ArtTV LLC - Vitae

Independent production of documentary programs featuring dance and theatre

Photo credits (L-R; T-B:)

Now You See Them...
Carla Perlo, choreographer
film: L.Lewet

20/20 Visions: Dance Place
The Story of Dance Place &
The Washingtonians

Funding for 20/20 Visions: Dance Place was provided in part by The National Initiative to Preserve America's Dance (NIPAD), a grant program under the umbrella SAVE AS: DANCE administered at Dance/USA, underwritten by The Pew Charitable Trusts

In My Skin
Dan Burkholder & Sharon Mansur
cam: S. Smith
Carla Perlo with Daniel Bloom
Dance Alley dedication -1986
cam: M. Dibble

Dance Place, Brookland, D.C.
before renovation

For The Ones Healing
Anne MacDonald & Mary Buckley
Deborah Riley, choreographer
cam: J. Lowe

20/20 Visions: Dance Place introduces viewers to the diverse field of contemporary dance through the story of Dance Place - the hub of the Washington, D.C. dance community and one of the most important presenters of new dance in the country. Dance Place is a theater, school, presenter & community resource devoted to bettering society through dance.

In the fall of 2000, Dance Place celebrated its' 20th anniverary with a weekend showcaase - The Washingtonians - bringing together twenty choreographers who were instrumental to the growth of dance in Washington, D.C.

The documentary tracks the history of Dance Place from its' predecessor Dance Project, founded by Jan Van Dyke in 1973. Carla Perlo took over the Adams Morgan studio and lead the Dance Place Board of Directors on her quest to purchase and renovate a building in Brookland, creating a permanent home for dance in Washington, D.C.

20/20 Visions: Dance Place was taped over a five day period, three days with two cameras. Archival material includes dances taped for "Metro Dance/Arts" an award-winning multi-camera series produced from 1985-1990; photographs by Dennis Deloria and those of visiting artists; 16mm dance films directed by Linda Lewett , video footage from the Dance Alley naming ceremony and Adams Morgan studio, plus opening day of the Brookland location.

The documentary is structured without narration through interviews with 20 choreographers (see links below), plus Alan M. Kriegsman, Critic Emeritis, The Washington Post Sali Ann Kriegsman, ` Coalition; Kim Chan, Wshington Performing Arts Society Alvin Mayes, Professor, University of Maryland and past Dance Place Board Chairs: Richard Pilkinton, Jr., Kevin McQueen and Jim Epstein.

Doug Yeuell
& Ann Behrends
rehearse
Jump Beat
cam: D. Allen

Jan Van Dyke Dance Group
rehearse
Quatre Femmes
cam: S. Smith

Karen Bernstein
in By the Light
Eric Hampton, choreographer
Karen & Alvin

Lesa McLaughlin
rehearses
Girl Child in the Liberation
cam: S. Smith

Old Cronies
Deborah Riley Dance Projects
cam: S.Smith

Quotes from
20/20 Visions: Dance Place

Paul Jackson and
Stefan Johnson
tech for Cathy Paine

Carla Perlo: "We want people to move forward. We want new ideas. We want people to just blossom and use Dance Place as a springboard and an oasis. Regardless of what the outcome is. Whether they stay at Dance Place or move on, while they're there, they feel that there is a support system around them and it allows them to grow and develop and be creative to the best of their capacity."

Deborah Riley: "Modern dance works with philosophies. Philosophies of movement, philosophies of energy and how you relate to the world. You're breathing with each other so intimately and in such a complex movement way Éthere's an intimacy there that's not like any other kind of intimacy."

Alan Kreigsman: "The whole body and being, mind, heart and spirit are the stuff of dance, and it gives it somehow a very direct, intimate, visceral connection with one's own kinesthetic and emotional life. ... I think of music basically as an art of what might one call virtual movement. It's the movement of sound in time but sound is just a way of conveying the sensation of movement. And by extension, motion and thereby emotion - the inner movement of the spirit. Dance puts this even more centrally in focus by making movement it's whole basis."

Sali Ann Kreigsman: "Dance Place has broadened out itÕs mandate in dance to embrace all of the other forms of dance which are now part of the contemporary dance scene. And it's that openness that I think Carla has engendered at Dance Place that has made it one of the most important sites in the country."

Kim Chan: "I think in the exchange of ideas between artists and across borders and across communities - that people are stimulated and that they then create new work. And a lot of the work we present with Dance Place is an attempt to find those connections. "

Cathy Paine: "The tradition of modern dance is that there is no tradition. There's a history. But always the idea is what can I do that's new. What can I do thatÕs different."

Alvin Mayes: "You don't stop being a dancer here and start being a Mom. You don't stop being a choreographer and start being a teacher. It's all part of the ongoingness of fulfilling whoever you are."

Producer/Director/Editor: Linda Lewett
Associate Producers: Carla Perlo & Deborah Riley
Completion Date: August 2001.
Length - 56 minutes
On-Line Editor: Henry Nickel
Sound Mix: Brad McIlvaine
Post-production Facility: Henninger Media Services