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Performing Arts

Dance

HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE - CHINESE CLASSICAL DANCE: DUNHUANG & LONG SLEEVE

Dunhuang Dance is a form of Chinese dance that draws sources from body movements depicted in artifacts found in Dunhuang Mogao Caves. Located in Gansu Province of China, along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the seven hundred and thirty five caves are famous for their statues and fresco paintings, spanning 1,000 year of Buddhist art.

Thousand Hand Guan Yin, a representative of Dunhuang Dance featured in this program is a contemporary creation conceived by the renowned Chinese choreographer, ZHANG Jigang, and produced by the China Disabled Performing Art Troupe. In this dance, a group of hearing-impaired dancers effectively utilize their body language to communicate the magic of "thousand hands" and hints at the deep meaning of Buddhism, its luminescence and boundless love. Long Sleeve Dance provides an overview of the historical development of Long Sleeve Dance, a dance form dating back to the 7th century B.C.E, a time that is known as the Spring-and-Autumn period in Chinese history. It introduces a handful of codified language of Long Sleeve Dance.

DVD / 2016 / 21 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE - CHINESE ETHNIC DANCE: DAI, AINI, TIBET, INNER MONGOLIA, HAN

Ethnic Dance-Dai: Located in the southwest region of China, Dai people enjoy mild weather and beautiful landscapes of mountains and lakes. While the water splashing and dragon boating events held in their annual spring festival showcase the close ties between their culture and the land, the water running in the rivers and lakes has often been the inspiration for their dance creations.

Ethnic Dance-Aini: Neighboring with the Dai group, Aini group lives primarily in and around mountains and canyons at an altitude of twenty-five to eighty hundred feet. They are famous for their production of Pu Er Tea. Dancing and singing are second nature to the Aini people. In this program, while listening to the folk song titled Magical Village by famous Aini singer MI Xian, the audience will enjoy Ainis cultural traditions of tea brewing and folk dancing by girls clapping to the rhythm and wearing spectacular ceremonial costumes.

Ethnic Dance-Tibetan: Living on the Plateau, at an average elevation of over 12 thousand feet above sea level, the Tibetan people are known to be compassionate, bold, candid and devout. Most Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism. Just as the distinctive geographical and weather conditions in the region have influenced their dance movements, Tibetan's sacred religious beliefs and political climate have also had an impact.

Ethnic Dance-Inner Mongolian: In this program, the ethereal voice of Buren Bayaer (a legendary Inner Mongolian Singer), along with the images of yurts and running horses, brings the audience to an otherworldly setting of Inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolians, in general, are known to excel at horse riding. The span of the great plain has cultivated the openness and strength in this ethnic group and nurtured their vigorous, bold and energetic dances.

Ethnic Dance-Han: Han is the largest ethnic group in China, whose people inhabit the middle and eastern regions of the country. Hans folk dance tradition started on the streets in the 5th century as ritual events. Nowadays, this tradition named Yangko flourishes everywhere, on the streets, in classrooms and on stages. This program showcases a myriad of Yangko forms, both on and off stage, including Northeastern Yanko, Shandong Yanko and Shanbei Yanko, each has its distinctive features.

DVD / 2016 / 47 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: CLASSICAL DANCE - DUNHUANG

Dunhuang Dance is a form of Chinese dance that draws sources from body movements depicted in artifacts found in Dunhuang Mogao Caves. Located in Gansu Province of China, along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the seven hundred and thirty five caves are famous for their statues and fresco paintings, spanning 1,000 year of Buddhist art. Thousand Hand Guan Yin, a representative of Dunhuang Dance featured in this program is a contemporary creation conceived by the renowned Chinese choreographer, ZHANG Jigang, and produced by the China Disabled Performing Art Troupe. In this dance, a group of hearing-impaired dancers effectively utilize their body language to communicate the magic of "thousand hands" and hints at the deep meaning of Buddhism, its luminescence and boundless love.

DVD / 2016 / 12 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: CLASSICAL DANCE - LONG SLEEVE

This program provides an overview of the historical development of Long Sleeve Dance, a dance form dating back to the 7th century B.C.E, a time that is known as the Spring-and-Autumn period in Chinese history. It introduces a handful of codified language of Long Sleeve Dance. Highlighted are the long Sleeve dance performances titled The Colors of Water choreographed by WANG Yukun and MIAO Xiaolong and Zhao Jun Departs the Frontier choreographed by JIANG Huaxuan. In Zhao Jun Departs the Frontier, LIU Min, a nationally acclaimed dance master, employes exquisite language of Long Sleeve to convey the conflicted emotions of ZHAO Jun (one of "The Four Beauties" known in Chinese History) as she Leaves her homeland and lavish lifestyle for the grasslands of the remote north as part of peace treaty. The dance tells an ancient story of loyalty, heroism and self-sacrifice for the common good.

DVD / 2016 / 9 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: ETHNIC DANCE - AINI

Neighboring with the Dai group, Aini group lives primarily in and around mountains and canyons at an altitude of twenty-five to eighty hundred feet. They are famous for their production of Pu Er Tea. Dancing and singing are second nature to the Aini people. In this program, while listening to the folk song titled Magical Village by famous Aini singer MI Xian, the audience will enjoy Ainis cultural traditions of tea brewing and folk dancing by girls clapping to the rhythm and wearing spectacular ceremonial costumes.

DVD / 2016 / 7 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: ETHNIC DANCE - DAI

Located in the southwest region of China, Dai people enjoy mild weather and beautiful landscapes of mountains and lakes. While the water splashing and dragon boating events held in their annual spring festival showcase the close ties between their culture and the land, the water running in the rivers and lakes has often been the inspiration for their dance creations. The dance presentation titled Playing with Water allows the audience to experience vicariously the heat of the sunlight and the crystal clear water streaming though the river. This dance captures the unique body movements of Dai Dance that reflects the cordial and gentle nature of this ethnic group.

DVD / 2016 / 12 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: ETHNIC DANCE - HAN

Han is the largest ethnic group in China, whose people inhabit the middle and eastern regions of the country. Hans folk dance tradition started on the streets in the 5th century as ritual events. Nowadays, this tradition named Yangko flourishes everywhere, on the streets, in classrooms and on stages. This program showcases a myriad of Yangko forms, both on and off stage, including Northeastern Yanko, Shandong Yanko and Shanbei Yanko, each has its distinctive features. The stage presentations of the Northeastern Yanko titled Happy Snow choreographed by WANG Xiaoyan and performed by MING Li of Shanghai Theatre Academy and the Shandong Yanko named Blossoms of Mountain Flowers choreographed by CHI Hong and MIAO Xiaolong and performed/produced by the Dance Department of Shanghai Normal University are stunning examples of this dance form.

DVD / 2016 / 8 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: ETHNIC DANCE - INNER MONGOLIAN

In this program, the ethereal voice of Buren Bayaer (a legendary Inner Mongolian Singer), along with the images of yurts and running horses, brings the audience to an otherworldly setting of Inner Mongolia. Inner Mongolians, in general, are known to excel at horse riding. The span of the great plain has cultivated the openness and strength in this ethnic group and nurtured their vigorous, bold and energetic dances. Distinguished Inner Mongolian dancers, Dun E Er and Si Qin Hua, demonstrate traditional Mongolian Horse Dance, Chopstick Dance and Bowl Dance. It features Leaping Horses choreographed by MA Yue of China Central University for Nationalities, a contemporary stage dance presentation inspired by Mongolian horse dance tradition. An interview with MA Yue provides an insight into the conceptual and artistic choices made in the creation of this dance piece.

DVD / 2016 / 10 minutes

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HERITAGE OF CHINESE CULTURE AND DANCE, THE: ETHNIC DANCE - TIBETAN

Living on the Plateau, at an average elevation of over 12 thousand feet above sea level, the Tibetan people are known to be compassionate, bold, candid and devout. Most Tibetans practice Tibetan Buddhism. Just as the distinctive geographical and weather conditions in the region have influenced their dance movements, Tibetans sacred religious beliefs and political climate have also had an impact. This program combines both Tibetan folk dance and stage dance performances of The Song of the Emancipated Serfs choreographed by XU Xiaoping of China Central University for Nationalities and Tibetan Mystery choreographed by YANG Liping (also lead dancer). In addition, Madam Yang provides insight into her artistic and casting choices for Tibetan Mystery.

DVD / 2016 / 10 minutes

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ARGENTINA

Director: Carlos Saura

Poetic, riveting and moving, Argentina explores the heart of traditional Argentine folklore and its stunning musical heritage - from traditional styles such as the Zamba of "La Felipe Varela" through to modern dance - as choreographed by critically-acclaimed Carlos Saura.

DVD (Spanish with English Subtitles) / 2015 / 85 minutes

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PS DANCE!: DANCE EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Director: Nel Shelby

Step inside the halls of five NYC public schools and celebrate dance! Hosted by veteran TV journalist Paula Zahn, PS Dance! is the documentary that captures what happens when students add dance to their daily studies. The journey is one of imagination, curiosity, hard work and discipline. In these studios dance is for every child.

DVD / 2015 / 53 minutes

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BALLET BOYS

Director: Kenneth Elvebakk

Filmed over four years, Ballet Boys follows the victories, trials, and set-backs of three friends and rising Dutch dance stars: Lukas, Syvert, and Torgeir. They sacrifice a normal high school experience including parties and dating for the sake of ambition and a love of dance. Facing pressure from their parents, school teachers and ballet mentors, the boys prepare for potentially life-altering and career-making auditions at some of Europe's most prestigious ballet schools.

DVD (Norwegian with English Subtitles) / 2014 / 72 minutes

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DANCE GOODBYE, THE

Director: Ron Steinman

What is life like for a dancer when they can no longer dance? Inspired by Merrill Ashley's departure from the New York City Ballet as an acclaimed principal dancer, this documentary, created by Ron Steinman and Eileen Douglas, captures the poignancy of this life turning point. After a struggle to find her next step, today Merrill Ashley travels around the world teaching Balanchine to dance companies which perform his works as once she did. This is the story of any dancer - or, in truth any one of us - who needs to find their way into a new life.

DVD / 2014 / 56 minutes

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MISS HILL: MAKING DANCE MATTER

Director: Greg Vander Veer

Miss Hill: Making Dance Matter tells the inspiring and largely unknown story of Martha Hill, a woman whose life was defined by her love for dance, and who successfully fought against great odds to establish dance as a legitimate art form in America.

Through archival footage, lively interviews with friends and intimates, and rare footage of the spirited subject, the film explores Hills's arduous path from a Bible Belt childhood in Ohio to the halls of academia at NYU and Bennington College, to a position of power and influence as Juilliard's founding director of dance (1952-1985). Peppered with anecdotal material delivered by dance notables who knew her, this revelatory story depicts her struggles and successes, the film is a celebration of dance and an examination of the passion required to keep it alive.

DVD / 2014 / 80 minutes

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SECUNDARIA

Director: Mary Jane Doherty

Secundaria quietly follows one high school class over a three-year period on its journey through Cuba's world famous National Ballet School. Our teenage dancers love to dance, but many of them must dance as their sole way out of poverty and the constraints- both visible and invisible- that shape life in Cuba.

DVD (Spanish with English Subtitles) / 2014 / 96 minutes

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PETER BROOK: THE TIGHTROPE

Director: Simon Brook

For the very first time in 40 years, Peter Brook, one of the foremost directors of contemporary theatre, has agreed to raise the curtain and allow his son Simon Brook to film behind the scenes and to reveal the secrets of his revolutionary training techniques. This unique and personal film takes us beyond the intimacy of a workshop, into a philosophical experience, on a tightrope...

Filmed in total immersion, with five hidden cameras, The Tightrope plunges the audience into the intimate aspects of Peter Brook's work, as well as that of his acting troupe, to illuminate the collaborative creative processes that have shaped Peter Brook's philosophy of art and made his work a monumental critical success.

DVD / 2013 / 86 minutes

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TO DANCE LIKE A MAN

Director: Sylvie Collier

Cuban identical triplets Angel, Cesar and Marcos are top young students at Cuba's world-famous National Ballet School. To Dance Like a Man follows them as they are poised to begin their dancing careers.

Filmmaker Sylvie Collier was granted extraordinary, unlimited access to the school, and backstage at the Grand Theatre, allowing her to film the boys as they train in the robust and expressive style that distinguishes Cuban ballet. Her film provides a child's eye view on determination and the hunger for success, within in the context of contemporary Cuba, a country with an outsize international role in arts and culture.

DVD (Spanish with English subtitles) / 2012 / 58 minutes

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TUTU MUCH

Director: Elise Swerhone

TuTu MUCH follows nine young ballet dancers as they plie, pirouette and compete for highly-coveted spots in an intensive four-week professional ballet summer program at the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Leaving behind their families and friends, often for the first time, each girl confronts the painstaking and sometimes rewarding realities of pursuing her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer.

The daily classes are grueling tests of their physical stamina and emotional grit. "You've even got to love the pain," says twelve-year-old Sidnie, one of the prospective ballerinas. As the girls learn during the course of the auditions, talent and passion alone do not guarantee success: the success of a dancer often comes down to the shape of a foot or the length of the neck. In the last few days of the program the girls find out which of them will take the next step toward the dream of becoming a professional ballerina, and which ones won't.

DVD / 2012 / 83 minutes

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YOU DON'T NEED FEET TO DANCE

Director: Alan Govenar

Alan Govenar's intimate new documentary reveals the extraordinary life of African immigrant Sidiki Conde, a man overcoming his disability one day at a time in New York City.

Sidiki was born in 1961, in Guinea, West Africa. At age fourteen, polio left him almost completely paralyzed. Sent to live with his grandfather in a village deep in the forest, Sidiki learned to manage his disability, building his upper-body strength so that he could walk on his hands. When faced with the dilemma of dancing in a coming of age ceremony, he reconstructed the traditional steps by dancing on his hands instead of his feet.

In time Sidiki ran away to Conakry, Guinea's capital city, where he and his friends organized an orchestra of artists with disabilities recruited from the city's streets. They toured the country, striving to change the perception of the disabled. In 1987, he became a member of the renowned dance company Merveilles D'Afrique, founded by Mohamed Komoko Sano. Sidiki became a soloist and served as rehearsal master, composing and directing the company's repertoire. He also worked as a musician and arranger with Youssou N'Dour, Salifa Keita, Baba Maal and other popular musicians.

In 1998, Conde's music brought him to the United States, and he founded the Tokounou All-Abilities Dance and Music Ensemble. In the United States, he has continued to perform and teach, instructing people of all abilities in schools, hospitals and universities, and served as artist in residence at a Bronx public school for children with multiple disabilities.

In You Don't Need Feet to Dance, Sidiki balances his career as a performing artist with the almost insurmountable obstacles of life in New York City, from his fifth-floor walk-up apartment in the East village, down the stairs with his hands and navigating in his wheelchair through Manhattan onto buses and into the subway. Despite the challenges, Sidiki teaches workshops for disabled kids, busks on the street, rehearses with his musical group, bicycles with his hands, and prepares for a baby naming ceremony, where he plays djembe drums, sings, and dances on his hands.

DVD / 2012 / 88 minutes

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MASTER QI AND THE MONKEY KING

Director: Alan Govenar

This film explores the life and work of the preeminent master of Chinese Opera living in the United States. Qi Shu Fang was a household name in China due to her feature role in one of the Cultural Revolution Opera films, and travelled the world to show off her mastery of the art. The film explores why Qi, her husband and a whole troupe of Chinese Opera performers have moved to the United States to transplant their art to a foreign culture.

DVD (Chinese with English subtitles) / 2011 / 81 minutes

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NEVER STAND STILL: DANCING AT JACOB'S PILLOW

Director: Ron Honsa

Legendary dancers and choreographers Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Suzanne Farrell, Mark Morris, Judith Jamison and Bill Irwin appear alongside new innovators to reveal the passion, discipline, and daring of the world of dance in Never Stand Still. Filmed at the iconic Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, this thrilling documentary features amazing performances by world-renowned dancers interwoven with intimate interviews, behind-the-scenes insights, and rare archival footage.

Founded in the 1930s by visionary dance pioneer Ted Shawn on a farm in the Berkshires, today the Pillow is an idyllic mecca for artists and audiences from around the world, a place where dance in all its forms - from ballet to jazz to contemporary - is studied, created, performed and celebrated.

Like Wim Wenders's Pina, Never Stand Still immerses us in the lives of extraordinary artists and the power of dance.

DVD / 2011 / 74 minutes

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BEHIND THE BURLY Q

Director: Leslie Zemeckis

Burlesque and vaudeville acts were America's most popular form of live entertainment in the first half of the 20th century - until cinema drove them from the mainstream. To add insult to injury, the art of burlesque became vilified and misunderstood, and was largely left out of our cultural history. By telling the intimate and surprising stories from its golden age through the women (and men!) who lived it, Behind the Burly Q reveals the true story of burlesque, even as it experiences a new renaissance.

DVD / 2010 / 98 minutes

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DANCING DREAMS

Director: Anne Linsel & Rainer Hoffman

World famous dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch selected 40 teenagers who had never heard her name to be part of her dance piece Contact Zone. For 10 months through opening night, the young dancers discover Bausch's genius and their own bodies. Pina Bausch died in 2009; a sensation at the 2010 Berlin Film Festival, Dancing Dreams is a testament to Bausch's revolutionary work.

DVD / 2010 / 89 minutes

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DANCING ACROSS BORDERS

Director: Anne Bass

A feature documentary which chronicles the intimate and triumphant story of Sokvannara Sar who was discovered by Anne Bass on a trip to Angkor Wat, Cambodia, in 2000 and brought to the ballet stage in America.

A longtime patron of dance in the U.S., Bass arranged for Sy to visit New York and audition for the prestigious School of the American Ballet (SAB). What unfolds in Dancing Across Borders is a tentative negotiation between Sy and the world of American ballet and culture-from the serene countryside of Southeast Asia to the halls of SAB, to the stage of the Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. The film follows Sy's unusual development as a dancer and offers a remarkable behind-the-scenes look into the world of American ballet. At its heart, Dancing Across Borders is an extraordinary story of growth, adaptation, and belonging as well as of the development of talent and the mastery of an art form.

DVD-R / 2009 / 88 minutes

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BALLERINA

Director: Bertrand Normand

In the grand tradition of the Ballet Russes comes Bertrand Normand's portrait of five Russian ballerinas from the Mariinski Theatre, formerly known as the Kirov. Behind any great ballerina lies the discipline and rigour that comes from decades of training and practice; and Russia's pre-eminent dancers - superstars such as Nijinsky, Baryshnikov and Pavlova - established the reputation of Russian dancers as the best in the world. The dancers profiled in Ballerina are uniquely individual - tough, insightful and exceptionally talented; onstage they reveal no hint of the sweat, pain and hard work of the rehearsal studio. From Swan Lake to Romeo and Juliet, from the backstage studio to performing on stages around the world, Ballerina captures the sublime beauty of ballet, in all its resplendent glory.

DVD (English, French, With English Subtitles) / 2006 / 80 minutes

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