Daniel Gwirtzman, Assistant Professor of Dance, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, had two of his dance films screen recently in national festivals. Dollhouse, produced by the NYC-based nonprofit Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, screened July 2 in Durham, NC as part of the American Dance Festival’s Movies by Movers festival. Willow, another Company project, screened May 27 in Atlanta at the enCore Dance on Film festival.
The American Dance Festival’s, in its 89th season, is dedicated to “highlighting the breadth and excellence of modern dance.” ADF’s Movies By Movers is an annual film festival dedicated to the celebration of the conversation between the body and the camera. The festival loves to share the history of the collaboration between the ephemeral art of live movement and the perpetual nature of film
enCore Dance on Film features short movies by dance filmmakers from around the world. Focusing on the interplay between dance and the techniques of filmmaking, enCore Dance on Film explores the possibilities and boundaries of Screen Dance as an art form. Showcasing annually since 2014, for enCore Dance on Film 2022, 223 submissions were received from 32 different countries with 20 final selections representing 10 different countries.
ABOUT THE FILMS
Both films were shot during the first summer of the pandemic and employed several IC alums and students in its cast alongside the Company’s dancers.
Dollhouse. Filmed in an eccentric interior, a series of vignettes animate an eclectic cast of ten in this dollhouse which comes to life. Dollhouse toys with the trope of a traveling troupe of performers seeking to entertain, challenging the viewer to determine for whom the performance is happening, questioning the perspectives of performance itself. Colorful, humorous, moody, and exuberant, Dollhouse features an original score by composer Jeff Story and a breakneck version of Gershwin’s I Got Rhythm, played by pianist Jonny May.
Willow. The film, showcasing an ensemble of dancers moving in unison in a variety of natural settings, finds inspiration from the transformative process of a tree. The title of the piece and the nature of it resonates at this time. Trees bloom again and so will we. We may be weeping now, but we will soon bloom flowers! Remaining stationary does not mean we are incapable of growth. There is much beauty in what we can accomplish despite seemingly stagnant positions. We are more than capable of blossoming into magnificent, strong trees. The metaphor reminds too of the good that can come from reconnecting to one's roots, or from planting new seeds in order to form new roots, or connections, in one's life. An elegy for those that passed from the pandemic, Willow is set to Scott Joplin’s stirring Weeping Willow.
For more information about Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company and to view the films, visit the Dance With Us platform, a free online digital resource.