Health Issues
Capturing Grace
"Documentary about people with Parkinson's disease who join forces with the renowned Mark Morris Dance Group to create a unique performance in Brooklyn, N.Y."
The Care and Feeding of a Dancer
"Discusses how dancers can reduce free radical damage and oxidative stress by eating nutrient-rich foods."
Dance On: Sally Fitt
"Sally Fitt, who teaches anatomy and kinesiology in the department of modern dance at the University of Utah, discusses the role of science as the facilitator of dance, helping dancers to reach and retain their full potential. She notes the benefits of dance in education. In describing her book Dance kinesiology, she compares her approach with Lulu Sweigard's work in ideokinesis, proposing the use of these studies and others in obtaining a fuller picture of body mechanics in dance."
Dancing With Maria
"Maria Fux is an elderly Argentinian dancer. In her Buenos Aires studio, she welcomes dancers from all walks of life, including women and men with physical and mental impairments, and arranges integrated dance groups. Throughout the documentary we meet many of Maria's students. Diana, who is diagnosed with polio, overcomes her own limits through dancing and reclaims her femininity. Marcos and Macarena, two teenagers with down syndrome, meet at Maria's studio and learn to express themselves in new ways. After years of developing and cultivating her teaching style which is based on the perception of inner rhythms and the symbiosis with music, Maria Fux is now dealing with one last student, possibly the most difficult one: herself. At the age of 90, Maria fights her ultimate battle against the limits of her own body."
Enter the Faun
"The unlikely collaboration between a veteran choreographer and a young actor with cerebral palsy delivers astonishing proof that each and every body is capable of miraculous transformation. As Tamar Rogoff trains Gregg Mozgala to become a dancer, they discover that her lack of formal medical training and his fears and physical limitations are not obstacles, but the impetus for their incredible discoveries. The path they took together did not follow accepted models used in physical therapy or medicine, nor was it like any established process in choreography, but the advancements Gregg experienced in mobility and alignment were unprecedented. Enter the Faun is the story of a joyous journey towards opening night. It challenges the boundaries of medicine and art, as well as the limitations associated with disability."
In My Hands
"Focuses on individuals and families learning to live with a little-known and potentially fatal connective disorder, Marfan Syndrome. People with the condition are frequently tall, with disproportionately long arms and legs. Dancer and choreographer Ann Reinking, whose son Chris is affected with the condition, works with a group of teenagers, designing movement and dance that capitalizes on their shaky long bodies and inspires their self-esteem."
Invitation to Dance
"In 1971, Simi Linton was injured while hitchhiking to Washington to protest the war in Vietnam. Suddenly a young disabled college student, she confronted insidious forms of discrimination she couldn't have imagined before. Over time she joined forces with a vibrant disability community, and realized that political engagement, love, and dance could once again be central to her life. Rock n' Roll, dancing, and sexuality liberated Simi from the shame she felt as a young disabled woman. Invitation to dance traces Simi's first reluctant foray onto the dance floor at a party to present day when dance has become a central theme in her social life, activism, and work. Ultimately, the film is a never-before-told coming out story of disabled people staking their claim to 'equality, justice, and a place on the dance floor!'."
Positive Motion: Challenging AIDS Through Dance and Motion
"Documentary about a dance group in San Francisco, where all of the members are men with AIDS or HIV. This video is a collage of seven months of the groups workshops, and a performance of a work entitled Carry Me Home."
(INVITATION TO A DANCE)