Films.Dance Continues With Short Film Featuring Desmond Richardson

Films.Dance, a groundbreaking global film series produced by and under the creative direction of LA-based Jacob Jonas The Company continues on February 22 with EDGING NORMAL, the fifth of 15 short dance films to be released - to the community at no cost every Monday through May 8, 2021.

EDGING NORMAL will be followed by ae??a?? - NOW on March 1, DADU on March 8, ANOTHER SERIOUS DANCE FILM on March 15 and SAME SKY on March 22, 2021. The films will premiere at 9 a.m. PST on the Web at Films.Dance, on Instagram on the @films.dance account, and the Films.Dance Facebook page. Films.Dance is co-presented by the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Chicago's Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater.

EDGING NORMAL, a metaphorical tale of a man's struggle to shed his past in order to feel completely free, features Desmond Richardson, Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, dancing a new work choreographed by Jacob Jonas. Directed by Andre Bato, Edging Normal features music co-composed by visionary Steve Hackman and jazz icon Dave Koz, a nine-time Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist. Richardson, hailed by The New York Times as among the great dancers of his time, has been a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Frankfurt and American Ballet Theatre, appeared in the Oscar-winning film Chicago, and garnered a Tony Award nomination for his work in the Broadway musical Fosse. He has also worked as a featured dancer for artists including Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna and Aretha Franklin, among an extensive list of credits.

In ae??a?? - NOW, premiering on March 1, 2021, Shanghai-based director Robin Mahieux focuses the lens on a young woman, Li Kehua (Lico), dancer with BeijingDance/LDTX company, as she awakens to the fullness of the present moment. Choreographed by Gypsy Snider, Co-Founder and Artistic Director of The 7 Fingers, and set to original music from Rosie Lowe, singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist based in London, ae??a?? - NOW, with cinematography by Marcus Tang, steps into now, forsaking the past and mindfully moving into the future. Mahieux is the Founder of 3rd Culture Kids and part of the creative duo Robin & Cako. Fascinated with the local traditional film-making as well as the youth/tech cultures, he creates compelling story-telling and visual experiences by merging 3D mapping, motion capture and live music.

Captured on Super 16 mm film and utilizing natural light, in DADU, premiering on March 8, 2021, four dancers explore abstraction through the framing of movement set against the terrain of the Dutch hamlet of Spaarnwoude. Ian Robinson, former dancer with Israel's Batsheva Dance Company, directs Kele Roberson, Annika Verplancke, Jesse Callaert and Mikaela Kelly, members of Nederlands Dans Theater, with cinematography by Amsterdam-based Sam du Pon and music composed by Awir Leon, singer songwriter, producer and former dancer with Emanuel Gat Dance.

New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns performs tongue-in-cheek choreography by Andrea Miller, founder of GALLIM, at the East River Park Amphitheater in the witty short film ABOUT ANOTHER SERIOUS DANCE FILM, directed by Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, directors of the current Netflix film Project Power, to an original score from five-time Grammy Award-winning composer Antonio Sánchez (Birdman). The film, which premieres March 15, 2021, features cinematography by Paul Daley and wardrobe by Prada.

Directed by Grammy-nominated director Andy Hines, SAME SKY, premiering on March 22, 2021, explores the world in front of us, the differences amongst ourselves, and a likeness we see in others. With cinematography by Frank Mobilio and music composed by Steve Hackman, Same Sky features the original choreography of Rauf "RubberLegz" Yasit, a German break-dancer living in Los Angeles, and is performed by Jacob Jonas The Company members Joy Isabella Brown, Miguel Alejandro López, Mike Tyus and Jill Wilson with wardrobe by OAMC.

One of the most ambitious international dance film projects ever undertaken, Films.Dance engages more than 150 artists from 52 cities in 25 countries, culminating in 15 short films that have been shot during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Films.Dance is being made available to the public at no charge. Two of Los Angeles' foremost cultural organizations-the Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts-have teamed up with Chicago's Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater to present Films.Dance.

Through non-traditional collaborations across cultures and continents, and led by the vision of Jacob Jonas, the series connects the perspectives of diverse artists from a range of disciplines, dance genres, abilities, and experiences. Filmed in locations ranging from Amsterdam, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, and London, to Los Angeles, New York, Nigeria, and Spain-Films.Dance exists at the intersection of dance, music, fashion, and film.

The films will premiere for free at 9 a.m. PST on the Web at Films.Dance, on Instagram on the @films.dance account, and the Films.Dance Facebook page. A series of weekly conversations and engagement events is in development and will allow for deeper exploration of the series themes, creative process, and perspectives of collaborating artists.

The initiative is presented in partnership with Somewhere Magazine, and co-presented by the Joan W. and Irving B. Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, and Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts/CSUN.

The full listing of films and trailer are available here.

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