Dario Natarelli’s “Lonely World”

In his first short film, “Lonely World,” tap dancer Dario Natarelli utilizes tap first as a soundtrack to the film’s opening scenes and then as a propulsive polyrhythmic onscreen performance. Natarelli, who was featured in Dance Magazine‘s On the Rise column in 2019, directed and choreographed the film to depict “global grief, loneliness and relationship struggles.” He is currently the 2022–2023 artist in residence at the American Tap Dance Foundation, where he was given weekly studio space to complete the project, and also received support from The National YoungArts Foundation and more than 100 Kickstarter supporters. Set to the song of the same name by Moses Sumney featuring Thundercat, “Lonely World” showcases Jenna Maslechko’s creative cinematography and a layering of syncopated sounds by dancers Aniya Danée, Naomi Funaki, Madison Hilligoss, John Manzari, Demi Remick and Natarelli himself.