Ballet BC Introduces Kevin John Fitzgerald as Filmmaker in Residence

Ballet BC has introduced a filmmaker in residence, Kevin John Fitzgerald, Stir reports.

Fitzgerald will be working with Ballet BC artistic director Medhi Walerski and Adrienne Toye, associate director of marketing, making videos, streams, and films.

"My goal is to immerse the audience in the experience of the dance and the dancers," Fitzgerald said. "I aim to make it exciting and dynamic. Part of the concept is to take the audience into interactive environments that enhance the themes the performers are exploring with their dances."

Read more on Stir.

Kevin John Fitzgerald is an Award-Winning and Critically Acclaimed filmmaker of Indigenous heritage and African descent known for his renowned classic documentary Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme. It screened at numerous film festivals worldwide and won several awards including the HBO Documentary Award and Kodak Maverick Award.

His films have been released theatrically, globally, and commercially broadcast on MTV Networks/VH1, B-Sky-B, and SBS; and distributed on Video by Netflix, Palm Pictures, Universal, Sony and Agnes B.

He studied acting at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas and his father Robert who was an on and off-Broadway actor and student of Sandy Meisner at The Neighbourhood Playhouse, and the 1st director of NBC's The Tonight Show.

Kevin was nominated for a Student Academy Award while at the LA Center for Enriched Studies where he shot one of his first films with actor David Arquette and fellow Unity Committee crew member Lucas McFadden aka Cut Chemist of Interscope music recording artists Jurassic-5 and the Grammy Nominated Ozomatli.

Kevin is also a former radio and club DJ and music artist having performed with Mos Def, Wu- Tang Clan, Young MC, DJ Shadow, Macey Grey, & Aloe Blacc. He attended USC Film School and wast aught directing by Jay Roach, DGA (Austin Powers ), screenwriting by Robert Mckee and Oscar Williams (WGA), and sound by Tom Holman (inventor of THX) of Lucasfilm.

He further mentored and apprenticed under directors D.A. Pennebaker and John Singleton, DGA on the feature film Higher Learning for Columbia Pictures. Kevin directed and produced a documentary on Macy Gray for Columbia Records. He followed this with the film 7 - Days In Paris about Ben Harper and his band The Innocent Criminals recording their final album for Virgin Records Lifeline at the all-analog Gang Studio in Paris, France.

Kevin was also the Director of Photography on the documentary film Soundz of Spirit, featuring Common and was a Producer on the feature film Half Widow shot in Kashmir. And he is the director and producer of the theatrically distributed by Mongrel Media and broadcasted by Bell Media documentary feature The Art of Dance: www.artdance.ca He's a founding principal partner, creative director, executive producer, at his Vancouver based production company Hip Hop Films.

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