Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company to Premiere CAMO MAN DANCES On Digital Platform Dance With Us

New York-based nonprofit Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company has announced the premiere of Camo Man Dances, the next offering in a monthly series of dance films launched on Dance With Us, an educational digital platform that began in June 2021.

Camo Man Dances

Beginning Sunday, October 31, 2021

Coinciding with Halloween, camouflage is the costume Daniel adopts for this latest film. Shot on location in Ucross, Wyoming, at The Ucross Foundation's expansive compound (20,000 private acres), Daniel's alter ego, Camo Man, is out in the wild. Toggling between a signature humor and a serious commitment to the art of contemporary modern dance, Camo Man Dances plays with the viewer's expectations. Watch the trailer here!

"Camouflage means something different to everyone. For hunters, the clothing is part of their way of life. For the general consumer, it has become a norm in fashion, with endless variations available. I was interested in exploring this concept of blending in as a metaphor for the ability to transform one's identity," said Daniel Gwirtzman. "While hunters were shooting deer on the sublime property, I was shooting the deer with my camera. The shocking irony of this resonated viscerally, as I would hear the gunshots while in the act of capturing them, and creating choreography based on their movements. Five weeks in isolation on the property provided many moments to observe and research their behavior. The residency staff advised me to wear orange so they would not have the casualty of a wounded artist under their watch! After shooting I would go into town and shop for groceries in my costume, while others were wearing the same garb as their daily uniform. The contrast between these perspectives toward nature informed the piece, which investigates the essence of blending in and standing out."

Films recently released on the platform include:

Willow: Showcasing eleven dancers moving in unison in a variety of lush natural settings, and featuring breathtaking drone footage, this piece finds inspiration from the transformative process of a tree. Filmed during the first summer of the pandemic, the title of the piece and the nature of it resonates at this time. Trees bloom again and so will we. An elegy for those who died from COVID-19, the piece balances optimism with the solemnity in the Scott Joplin score. dancewithus.org/willow

Parade: An "amuse-bouche," Parade was created as a curtain-opener for the platform's launch, an overture to introduce the ensemble that is featured in the films Willow and Dollhouse. Set to an original score by composer Jeff Story, Parade is a celebration of summer, pride, dance, and the opening of Dance With Us. www.dancewithus.org/parade

Dollhouse: A series of vignettes animate an eclectic cast of ten in an eccentric interior in Dollhouse. The film toys with the trope of a traveling troupe of performers seeking to entertain and challenging the viewer to determine for whom the performance is happening, questioning the perspectives of performance itself. www.dancewithus.org/dollhouse

Adrift: Set on a floating dock, the film features a couple together yet apart. Adrift positions two people in close proximity, drifting...unmoored, yet contained, abandoned, yet rooted. dancewithus.org/dance-films/adrift

Charged: Created during the pandemic and screened at film festivals domestically and abroad, this humorous six-minute film showcases an over-caffeinated character in her kitchen toggling between chaotic organization and organized chaos. If not on the verge of a nervous breakdown, a woman on the brink of disaster. www.dancewithus.org/dance-films/charged

Dandelion: The dandelion is a metaphor for being rooted, for perseverance; it is also a visual collection of poems and a meditation on time, repetition, patterns, burnout, and balance. dancewithus.org/dance-films/dandelion

The Lecture: Set to a score of pre-recorded lectures by university professors, The Lecture marries the intellectual and the physical to explore a variety of subjects including the history of language, the science of happiness, the nature of abstraction, mathematics, human evolution, and dreams. dancewithus.org/dance-films/the-lecture

Upcoming Monthly Dances to Premiere on the Dance With Us Platform

November 2021: Just in Time for the Thanksgiving Holidays: Castillo

Filmed in southern Spain, Castillo was shot on location at The Castillo de Blanca, a castle erected in the 12th century in the Spanish town of Blanca (Region of Murcia). Daniel's daily investigation and interrogation of the site was an arduous and risky process, climbing 730 feet daily underneath the intense summer heat, while the town took siesta, and onto the two towers and risky pinnacle, without being tethered. Watch the trailer! (password: castillo) https://vimeo.com/533943555

December 2021: Just in Time for the December Holidays: The Performer

The Performer considers constructions of performance and homes in on the curvilinear separating fantasy from reality and drama from camp. The Performer presents a documentation of an over-the-top artist, a moody bon vivant with a penchant for excess and grand expression who lives large, including in the recesses of his head. The film is shot in the house Picasso gave to the surrealist artist Dora Maar, his famous muse and mistress, when he ended their relationship. Dora, significantly altered, lived and died in this maison in the Provençal village of Ménerbes, France. The film takes inspiration from her life, tackling the schism between the performance of self that one broadcasts to the public, and that which one endures privately. Watch the trailer! https://vimeo.com/344880352

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