Four years ago, EnCore: Dance on Film Curator and Adjudicator, Jennifer Tarrazi-Scully, realized that there wasn’t a convenient place carved out for dance on film in Atlanta. Tarrazi-Scully was formerly a staff member for Core Dance, a contemporary dance organization with home bases in Atlanta and Houston. Tarrazi-Scully began her career as a dancer and transitioned into film and arts administration after becoming a mother. Her work has led her to believe dance on film is essential to bringing dance to a wider community: “I have always said, in regards to dance being a somewhat unapproachable art form, that it isn’t that people don’t ‘like’ dance, it’s that they don’t know anything about it. Seeing a dance performance is not something people think about on date night. I am thrilled that dance artists are finding success in this medium [film], and it is becoming a shareable entity. Now people can research, see cutting edge contemporary artists or historical works and fall in love the way I did in my formative years.”
Still from film by Jennifer Tarrazi-Scully.
Utilizing a name originally created for special events at Core Dance, Tarrazi-Scully created EnCore: Dance on Film to celebrate local, national, and international works. Core Dance has served both Houston and Atlanta for almost forty years, performing over 125 pieces of original choreography internationally, and collaborating with local and international artists. Led by Artistic Director Sue Schroeder, Core Dance also commissions performances such as Field Day and EnCore, featuring outside choreographers and multi-media artists.
Still from film by Lulo Rivero.
This year, EnCore: Dance on Film will be presented as part of Artwalk during the opening night of Decatur Arts Festival. The two screenings, both free and public, will be about 150 minutes and feature 25 films chosen by a panel of adjudicators. The showings will open with shorts by local Atlanta and Houston artists, including Britt Whitmoyer Fishel, co-founder of Atlanta Dance Collective, and Lydia Hance, Executive and Artistic Director of Frame Dance Productions.
Many of the filmmakers featured, like Whitmoyer Fishel and Hance, are also performing artists and choreographers. This is Whitmoyer Fishel’s fourth time presenting work in EnCore, and her film this year is a feminist perspective on the research of William Farr, Nicholas Christakis, Ronald Glaser, and Jan Kiecolt-Glaser. Originally created as five separate films, and now combined into one, the work relates to the socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of behavior, health, and longevity. As for her experience with EnCore, Whitmoyer Fishel says, “What I love about it [EnCore] is what I love about dance and film in general: a sense of community. EnCore does a wonderful job of lifting up local artists and supporting the dance films from artists who are active in the community and helping to grow.”
Still from film by Dasa Grgic.
Dance on film allows choreography to live in a more permanent capacity than one evening on a stage, and many artists are exploring this way of extending the process. This year, submissions came from Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Italy, Belgium, the UK, Canada, and cities all over the United States. The submissions came in through FilmFreeway, an online platform for submitting content to film festivals and screenplay contests, allowing accessibility for all corners of the world. Because of this massive reach, Tarrazi-Scully says the new challenge is not having enough time to present all the films they would like: “Not accepting some of these films is a little heartbreaking.”
Nine of these films were selected to be presented as looping installations on TV screens in the performance space, facing out to the street. Passersby will be able to check these out while exploring the rest of ArtWalk. The 25 films selected for the program will be projected with sound inside the studio during the two formal showings.
For those that made the cut, EnCore: Dance on Film is an incredible opportunity to present their work to an audience that may not otherwise seek out dance on film. Sharon C. Carelock, the Production Coordinator at Core Dance, is featured in one of the films of the evening, exploring ideas of grief, mourning, and moving forward after loss. Carelock appreciates the art form’s ability to express the difficult parts of life, and she is eager to share her experiences with new audiences: “As an artist, I sometimes feel singular, but doing these projects lets me know that other people go through these things too. It makes the world seem less lonely.”
Core Dance will present EnCore: Dance on Film on Friday, May 25th with free showings at 5:00pm and 7:30pm at Core Studios, 139 Sycamore St, Decatur GA.
Still from film by Yeajean Choi.
Local ATL/HOU & Adjudicator Films
1. Epoch— Brittany Fishel (Atlanta, GA)
2. Shamed— Lydia Hance, Adjudicator (Houston, TX)
3. Revolution Study 1-Toward Utopia— Charli Brissey, Adjudicator
4. After The Reign: Mourning To Light— Jennifer Tarrazi-Scully, Adjudicator
Other Films in Program
5. Abandon— Georgia Parris (United Kingdom)
6. Black Out— Philippe Saire (Switzerland)
7. Caboom #22: Gossip— Sebastian Weber (Germany)
8. In search of lost time— Marta Renzi (Italy)
9. Chimera— Sebastion Guitton (France)
10. COLD— Sven Niemeyer (Germany)
11. Dressful of Dreams— Jim Haverkamp (United States)
12. Juliet, Juliet & Juliet— Isabella Rodriguez (Sweden)
13. Night Dancing— Barney Cokeliss (United Kingdom)
14. SOLUS— Simone Wierød (Denmark)
15. ctrlC/ctrlV— Dina Veryutina (Russian Federation)
16. Impetu’s: Flamenco’s driving force— Lulo Rivero (United States)
17. Wrecked Pulse– Pelle Hybinette & Skanes Dansteater (Sweden)
18. DIH.breath— Dasa Grgic (Italy)
19. Le Chorégrave— Jake Russell (France)
20. InterState— Ilana Goldman (United States)
21. Porcelain— Roswitha Chesher (United Kingdom)
22. Landscape Without Horizon— Yeajean Choi (United States)
23. Undercurrent— Anne Point (United Kingdom)
24. The Icons— Mitchell Rose (United States)
25. Flock Together— Alexander Irwin (United States)
Looping Installation Films
New Life— Lev Omelchenko (United States)
Her Voice— Silvia Defrance (Belgium)
Static Drift Abridged— Tate Glover (United States)
DAI JIAN SUITE— Mimi Garrard (United States)
Impressions— Madison Plummer (United States)
Querencia— Sarah Wilcoxon (United States)
Snags in Palladio— Michele Manzini (Italy)
TerraBlue— Rosely Conz (United States)
The Flow— Elias Djemil (Canada)
Click Here for more information on the program and films included.
