Frameform

David Roussève is a renowned choreographer, writer, director and filmmaker, as well as a longtime board member and juror of Dance Camera West. Along with his many accomplishments as a professor at UCLA, and artistic director of the dance theater company REALITY, David has been a dance film practitioner for decades.  His films, such as Bittersweet & Two Seconds after Laughter, have screened worldwi...

This week, Clare speaks with Samantha Shay, a multidisciplinary artist and founder of the international production company Source Material, who is currently in residence at Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. Samantha outlines her unique path to dance film and shines a light on her research and engagement with Pina Bausch’s work. She also discusses the process (and some funny anecdotes) of the crea...

Frameform is back in session and we’re kicking the season off with a collaboration! Earlier this year, we joined forces with Dance Camera West, by interviewing 4 selected filmmakers who were screening at this year’s 2023 fest. First in line, Hannah chats with director/producer Bridget Murnane, celebrating her first feature documentary “Bella,” a biopic championing the life of California’s own, Bel...

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*  We’ve made it to the annual Beyond Spectacle episode which means our feature presentation today is our last viewing of the year.  But before we wrap up on season 3 of Frameform, we’re screening Anna Rose Holmer’s 2015 indie feature, “The Fits.” A story taken place outside of Cincinnati, Ohio following 11-year-old Toni, a tomboy who struggles to fit into her new dance troupe wh...

This week’s episode is dedicated to the life, work and legacy of Simon Fildes who was an international award-winning film-maker, artist, curator and teacher.  This episode features the voices of some of Simon’s many collaborators and colleagues, who share their memories and reflections on both him and his work. Simon was a pioneer in choreographic approaches to editing and his work with frequent c...

In today’s Pas de Cast, we’re launching a new episode series where, rather than a specific location or film, we will be exploring how specific genres of dance intersect with cinema and technology. Ballet originated as a combination of choreographic display and social dance, and we have seen this evolve as our capacities to both choreograph and be social expand. Like a Ballet you may see In the the...

This week, Frameform welcomes Lórand Janos, a multi-hyphenate artist and the founding artistic director of Choreoscope: Barcelona Dance Film Festival. Lórand’s is passionate about the world of dance film and is not afraid to ruffle feathers and break molds when it comes to Choreoscope’s programming, which includes scenes from television and alternative media as well as screendance.  The tenth edit...

Ok, you caught us again in another music video episode. We just can’t get enough of the power of dance and music uniting together in the world of visual entertainment. But in the years of the early 2000s, there was a flavor of music videos that were incredibly different from years past and future. One of those outside the box artists leading the way of wildly explosive yet iconically memorable mus...

Grab your boots and your toque - we’re going on another location scouting adventure and this time our destinations are snowy! Highlighting a few selections, we discuss possible themes, trends, and significance of cold places in their many manifestations. We reflect how snowy locations symbolize hibernation, silence, cycles of life, and how each of the selected works express ideas of no place, any...

The lights have risen and it’s time for a pause. Get a stretch in and walk over to the lobby. Meeting new people at film festival intermissions is always fun– you get to learn who they are, why they came to the event, and what films interest them. Basically, we’re here bringing an intermission to you! You’ve heard our views on a variety of dance films, but haven’t really talked about why we may be...

In today’s episode, Jen Ray discusses the documentary “How She Moves” with its co-directors, Anya Raza and Aisha Linnea. All of us Frameformers had the opportunity to see this film at Dancinema’s 2021 Capitol Dance & Cinema Festival at Eaton Workshop in DC and we knew right away we wanted to share more about this important project on the podcast with the creators. About “ How She Moves ”: On the e...

Something’s coming, something good…. it’s our West Side Story deep dive! Every season we like to pick at least one feature film to dedicate an entire episode to. This week, we’re discussing the 2021 remake of West Side Story.  We cover some comparisons and context, what we did and didn’t enjoy, and some key takeaways from our viewing experiences. Did we all love it? Do we all recommend it? Do any...

Get ready to fly! This week, the Frameform team discusses the uses and mis-uses of drone cinematography in dance. They discuss the aesthetics of the drone camera as well as how its associations with military and surveillance affect the way the onscreen image is read. They reflect on the drone’s potential as a dance partner and what differentiates flight as embodiment and flight as spectacle on fil...

It’s 2022 and it’s time to get with the program people.  PUT YOUR WORK ONLINE.  Do it in a fashion that makes sense to you. Whether that be hosting your own website portfolio or starting a YouTube channel focusing on the creative process. Overall, sharing *content* online is essentially necessary in this digital age. Representing one-third of the Frameform team (Hannah here), I find that the inter...

Over the last two years, screendance artists have been living, meeting, watching and practicing online. If you are in the screendance online sphere, you probably noticed the impeccably curated and presented Duet with Camera. Duet with Camera is dedicated towards sustaining the growing area of interdisciplinary practice, experimentation and collaboration in dance and cinema, with a focus in cultiva...

We’re back with our regularly scheduled programming! In today’s episode, we’re back on the location scouting game by taking a closer look into dance films taking place in empty swimming pools! Like our previous episode with warehouse films, deserted swimming pools have populated the screendance world with its desaturated backdrop aesthetic. Something about the hues of blue tile and barren empty se...

 Frameform is back!! We kick off Season 3 with a recap of the Screendance Symposium, which took place at the University of Wisconsin, Madison in April of 2022. Jen and Clare reflect on being a part of a rich gathering and sharing of the screendance community and share excerpts from several presentations. First up, Autumn Mist Belk (FAD: Film-Art-Dance, now Screendance in Schools) invited Frameform...

We’re back with SEASON 3 of FRAMEFORM! Coming to YOU, Wednesday July 6th! – Frameform is BACK in session with fresh perspectives and heated roundtables. Taking a closer look into cinematic trends through the audience’s lens. And kicking back with the makers and curators who are sharing dance film beyond the video screen.   Coming up this season... Jen: I watched West Side Story no fewer than 10 ti...

That’s a wrap for Season 2! But before we go on break, we finally had the chance to sit down together in the same room and reflect on our podcast journey. As we look back on Season 2, we thank all the humble guests who sat with us to learn about their point of view on dance film. Furthermore, we gag and giggle on the possibilities of what’s to come for seasons ahead. Thank you to all who have been...

LISTENER! There is a video version of this podcast! Go watch it here: YouTube -- This week, the partners chat with the amazing hosts of Frameform about season 2! -- Links from discussion Capitol Dance and Cinema Festival, Saturday, October 9, 2021: LINK Clare on SFDFF Dancing Through the Lens: LINK San Fransisco Dance Film Festival, October 15-24, 2021: LINK -- Website Instagram YouTube

We’re back with another Beyond Spectacle episode looking at dramatic fictional films that integrate dance and movement into their story. For this episode we are joined with previous Frameform guest, Nathan Scoll, who chose our destiny to dissect Disney’s 1949 animated double billed feature, “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.” As we focus our attention to the film’s second story following Ich...

On our last episode of Location Scout, you voted for us to cover films that were in water locations. However, fear not if you pined for the DESERT as that’s where we are headed next. For quite some time, desert locations have been making its rounds in the dance film circuit. With its empty surroundings and expansive room for birds eye drone shots, this dry landscape is a great backdrop for shape s...

With animation, almost anything is possible. And in this day in age, there are so many styles and forms of inventive moving design. In today’s episode, we’ll be exploring many modes of animated dance films. From gravity defying claymation to the expressively complex technology of 3D generated imagery-- it’s amazing to see how animators are bringing their own spin to choreography for the characters...

While kids and teens sometimes arise in our conversations on tech, culture, and our own experiences, we wanted to dedicate an episode to focus on what it’s like working with them and watching them in the context of screendance. While there are some differences when collaborating with and teaching with this younger demographic, our conversation reveals that the extra creativity, play, and care invo...

Where do you watch dancefilm? On TikTok? In a theatre at a film festival? Maybe a gallery? How do we share and enlighten this form of art? How do festivals or algorithms pick which films to feature on their platforms? On today’s episode, curator, writer, filmmaker, and all around great person, Cara Hagan answers such questions on showcasing work as a festival curator and researcher. Hagan, most kn...