Charles Dennis Film Retrospective is Coming To Upstate Films' Orpheum Theater

Choreographer and filmmaker Charles Dennis, a co-founder of P.S. 122 in New York City, has been creating works of dance, performance art, and film since 1977. With the advent of affordable camcorders in the mid-1980s, Charles began to experiment with video in live performances and to make short films.

Now thirteen of these short films and one live movement/music performance will be presented in a retrospective of this work at Upstate Films' Orpheum Theater in Saugerties, N.Y., on October 23 at 5 pm.

The lineup will include the premiere of his latest film, Drone Girl: Destination Zena.

Drone Girl is a duet for African American dancer/performer Stacey Smith and a flying drone aircraft. The film was conceived as a tender expression of the relationship between a human and a drone.

The film features a score by Dennis' frequent collaborator Sal Cataldi and his Spaghetti Eastern Music Trio, with bassist Jeff Keithline and percussionist Mark Peritz. The score was released in September 2024 an EP which can be heard here.

Also on the program is a live performance by Charles Dennis of "2 x 2 x 4", a duet for himself and a stack of lumber, with live musical accompaniment by Spaghetti Eastern Music a.k.a Sal Cataldi. Films on the program range from his 1984 film "Feet With The Beat" featuring a colorful cast of performers who dance through the streets of the East Village, NY featuring music by Bob Telson.

Other highlights include Contessa (1992), a dance-music-video created in collaboration with video designer Bruce Tovksy and We Are The Dinosaur (2005), a collaboration with poet Bob Holman featuring the poet performing his poetry accompanied by music created by acclaimed composer/arranger producer Hal Wilner. Also featured is his 1984 film, Feet With The Beat, featuring a colorful cast of performers who dance through the streets of the East Village, NY featuring music by Bob Telson. The shortest work on the program is the one-minute film The Ride Home (2005) created for the 60 Second Dance Festival in Denmark

Also on the program will be a live performance by Charles Dennis of 2 x 2 x 4, a movement duet for himself and a stack of lumber, with a live solo guitar score by Spaghetti Eastern Music. The score from a 2021 performance was also released as an EP and can be found here.

Following the screening there will be a Q & A.

For information and tickets, visit www.upstatefilms.org

 

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