Luminario Ballet Premieres Online Short Dance Film L'INVALIDE

Luminario Ballet of Los Angeles was able to produce a real dance film during extreme covid lockdown in Los Angeles this January. "L'Invalide" premieres online May 3, 2021.

Online premiere (free, open to all) can be found on Luminario Ballet's website: https://luminarioballet.org/movie

Audience who want to be notified/reminded in advance may sign up on the website.

"L'Invalide" is short dance film choreographed and directed by Judith FLEX Helle, for Luminario Ballet 2021. Produced by Judith FLEX Helle, Allen Walls, and Luminario Ballet.

"L'Invalide" is- Alice in Wonderland meets Dracula meets the Wilis- the ghosts from Giselle!

It's a ballet, a story, a music video (three songs, actually!), and a dream (a nightmare? a fantasy?), all rolled into one wild trippy twelve minute dance film.

Our darling Invalid, Juliette, is at the hospital, where she is being treated for her desperate illness. She is forced by her parents and the medical staff to take experimental medications, they hope it will cure her; and the side effects cause her to hallucinate wildly, and slip into a coma. While unconscious, she dreams vividly of being menaced by sensual vampires, who then devour her. Alas, during her vampire coma dream, she dies. She returns as a ghost, surrounded by other, helpful and loving ghosts, who although they themselves are trapped in an endless loop of haunting between worlds, help her ascend to the heavens, where she will be at peace.

This is a semi-autobiographical story about Luminario Ballet's director Judith FLEX Helle, who grew up as a sickly, drug addled, in and out of the hospital, sex obsessed, dance obsessed, and art obsessed teen, so the experience of Juliette's character in the hospital, tripping on drugs, fighting off her parents and the doctors came directly from her real life. The vampire section is typical New England night time imagination terror, and the ghost section is a contemporary ballet contemplation of the heaven we all seek to find.

Judith FLEX Helle's colorful memoir, "Wild Animals I Have Known", about her odd, sickly New England childhood, wacky adventures at her SF art school, hobnobbing with London's aristos, becoming a professional dancer/trapeze artist in Germany was written during covid lockdown and is currently in it's second draft edit; publishing date TBD.

This film adhered to the LA City Film and TV Covid Compliance Regulations; a covid compliance officer was on staff the entire pre-production, rehearsal, and shoot production, keeping us safe.

In spite of that, out of a cast and crew of 25, five members of cast and crew had to be replaced due to covid sickness, positive tests, or close contact with covid sick and dying. We are incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who made this film into the highlight of Luminario Ballet's forced covid hiatus.

The film, the first film Judith FLEX Helle has directed, will be submitted to dance film festivals in 2021 and 2022.

Music: "Black Rabbit" by Prince Fatty and Shniece; "Angelica in Delerium" by G.O.L.; and "I Lie" by David Lang.

Dancers: Shannon Beach, Sadie Black, Jasmine Perry, Alexander Stabler, Miguel Reyes Santiago

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