2007 DANCE MOViES COMMISSION

Supported by the Jaffe Fund for Experimental Media and Performing Arts

The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission supports the creation of new works in the field of experimental dance for the screen. Through the DANCE MOViES Commission, EMPAC aims to support and encourage the development of the genre of dance film and video in the Americas.

TYPE OF WORK SUPPORTED

The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission supports the creation of new works for the screen which vary widely in content and form, yet are united by the fact that the image on the screen was crafted by, or in collaboration with, a choreographer or movement-based artist. The works supported combine the possibilities and range of the moving image in all its technological facets with the physicality and movement-based modes of dance.

Examples of works supported by the commission include films that may be narrative-driven, using the conventions of filmic story-telling; some may be abstract works which mine the inherent sympathies between the time-based, visual aspects of both dance and film; some may not even feature "dance" as is generally defined, but contain a powerful sense of how movement unfurls in time and how we create meaning from the dance of images; some may take advantage of tools such as computer processing, motion capture, simulation, animation, and image processing; and some may extend the confines of the single screen to multiple screens or projections.

Deadline for initial proposals: February 01, 2007

GUIDELINES

The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission will support:

Works in film, video, or another audio-visual medium, made by a choreographer, dancer, movement artist, filmmaker and/or collaborative team
Innovative works which merge the fields of movement/dance/choreography, sound/music, with the moving image, and which are made specifically for the screen
A "work for the screen" in the broadest sense: it may be a work for a single screen, a multiple-channel work or an installation
Works which are up to 20 minutes in length (exceptions may be granted for an installation project)
Collaboration with a composer or sound-designer is strongly recommended; music and sound should be an integral part of the development of the work
Works initiated and created by an artist, group, or collective based in North or South America
Artists who have at least 5 years professional experience in their field
Works with a completion date one year after the granting of the award

The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission was not conceived to support documentaries, feature-length films, commercial films that feature dance, promotional or educational projects, projects created for a performance, or student works.

Upon awarding of the commission, the artist or collaborative team will sign a contract and has one year to complete the project. Commissioned works will be premiered at EMPAC, and may be shown at dance film festivals around the world, credited as an EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission. The rights of the project remain with the artist or team, with EMPAC having the option to retain the rights of first publication and premier. The works may be co-commissioned or co-produced with a partner or several partners, however the funding from these partners must be in place at the time of the application. EMPAC will not act as the work's distributor, although may help the artist submit the work to festivals and for broadcast.

A sample artist contract will be online and available for review by January 2007.

Commissioning Awards:

The program will support approximately 3 projects per annual cycle. Commissions will range from $8,000–$50,000, depending on the scope and complexity of the project.

Types of additional assistance available:

The building and facilities of EMPAC are under construction, and the program of EMPAC is currently in temporary quarters, therefore limited additional support is available. Depending on the nature of the project, the following resources, in addition to the funding, may be provided or facilitated by EMPAC:

Access to equipment for production
Post-production, which includes access to professional video and audio editing and mastering equipment.

SELECTION PROCESS

The EMPAC DANCE MOViES Commission will be conducted as a competitive open proposal process, where artists will be able to submit a proposal. EMPAC will gather submissions through an open call, active solicitation of artists by the EMPAC staff and through recommendations from professionals in the field.

The initial proposals will be reviewed by EMPAC and a small number of artists will be invited to submit a detailed proposal to an international panel. The panel will assess the quality and feasibility of the proposed project and will submit its recommendations to EMPAC. The commissions will be awarded by EMPAC after review. All selection decisions are final. Please see below for a list of panelists.

APPLICATION

» Deadline for initial proposals: February 01, 2007 «

TIMELINE

February 01, 2007 — Submissions due to EMPAC [short list by EMPAC]

March 01, 2007 — Notifications sent to artists for first round

April 16, 2007 — Detailed proposals due from selected artists

April/May 2007 — International selection panel selects winning proposals from short list

May 15, 2007 — Notifications of awards sent to artists

June 01, 2007 — Development and production of projects begins

[February 2008 — Second cycle begins]

June 2, 2008 — Completed works submitted to EMPAC

Fall 2008 — Works premier at EMPAC

2008-2009 — Works tour to festivals and are broadcast

If you have any questions not answered in these guidelines, please contact Hélène Lesterlin, EMPAC Dance Curator at 518.276.3918 or .

SELECTION PANEL

Solange Farkas — (Brazil)
Director, Associação Cultural Videobrasil, Director Museum of Modern Art of Salvador, and independent video art curator, Brazil

Gaelen Hanson — (USA) Choreographer/filmmaker Director, New Dance Cinema, Seattle, USA

Bob Lockyer — (UK) Chair, Board, South East Dance, Brighton, UK

Silvina Szperling — (Argentina) Choreographer/filmmaker Director, Videodanza, BA Festival, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Johannes Goebel — (USA) EMPAC Director

Hélène Lesterlin — (USA) EMPAC Dance Curator

Selection Panel Bios:

Solange Farkas (Brazil) — A curator renowned for her role in supporting the growth of electronic art in the southern circuit, to which she has dedicated herself for the last two decades, Solange Farkas is the founder and director of Associação Cultural Videobrasil, an international reference center on the subject. She is the director and curator of the Videobrasil International Electronic Art Festival, which had its 15th edition in 2005, and curator of the Pan-African Exhibition of Contemporary Art (Brazil, 2005). As head of the Associação, she manages projects such as the documentary series Videobrasil Authors Collection, the Videobrasil On-line database, and curates special programmes for the world's main arts festivals. Farkas is part of the Award Committee for the Nam June Paik Awards and the network of the Prince Claus Fund. In 2004, Farkas was granted the Sérgio Motta Cultural Award, in São Paulo, for her contribution to electronic art. She participated in the Dokanema 2006 (Mozambique), where she organized workshops for video art students and presented a Latin American video art show at the ARTist, in Istanbul. Also in 2006 Solange curated the exhibition La Mirada Discreta at the Espacio Fundación Telefónica in Buenos Aires. Recently appointed director of the Museum of Modern Art of Salvador (BR), she will participate in the d/Art/07 festival in Sydney, in July 2007.

Gaelen Hanson (USA) — Gaelen Hanson is a choreographer, a dance film curator and filmmaker. She co-founded Seattle-based dance theater company 33 Fainting Spells in 1994 and co-directed the company for 12 years. 33 Fainting Spells' critically acclaimed work was commissioned and presented at numerous US venues including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Dance Theater Workshop and The Walker Art Center. Ms. Hanson co-founded the New Dance Cinema festival in Seattle in 1999, and she has created several award-winning dance films as well. Her most recent 35mm short, Your Lights Are Out Or Burning Badly, premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in June 06, and has been presented at several festivals including Dance Camera West in Los Angeles, Dance on Screen in London, Moving Pictures in Toronto and at the American Dance Festival where it has received a Certificate of Distinction for Original Choreography. Ms. Hanson is the recent recipient of the Alpert MacDowell Fellowship, and she is currently touring the West Coast as dancer in experimental pioneer Deborah Hay's newest work Mountain.

Bob Lockyer (UK) — Bob Lockyer worked for over 40 years at the BBC where he was responsible for the dance programs on BBC Television. He is chair of South East Dance in the UK. This organization specializes in dance for the screen and hosted IMZ Dance Screen Brighton in 2005. Working with the Arts Council of England, he created Dance for the Camera. This is a series of short dance works made especially for the camera and to date over fifty videos have been made and seen in the UK and around the world. Programs he has produced have been screened at festivals worldwide and have won numerous awards, such as Prix Italia, International Emmys and the Prague d'Or. In 2002, the series he originated with Deborah Bull, The Dancer's Body, was broadcast on BBC TWO and went on to win the Dance Screen Award for that year. In addition to his work at the BBC, for 10 years Mr. Lockyer served as the first chair of Dance UK, which was formed to be a voice for dance in Britain and which also initiated and oversees the Healthier Dancer Program.

Silvina Szperling (Argentina) — Silvina Szperling is a dancer, choreographer, video artist, curator and dance journalist. Based in Argentina, she has worked as a contemporary dance choreographer since 1986, and since 1993 has devoted herself to video-dance, the making of video projections for multimedia pieces and documentaries on dance. Her video pieces have won awards and have been screened at international festivals. As director of the International Video-dance Festival of Buenos Aires, Ms. Szperling has curated several selections of Argentine and foreign video-dance pieces both for local and international exhibitions. She also curated and produced the film and video section of the Festival Buenos Aires Danza Contemporánea (2000/02). She has often been invited as a panelist and guest curator. As a freelance dance writer, her articles have been published by the newspaper La Opinión in Los Angeles, and the Argentinian media such as the newspaper Página/12, and magazines Balletin Dance, Funambulos and 3puntos. Ms. Szperling produced and hosted the weekly TV show Videodanza, broadcast nationally January-March 2000 on Argentina Televisora Color (PBS Argentina), which covered all aspects of the contemporary dance scene.

EMPAC

The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC), founded by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, is dedicated to work which explores the integration of technology, media and the performing arts. Through the DANCE MOViES Commission, EMPAC aims to support and encourage the development of the genre of dance film and video in the Americas.

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