In this episode of The MDC Talks, we talk with Katrina McPherson; award-winning artist, performer, scholar, curator, and educationalist whose research and practice has contributed to the evolution of screendance for more than 30 years. Currently Katrina is running the MA in Screendance course at The Place (London).

Omari and Katrina connected many years ago at LightMoves Festival in 2014 and over the years have supported one another's work. We talk with Katrina about her PHD, the significance of collaboration in her work and the choice to put herself in front of the camera, the upcoming 3rd edition of her book 'Making Video Dance' and more!

Katrina McPherson

https://www.katrinamcpherson.com/

@katrinammcphersonart

References: 

Making Video Dance by Dr Katrina McPherson - https://www.amazon.com/Making-Video-Dance-Step-Step/dp/1138699136

The Time it Takes - https://vimeo.com/ondemand/thetimeittakes

Paysages Mixte - https://www.katrinamcpherson.com/art?pgid=kkfkyjl3-12c7d941-1897-4ed6-bc21-17291356947f

Screendance in the Landscape workshops -https://www.makingvideodance.com/workshops

Luisa - https://vimeo.com/katrinamcpherson

MA in Screendance at The Place - https://theplace.org.uk/lcds-courses/mascreendance

Moment - https://www.makingvideodance.com/#/moment/

Florence Peake performance - https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2023/apr/18/florence-peake-review-factual-actual-ensemble-southwark-park-galleries

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

In this episode of The MDC Talks, we talk with Douglas Rosenberg; writer, theorist and artist working at the intersection of performance, media and object-making. Currently Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin - Madison and an award winning filmmaker whose work for the screen has been exhibited internationally for over 30 years.

Omari and Doug connected many years ago at LightMoves Festival in 2014 and he has since become a mentor and friend. We discuss Doug's desire for more critical writing about screendance, the godmother of experimental cinema, platform determinism, how the award culture of the industry is fuelling a specific type of work and more!

Douglas Rosenberg

https://www.douglas-rosenberg.com/

@rosenberg_douglas

References: 

Moving Sites by Dr Victoria Winter - https://www.routledge.com/Moving-Sites-Investigating-Site-Specific-Dance-Performance/Hunter/p/book/9780415713252

Screendance: Inscribing the Ephemeral Image - https://www.douglas-rosenberg.com/screendance-inscribing-the-ephemeral-image

Screendance Symposium 2022 - https://screendancesymposium.art.wisc.edu/archive/2022-symposium/

Amy Greenfield - https://film-makerscoop.com/filmmakers/amy-greenfield

Robert Raschenberg - https://www.rauschenbergfoundation.org/performance-history

Paul Taylor - https://www.youtube.com/paultaylordance

Hofesh Shechter - https://hofesh.co.uk/film/

Merce Cunningham (Blue Studio) - https://www.mercecunningham.org/the-work/choreography/blue-studio-five-segments-videodance/

Beach Birds for Camera - https://vimeo.com/141096694

Song of Songs - https://www.douglas-rosenberg.com/11225414-song-of-songs

After Quarantine: The Future of Screendance (Roundtable) - https://screendancejournal.org/index.php/screendance/article/view/8347/6100

Chirstinn Whyte - https://screendancejournal.org/index.php/screendance/article/view/6145

Circling - https://www.douglas-rosenberg.com/circling

Here Now with Sally Gross (documentary) - https://vimeo.com/118514611

CHAMBRE (LA) - https://www.numeridanse.tv/en/dance-videotheque/chambre-la

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

In this episode of The MDC Talks, we talk with Cara Hagan; mover, maker, writer, curator, champion of just communities, and a dreamer.

We have always admired Cara's approach to making art, we have championed each others practice from afar and finally connected in person in 2018. In this conversation we talk about curation, black bodies on screen, navigating the festival circuit, her book 'Screendance from Film to Festival: Celebration and Curatorial Practice' and more!

Cara Hagan

https://carahagan.net/

@carahagan_art

References: 

Screendance from Film to Festival: Celebration and Curatorial Practice - https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/screendance-from-film-to-festival/

Cygnus - https://youtu.be/0yxsTerwHjA?si=ZfSU2iZDi7l1IjNh

ADF Movies by Movers - https://americandancefestival.org/movies-by-movers/

Cut Me Summa Dat Noise Film - @cutmesummadatnoise_film

Funding Bodies by Sarah Wilbur -

https://www.weslpress.org/9780819580528/funding-bodies/

NYCB New Works Festival -

https://www.nycballet.com/discover/stories/the-making-of-the-2021-summer-session-films/

1 - https://youtu.be/4qOGsKdvz1o?si=vvV_5R8e7E_51Wfy

2 - https://youtu.be/ihw4QM7YebQ?si=sget-g8KN_730aBg

3 - https://youtu.be/O_0JmVMovu0?si=IoYn36n1wRqnmRqi

4 - https://youtu.be/VUc188WtE08?si=jvfPAGq9s3BtXKXI

5 - https://youtu.be/g1CVEGFcN44?si=DpnvOaETu6cTONMK

In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch- https://www.amazon.co.uk/BLINK-EYE-NEW-EDN-New/dp/1879505622

What is urban dance on screen? | Omari Carter Video Essay - https://vimeo.com/328049558

Ode to an Unapologetically Free and Sacred Body - https://youtu.be/Se-paC7a8wM?si=ljHitZpDLQUCiBvY

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

In this episode of The MDC Talks, we talk with Gitta Wigro; an arts professional with over 20 years’ experience, specialising in dance-film and dance.

We met Gitta on the dance-film festival circuit and became fast friends, sharing her interest in connecting people and ideas. In this conversation we talk curation, connectors, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, teaching practice, research and more!

Gitta Wigro

gittawigro.com

https://www.facebook.com/gitta.wigro

Screendance calendar - https://screendancecalendar.wordpress.com/?fbclid=IwAR35N9P4sXRnZl_0JoE9KXQK3DZ0gl17msdh26plkUgq20vP6ZqMpDvJc9c

References: 

'Boy' by Rosemary Lee & Peter Anderson - https://www.artsadmin.co.uk/project/boy/

'Hands' by Adam Roberts & Jonathan Burrows - https://vimeo.com/388689595

' A Drifting Up' by Jacob Lee - https://youtu.be/3ctLXHdb4dY

Rosemary Butcher - rosemarybutcher.com

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

The MDC Talks is BACK and we cannot wait to continue our creative conversations around all things dance-film with the incredible guests we have lined up for Season 3! The MDC team returns after a hiatus, lots of exciting projects and some big moves. In this episode, we get you up to speed on where the team is at and what we've been doing for the last 2 years. We hope you'll enjoy reconnecting with us and the upcoming stimulating conversations about bridging the gap between moving body and moving image.

In episode 12 of Season 2 on The MDC Talks, Anna Clifford and Omari ‘Motion’ Carter talk with Wilkie Branson; a self-taught interdisciplinary dance artist and filmmaker, currently based in the United Kingdom.  His latest feature length work TOM is commencing its international tour and currently being showcased at La Bienniale de Venezia 23/07/2021 - 01/08/2021.  

Wilkie expresses how the focus of his work always lies in the practice and not the product.  His early days of studying b-boying techniques were how he first entered into film and he was later drawn to animation because of its power to create something from nothing.  The evolution of his artistic practice is inspired by landscape, architecture and how the choreography within the environment & surroundings can impact and support telling stories through dance on screen.  Wilkie explains how his latest work is about reconnecting with your inner child.  He shares how the process of making the work reconnected him with his own family, some of the technical challenges and his most significant takeaway from the making of TOM.  

Wilkie Branson: 

https://www.wilkiebranson.com/

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/wilkiebransonInstagram @wilkiebranson 

Twitter @WilkieBranson  

References: 

‘Little Dreams’: https://vimeo.com/128052930

‘End of the Block’: https://vimeo.com/73935264

‘White Caps’: https://vimeo.com/11272451

‘TOM’: https://vimeo.com/wilkiebranson/tomtrail

Making TOM - Part 3 - Available on Wilkie’s instagram @wilkiebranson 

La Bienniale di Venezia - https://www.labiennale.org/en/dance/2021/wilkie-branson-tom 

WATCH ‘TOM’ HERE: https://vimeo.com/wilkiebranson/tomfilm 

*Exclusively available to our listeners for 4 weeks only!!  

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

In this episode of The MDC Talks, The MDC team speak with Jevan Chowdhury; a multimedia artist and film director who works in commercial art and is currently based in London, UK. Jevan is the Director of creative agency, Wind & Foster and creator of the multi-award-winning Moving Cities Project.

Jevan explains how he doesn’t connect with the term screendance because he finds it limiting and prefers to label his work as film. He describes the motivation behind starting his company, choosing a metaphoric name and touches on the creative opportunity cost of running a business. Which leads us into a conversation about his ‘Moving Cities’ project, which started as an experiment. He gives us insight into the process, the initial reluctance to take risks and capturing the movement of the city. He champions the importance of watching dance so that as a filmmaker you learn how to choreograph with the camera, anticipate movement and communicate across disciplines.

Jevan Chowdhury:

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/movingcitiesproject

Instagram @movingcitiesproject

@windandfoster

Twitter @Jevanchow

References:

Wind & Foster - https://windandfoster.com/

Moving Cities - https://www.moving-cities.com/

motiondancecollective.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective

Twitter: @TheMDCollective

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

In episode 10 of Season 2 on The MDC Talks, The MDC team speak with Sima Gonsai; award-winning filmmaker and director born and raised in the North of England and now based in the Midlands.  Sima's exploration of film work began in 1998 and she is passionate about telling powerful narratives through the movements of body, film and music.

Sima talks about how her childhood lessons in Bharatnatyam dance and love of watching Bollywood initially drew her to filmmaking.  Her debut dance-film KITA, made during her MA in Visual Communication, was an exploration of the vibrancy of Indian classical dance and took 9 months to create.  This experience of experimentation with film taught her about perseverance, how to add colour to your work and gifted her an understanding of movement within a frame.  Sima describes her journey of making Cycle Dialogues and the joy in exploring communities across the globe with a bicycle and a camera before diving into her work with Freefall Dance Company, an experience that encouraged her to brainstorm what went into making a dance-film with and for complex disabled artists.  She describes the significance of creating work that audiences can experience and not just watch and also touches on the challenges and responsibility of making dance-film within this space.

Sima Gonsai: 

www.simagonsaifilms.com

Instagram - @simagonsaifilms

Vimeo - https://vimeo.com/simagonsai

References:

KITA: https://www.simagonsaifilms.com/kita

Len Lye: https://govettbrewster.com/news/2017/4/spotlight-on-len-lyes-filmmaking-tools-the-stencil

https://youtu.be/-DksmbDMDUU

Norman McLaren: https://theconversation.com/norman-mclaren-a-late-great-animator-now-drawing-applause-27506

Cycle Dialogues: https://www.simagonsaifilms.com/cycle-dialogues-film

Freefall: https://www.simagonsaifilms.com/freefall-film

One Fine Day: https://www.simagonsaifilms.com/one-fine-day-film

Screen.dance 2020 Artist Presentation: https://www.screen.dance/festival-2021/artists-presentations-1-4/sima-gonsai-artist-presentation/

Suspended Motion: https://vimeo.com/383081456

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

Episode 9 of Season 2 on The MDC Talks features American award-winning dance film director Mitchell Rose in conversation with Omari 'Motion' Carter, Anna Clifford and James Williams.  Mitchell is based in New York and known for his comedic shorts featuring dance; his films continue to screen internationally and have won over 95 festival awards to date.  

Mitch articulates his difficulty with the term screendance and explains why he prefers dance-film.  He explains his desire to create a 3D world through film and refers to the prejudice in the industry towards sombre work.  Mitchell made a decision to explore humour and satire in his work which also includes an audience participation live performance called The Mitch Show.  He also discusses his invention of hyper match-cutting and the ripple effect it's had worldwide due to Covid-19, as well as one of the side-effects of the pandemic; challenging artists to change how they create.   

Mitchell Rose: www.mitchellrose.com 

Instagram - @mitchellrosefilm 

Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnxs... 

References: 

Deere John - https://youtu.be/VKfO1DuiegE

Exquisite Corps - https://youtu.be/B3pFxsYPLgU

And So Say All Of Us - https://youtu.be/GLZuRCtNBxg

Globe Trot - https://youtu.be/uXgYKU9F-0A

The Mitch Show - www.mitchellrose.com/themitchshow 

The Case Against Dance-Film - https://youtu.be/U5oAB2oA-mg

Internal Medicine - https://youtu.be/QRCLdRfwifU

Attention Span - Coming soon   

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective

Episode 8 (Pt 2) of Season 2 on The MDC Talks features Montreal filmmaker Marlene Millar, in conversation with Omari 'Motion' Carter, Anna Clifford and James Williams.  Marlene is an internationally award-winning dance filmmaker, her creative partnerships include Mouvement Perpétuel (2001) alongside Philip Szporer and Migration Dance Film Project with Sandy Silva.  

In Part 2 of this podcast Marlene breaks down the making of NAVIGATION, a dance-film recently made as the latest addition to the Migration Dance Film Project series.  She touched on pre-production choices and emphasised the importance of a cohesive crew, in particular, the vital role it played in filming this work.  Marlene generously spoke about sourcing funding for your creative work; how strategic planning and forward thinking with a focus on the bigger picture is key.  She also expressed her appreciation for working with camera operators who understand the language of dance because of their ability to predict choreographic phrases.

Marlene Millar: 

www.marlenemillar.com 

Instagram @millarmarlene 

Vimeo - vimeo.com/marlenemillar  

References: 

Navigation - vimeo.com/424337004 

Migration Dance Film Project - www.marlenemillar.com/#/mdfp/ 

Lay Me Low - vimeo.com/125331919 

mouvementperpetuel.net  

motiondancecollective.com 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheMotionDanceCollective 

Twitter: @TheMDCollective 

Instagram: @TheMDCollective