“NEXT,” Featuring University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Featuring 50 dancers and polished production values, “NEXT” creates movie magic while demonstrating the power of precision dance. Created in one week during the University of North Carolina School of the Arts‘ Summer Dance Professional Studies workshop, the project’s performers include current UNCSA high school and undergraduate students, plus students from throughout the country and abroad. It was directed and co-choreographed by faculty member and alumnus Ashley Lindsey, who’s a former member of the Limón Dance Company, and co-choreographed by fellow UNCSA alum and industry dancemaker Grady Bowman. With cinematography by Adam Witmer, “NEXT” features dancer Addy Harris and the large ensemble in contrasting bursts of sharp and sustained contemporary movement. “Through the film, we follow our protagonist as she becomes immersed and enthralled in the world of movement,” says Lindsey. “She quickly becomes overtaken by the spirit of dance, and her dream becomes her reality.”