Seven rebels rewrote dance forever — and they want to explain themselves.
Made in 1980, this film explores the contemporary dance scene through the work of seven New York-based choreographers. They discuss the nature of dance and the evolution of their own work. Filmed at rehearsals, performances, and during interviews, the film is a unique primary source. The artistic roots of these seven artists can be found in Martha Graham's concern with modern life as a subject for dance and in Merce Cunningham's emphasis on the nature of movement. In the 1960s, the interaction of art forms generated choreographic innovations. Especially influential was John Cage, whose radical ideas served as a point of departure for much of the new choreography. Each of the choreographers in Making Dances draws inspiration from the Graham/Cunningham tradition, yet each makes a highly distinctive statement. Structure, movement in non-fictive time and space, and the nature of movement itself are recurring themes.
Direction
Blackwood lets artists think out loud, beautifully unguarded.
Production
Rare 1980 footage of legends in their raw creative element.
Director
Michael Blackwood
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This captures post-modern dance's 'Judson Dance Theater' generation at peak influence, before institutionalization softened their edges.
Michael Blackwood shot over 60 art documentaries; this remains his most influential for capturing practitioners who rarely explained themselves on camera.
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