Dance Films Go West

Dance and filmmaking have grown more comfortable with each other lately, bringing fascinating new visual perspectives to choreographic ideas. Next week, downtown L.A. will be abuzz when Dance Camera West presents its 13th annual Dance Media Festival, a three-day event that includes screenings, Q&A sessions, panel discussions and live performances. BODYTRAFFIC kicks off the festival with a free performance on June 6th at Music Center Plaza, where artist Gustavo Godoy will also unveil a large-scale sculpture to honor the festival’s “Restructure” theme.

Film screenings will be divided between the Music Center Plaza, Grand Park, REDCAT, the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. Highlights include Miss Hill: Making Dance Matter, Greg Vander Veer’s documentary of influential dance educator Martha Hill; Slovakian director Andrea Sudorova’s visually stunning Adelaars, choreographed by Jan Sevcik; and UPAJ: Improvise, a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows the making of India Jazz Suites, a collaboration between tap dynamo Jason Samuels Smith and Indian classical dancer Pandit Chitresh Das (with a Q&A with both dancers immediately following). For schedule details and tickets, go to DanceCameraWest.org.