DANCE MOViES: An ongoing EMPAC series showing the latest, daring work made by contemporary dancers creating short films and experimental videos. Catch the predatory actions of people stuck in a stylish Spanish lobby, a solitary and obscure channel surf on a couch in Iceland, an elegant dance for two hands, a jog in the subways of Sweden. Also includes the film Bitings and Other Effects shot in the opulence and decay of Palermo, in which feverish courtiers bitten by the tarantula are reduced to stunning, sleep-walking dances in mirrored ballrooms and on crumbling balconies.

DANCE MOViES 6 program:

• Foxtrot Tetrameter, 1997, 5' (Sweden)
• No One, 2004, 15' (USA)
• I Ti (Fingerdansen), 2002, 6' (Sweden)
• A.P.A.A.I. (Events), 2005, 10' (Spain)
• Zimmer, 2004, 8' (Iceland)
• Bitings and Other Effects, 1995, 30' (Netherlands)

Foxtrot Tetrameter

2007, 5' (Sweden) Directed by Mary Westermark and Sofie Lagergren Choreographed and performed by Lisa Spets Sound by Dan Jonsson A sudden appearance in the subway, a dancer moves to an internal jogging rhythm, as transportation streams eddy around her. Foxtrot Tetrameter is one short film in a series of four, with dance solos being performed in the surroundings of Stockholm.

After having worked on the films for almost two years, my father asked me, very gently: 'These dance films you are working on, are they some kind of instruction films for fox-trot?' -Mary Westermark

No One

2004, 15' (USA) Choreographer/Director: Arielle Javitch Sound Design: Matt Rocker Photography: Zachary Levy Performers: Hristoula Harakas, Anee Lentz, Takemi Kitamura, Johari Mayfield, Paulina Danilczyk A somber and still piece that combines imagery, wordless theater, location and dance. Created as a meditation on the genocides that took place in Bosnia and Rwanda in the 1990s, and the response of the international community.

I Ti (Fingerdansen)

2002, 6' (Sweden) Choreographed and performed by Cristina Caprioli A strikingly simple premise: two hands fly eloquently and fluently over a flat surface, flashing through hidden narratives, gestures, signs, finger dances. In direct reaction to Italo Calvino's text "Ti con Zero" and based on the live performance "I Ti", this video was made in collaboration with artist Mateusz Herczka.

A.P.A.A.I. (Events)

2005, 10' (Spain) Directed by Guillem Morales Performed and choreographed by the company Erre que erre A nightmarish vision peopled by pale and stylish patrons, waiting in an unidentified lobby. Time scrubs forward and backwards, scissors catalyze long sequences of inexplicable action, and it becomes clear that these people have entered a loop in time: they cannot escape and they are unlikely to survive.

Zimmer

2004, 8' (Iceland) Directed by Helena Jonsdottir Helena Jonsdottir's film rests in the nether world of the committed couch potato, the apparent antithesis of the dancing body. She redefines the body, itself a landscape, and leads the viewer subtly through cultural perspectives on physical expression and awareness in the age of instant communication and entertainment.

Bitings and Other Effects

1995, 30' (Netherlands) Directed by Clara van Gool Choreographed by Angelika Oei Performed by Martine Berghuijs, Faroog Chaudhry, Anne-Katrine Haugen, Vivianne Rodrigues de Brito, and Jamie Watton Bitings and Other Effects was inspired by the southern Italian dance the Tarantella, which itself was named after the poisonous spider and the supposed cure for its bite: a frenetic dance. Shot in the opulence and decay of Renaissance-era Palermo, feverish courtiers bitten by the tarantula are reduced to stunning, sleep-walking dances in mirrored ballrooms and on crumbling balconies.

Come and be immersed in clouds of dense fog and stroboscopic light in a digital landscape populated with virtual characters, intense sound and unearthly video projections. FEED is an artificial spectacle that will challenge your limits of perception like no other performance has done before. Seating is limited to 50 people per performance.

Troika Ranch is a dance theater company based in New York City, which uses interactive digital media and computer technology as an essential component of its performances. Founded in 1990, the company stages works in which projections and sounds are created through a specific process of interaction between live performers and digital media. In performance, movement sensing devices are coupled with a programming environment, with special emphasis on real-time signal-processing of digital video.

Troika Ranch will give two presentations: the afternoon lecture will focus on the movement sensor technology, computer processing and software development they implemented for their productions, and the evening presentation will show the technology in action in their stage works, with excerpts and demonstrations.

DRIFT is an immersive sonic/visual environment consisting of music, sounds and texts by Ranaldo in response to two 16mm analytical film projectors performed in real time by Singer. Much as a DJ scratches a vinyl record, Singer manipulates her films in a live improvisation with Ranaldo's guitar, poetry and soundscapes.

DANCE MOViES: An ongoing EMPAC series showing the latest, daring work made by contemporary dancers creating short films and experimental videos. DANCE MOViES 5: International dance films on the football field, projected on a large screen, under the stars. Includes the stylings of hip-hop and skateboard dancer Bill Shannon, a high-octane solo in the city streets of Uruguay, a couple defying the laws of gravity in New Zealand, a meditation on high diving in Norway, and the lush film Counter Phrases, by Belgian choreographer Anne Theresa de Keersmaker, filmed in flowering formal gardens to five commissioned scores by contemporary composers.

DANCE MOViES 5 program:

Break, 2005, 14' (New Zealand). The Art of Weightlessness: excerpt, 2003, 4' (USA) Alt I Alt (All in All), 2005, 5' (Norway). Tra La La, 2004, 3' (UK). Montevideoaki, 2005, 5' (Uruguay). Counter Phrases (2), 2000, 27' (Belgium). Total Running Time: 58 minutes

Break

2005, 14' (New Zealand). Written, directed and choreographed by Shona McCullagh Performed by Ursula Robb, Thomas Kiwi and Arlo Gibson Music by David Long Set in rural New Zealand, a nine-year-old boy and his parents struggle with an impending change. As their familiar world turns upside down, gravity seems to shift too. This film is an emotional and sensitive portrait of a family in turmoil.

The Art of Weightlessness: excerpt

2003, 4' (USA). Directed by DB Griffith Performed by Bill Shannon Bill Shannon has made his name as a skateboard-hip-hop dancer and choreographer, and is also know as the Crutchmaster. DB Griffith captures him musing on his crutches by the seaside, slipping through the air as though escaping gravity's hold.

Alt I Alt (All in All)

2005, 5' (Norway). Directed by Torbjørn Skårild Performed by Knut Eivind Reinertsen Sound by Nina Skogtrø As simple a set up as can be: a man dives from a diving board. And yet through the use of rhythmic cuts, edits, sounds, and constantly changing perspectives, this video builds an almost cubist refraction of the simple act of diving into a pool of water.

Tra La La

2004, 3' (UK). Choreographed, directed and animated by Magali Charrier Performed by Allison Rees-Cummings, Barbara Lindenberg, Barbara Pallomina Music and sound design by Jules Maxwell Commissioned by South East Dance, Moving Pictures Festival of Dance On Film and Video, Channel 4 and Bravo Fact. Tra La La is a poetical reflection on the ephemeral nature of innocence and childhood. It magically combines live action with chalk drawing animation to create a black and white tale where three young women lead us through the lost imaginary realm of their past.

Montevideoaki

2005, 5' (Uruguay). Directed by Octavio Iturbe Based on the solo While going on a Condition, created and performed by Hiroaki Umeda. Against the dramatic city backdrop of Montevideo, Uruguay, Umeda's fluid and subtle solo flickers against the hard lines of the buildings. A study of the human body in the urban landscape.

Counter Phrases (2)counter phrases

2000, 27' (Belgium). Directed by Thierry de Mey Choreography by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker Based on the stage work "(But if a look should) April Me" Performed by ROSAS (dance) and the Ictus Ensemble (music) Counter Phrases, made by long-time collaborators Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and Thierry de Mey, features dancers from ROSAS with original music commissioned from ten contemporary composers. We are showing only the second half of the film.

1. Water, music by Thierry de Mey
2. Floral Fairy, music by Toshio Hosokawa
3. Heysel, music by Georges Asperghis
4. Dance Patterns, music by Steve Reich
5. Green, Yellow and Blue, music by Fausto Romitelli

Thierry de Mey is a film-maker, visual artist and composer who often works with dancers and choreographers on performance and film projects. Rosas, directed by Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker, is a contemporary dance company based in Brussels, which creates film and stage works and tours internationally. ICTUS is a Brussels-based contemporary-music ensemble housed in the buildings of the dance company Rosas since 1994 and in residence at the Lille Opera since 2003.

Commissioned by EMPAC, and recorded in and around Troy, New York—the birthplace of archetypal character Uncle Sam—True Fictions: New Adventures in Folklore fused documentary film making, live and electronic music, animation, and motion graphics with innovative digital video performance tools. Taking American folklore as a departure point for this performance, this UK-based collective tackled questions of how personal, political, and national myths evolve from subjective stories into widely held truths. True Fictions: New Adventures in Folklore was developed over the course of a year, as the artists developed a collage of documentary footage, interviews, and music recorded in Troy and across the rest of the state of New York: from Troy’s Uncle Sam’s Day Parade to a cramped music studio in Brooklyn, to an upstate Native American reservation and more. 

The Light Surgeons were founded in London in 1995 by artist and filmmaker Christopher Thomas Allen with like-minded media artists and filmmakers; they specialize in creative content for video productions, live performances, and installation-based projects. They develop new forms of cross-disciplinary practice through the fusion of film production, animation, motion design, and the application of creative code and cutting-edge tools.

DANCE MOViES: An ongoing EMPAC series showing the latest, daring work made by contemporary dancers creating short films and experimental videos. This selection of international films presents an intimate take on urban life, as filmmakers turn to the cityscape for inspiration. The fourth in the ongoing DANCE MOViES series, Street Wise presents short films and videos by directors and choreographers from the UK, Japan, Australia, Switzerland and the US. With dancing in the streets, mischief in the deli, head-on collisions in the kitchen, and tango in the back alley, these films are shot where street smarts and dancing feet collide. Including a music video from Radiohead, a taste of the new urban sport parkour, as well as a few of the best examples of the dance film genre. An additional treat is the pre-show screening of Marta Renzi's 1981 gem You Little Wild Heart, which follows a footloose gang as they dance at full tilt through the back streets of NYC. This film was made for TV and was a potent harbinger of the iconic movie, Flashdance (1983). Come early to catch this ride!

DANCE MOViES 4: Street Wise program:

PRE-SHOW: You Little Wild Heart, 1981 (USA). 25 min. Carbon Minoxide, 2004 (Japan and France). 7 min. Together, 2004 (Australia). 8 min. Street Spirit, 1996 (UK). 5 min. Dispersion, 2006 (USA). 4.5 min. Anarchic Variations, 2004 (UK). 7.5 min. Contrecoup, 1997 (Switzerland). 26 min.

You Little Wild Heart

1981, 25', (USA) Conceived and Choreographed by Marta Renzi Music by Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Directed by David Heller Performed by Joanne Callum, Phebe Clark, Christopher Dowling, Terence Gray, Robert Gregory, Caroline Grossman, Joy Kellman, Sophie Matisse, Glenda Medeiros, Kendall Norris, David Porter, Tracy Poulter, Marta Renzi, John Sullivan, Henry Tomaszewski, Paul Untch. Produced by Susan Dowling Marta Renzi's 1981 gem You Little Wild Heart follows a footloose gang as they dance at full tilt through the back streets of Boston. This film was made for TV and was a potent harbinger of the iconic movie, Flashdance (1983).

Street Spirit

1996, 5', (UK) Directed by Jonathan Glazer Featuring Radiohead Courtesy of EMI A sense of mystery and darkness shroud the trailer park of Radiohead's Street Spirit, where people seem suspended in a timeless space.

Anarchic Variation

2004, 7.5', (UK) Directed by Billie Cowie Choreographed and performed by Liz Aggiss In a white room, a woman plays out a series of variations on the themes of space, orientation, punk and tagging.

Dispersion

2006, 4.5', (USA) Directed by Mike Yamrus Traceurs: Brian Belida, Billy Hughes, Leon Mederos, Jesse Woody This short video is a collaboration between a filmmaker and a group of parkour runners in the D.C area. Founded by Frenchman David Belle, parkour is defined as "the art of movement", where the beauty of the movement is based in a sense of fluidity, efficiency and fearlessness. In this evolving sport/martial art/dance, the runners or "traceurs" sweep through urban landscapes with the goal of complete flow in their forward momentum - no stopping, no hesitating, no matter what the obstacle.

Carbon Minoxide

2004, 5', (Japan/France) Directed by Kaori Ito Performed by Kaori Ito and Jeffrey Cramrine Featuring music by Regina Spektor A girl rambunctiously yearns for her crush, then traipses through Brooklyn, NY in search of love and companionship, to the music of NY-based singer-songwriter Regina Spektor.

Together

2004, 8', (Australia) Directed By Rowan Marchingo Choreographed by Madeleine Hetherton Performed by Rowan Marchingo and Alexandra Harrison A man revisits his empty and silent apartment. As he walks through the rooms, he sees his old self and his former life with a woman who ends up slipping away again.

Contrecoup

1997, 26', (Switzerland) Directed by Pascal Magnin Based on the stage work by Guilherme Botelho Performed by Mikel Aristegul, Guilherme Botelho, Cendrine Gallezot, Joseph Trefeli, Kylie Walters Disfunction reigns in the interactions between couples in this magnificent film, based on the original stage production. Danced in the streets of Paris and in the bewildering architecture of the set, the dancers project powerful emotion and raw movement as they ricochet from one extreme to another.

DANCE MOViES: An ongoing EMPAC series showing the latest, daring work made by contemporary dancers creating short films and experimental videos. This selection of international films runs the gamut - from outrageous antics in unlikely places to animated bodies, all projected on the big screen. The third in the ongoing DANCE MOViES series, Ice Breaker presents six short films from the UK, Finland, Australia and the Netherlands that push the envelope of the form. From animated stick figures to ice skaters, from hilarious rubber-encased mayhem in a waiting room to the mystery and coolness of bodies floating in space, from partying in the snowy Alps to playing guitars in small-town Finland, each of these films immerses us in a unique world.

DANCE MOViES 3: Ice Breaker program:

Nascent, 2005 (Australia). 10 min. POD, 2005 (UK). 9 min. Snow, 2003 (UK). 8 min. Magnetic North, 2003 (UK and Finland). 9 min. Hohenluft, 2005 (Netherlands). 25 min. Total running time: 66 minutes

Nascent

2005, 10', (Australia) Created and directed by Gina Czarnecki Sound by Christian Fennesz Featuring the Dancers of the Australian Dance Theater Produced by forma and Australian Dance Theater Commissioned by forma and Adelaide Film Festival A mesmerizing experiment in which footage of Australian Dance Theater dancers is refracted and smeared, leaving traces and turbulent impressions across the screen. A striking and meditative exploration of bodies in motion.

POD

2005, 9', (UK) Directed by Shelly Love Four lackluster people kill time in a windowless waiting room. They notice a hole in the wall emitting and then imbibing a black fluid. Things go from strange to stranger as animate sheets of rubber start to encase faces and bodies and then the room itself.

Snow

2003, 8', (UK) Directed by Rosemary Lee and David Hinton Archival footage of winter antics from the 1890s to the 1960s is cut and re-combined to create a rhythmic choreography of gesture and action, on the slippery sidewalks and slopes of a bygone era.

Magnetic North

2003, 9', (UK and Finland) Directed and choreographed by Miranda Pennell The director casts a subtle eye on adolescent rituals playing out across the wintry landscapes of small-town Finland. Girls skate on a frozen lake, while boys play electric guitar in their rooms, dogs bark, the sun goes down. A thoughtful film which evokes fantasy and yearning.

Höhenluft

2005, 25', (Netherlands) Directed by Annick Vroom The latest film from the zany Amsterdam-based Hans Hof Ensemble is set in a 1920s sanatorium in the Swiss Alps, where hilarity runs at a fever pitch, literally, as the patients cavort, ignoring the facts of illness and death, preferring to crash headlong into love and folly.

I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality, which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a surreality, if one may so speak. —Andre Breton, 1924 - Surrealist Manifesto

An evening of surreal music videos by the likes of Björk, Beck, The Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Amon Tobin and Aphex Twin …all viewed from the comfort of cozy couches at the Heffner Alumni House. In the past decade, the structure of the short snappy music video has not only become fodder for the likes of the commercial MTV set, but a goldmine for major artists and film directors to work with – and within – the limitations of the specific structure of the music video clip. Consequently, many music videos have begun to look more like an art form reminiscent of the short film genre than a commercial product. Please note‚ Entr´acte (1924) a 13–minute surreal film by René Clair will precede the compilation of music videos‚ so be sure to arrive on time e to catch the dreamy ancestors of contemporary music video.

The Video Lineup

Sky Starts Falling

Music: The Doves

Director: Reuben Sutherland

Courtesy: EMI Records and Joyrider Films

E Pro

Music: Beck

Director: Shynola

Courtesy: The Directors Bureau and Interscope Records

Tribulations

Music: LCD soundsystem

Director: Dougal Wilson

Courtesy: DFA Records and Colonel Blimp

Just Briefly

Music: Daedelus

Director: Dada Kingz

Courtesy: Ninja Tune/Plug Research

Will The Summer Make Good For All of Our Sins?

Music: Múm

Director: Marc Craste

Courtesy: studio aka

Fortress

Music: Pinback

Director: Elliot Jokelson w/ Loyalkaspar

Courtesy: Touch and Go

4 Ton Mantis

Music: Amon Tobin

Director: Floria Sigismondi

Courtesy: Ninja Tune

Human

Music: Carpark North

Director: Martin De Thurah

Courtesy: EMI Denmark

Destroy Everything You Touch

Music: Ladytron

Director: Adam Bartley

Courtesy: Exposure Films, Universal - Island Records and Emperor Norton Records

Triumph of a Heart

Music: Björk

Director: Spike Jonze

Courtesy: Atlantic Records

What Else is There?

Music: Röyksopp

Director: Martin De Thurah

Courtesy: Wall of Sound and Academy Films

Come to Daddy

Music: Aphex Twin

Director: Chris Cunningham

Courtesy: Warp Records

Rebellion

Music: The Arcade Fire

Courtesy: Spy Entertainment

Hyperballad

Music: Björk

Director: Michel Gondry

Courtesy: One Little Indian Records

Hayling

Music: FC Kahuna

Director: Lynn Fox

Courtesy: Colonel Blimp

Join us for an evening of surreal music videos by the likes of Björk, Beck, The Arcade Fire, LCD Soundsystem, Amon Tobin and Aphex Twin …all viewed from the comfort of cozy couches at the Heffner Alumni House.

In the past decade, the structure of the short snappy music video has not only become fodder for the likes of the commercial MTV set, but a goldmine for major artists and film directors to work with – and within – the limitations of the specific structure of the music video clip.

Consequently, many music videos have begun to look more like an art form reminiscent of the short film genre than a commercial product.

Please note‚ Entr´acte (1924) a 13–minute surreal film by René Clair will precede the compilation of music videos‚ so be sure to arrive on time e to catch the dreamy ancestors of contemporary music video.

The Video Lineup

Sky Starts Falling

Music: The Doves

Director: Reuben Sutherland

Courtesy: EMI Records and Joyrider Films

E Pro

Music: Beck

Director: Shynola

Courtesy: The Directors Bureau and Interscope Records

Tribulations

Music: LCD soundsystem

Director: Dougal Wilson

Courtesy: DFA Records and Colonel Blimp

Just Briefly

Music: Daedelus

Director: Dada Kingz

Courtesy: Ninja Tune/Plug Research

Will The Summer Make Good For All of Our Sins?

Music: Múm

Director: Marc Craste

Courtesy: studio aka

Fortress

Music: Pinback

Director: Elliot Jokelson w/ Loyalkaspar

Courtesy: Touch and Go

4 Ton Mantis

Music: Amon Tobin

Director: Floria Sigismondi

Courtesy: Ninja Tune

Human

Music: Carpark North

Director: Martin De Thurah

Courtesy: EMI Denmark

Destroy Everything You Touch

Music: Ladytron

Director: Adam Bartley

Courtesy: Exposure Films, Universal - Island Records and Emperor Norton Records

Triumph of a Heart

Music: Björk

Director: Spike Jonze

Courtesy: Atlantic Records

What Else is There?

Music: Röyksopp

Director: Martin De Thurah

Courtesy: Wall of Sound and Academy Films

Come to Daddy

Music: Aphex Twin

Director: Chris Cunningham

Courtesy: Warp Records

Rebellion

Music: The Arcade Fire

Courtesy: Spy Entertainment

Hyperballad

Music: Björk

Director: Michel Gondry

Courtesy: One Little Indian Records

Hayling

Music: FC Kahuna

Director: Lynn Fox

Courtesy: Colonel Blimp