“What the Body Holds” is the final film in SKETCH FILMS: Red Thread, a four-part documentary series by contemporary ballet company Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. A collaboration between choreographer Ben Needham-Wood and filmmaker Matthew McKee, the film makes the case for movement as a healing tool for survivors of trauma and abuse. In addition to featuring […]

In a surrealist and deeply emotional film directed by Sara Silkin, the dancers of “LOST MIND,” Hyosun Choi and JM Rodriguez of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, grapple with the turmoil resulting from mental illness. Although Silkin’s inspiration stemmed from her personal relationship with her father, her message has become increasingly relatable following a year defined […]

What is it like to live in the world of dance power couple Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber? For this video, director/editor Adi Halfin handed the pair a camera to capture their relationship and life together both through documentary-style footage and improvised dance. The resulting footage is set to Asaf Avidan’s “Lost Horse.” This […]

One of the unexpected benefits of 2020 has been seeing how our favorite dance artists have found new ways to express themselves. In this short film, “DRIFT,” beloved narrative ballet choreographer Cathy Marston puts on her (barefoot) dancing shoes for the first time in about 15 years. In an email she sent out last weekend, […]

In this weird holiday season, Nutcrackers are looking a little different than usual. In Post:Ballet’s “Waltz of the Snowflakes,” artistic director Robert Dekkers embraces COVID–19 limitations with creativity. This contemporary ballet take on the traditional snow scene is performed all in white—down to the masks, sneakers and even the clouds in the sky above the […]

For an online version of her outdoor Carpet Series, choreographer Gabrielle Lamb set this solo on American Ballet Theatre corps standout Zimmi Coker, one of our 2020 “25 to Watch.” Accompanied by New York City Ballet Orchestra violinist Derek Ratzenboeck on a breezy rooftop high above New York City, Coker performs Lamb’s intricate choreography with […]

Like a port in a frantic storm of video content, “Non—” offers us 90 seconds to slow down. Directed by Jack Birtles and choreographed by Cassandra Kowitz, this short film juxtaposes the stillness of Kowitz’s body with the calming, ever-present motion of water rippling in a lake. On culture website Ignant, which premiered the work, […]

Interdisciplinary artist, choreographer and filmmaker Jade Charon made this dance film, “Recharge,” while earning her MFA in dance at the University of California, Los Angeles. It was the second video work she created speaking directly to the racial dialogue happening in Black America. “With social media being the catalyst for free viewership of death, calamity, […]