los Angeles. An avid, indie/punk music lover, Kelly was an on-air broadcast DJ
in Canada for over a decade, first at the Windsor/Detroit station CJAM FM and then in Montreal at CKUT FM. She has also written dance reviews for many publications
in Canada and the US. Kelly is currently working with the UCLA Live performing arts series at UCLA and with independent film distributor First Run Features.
www.dancecamerawest.org
Elizabeth Zimmer (USA) — a native New Yorker, writes about dance, theater, and books for The Australian and the free New York daily Metro,
and contributes to many other publications. She served as the dance editor of New York’s Village Voice from 1992 until 2006, and reviewed ballet for the Philadelphia Inquirer
from 1997 through 2005. She has taught writing and dance history at colleges and universities across North America. She has consulted for NYSCA, the NEA, and the Gerbode and
Rockefeller Foundations, and adjudicated choreography and performance for the American College Dance Festival Association.
She began her career as a broadcaster for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Halifax and Vancouver.. Her Kamikaze Writing Workshop is a feature at annual
meetings of the Dance Critics Association, and she has lectured widely on dance subjects. She edited two widely respected books, Body Against Body: The Dance and other
Collaborations of Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (Station Hill Press, 1989) and Envisioning Dance for Film and Video (Routledge, 2002), and developed a dance history
curriculum for teachers in urban schools. She has studied standup comedy, yoga, Pilates, and many forms of dance. Her one-woman show, North Wing, was produced at two off-off-Broadway theaters.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions not answered in these guidelines, please contact:
Emily Berçir Zimmerman, EMPAC Curatorial Assistant at 001.518.276.4547 or .
ABOUT EMPAC
The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), founded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is dedicated to work which explores the integration of technology,
media and the performing arts. Through the DANCE MOViES Commission, EMPAC aims to support and encourage the development of the genre of dance film and video in the Americas.
ABOUT RENSSELAER
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1824, is the US’s oldest technological university. The school offers degrees in engineering, the sciences, information technology, architecture, management, and the humanities and social sciences. Institute programs serve undergraduates, graduate students, and working professionals around the world. Rensselaer faculty are known for pre-eminence in research conducted in a wide range of research centers that are characterized by strong industry partnerships. The Institute is especially well known for its success in the transfer of technology from the laboratory to the marketplace so that new discoveries and inventions benefit human life, protect the environment, and strengthen economic development.
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